Every Country Music Song in 2013 Was The Same?

[uncledunc]

The video highlights what has always been my #1 issue with country music: Lyrically, country music seems to exist in a metaphor-free world.

 

Seriously, consider all of the rock songs that have caused you to say or think, "I wonder what that song is about." That's because there's at least occasional subtlety in rock lyrics (80s hair metal notwithstanding). Shit, when I was 17, I once spent a good portion of a summer deconstructing the lyrics of Pink Floyd's The Wall.

 

Has anyone, ever, however, had to ask that question about a country song? Seems like the answer is no, because the lyrics are always so literal -- trucks, chicks, beer, jeans, etc. There's just not much need for imagination or interpretation. To me, the genre loses some appeal for that reason alone.

 

Noah

 

According to the Nashville publishing establishment, a country song has hold the attention of a very distracted listener. The average listener is a mom in drivetime, taking the kids to school, texting, talking on the phone, and curious about the weather forecast. In this environment, the listener needs lyrical simplicity. They need to be able to understand the song without thinking about it. Anything obtuse that challenges the listener - be it a metaphor or a socially edgy topic - risks losing the listener to the other distractions she's dealing with. Once the song loses the listener, she punches the buttons to find the weather, or the news, or a different station. If the listener wants obtuse, mysterious lyrics, there are plenty of pop stations, adult contemporary stations and perhaps an indie Americana station playing that sort of stuff.

 

When Duck Dynasty racks up the highest numbers of any cable show, and PBS limps along virtually unwatched, you've got to admit that the lowest common denominator is driving American culture.

[t9cstudio]

The Nashville machine is just trying to survive by giving the audience what they think they want. If you think its bad now, In a couple of years there will be a bieberization of the genre.

You will be wishing to have taylor swift back.

 

You got that right! I used to blame Shania Twain for starting this crapola parade, but hell I love her stuff compared to any of this current crap.

 

I haven't listened to "modern country" radio since the mid 90's but still keep up with the major artists of that era and before thanks to the internet. I seek out singer/songwriter types for inspiration. Add to the chick singer list above-Sonia Leigh, who co-wrote "Sweet Annie" by The Zack Brown Band.

[Steve Nathan]

The video highlights what has always been my #1 issue with country music: Lyrically, country music seems to exist in a metaphor-free world.

 

Seriously, consider all of the rock songs that have caused you to say or think, "I wonder what that song is about." That's because there's at least occasional subtlety in rock lyrics (80s hair metal notwithstanding). Shit, when I was 17, I once spent a good portion of a summer deconstructing the lyrics of Pink Floyd's The Wall.

 

Has anyone, ever, however, had to ask that question about a country song? Seems like the answer is no, because the lyrics are always so literal -- trucks, chicks, beer, jeans, etc. There's just not much need for imagination or interpretation. To me, the genre loses some appeal for that reason alone.

 

Noah

 

but the lyrics in traditional country and bluegrass from several decades ago were far more subtle and complex (e.g. Hank Williams Sr., the Carter Family, Jimmy Rogers, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, etc.). In fact, this was one of the main reasons that Ray Charles started playing country in the 60's.

 

According to the Nashville publishing establishment, a country song has hold the attention of a very distracted listener. The average listener is a mom in drivetime, taking the kids to school, texting, talking on the phone, and curious about the weather forecast. In this environment, the listener needs lyrical simplicity. They need to be able to understand the song without thinking about it. Anything obtuse that challenges the listener - be it a metaphor or a socially edgy topic - risks losing the listener to the other distractions she's dealing with. Once the song loses the listener, she punches the buttons to find the weather, or the news, or a different station. If the listener wants obtuse, mysterious lyrics, there are plenty of pop stations, adult contemporary stations and perhaps an indie Americana station playing that sort of stuff.

 

Sorry to disagree, but Country has always been defined by direct, deliberately unobtuse lyrics, just like the Western European music that it descended from. Ray CHarles wasn't drawn to it by nuance and complexity. Just the opposite. When Don Gibson wrote

"They say that time

Heals a broken heart

But time has stood still

since we've been apart"

He couldn't have been more clear and direct.

 

I've always maintained that the lyric difference between Country and Pop can be defined (as songwriter George Jackson once said) by:

In Country it matters what the words mean, and in Pop it matters how the words sound. Perhaps you spent a lot of time trying to figure out what Pink Floyd meant, when maybe they didn't mean anything

While today's Country tries to be more "conversational" in it's lyrics, it is also (sadly) heavily influenced by Rap and "HipHop" culture. Lyrics are dumbed down but so is melody and "attitude".

Not done, but gotta go. I'll pick this back up later.

[HSS]

+1.

 

 

[NoahZark]

Perhaps you spent a lot of time trying to figure out what Pink Floyd meant, when maybe they didn't mean anything

 

Perhaps true! It's also true that a lot of pop/rock artists make attempts at subtlety and nuance in their lyrics that simply fall flat. (After all, not all rock lyricists are Edgar Allen Poe.) That said, I just like a little less literal-ness in my lyrics than country music offers. Just my personal taste.

 

Noah

[Joe Muscara]

IMNSHO, there's a fine line between being direct or fairly so and being trite or even outright lame. I've heard it in all genres, and some writers have done both.

 

The example in the OP shows that there is a lot of current country that is really meaningless and bad. But, the NPR link about women in country shows that there is plenty of well-written material if you're willing to look for it.

 

I did a search for top country acts of 2013 to see where some of the acts in the OP video fell. Many didn't even turn up on the one list I looked at. I'm not saying that these top ten acts are better (in fact, I have a genuine dislike for several of them), I'm just pointing out that the OP video isn't necessarily representative.

 

http://www.forbes.com/pictures/eeel45eegfd/the-ten-top-earning-country-music-acts-of-2013/

 

Still, I await for more comments from the esteemed Mr. Nathan, whom I highly respect and is in the thick of it.

[Steve Nathan]

esteemed

Now you've gone to far

[Bill H.]

I guess my thoughts when I saw this thread is not that the lyrics or vocal styles of modern country sound the same, but the tracks all sound the same. There's a robotic sameness to most of them.

 

A question for Steve: Aside from some of your projects with traditional guys like George Strait, how much are session musicians involved with this stuff or is it all done with production teams?

 

 

[ksoper]

You will be wishing to have taylor swift back.

 

Back in the early 90s there was a mullet-of-the-day novelty hit maker who I can't say I cared for. About ten years later I ended up working for him playing those exact songs. They still weren't exactly classical repertoire, but the singer was certainly far better than anything else happening at the time. Compared to dreck like Florida Georgia Line, my mulleted friend is practically Pavarotti singing Mozart.

[uncledunc]

...

In Country it matters what the words mean, and in Pop it matters how the words sound. Perhaps you spent a lot of time trying to figure out what Pink Floyd meant, when maybe they didn't mean anything ...

 

I had a pop singer/songwriter in my studio a couple of years ago. He asked for advice on the bridge lyric to a song-in-progress. I said his lyric sounded like a conversation with an ex-lover, and I asked him what he'd want to say at that point in the conversation. He gave me a blank look, and said "It doesn't matter what I say. The lyrics don't mean anything. I just go for the sound of the words."

 

In that context, I'll take well-written country songs any day.

[Kevmo]

I'm in a newly formed country band doing mostly old school pre 1990 tunes. I hate New Country . We think there's a market for this with a dash of Alt country Americana . We have just started looking for gigs with a target of private/corporate work. Steve Nathan others please comment

[Kevmo]

Any thoughts?

[Bottom End]

FWIW, far more country songs deal with real life issues than do pop/rock songs, just not all those songs get as much airplay as the "pickup-truck, redneck party, (wo)men done me wrong songs" do.

 

Over the last ten years, I spent a lot of time deployed, and while I'm no big country fan, it was about the only place I heard lyrics that demonstrated and awareness that there was a war going on, and had lyrics that captured feelings of a lot of us in it.

 

 

 

If You're Reading This

 

I do agree that a lot of nu-country is just as formulaic, faceless and bland as its pop counterparts. Like anything else, you got sift through the dross to find the diamonds.