I
get it. Everyone loves to hate country music.
But,
despite the fact that my disdain for most trash on the radio has gotten me called a “musical elitist”
before, I actually love it. Chalk it up to the fact that I drive on windy
backroads all the time and have cows hanging out right behind my neighborhood.
Fine. I don’t care what you think.
Country music actually has a lot of things going for it — it’s
just a matter of what you’re looking to get out of a song. When it comes to
this genre, songs are simple, relatable, catchy and rewarding. You can usually
know most of a song after listening to it one time through. And if I tune into
other stations, the odds of me knowing a song are much slimmer than when I turn
to a trusty country station. My friend left the country for nearly five months
and said she could still listen to country — and not feel like an alien — when
she came back.
I
agree with Chuck Klosterman, who wrote in Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa
Puffs that, “The most wretched people in the word are
those who tell you they like every kind of music ‘except country.’ People who
say that are boorish and pretentious at the same time.”
But
then there are times when I flip around country stations and come across songs
that really are just. plain. terrible. And I realize that if I wasn’t really
into country and came across one of thesesongs, I would hate it too. And my hatred — or
maybe even pity? — of the genre would probably be irreversible.
So,
for all you country-haters out there, don’t judge the genre by songs like these
— five of the worst I’ve ever heard:
5. Dirt Road Anthem, Jason Aldean
Based
on all the swerving, I’m going to guess that the ice cold beer sitting is his
console wasn’t the first. I guess drinking and driving is legal if you are
driving through a field. But, more importantly, why is Jason Aldean rapping?
4. Something Bout a Truck, Kip Moore
This
song is the ultimate cliff-hanger. He goes through all these things and never
tells us what exactly it is about any of them. Tell me, Kip, please! What’s is it about your truck? I think that Kip didn’t
quite know how to explain it to us and decided to just repeat himself over and
over again instead — creating this awful song in the process.
3. Honky Tonk Badonkadonk, Trace Adkins
Ohh
wee, shut my mouth, slap your grandma?
2. We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,
Taylor Swift
First
of all, I don’t think rhyming never and ever counts as songwriting. Second of
all, does anyone else remember Taylor Swift’s first single that was actually really good and didn’t sound
like it was written by a twelve-year-old? Things have all gone downhill from
there. Sure, she’s making bank, but I could be doing exactly what she is if I wasn’t tone deaf
and still believed in fairy tales. (I know, we’ll never know if that’s true, but me saying that
is no different than all the people that say they’d be really good at
basketball if they were taller. So ha.)
1. Truck Yeah, Tim McGraw
This
one breaks my heart the most because it’s by one of the most respected names in
country music. Come on, Tim. Don’t do this to me. Truck yeah? What the truck
were you thinking?
By: Alyssa Oursler
Blog: alyssaoursler.wordpress.com (version on
blog includes videos)
Portfolio: alyssaoursler.weebly.com
Twitter: @alyssaoursler
Linked In: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/alyssa-oursler/48/215/791
No comments:
Post a Comment