Finally a breath of fresh air in this debate! "Country music" just figured out how to make more money. I remember in the early 1990's having conversations with my guitar teacher about this. We both agreed that you can't sell Willie Nelson or Mearl Haggard to tennagers these days, who are the main buying sector. Country music had to be made more "attractive" to get this audience. Is the music that much different than commercial country music of the 70's and 80's? Not that much. It does sound more "popish", but music is always going to progress.
I also think it is a mistake to link bluegrass so directly with "country" music. It's rural, and has some similar themes, but bluegrass music is traditional music, with ties to celtic ballads, fiddle tunes--reels and hornpipes--and to folk songs at least as much as it has ties to country.
THANK YOU!! Too many people do not really understand that "traditional country" and "bluegrass" are different types of music. Within "country & western" you have all sorts of different types including texas swing and bluegrass.
Bluegrass puts a much greater stress on instrumentalism than country, which is primarily vocal. Bluegrass stresses 3 and 4 part harmonization whereas country typically features a lone vocalist. Bluegrass is acoustic music, wheras country is typified by electric sounds--reverbed vocals and pedal steel guitar. Bluegrass lives on standards. Country lives on hits.
Very good explanation for the uneducated.
Seems to me the comparison makes sense to an urban person, but to a music fan, I don't think the comparison is so apt. They both come from Nashville, but that is a recording and distribution matter, not a creative one. Just my opinion. I could be wrong.
No, you are not wrong.
I think people just need to get over it and realize that "country music" has changed. Just like so many hated(and still do) when "New Rock" or "Alternative Rock" came out and destroyed the 70's and 80's arena rock sound, "new country" has changed the face of "popular country music". Just like so many posters here say "I'll stick with Hank, Willie, Buck and Conway", I said the same about Rock - "I'll stick with Def Leppard, Bon Jovi, Van Halen and Guns N' Roses". Do "old" country and rock performers put out new material? Yep? Does mainstream radio play much of it? Nope. Does this piss people off? Yes. Should we learn to live with it? Yes.
It's fun to go back and look at Billboard charts from the past. Folks remember the few talents, and forget all the other stuff. I don't have any handy, but if you look, you'll find a lot of names that aren't getting much praise on this thread. Anyone want to sing the praises of BJ Thomas, Freddy Fender, Tanya Tucker, or Ronnie Milsap?
Fine analogy but bad bad comparison.
The 70's and 80's arena rock sound was and is the equivalent of this bland commerical country music today -- except this bland commerical country is still 100 times better than 70's rock.