When someone says they hate country music, they’re typically referring, whether they know it or not, to the neotraditionalist “young country” that arose in the late 1980s and came to full force in the 1990s and early 2000s. You know, the George Strait, Reba McEntire, Alan Jackson, Garth Brooks, Tim McGraw, Kenny Chesney, Brooks & Dunn, Toby Keith, Faith Hill, LeAnn Rimes, Shania Twain, and Brad Paisley era. Luke Combs and other younger artists help keep the style going, though it has evolved a bit under the influence of other genres.
As someone who consumes copious amounts of folk and hip-hop, and enjoys rock as well, this dominant brand of country is fairly torturous. This despite enjoying it when I was a teenager (I was a religious conservative surrounded by many fans of country, and had somewhat limited exposure to certain genres). This also despite trying to appreciate art in all its forms. I try to appreciate young country for what it is, but most songs can only be “enjoyed” ironically, hate-screaming I’d like to check you for ticks, she thinks my tractor’s sexy, my love affair with water, and we’ll put a boot up your ass, it’s the American way!
Of course, there’s plenty of dumb, low-brow nonsense in hip-hop, pop, and so on as well. For my personal tastes, country suffers from a content problem and a sound problem. Now, the content can be absurd, but the major themes aren’t all fundamentally bad. I reject blind patriotism and nationalism, but farms, trucks, beer, small towns, cowboy boots, dancing, that’s all good stuff to sing about. But the musical style is largely grating to my ear, like death metal or some pop. Christmas music is a good parallel — I like snow, decorations, presents, lights, and holiday feasts, but find the sound of such songs annoying and childish.
All that said, all genres have their bangers. Country is no exception. That’s why I’ve created a “Begrudgingly Acknowledged Country Bangers” playlist. Most songs, of course, don’t come from the young country branch. Just a couple. Others are more 1970s and ’80s — a far superior style — and some are newer songs but influences from other forms have clearly taken them a step away from Kenny Chesney. Finally, these are predominantly mainstream songs you’d hear at a country bar. This was to prevent me from simply finding the “good country” outside popular, contemporary tastes. You won’t see many alternative country artists like Lyle Lovett or rockabilly legends like Johnny Cash, both of whom are of course incredible and represent my favorite artists of the genre.
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