tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post3262887603083107229..comments2024-03-28T21:56:51.675-04:00Comments on Face to Face: Evaluating culture by how good the not-so-great isagnostichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12967177967469961883noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-5873087046940595802010-01-26T05:10:29.569-05:002010-01-26T05:10:29.569-05:00I'm not into Nashville country much, but there...I'm not into Nashville country much, but there's definitely no shortage of Texas country songs about raising hell, banging chicks and so on. I've got a crunkcore band which does nothing but covers of country songs, and we've got no shortage of material. It was inspired when I noticed that Charlie Robison's "Loving County" dealt with nothing but stereotypical hip-hop themes - chicks, bling, guns, crime, snitching, running from the law, and ending up on death row. It's not as good as Robison's more upbeat party songs, but it's funny when you realize that you could just throw in a few F-bombs and have yourself some gangsta-ass verses.<br /><br />Sure, you still get some of those "this girl dumped me and I really miss her" songs, but there's plenty of those in every genre, and they seem to be less blatant than they were a few decades ago.Drogomir Smolkenhttp://www.myspace.com/goatbombnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-33284875931811400802010-01-25T17:08:24.147-05:002010-01-25T17:08:24.147-05:00I don't think I've heard any of those song...I don't think I've heard any of those songs you listed.<br /><br />I <a href="http://entitledtoanopinion.wordpress.com/2009/03/30/more-reasons-to-be-against-happiness/" rel="nofollow">hypothesized</a> a while back that a peppy-music phase was causally related to my glumness at the same time. It remains merely a hypothesis.<br /><br />Anonymous, <a href="http://isteve.blogspot.com/2009/09/my-taki-column-on-country-music.html" rel="nofollow">Steve Sailer</a> has made a similar point. Some wag at Unfogged said "Country songs are about being cheated on, rap songs are about cheating".TGGPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11017651009634767649noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-5530911429132406412010-01-23T12:25:08.138-05:002010-01-23T12:25:08.138-05:00"Think of it another way: in between the best..."Think of it another way: in between the best songs on the radio on a typical day, what do the next-best filler songs sound like?"<br /><br />Thats a very good way to look at it. Thats probably the best way to historically judge individual acts also. Their best hits vs. the rest of their work. <br /><br />I liked the "happier" music during the 80's, but then again I think we were a happier country back then also, not nearly as guilt-tripped by the media as we are now everywhere we turn***<br /><br />*** I heard a radio advertisement in the gym on a country station (!) the other day urging shoppers to shop at a "vintage" clothing store because it was more green and "sustainable" for "our planet". So now we are going to be guilt-tripped for buying NEW clothes? <br />Many clothes are made from cotton, wool, or silk blends. Those things are grown or grow on animals and are ultimately self-renewing. We aren't "depleting" anything by making them. In fact, managed correctly, we can have more of these resources any time we want, just as we can plant 10 trees for every one we cut down. <br />So there I was, listening to a hick-station belt out Nashville's product, and hit with a plea like that. I could feel my jaw go slack and want to open like in the cartoons. <br /><br /><br />BTW--Country is the most beta-damned music for males imaginable. So many of the songs were about "taking her back after she cheated", "waiting for her to make up her mind", "Im sorry for what Ive done wrong", "Please excuse my drinking and rowdy ways", or girls singing about how they can "do better than this rodeo lothario", and "ain't no man gonna do me wrong". Its like negative-cultural programming. But I didn't want to be rude and change the radio for everyone, so I had to listen to it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-5543506723387991122010-01-23T08:11:34.725-05:002010-01-23T08:11:34.725-05:00In the 2000s, Arcade Fire and Animal Collective we...In the 2000s, Arcade Fire and Animal Collective were both pretty "peppy", which seems to be your primary basis for judging a band. <br /><br />Radiohead's In Rainbows was also fairly energetic.Alhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17327836181389523648noreply@blogger.com