Posted on 02/13/2009 11:45:39 AM PST by nickcarraway
Country music legend Merle Haggard, who is recovering from cancer surgery, has condemned young country stars, insisting they are having hits with all the wrong tunes.
The 71-year-old says he hates the songs of country music’’s current crop of leading ladies, with Carrie Underwood topping the list.
“Carrie Underwear, or Underwood. I mean, I like her, but where’’s the songs. You have to get past the belly buttons and the videos, Contactmusic quoted Haggard as telling America’’s Globe.
He also said country music today is so perfect. Maybe too perfect. “There are no surprises,” he said. “Everything is going to be perfect, and I can’t even hear someone breathe. That’s just my opinion. The electronic digital computer, anyone can do a record nowadays. You don’t have to stay in key or they’ll put you in key.” And he added that there is no better evidence of that than when you see an artist in concert: “You don’t really know who can sing or can’t until you see them in person, then you’re like, ‘Oh, my God, what happened?’”
If you are talking about THE Hank Williams, he is dead.
But, he sure COULD sing.
“There are no surprises”
Such as finding out the Okie from Muskogee has turned into a flaming lib? You can keep those surprises.
Garth Brooks is one of them. The guy sounds fine in studio, but he can't carry a tune in a bucket live on stage.
Haggard didn’t ‘slam’ anything - he brought a legitimate criticism.
Fans of country music don’t like to be stereotyped - except when they gleefully embrace songs celebrating those stereotypes.
Not all country falls into the trap described by Haggard - but radio-ready ‘Hot New Country’ certainly does. Unfortunately its undemanding fan base virtually guarantees the production of more pap.
The breakover point for production techniques vs. musicianship and original ideas has been reached. Reverb, compression, and other studio tricks including the Harmonizer aka the poor vocalist’s savior have been done to death. Rock musicians have been tuning down from concert pitch (usually one half-step) for years in order to get a more growly, aggressive sound especially from the guitars and lately I’ve noticed a huge percentage of songs on country radio that are tuned UP one-half step in order to make a song sound brighter.
Even undeniable talents such as Brad Paisley have no choice but to play the game and have the Nashville sheen applied to their songs. Unfortunately this makes it difficult even for a trained ear to distinguish between Paisley and a three-chord formulaic hack like Toby Keith.
Unusual instrumentation and ‘mistakes’ are what give any recorded performance its individuality and memorableness - which is why you can remember all of the odd sounds coming from Sgt. Pepper or the White Album while all the songs/albums Boston recorded tend to run together in one’s mind (despite that I’m a huge Boston fan).
Like so many others Haggard is simply pointing out that country has gone bubblegum. Pop music is still largely wandering in the hip-hop wilderness and you really can’t fault starlets who want to emphasize vocals instead of drum loops and samples for turning to country. The Nashville ‘machine’ has become reliably, even frighteningly efficient at churning out their brand of candyfloss.
The rest of us will have to rely on Austin City Limits and the occasional bright spark like Dwight Yoakam or the Derailers.
My church choirmaster is an Adjunct Professor of Music at Roosevelt University in Chicago. He's also very involved as a performer (keyboards) in musical productions in Chicago. He has had numerous occasions to compare and contrast what some well-known musicians put into their microphones as opposed to what gets put onto tape. He says "I'll never trust recorded music again."
I wouldn’t single out Carrie Underwood, because the girl can sing and has some decent songs. BUT I agree with Merle. Since country is nearly the only genre that’s making money, they are cranking out crappy songs as fast as they can make them.
Over the weekend, someone had country radio on in the car and it was painful to listen. The songs weren’t just a little on the bad side, they had two big ol’ feet in crap town. I’m not a hardcore country purist who thinks that every that isn’t George Strait sucks. I like newer people, but the last 3-4 years the quality has gone way down hill.
Really, when you are thinking, “Dear God, what is this monstrosity??” and then the DJ says it was Alan Jackson, there is a problem.
Who is this “Carrie Underwood” that he speaks of? I need visual evidence stat! :)
Spoken by a man who knows what he’s talking about.
There used to be a talk show host in Chicago who years ago had been a country DJ in Del Rio, TX, I believe. He called the country music of Merle Haggard, George Jones, etc, “soul music for white people.” In addition to Haggard’s critique of today’s country, I think that what a lot of it is missing is that “soul.”
She was country?
It's on his Somewhere Down in Texas CD.
I don’t think so.
Get your wife back get your dog back and you quit drinking.
EXACTLY.. wheres the hard drinking, pot smoking, neer-do-well, addicted, fist-fighting, moral trainwreck, mot'ercyle riding, trailer park vanity of yesteryear..
Hey.. that sounds like the chorus of a country western song..
I’m sitting here listening to The Eagles, who by now are Old-School Country, compared to the soft rock they were when they came out.
If you're gonna include Emmylou in "modern" than I'll have to go with Reba.
I like country cause you can hear the lyrics, usually, and there is music and musicianship involved.
I like some of Chesney's ( the Good Stuff etc...) , all of Strait's, Alison Krauss has an amazing voice, Nickel Creek, Big and Rich (funny stuff) Brad Paisley (good player).... just like I liked Jerry Reed and Chet Atkins.
But your right about some of the "faces of Country Music".... some of it is hokey. "Kid Rock" and other rappers.... I think music is big enough for everybody however.
I think they should outlaw lip synching or make the artists have to fess up to it if they do it in concert.
Also, as much as I doubt I could stand being around her for too long, as far as “modern” country goes, I also like Wynona Judd. She’s got attitude and a damn good voice.
“I agree with the Hag.
My only “modern” favorites are George Straight and Emmylou Harris”
There are a few good artists out there, Del McCoury and Alison Krauss come to mind, but you will find very little good music it on most country stations and they aren’t on “major” labels. I agree about Emmylou Harris, her first major album had songs that were in the top 10 on the pop and country charts. Her voice has deteriorated over the years but has gained that raspy “soul” quality that Ray Charles had. As Emmylou said on the Dirt Band album, most modern country music has lost that “front Porch” feel.
Underwood is fine...she has a voice and is inspirational. Frankly, I’m sick of the cookie cutters Nashville has tried to crank out after CU hit the scene.
Same for Shania Twain. And the McGraw/Hill conflab...sorry, but I am not into that.
the Muzik Mafia are more down home imo...
Even the Alison Krauss/Robert Plant/T-Bone Burnett project has more country soul than most of the playboy bunny singers.
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