Opinion: Modern country is the worst musical genre of all time


I seriously can’t think of anything worse. I grew up listening to country music in the late 80s and early 90s, and a lot of that was pretty bad. But this new stuff, yikes.

Who sees some pretty boy on a stage with a badly exaggerated generic southern accent and a 600 dollar denim jacket shoehorning the words “ice cold beer” into every third line of a song and says “Ooh I like this, this music is for me!”

I would literally rather listen to anything else.Seriously, there’s nothing I can think of, at least not in my lifetime or the hundred or so years of recorded music I own, that seems worse.

bhagal

I could give a hoot n’ heck about “genre.”  
In regards to terrible music, I know it when I hear it.  
The stuff that hits my ears after emanating from speakers, stuff that is sourced from “contemporary country” stations, is ceaselessly, almost savagely, terrible.

I’m a die hard Jazz listener, who was raised on Motown and Philly soul. But growing up I listened to Rock too. You couldn’t escape it, for that is what was played on the radio 24/7. And there were great rock bands, Chicago, The Beach Boys, heck I even got into The Doors. The problem is, the 60’s were the era of hits. Hits were all over AM radio, every day, from every group. For 15 years. Outside of Chris Stapleton, whose a bonafide player, songwriter, with a gifted voice, I couldn’t name another country artist. Because in my ear Stapleton’s artistry crosses the boundaries beyond simply being a good country artist. 

I listen mostly to Classical Music, but when I pick up one of my several musical instruments what usually comes out is Folk or C&W. It doesn't help that one of those instruments is a banjo.

Here’s a fact that may come as a surprise to those of you who are Neil Young lovers and Country music haters:

Neil likes Hank Williams so much he bought Hank’s Martin acoustic guitar, the one upon which the latter wrote all his classic Country songs. And it wasn’t cheap.