Today's Country Music

[CAVEMANager]

PBS is presently running a multipart series on the roots of country music. A lot of time and effort went into producing this quality feature and I recommend it to people who want a better understanding of how country music evolved. Eventually the central theme is likely to emerge that the stuff billed as country music today can trace its origins to the Carter Family, Bill Monroe, Kitty Wells and Jimmie Rodgers. This progression should work nicely until about 1990 when the genre underwent a sharp diversion from its origins. I'll enjoy any attempt to connect Jason Aldean's new release, "We Back" to the Carter Family. I'd describe "We Back" as heavy metal country. The lyrics are remotely hillbilly but not the instrumentation which may trace its roots to Metalica. If I played that on my station I'd get plenty of complaints. Should be interesting to see if the name "Jason Aldean" is enough to propel this song to the top of the charts.

 

[CTListener]

PBS is presently running a multipart series on the roots of country music. A lot of time and effort went into producing this quality feature and I recommend it to people who want a better understanding of how country music evolved. Eventually the central theme is likely to emerge that the stuff billed as country music today can trace its origins to the Carter Family, Bill Monroe, Kitty Wells and Jimmie Rodgers. This progression should work nicely until about 1990 when the genre underwent a sharp diversion from its origins. I'll enjoy any attempt to connect Jason Aldean's new release, "We Back" to the Carter Family. I'd describe "We Back" as heavy metal country. The lyrics are remotely hillbilly but not the instrumentation which may trace its roots to Metalica. If I played that on my station I'd get plenty of complaints. Should be interesting to see if the name "Jason Aldean" is enough to propel this song to the top of the charts.

The series will only chronicle country music through 1996, several reviewers have mentioned. The reason given is that its creators don't consider the past 23 years to be selttled "history" yet, that there is no way of judging the ultimate significance of Taylor Swift, Jason Aldean, etc., in the overall narrative. The rise of Garth Brooks and others in the late 80s through mid-'90s will be examined, but everything that has come since will not. Disappointing, as I was looking forward to the same things you were.

 

[TheBigA]

This progression should work nicely until about 1990 when the genre underwent a sharp diversion from its origins. I'll enjoy any attempt to connect Jason Aldean's new release, "We Back" to the Carter Family.

There are many steps in between those two things. The connection is they're both very popular with the people. In my view, the original Carter Family with A.P. was very different from the Carter Family without A.P. and with Chet Atkins. I can hear a difference. I can hear a difference between what they were doing and what Monroe was doing. Bill Monroe was the Jimmy Page of country music. Ernest Tubb adding electric guitars and drums is the connection to Jason Aldean. But between them, you have Hank Williams Jr. drawing from Lynyrd Skynyrd and Garth Brooks and his rock & roll show, smashing acoustic guitars and flying through the air. So it's a process.

 

[centerfreqradio]

I prefer old school but I haven't catch the PBS show yet but heard and read that it was great......