The Steel Guitar Forum

I recently attended a social gathering of musicians, and a country radio station was playing in the background.
A tune came on, by one of the current Big Hat/Nice Bum singers... it careened wildly back and forth between heavy metal guitars, and sappy string/oboe passages.
Someone cast a disparaging glare at the radio and said "What the hell is that ?!?"
A fiddle player I know smiled and quietly said
"Oh, that's Soft Country Porn..."
I laughed over that for days...
-John

John, I think you may have coined the next country craze.

I sympathize with you John. I'm beginning to think that if you took the

"compressedoverdrivefuzzcrunchdistortion"

away from the current crop of lead players, they'd be hard pressed to pick "Wildwood Flower".

Donny,
I wouldn't be hard pressed to believe the players of today can play "Wildwood Flower". Theresa

I'm waiting for the first real baroque influenced country guitar player, you know maybe he could merge the Brandenburg Concerto's with Wildwood Flower played full blast through a Marshall Stack while out on a surfboard with cowhorns on it or something.

Theresa...

Admittedly, I am sometimes a curmudgeon. Of course, I was being facetious in my remarks about the modern crop of guitar players. I had thought this would be obvious. Perhaps the insertion of a "smiley face" would have imbued the sense of satire that I was trying to convey.

My own musical palate is quite varied. Were you to look at my CD collection, along with the Country Music, you would notice everything from Leadbelly, to James Taylor, to Queen, to Joey Di Francesco, to Vince Gueraldi, to the classical composers, such as Brahms and Devorak. I both realize, and appreciate, diversity in the world of music. I tend to be quite opinionated, however, when it comes to the classification of certain musical styles, and for this I make no apologies. I happen to like a lot of what is classified as "Rock Music", but the connection of loud, crashing drums, and distorted guitars, with what is gererally perceived as "Rock Music" is not mine alone. A great number of people make this generalization.

I certainly take no offense at the people who play, purvey, and appreciate this type of music. What I sometimes take offense to is the people who categorize music with these same qualities as "The New Country Music", and then expect everyone to accept it wholeheartedly.

To them I say..."bullhockey".

Donny,
Thanks for clarifing your opinion. You gave yours and I gave mine
No one is trying to change your mind, just relax
Theresa