Country Music

The 52nd annual Grammy Awards show is tonight, and seeing the advertisements got me thinking about country music and how it has changed over the years. Old country artists used to be men with banjos or guitars singing about their lives. These days, you can find country artists in fashionable clothes, cowboy hats, and expensive cars. They have become superstars in the entertainment world. While this a good thing in some sense, I feel that most artists are getting away from the ideals that country music was founded upon, and they are losing the traditions that made this genre great.

I've been a fan of country music for most of my life, but it seems that this genre has been changing over the years. I love country music because it is soothing and relaxing. The slow beats and low Southern accents always put me in a good mood. Most of the great country songs have an emotional side to them; you can tell that the artist is singing "through the heart" about something he/she cares about. As Dr. Hoefer described, country music should be about a man in a bar with a shotgun, whiskey, and a problem to solve. I agree that country music should be either about a problem, a woman, or just loving life and being grateful. However, country music seems to be moving away from these traditions in recent years. It is becoming much more contemporary and upbeat.

There are many categories of country music. The song "The Good Stuff" is a perfect example of country at its best. It's about a man who has a fight with his newly-wed wife and escapes to a bar. There, he meets the bartender and is reminded of all the good things he has in his life. He has a problem and solves it not over a glass of whiskey, but a glass of milk. Other songs, such as "Big Green Tractor" and "Alright" are simply about loving life and living slowly the Southern way. Songs like "All I Ask For Anymore" and "Lucky Man" are about being grateful for what you have and thanking God everyday. Loving women and having problems with women are also major topics in country music like in the songs "Love Like Crazy" and "Then". These songs are easy to enjoy because they are about emotional topics that the average person can relate to.

However, it seems that country music is becoming more of an entertainment business as of late. Newer songs such as "Last Name", "Online", and "Welcome to the Future" are louder and not as heartfelt as the past. It's sad to see that the focus of country is changing to more contemporary themes. Some songs like "Sweet Southern Comfort" and "Where I Come From" are good representations of the South. For example, Alan Jackson says the South is "cornbread and chicken, a lot of front porch sittin, and working hard to get to Heaven." Country used to be a distinctly Southern tradition, but it has been expanding to other regions recently.

So my question to you is do you feel that country music is still a distinctly Southern creation? Or has it changed over the years and what does it represent today? If you are not a fan of country music, why do you dislike it or what other forms of Southern music have you listened to?

Nicholas Keith