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What Ken Burns’ 16-Hour ‘Country Music’ Epic Leaves Out
THE WESTERNER ^ | 9/15/2019 | Frank DuBois

Posted on 09/15/2019 1:40:34 PM PDT by cowpoke

Country music has been having an identity crisis since it crawled out of the cradle. Call it diffuse or call it elastic, but it has always run on two tracks: one was rough and one was slick, one rooted in tradition, the other more modern. Think about that serendipitous August in 1927 in Bristol, Tennessee, when, two days apart, both Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family auditioned for the Victor Talking Machine Company (which would ultimately become RCA Records). Ralph Peer, the record company’s producer and talent scout, immediately signed both acts. That was a big week for country music. But Rodgers’ and the Carters’ music, while similar, drew upon dissimilar traditions. Rodgers sounded slicker, more commercial, like Tin Pan Alley injected with the blues and a yodel. The Carters were more about spirituals and traditional mountain music. But both appealed to the working class white audience that record companies were just beginning to cultivate. So who was going to fuss about stylistic differences when the records were selling? Together, over the course of a century, these two strands stitched a durable crazy quilt broad enough to accommodate Bill Monroe and Lynn Anderson, the Bakersfield sound and countrypolitan, fiddles and syrupy violins. Sometimes the two strains were at odds, and sometimes the tension between the two created works of genius. Another word for this, of course, is schizophrenic. If you want to see this study in multiple musical personalities displayed in fascinating detail, tune in to Ken Burns’ eight-part documentary on country music that debuts tonight (Sept. 15) on your local PBS affiliate. It’s not as much trashy, surreal fun as any given performance of the Grand Ole Opry or even Hee Haw, because Burns just doesn’t do trashy, but if you need a starter course in country, this is it...MORE

Keep in mind the source of this review is the left-wing Daily Beast, so you will find the usual  obligatory criticisms,  such as this on race:

...Because sometimes you get the feeling while watching Country Music that they were afraid of offending anyone. Nowhere is this more awkwardly obvious than on those occasions where the doc bumps into the subject of race. The elephant in this room is that country is white people’s music, and the African-American artists brought in to testify to the contrary, even when they say sensible things, sound woefully like tokens. Because no matter how many country songs Ray Charles sang and no matter how many No. 1 hits Charley Pride had, country is just white to the bone. The performers were white. And so were their audiences. Likewise, the often ugly conservative and sometimes downright racist impulses articulated by more than a few performers in the ’60s and ’70s are glossed over almost completely. We don’t hear a peep about Marty Robbins recording “Ain’t I Right,” a song mocking civil rights freedom marchers, or Guy Drake, whose “Welfare Cadillac” shot to No. 5 on the country charts in 1970.  

So just consider this as a reminder the series begins tonight on PBS.

I will admit I had never heard the Marty Robbins tune Ain't I Right. It turns out to be an anti-communist tune. Give it a listen:

https://youtu.be/0XxYwWg7F8I

0

Same goes for Welfare Cadillac by Guy Drake, which mocks the welfare system. Hard to say it is racist, since whites are the largest group of recipients:
Here is the Drake tune:

https://youtu.be/hq-hx73or30


TOPICS: History; Music/Entertainment
KEYWORDS: countrymusic; kenburns; tvprogram; vtltbutthurt
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To: dfwgator
I wouldn't say Garth Brooks KILLED country music but he definitely set it back. I usually refer to Garth Brooks as the Barry Manilow of country music.

Now his first three albums were pretty decent but as he attained superstar status, he turned into a total AC (adult contemporary) mediocrity. Even his lyrics got mostly politically correct. It was sad to see because he did have some talent.

There are some bright spots in modern country. Toby Keith was mentioned earlier but you also have artists like Luke Combs, Trace Adkins, Aaron Tippin and others who carry on the tradition just fine.

21 posted on 09/15/2019 2:19:00 PM PDT by SamAdams76
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To: cowpoke

Can we expect Producer Ken Burns to denigrate the contributions of Elvis Presley to this genre of popular music too?


22 posted on 09/15/2019 2:19:24 PM PDT by CaliforniaCraftBeer
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To: cowpoke

I wonder if Frank DuBois sometimes wrings his hands because some types of music are predominately black, in terms of both artists and fans. I’m sure if Frank ever cogitated on this he would come to the conclusion that some forms of black music are racist, now wouldn’t you, Frank?


23 posted on 09/15/2019 2:20:29 PM PDT by SharpRightTurn (Chuck Schumer--giving pond scum everywhere a bad name.)
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To: cowpoke; All
Seriesly, folks, we need to start wrapping this baby up. Donate today. [FReepathon LXXVII]
24 posted on 09/15/2019 2:20:53 PM PDT by onyx
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To: CaliforniaCraftBeer
Can we expect Producer Ken Burns to denigrate the contributions of Elvis Presley to this genre of popular music too?

I suspect a big part of this "documentary" is how Country music is a ripoff of black music.

25 posted on 09/15/2019 2:21:35 PM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: Alberta's Child
"The problem with the “modern sound” in country music is that it has become indistinguishable from pop music."

That's why it is now referred to as "Hick Hop".

26 posted on 09/15/2019 2:22:32 PM PDT by Hatteras
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To: dfwgator
Garth Brooks killed country music.

Absolutely.

27 posted on 09/15/2019 2:24:16 PM PDT by TADSLOS (You know why you can enjoy a day at the Zoo? Because walls work.)
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To: cowpoke

You mean Ken Burns, the bizarre toupee wearing fauxcumentary film maker who made a fauxcumentary portraying 5 punks who attempted to kill 2 people in Central park as innocent which lead to a lunatic leftist Mayor awarding them millions? Yes! Bash in the skull of a man with a lead pipe, and then beat a woman within an inch of her life and you too can live large courtesy of a lesbian looking dip named Ken Burns.


28 posted on 09/15/2019 2:24:30 PM PDT by GrandJediMasterYoda (As long as Hillary walks free, equal justice under the law will never exist in the USA)
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To: cowpoke

Elwood Blues:
What kind of music do you usually have here?

Claire:
Oh, we got both kinds. We got country *and* western.


29 posted on 09/15/2019 2:25:06 PM PDT by GreenLanternCorps (Hi! I'm the Dread Pirate Roberts! (TM) Ask about franchise opportunities in your area.arare)
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To: SamAdams76

Garth Brooks is like the rodeo clown of country music.


30 posted on 09/15/2019 2:26:05 PM PDT by GrandJediMasterYoda (As long as Hillary walks free, equal justice under the law will never exist in the USA)
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To: cowpoke

Aint been a good country song since “She’s a T Bone Talkin Woman But She Gots a Hot Dog Heart”


31 posted on 09/15/2019 2:26:37 PM PDT by Uncle Lonny
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To: dfwgator
How much time will Ken Burns devote to Ray Charles and Charlie Pride?

Yes. Ken Burns is a skilled film maker, but he always seems to see the racial aspect as a crucial aspect. He could make documentary about the game of dominoes but he'd tie it into slavery and Jim Crow.

32 posted on 09/15/2019 2:27:33 PM PDT by ClearCase_guy (If White Privilege is real, why did Elizabeth Warren lie about being an Indian?)
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To: cowpoke
"Another word for this, of course, is schizophrenic."

Actually the more proper descriptive word nowadays is synergistic.

schizophrenic of or relating to conflicting or inconsistent elements; characterized by unusual disparity

synergistic is relating to the interaction or cooperation of two or more organizations, substances, or other agents to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects


33 posted on 09/15/2019 2:33:32 PM PDT by higgmeister ( In the Shadow of The Big Chicken)
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To: dfwgator
Garth Brooks killed country music.

Him and all the idiots who imitated him Sure did
34 posted on 09/15/2019 2:33:55 PM PDT by uncbob
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To: SharpRightTurn

First, I seldom cogitate. And on those rare occasions that I do, it is not about black music. However, if I did, I would probably come to the conclusion suggested by you.


35 posted on 09/15/2019 2:35:18 PM PDT by cowpoke
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To: dfwgator
Garth Brooks killed country music.

Him and all the idiots who imitated him Sure did
36 posted on 09/15/2019 2:35:48 PM PDT by uncbob
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To: ClearCase_guy

He could make documentary about the game of dominoes
= =

Black, and White dots.


37 posted on 09/15/2019 2:35:57 PM PDT by Scrambler Bob (This is not /s. It is just as viable as any MSM, maybe more so!)
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To: dsrtsage
You forgot, when playin it backwards enuf, you also get your runaway dawg back.
38 posted on 09/15/2019 2:39:07 PM PDT by Cvengr ( Adversity in life & death is inevitable; Stress is optional through faith in Christ.)
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To: GreenLanternCorps

That was my first thought and looked to find it here before I made myself a fool and posted it again.


39 posted on 09/15/2019 2:40:08 PM PDT by higgmeister ( In the Shadow of The Big Chicken)
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To: cowpoke

So just consider this as a reminder the series begins tonight on PBS.

*************

Yes on PBS beginning at 8pm EDT there are several hours
devoted to Country music.


40 posted on 09/15/2019 2:42:08 PM PDT by deport
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