Country Music

JimDocker

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Yeah, bullshit.
Leadbelly. Country, rock, folk, blues or bluegrass?

Was Janis Joplin's biggest hit a rock song or a country song?

Kill Devil Hills. Folk, rock, hill-billy or country?

What people confuse with country is western. Western influenced stuff is often labelled country in a pop context. And it's that honky tonk esque Merle Haggard stuff that is pretty obnoxious. The crap southern accent and pedal steel guitar.

But if you go past that, there are some really awesome alt-country bands that have more in common with fundamental country and cross over into other genres. Like Crooked Fingers and Wilco crossing over into folk, and into laid back indie-rock. Just listen to California Stars and see how many genres are at play.

And then you have like Ryan Adams and Whiskeytown and Conor Oberst angling the indie-pop fan girls.

And then you get the more pure alt-country artists like Gillian Welch (absolutely beautiful music) Allison Moorer, Sarah Storer types that tend to angle the fundamentals of country. More country than what wouldn't now be called alt-country if you understand. More inclined to use violins and other instruments that aren't batshit annoying... and sing in a pure voice.

Hope this helps.


I think you are a bit harsh on Merle Haggard. He is not one of my favourites but he has plenty of credibility and you make him sound like an early version of Billy Ray Cyrus !!!!

I agree with your love of Gillian Welch, she is amazing.

I grew up listening to Tom T Hall. He was my Dad's favourite singer and remains one of mine. His songwriting is brilliant. The son of a preacher, he has a great social conscience and it shows in his writing and singing. He loves small town America and it's people but rails against small minded people.A tribute album of his work came out a few years back and Whiskeytown, Johnny Cash, Victoria Williams, Iris DeMent and Calexico were only some of the artists to appear on there. Gram Parsons And Jeannie C Riley also covered his songs.

If you live in Perth which I think you do, get along to The Norfolk Basement on August 7 to see local girl Natalie D Napoleon who has just returned from the US where she has recorded a new album of alt country. She is fabulous. (Disclaimer - she is my cousin, but I would not recommend her if she wasn't as good as she is!)

I love Country - the trouble with is all people know is Nashville Country which is crap. Don't start with Travis Tritt or Faith Hill its all crap
The Alt Country scene is a gift that just keeps giving. Ryan Adams in Whiskeytown and his solo career, Gillian Welch, Emmylou, Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle - even the hard core Bluegrass and Western Swing artists are all great.

Doc Watson, bluegrass guitarist is amazing. His son Merle was a great banjo player too before he died.

Dolly has written some incredible songs in her life and her Bluegrass album - the Grass is Blue is magnificent

Totally agree with that.

Also the old timers like Merle Haggard, Cash, Porter Waggoner, and George Jones are fantastic. They retained emotional integrity and honesty in their music when they became iconically famous - which is something that Rock artists often fail to do

Amen to that.

Hank Williams was the first punk. Glen Campbell wrote some of the greatest popular music every written in the West particulalry Wichita Lineman

Even Tammy and Charlie Rich


Glenn Campbell did some wonderful stuff but he can't lay claim for writing Wichita Lineman - that was Jimmy Webb. He also penned Galveston and By The Time I Get to Phoenix which Campbell had massive hits with. Jimmy Webb also wrote Macarhur Park (Someone left the cake out in the rain).
Sinead O'Connor did a great version of Wichita Lineman.


I have 2 kids live in Wichita. Great song !
 
The Alt Country scene is a gift that just keeps giving. Ryan Adams in Whiskeytown and his solo career, Gillian Welch, Emmylou, Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle - even the hard core Bluegrass and Western Swing artists are all great.
His son is playing Thornbury Theatre soon with support from Wagons. Should be an awesome night.
 

Chops_a_must

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I think you are a bit harsh on Merle Haggard. He is not one of my favourites but he has plenty of credibility and you make him sound like an early version of Billy Ray Cyrus !!!!

I'm not saying I don't like him. 'Are the Good Times Really Over' is one of my favourite country songs. But when people don't like "Country", it's this sort of stuff that they don't like.

If you live in Perth which I think you do, get along to The Norfolk Basement on August 7 to see local girl Natalie D Napoleon who has just returned from the US where she has recorded a new album of alt country. She is fabulous. (Disclaimer - she is my cousin, but I would not recommend her if she wasn't as good as she is!)

I might be elsewhere at that time, but otherwise I will probably be there. The Dad might be interested as well.
 

SunKing

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Jimmy Webb also wrote Macarhur Park (Someone left the cake out in the rain).

Sinead O'Connor did a great version of Wichita Lineman.

Also Up Up & Away for The Fifth Dimension. Very versatile song writer.

And while I like Sinead I can't imagine anyone else but Glenn doing that amazing song justice.
 

AndSmithMustScore

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Good get.

Most of this thread seems to be about the "my wife too the cat and ran off with my best friend and my favourite shoes" traditional kinda county.

Country Rock(or Southern Rock) can also be added to the mix.

The Doobie Brothers
CCR
Lynard Skynard
Neil Young
The Eagles
 

pacemaker

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Chelsea Basham, up and coming WA country singing girl. Felt I would give her a plug on bigfooty not that anyone would care on BF but her name is out there now. Keep up the good work WA singers

[YOUTUBE]NyPpMz01ego[/YOUTUBE]
 

pacemaker

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Great to see my revival of Australian Country music is going well :D

Tonight Pacemaker's Australian Country Clip comes form Lee Kernaghan - Australian Boy.

[YOUTUBE]PZ2susSv21g[/YOUTUBE]
 

kwame

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kwame

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love kenny rogers

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kwame

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JimDocker

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http://themusic.com.au/news/all/2012/05/30/vale-doc-watson/

Pioneering roots singer-songwriter Doc Watson has passed away at the age of 89.
Arthel Lane Watson, who was blinded by an eye infection before his second birthday, is one of the most influential acoustic guitarists to have ever played the instrument; his approach to flatpicking replicated by thousands of guitarists the world over throughout the years. After growing up playing the harmonica, Watson received his first stringed instrument – a banjo – made by his father, who used the skin of his family’s deceased cat to make the head of the instrument.

Anybody that has not heard him play, do yourself a favour...
 

Contra Mundum

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Re: County Music



Yes you did. I like Country music and will defend it against ill informed comment.
Like most every musical genre in history those that are limited in their listening should not comment on what they do not know about. I have very limited listening to Rap/Hip Hop so would not even consider making a similar comment as your original post.

Lets take this part. "Lack of overall variety." We have had Dolly Parton mentioned so will use her in comparison with others within the County genre. Take her, Flat & Scuggs, Steve Earl, Neil Young just as the first examples that come to my mind and they have all produced Country and Country influenced music that is so far apart from each other as to be more eclectic in style and delivery that I would suggest that Led Zep and Kiss sound more alike. I defy anyone to claim that those named artists are the same. Taking the sub genre Country Rock alone there is Lamchop, The Eagles and Lucinda Williams for example who when compared to each other are chalk and cheese. Lacking in variety? No way.

As to Country music being the confines of the rural area's there is certainly truth that as a genre it's roots are in British and Irish folk music that was taken to the USA via many migrants where it transformed itself into many of the sub genres that we see today but like all music it moves to other areas when interest grows. The population of Nashville the home of Country Music is 1.5 million. Not exactly a country town. There has been a burgeoning Country scene in Brisbane that those that are in the know are aware of. On the matter of "lack of overall variety" I would defy you or anyone else to say that Brisbane Country bands Texas Tea, a dark goth style country, are in anyway shape or form anything like The Wilson Pickers who are very Bluegrass in style.

Country music is a wonderful and diverse musical genre and deserves more than ill informed comments by people who limit themselves to Rock and a few of it's sub genres.

People who don't like it are only aware of the awful Nashville based s**t that is pumped into the mainstream. There are some unbelievable Alt Country artists out there - and the Superstars of County like Cash, Parton, Glen Campbell, Hank Williams (and Hank Williams III), Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson somehow retain (or retained) credibility even when they are HUGE
 
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