Country Music

Monday, January 15th, 2007 -- J. Doe

When Buzzurro and I left New Jersey for a job opportunity I never thought of the music I would hear, we bought a car and set out for our trip across several sates until we arrived in New Mexico.
The radio in our car was set to a jazzy hip hop type radio station, but soon it faded away. By the time we got to central Pennsylvania most of the radio stations played country music I thought to myself “Oh no! I despise country music! Whatever will I listen to?”.
Buzzurro liked it right away and the radio was constantly playing it. We brought no CDs or tapes with us on our trip, and I suppose some type of music is better than none.
By the time Buzzurro and I got to Tennessee I was going crazy. I absolutely hated country music. I couldn’t stand it anymore. I turned off the radio and thought about cutting the electrical wires so Buzzurro wouldn’t turn the radio on when I wasn’t looking. (I didn’t though) I thought I was doomed to a life of never listening to the radio and only listening to CDs. To many people in the urban centers of the Northeast (including me) all country music is depressing.
9 months later I have changed my opinions on country music 100 percent. While I am still not it’s biggest fan, and unlike Alan Jackson’s song She’s Gone Country, I have not, but I appreciate it for what it is.
For one, it is not depressing. Most of the songs I hear are cheerful and uplifting. Some may start out describing sorrowful scenes but end up on a high note, such as one of my favorites, She Let Herself Go by George Strait. It describes how a mother returns home from a shopping trip only to find a note on the table from her husband saying basically that he is leaving her because he doesn’t love her anymore because she ‘”let herself go” , in the meaning that she doesn’t take care of herself anymore. As soon as he left, she ‘let herself go’ in the literal sense. She “let herself go” with the kids to the beach because her husband never wanted to. She “let herself go” on a singles cruise and “let herself go” to New York City. I don’t see how people could ever listen to this song and get depressed.
For another reason, country music is clear. When one hears country songs on the radio one hears the singer’s skill in singing, and not like in many rock or pop songs the mixer’s skill in mixing tracks. Many times I remember hearing Top 40 songs on the radio only to go to a concert of that musician only to hear something totally different. That doesn’t happen with country, or at least not as much.
The radio stations where I live do not play all country music, but the majority do, and frequently I even seek them out.

This is not me yet, She’s Gone Country by Alan Jackson, but I’m getting there.

3 Responses to “Country Music”

  1. Cyn {46 comments}

    I hate, hate, HATE country music. Back in my days on the ambulance, I had a partner who loved it. As a joke (because she knew I wasn’t a fan) she would wait until I was in the back with a patient and turn the radio on to a country music station!

    Maybe I just need to take a road trip with you guys to change my mind!
    Cyn

  2. J.Doe {12 comments}

    While I wouldn’t want to be in the back of an ambulance, I think I would have enjoyed hearing country music.

    You are welcome to take a road trip with us any day too.

  3. expatraveler {17 comments}

    I agree, I hate country too but a small amount has grown on me over the years.

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.


Site Meter

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.