The Lack Of Discernment

"..And it all sounded like the that same type of music I heard when I was a kid.. "

Roger, today's "country" music is nowhere near the same type of [country] music when you, or me, were kids. :)

You're not alone...

http://www.buzzfeed.com/maycie/this-video-proves-that-all-country-music-sounds-the-same

Joe Burgess
jb-imagery.com

I think of country music when I was a kid as Willie Nelson. I could not stand him them but just love his music now. I have noticed a lot of current music in all genres seems to sound alike. I was a teen during the Beatle era and there also was a lot of music that tried to imitate that sound for a long time so I guess sound alike is nothing new..... If I had to admit that I dismiss any particular genres I would say probably rap in music,.sci fi in writing, and performance art. .

I'll admit my taste in music has expanded quite a bit as I've got older, however I still don't care for most Country, just a couple exceptions I can think of off the top of my head, Johnny Cash and Neko Case, and I probably like them because they don't sound like most country. I have acquired some taste for blue grass whereas before I couldn't stand it, I can only take it in limited doses however. I can't handle ten seconds of rap, talk about "music" that all sounds the same. I used to listen mostly to heavy metal and modern rock, now it's a lot of Tom Jones, Frank Sinatra, etc as well as 50's-60's blues, and 60's-70's rock, but every now and then I'll still crank up The Ramones, or Sammy Hagar, or even The Black Keys and The Strokes. I'm kinda all over the map.

Radio is dead! Back in the day there was that one station that had all the crossover Top 40 music. Not sure what happened when rap came along but I think radio was dead by then. Here is an example. I know all of these songs.

So let's scribble! Smile

I have an old soul I am all over the place with music. When I was little I grew up listening to my grandma sing pasty cline and my grandpa playing elvis on the record player. I like 50s music. 60s I grew up in the 70s and was a teenager in the 80s I liked madonna and culture club adam ant in jr high I know dont laugh. I still like alot of 80s rock. High school came along I discovered hairspray and big hair bands everything from prettty boys motley crue bon jovi . Ozzy. I relized i qas getting older when they had bon jovi on the classic rock station o_O now I like rock and country. Reba. Keith urban. Alot of old school country too. But i like carrie underwood too. . I can handle pop. Rap I not a fan and techno hurts my head. My daughter listens to scream but with head phones on thank goofiness . she will be the only going deaf. My oldest son is 24 and loves journey at least i raised one right lol

Roger, could you speak up a bit? I grew up on 60's and 70's music so my hearing is not what it should be. I thought I heard you say something about country music

Wayne,

That new dang-fangled 60's and 70's music!!

There hasn't been real music since "How Much is That Doggie in the Window"

I don't much like country music as a genre, but one of my favorite Christmas albums is by George Strait, so there you are.

And I like this song. It's really sad, even for a country song, but it resonates with me somehow:



I like bubble gum, Beatles, Turtles, Queen, Dixieland, Big Band, New Age, classical (especially Bach, Vivaldi, Handel and Beethoven) - depending on the piece of music. And I really like this song by the indie band FUN:



I hate metal, rap, punk, and opera (well, the instrumentals are okay. But when the women start singing.... gahhhh!!!)

So am I discerning? I don't know, I just like what I like.

Willie is old country.
Today's country can't hold a candle.

I've been keeping classical music on all week for the dogs. They are pretty content during the day

I could never get this. Kieth Uban was born in New Zeland and grew up in Australia but his is a great country singer. I like his song.
I like all music. I must say I like every kind. Grew up in a home music was big part of it. I remember late 60' early 70' Beetles were it.
and in late 70' not clear on this but Elvis died and friend of mind showed up at my door and cried. i thought she was crazy to cried for him
I never liked Elvis. i was into bell bottom jean, and guitar. I was like Bob Dylan wanna be.

Hank Williams is awesome too. "Heyyy, good lookin'...whatcha got cookin'...how about cookin' somethin' up with me?"

Elvis and the Beatles.....cannot stand them because everyone told me I should love them. Now I turn off if they come on

I've never really gotten into Elvis either, although his song "Love Me Tender" shows that he really did have a great singing voice.

I love the Beatles, especially their Sgt. Pepper phase. "Good Day Sunshine", "Penny Lane", "Yellow Submarine", "All You Need Is Love", "When I'm 64", "Nowhere Man", "Octopus' Garden"...perfection. Their lyrics and concepts inspire such strong visual imagery. Like whimsical paintings translated into song. They're timeless.

Baroque - seen one cherub you've seen them all. I usually walk quickly through these halls trying to find some thing more interesting.

Country - seems too focused on the mythical past - drinking beer, driving pickup trucks, flag waving and talking about Momma. Some of the lyrics are so formulated to create an emotional response I start laughing out loud. Its like reading cheap romance novel.

Now Johnny Cash - there is the real deal.

I like many different kinds of music. I listen to country in my car because I can't get many other stations clearly on my radio. The thing that turns me off about a lot of newer country music is that it is written from a male perspective (a juvenile male perspective at that) and the thing that annoys me with modern pop music is the lack of different lyrics. A lot of songs just repeat the same verse or word over and over again. I like for songs to have a few different verses at least.

Edward, I'd like to think that the flag waving doesn't become part of the past. :)

One good thing about Country & Western music is that you can understand the lyrics.
( Not like most of today's other music, that's just a garbled mess.)

But then again,

A bad thing about Country & Western music is that you CAN understand the lyrics

I grew up on country music and stuff like Connie Francis, Herb Alpert etc - music was on all day growing up and music is still on in my house today, all day, every day, but I don't listen to country music, my one exception would be Johnny Cash
I still love and listen to Black Sabbath, Aerosmith, AC DC, Led Zep, INXS, classic rock, 80's punk, and even back to the 50's - never liked the Beatles except maybe 2 or 3 songs - love the Righteous Brothers
Now my daughter loves Country, my son can't stand Country and listens to Rap, Hip Hip but they both know the songs from the rock n roll past

Nasty day out here in north east, I was going to get some coffee but,
I must getting old, Tim McGraw song Live like your were dying. Good song.
There are so many good songs, I used be a disk jockey believe it or not.
We didn't spin disk like rapper do there in our country. you are in a glass container with little slot. People would write name of the song on a little piece paper and request through the slot. I would announce through the micro phone and play the record. usually in college town restaurant. Customers can see every move you make.
I usually read book or looking through records. It was fun Job and pays me some spending money while I was in school. Learned a lot about popular music prior to that I was more in to classical music. I think people go through different stage, liking and not liking cannot be forced that I learned.

Roger,

I know this young man. Friends with his dad. He is out of Torrington,. CT and living in Nashville chasing
his dreams.

This song peaked at 22 on the country billboard charts sometime last year. His name is Cody Wolf. Age ~22.
He mimics country, but he is aiming to be a writer. More money writing than performing or selling on iTunes.
His father is a very capable computer professional. Father has had a top internet marketing company back in the early
otts. Cody's web presence is pretty good. He is validated on FB and Twitter.

Cody does a mean CCR. That is his favorite to mimic. I guess you have to start humming somewhere.

https://youtu.be/RZrpvQfWjQI

I kinda like some of the country song titles they have come up with over the years.........good stuff ;-)) ;-))

Actual songs ......BUT there's lots and lots more............

Drop Kick Me, Jesus, Through The Goalposts Of Life -

Her Teeth Were Stained, But Her Heart Was Pure -

How Can I Miss You If You Won't Go Away? -

How Can You Believe Me When I Say I Love You When You Know I've Been A Liar All My Life? -

I Changed Her Oil, She Changed My Life -

I Don't Know Whether To Kill Myself Or Go Bowling -

I Fell In A Pile Of You And Got Love All Over Me -

I Flushed You From The Toilets Of My Heart -

I keep forgetting I forgot you -

I Would Have Writ You A Letter, But I Couldn't Spell Yuck! -

I Wouldn't Take Her To A Dawg Fight, Cause I'm Afraid She'd Win -

I'm Just A Bug On The Windshield Of Life -

I've got the starvation blues and I'm hungry for your love -

I've Been Flushed From The Bathroom Of Your Heart -

I've Got The Hungries For Your Love And I'm Waiting In Your Welfare Line -

If I Can't Be Number One In Your Life, Then Number Two On You -

If Love Were Oil, I'd Be A Quart Low -

If You Don't Leave Me Alone, I'll Go And Find Someone Else Who Will -

If You Leave Me, Can I Come Too?

If your phone doesn't ring, you'll know it's me
************************************************************************************************************************

I've heard a few of these too,...some weren't bad.

Marty Saccone

Greg - its the formulaic flag waving that gets me. So contrived and used just to sell records. Its like politicians with the flag pins on their lapels. Its a requirement.

Top 40 these days seems to be about partying until you fall down. Meanwhile country explores the well worn themes of:


1. Nostalgia for summer, small towns and women.
2. Sweet, sweet revenge.
3. Pickup trucks.
4. America.
5. Long-lasting love and heartbreak.

https://veemoze.wordpress.com/2014/05/27/the-five-most-popular-themes-of-country-music/

Roger,

Several people have put down rap. It is not that simple.

One album was release in the late 90s that encapsulated all John Lennon wanted in his entire career, all in one album.

The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill

The single CD chronicles her getting pregnant and searching through a few relationships for love.

About her son......Zion.....

https://youtu.be/1sQjh261rU8

About finding her way.....Everything is Everything.....

https://youtu.be/i3_dOWYHS7I

Ed, I agree with that lapel comment....selling shynola to America.....

Dave

"Greg - its the formulaic flag waving that gets me. So contrived..."


Edward, I concur.

To me, rap is among the most annoying sounds.

Gosh, Abbie! I have never heard anyone else say they don't like the Beatles. I have never liked them...but saying so seems to be some kind of blasphemy. Glad to know I am not alone.

Everything you need to know about the music business can be summed up by the fact that they were stupid enough to record anything that came out of Paris Hilton's mouth.

Valerie, you guys will be hearing form Lenny the Leg Breaker or Ned the Kneecapper. I am keeping track.

RE: RAP

Like Country & Western , I wish I was able to discern one standard Rap piece from another...And also, to discern one rapper from another.

I know it would take some effort and time,. on my part to do so.

Only a discerning person, can accurately judge.

My favorite music now days are Bob Dylan, original version of Halleluiah by Leonard Cohen,
I might change tomorrow listen to Monk, or Miles Davis, and change again listening to Alison Krauss. Or Eagles Tequila sunrise, even Pink Floyd “The wall”
There were just so many that I like. I am learning to like new things like rap and some other stuff that is out.

You really aren't far off your mark Roger, here is a you tube where they take 6 top country songs to show how similar they are,

Marty, I heard Drop Kick Me, Jesus, Through The Goalposts Of Life, the other day. A great corn ball one.
For a while I listened to a country radio show on late Sunday nights. I always looked forward to a song feature "The worse country song of all time" great funny stuff.

The new country is not country but just Pop, degraded down to nothing, with all the character sucked out for commercial purposes.
I can't deny Hank Williams as being up there with all the other greats In the different music genres.

David - http://www.shinola.com/

I listen to the "70's on 7" (channel 7) on Sirius radio when in the truck, or Classic Vinyl" on channel 26, and have come to realize that some of the "rock" from back then is much tamer than some of the new "country" out these days. Heck, they even play the Eagles on some country stations now.

Well,well, Sydne, I love your new look,

Re: "Country & Western Re-Mix"

Heard this compilation last night when Joe Burgess introduced it.

Ya Know...I really like it!!..It's got ENERGY.


Ed, David,

What's shoe polish got to do with anything??:

Roger, if what they do today is Country, then I am a Forward in the NBA. Cut my teeth on the Hanks, Johny, Merle, Waylan, etc. along with dump truck loads of good old Rock n Roll and Top 40. Quit listening to anything made after 1990. Officially an old crank.

Edward, I took a quick glance at that Shinola website link. Anyone need a leather-wrapped case for their iPhone 6.....................only $95. :)

Greg,

Whenever I drove a truck (rental) I would always listened to Country & Western,

Upon climbing down, at a truck stop, it gave me that proper swagger going in to get some grub.

I'm going to turn on the radio to the Q' and listen their classic rock mixed with some modern "whatcha ma call it" while pondering at a piece of canvas I've been ignoring. If that don't work then I've got cd's with JC and the like so hopefully it will be a productive day.

Thank you Roger!

Ed,

I am jealous of how well their home page is set up. Every image is lined up really well. Makes
the downloading faster when dimensions are set up in advance.

Dave

Roger, a friendly FYI.... it's not called "Country & Western" anymore. Hasn't been for about 30 years. It's just Country.

That's why you were watching the CMA (Country Music Awards) show not the CWMA show. :-)

Bill Tomsa

http://billtomsa.blogspot.com/

Like all areas of art, every music genre has it's good and bad artists. Certain aspects of art are always going to be an acquired taste, and comprehension only comes from repeated exposure. If you don't have time to get into something it's logical that you won't ever appreciate it.

Country music continues to be the most popular music in America (!!!) Just thought I'd throw that out there :-)

As far as songs sounding alike, there are tons of hit songs built on some very standard chord progressions, from pop to rock to country to alternative, from the Beatles to U2 to John Denver, check out this little demonstration of what has been done using a simple C, G, AM, F. 40 songs, same 4 chords:



Want people to dance? Set your song at about 124 BPM.


Dan Turner
Dan Turner's Seven Keys to Selling Art Online

Great video Dan! Yes it seems thats all it takes to be a star!

The problem for many of old timers - it's just country music now - when it used to be country and western - the western fell off his horse. On the way home today - I was listening to sirius "prime country" - there was Vince Gill and Dolly - a wonderful duet. My better half likes or is stuck on "fifties on five". - I can do that for a while - but NOT all day every day.

My current favorite 'country artist' is Brad Paisley

I have 4-5 Sirius stations preset, which includes some Country (The Highway), and go back and forth between them. I still need to add a news channel for long trips.

I've never cared for the Western part of C&W.

Thanks guys, for cluing me in on "Western?....Now I won't have to type as much.

Now, Dan,

All ART was based on 3 primary colors..RED, YELLOW & BLUE, and the blending of the three.

Nowadays,there's this new color, CYAN, whatever the hell that is
..

I will listen to most any music, but I cannot stomach rap music.

My husband has Sirius in the car tuned in to Willie's Roadhouse. I can only stand so much of it. I'm not a fan of hokey. So I change it to Prime Country or switch it to the news station or regular FM where I get a mix.

There was a time when Country was sounding more like 70s rock (Eagles). I was loving it. I didn't watch the awards the other night so I cannot comment on them.

My favorite Country artist is Vince Gill. Multi-talented, killer guitarist and the sweetest voice.

I grew up during the 60s. No one band, IMO, compares to the Beatles music of that era. Even my son, who is critical of most any music I like, loves them. He is introducing their music and the 60s to his 4 year old daughter. The other evening she requested the Zombies, "Odessey and Oracle". She didn't want to listen to covers of their songs. Smart kid with good taste.

I was still too young to care about Elvis but later came to appreciate his voice.

Well Janice since you brought up Vince Gill as being a killer guitarist.

Re:

"So, I'm asking

Is there any segment of our culture, (ART, MUSIC, LITERATURE, etc,), that you have blanketly dismissed in it's entirety?.

And can you admit that it's because of the lack of ability to discern,, as a result of ignorance?

Time to fess up"


Now that we covered COUNTRY (without the western) and other popular genres of Music.

Let's address the original intent of this thread......or not

Okay, opera. I fessed up didn't I? Oh sure, sure Roger you will go tell the world I didn't get opera because I blankly dismissed opera out of ignorance in its entirety. But one night I put on "Carmen" and prepared an Italian meal while drinking red wine, and I thought, "My God this is beautiful!"

Manga - ignorance.

Ballet - don't like it.

Jim, thank you for sharing the beautiful images accompanied by Vince's superb guitar work.

Now to answer Roger's questions:

"Is there any segment of our culture, (ART, MUSIC, LITERATURE, etc,), that you have blanketly dismissed in it's entirety?.
And can you admit that it's because of the lack of ability to discern,, as a result of ignorance?
Time to fess up"

Van Gogh, Rap, and Thoreau, to name a few. In order....overrated, non-melodic and just plain nuts!

No, it has nothing to do with ignorance or ability to recognize. I simply don't like them.

I tend to dismiss a lot of painters as truly talented because I am a painter. I can see sloppy work vs. work that is correct the first time. I can tell if a canvas has been painted over several times. I can tell if a print isn't that much better than the original but then again I'm a painter with painterly style. I'm hard on myself and equally hard on people who try their hand at copy cat painting. I've learned to be quiet, but I dismiss a lot of art due to my own experience and pain at getting something right on a large canvas. I silently shake my head at lousy art and artists that want a lot of attention. Interestingly though, I'm amazed with all musicians, play writers, directors, actors, and many more artists that I can't really identify with because the art or craft is different than mine. And believe me, I don't see myself as any type of perfectionist or better than others...I just tend to dismiss painters. And, I confess that I feel a little guilty about that.

Sydne,

Interesting that you mentioned "Oprea"

One might think that after spending much of my young adult life, making sure people could properly hear and see the performances in the new to be opened opera house back in the sixties in New York City, I would now have a true appreciation of that form of music.

But having it drummed into me earlier in my life, that opera was overly done, overly dramatized, overly sentimentalized ,far too long, bloated tripe..it had been impossible for me to be comfortable with it.....Oh I tried, and tried to enjoy it....To enjoy the subtleties I was told was there. I was even told to enjoy the recitatives between the arias as a form of rap.

Oh how I tried!.........to stay awake right to the final curtain

I'm sure though, if I had been brought up in an environment that enjoyed opera in it's fullest , I would too.


(opening day)

Yes, well I am not a expert on Opera, but when in the mood, I do find it beautiful!

What a beautiful couple! in that photo.

Roger,

She is very charming.

There are around 2000 operas written. I forget the exact number. Dont have that right off the top of my
head. There in reality are only a few great opera writers. Mozart, Wagner, and the Italian greats.

I have never been to the Opera. I have studied Opera music theories. The more melodic operas I like.

Dont forget Beethoven's one great opera.

Dave

One and only