Why is country music so depressing?

[rynochop]

Was never a fan, but I never changed the channel if I came across a Shania Twain video back in the day.

 

[JohnnyTheFox]

Was never a fan, but I never changed the channel if I came across a Shania Twain video back in the day.

 

[BoltsNHorns]

It's quite possible yer' just that damp& clammy wet blanket cloaked type of perennially misguided loser in life kinda' guy of a dysfunctional casing-liner,,, er,,,but then again, I don't torture my "inner centeredness" by allowing the continued listening too&of very much of it,at all,,just saying,FRIEND

I err....turkey feather

 

[Melonfeud]

Reminds me of the old Jerry Reed tune, she got the goldmine and I got the shaft.
Also who can forget, I'm at home getting hammered and shes out getting nailed.

Well,,,and,,, now don't yoube taking no big swings at me fer' divulging this, but I was a rather notorious nailer back in the day,,,it definitely fine tuned my hand to hand combat capabilities,,,, as a couple of them jealous husbands had verbally stated(separate fandangos) they were gonna KILL ME, as they bore down& was closing into fist throwing/ grab ahold range,,,and they were BIG DUDES TOO!,,, fear of death is the best motivation to quickly plant yer opponents casing-liner in the dirt,,,trust me on that one

 

[Melonfeud]

I err....turkey feather

,,,er,,,,that was: TURKEY BUZZARD FEATHER, if my memory serves me well,BRO,,,,

 

[BoltsNHorns]

,,,er,,,,that was: TURKEY BUZZARD FEATHER, if my memory serves me well,BRO,,,,

Technically its Turkey Buzzard Wing Feather

 

[Vtwin]

HAH! You're going to have to try something else to get me to click. The jumbo "fiddle" and banjo are dead give aways. I suspect country music is played in hell anyway.

I'm not a big country fan although I can appreciate the old school stuff.

These guys here moved right up into favorite band status as soon as I got a taste of their stuff. The guy playing the "jumbo fiddle" is an accomplished classical musician and the guy playing the banjo refined his chops playing guitar in metal bands. This song really got them noticed but if you dig a bit deeper into their catalog they've got some friggin awesome 'Black Sabbath meets the Oak Ridge Boys' kinda stuff. About as dark and heavy as I imagine you could get with a cello a banjo and a couple acoustic guitars. I wouldn't put them in the country category.

 

[GimmeTheBall!]

Talk to any long time "aspiring" garage band rock musicians& the overwhelming majority (locals who are still in chasing the dream mode)
Had to bare right & pursue an eagles type of middle ground approach in order to keep picking up part time paying gigs

The Dude and I both hate the Eagles.
In would rather you steal copper wiring than play eagles.

 

[Melonfeud]

The Dude and I both hate the Eagles.
In would rather you steal copper wiring than play eagles.

Ya,well,,,once you started wearing those shoes& being fed them thereTablets of Love, under the seven bridges road ( bridge #5) which is closest to the south bound exit ramp to the Hotel California, the Steve Miller band Would more than likely drop kick a handsome dent in yer' elephant eared directional deep tonal mid-pitched range TUBA,of tin manufacture,,,, jackie Chan Style,,,ya, you'd best tread a mite lite afoot down in that A.O.,,, GIMME,,,,just saying

 

[lukin2006]

There is some country I like, Johnny Cash is my favourite country artist, followed by Willie.

 

[Quickdraw]

You'd sing sad songs too if you had to dress like that. If I lived in Nashville, I'd volunteer for the Porter Wagoner Suicide Prevention Line. Take two sequins and call me in the morning.

I spent 25 years in radio management and of those 25, 18 had a country station involved and I hated country music because I'd never really let myself embrace the soul of it. And a lot of country music is soul music. Life is hard and country music is reflective of some of that and I am not talking about all of this stealing rock riffs from the 50's and 60's going on today.

There are songs that reach inside if you allow that to happen and while it may be depressing, makes us feel alive. "He Stopped Loving Her Today" while that certainly fits the sad and depressing actually made me think about the depth of my love for my wife. "You Were Always My Mind" might just be the greatest love song of all time. And while I loved Aretha for her soulful voice, that is also matched by Patsy. And I could nominate "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" as the original American song. How many have listened to Hank sing that and connected?

Alternative is my music of choice over the last 10-15 years followed closely by Jazz and Rock but there are times I have to hit the patio with a few longnecks and George, Jones and Strait, Hank, Johnny, Merle, Patsy, Waylon and Willie, real country. Something odd happens when I am feeling blue and listen to real country, someone is singing about how I feel, someone else has felt my pain, my loneliness and I feel the connection. After some of that, I feel better, not so alone. I use Rock to numb the pain but real Country can soothe the pain.

Sitting on your porch pickin and a grinnin eh Coach?

 

[jsb357]

Open your mind to all music. The groove lives in all music or that music wouldn't exist. If the magic is there, you will hear it if you give it the chance.

This...

As a kid I was raised listening to Tom T. Hall and Johnny Paycheck on the 8track

Then Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass taught me that great songs don't REQUIRE words.

The 5th Dimension and Elvis rounded out my preteen years.

Although rock or classic rock as it is known today is my preference,
I listen to and enjoy several genres of music.

My playlist consist of a mostly rock, country, classical and some movie scores.

Although I do not like rap or techno, strangely I have 8-10 of these on my playlist as well.
I can't really explain as to why, these few songs just speak to me.

I'm also a musical late bloomer as I did not "discover" the Doors until 1988
or the Beatles until the early 90's.

I think if the right song, under the right circumstance hits your ears,
regardless of the genre it will be with you forever.

 

[CouchCoach]

I can listen to "cry in your beer" country music all day.
Just don't force me to listen to Luke Bryan or Florida Georgia line and we'll be fine.

I draw the line at pop country,tractor rap .

I however love REAL country music like what you would hear on the Grand Ole Oprey .
Other than Symphonic Metal,Black Metal or Goth Metal country is my favorite genre of music especially Red Dirt and Outlaw country.

When I was working in OK, booked a ton of Red Dirt and that mix of blues/roadhouse with country was infectious. Got to know quite a few of them and what was interesting was their affinity and tie to real country or they'd just play some Southern Rock rather than that Nashville crank it out crap.

 

[CouchCoach]

Sitting on your porch pickin and a grinnin eh Coach?

Quick, more like cryin' in my beer but I would feel better and I was known to do some "eefin" and leg slapping when the mood hit me.

 

[CouchCoach]

If y'all, country for youse guys, get the chance, check out Red Dirt with some artists like Cross Canadian Ragweed, Stoney Larue, Josh Abbott Band, Blue Edmondson and the originator of the genre, Mike McClure and The Great Divide. Might change your mind and lyrically, what they do is superior to the Nashville pop country.

But for alt country and a man that has lived it, doesn't get any better than Steve Earle. Sometimes I get a little down and feeling sorry for myself, I play "I Ain't Ever Satisfied", from his first album, and that gets my mind right.

 

[kskboys]

Every song is about heartbreak or losing the girl you love. Even their love song is depressing as most song has to do with Whiskey or some sort of liquor.

I'm from the south so country music is in my blood but I still wonder if I listen to country music because I'm a depress person?

It's not. Perception and confirmation bias.

People started making jokes about it, so this perception started. So, someone would then hear a song or two that is sad, and think "See, it is".

There have been periods(Mid 80's, for example), when much of it was slower and not as pleasant.

And as w/ any genre, there's good and bad, depressing and uplifting, little bit of everything.

Offhand, I'd say all genres are like that.

 

[kskboys]

I can't think of anything good to say about country music. A few songs amuse me, but the majority turns me into the Incredible Hulk. I will smash what ever I have to in order to stop that wretched sound.

Of course. I feel the same way about some types of music, but I don't say anything because I don't want to offend someone who likes it.

 

[CouchCoach]

No such thing as bad music unless it's performed poorly.

I can't stand rap/hip hop. Some prefer that and they're adding it to this year's Woodstock because of the popularity and I don't think people that like that have poor taste, just different taste in music than my own. But that stuff is audio torture for me.

One thing that happened that fueled the growth of Country were the changes in other music genre. When rock made a left turn to alternative in the 80's, a lot of people didn't make the turn and turned to other music and that was also the birth and rise of Oldies and Classic Rock. In the 90's, another turn to Grunge and more left Rock to seek other music and since Country was known as the "real instruments" music, a lot of people gravitated there and Country broadened to appeal to a wider audience. Country became more Rock than Rock to a lot of people.

The stigma of Country began to change in the late 80's/90's and it became a must buy on ad agency lists because it was winning by default. The image of Bubba and Earline sitting on the porch of the single wide with a jug of whiskey and a 6 pack of PBR with a gaggle of toddlers running around was leaving.

Country music made the shift from lifestyle to just a music preference in the late 80's/ early 90's and probably has Garth Brooks to thank for that, he made Country larger than it had ever been. He was the Elvis and Michael Jackson of his time.

 

[BoltsNHorns]

Of course. I feel the same way about some types of music, but I don't say anything because I don't want to offend someone who likes it.

I find country music should be what everyone at least in the U.S listen to but that is not the case. Sometime I wonder if I am right or everyone else is? How do people not see and hear what I see and hear? Also is country music a curse or blessing? To be so different from everyone else that no one really understand you.

 

[CouchCoach]

I find country music should be what everyone at least in the U.S listen to but that is not the case. Sometime I wonder if I am right or everyone else is? How do people not see and hear what I see and hear? Also is country music a curse or blessing? To be so different from everyone else that no one really understand you.

It is strictly a music preference and a lot of people in the South were raised around Country and it has roots in family for them the same way Big Band and Sinatra have for me. That's what was played in my home growing up.

You have a ton of company as Country is still a top radio format and if there is a safe music format, that's it. The thug element of HipHop and some of the bizarre behavior of some of the Pop stars builds a disconnect with a lot of people. Country is safe, you don't hear a lot of negative about the performers and that is by design as Country listeners have hard expectations of the people they let in their homes and lives. The most surprising thing about Country to me was when they began to allow the "hells" and "damns" and other adult language in the songs released to radio stations. That was forbidden for a long time as the research always revealed that most of the church goers preferred County music. A real dichotomy with a bunch of music associated with cheating and drinking but that was fact for many years.

Then the music began to broaden and the audience grew and they discovered it was about music preference, not lifestyle, and began to create accordingly.

As to your question, you are right for you.