In the 1950s they made great music. In the '60s it really went down
hill, but then in the '70's a lot of it was pretty good. After that
things really went to hell, but at least there was still a lot of good
country and western music to listen to.
Then in the 1990s, somebody decided to screw up country music too.
They called the new music alternative country, neotraditional, or
insurgent country. Whatever they call it, It all sounds like noise to
me. I can't even make out the words most of the time. Do these new
singer hit more than one or two notes? If you only played the music by
itself, would anybody recognize the song? It all sounds the same to
me. Can any of these new singers actually sing a real song without all
the noise behind them, like The Star-Spangled Banner, for instance?
My theory is that the music executives decided to wipe out great
talent once and for all and replace it with mediocrity. That way they
don't have to put up with people who truly have rare talent. They
control the artists; they control the music; and ultimately they will
control what people like. Mediocrity is everywhere now days. It's in
Washington D.C., it's in Detroit, it's in our music. People almost
seem to be proud of it. That's the thing that's really odd about it.
Here's an interesting article:
"Murder on Music Row
It Don't Matter Who's in Nashville, George Strait Is Still the King
BY CHRISTOPHER GRAY
At the 1999 Country Music Association awards, former Entertainers of
the Year George Strait and Alan Jackson premiered a new duet. There
are few, if any, higher-profile events in Nashville than the CMAs, and
a teaming of two of the industry's top-selling male vocalists live on
network television would normally be cause for much back-slapping and
self-congratulating among the upper echelon of Music Row executives.
Only that evening, Strait and Jackson came not to praise country
music, but to bury it.
"Someone killed country music," Strait sang. "Cut out its heart and
soul."
His co-counsel then offered up a motive, doing his best George Jones.
"The almighty dollar," Jackson drawled, "and the lust for worldwide
fame slowly killed tradition, and for that, someone should hang."
Titled "Murder on Music Row," the duet was equivalent to Charlton
Heston coming out for gun control at an NRA convention. Mentioning
Hank Williams, Merle Haggard, and "ol' Possum" by name, the song
lamented a world where "the steel guitars no longer cry, and fiddles
barely play." (continued)
http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid%3A78457
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