Discussion of how Country developed its bad reputation...

Feb 25 03:13 UTC 1994

This item is for discussion of how Country Music got such a bed reputation.
My personal opinion is that it is all becuase of Billy Ray Cyrus' "Achy
Breaky Heart," the most annoying song this side of the universe.  By the
way, I listen to Clint Black, Alan Jackson, Brother Phelps, & The Pirates
of the Mississippi as my country selection.

response 2 of 25:

Feb 25 19:25 UTC 1994

Don't sing that song,
that achey breaky song,
it is too damn anoy- ing...

(Oops.)  But that's what I think of Achy Breaky by Billy Ray Butthead.

response 4 of 25:

Feb 26 15:08 UTC 1994

I've never knowingly heard this achy-breaky song.

The typology of Appalachian/Bluegrass type music as it was explained to
me years ago is as follows (by Sharon McInturff, co-founder of Elderly
Instruments in Lansing):

     1.  Traditional style stuff done on traditional instruments (banjo,
         fiddle, acoustic guitar, etc.) is called "Bluegrass" or "Old
         Timey".  (Yes, there is a category of music called "Old Timey"
         which is not at all nostalgic; it is a particular style.)  These
         things appeal mostly to elderly Appalachian men and upper-middle-
         class well-educated bluegrass aficianados.

     2.  Untraditional (but related) stuff done on traditional instruments
         is "Newgrass".  (E.g. "The Newgrass Revival" and other bands.)
         It's sort of a hippie thing.

     3.  Traditional style stuff done on non-traditional instruments (e.g.,
         electric guitars) is "modern country music."  Popular all over the
         South and parts of the West, especially among blue-collar whites.

I don't have a great command of the music terminology, but "traditional
style stuff" refers to a whole constellation of (I assume) things like
chord progressions, key changes, tune structures, etc.  Listening to
newgrass, Sharon (trying to make this clear to me) would say: "Did you
hear that?  That wasn't a traditional bluegrass riff, it was more of a
jazz feature."

Despite their similarities, my attitudes about these three categories
differ radically.  Numbers one and two generate a lot of very good,
listenable stuff; the third category (also the most commercial) sounds
mostly like crap to me.  Probably there's some element of elitism there. 
But there is also the feeling that playing this kind of music on electric
guitars is like trying to eat a turkey dinner with an electrically powered
fork.

response 6 of 25:

Mar 4 17:25 UTC 1994

I said bad "rep," not "rap."  Not that scary.  In fact it is mostly
true.  The lines in country rhyme, just like in rap.  So I guess
it is just the difference in instruments.  I still think Billy
should be shot for making such an annoying song.  And I'm mostly
pacifistic right now!

response 8 of 25:

Mar 6 13:08 UTC 1994

It's okay.  But the bad rep causes the bad rep.

response 10 of 25:

Mar 6 18:44 UTC 1994

Sorry, Carson, KLF isn't rap. :)  That's what I like about it...
...or is it?
Actually, it's sorta rap/dance/techno/country/pop.

response 12 of 25:

Mar 7 21:59 UTC 1994

I *am* on the KLF mailing list, or at least I mailed in my subscribe...
never got anything though.

response 14 of 25:

Mar 8 00:53 UTC 1994

once again,
<this is why carson is on the KLF mailing-list and bdp isn't>

 :) :) :)

response 16 of 25:

Jun 5 06:24 UTC 1994

I bought a Dwight Yoakum CD today.  Forgive me.

response 18 of 25:

Feb 17 21:58 UTC 1995

I like Johnny Cash, Anne Murray and Garth Brooks, myself. 
The one thing that i've noticed is that a lot of the country that's on the
radio and TV lately is so damn DEPRESSING!

response 20 of 25:

Jun 16 04:35 UTC 1995

OK, I'm putting "Punk Rockin' Honky Tonk Girl" on the CD player
now.

response 22 of 25:

Jun 17 21:17 UTC 1996

There's an "alternative country" item rattling around in my head, it might pop 
out some day.   
(Anybody got that Wooden Leg CD?)

response 24 of 25:

Jul 30 18:23 UTC 1996

Wooden Leg is one of the two descendants from the split of Blood Oranges;
solo performer Cheri Knight is the other.  Blood Oranges was one of 
the earliest "alternative country" bands; Uncle Tupelo is usually considered
the fountain of the whole genre.
 
(A schoolkids clerk told me he didn't care much for the Wooden Leg CD, so I 
got the new Go to Blazes CD instead.  There are one or two tracks which 
have too much screaming in them for my tastes, but the rest of the CD is 
pretty good.)