CMA awards

[Mike Weirauch]

A sad state of affairs. It only took 45 years to near completely remove "country" and replace it with, ..................... this year pop rock, next year reggae.

[Greg Stasny]

Yep, don't feed me fish, but call it steak. It may be excellent fish, but I'll know the difference. And that was evident tonight (again).

[Alvin Blaine]

A sad state of affairs. It only took 45 years to near completely remove "country" and replace it with, ..................... this year pop rock, next year reggae.

Amazing how slow it moves along these days.

It only took the first 35 years, of commercial recorded country music, to go from this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCniFuHlPG0

to this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9Yssf90XQM

[Jerome Hawkes]

dont worry - commercial radio will be history within the next decade and we'll be done with all this force fed waste of airspace.
speaking of which - knowing some folks high up in the radio biz (which is different from the music biz) - they could really care less - its just space in between ad revenue.

[John Rosett]

I thought about watching it, but decided that watching my dog sleep was more interesting...

[Tony Glassman]

A total waste of time........The "soft rock/pop" that they are peddling as C&W is soulless pap. The only steel player I saw kept trying to push his guitar over frontwards....probably to be noticed, as he was stuck in a cranny behind some stage lighting props.

The award show was only slightly less boring to watch than "Dancing With The Stars", which in itself, is about as enjoyable as having abdominal surgery without benefit of anesthesia.

[Barry Blackwood]

dont worry - commercial radio will be history within the next decade and we'll be done with all this force fed waste of airspace.
speaking of which - knowing some folks high up in the radio biz (which is different from the music biz) - they could really care less - its just space in between ad revenue.

Like the empty space between their ears. I watched it last night just to see the Glen Campbell "tribute" only to be totally disappointed. Thomas Wolfe was right, you can't go home again, and country music will never be what it once was.

[Kevin Hatton]

Tony Glassman I thoroughly agree with you. This is nothing less than cultural genocide. The people who participate in this trash are responsible also. No less than taking "Whole Lotta Love" by Led Zeplin and calling it country. It's B.S. Garbage music.

[Jerry Overstreet]

I missed one of the middle segments, but I remember seeing at least 3 steel guitars. The one Tony mentioned, plus the Sho-Bud with the ZB band and Randle with BP, but they weren't up in the mix. Actually, the first 2 I never heard at all, only saw them. Some steel in the audio in certain segments, but not visible.

The best part for me was the opening with Hank Jr. and the Glen Campbell tribute with Vince Gill's singing.

[Gary Preston]

Lets face it guys ,it's not about '' REAL COUNTRY MUSIC '' it's about how much money you can you put into their pockets ! The only real country music is on R.F.D. TV. where Bill Anderson is the host . Mike Johnson and the band really show their stuff without being told you are too country it seems . But what do i know ? '' Maybe one of these days in the future when the Archaeologist start digging around Nashville they will find something that looks like real Country Music ! I know they will be surprised to say the least !!!

[Jack Stoner]

I wouldn't have watched it I was home but our steel guitar club had it's monthly jam last night. Lots of Steel and also lots of country music.

[bob drawbaugh]

Well, I haven't watched the CMA in many years. My wife watched it because she likes some of the artist, so I watched it with her. But ,even if you like the artist and their music, the vocals were just awful. People off key and singing out of their rang, It was really bad. Is this the best Country Music has to offer The funny thing is my wife wanted to know what was up with all the strang dresses. She said they all looked like Lady GAGA want a be

[LJ Eiffert]

You think heaven has changed with God to put all us Country Musician folks in a garden of don't blow your nose and make sure your finger nails are clipped.All this jiffy up appreciation towards the young who truly don't care what we think about them are crying all the way to the bank until their lawyers tell them,your broke. I still think the lip service on finger work is professed to getting no where with the spices of spilled notes. The only obligation of this matter is in your own wants to change it back to real country music.So,what country music do you want back? Clear channel has it on most am Radio Stations and Willie's Place.They just don't play local band anymore and support what is real Country Musicians.So,who really dose run this Industry called Country Music? Name them folks and their companies who pay for the play of calling the shots. Than you might beable to change back to what it is you steel players and any musician on this FORUM keep crying about here in 2011. Here they come! Leo J.Eiffert,Jr. & his CRAWFISH BAND with some PIGEONS and a few NASHVILE SNAKES.

[Gary Preston]

L.J. Do you play steel or sing Country ?

[Dustin Rigsby]

I don't think it's the Artists' fault as much as the selection of songs. Sure they can all sing for the most part (some of them were flat), but, I don't think that Richard Marx or Diane Warren know anything about rural life ! There I said it. Now I have respect for them as writers. They ain't country. I'm sure I'll get flamed buy someone. I don't care. My opinion is just as valid. It'll never be what it was. So sad. I just don't think that the GOOD songwriting is alive and well in Nashville. And now it's just some garage bands doing really bad Skynard and Eagles imitations and calling that country music.....Country it ain't but southern rock it might be. Or maybe call it Rural Rock & Roll Music.

[Charles Davidson]

Dustin,you got it,Maybe it's just me but most[not all] of the songs today have absolutely NO melody,NONE AT ALL, And most of the singers are NOT singing but more like chanting in monotone,Getting to damn close to rap. Very few songs written today that you can whistle or hum,[need a melody to do that] .Remember when every song you heard be it country,pop,rock,etc, had a melody,NO MORE. YOU BETCHA,DYK?BC.

[bob drawbaugh]

What did LJ say I have no ideal. But, in my world it's like it was every day. You see I don't need a Radio programer to tell me what I should be listing to. As long as I have XM, my ipod or my iphone I have thousands of songs that I can listen to, and they're all real country. So thats why I don't get bent out of shape with what's on country radio, or what the CMA or the ACM does or doesn't do. Country records are still being made you just have to go buy them and put them on your mp3 player. Then you can turn off your local country station and listen to the music you want to listen to. It works for me. Hey, it just occurred to me, those of us that still love traditional country music, well now we're the outlaws. Where's Willie when you need him. Now what did I do with my black cowboy hat

[LJ Eiffert]

Hey Gary! I do all three! I did say anything by way of words did I. Leo

[Tracy Sheehan]

Dustin,you got it,Maybe it's just me but most[not all] of the songs today have absolutely NO melody,NONE AT ALL, And most of the singers are NOT singing but more like chanting. in monotone,Getting to damn close to rap. Very few songs written today that you can whistle or hum,[need a melody to do that] .Remember when every song you heard be it country,pop,rock,etc, had a melody,NO MORE. YOU BETCHA,DYK?BC.

Coulden't resist jumping in here. A few years back shortly before i quit steel for good i was hired by a band to play Fri.and Sat.nights. I felt like a beginner. They would give me a ride and i set there with my hands in my lap as i had no idea what they were playing.
Could not hear the singer as the drummer,guitar player and bass man were playing all the lead and back up at full volume. And it was the new what ever it's called. Had no melody. I didn't go back the second night which probably made them happy.

[Gary Preston]

I don't know what L.J. said ???

[Chris LeDrew]

As with most of these "it ain't country" threads, I am left with the question, "What do we really want out of modern country?" Because if we want it to be the same as the old shuffling, steel kick-off, everyone takes a verse fiddle/guitar/steel layout with the typical Lefty/Price vocal style drenched in trebly reverb, then go listen to the million channels that are playing those songs. Why pine for something that is right there at any time for our pleasure? Is it the loss of the unified listening experience that we miss? Do we long for the time when everyone tuned in to the Country Music Awards and was happy with the material? If so, you're not thinking rationally because that was never the case. People have always been upset about change. Has country music always had its share of junk? you bet. Is it worse these days? That's subjective ("Yabba dabba do, the king is gone and so are you").

So if we see this new material as a problem, what would be the solution? More updated, slightly progressive versions of old country that retain its virtues while advancing its antiquity? Maybe. I don't know.

I think we sometimes just like a good old-fashioned bitching session. There's nothing wrong with that, but every now and then it would be good to see what people envision as a potential improvement musically to what is left to the unified listening/viewing experience, such as these award shows.

[Leslie Ehrlich]

I still say these threads are about steelers who want to get gigs playing the kind of music they like. In a way I can sympathize with them because I like the heavy rock music of the early 1970s, but that style is long gone and I wouldn't get many gigs playing that kind of stuff.

We all like the music we grew up with, and we can listen to it any time we want. But playing it in front of an audience is a different matter.

[Chuck Thompson]

Chris L

I think your post/question is the best put forth for the many thread/rants on this subject I have read in the few short years I have been here.

I dont know the answer but I do know that almost every gripe someone gives about today's music can be seen in the music of the past as well. One thing for sure - we cant go back.

I notice that the audience has changed as well as the music. There is a much younger audience being drawn these days. The music coming out is going to be geared to them for them and by them. Now it's up to them to decide if it is country or not - not us old farts.

I think maybe perspective and perception has alot of us fooled now days too. We are old cranky and fond for the "classics" but we forget that for every "classic" from the days of old there are probably 500 crappy songs that ran around the top 10 then as well. We dont remember those. From our viewpoint now we think every song back then was country music art while today is trash. Personally I remember not liking the awards shows and the majority of commercial music then either.

Leslie E makes a good point too. The oldy moldys are still there. Just dont expect to have someone begging you to play them for younger generations Although they are much more open minded than we are.
Im thinking that maybe the greatest problem (for us) is the youth quotient I mentioned. Lets face it. They spend the money. They are going to have their way. We had ours at some point as well.

I have always been drawn to the music on the fringes and under currents. It's still happening now. Lloyd with Pete Cooper can be found. Are we mad because it isnt on the heavy rotation with a video to go with it? baaaah. Are we really going to say every song of old was about the melody? Can I say "Surfin Bird" by the Trashmen? " Are we mad that "the other woman" still isnt on the charts after 45 years? cmon guys. We arent 2 y/o - we cant expect to have our way for ever. Remember way back when there was someone that didnt like that loud crazy crap you liked with whole drum sets and electric bass guitars

[Dave Mudgett]

Look - I would like it if a lot more mainstream modern country music was still out of the mold of people like Hank Williams, early Ray Price, Bob Wills, Carl Smith, Lefty Frizzell, Webb Pierce, Johnny Horton, George Jones, Charlie Pride, Tammy Wynette, Loretta Lynn, Merle Haggard, Buck Owens, Johnny Paycheck, Jerry Reed, Patsy Cline, Waylon Jennings, Dave Dudley, Dick Curless, Gary Stewart, Johnny Cash, and so on.

But this is getting increasingly unlikely. That type of classic country didn't completely dominate even back in the so-called 'golden era', and awards shows have always been difficult for me to watch in any style of music. Most every popular style (with a few exceptions like bluegrass and mainstream modern jazz) has always wanted mainstream popular acceptance, and to get that requires playing what 'the people out in radioland' want. So that goal simply channels a large chunk of any style to whatever is the cultural Lowest Common Denominator. Bitching about it isn't gonna change it.

I agree with Leslie that a lot of older musicians are simply angry that it is harder and harder to make a good living playing the music they like. In other words - I think the issue is much more commercial and cultural than musical. We can listen to and play any music we want. On listening - there is more great recorded music (classic and modern eras in any style) available to listen to than ever, and technology gives us the ability to be ever more selective. On playing - you can play anything you want and technology makes it possible to make professional-grade recordings on a shoestring budget and promote/sell to anybody you want.

But you can't force the mainstream culture to adopt your values, musical or otherwise. You can listen to what you want, but others are gonna do the same. You can play and make high-quality recordings of anything you like, but you can't force other people to be interested. I actually think these kind of predictable public bitchfests about the state of commercial music make it even less unlikely that most people would take the people involved in classic styles seriously.

I think this kind of negative energy would be far better devoted to something positive, like listening to, playing, and promoting what you like, without worrying about what anybody else does. You may think, "I have a right to say what I want here", and you do within b0b's rules. But also think about how it affects how others people (especially musicians) outside the community of steel guitar players perceive us. I think it's basically negative.

[Note - all 'you's are editorial, not aimed at anybody in particular. It's hardly news that lots of us here aren't exactly thrilled with the state of modern commercial entertainment, including music.]

[Brint Hannay]

Leslie hit the nail on the head, indeed.

The thing I always wonder about is the relationship between what is presented by the mainstream entertainment industry and "what the people want." It's always seemed to me that there's a phenomenon where people are in effect brainwashed by what they're exposed to. In other words, it's a two-way street--is what the industry presents driven by what the people like, or the other way round? IMO it's a mixture of both.

Is it clear that the current public that is happy with today's commercial country product DON'T or WOULDN'T like country in more traditional styles if that were at least part of what they heard when they routinely turn on their car radio?