# OK - What is country to you?



## b-nads (Apr 9, 2010)

I would love to hear some answers to this, as I'm starting a new band which is very much Country/Blues/Southern Rock. 

A lot of people seem to equate new country with 70's Rock or Southern Rock. When I think 70's Rock, I think The Band. I'm sorry - nothing I hear on 96.5 sounds like "Up On Cripple Creek". There are some stabs at Skynard and Allman's, but it doesn't carry like they did. I hear a lot of synth drum/bass beats and a whole lot of vocal effects. The men seem to be much better dancers - Luke Brian can definitely wiggle his ass better than Waylon did, but he sounds like Kermit the Frog singing to a Mini Pops soundtrack of a Hanna Montana show to me. It is NOT as smooth as Tennessee Whiskey. It ain't Merle and Willie riding horses to Pancho and Lefty, and it sure as hell ain't getting one finger at a time for a bottle of Mogan David.

What is country to you?


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## fredyfreeloader (Dec 11, 2010)

Now that is a question that even an old fart like might have trouble answering (now lets get this straight just because I said old fart doesn't mean I smells bad) it's just a saying. Now that that's out of the way back to country. Waylon wailed real good, Johnny sang real deep,Willie was just Willie still is. Ferlin "Husky" was a country singer not a dog, Hank the signing Ranger never rangered just sold millions of records not much has changed except that today the country singers have so damned much electronic equipment I don't know if they can sign or play. I bet this didn't help you one damn bit, oh well better luck on the next poster maybe they'll actually tell you something useful. I should'a stuck to stand up comedy no one knew what the hell was going on there either.


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## FrankyNoTone (Feb 27, 2012)

There are shades of grey here of course, but pure country is a dead dog, a truck that doesn't start and a wife that left you because of your drinking.


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## Clean Channel (Apr 18, 2011)

Here's a good buddy of mine who's a pretty serious country player: www.nicholrobertson.com

Definitely not 'new country', but lots of his own new material.

Here's a quick review: http://www.examiner.com/article/cameron-house-records-releases-nichol-robertson-s-debut-album

He's playing tonight at the Cameron House (last night of an August residency), so folks in Toronto who enjoy country music should check it out!


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

I think there's still lots of good country music being written and produced, but you have to dig to find it.

The stuff on the radio for the most part leaves me cold. I prefer mountain music and bluegrass to most commercial country.


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## kat_ (Jan 11, 2007)

I just recently started listening to Holly Williams and you would never hear her on the country station here because she is too country. 
There has always been a pop side to country, but it does seem to be overpowering the rest of country right now.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Honestly, these days it would seem to be anything you want, as long as you wear a cowboy hat. I was channel hopping the other day, and CMT was showing a rap video. It was undifferentiable in style from what one might see or hear on Muchmusic, except that the girls shaking it were wearing Daisy Dukes instead of spandex, and the rapper was wearing a cowboy hat.

There is a long-time association between "country" and "traditionalist". You didn't HAVE to stick to Carter Family or Hank Williams, but there was an expectation of at least some sort of veiled reference to folks who came before you. That could be as little as a pedal steel, fiddle, or mandolin shoved in the mix, or a vocal inflection reminiscent of one of the classics, or a lyric. But now it can be _anything_, as long as you wear a badge that says "I align with country". And the badge is a hat. I'm waiting for the Skrillex or Tiesto "country album", deadmaus in a cowboy hat and square-dance shirt.


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

Country is where it's too far to walk or bicycle to the store for bread and milk. A little closer where you could use the bicycle is the suburbs and when you can walk to the store, you're definitely out of the country and in the city.


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## Intrepid (Oct 9, 2008)

Check my avatar. Country is Hank.


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## jimihendrix (Jun 27, 2009)

When I think of country music...


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## Intrepid (Oct 9, 2008)

Very traditional. I think Tammy Wynette wore something similar back in the day.


jimihendrix said:


> When I think of country music...


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Need some hand cream?

Not country by my definition. Closer to soft porn.

Not hard to look at though.


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## fretboard (May 31, 2006)

If my dad listened to it - it's country...


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## 4345567 (Jun 26, 2008)

__________


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## Woof (Jan 13, 2010)

I'm pretty sure if you ask ten people, you will get a dozen answers...

To me, it's all over the place these days. It seems to me that there is always "new" country that is not considered real country and then a new "traditionalist" - is that an oxymoron? - comes along and maybe the world isn't going to hell in a hand-basket after all...

I like some of the new country folk but certainly many of them do not play what I think of as country music. There are some fine pickers in country music these days though


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## deadear (Nov 24, 2011)

Wife is cheatin, dog died, got fired from job and of coarse kicked the tar out of the boss on the way out the door. Tele guitar and some fiddle now and again.


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## marcos (Jan 13, 2009)

I cant say I like the ¨new country¨that much as it sounds all the same, pretty bland and way too much studio harmonising going on. Come to think about it, much of all the music today is about the same. Once in a while there is a new artist that has that sound and feel that sets themselves apart.
I liked the 90's stuff, Dwyght, Allan Jackson,Vince Gill,Garth Brooks, Marty Stewart , and the rest of the gang. For me it was new and it was a lot of fun to play. They also where good entertainers, and they also had a few good pickers in the band most of the time.
I do like Merle and Willie and Waylon and the rest of the bunch as they broke the ice and made it possible for most new artists to sell there music.
But if you are gonna start a band, i guess you got to give them what sells.


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## mrmatt1972 (Apr 3, 2008)

Most of the pop in cowboy hats I hear on the radio is not country. People pretty much nailed the traditional C&W stuff, but as far as modern writers go, I think 3 chords, real life stories and alternating bass go pretty far. Honest and simple instrumentation help too. Check out Mike Lynch. He's Country fo' sho'. Writing the bulk of your own material is part of it for me as well.


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