What's wrong with country?

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I had a listen to sweetheart of the rodeo by the Byrds the other day. It's supposed to be among the great country albums of all time but I just couldnt stand it. I appreciated the artistry but it just had a quality which set my teeth on edge. The main problem was that there was very little variation from on song to the next due to the fact that key centres and chords were almost identical. Another problem is those slide guitars. They remind me of nails on a chalkboard almost like dragging a fork across a tender wound.

Is there something intrinsically grating about country music? Are the slide guitars unbearable are the accents associated with the deep south and all its stereotypes or is the entire genre simply linked with an American subculture people love to mock?

What is it about country music that people hate? The following songs are still country but I think they're brilliant. The problem is that apparently country music doesn't observe the minor major duality when portraying sad vs happy. A song about grief will more often than not be in a major key. The emotion has to be conveyed through phrasing rhythm inflection and delivery. The Blues is quite similar in that respect.



[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_c1A8tmHuI[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V41gDDWEPso[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4c7wIeWrjUU[/youtube]

The music or my wording? If the latter apologies ive edited it a little. Im pretty sleep deprived and i'm fueled by coffee and mass amounts of refined sugar

Around here, country music is played virtually everywhere, and I've met a number of people who don't like it. Myself, I don't mind it as much as some other genres, though it does get old pretty quickly, and I can totally see why people wouldn't enjoy it.

I assumed that you lived in the south but then I saw your location and all I can see now is men and women in fur trapper hats parkas and snowshoes doing the hoedown in the Canadian winter.

Generally speaking, I've always really liked country music. That's largely due to the fact that it reminds me of my grampa, but also there are certain artists (such as Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson) that I just like the sound of. Of course, I wouldn't consider myself to be a hardcore country music fan like some of the people I know.

I like Johnny Cash, but I don't know much about Willie Nelson.

The problem with counter is the same problem with classical music. The only truly good QUALITY country music that genuinely stuck to its roots died out sometime between 1984 and 1989 (as did a lot of good commercial music genres, but not going there). The problem is, like classical music, is it cannot remain what it is and be forward looking as a genre. There are a few current, relevant gems (my fav: "You should have seen it in color"). But nothing like "The Gambler," or "Song of the South," or anything Patsy Cline, etc. Country really died a slow death back in the 1980s, and Garth Brooks to me was the final nail in the coffin. Trying to reconcile Shania Twain or even Taylor Swift (who I actually like) with real country music just gets absurd, in my opinion.

Granted, I like Swift--but she ain't country.

Keith Urban and Brad Paisley aren't bad, however.

I think perhaps the last American folk music related to country that is still the real deal would have to be bluegrass. But, again, if it moves forward as a genre it won't be what it is anymore. As to "country" music I found both progressive AND consistently country, I'd have to say it's all about "outlaw country" sub genre.

Question: What do you get when you cross country and rap?
Answer: Crap.

Or a tractor with gold rims and gangsta lean

Or a typical northern Albertan. Rap is just as popular as country here, and many people who listen to one genre listen to the other as well!

There's nothing objectively wrong with country, but when you listen to it your whole childhood like I did, it can get boring. I still listen to it here and there, but it seems like the genre has nothing new to offer anymore besides pop-metal like old Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood. I've heard some artists experiment with new subject matter in the lyrics, but it's always awkwardly done or simply unfitting for the genre. I don't want to hear a country song about chemotherapy or Facebook friends, it just doesn't work.

I think some of the problems I have with country lies in the fact that the genre is hardly flexible in its sound, usually discuss the same things, and it is unfairly paired up with those who live in the country or in more rural places. But my problem with it is that it feels like country hardly ever expands its sound and when they do, purists will go hella nuts. I get country music mostly deals with matters of the heart, but it would be nice to hear country break out of character every once in a while and not just in a humorous way.