What's your genre?

[Monkey_Mania]

I like a lot of modern country music (^much to the guy above me's dismay). Tim McGraw, Kenny Chesney, Taylor Swift, Martina McBride, Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood, Dierks Bentley.
I also enjoy the music that was popular when I was in high school such as early Rihanna stuff (I don't like her new songs), Blink 182, and all that light punk.
I didn't see too many country fans in this thread, so it seems I'm an odd one out, at least in this group.

ETA: I want to emphasize modern country. Anything more than 8 or so years old can get very twangy and often follows the "my horse died, and my wife left me" sort of pattern.

You're not alone Ma'am. I also love country music and find it to be the best style of music out there. Where can you find meaningful lyrics and easy background music to listen to after a hard day. Country is where it is at. Now I may respectfully disagree on your stance about the "horse dying, country twang". THAT is country music though. Real emotion put into song. People like Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, and even todays Toby Keith and Jamey Johnson. They keep it country. None of this Rascal Flatts look at me I can sing this high bullshit. None of this Kenny motherfucking Chesney Island bullshit. Or even Carrie Underwoods Americountry Idol nonsense.

I see you do like Tim McGraw and Dierks Bentley and Brad Paisley to an extent. Which is awesome. I even self indulge myself into some Taylor Swift now and then...Wrong choice of words there Monkey. But you know what I mean. In no way am I being disrespectful to you. I just strongly suggest you check out some Merle Haggard and Waylon Jennings, and If you havent heard of Toby Keith or Jamey Johnson. I suggest that you climb out of the rock youve been living under. We should stay united as country fans. Maybe even have a fun debate about country music between us. But it's good to see that there are other county music lovers. Even if it is this Pop Country.

 

[Ms. TM Canada]

Monkey- Yeah, not a fan of the old country (though I do like me some Johnny Cash, compliments of the movie Ring of Fire). I think what I dislike is what my parents listened to, so like 80's country (Billy Ray Cyrus, anyone?). Perhaps I could deal with whatever generation of country Johnny Cash came from, I've just never sought it out.
I totally understand what you mean about Rascal Flatts and Kenny Chesney (his islandy songs) not really being true to country. Rascal Flatts' singer has a very nasal high voice that I dislike.
Kenny Chesney does have some good legitimate country songs (There Goes My Life, Anything But Mine, Don't Blink, She's Got It All (one of my favourite songs of all time) all come to mind) but a large portion of his songs are islandy pop that I also wouldn't classify as actual country either.
I also love Paul Brandt because I'm a sucker for anything romantic and sentimental (Didn't Even See the Dust is another favourite of all time for me)
I agree that what sets country apart from other genres is that the songs tell stories. How many R&B or hip hop songs tell stories?
Anyways, good to know I'm not alone in the country music camp
I like Carrie Underwood's voice but a lot of her more popular songs are too similar. They're mostly very emotional serious songs (that all sound similar), which have their place certainly, but most artists do a few serious songs and balance that with a couple more fun songs. From what I've heard, she has no "fun" songs that have ever made charts.
Taylor Swift's voice is great, and I don't like many female singing voices. I think she'll be popular for some time to come, and it'll be interesting to see what she does. A lot of her older songs are charming in a young, innocent way. It'll be interesting to see if she breaks away from that as she gets a bit older.

 

[Monkey_Mania]

Agreed with you on Gary Levoux being a nasally bitch. Kenny has some decent songs. Like The Tin Man and I Lost It. But I mostly think he is overrated as fuck. Underwood does have an amazing voice. But she runs into the label telling her what to put out. Which is why I respect people like Toby Keith. He owns his own record label and puts out what HE wants to put out. It's all about the music and not about what the big wigs think. Which is why country is in such a poor state. I think David Allan Coe said it best in his song "If That Ain't Country".

"If that ain't country, it'll hair lip the pope. If that ain't country it's a damn good joke. I've been on the grand ole opry, and I know Johnny Cash. If that ain't country...you can kiss my ass."

BTW the Johnny Cash movie is called Walk The Line not Ring Of Fire. But a damn fine movie nonetheless.

 

[Ms. TM Canada]

See, I think Underwood's problem is that Jesus Take the Wheel was so popular that they made her stick to songs like that. Her songs have become uninspired because they market her (pretty, blonde, wholesome Southern girl) rather than her music. She does interviews for Cosmo and Elle and women's magazines like that. Right now Taylor Swift (to my knowledge) still writes her own material, but I think they let her because what she writes is charming and cutesy and marketable because the songs match her. She's also charming and cutesy. When they decide to market her as more of a "grown up" version of herself (like what they did to Leann Rhymes, except in her case it didn't work out) I'm afraid she'll become similar to what Carrie Underwood is now. In fact, Taylor Swift is also doing magazine covers. On one hand, it's really nice to see country stars as celebrities, but on the other hand it really limits what they produce and turns them into a commodity. The "country" sound must be toned down to appeal to the standard 15-30 year old female fan base.
I think Kenny Chesney is a similar story to a lesser extent. He did a few mellow songs, and they were popular and now he's the guy in the tank top who's videos are invariably filmed on beaches. He does still do what I consider to be "good" songs though.
I think Tim McGraw has it right because he is hugely popular without being a complete celebrity who gets put in tabloids. He has his signature black hat and everyone knows him, but from what I can tell he's a very private person. Because of that, he holds an air of mystery almost and people will eat up pretty much anything he does because it usually does tell a story and it's always catchy. The only epic fail IMO was the song he did with Nelly. It was far too repetitive, but wildly popular.

I KNEW I had that movie title wrong, it didn't sound right. But you're right, excellent movie. I didn't expect to like it, I went to see it with friends because nothing else was playing. We all ended up loving it.