Country Music Stock Photo for the sole purpose of this being the thumbnail instead of the other ugly picture
I wouldn’t consider myself a country music fan but I also wouldn’t consider myself a country music hater, either. Not to blame my parents, but when I was younger they played artists like The Smiths, Steely Dan, Foo Fighters, and Electric Light Orchestra rather than (insert country music artist name because I can’t think of one right now); so I didn’t get that crucial early exposure. To me, country music seems a bit shallow and repetitive, but I’m going to keep an open mind and try to do some research.
When I went to research country music, though, I was a little stumped. Where do I begin? What do I look up? So to establish a jumping-off point, I searched google for the most streamed song on Spotify, hoping it would be a country song to support some sort of argument I was going to make. Unfortunately, it was not.
So, I scraped the idea of just typing random words into a search engine and decided to turn to my most country-loving, American flag cowboy hat-wearing, Wisconsin-living friend, Morgan. Her most listened-to genre is country and she has not missed a country thunder in five years, which doesn’t sound like a lot but when you think about it, it is. I asked her some basic questions like why she likes it if she likes the fans, and why she likes country concerts the best. She told me she believes that country music can go with any occasion, it’s oftentimes happy, which she likes her music taste to reflect, and because she thinks country singers have great stage presence. The last question I asked was where an aspiring country fan should start. She told me to listen to an album, so, to ease myself into the world of country, I will start by listening and reviewing a country album of her choosing, Morgan Wallen’s album entitled “Dangerous”.
Quick Country Pretest:
1. name a country singer
They are all named Luke
2. what are country songs about
Beer, Blue jeans, Trucks, Women
DANGEROUS: THE DOUBLE ALBUM by Morgan Wallen
Initial thoughts: Why are there thirty songs? Consensus: I will listen until I cannot.
1. Sand In My Boots
This one was more of a slow ballad but we did hit topics such as a woman he was interested in, whiskey/ tequila, his Silverado, cowboy boots, and eastern Tenessee. I appreciated the clear message of how good times can come and go and leave you with only a little sand in your boots. I’m not gonna lie during the chorus I was bopping my head.
2. Wasted on You
(I’m going to start doing keywords) Keywords: Burbon, Chevy truck, church, cowboy boots
I really liked the beginning of this one with a nice acoustic guitar and a short electric guitar riff but then an autogenerated beat dropped. It sort of felt like an ironic Lil Nas X song. Not much to say about this one. The harmonies were good.
3. Somebody’s Problem
Keywords: “Bama red four-runner” is this a truck?? (not a truck but a car), “heartbreaker blue eyes” in reference to the girl
At first, you think he’s going one direction when he talks about how this girl is going to be somebody’s problem or “somebody’s best day, somebody’s worst night, somebody’s reason for leavin’ on the porch light” but then he switches it by saying that this problem is about to be his. I enjoyed the bridge, but I wish it lasted a little longer.
4. 865
Keywords: Jack D, Church, Tennessee
Wallen says his Jack D bottle tastes like 865. I was at first confused but he continues to sing a phone number belonging to a woman he loves, while 865 is the area code that serves Knoxville, Tennesse. I wonder what would happen if you called this number. Line of interest: “Girl, just pick it up and come over Give this bedroom door a little closure”
As I do this I realize I’m rapidly running out of words so as a final song I decided to review the title track.
5. Dangerous
Keywords: N/A
Once again, I like the guitar, bridge, and harmonies. The fact that there were actual drums earned it a lot of points, too. All of the songs I have listened to so far (on or off this list) have been under three minutes.
Honorable Mentions:
Beer Don’t- just listing country buzzwords
Country A$$ S***- exactly as it states in the title
Only Thing That’s Gone (Feat. Chris Stapleton)- I love Chris Stapleton’s voice and good harmonies
7 Summers- Good and chill
Country Music Exit Slip:
How did you like it?
It really wasn’t as bad as I thought, even though it’s not my style, I see the appeal
What are country songs about?
Beer, Blue Jeans, Trucks, Women, Cowboy Boots
No, but all jokes aside, this was not 1 hour and 37 minutes of torture like I had thought it would be. I would say 25% of the time I was laughing at the lyrics or beat but the other 75% I was giving a good solid listen and I liked it. Will I become a frequent listener? I’m not so sure. Will I skip a country song if it comes on? Not immediately. Will I continue my search for country music I like? I don’t know, should I? I know I didn’t necessarily turn the country genre inside out and examine it closely. I also know country music doesn’t have just one type of songs like the newer wave Morgan Wallen, Chris Stapleton, or Luke Bryan. I’m forgetting newer female artists like Taylor Swift or Casey Musgraves. I also DEFINITELY need to learn more about icons like Dolly Parton, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, and Shania Twain. Let me know if you think you would be interested in another country music blog in the future and I encourage you to try to expand your musical horizons!
Lauren,
I loved this concept of trying things that are not usually within your comfort zone. Especially the topic of country music, one that I know people are generally either 100% or 0% about. Meaning, they either love it or hate it; there is no in between. You were able to talk about a topic that everyone could get behind, whether being a part of the country music community or hating it community. I myself am a country music lover. Unlike you, I was raised on it. Everyday coming home in the car from daycare, my dad would turn on 97.5 where I would hear classics like Keith Urban, Little Big Town, Eric Church, etc. One band that especially stuck with me when I was younger was Zac Brown Band. That is one band, country or not, that I would give my everything to see live. My parents have both seen them once or twice and I have yet to embark on that experience. Answering your question towards the end of the post about if you should give more types of country music a try, I would say yes, especially this band. I can’t imagine a world that was not filled with country music. I myself do not listen to country music that frequently, only once in a while when I put on albums like The Foundation (ZBB), or You Get What you Give (ZBB), which is my favorite album of theirs, or even Uncaged (ZBB), another classic, no-skip kind of album.
Oh my goodness! This had me actually laughing out loud! I am a huge country fan and as you were rating some of Morgan Wallen’s songs in his “Dangerous” album I was singing them in my head until I grasped all of the key words you mentioned. I would absolutely love to be able to see him in concert one day. It is so cool that although you are not a country music extremist you were willing to give it a shot. I know so many people who are so against the idea of listening to country music that they won’t even give it a shot. Most of the times I don’t even play country when other people are in the car because I know they will either make fun of it or won’t be able to sing along. Credits to you for giving it a shot. You should definitly try listening to Luke Combs (another one of my favorites). He is similar to Morgan Wallen but a bit less typical country. Another one of my favorites is Thomas Rhett. I am sure you have heard some of his famous songs already such as “Look What God Gave Her” and “Die A Happy Man” but if not, this would be another great listen. If you were to spend the 1 hour and 37 min that you spent listening to country listening instead to a music gene of your choice what would it be?
Hey Lauren! I think this blog is so unique and it’s so interesting that this was the topic that you decided to research/talk about. Personally I wouldn’t consider myself a country music lover either but I would say that I’m a country music disliker (because hater is a very strong term, even though I definitely would classify myself as a slight hater). I love how lighthearted this blog is and the added addition of the image with Shape of You as the result of your search definitely made me laugh a little bit. I also loved that you gave little reviews of each song, they were very fun to read through and had me thinking about trying to expand my music as well. Maybe I should also listen to the album to see how I feel about it and perhaps have a little laugh while listening. I will definitely also give Country A$$ S*** a listen because the title just seems so funny to me for some reason and your review of it just made it funnier. Overall I loved your blog, it was so fun to read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I’m very excited to see what you write about in your next blog!
Hey Lauren!
I greatly appreciate how much of your time and energy you sacrificed to make this blog post because, personally, I would never put myself through an hour and 37 minutes of country music. You are truly brave for that. I agree, early exposure to music by parents can heavily influence the type of music you hold close to your heart years later, so not having early exposure to country music could have given us a great disadvantage. I found it extremely funny and disturbing that “Shape of You” is the most streamed song on Spotify. In addition, it’s funny to me how “Shape of You” has been referenced in two blog posts this week, the other post being Ashley’s review on different Ed Sheeran songs. I would consider myself a country music hater. Even though I have never actively tried to enjoy it, it’s fun taking a strong position and hating on something you know close to nothing about. This post may cause me to change my ways, however. I am intrigued by the songs “865” and “Wasted on You” by your descriptions, so I may have to give them a listen. This post was extremely well written and engaging throughout, your casual tone tying everything together really well. I am excited to read your future posts!