Is REAL Country Dead?

Remember the poetic writings of Garth Brooks? The amazing Brooks and Dunn (why did they end it!!!)? These guys were just enough pop to still be considered country and likable to the general public. They were 85% country 15% pop, which is the way it used to be. Now country music stars are taking a page from Shania Twain, Leann Rimes, and Faith Hill (just "Breathe" ). Artists like Taylor Swift (who I love, but i have to be honest) are 60% pop and 40% country are sounding more like soft rock less like "The Boot Scootin' Boogie". All new artists that get mainstream airtime on CMT Pure or whatever are mostly basically soft rock. So is REAL country dead? If so, who can revive it?

It's probably still there but you have to scratch the surface a bit.

Quite a lot of modern artists have very much a country sort of basis like.

a genre of music can't die.

it can only become more or less popular, just look for what you consider "real country a bit more and you'll find it eventually.

I like Rascal flatts and Glorianna

Willie's still around. It's true though, I listened to 2 versions of a song by Faith Hill. Early one very country, not anymore.

What gets me pissed about county is the "new country" is NOT at all like the good old country.
hank, Walin, Marty Robins, Jim Reeves, Eddie Arnold, George Jones, ect.

Now the new crap they try to pass off as country is just a bunch of whineing & crying pop s***! Hell, I have even herd a couple so called country stations play Black or White !! MJ was damn sure pop not country!!

I turn my radio OFF a lot when they play that crap stuff!
Like Do I, hell fool, if you did, you would not be asking, you would Know! And then some dumb broad comes back with Didn't I, same answer!
The so called new country is not at all like that so yes, I feel REAL country music is a lost art!

No. Here's some REAL country songs.

Have you heard of Star De Azlan... she has some songs that are pure country as well as some that fit in with the new wave. She was recently signed to Curb records out of Nashville (Tim Mcgraw, Lean Rhymes, Clay Walker). Listen to her song Shes Pretty, and let me know what you think.

George Strait is still around. Doesn't get much more country than that.

Not a country fan, but my boyfriend is. He won't listen to new country though. It's always Garth Brooks and Travis Tritt and Hank Williams and George Strait, and any older southern rock which is almost country.

New country though.. sucks butt. I can't stand it, if I HAVE to listen to country with the boys, it has to be older otherwise I pitch a fit :]

There's plenty of good new country about and there's plenty of rubbish new country about. The same as old country. Any genre of music will always have some people making good songs and some making bad songs and different people will have different opinions about which ones are good and which ones are bad.

As for whether it's real country, that's also a matter of opinion and different people will have different opinions. The classification of music into different genres is all a bit of a shambles anyway. I'm happy that if an artist feels that they are a country artist making country music, then it is country music.

Pop music just means popular, so if a lot of people buy a country song that makes it pop too. Indie means it's on an independent record label, so if I released a country song on an independent label and lots of people bought it that would make it country, pop and indie. As for what is called R&B these days, it doesn't sound anything like the Rhythm & Blues, of which it is an abbreviation, from the 1950s.

What we really need is a system, a big chart maybe, where we can cross-reference instruments used, tempo, lyrical content, influences, etc. to determine what genre each song is.

Or maybe it doesn't matter. If I like a song I like it, I don't need to classify it as a certain genre. I just need to listen to it and enjoy it.

Bluegrass is REAL country.

Country died with Johnny Cash. The s*** they play now is not country. Call it whatever you want to but it's not country.

Honestly though, what makes music "real"?

We all preach about it, but don't give specifics about what we DO want...

Wearing cowboy hats and boots does not make one a country western music star. Real country western died out long before these people ever even thought of stepping up to the plate.