# Country Music



## BigDog (Sep 9, 2008)

I have come to find that for country music, people either love it or hate it. Which are you, and why? Why answers ought to include more then the stunning good looks of various artists; I can't imagine anyone likes a style of music simply because one (or more) of the artists of that genre are hot (though I can see that as being part!).

Me? I love country music. Why? Aside from the fabulously gorgeous women involved, Trace Adkins about sums it up for me in one of his recent hits.



> *originally sung by Trace Adkins​
> 
> (Cuz they're) songs about me and who I am!
> 
> ...


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## Uncle Bob (Sep 9, 2008)

Grew up with it, around it, and loved playing it. Today, for me, it has morphed into something I mostly tolerate. I still respect the talent of some of the "stars", but not all!


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## urmaniac13 (Sep 9, 2008)

Well, I wouldn't mention C&W as one of my favourite categories of music, but I wouldn't say I absolutely hate it, either.  There are indeed some individual songs I find rather nice.  This is my stance with most of the genre that I don't listen to regularly. I don't shun any style of music just because it is country, metal, jazz, bubblegum pop or whatever.


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## The Z (Sep 9, 2008)

Of the three choices, I had to go with 'Love It'.  To me, Country Music has many layers and styles.  I grew up listening to traditional country and western music because that's what my parents listened to, and I grew to hate the twang and the plodding, often depressing lyrics.  Over time, country music has changed.  I credit (others may 'blame') Garth Brooks for this in the 1990s.  Today's country has some elements of traditional country, but it is really wide open.  Some I hate, which helps me understand why many CAN hate country music with a broad stroke... but there is a lot that I really enjoy, and I like discovering all the sub-genre stuff like in the alternative country areas.  A lot of the mainstream country music today is BARELY country so, for that reason, I don't fully understand how someone could say they hate it all.  I think that's pretty closed-minded.


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## jabbur (Sep 9, 2008)

I think for me it liking it has to do with the singability of most of the songs and you can generally understand the words without looking at a lyric sheet!  Also they tend to be less profane than some of the pop stars today.  I also have to admit that I enjoy a wide range of music and country is only a portion of what I listen to on a daily basis.  There's also contemporary Christian, Classical, oldies, folk, Big Band.  About the only thing I really shun is rap though some of it has a good beat, I don't like the gansta attitude.  Dealt with it too much in the high school!


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## buckytom (Sep 9, 2008)

i'm somewhere between tolerating it and hating it. 
i don't have an ol' dog, and my wife hasn't run away (yet ). i do have a truck, but it starts every time and runs well. 

so country music ain't much about me.


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## Robo410 (Sep 9, 2008)

not my cup of tea at all, but there are probably a few songs that classify as country that I find perfectly listenable.  

I'm a classical music guy, who grew up with Beethoven and the Beatles.


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## In the Kitchen (Sep 9, 2008)

Country Music really isn't just lot of crazy sounds and words.  Being in love with Bee Gees,(not country,) Chuck Berry, Elvis, Tina, Cher, Country Music has surely come to the top of my list recently.  Who can deny Toby Keith, Willie Nelson, Trace Atkins, etc could go on and on but their music actually tells some kind of story.  Similar to incidents that happen in my life.  i do not like repetitive words in song, especially over and over and over.  Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, love them all.  

Whenever I am driving in traffic, with all the cell phones, speeders, finger messages, I just turn the radio a little higher and block them all out.  Isn't until I stop that someone next to me turns their speakers higher to let me know what they like.  Free country!  I at least can show my preference. Oh, I work out to country music too.  

Thanks for asking.  Music becoming more a part of my life than before if possible.


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## sattie (Sep 9, 2008)

Occasionally a CM song will come by that I like or can tolerate, more often than not, I can't stand it.  

However.....

I do like older country music like Don Williams, Anne Murray, Loretta Lynn... stuff my mom and dad made me listen to as a kid.


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## pacanis (Sep 9, 2008)

Hmmm, country music....
There was a stretch in the nineties when that's all I listened to. I think because I used to drive a lot and it helped keep me alert because you could actually understand the words. Excuse my spelling, but Travis Tritt, Marty Stuart, Linda Lovelace, Lori Morgan, Dwight Yoakum... and groups like Diamond Rio, Pirates of the Mississippi, Kentucky Headhunters (you might like those last two BT ).... I liked everything that came out in the nineties. And of course George Straight. 

I don't listen to much music anymore, but wouldn't care if country was being played, even though it's gone through another change.


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## ChefJune (Sep 9, 2008)

There were no qualified choices, so I had to go with Hate It.  In general, I don't care for the twang, many of the lyrics, most of the performers.

OTOH, I love Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Patsy Cline, KD Lang, some of the Dixie Chicks (that's "modern country" right?) but mostly, no.  not my favorite genre of music at all.

I prefer Jazz, R&B, Classical, Cabaret, Show Tunes, even Marching Band music....  just my taste.


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## Uncle Bob (Sep 9, 2008)

Old dogs, and children.....and watermelon wine!


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## suziquzie (Sep 9, 2008)

Love it Love it!

I was a big fan on silly long-haired rocker bands in the eighties and early 90's...
Once they went away and grunge (or whatever else is around now) showed up, I had nowhere else to go but country. 

I do listen to alot of everything else to..... just not rap, or scary guys with white face paint that scream alot....


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## B'sgirl (Sep 9, 2008)

Actually, the poll needed another option--like it. I don't hate it or love it, but it's alright. "Tolerate" means you would never choose to listen to it. But I sometimes do choose to listen to it. I just don't have it pre-set on my radio. I loooove jazz fusion.


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## QSis (Sep 9, 2008)

I have grown to love the current "mainstream" country music. "Country pop", if you will.

About 8 years ago, a loved one asked me to give the country radio station a chance, and I was reluctant, thinking about the twang in voice and music of earlier people like Patsy Cline and Tammy Wynette. But when I started listening, I realized that today's country music, lyrics and voices, are (for the most part) what I like! And what I sing along with!

Country music has many generations and styles - it's funny that some of you who say you don't like country except for "so and so", named people I can't stand to listen to, yet I say I love country!

Beats most of the current alternatives, and I get tired of listening to "oldies".

Lee


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## qmax (Sep 9, 2008)

I like some of the old classic stuff, Chet Atkins, Patsy Cline, et al.  Not that I go out of my way to listen to it.

The current version of country pop does nothing for me.  But then contemporary pop does nothing for me either.

No hate, just indifference.


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## GrillingFool (Sep 9, 2008)

Quite a bit of country is going mainstream now. If you listen to the general "pop" music, you have heard Rascal Flatts, Taylor Swift, Keith Urban and quite a few others too.

I am a country fan, along with Southern Rock, quite a bit of R&B, pop, classics; quite
an eclectic mix!


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## Anau (Sep 9, 2008)

I love country music. Although I hate what it's become...there's too much pop mixed in nowadays. Which is ironic because I went to country after all the pop radio stations went to hip-hop/rap/R&B. I mostly listen to the musicians I heard growing up like Alan Jackson, Mark Chesnutt and Tracy Byrd. I also like the Dixie Chicks. And bluegrass. I actually play a little banjo and guitar.


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## BigDog (Sep 9, 2008)

Wow. This has been an interesting read. It always seems to me with people I talk to it's a love it or hate it relationship, which is why I asked here. You're disproving my hypothesis! LOL.

Country has gone through some major changes over the years. I'm not overly into the real old stuff (I started listening in the 80s as a kid) but the sound of Reba, Kenny Rogers, Dolly, Tanya Tucker, Lori Morgan, and the groups mentioned like Diamond Rio, Oak Ridge Boys (not previously mentioned), and others is far different from the sound of today from Keith Urban, Brad Paisley, Trace Adkins, Josh Turner, Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, and the groups Brooks and Dunn, Little Big Town, Sugarland, and Rascal Flatts.

Pretty much if it came from the 80s on, with a bit from the late 70s, I love it. Though mentioning Kenny Rogers, I prefer his earlier stuff to his newer stuff. Particularly the look; I think if he went on stage under bright lights, he might melt from how much plastic he's had done. I think it's a shame because IMHO his career was built on his rugged, mountain man look.


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## BigDog (Sep 9, 2008)

Side note - Pop in country - Jewel, Jessica Simpson, Kid Rock, and Sheryl Crow all recent country converts?!?


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## DietitianInTraining (Sep 9, 2008)

I grew up listening to country music, along with rap/hip-hop, pop, and some rock. I am very open minded when it comes to music, I really love it all... but i'm a country girl at heart.  I agree, that it has changed some.. expecially the music videos. I love Toby Keith.... but i'm sick of seein barely dressed girls in his videos!! Now that i'm working all the time, I really don't see many of the videos anymore. 
Taylor Swift/Sugarland/Carrie Underwood/Craig Morgan/Dierks Bentley/Miranda Lambert/Kellie Pickler/Keith Urban/Kenny Chesney.... those are some of my favs. And yes, i'll say it... I even like Jessica Simpson,Jewel, and Kid Rocks new songs...

I don't understand how people can NOT like country music!...


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## elaine l (Sep 9, 2008)

It's the one genre that is noticeably missing from my music collection.  Hate it..no but just do not have a lot of interest in it.


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## JoeV (Sep 9, 2008)

B'sgirl said:


> Actually, the poll needed another option--like it. I don't hate it or love it, but it's alright. "Tolerate" means you would never choose to listen to it. But I sometimes do choose to listen to it. I just don't have it pre-set on my radio.



I agree completely, even though most of my listening time is spent with talk radio.



> I love Toby Keith.... but i'm sick of seein barely dressed girls in his videos!!



Sorry, Beginner_Chef, but even though my DW would agree with you, I will respectfully disagree. But that's to be expected us cave-dwelling males.


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## Adillo303 (Sep 9, 2008)

My music ia Country (Classic country that is son). 50's - 70's Rock & Roll and some Bluggrass and some Folk from the same era.

Music about life, with a good solid guitar and words that you cam understand.

Funny, I cook more down home and tex-mez than anything else.


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## GrantsKat (Sep 9, 2008)

Well...I like country music, its pretty much all I listen to these days, because quite honestly I have a problem with the "rap" of these days! I dont want to hear men disrespecting women with the ryhmes of today. Rap was not like this when I was a teen! I still like my 80's hair band music, also love to hear the "oldies" which I listened to with my Mom way back when...Eddie Arnold, Patsy Kline, The Glenn Miller Band, Kenny Rogers, Crystal Gayle, Smokey Robinson, Glenn Campbell, and the list goes on. Oh and my Dad with his Lemon Sisters, lol..
Ive also been known to rock out to some Metallica, Guns N Roses, Black Sabbath, & Iron Maiden as well as other metal bands...just depends on what mood Im in!
But back to the original question....I like country!


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## jkath (Sep 9, 2008)

suziquzie said:


> Love it Love it!
> I was a big fan on silly long-haired rocker bands in the eighties and early 90's...
> Once they went away and grunge (or whatever else is around now) showed up, I had nowhere else to go but country.
> I do listen to alot of everything else to..... just not rap, or scary guys with white face paint that scream alot....



are we twins separated at birth?

I love country music. It's real, about real things that most people have experienced before.
It's the only type of music (with lyrics) that I can turn on in the car without worrying about my kids.

It's the one current genre of music that talks about how a man really truly loves his wife, how a woman looks up to her man, how a man has so much respect for his father, how a kid loves his parents, how a family enjoys each other's company. It also talks about being humble, and thankful for what you have.

Read the lyrics to this one from Lonestar:
http://www.lyrics007.com/print.php?id=TXpFMk16ZzI

I like that!

I also like some of the lighter, sillier fare, like Brad Paisley. That boy can make me laugh with this one most of all:
YouTube - Brad Paisley - Online


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## suziquzie (Sep 9, 2008)

Brad Paisley is HILARIOUS!


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## jkath (Sep 9, 2008)

Forgot to add - my phone's ringtone: "I'm just sittin' around here, watching airplanes...."


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## GrantsKat (Sep 9, 2008)

suziquzie said:


> Brad Paisley is HILARIOUS!


 
"Im gonna miss her...hey lookie there I got a bite" lol


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## getoutamykitchen (Sep 9, 2008)

I was raised on it. My Dad was a cop in NJ and had a CW band on the side. Had alot of gigs in Newark. Had to fill in for Eddy Rabbit numerous times when he was too stoned to play. Glad he finally cleaned himself up, but I guess it was too little too late. RIP Eddy Rabbit.
I Adore Garth Brooks, George Strait, Clay Walker for the guys and like Trisha Yearwood and Reba MacIntire for the gals. Not too many bands I care for all seem a little to winny for my liking. For the old guys and gals I love Ray Price, Marty Robbins, Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, Lynn Anderson, Willie Nelson, etc...


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## love2"Q" (Sep 9, 2008)

just not my thing ...


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## texasgirl (Sep 9, 2008)

I tolerate it. I like Josh Turners sext sultry voice, I like Brad Paisley, Blake Shelton and Keith Urban. For the women, I like Sugarland, Gretchen Wilson and Martina Mcbride, that's about it. Now, if we're talking OLD country, like, Hank Sr, era, LOVE IT!!!
Other than that, I have to have a beat, either from the oldies but goodies or now days, I like the hip hop, some rap. I need a beat to get this body movin, lol


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## Barbara L (Sep 9, 2008)

jkath said:


> ...I love country music. It's real, about real things that most people have experienced before.
> It's the only type of music (with lyrics) that I can turn on in the car without worrying about my kids.
> 
> It's the one current genre of music that talks about how a man really truly loves his wife, how a woman looks up to her man, how a man has so much respect for his father, how a kid loves his parents, how a family enjoys each other's company. It also talks about being humble, and thankful for what you have.
> ...


You said exactly what I wanted to say.  I love it too.  I was raised on it, and I like both classic and contemporary country.  I also love bluegrass, but I would not want to listen to it exclusively.  I also love many songs from other genres, but if I had to listen to just one genre it would be country.  I don't like every country song ever made, but I doubt anyone can say they love every single song in their prefered genre.  

Barbara


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## Hungry (Sep 10, 2008)

To get the REAL Country Music, go to XMRadio.com and tune in to channel 10 or 13.
Then there is Bluegrass on channel 14.

Hungry


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## PattY1 (Sep 10, 2008)

buckytom said:


> i'm somewhere between tolerating it and hating it.
> i don't have an ol' dog, and my wife hasn't run away (yet ). i do have a truck, but it starts every time and runs well.
> 
> so country music ain't much about me.


 

That is what everyone who hates country music says. Have you ever listened to the lyrics to most rock songs? SSDC. And how about the Blues?


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## PattY1 (Sep 10, 2008)

jkath said:


> are we twins separated at birth?
> 
> I love country music. It's real, about real things that most people have experienced before.
> It's the only type of music (with lyrics) that I can turn on in the car without worrying about my kids.
> ...


 

I love that Lonestar song. Reading the lyrics gave me chills.


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## mikki (Sep 10, 2008)

I love country music, I grew up hating it. When I got married that's all hubby listened to and he taught me to two step, so now I love it. 
Yes some songs are about old trucks and spouses leaving, but there are a lot about kids growing up and getting marreid( Stealing Cinderella), Young love that survives (I'll Walk), I think most of all they are about true feelings that everyone has just most do not want to admit.


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## The Z (Sep 10, 2008)

jkath said:


> I also like some of the lighter, sillier fare, like Brad Paisley. That boy can make me laugh with this one most of all:
> YouTube - Brad Paisley - Online


As long as we're posting YouTube links, here is my current favorite that is near the top of the charts (get a little choked up every time)
YouTube - Crystal Shawanda - You Can Let Go


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## JohnL (Sep 10, 2008)

Yup,
I'm a country fan. Grew up with it as a child, worked around it as a teen. Then left it as a teen in the 70's for Zepplin, Stones, Aerosmith, ect....
Came back to it when rock turned into thrash metal and cookie monster lyrics.


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## suziquzie (Sep 10, 2008)

LOL cookie monster lyrics!!! 
I never could describe the sound of that just right, until now! 
It really does sound like CM, EXTREMELY po'd and out of cookies!


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## skilletlicker (Sep 10, 2008)

*Before Country was Cool*

I chose "Love Country" but I don't recognize most of the songs or most of the artists when I accidentally hear the local country radio station.
What I love is the music played on porches, in churches, jook joints or just around the old stills of Appalachia and the Mississippi Delta. The best of it came before the music bidness got its claws in and labeled it Hillbilly or Country or Race music. Examples are The Carter Family, Jimmy Rogers, Blind Lemon Jefferson and even Robert Johnson.  By the way, I'll bet nobody ever called AP Carter a hillbilly to his face.

I love Hank Williams Sr. He seemed to take off where Jimmy Rogers left off. Junior -- not so much.

Love the old acoustic Delta blues; Muddy Waters and even BB King, great as they are, don't have the same appeal.

Favorite "recent" "country" album is Iris Dement's 1993 Infamous Angel. I swear she's channeling both Sara and Maybelle Carter. Listen to _Our Town_, _Mama's Opry_ (with Emmy Lou Harris) or _Let the Mystery Be_.

A favorite song writer is Gillian Welch. _Red Clay Halo_ and _Tear My Stillhouse Down_ are great country songs. Some of her other stuff you'd swear couldn't be written by anybody not born in an Appalachian "holler".

Doc Watson is a national treasure; a human archive of Americana music.

Of course, I can't help but mention the rock star southern string band of the 20's, Gid Tanner and His Skillet Lickers.


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## The Z (Sep 10, 2008)

skilletlicker said:


> Favorite "recent" "country" album is Iris Dement's 1993 Infamous Angel. I swear she's channeling both Sara and Maybelle Carter. Listen to _Our Town_, _Mama's Opry_ (with Emmy Lou Harris) or _Let the Mystery Be_.
> 
> A favorite song writer is Gillian Welch. _Red Clay Halo_ and _Tear My Stillhouse Down_ are great country songs.


Good stuff here. Iris is something, all right... (Mama's Opry is also very well covered by new artist Sunny Sweeney in 2007).  Another female artist I like very much is Elizabeth Cook (similar sound to Dolly, with a number of really well written songs).

Let me also _*highly*_ recommend the debut album by Steve Earle's son Justin Townes Earle called "The Good Life".  I think you would really like it.

(edited to add: I just playing Sunny Sweeney's album for the first time in a little while and, based on your Appalachian _leanings_, I think you'd like this, too.)


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## pacanis (Sep 10, 2008)

The Z said:


> As long as we're posting YouTube links, here is my current favorite that is near the top of the charts (get a little choked up every time)
> YouTube - Crystal Shawanda - You Can Let Go


 
Wow..... Ditto, swelled right up and I knew it was coming.
Kind of parallels Tim McGraw's "Don't Take the Girl".


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## suziquzie (Sep 10, 2008)

oooooo.... 
Tim McGraw......
Yummy......


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## pacanis (Sep 10, 2008)

suziquzie said:


> oooooo....
> Tim McGraw......
> Yummy......


 
Yummy? He can cook?  What's his username here? 
I always kind of wondered how he snagged Faith..... but that could get waaaaaaaay off topic


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## suziquzie (Sep 10, 2008)

HE snagged her cuz he's HOT!!!
 
Not that you'd noticed of course. 

Garth Brooks is what started me on country.... I used to hate it. Until I heard friends in low places, and then thunder rolls....
Kenny Chesney was next..... when I found Tim I was HOOKED!!


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## GrantsKat (Sep 10, 2008)

suziquzie said:


> HE snagged her cuz he's HOT!!!
> 
> Not that you'd noticed of course.
> 
> ...


 

DITTO!! OK Im buying that house next door to you


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## suziquzie (Sep 10, 2008)

It's a steal I'm tellin ya!!!!!


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## buckytom (Sep 11, 2008)

PattY1 said:


> That is what everyone who hates country music says. Have you ever listened to the lyrics to most rock songs? SSDC. And how about the Blues?


 

don't take it personally patty. country is just not my preference, while i relax under the tarp of my double-wide. 

and yes, i often listen to (and then have to look up) lyrics. everything from "carmina burana" to "baby got back"... 

almost all of my sig lines are favored lyrics.

i _can_ appreciate som country music, however. the last time that i visited my bil in virginia, we went line dancing. it was fun. i even bought a pair of python boots and a stetson to get into the spirit. 

those boots and hat were a big waste of money until recently, when i have reason again on occasion to dress up like a cowboy.


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## pacanis (Sep 11, 2008)

You slapped leather with your BIL?


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## jabbur (Sep 11, 2008)

skilletlicker said:


> I chose "Love Country" but I don't recognize most of the songs or most of the artists when I accidentally hear the local country radio station.
> What I love is the music played on porches, in churches, jook joints or just around the old stills of Appalachia and the Mississippi Delta. The best of it came before the music bidness got its claws in and labeled it Hillbilly or Country or Race music. Examples are The Carter Family, Jimmy Rogers, Blind Lemon Jefferson and even Robert Johnson. By the way, I'll bet nobody ever called AP Carter a hillbilly to his face.
> 
> I love Hank Williams Sr. He seemed to take off where Jimmy Rogers left off. Junior -- not so much.
> ...


  Hey Skilletlicker, you might like the new band Old Crow Medicine Show.  They have that old time sound.  I love their music!  It sounds like the guys sitting around on the porch picking.


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## Elf (Sep 11, 2008)

I drifted to country because it is not loud and in our face, well most of time, I'll also listen to  jazz, blues and some classical. I use music for relaxation, so I can concentrate on what I am doing, I don't like any music that sets you on edge.


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## Chico Buller (Sep 11, 2008)

I like it quite a lot, and that's a new thing, probably over the last three or four years.

Talk about "songs about me," I find that Trace Adkins speaks to a group *I find myself in*.  Let me explain that, it is not a group I joined, it's more of a survivors' group formed by disenfranchisement.

I believe my initial recognition of this phenomenon centered around Toby Keith and unvarnished opinions.  An idea which I believe is simply baby-boomers growing older.  That's 78 million Americans who have either retired, or are about to retire.  A large demographic who are now taking stock of the lives they lived under a shared history.

When Trace Adkins barks, "No, I don't have a permit..." it doesn't actually refer to any one idea or activity.  To 'boomers, their lives and their actions were supposed to build a better society, not a more intrusive central government.

Popular music was the voice of 'boomers for decades.  It's now the stomping ground of Britney Spears and gansta rap, no longer a medium we recognize as our artistic vocalization.  Fueling it, is an uncertainty of just where the autumn of our lives will take us.

I find C/W music funny, irreverant, touching, spiritual, and a reassurance that many people view our country with a similar ideology.  That concept alone makes it a valuable genre' for me.


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## JohnL (Sep 11, 2008)

The Z said:


> Good stuff here. Iris is something, all right... (Mama's Opry is also very well covered by new artist Sunny Sweeney in 2007). Another female artist I like very much is Elizabeth Cook (similar sound to Dolly, with a number of really well written songs).
> 
> Let me also _*highly*_ recommend the debut album by Steve Earle's son Justin Townes Earle called "The Good Life". I think you would really like it.
> 
> (edited to add: I just playing Sunny Sweeney's album for the first time in a little while and, based on your Appalachian _leanings_, I think you'd like this, too.)


 
Wow,
Never knew Steve had a son in the buis. Will deffinately check him out.
Thanks,
John.


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## PattY1 (Sep 11, 2008)

buckytom said:


> don't take it personally patty. country is just not my preference, while i relax under the tarp of my double-wide.
> 
> and yes, i often listen to (and then have to look up) lyrics. everything from "carmina burana" to "baby got back"...
> 
> ...


 

Opions are like.....

To each his own. I like Rock, Country, Blues and a little Jazz. But my heart is in Southern Rock.

I am not so much into Country that I have ever line danced. I just listen to it sometimes. Depends on my mood what kind of music I listen to.


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## carolelaine (Sep 11, 2008)

DH is a camera man for grand ole opry live, so I watch alot of it.  I really like some of it, hate some of it and just don't care one way or another for the rest.  I let him think that I love it usually though.


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## luckytrim (Sep 13, 2008)

> Old dogs, and children.....and watermelon wine!


 
U GO, uncle bob! Tom T. Hall is a great story-teller!

I have an extensive collection of classic country music. (It's so large that I'm obligated to carry a rider on my home-owners insurance)

But for a few artists, my cut-off date came in the late seventies-early eighties when, as Uncle Bob said, the genre morphed into something else;
I refer to it as "City Country", or "Country Pop", and my mother calls todays country singers the "Hat of the Month Club".
I'll still buy Alan Jackson, Ricky Skaggs, Allison Kraus, George Strait and a few others........

My friends tend to refer to Classic country as "Hard Core" !


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## jkath (Sep 13, 2008)

What happens when Cookie Monster listens to too much thrash metal:


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## BigDog (Sep 13, 2008)

luckytrim said:


> . . . . . Allison Kraus . . . .



With all due respect to every female country artist that has been, is, or will be, this woman absolutely mesmerizes me. The amazing thing is I'm not overly into her music. She hooked me with "When you say nothing at all" but beyond that I didn't really listen to anything by her.

Until A Hundred Miles or More was released. To me, this is an amazing album which allows Allison to show off all of her talent. I realize this is more of a greatest hits, but man I love it. Her mastery of her voice allows her to sing a wide range of topical music, from love songs (When you say nothing at all) to break up songs (Whiskey Lullaby) and even being able to maintain a "cold" sound when singing Jacob's Dream. Even old spirituals like "Down to the River to Pray" are well within her realm.

I don't see the devil challenging her to a fiddle dual any more then the devil calling out Charlie Daniels again. Boy that would be a go, though, Charlie and Allison . . . . . . . WOW!


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## Alix (Sep 13, 2008)

OMG...BigDog Whiskey Lullaby gives me chills. She is fantastic, what pipes!


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## quicksilver (Sep 13, 2008)

Nope. I just can't do it. Don't have an old dog with fleas, don't drink beer, and don't have a hairy sister-inlaw!


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## Alix (Sep 14, 2008)

My DH works the news side of a country radio station and they often play the "traditional" type of country. 

I'm more a fan of Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley, Keith Urban etc. You get the idea.

Big Dog, I can add a poll choice if you want me to. PM me with what you want.


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## deelady (Sep 14, 2008)

I grew up with it always on so I do have a fondness for it but it is not something I turn to when I put the radio on. There are hundreds of country songs I love, and I have always liked country videos because they are more like mini movies but can't say I'm a country girl. My choice is Jazz.


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## Barbara L (Sep 14, 2008)

When my daughter Nancy was a teenager she said she hated Country music. When we went somewhere in the car, we had a deal. If she was keeping me company, we listened to her music (she liked things like New Kids on the Block, Boyz to Men, etc.). If I was driving her somewhere she wanted or needed to go, we listened to my music. One day I was in the living room and heard music playing in her room. I heard it more clearly when I walked down the hall--it was Country.  I asked her about it later, and she said she was starting to like some of it. She still doesn't listen to much Country, but she does like some of it.

Barbara


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## luckytrim (Sep 14, 2008)

I've been hooked on her work since 1987, when at sixteen she had her first hit "Steel Rails".
She's won 21 Grammy Awards, more than any other female country artist, and tied for 7th among all artists.

The only disappointing offering was this recent duet album with Robert Plant.........the style of the two performers seems to lose it in the attempt to meld........... I like YOUR idea,BigDog; Allison and Charlie........ I'd buy that'n without even hearing it!


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## bethzaring (Sep 14, 2008)

I like some country music every now and then, but not a steady dose of the popular country music.  And I tend to like the "fringe" artists. Like Leon Russells album called "Hank Wilson's Back", of Hank Williams' songs.  One of my all time favorite songs is "Coat of Many Colors" written by Dolly Pardon, but I don't care for Dolly's version of her own song...but Emmy Lou Harris does a dynamite version of it.


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## babetoo (Sep 14, 2008)

ChefJune said:


> There were no qualified choices, so I had to go with Hate It.  In general, I don't care for the twang, many of the lyrics, most of the performers.
> 
> OTOH, I love Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Patsy Cline, KD Lang, some of the Dixie Chicks (that's "modern country" right?) but mostly, no.  not my favorite genre of music at all.
> 
> I prefer Jazz, R&B, Classical, Cabaret, Show Tunes, even Marching Band music....  just my taste.


 
ditto on the twang and words. old joke--i got tears in my ears from lying on my back in my bed as i cry over you.


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## suziquzie (Sep 14, 2008)

quicksilver said:


> Nope. I just can't do it. Don't have an old dog with fleas, don't drink beer, and don't have a hairy sister-inlaw!


 
Ummm, neither do I......


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## smoke king (Sep 19, 2008)

Yfou didn't specify which country-currently I can't get enough of estrume n' tal-Brazilian Surf *LEGENDS*!!!

And although they are now wrapping up a 20+ year career, Finlands "Laika and the Cosmonauts" are always at the top of my playlist!!!!


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## phinz (Jan 29, 2009)

A current fave from a boy just up the road.

YouTube - The Life - Kenny Chesney


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## lifesaver (Jan 29, 2009)

I love country music and wouldn't pass it up for anything.


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## getoutamykitchen (Jan 29, 2009)

My dad was a policeman up north in NJ (Livingston) and he had a C & W band on his off time. Went by the name of Eddy Wilk. He palyed alot in the taverns of NJ and NY, so I grew up with it. I strayed away in my teen years, but then these guys named George Strait and Garth Brooks came along and blew me away. Now I still love it , but there's alot on the radio I just tolerate also. Sounds to much like the pop music when I was a kid.


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## Leolady (Jan 30, 2009)

I loath country music!!!!!!!

I would rather fight than stay in the same room.

One of my worst nightmares is to be tied down in a locked room and be forced to listen to it 24/7.  Pure torture.  

It is right up there with being forced to watch someone destroy my kitchen equipment; and my fear of heights and snakes.  

I would be totally insane within 8 hours!


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## Russellkhan (Jan 30, 2009)

There were no good options, so abstained from your poll. 

For the most part I love older country music such as Hank Sr, Chet Atkins, Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, Bill Monroe, etc.

And for the most part I hate new country music such as Dwight Yoakam, Garth Brooks, Hank Jr, etc. That stuff is just pop with a twang. But there are exceptions: Hank III, Lucinda Williams, Iris Dement, Emmylou Harris and even Dolly Parton (though her poppier stuff drove me nuts back when it was getting overplayed) and others put out some excellent music in last few decades.


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## smoke king (Jan 30, 2009)

Uncle Bob said:


> Grew up with it, around it, and loved playing it. Today, for me, it has morphed into something I mostly tolerate. I still respect the talent of some of the "stars", but not all!



Well said Uncle Bob. What I knew as "Country Music" is almost non-existant today. Merle Haggard, Buck Owens, Johnny Cash, Dave Dudley, The Louvin bros, The Carter Family and the list goes on.

Most of those playing what is considered "Country" music are playing a homogenized version of whats known in the industry as "crossover" music-that is to say, they straddle an imaginary line between Pop music and a form of Country that is more palatable and accessible to a larger demographic.

Thats not to say they aren't talented-quite frankly the musicianship these days is better than its ever been. Brad Paisley is as gifted a guitarist as anyone, past or present, regardless of the genre.

I enjoy all music, and try to do so without applying "labels". Its just that to call it "Country" is a misnomer.


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## Wart (Jan 30, 2009)

BigDog said:


> I have come to find that for country music, people either love it or hate it. Which are you, and why?



As a child (early 60's) Country was Hank Sr. and other nasal singers which set my teeth on edge and made my eyes water.

As I got older Country became, to me, what was on Hee Haw, which I will admit I would appreciate more now than then. But it seemed Country music was a variation of

 "Where oh where are you tonight,
Why did you leave me here all a-lone?
I searched the world over and I thought I found true love,
But you met an-other and (Bronx Cheer) You were gone."

Then Country seemed to split into factions, Not only was there the Hank Sr. stuff, now there was the Campbells, Gatlans and Rodgers. And they crossed over. Except I worked with a guy who listened to the Hank Sr. AM station on a small radio with the speaker and circuitry tuned to the human vocal range .... did I mention Hank Sr. makes my eyes water and puts my teeth on edge? Also hurt my ears.

That guy and his tinny AM radio was in the mid '70s and I haven't willingly listened to Country since.

What I've heard that made the crossover was ok, but was it country?

What I've seen by exposure to Pop Culture Country music has become as big buck performance 'art' and as commercial as any other form of music. I must say there is a level of dishonesty to it.  And there is a whole aspect about Country Music that I've seen in Pop Culture that I would address but we don't discuss those things here.

In conclusion, if 'Country" is the twangy stuff about how you can lock me up but you can't keep my face from breaking out, If I can't change it or turn it off I'm putting in the ear plugs.

If it's the "New Country" it's nothing more than background noise. If I'm paying attention to it I'm listening for the hook.

Not to be confused with Blue Grass and Folk.

"Their taking a steam roller
And running over my two holer,
I'm gonna lose my out house ..."

"Well now its time to say good-bye to Jed and all his kin.
And they would like to thank you folks fer kindly droppin in.
You're all invited back again to this locality
To have a heapin helpin of their hospitality"

Flatt and Scruggs made a good impression.


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## Glorie (Jan 30, 2009)

Hubby & I have attended the CMA Country Music Festival in Nashville for the past 4 years and I can see a huge difference just in that amount of time.  It's not country anymore, it's pop rock with a twang.  I don't listen anymore


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## phinz (Jan 31, 2009)

This whole discussion sounds exactly like a "what's punk?" discussion.


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## Noodlehead (Jan 31, 2009)

Having grown up around country music all my life and rolling my eyes at it as a teenager I have come around in general to opening my eyes to all types of music now and keeping and open mind.I'm finding I'm loving some of the older generation of country music stars and even getting into bluegrass a little bit.I do love me some Tim McGraw too.


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## Vanilla Bean (Jan 31, 2009)

Yes, I like country music, but it doesn't matter to me what they look like.  To me, the music is important.  Don Willimas, Alan Jackson, Ricky VanShelton are some of my favorites.  I haven't see Van Shelton around in awhile.  Most of the country from the 70 - 80's I love. ... Not a real big fan of Dolly Parton.


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