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Post by Deleted on Sept 23, 2014 23:35:43 GMT -5
This article is from early July, but I just stumbled upon it tonight and found it very interesting, so I thought I would share it. It's an interview of Sony Nashville CEO Gary Overton by Hits Daily Double. I'll post the link to the full article below, but here are some key excerpts: Full article: CLICK HERE. ** The article is rather long, but I really encourage people to read all of it--it's a great read and it gives some good insight into Overton's thoughts, even though I maintain my belief that he and most radio stations are completely wrong about listeners hating female artists (the music is all geared to men right now, so of course the research is gonna show that females don't test well; the corporate gatekeepers simply aren't catering to any female demographics). I found some of Overton's comments to be rather interesting, though, particularly his comments regarding Brad Paisley and Jerrod Niemann. The article is dated July 8, and Jerrod's "Buzz Back Girl" went for adds on July 14 already. It became clear by the 3rd week of June already that "Donkey" was done. So either Overton was just saving face here or...I don't know. But from his comments it seems that he legitimately thought "Donkey" would be a big enough hit to move records, but of course it completely flopped. His remarks on Brad's Wheelhouse album seem pretty spot-on, though, and it was nice to read the tidbit about his exchange with Brad and how Brad wanted his new album ( Moonshine In The Trunk) to be more of a return to form for him. So it was nice to see that Overton basically admitted to 'mistakes' with experimental albums like Jerrod's Free The Music and Brad's Wheelhouse. It's quite ironic, though, that due in large part to Overton's over-confidence with the risky release of "Donkey", Jerrod is now back in the same boat that he was during his sophomore 'era'. High Noon has only sold 60k--which is certainly better than the paltry 12k total that Free The Music has sold--but it's still not a high number, at all. ** Interestingly enough, a new article (a review of Kenny Chesney's new album) reveals that Overton now thinks that bro-country has reached its saturation point, despite his July remarks to HDD that bro-country was "fantastic" and that its saturation point was "nowhere in the foreseeable future". He sure seems to have changed his mind in a short amount of time. Overton is definitely full of praise for Kenny's The Big Revival--which is devoid of bro-country--and in recent weeks, Sony has released tracks like Brad Paisley's "Perfect Storm", Tyler Farr's "A Guy Walks Into A Bar", Garth Brooks' "People Loving People", Trisha Yearwood's "Prize Fighter", Chris Young's "Lonely Eyes", Jake Owen's "What We Ain't Got", and Sara Evans' "Put My Heart Down". Hopefully this means that the entire industry is finally starting to shift away from bro-country. Scott Borchetta has commented on it and many Big Machine releases have been less "bro-ish", and I think we're seeing that now with Blake Shelton at Warner Bros. and also with Gary Overton and Sony.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2014 20:26:47 GMT -5
The trend actually went pretty quickly, as jholmes87 excellently discussed. Well, I hope it did.
I think I have a different idea of what bro-country is than most people. I assume that just means I am wrong. Personally, I like Florida Georgia Line. Their music has enough country elements to it (instrumentally speaking) even though their lyrics don't typically follow country standards. I think the big issue is that there were a lot of copycats from them. Artists saw their success and tried to jump on (Jason Aldean, I'm talking to you). Just like MG said, there's one in every crowd. Sometimes one is enough.
I don't think Luke is bro. I see Luke as being new country, but not bro-country. Aside from TMKON (which I like very much), his songs are pretty wholesome and have musical structure rooted in country. I don't think Jason is bro. I think Jason needs to stick to what built his fan base, however. His new stuff with the pop influences goes against everything his songs ever did. I like the music in Sweet Little Something, but the beginning just makes me laugh...it's pathetic.
Even Sam Hunt (who ya'll know I have a problem with 3 out of the 4 songs on his EP) isn't bro. He's just kind of...pop. In my opinion, pop country needs to go away just as fast if not faster than bro country.
I don't know, maybe I just have a misconstrued concept of what country should be. When I think of what I want country to sound like, it's...
Small Town Southern Man by Alan Jackson Ticks by Brad Paisley Highway 20 Ride by Zac Brown Band Amarillo Sky by Jason Aldean Wrapped by George Strait Like a Cowboy by Randy Houser Don't Blink by Kenny Chesney My Town by Montgomery Gentry All Kinds of Kinds by Miranda Lambert What I Love About Sundays by Craig Morgan These are My People by Rodney Atkins Rain is a Good Thing by Luke Bryan Heaven by Jake Owen Country Music Jesus by Eric Church Brokenheartsville by Joe Nichols
Does anyone want to look back ten years from now and say country is...
Ready Set Roll by Chase Rice Burnin' it Down by Jason Aldean Sun Daze by Florida Georgia Line Breakup in a Small Town by Sam Hunt Girls in Bikinis by Lee Brice Drink to that All Night by Jerrod Niemann Hey Y'all by Cole Swindell Beachin' by Jake Owen Make Me Wanna by Thomas Rhett Looking for that Girl by Tim McGraw Drinks After Work by Toby Keith
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matty005
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Post by matty005 on Sept 28, 2014 21:20:34 GMT -5
The trend actually went pretty quickly, as jholmes87 excellently discussed. Well, I hope it did. I think I have a different idea of what bro-country is than most people. I assume that just means I am wrong. Personally, I like Florida Georgia Line. Their music has enough country elements to it (instrumentally speaking) even though their lyrics don't typically follow country standards. I think the big issue is that there were a lot of copycats from them. Artists saw their success and tried to jump on (Jason Aldean, I'm talking to you). Just like MG said, there's one in every crowd. Sometimes one is enough. I don't think Luke is bro. I see Luke as being new country, but not bro-country. Aside from TMKON (which I like very much), his songs are pretty wholesome and have musical structure rooted in country. I don't think Jason is bro. I think Jason needs to stick to what built his fan base, however. His new stuff with the pop influences goes against everything his songs ever did. I like the music in Sweet Little Something, but the beginning just makes me laugh...it's pathetic. Even Sam Hunt (who ya'll know I have a problem with 3 out of the 4 songs on his EP) isn't bro. He's just kind of...pop. In my opinion, pop country needs to go away just as fast if not faster than bro country. I don't know, maybe I just have a misconstrued concept of what country should be. When I think of what I want country to sound like, it's... Small Town Southern Man by Alan Jackson Ticks by Brad Paisley Highway 20 Ride by Zac Brown Band Amarillo Sky by Jason Aldean Wrapped by George Strait Like a Cowboy by Randy Houser Don't Blink by Kenny Chesney My Town by Montgomery Gentry All Kinds of Kinds by Miranda Lambert What I Love About Sundays by Craig Morgan These are My People by Rodney Atkins Rain is a Good Thing by Luke Bryan Heaven by Jake Owen Country Music Jesus by Eric Church Brokenheartsville by Joe Nichols Does anyone want to look back ten years from now and say country is... Ready Set Roll by Chase Rice Burnin' it Down by Jason Aldean Sun Daze by Florida Georgia Line Breakup in a Small Town by Sam Hunt Girls in Bikinis by Lee Brice Drink to that All Night by Jerrod Niemann Hey Y'all by Cole Swindell Beachin' by Jake Owen Make Me Wanna by Thomas Rhett Looking for that Girl by Tim McGraw Drinks After Work by Toby Keith I agree with a lot of what you said, but when you listed what country sounds like to you, you listed some classics. And then for current country you listed a whole bunch of songs that may never even be singles. You easily could have made a list of songs that looking back in 10 years will still be great AND country. I Drive You Truck by Lee Brice Meanwhile Back at Mama's by Tim McGraw Drink A Beer by Luke Bryan etc etc etc You can also look back 5, 10, 15 years and find some "awful" songs that were hits. Getcha Some by Toby Keith Honky Tonk Badonkadonk by Trace Adkins That's The Truth About Men by Tracy Byrd Billy's Got His Beer Goggles On by Neal McCoy Pickup Man by Joe Diffie My point is that there will always be great country songs and there will always be awful country songs. Yes, Girls in Bikinis won't be a classic, but it won't be remembered that much either (not like "I Drive Your Truck" will be).
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Post by 43dudleyvillas on Sept 28, 2014 21:23:46 GMT -5
The trend actually went pretty quickly, as jholmes87 excellently discussed. Well, I hope it did. I think I have a different idea of what bro-country is than most people. I assume that just means I am wrong. Personally, I like Florida Georgia Line. Their music has enough country elements to it (instrumentally speaking) even though their lyrics don't typically follow country standards. I think the big issue is that there were a lot of copycats from them. Artists saw their success and tried to jump on (Jason Aldean, I'm talking to you). Just like MG said, there's one in every crowd. Sometimes one is enough. I can't agree that Jason jumped on a trend, considering that it was his "Dirt Road Anthem" that, along with Luke's "Country Girl (Shake It For Me)" (both of which were enormous hits and enormous sellers in 2011) that paved the way for Florida-Georgia Line's beat-based, casually misogynistic combination of faux-hip-hop, faux-rock, and rural lyrics (which is also how I would define "bro country"). But I do agree that the big issue was that radio and the entire major label system in Nashville over-relied on copycats, and tried to shoehorn even artists whose natural stylings don't fit that style of music (like Chris Young) into that space. As I said in the Josh Turner, "Lay Low" thread, the singles from Jake Owen, Chris Young, and the new albums from Tim McGraw and Blake Shelton offer some hope that the days of the entire market chasing the Jason/Luke/Florida-Georgia Line sound are winding down, especially since Music Row seems to have finally noticed that the copycats have mostly failed to separate themselves and mostly failed to move much in the way of albums.
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jesster
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Post by jesster on Sept 28, 2014 21:48:41 GMT -5
Agree, it seems to me that Jason was out there earlier in this trend of music, with Luke. Whether that is considered to their credit, all in all, well...
I can understand most of those even if I'd group some songs in there like Rain is a Good Thing.
Drinks After Work doesn't feel to me as if it has a lot in common with the rest, however. It's a light, cute song with a very clear female voice singing along with Toby about sippin' and crushin' after work.
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Uncle Lumpy
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Post by Uncle Lumpy on Sept 29, 2014 8:44:19 GMT -5
The trend actually went pretty quickly, as jholmes87 excellently discussed. Well, I hope it did. I think I have a different idea of what bro-country is than most people. I assume that just means I am wrong. Personally, I like Florida Georgia Line. Their music has enough country elements to it (instrumentally speaking) even though their lyrics don't typically follow country standards. I think the big issue is that there were a lot of copycats from them. Artists saw their success and tried to jump on (Jason Aldean, I'm talking to you). Just like MG said, there's one in every crowd. Sometimes one is enough. I don't think Luke is bro. I see Luke as being new country, but not bro-country. Aside from TMKON (which I like very much), his songs are pretty wholesome and have musical structure rooted in country. I don't think Jason is bro. I think Jason needs to stick to what built his fan base, however. His new stuff with the pop influences goes against everything his songs ever did. I like the music in Sweet Little Something, but the beginning just makes me laugh...it's pathetic. Even Sam Hunt (who ya'll know I have a problem with 3 out of the 4 songs on his EP) isn't bro. He's just kind of...pop. In my opinion, pop country needs to go away just as fast if not faster than bro country. I don't know, maybe I just have a misconstrued concept of what country should be. When I think of what I want country to sound like, it's... Small Town Southern Man by Alan Jackson Ticks by Brad Paisley Highway 20 Ride by Zac Brown Band Amarillo Sky by Jason Aldean Wrapped by George Strait Like a Cowboy by Randy Houser Don't Blink by Kenny Chesney My Town by Montgomery Gentry All Kinds of Kinds by Miranda Lambert What I Love About Sundays by Craig Morgan These are My People by Rodney Atkins Rain is a Good Thing by Luke Bryan Heaven by Jake Owen Country Music Jesus by Eric Church Brokenheartsville by Joe Nichols Does anyone want to look back ten years from now and say country is... Ready Set Roll by Chase Rice Burnin' it Down by Jason Aldean Sun Daze by Florida Georgia Line Breakup in a Small Town by Sam Hunt Girls in Bikinis by Lee Brice Drink to that All Night by Jerrod Niemann Hey Y'all by Cole Swindell Beachin' by Jake Owen Make Me Wanna by Thomas Rhett Looking for that Girl by Tim McGraw Drinks After Work by Toby Keith I agree with a lot of what you said, but when you listed what country sounds like to you, you listed some classics. And then for current country you listed a whole bunch of songs that may never even be singles. You easily could have made a list of songs that looking back in 10 years will still be great AND country. I Drive You Truck by Lee Brice Meanwhile Back at Mama's by Tim McGraw Drink A Beer by Luke Bryan etc etc etc You can also look back 5, 10, 15 years and find some "awful" songs that were hits. Getcha Some by Toby Keith Honky Tonk Badonkadonk by Trace Adkins That's The Truth About Men by Tracy Byrd Billy's Got His Beer Goggles On by Neal McCoy Pickup Man by Joe Diffie My point is that there will always be great country songs and there will always be awful country songs. Yes, Girls in Bikinis won't be a classic, but it won't be remembered that much either (not like "I Drive Your Truck" will be). Thats a mighty rosey picture you paint , but I cant help but notice you had to dip back almost three years to find a whopping three "current" hit records with substance that could possibly be considered future "classics". Under scrutiny , your "we've alway's had bad songs" argument doesn't hold water because country music used to have an over abundance of great songs like the three you mentioned. I'm not even sure those three would have stood out 10 or 15 years ago. And while its true country has always had its fair share of goofy or bad songs the balance was never tilted to the extreme it is now.
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matty005
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Post by matty005 on Sept 29, 2014 8:48:46 GMT -5
I agree with a lot of what you said, but when you listed what country sounds like to you, you listed some classics. And then for current country you listed a whole bunch of songs that may never even be singles. You easily could have made a list of songs that looking back in 10 years will still be great AND country. I Drive You Truck by Lee Brice Meanwhile Back at Mama's by Tim McGraw Drink A Beer by Luke Bryan etc etc etc You can also look back 5, 10, 15 years and find some "awful" songs that were hits. Getcha Some by Toby Keith Honky Tonk Badonkadonk by Trace Adkins That's The Truth About Men by Tracy Byrd Billy's Got His Beer Goggles On by Neal McCoy Pickup Man by Joe Diffie My point is that there will always be great country songs and there will always be awful country songs. Yes, Girls in Bikinis won't be a classic, but it won't be remembered that much either (not like "I Drive Your Truck" will be). Thats a mighty rosey picture you paint , but I cant help but notice you had to dip back almost three years to find a whopping three "current" hit records with substance that could possibly be considered future "classics". Under scrutiny , your "we've alway had bad songs" argument doesn't hold water because country music used to have an over abundance of great songs like the three you mentioned. I'm not even sure those three would have stood out 10 or 15 years ago. And while its true country has always had its fair share of goofy or bad songs the balance was never tilted to the extreme it is now. It's all relative. The same exact argument was said 10-15 years ago from people who were longing for the olden days of country. There were people who loved country 15 years ago, but there were also people saying, "I hate the current state of country music. I wish it was back in the good 'ol days when Garth and Reba and Clint and Alan were dominating the chart."
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Uncle Lumpy
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Post by Uncle Lumpy on Sept 29, 2014 9:04:00 GMT -5
Absolutely , everythings relative. And nobody is wrong if they stick there head in the sand & proclaim "Sundaze" will be a future classic and is of the same musical quality as "I Hope You Dance".
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Andy
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Post by Andy on Sept 29, 2014 18:09:36 GMT -5
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rsmatto
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Post by rsmatto on Sept 29, 2014 20:49:25 GMT -5
The problem with the opinion in that article is it basically says that anything that's written by two or more people is basically not art. It makes a case that for something to be art it must be a solitary experience, not unlike painting. That's just flat-out wrong. Nearly every great country song from the past 30-40 years was written by two or more people (but usually two). There's a fine line between art and commerce and it's often hard to see but if you were to ask any songwriters, many of their best-written songs never see the light of day because they're not deemed commercial for whatever reason. Many songs and albums that are like Jason Isbell's "Southeastern" mentioned in the story are written and recorded in Nashville. As for "Bro," it's a sub class that'll likely be around for a while but as the clear "leader of the pack" like some think it has been (themes yes, actual full "Bro" songs? No). And that's just fine. These kinds of songs have ALWAYS been around. It's just the massive success of bands like FGL and Luke Bryan and Chase Rice have made them seem more 'amplified.' I'd say anyone looking for Country to return to a traditional-leaning sound can keep waiting because it's very unlikely to happen to the extent it did post Urban Cowboy. The "bro backlash" is more from the perception that radio's gatekeepers have had to the songs, even as they continued to play them when research told them to. Labels have been signing interesting and diverse talent, it's just time for radio to backup their "bro backlash" by actually playing the stuff they love when they come to CRS and not just what their consultants say they should play. That'd allow for songs like "Say You Do," "Like A Cowboy," "What We Ain't Got" and "She Don't Love You" (and anything Jon Pardi) to thrive and show folks like the editor of that linked article that Nashville's mainstream country DOES have plenty within it. One other counterpoint to the linked story, something that's rarely mentioned when people state how much they "Hate mainstream country music." It's that anything popular is going to be more homogenized and 'disposable' and that only a few songs here or there end up permeating our consciousness to timelessness. How many of the great songs from the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s or 2000s do YOU remember?
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Uncle Lumpy
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Post by Uncle Lumpy on Sept 30, 2014 9:47:55 GMT -5
One other counterpoint to the linked story, something that's rarely mentioned when people state how much they "Hate mainstream country music." It's that anything popular is going to be more homogenized and 'disposable' and that only a few songs here or there end up permeating our consciousness to timelessness. How many of the great songs from the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s or 2000s do YOU remember? Judging from my ipod with over 20k primarily country songs from the 1950's to today , I can assure you I remember thousands of songs from those decades. The problem with the opinion in that article is it basically says that anything that's written by two or more people is basically not art. It makes a case that for something to be art it must be a solitary experience, not unlike painting. That's just flat-out wrong. Nearly every great country song from the past 30-40 years was written by two or more people (but usually two). There's a fine line between art and commerce and it's often hard to see but if you were to ask any songwriters, many of their best-written songs never see the light of day because they're not deemed commercial for whatever reason. Many songs and albums that are like Jason Isbell's "Southeastern" mentioned in the story are written and recorded in Nashville. I believe theres an argument that could be made for "committee" writing squashing alot of creativity. I'm not necessarily calling out Luke Bryan's record per se where the songs were written by two or three writers but I'm always amazed when I see a song like "Cruise" took a whopping five writers! And none of the five stood up and said "baby you a song" was a stupid ass line? As for "Bro," it's a sub class that'll likely be around for a while but as the clear "leader of the pack" like some think it has been (themes yes, actual full "Bro" songs? No). And that's just fine. These kinds of songs have ALWAYS been around. It's just the massive success of bands like FGL and Luke Bryan and Chase Rice have made them seem more 'amplified.' I'd say anyone looking for Country to return to a traditional-leaning sound can keep waiting because it's very unlikely to happen to the extent it did post Urban Cowboy. I actually agree traditional country will probably never return to mainstream country radio. I would imagine the majority of the fans of traditional have long since fled the genre when cooperate radio threw them away to chase after displaced Nicklback fans.
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gurustu
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Post by gurustu on Sept 30, 2014 10:56:11 GMT -5
I don't like Bro-Country, never have, never will.... plain and simple! Also, I may possibly blame the Sirius/XM Programmer JOHN MARKS the most for bringing light to Bro-Country since he started to play all that crap on The Highway and was a HUGE supporter of people like FGL before they even made it big, he helped break them out and make them & that style of music popular to the masses. He's STILL doing that today to some extent. So, let's not forget oh John Marks too folks!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 13, 2014 22:17:35 GMT -5
Did anybody else notice this editorial in Monday's Country Aircheck Weekly? I have to say that I lost a lot of respect for Country Aircheck after reading this.
Nashville's Newspaper Hates Country Radio
The Aircheck editor completely misses the mark here. And as someone who holds a degree in journalism, I have to say that that last sentence really makes me mad. No one "boycotted" the newspaper industry...there was no collective effort by anyone to try to get people to stop reading newspapers. The internet happened. So throwing that last little paragraph in there was completely bizarre as it has nothing to do with the rest of their "argument" if you can even call it that.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 18, 2014 13:23:23 GMT -5
Yes, LAW! "I had not really wanted to make any music for so long, and when I heard 'The Way I'm Livin',' I said, 'I want to cut that!'" the singer says of the title track, written by Womack's longtime friend Adam Wright. "We always find one song to start with, and then everything falls into place after that. I loved that song so much, because I like songs about losers."
The tune sounds like something out of the Seventies' outlaw country movement, with its narrator who has too much fun being bad to care if those actions pay for her ticket to hell. Her dance with the devil is set to a pedal steel-drenched melody that transcends country radio time — a fact of which Womack, the daughter of a former country radio DJ, is not concerned.
"Not at all," she answers when asked how much country radio came into play when making the new album. "It has taken such a sharp turn in a direction I'm not interested in going in. I'd laugh at it if it weren't so sad!" she continues, lamenting the maligned bro-country trend that has dominated playlists of late. "It's true, trucks are a part of a lot of people's lives. My first car was a Ford pickup. But it's like we've gone from making music to making something else. The things that make country unique are what make it cool. But no one's interested in doing that anymore. It seems like people don't give two shits about country music but they move [to Nashville] and make what they want to make."
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Uncle Lumpy
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Post by Uncle Lumpy on Nov 18, 2014 13:38:41 GMT -5
^^^ Yes , yes, YES! I love me some Lee Ann Womack!
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gurustu
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Post by gurustu on Nov 18, 2014 14:15:07 GMT -5
Does anyone want to look back ten years from now and say country is... Ready Set Roll by Chase Rice Burnin' it Down by Jason Aldean Sun Daze by Florida Georgia Line Breakup in a Small Town by Sam Hunt Girls in Bikinis by Lee Brice Drink to that All Night by Jerrod Niemann Hey Y'all by Cole Swindell Beachin' by Jake Owen Make Me Wanna by Thomas Rhett Looking for that Girl by Tim McGraw Drinks After Work by Toby KeithHA HA, "Drinks After Work"; I've completely forgot about that song (more or less blocked it from my memory). Talk about a shit song, that's a song that is nothing but a big pile of crrrrrrap! The answer is without a doubt, a resounding NO to that question and all those songs!
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dm2081
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Post by dm2081 on Nov 18, 2014 22:07:57 GMT -5
Yes, LAW! "Not at all," she answers when asked how much country radio came into play when making the new album. "It has taken such a sharp turn in a direction I'm not interested in going in. I'd laugh at it if it weren't so sad!" she continues, lamenting the maligned bro-country trend that has dominated playlists of late.
While I respect her opinion about the current state of Country, and she is certainly entitled to her opinion, this quote rubbed me the wrong way. She says "Not at all" as if she even has the option to get played on the radio anymore. Her career on the radio is done, and to me it just sounds like she is being resentful about it, as many other retired/veteran country singers do.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 18, 2014 22:57:37 GMT -5
Yes, LAW! "Not at all," she answers when asked how much country radio came into play when making the new album. "It has taken such a sharp turn in a direction I'm not interested in going in. I'd laugh at it if it weren't so sad!" she continues, lamenting the maligned bro-country trend that has dominated playlists of late.
While I respect her opinion about the current state of Country, and she is certainly entitled to her opinion, this quote rubbed me the wrong way. She says "Not at all" as if she even has the option to get played on the radio anymore. Her career on the radio is done, and to me it just sounds like she is being resentful about it, as many other retired/veteran country singers do. That's kind of the point of her quote, though--she doesn't have the option to get played anymore, and it's much more because of her music than her age. She's only 48, which is in the same ballpark of guys like Keith Urban, Tim McGraw, and Kenny Chesney. Lee Ann's last album came out in 2008 and she clearly states in her quote that she didn't really even want to make music anymore because of the direction country radio has gone in. She came onto the scene in 1997 and she was basically done having top 10's by the end of 2000. She snuck in a #10 hit in 2004 (I May Hate Myself In The Morning) but for a long time now, radio has made it pretty clear that they weren't going to play her music as much as they were gonna play music from her peers. For the most part radio quit playing Lee Ann before she was even 40. If it's just about her age or her status as a "veteran", then by that logic, 37-year-old Jason Aldean and 38-year-old Luke Bryan oughta fizzle out soon then too. Lee Ann is dead on here. Country radio has changed into something completely different than what it used to be. People can say it "evolved" all they want, but as far as I'm concerned, it's gone from being an apple to being an orange. I'm not saying it's all bad, but today's country radio has virtually no resemblance to the country music from when LAW was at her peak.
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dm2081
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Post by dm2081 on Nov 18, 2014 23:13:23 GMT -5
While I respect her opinion about the current state of Country, and she is certainly entitled to her opinion, this quote rubbed me the wrong way. She says "Not at all" as if she even has the option to get played on the radio anymore. Her career on the radio is done, and to me it just sounds like she is being resentful about it, as many other retired/veteran country singers do. Lee Ann is dead on here. Country radio has changed into something completely different than what it used to be. People can say it "evolved" all they want, but as far as I'm concerned, it's gone from being an apple to being an orange. I'm not saying it's all bad, but today's country radio has virtually no resemblance to the country music from when LAW was at her peak. I definitely agree with you here. The same thing has happened in rock music. Hair Metal was running the show in the late 80's, then the whole Grunge scene came and changed everything. Then rock went through post-grunge, and has now found an identity mainly with Indie. I think, unfortunately, that music just tends to change, and you can either be with the new movement or not. No one makes rock music that sounds exactly like Nirvana or Soundgarden from back in the 90's anymore, so I think it's only fair to expect the same in Country. I'm not saying this is what I want, but it's how I see things going.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 18, 2014 23:31:19 GMT -5
I think what Lee Ann is so frustrated about here (and this goes for me, too) is that, with the new direction that country radio has gone in, there really is no radio format for country music anymore. The new stuff is definitely popular, but there's a reason why 90's country was so popular too. But trying to get new stuff that still sounds really country on today's playlists is almost impossible, and I don't think it's because that music is no longer popular. I really think that, if some of the more traditional records were spun 50+ times a week at any given station, that we'd see good single and album sales for those artists as well. They just don't have a platform anymore.
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dm2081
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Post by dm2081 on Nov 19, 2014 0:16:40 GMT -5
^Well I agree with you there. There are plenty of smaller bands and artists who I always feel would sell really well if they ever got the chance at radio. Unfortunately, radio does kind of dictate what gets played, and we all know that labels with money ultimately are the one's getting their songs played.
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someguy
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Post by someguy on Nov 22, 2014 19:47:45 GMT -5
I debated whether to post this here or in the news thread, but I thought that it fit in better here. Trisha Yearwood had some interesting thoughts on the state of country music, and recording music you love vs. trying to get a hit, in a recent Rolling Stone article.
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jesster
Charting
Joined: July 2010
Posts: 346
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Post by jesster on Nov 23, 2014 13:05:48 GMT -5
If the playing field were equal for men and women, that might be true. But I think we need to deduct at least 5-10 years from the age range at which it gets tough on radio for female artists vs. the guys, all other factors assumed equal.
How many females successful in their 20s and early 30s continue to do as well after 35 and can sustain it into their 40s? Not many. (Out of the small group of female acts who hit big success in the first place, of course.)
I would not be shocked if even Carrie and Miranda as the big female names of the moment, see a lot of slow down in a few years. (Both around 31 now.)
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Post by McCreerian (Harris 2024!) on Nov 25, 2014 20:54:05 GMT -5
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Deleted
Joined: January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Nov 26, 2014 5:06:06 GMT -5
I found this to be pretty embarrassing. I completely agree that there are too many drinking songs on the radio today, but the reporter in this video came across like a complete dork. Half the stuff his little kids were saying was staged--it was painfully obvious. Steve also isn't doing that good of a parenting job if he lets the songs on the radio go through one ear and out the other. He said he listened to the country countdowns with his two young sons every week and yet the 6 and 4-year-olds were the ones to pick up on the lyrics and he never did? And it was a joke the way that he went after Kix Brooks like that. I'm sure not defending Kix and his weak defenses, but at the same time, this was a perfect example of what the media does--they get an interview with someone and then cut out one little soundbyte that they want to use for the story. Kix obviously spoke for more than 10 seconds but naturally CBS used the 10 seconds where he was mumbling and struggling to come up with an answer to Steve's question. I also have to point out that Kix's employer (Cumulus) is a rival of CBS', so I think there was a lot more going on here politically than just reporter Steve being flabbergasted that his kids were 'soaking up' all the drinking songs on country radio. Anyway, with that said, country radio definitely needs more quality songs, but that doesn't mean it needs to be kid-friendly. Simply put, parents should do a better job at raising their kids rather than blaming Kix Brooks for the songs they're hearing.
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sbp17
8x Platinum Member
Joined: July 2005
Posts: 8,485
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Post by sbp17 on Nov 26, 2014 6:27:55 GMT -5
This isn't a response to the most immediate couple of posts behind mine but more to the general theme of posts before that and the thread in general. I do not like the sound of the majority of successful country music today but I'm not sure I'm ready to concede to the apparent notion that traditional country music is dying. I, of course, became a diehard fan of country with Reba. Though certainly not as prevalent as it is now, there were newsgroups and such where you could hear opinions on country music and there was some feedback that she was too middle-of-the-road and not traditional enough. People would cite Patty Loveless and Mary Chapin Carpenter as what country music should be like. Move forward to Shania Twain and that same discussion continued...her crossover success was having a bad impact on country music was a common response from traditionalists. So this isn't the first time in country music where artists tried to also appeal to listeners beyond their core genre. I like Shania's music now but at the time, I dismissed it as pop fluff myself....mediocre lyrics to an infectious pop melody. Though I now prefer Shania's songs to FGL or Luke Bryan, I think their music is closer to what I consider "country" than many of Shania's country hits.
I say all that to note that I don't like the general sound and limited stories. I don't like some of the sexist imagery or the very limited female presence/airplay. But I'm hopeful that this is just a trend and the pendulum will again swing as it has done countless times before.
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Deleted
Joined: January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Jan 26, 2015 11:30:18 GMT -5
So I'm currently watching Trace Adkins new live DVD and there is a certain new song on here called "Heartbreak Song" which, yep you got it, calls out the bros. Some might say he is a little late to the party with this but I think it still fits and I quite like it. He's got other new songs on here and even stated that he would have a new album in a couple of months. Anyway here is a link to the song: m.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0scN11AE_I...and here are the lyrics: Drivin' down a goodbye road, scanning through the radio, cause misery is company and here I am alone, dying for some steel guitar and to hear somebody fallin' apart to share my pain, but it sounds the same on every station in this car Chorus: Nobody singing about a love gone wrong or being as lonely as the night is long, I like a party and truck every bit as much as the next guy but come on, she's gone and sometimes you need a heartbreak song Some words to help me fight back tears, would sure be music to my ears, all this dancin' around with a tailgate down, it ain't what I need to hear Repeat chorus Yeah she looks so good in the bonfire light, ball cap and blue jeans on hot summer nights, these feel good songs don't feel right since she's gone Repeat chrous Yeah sometimes you need a heartbreak song Oh help me with a heartbreak song
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.indulgecountry
Diamond Member
Best Country Poster 2011, 2017, & 2018
"You left a mark on my face // And brought a dozen red flags in a vase"
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Post by .indulgecountry on Jan 26, 2015 15:42:17 GMT -5
Not a bad song (based on the live performance) and I appreciate the sentiment behind it, but it seems a touch ironic for Trace Adkins to call out the bro-country movement considering he was pretty much doing it before it became "cool." Looking back, "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk" seems like it was about 8 years ahead of its time, lol.
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Deleted
Joined: January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Jan 26, 2015 21:31:20 GMT -5
Very interesting story in Country Aircheck today, pondering whether the 18-34 demographic is already moving on from country. Such a young demographic always seemed like it would be very fickle and not very loyal, at least in my opinion. This might partially explain why many artists and labels are releasing decidedly non-bro songs now. :) Country radio's bread and butter has always been the 25-54 demo, especially women, and it's about time that they start catering to their core fans again, rather than trying to capitalize on the latest bro-country trends. The full story is in tonight's Aircheck Weekly, page 1, found at the link below: www.countryaircheck.com/pdfs/current012615.pdf
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Green Baron
Diamond Member
Banned
Why do I start what I can't finish?
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Post by Green Baron on Jan 26, 2015 21:34:37 GMT -5
Well, to me, bro-country is this genre's version of cock rock. It's a phase that will slowly dissipate away. Hinder, Saliva, Buckcherry, Saving Abel, even Theory of a Deadman are all struggling to get hits on Active now when they dominated in the past.
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