Back when I was living in Ohio, and doing a lot of driving there and in the neighbouring states, I listened to a lot of C&W because away from the large cities that was mostly it on the radio, apart from the preachers. I didn’t mind it – even those about how the dog had died and the woman had left for another man – but it’s not what I’d have chosen to listen to,
Because I’ve seen bumper stickers with more depth of thought.
“Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off”. Hyuck, hyuck, hyuck.
A lot of country music is mawkish. I have a somewhat limited tolerance for that, and most of said tolerance is spent listening to country’s grandpappy: bluegrass.
You nailed it. Modern country/pop panders so blatantly to its target audience that it’s ridiculous. I find almost all of the pop/country on the country radio stations to be some of the most awful stuff I’ve ever had the misfortune of hearing. Unfortunately, my wife grew up listening to it and still likes it. (I’ve seen Kenny Chesney with her three times.)
I enjoy a lot of alt-country though. (Drive-By Truckers, Son Volt, James McMurtry, etc.)
Are you kidding? Have you listened to rap music?
In all seriousness, I do listen to some rap and some country, but the stuff at the top of the charts of both genres can be pretty painfully bad.
One thing I don’t like about country music is the habit of taking some tired, old, cliche and just repeating it over and over and calling it a song. A perfect example of this is “Why Not Me” by The Judds (I think they did that song).
Boring.
I dislike that it seems necessary to sing in a ‘country’ accent. Why is the accent required? Would it not be a country song if you sang it without the accent?
I actually like modern Country music and even I have to admit there’s a lot of treacle crap out there. Unfortunately for every "Merry Go 'Round there’s twenty "Beer with Jesus, “Flyover States”, and “Redneck Crazy”.
I’ve found with modern Country and R&B I can’t tell the difference until I either hear the pedal steel or see the video. They are both painfully banal Pop and it’s been that way since both genres decided they needed to appeal to middle-class Whites.
Must country singers WHINE ALL THE GODDAM TIME? Johnny Cash l can listen to, but most modern country sounds like cats on a fence!
The dog up and died, your woman left you for another man, your car got reposessed? That doesn’t make me think of C&W. Hell, that’s the Blues.
Sometime in the 60’s there was a great political divide between Country and Rock music. Could of had to do with perceptions about Civil Rights, could have been Viet Nam, and a lot of it probably had to do with how long a guy’s hair was.
I know that the great bluegrass group Flatt & Scruggs broke up over Vietnam. It boiled down to Lester not appreciating Earl’s concerns about his (Earl’s) draft age sons.
There are some good modern country songs… here’s one! - YouTube (nsfw lyrics)
See also:
Unknown Hinson 
[QUOTE=thicksantorum]
There are some good modern country songs… here’s one! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9h3kwpTwjs (nsfw lyrics)
[/QUOTE]
I’ll see both of those and raise you Ween (nsfw lyrics).
I like pretty much most genres of music I come across, of varying niches and specificity, except for country. I couldn’t tell you why.
I don’t think that a lot of country songs of the past twenty years can be slotted into a single genre called “country.” I’d suggest that “country” itself has split into a number of subgenres.
The Empowered Country Woman, epitomized by such artists as:
– Shania Twain, “That Don’t Impress Me Much.”
– Martina McBride, “Independence Day.”
– The Dixie Chicks, “Goodbye Earl.”
The Foolery Song, as we see from such artists as:
– Mark Wills, “Nineteen Something.”
– Paul Brandt’s cover of “Convoy.”
– Joe Nichols, “Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off.”
Serious Life Stuff, from the following and others:
– Michelle Wright, “He Would Be Sixteen.”
– Tim McGraw, “Live Like You Were Dyin’.”
– Phil Vassar, “In a Real Love.”
There are others; those are the first to come to mind with examples. Regardless though, Judy Collins doing “Someday Soon,” and Mark Chestnutt’s “Bubba Shot the Jukebox,” both of which are considered “country,” are as different as night and day. I would suggest that “country” is an umbrella designation, much like “rock” (can we slot Styx in the same genre as Led Zeppelin?); and as such, we cannot dismiss the whole genre. We have to weigh and accept or dismiss each of the parts.
I would personally recommend the best country artist ever, James Otto! He’s such a sweetheart <3
God Bless!!!
Sorry, I couldn’t help it.
Spoons-Who wrote that song 1st: Tim McGraw or Kris Allen? I have Kris’s version on my iPod.
Contributing to the topic at hand: I agree with ** Jophiel**. IMO. country is seen as “Red State” music, and derided accordingly.
What about Alt-Country?