What genre of music is your bane?

[BluMunk]

1 hour ago, AnotherScott said:

On the subject of trying to cover lots of parts, we do Born to Run, so of course I have to cover piano, organ, and glockenspiel.

A band I was in worked on this for a rehearsal or two before abandoning it for reasons (a.k.a., one of the guitar players wasn't into the song). Building the program for (and playing) that is one of the more fun times I've had at the keyboard. Being a passionate Springsteen fan probably has something to do with that of course.

[MathOfInsects]

To play, my Latin chops are weak. I wish they weren't.

To listen to, I can't think of a type of music I dislike across the board. There are some that fatigue me to listen to over time, but every song has the potential to be my next favorite song, when it starts. 

I'm more likely to dislike a "stage" in a genre's progression--like when it becomes too formulaic or self-referential--than a genre itself. 

[RABid]

Speaking of like, dislike...

 

When I was playing keys in my first good band and networking with a lot of musicians in the area, at a gathering a few musicians I respected told me I should start listening to jazz. I did not know who to listen to and did not ask. Instead I took a logical approach, I thumbed through the Columbia House catalog and picked three CD's by an artist that was highly acclaimed in the catalog and had won some Grammies. The CD's arrived and I listened. My immediate reaction was "If this is jazz, forget it. Too mechanical and too boring." The artist was Wynton Marsalis. That experience ruined jazz for me for a long time. A few years later I'm in a record shop in Lexington and decided to browse the jazz section. Came across "The Thelonious Monk Memorial Album." Told myself that if he has a memorial album he must be good. Remember, I'm from a small town. My only exposure to jazz was in some cartoons. Took the double album home and it his me. THIS IS IT! Loved that double album. Two popular artist, same genera, world of difference. I learned a lot about music from that experience.

[drawback]

Interesting thread with a lot of soul-searching. I guess my "bane," from a standpoint of can't wrap my head around to play, is Bebop. From a technical standpoint is I'm too lazy to master Boogie Woogie. From a standpoint of what I am mostly disgusted with is Contrived Emotion in ANY genre, be it all that melisma to show how gymnastically awesome you are and how deeply you, like, feel; that blasé girl-sing stuff; and fake soul prevalent in Country-pop & R&B-pop. 

[Docbop]

36 minutes ago, RABid said:

I thumbed through the Columbia House catalog and picked three CD's by an artist that was highly acclaimed in the catalog and had won some Grammies.

 

You go through Columbia House catalog and don't buy the biggest selling album in the history of Jazz, the album that was the gateway for many to get into Jazz  the Columbia records album Kind of Blue by Miles Davis???    Working in a record store whenever someone said I want to get into Jazz that's the album we sold.    

 

Good parents start their kids young listening to KOB. 

 

Oh for  those coming in wanting to get into Classical we'd ask piano or orchestra.   If they said piano  sold the Horowitz Moonlight Sonata, if orchestra Copland Rodeo since they will recognize some many of the melodies from being used in commercials and TV. Sometime if we knew the person was a rock fan we'd sell them Wendy Carlos Switch On Bach or Heavy Rock fan Holtz The Planets and tell them to crank up volume for  Mars. 

[Dave Bryce]

I tend to struggle staying focused when playing tunes that have really simple repetitive parts.  Think “Leave Your Hat On”, or “Werewolves Of London”.  No matter how hard I try to stay plugged in, my mind will not let me.  

 

Funny thing #1 - I have an easier time playing a simple repetitive part on a synth than a piano.

 

Funny thing #2 - I have an even easier time playing a simple repetitive part on guitar than I do on keys. 

 

Funny thing #3 - I don’t mind hearing simple repetitive parts if they’re in a tune to which I’m listening - I just don’t wanna play them.  

 

dB

[GRollins]

25 minutes ago, Docbop said:

 

You go through Columbia House catalog and don't buy the biggest selling album in the history of Jazz, the album that was the gateway for many to get into Jazz  the Columbia records album Kind of Blue by Miles Davis???    Working in a record store whenever someone said I want to get into Jazz that's the album we sold.    

 

Good parents start their kids young listening to KOB. 

 

Oh for  those coming in wanting to get into Classical we'd ask piano or orchestra.   If they said piano  sold the Horowitz Moonlight Sonata, if orchestra Copland Rodeo since they will recognize some many of the melodies from being used in commercials and TV. Sometime if we knew the person was a rock fan we'd sell them Wendy Carlos Switch On Bach or Heavy Rock fan Holtz The Planets and tell them to crank up volume for  Mars. 

 

Oh, hell yeah! Kind of Blue is THE DEFINITE starter album for anyone asking about jazz.

 

For that matter, you could drop into most parts of Davis's career and stake out a beachhead...except for Bitch's Brew. Don't go there. That era is not a good starter period for most people. Yes, it was an incredible formative moment for the upcoming fusion jazz movement, but Bitch's Brew itself is hard to master.

 

To anyone who might think they want to dip a toe into jazz, I second Docbop's suggestion: Miles Davis--Kind of Blue. And as a fringe benefit, it's also well recorded, so it also scratches my audiophile itch. Go for it.

 

For classical, especially this time of year, start with Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite. Or you could go with Swan Lake or... But for me, his 4th Symphony is a must. Absolutely love the whole thing, but have a special fondness coming out of the third movement (Bambi & friends frolicking in the forest) and falling headlong into the fourth movement (a T. Rex comes rampaging through the forest, looking for dinner, and the ensuing madness--create a Disney-fied Bambi vs. Godzilla animation in your head [in mine, the forest creatures exhaust the beast and end up dancing on his worn-to-a-frazzle body, and everyone becomes friends in the end]).

 

Or you can ignore me and listen to songs about rusty pickup trucks and trusty dogs.

 

Nah. Gimme Miles, Rachmaninoff, and Tchaikovsky. (...and Led Zeppelin and Yes and...shut up, Grey...)

 

Grey

[RABid]

Too bad you all were not around to advise me back then. Small Rural towns are not a good place to explore music by listening to radio. I went through the same thing with Electronic music. By then I was at least smart enough to buy a few collection CD's and listen to them. That is how I found BT, Chemical Brothers and Chrystal Method.

[Montunoman 2]

On 12/19/2023 at 7:02 PM, RABid said:

 

 

Drums - I remember years ago when the forum had a very busy thread on American Idol. Every season, during country week, the conversation would turn to how those great LA musicians couldn't pull it off. A lot of music pushes the beat, but old school country pulls the beat. It is a different feel. A feel that I have always had trouble with as a drummer. I can be passable if I really concentrate and don't drift into my own little world. But, too often I loose focus and can hear myself drifting out of the groove. I hate playing country music because I feel like pretender. 

Drums are first instrument too, and I haven’t done a 100% country gig before, so pardon my ignorance, but I always felt if  a drummer had good time and could play straight eighth grooves, shuffles and the train beat, and had good ears and dynamics, he or she could do fine on most any country gig. I think it would be much harder for a rock/pop drummer to have cover a last minute call to play any kind of Latin or jazz gig. Perhaps I’m oversimplifying what is involved in country drumming, and I do appreciate country music, but never thought the drumming was that much of a challenge. Again, I haven’t performed the music with any sort heavy country acts, and I’m not trying to dispute you at all. Perhaps you could post some links to a few songs that my be difficult for a drummer  with limited country experience to pick up on. 

[stoken6]

+1 on Tchaikovsky. 

 

I've always proposed Weather Report as a counter to "but I don't like Jazz". Hooky and accessible, while of course brilliant.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[RABid]

15 minutes ago, Montunoman 2 said:

Drums are first instrument too, and I haven’t done a 100% country gig before, so pardon my ignorance, but I always felt if  a drummer had good time and could play straight eighth grooves,

With old school country it is the groove that you have to adjust. With a lot of rock and funk a drummer with feel will push the back beat up just a bit. With some old school country you have to do the opposite and pull that back beat behind the normal count. Same patterns playing, but it sits in a very different pocket. You've heard of sounding like a lifeless drum machine. That is when every beat is right on the timing divisions. Adding swing is an incomplete solution pushed by drum machine manufacturers. Years ago software DAWS started adding groove mapping features that included the nuances of pushing or pulling the beat. It is all about keeping the bass drum locked in and moving the back beat to that spot that makes you go "Ummmmmgh. That's it!" Push = rush the back beat. Pull = delay the back beat. It only takes a tiny bit of push or pull.

[Outkaster]

3 hours ago, BluMunk said:

A band I was in worked on this for a rehearsal or two before abandoning it for reasons (a.k.a., one of the guitar players wasn't into the song). Building the program for (and playing) that is one of the more fun times I've had at the keyboard. Being a passionate Springsteen fan probably has something to do with that of course.

 

Well with that I am a huge Roy Bittan fan, 85% of keyboard players I know aren't. He is monster player though.  I have 7 different ways Roy might play the outro to Backstreets from 7 different shows from 1975 till about the mid-80s. And he never really plays a song the same way.   Again, you have to live in that world to grab those parts unless you are trying to just cover the song.  I can't emphasize enough that you have to kind of deep dive into music you love.  Use them also as a model to influence your own experiences. 

 

 

 

[Outkaster]

4 hours ago, allan_evett said:

 

I came into music with certain 'leanings' burned in. I remember that back in 4th grade - after a little over two years of lessons - I could improvise a bit in a flowing, romantic era style of playing. Nothing fancy, but it just seemed natural - like something I had done in a previous life, so to speak. Fast forward to college years: I created a somewhat convoluted path to finishing a degree that reflected a majority of hours in music (Thank you, Columbia College!). The idea of being a piano major (or even traditional music school major) scared the BeeGees out of me. Juries? Run like hell, and I did!

 

I've ended up covering, and occasionally faking my way through a lot of styles over the past 45 years; and likely going into some blind alleys I had no business being in .  Rock/Pop, Blues, R&B, folk/alternative acoustic are styles I've managed to assimilate, to a greater or lesser degree individually. And covering multi-keys parts has developed along with that. Reggae and world beat material I've somewhat manage to fake my way through, though I'd have to live within that world/groove to get a real clue... I do strongly connect with Moonglow's observation about being asked to cover all the recorded keys parts, live...  I ran into that absurdity when playing with a couple of country bands: "Uh, could you cover the piano and B3 part?". Okay, that can work. "Then there is that solo violin on the bridge.". Okay, think I can grab that short part. "Oh, but there's that banjo riff that happens throughout, and also a cool steel guitar line between the 2nd verse and bridge, and that full string orchestra on the final chorus.".  Let me work on growing third and fourth arms, and in the meantime you can buy a backing track.

 

Jason, I relate well to you about being a straight ahead jazz player.  I can reasonably play cocktail piano, and there have been years when I've covered bunches of 'wallpaper' gigs, but hardcore, angular jazz? Well... I've worked through some crazy charts and sort of survived, but there are a lot of jazz players for whom I'd quickly vacate the bench. During the pandemic I did several group and a couple private online lessons with Matt Rollings. His evaluations and guidance echoed much of what Peter Saltzman - a fellow Chicago-area piano/keys guy with whom I shared a dual-keys band gig - observed. I still need work on seeing 'blocks', vs. 'flowing' lines. Seeing advanced 'block' voicings (beyond basic shells) and moving them efficiently (especially chromatically) is my Achilles Heel in Jazz playing. And the last lesson material Matt left me with focused on bee-bop lines and chromatic approaches - another Achilles Heel. I just started checking out a YT video about advanced chord substitutions. Some fun sounding ideas there!

 

 

And part of it is realizing your limitations and also what you can bring to the table. Being self-aware is key for musicians and what you want to accomplish. 

[jazzpiano88]

3 hours ago, Docbop said:

You go through Columbia House catalog and don't buy the biggest selling album in the history of Jazz, the album that was the gateway for many to get into Jazz  the Columbia records album Kind of Blue by Miles Davis???    Working in a record store whenever someone said I want to get into Jazz that's the album we sold.   

 

And for good measure send them home with a copy of Four and More and tell them to listen to the opening track after finishing KOB.  😁

 

[elif]

For me, it's the genre that plays through the overheads in chain grocery stores, big box stores, and the like.  Except for their annoyance, unmemorable. They all sound the same. They have the same beat, with a forgettable melody sung by an autotuned female singing about nothing of interest with words I don't hear.

[allan_evett]

3 hours ago, Outkaster said:

 

Well with that I am a huge Roy Bittan fan, 85% of keyboard players I know aren't. He is monster player though.  I have 7 different ways Roy might play the outro to Backstreets from 7 different shows from 1975 till about the mid-80s. And he never really plays a song the same way.   Again, you have to live in that world to grab those parts unless you are trying to just cover the song.  I can't emphasize enough that you have to kind of deep dive into music you love.  Use them also as a model to influence your own experiences. 

 

 

 

Big Roy Bittan fan here as well. Though your knowledge of his live playing with the E Street Band is much deeper than mine; my similar passion being the live piano work on Lyle Lovett and His Large Band tours, from 2004 til now. While his work with Bruce and Co. inspires me every time I hear recordings (live and studio), Roy's piano playing on Meatloaf's Bat Out of Hell 2 is riveting - especially, "I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)".

[jazzpiano88]

11 hours ago, GRollins said:

My mother went to her grave thinking that if she tried pushing vegetables on me just one more time "...just this once...try it, you never know, you might like it..." that I would suddenly start liking them. Never worked. Once you get past potatoes, I'm done. But make no mistake, if there's an afterlife of some sort she's waiting to pounce, "Grey, would you like some boiled okra?"

 

"No, Ma, the stuff looks like someone threw up on my plate and tastes like crap."

 

People who like country are like my mother. They feel that I--mysteriously--just haven't had enough exposure to the stuff and that if they play me "just one more song..." then somehow the heavens will open, a choir of angels will start singing, and I'll suddenly start liking the stuff. There's a variant on this mindset that thinks that I actually like country/rap/vegetables, but am too stubborn to admit it. In this alternate universe, they try to create a 'safe space' where I'm among people who like whatever it is and can 'come out of the closet.' That one's particularly difficult to deal with. And, frankly, more than a little annoying.

 

Trust me, having lived all my life in the Carolinas, it ain't for lack of exposure to country (or gospel, another genre I can do without). The music exists. There are scads of people who like it. I'm not one of them. Trust me, if that changes I'll let you know, but don't hold your breath.

 

And by the way, Mom, I still HATE lima beans. Don't go fixing any for me, ya hear?

 

Grey

 

I was sorta with ya. (as to modern Country but not all Country) until you clarified your Gospel sentiment.  I definitely disagree with your sweeping stereotypes of association about people who do enjoy the country genre.

 

For myself, I draw the line at suicidal noise makers that have a Jim Jones like magnetism with large swaths of populous (but not everyone in those swaths).  Rap is better for me, as it's not as bad for your hearing.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qofd8l27ieY

 

[GRollins]

42 minutes ago, jazzpiano88 said:

 

I was sorta with ya. (as to modern Country but not all Country) until you clarified your Gospel sentiment.  I definitely disagree with your sweeping stereotypes of association about people who do enjoy the country genre.

 

For myself, I draw the line at suicidal noise makers that have a Jim Jones like magnetism with large swaths of populous (but not everyone in those swaths).  Rap is better for me, as it's not as bad for your hearing.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qofd8l27ieY

 

 

Dude, you're going to have to help me out here. I went back and reread what I wrote:

 

'Trust me, having lived all my life in the Carolinas, it ain't for lack of exposure to country (or gospel, another genre I can do without). The music exists. There are scads of people who like it. I'm not one of them. Trust me, if that changes I'll let you know, but don't hold your breath.'

 

That's the only mention I made of gospel, and all I said was that I can do without it. So...how did I 'clarify?' I'm not sure what you're saying. Please note that any mention of gospel, by definition, is going to risk the prohibition on posting about religion here. All I said was I'm not a fan, and stopped. I'm trying to skirt the religion thing.

 

As far as sweeping stereotypes of people who listen to country--they certainly hold true for the Carolinas. Maybe things are different in other parts of the country, though on visits to other areas I've not seen significant deviations. (Nor has anyone else I've spoken with.)

 

Regarding country music sounding the same; I went hunting for the original video that I saw...typed in "country music s" and YouTube autofilled "country music sounds the same." Hmmm. Methinks they've faced that prompt before, eh? Okay, so I'll let you work your way through the other candidate videos, but I'll offer this one for your viewing/listening pleasure (Hilarious or sad? You decide...):

 

 

One thing's for sure, you're not going to have an easy time mashing Led Zeppelin and Yes or Jethro Tull and Black Sabbath together. Ditto Miles and John Coltrane.

 

Now, I am on record as saying that a lot of the "hair bands" of the '80s sound the same and I stand by that. I can't tell Poison from Motley Crue from Quiet Riot from Skid Row from Warrant from...egad, I was building a guitar in my shop with the radio going (the local rock station leans heavily towards the '80s) and started a list. By the end of the day I had ten or twelve bands that sounded identical. Two guitars (fuzz pedals, Marshall stacks). Bass (slightly overdriven, Ampeg or Marshall). Drums. Solo vocals on verses. Harmonies on the chorus. Lyrics tend strongly towards "I'm a badass and I'll do what I want to do" attitude. Def Leppard can be told apart from the rest because of the way they're mixed--the drums are a little more forward. Otherwise, they're part of the pack. I'd be okay with the formula if it was just two or three bands, but...a dozen? Really? That's overdoing it, guys. But the recipe sold like hotcakes so they kept churning out the product. Fortunes were made. More power to them. Maybe I should have bought some black leather pants and fluffed my hair. I could have retired earlier.

 

That said, I find the '80s hair bands more tolerable than some of the stuff I've mentioned above. I turn the radio volume down, then back up when the song's over. Rap, country, opera, etc. They're turn off and leave off. I'd rather have silence; the veritable definition of "bane" music--music that makes one turn to silence as the alternative.

 

Grey

[jazzpiano88]

15 hours ago, RABid said:

This is really no different than saying "All New Yorkers are the same, all Californians are the same, all white males are the same, all black people are the same, all gay people are the same, all teenagers are the same," etc... When encountering a group with a different center of focus one is easily blinded by that difference.

 

Thank you Rabid.

 

Grey, give it a rest.   It's fine that you don't like Country and Gospel and whatever else.  

 

Just please don't project your dislikes onto your perceived stereotypes about why other people *do* like them,  and your analogies of how your mother brought you up being just like conservatives not liking new experiences in the south.   Not all people in the South are like you.

[AROIOS]

16 hours ago, CyberGene said:

@GRollins thanks, I think I get it now 🙂 BTW, not sure if "I'm Gonna Getcha Good" by Shania Twain counts as Country but my daughter (6-year old) asks me to play it in the car every frickin day on the way to the kindergarten... It's not a bad song, I like it but I really need her to switch to a new favorite song soon.

It's definitely Country and I would have disowned my daughter if she puts me through that sh*t for more than 3 days.

[Floyd Tatum]

13 hours ago, GRollins said:

My mother went to her grave thinking that if she tried pushing vegetables on me just one more time "...just this once...try it, you never know, you might like it..." that I would suddenly start liking them. Never worked. Once you get past potatoes, I'm done. But make no mistake, if there's an afterlife of some sort she's waiting to pounce, "Grey, would you like some boiled okra?"

 

"No, Ma, the stuff looks like someone threw up on my plate and tastes like crap."

13 hours ago, GRollins said:

And by the way, Mom, I still HATE lima beans. Don't go fixing any for me, ya hear?

Grey

I'll wager that you've listened to a lot of George Carlin...   :|  🙂

[AROIOS]

13 hours ago, GRollins said:

...Conservatives (who by far make up the core of the country music audience) want the music to sound the same. It's not some freaky coincidence, it's baked into the warp and woof or their world view. It's comfortable to them.

Sorry to break it to ya @GRollins, I live on the coast and most Liberals here are just as tone -deaf.

[Floyd Tatum]

4 hours ago, elif said:

For me, it's the genre that plays through the overheads in chain grocery stores, big box stores, and the like.  Except for their annoyance, unmemorable. They all sound the same. They have the same beat, with a forgettable melody sung by an autotuned female singing about nothing of interest with words I don't hear.

I sometimes find myself looking down my nose (ear?) at the stuff coming out of the ceiling at the grocery store.   Then it occurs to me that:

a) I'm probably the only person in the store actually listening to it, and

b) "I'll bet that gig pays pretty good.   Dammit, I want that gig!"

[Docbop]

5 minutes ago, Floyd Tatum said:

I sometimes find myself looking down my nose (ear?) at the stuff coming out of the ceiling at the grocery store.   Then I think: "I'll bet that gig pays pretty good.    Dammit, I want that gig!"

In my college days I worked a morning gig in a grocery store as a box boy that what they called it then,  it gave me the rest of the day and night for school, bands, and audio gigs.     I remember one day I was in the checkstand and over the muszac system I heard the sound of 101 Strings play Evil Ways by Santana.   I started laughing and people were looking at me like I was crazy, but hearing all those violin sawing away playing that riff was hilarious.   

 

I also weirded out people whenever I had to go out and collect the shopping carts or leave the checkstand I would sing funky bass lines as I worked.   Had to make the job interesting. 

[murphybridget]

The distinctive pull on the beat in old-school country does give it a unique feel, and it can be tricky to stay locked into that groove consistently. It's all about finding that sweet spot between concentration and letting loose. Don't be too hard on yourself – it's a journey, and every genre has its own nuances.

[GRollins]

4 hours ago, jazzpiano88 said:

 

Thank you Rabid.

 

Grey, give it a rest.   It's fine that you don't like Country and Gospel and whatever else.  

 

Just please don't project your dislikes onto your perceived stereotypes about why other people *do* like them,  and your analogies of how your mother brought you up being just like conservatives not liking new experiences in the south.   Not all people in the South are like you.

 

"Not all people in the South are like you."

 

Once again, I'm not sure what you're trying to say here. That's very much my point. I'm not like the people around me, so on that we are in agreement. Thank you for saying it so succinctly.

 

<fist bump>

 

On the other hand, assuming that you're using the word "project" in the psychological sense of someone who assumes without foundation that another is feeling the same emotion that they are (one of my degrees is in psychology; that's the way your post reads to me), your statement about stereotypes makes no sense. I'm just not clear as to what you're saying.

 

Folks, it seems to me that things are beginning to get bumpy. To the extent that I've contributed to any hurt feelings, I apologize. At this point, jazzpiano88's posts are getting sufficiently nonlinear that I'm afraid that it won't be possible to have a productive conversation on any level. I simply can't understand what points s/he might be trying to make and there's danger that things are going to go downhill. That's not my intention, so I'm going to withdraw from this thread. You guys have fun.

 

Grey

 

PS: No, Ma, I don't want squash, either. That stuff's nasty. You eat it.

PPS: I read somewhere that so-called supertasters tend to dislike vegetables because they're ultrasensitive to the alkaloids that occur naturally in them. Does this mean that I'm a supertaster? I have anecdotal evidence that it's so, but don't know this for a fact. Even if it were to turn out to be true, it would make no difference to my mother. She'd still be ladling out enormous dollops of yukky, slimy, steaming veggies onto my plate in an effort to make me like them.

PPPS: Love George Carlin. Miss him (and Robin Williams) terribly. That's what's wrong with the world today. Those two guys left the planet and suddenly no one has a sense of humor anymore. Bummer. Bummer.

[hurricane hugo]

13 hours ago, allan_evett said:

Big Roy Bittan fan here as well. Though your knowledge of his live playing with the E Street Band is much deeper than mine; my similar passion being the live piano work on Lyle Lovett and His Large Band tours, from 2004 til now. While his work with Bruce and Co. inspires me every time I hear recordings (live and studio), Roy's piano playing on Meatloaf's Bat Out of Hell 2 is riveting - especially, "I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)".

 

Personally, I thought he peaked on Bowie's Station To Station album, but that's just me.

[Bill H.]

15 hours ago, GRollins said:

Regarding country music sounding the same; I went hunting for the original video that I saw...typed in "country music s" and YouTube autofilled "country music sounds the same." Hmmm. Methinks they've faced that prompt before, eh? Okay, so I'll let you work your way through the other candidate videos, but I'll offer this one for your viewing/listening pleasure (Hilarious or sad? You decide...):

 

 

 

Grey

Nothing stays the same in the music industry. I'm not here to defend modern country or anything  - it's just something I deal with at times - but it has changed A LOT in the 10 years since that video came out.

 

Just looking over the current top 10 country singles, we've got Luke Comb's remake of Fast Car, a couple of tracks by Jelly Roll (Save Me is huge on karaoke nights and sung by all - Samoans in particular), a Chris Stapleton rock track, Morgan Wallen's aforementioned Last Night (with it's trap beat, and just confirmed as the #1 single of the year in all genres by Billboard), and topped with I Remember Everything - a Zach Bryan track that could have easily been sung by Bob Seger in his heyday. 

 

Sorry to take this way OT. And like I said, I'm not here to defend today's country by any means. But it's boundaries are getting blurry - as is the case with all the old popular music categories these days. 

 

 

[ProfD]

16 minutes ago, Bill H. said:

Nothing stays the same in the music industry.

Bingo. 

 

Accepting that sober reality is a hard thing for musicians and listeners alike. 

 

Evidenced by points of reference being music that was recorded several decades ago and/or dead musicians. 🤣

 

Most folks are partial to music that formed the soundtrack of their lives. 😎

[RABid]

The first thing to realize is that everyone in country music is not Republican or even conservative. Same with Nashville. Same. With Kentucky or South Carolina.