| Author |
Topic: MSNBC on Country |
John Macy
From:
Rockport TX/Denver CO
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Charles Davidson
From:
Phenix City Alabama, USA
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Posted 18 Jun 2009 3:56 pm |
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Jeepers,Never thought I would see the day I agreed with those folks about ANYTHING. But they got this one right. DYK?BC.
_________________
Hard headed, opinionated old geezer. BAMA CHARLIE. GOD BLESS AMERICA. ANIMAL RIGHTS ACTIVIST. SUPPORT LIVE MUSIC ! |
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Rick Campbell
From:
Sneedville, TN, USA
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Posted 18 Jun 2009 4:12 pm
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Charles,
Did you look at the whole list of 25?  |
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Richard Bass
From:
Sabang Beach, Philippines
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Posted 18 Jun 2009 5:16 pm
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They sure picked some good ones. I agreed about 95%.
Richard
_________________
I want to die from exhaustion not boredom. |
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Ben Lawson
From:
Brooksville Florida
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Posted 18 Jun 2009 5:21 pm
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| I'd say about 33% would be on my list. I don't even know some of the others. I'm not saying it isn't good, I just know too much about it. |
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Theresa Galbraith
From:
Goodlettsville,Tn. USA
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Posted 18 Jun 2009 5:44 pm
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| I don't agree with most of what they picked! |
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Charles Davidson
From:
Phenix City Alabama, USA
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Posted 18 Jun 2009 7:29 pm
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Yes Rick,but I thought about 22 out of 25 was'nt too bad,There was at least one that I can't stand,but will just let it slide.Kind of surprised me to see Fulks on there,Always liked him. DYK?BC.
_________________
Hard headed, opinionated old geezer. BAMA CHARLIE. GOD BLESS AMERICA. ANIMAL RIGHTS ACTIVIST. SUPPORT LIVE MUSIC ! |
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Tony Glassman
From:
The Great Northwest
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Posted 18 Jun 2009 8:07 pm
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| I'm glad I got a chance to see this list. I wouldn't want to waste any more time listening to non-essential country music like: Ray Price, Conway Twitty, Lefty Frizell, George Jones, George Strait, Gene Watson........... |
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Rick Campbell
From:
Sneedville, TN, USA
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Posted 18 Jun 2009 8:35 pm
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Yep. I just threw all my Mel Street and Gary Stewart records away. I thought they had some value, but I guess I was wrong. Thank you MSNBC for setting me straight on that.
There was a couple of artist listed that I've never heard of. I suppose I'm really out of touch with country music. |
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Cameron Tilbury
From:
Peterborough, England, UK
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Posted 19 Jun 2009 12:40 am
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I like this list though because it reminded me of a lot of songs and artists that were so much a part of my growing up but were given up on by radio.
I've always been a massive Gary Stewart fan--I thought he was incredibly under-rated. Mel Street, I'd forgotten about.
It just reminds me how rich and varied country music is. When you look back over the years at just how much country music has changed, the more it remains the same.
_________________
Sho Bud Super Pro D10 |
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Chris LeDrew
From:
Canada
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Posted 19 Jun 2009 1:28 am
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Some good picks......but no George Jones? How can that be?
_________________
Jackson Steel Guitars
Web: www.chrisledrew.com |
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Franklin
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Posted 19 Jun 2009 4:36 am
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Bill Monroe, Hank SR and Jr, Chet Atkins, Patsy Cline, Carl Smith, Ray Price, Eddy Arnold, Connie Smith, Jim Reeves, Conway, Sonny James, Ricky Scaggs, George Jones, Tammy Wynette, Strait, Jackson, Wynn Stewart, Jerry Reed, Waylon, Willie, Gill, Haggard, Web Pierce, Dickens, the Louvin Brothers, Loretta and Cash.
It was hard to narrow it down. Their list left out some obvious cornerstones. |
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Franklin
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Posted 19 Jun 2009 4:38 am
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| Oooops, and Buck Owens. |
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Chris LeDrew
From:
Canada
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Posted 19 Jun 2009 5:07 am
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Paul, they actually did get Buck, Merle, Hank Sr., Loretta, and Cash. But yes, there are many obvious gaping holes.
_________________
Jackson Steel Guitars
Web: www.chrisledrew.com |
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Barry Blackwood
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Posted 19 Jun 2009 6:23 am
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| There's about six or seven on the list I don't need to hear, and at least that many more they missed. Also, I'm wondering just how old this list is, since they are still referring to Mutt Lange as Shania's husband ... |
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Dave Mudgett
From:
Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee
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Posted 19 Jun 2009 6:34 am
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I dunno - I like most of what they picked, but I don't think, overall, that they really got to the essence of what I consider real country music on a lot of these. How do you argue (about Dierks Bentley), "The opening "I've Still Got a Lot of Leavin' Left to Do" is as good a rogue's anthem as anything Waylon Jennings ever recorded." but then not include anything by Waylon? How can one possibly argue for "Van Lear Rose" instead of the critical Loretta Lynn canon? How can one extoll the Louvins in the Emmylou blurb and then not include anything by them? There are just too many examples of this kind of thing.
I think they fundamentally missed the critical core of country music, as loved by the critical core of people who have loved and made country music since its inception. Instead, this seems more like an "Introduction to Country Music for Urban Folk Who Think They Don't Like Country Music," as if hitting them with the likes of Waylon, Ray Price, Patsy Cline, Webb Pierce, the Little Darlin' Johnny Paycheck, Faron Young, Carl Smith, George Jones, more modern artists like George Strait, Alan Jackson, and Ricky Skaggs, and many others, would be too much for them. This quote (in the Elvis Costello blurb) says everything you need to know about their POV:
| Quote: |
| For a lot of us who were around in the early '80s and listened to more rock than anything Nashville was doing at the time, Costello's album of classic country covers was our entrée into that world. |
Don't get me wrong - I think they're right on about Dwight, Steve Earle, Robbie Fulks, Emmylou and Gram (although I have to admit that 4/25 focused on Emmylou, Gram, the Burritos (separately), and the "Trio" album seems more than a little rock-world centric), and others that the mainstream country world has ignored to a large extent.
But overall, I think they missed the boat the same way some modern "blues" buffs do by paying only nodding homage to Robert Johnson, Muddy, BB, and Albert, focusing heavily on people like Clapton, Mike Bloomfield, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Gary Moore, and SRV, and ignoring most of the core mainstream like Lightnin Hopkins, Son House, Earl Hooker, Jimmy Rogers, Jimmy Reed, and so many others because they're not household names in suburban middle America and are probably too hardcore for that audience.
To me, this is like trying to redefine the history of country music to ignore that which is inconvenient to the modern rock-centric world. The people they extoll spent plenty of time listening to the critical mainstream mass of country music, and I think it's pretty silly to try to understand what they're doing outside of that context. But hey - this is an pulp piece from the mainstream Hollywood entertainment biz, not a serious musicological piece. |
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Ellis Miller
From:
Cortez, Colorado, USA
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Posted 19 Jun 2009 6:53 am
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Like many musings on Country Music in main stream media, this would appear to be written from the point of view of a pseudo-hip, pseudo-intellectual who views Country Music through the prism of their own cultural base. It would appear they know very little about the journey of country music and the artists and musicians that brought it to the present state.
That said, I recognize that this article was based on the writer's opinion and was not presented as an historical or even authoritative piece. It might have been better titled as "25 Country Records I Like and You Might Want to Give A Listen To"
I agree with about 25% of the picks and would have a difficult time narrowing my percieved omissions down to the scope of the article.
_________________
Ellis Miller
Don't believe everything you think.
http://www.ellismillermusic.com |
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Chris LeDrew
From:
Canada
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Posted 19 Jun 2009 6:57 am
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My list of unnecessary albums:
Big and Rich
Shania
Derks
Plant and Krauss
Gretchen Wilson
Miranda Lambert
Not that they are necessarily bad choices, but so many more great ones could fill these spots much better. There's not enough of a nod to the pioneers. Having a country list with Big and rich and not Lefty is like having a punk list with Green Day and not the Sex Pistols.
_________________
Jackson Steel Guitars
Web: www.chrisledrew.com |
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Rick Campbell
From:
Sneedville, TN, USA
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Posted 19 Jun 2009 7:26 am
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I am not surprised in the least. What's becoming harder to find than real country music, is someone who knows the difference. 
I've given up. I'll listen to what I want to and try to ignore the musicial chair games the industry plays with mixing rock, pop, and country all together.
Did anyone see the cover of "Shape" magazine? Rhimes, McBride, and Hough. Does anyone have the Kitty Wells, Del Wood, and Minnie Pearl edition?
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Mitch Drumm
From:
Frostbite Falls, hard by Veronica Lake
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Posted 19 Jun 2009 7:29 am
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Here is the opening sentence from the article:
"Here's an instant library of country essentials, each of which will catch the ears of skeptics who think the genre's all cornpone."
That tells you what is to come: minimal cornpone.
The article is a crib sheet for dilettantes, nothing more--as you would expect from an article in any similar mass media outlet.
If you drop names from this list, you have immediate credibility with your friends at the next cocktail party, particularly if they are all "skeptics who think the genre's all cornpone". You know, critical thinkers who take MSNBC seriously. People just like you.
The idea is to get your friends to raise their eyebrows slightly as they worry that maybe you are even more on the cutting edge of all that is worthwhile than they are.
Be careful--your friends might suspect that you actually have a mind of your own and are not a, er, ah, uh, dilettante. That wouldn’t be good for you and might lead to fewer cocktail party invitations.
So, be sure to mention you read it at MSNBC—-that clearly proves you ARE a dilettante and no threat. After all, if you knew your butt from a hot rock about country music, you would be quoting New Yorker or Playboy. |
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Rick Campbell
From:
Sneedville, TN, USA
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Posted 19 Jun 2009 7:30 am
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| Just a note: I don't see Gretchen Wilson as a country icon either, but her song "When I Think About Cheating" is one of the best country songs that's been out since Tammy did Apartment #9. Credit where credit is due. |
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Theresa Galbraith
From:
Goodlettsville,Tn. USA
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Posted 19 Jun 2009 7:53 am
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Well!  |
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Barry Blackwood
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Posted 19 Jun 2009 10:48 am
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| Quote: |
| My list of unnecessary albums: |
Yes, Chris, exactly! |
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Tony Glassman
From:
The Great Northwest
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Posted 19 Jun 2009 5:18 pm
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| .............and no Miss Leslie or Amber Digby! MSNBC just plain sucks. |
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Kevin Hatton
From:
Buffalo, N.Y.
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Posted 20 Jun 2009 1:49 pm
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| Chris LeDrew, I'm with you. My sentiments exactly. Also, to leave out The Possum is country sacrilige. Vince Gill also. John Macy, good post. |
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