Re: Country music is depressing

Date: Thu, 29 May 2003 19:02:52 GMT
Newsgroups: alt.music.country.classic
Size: 3,481 bytes

> I'm middle aged. I was raised on the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Elvis, >
Hendrix, etc. Well, many years later, I
I'm gonna play "Devil's Advocate" because I listen to both. The Beatles "I'm
So Tired", "Yer Blues" and "Baby's in Black" aren't exactly chipper
"everything's OK" songs.
Neither is Hendrix's "Manic Depression"....
Stones "As Tears Go By"......
Elvis "Hurt"......
>still like the "oldies". You
> wont find me listening to Rap or Hiphop. That stuff isn't >even music >
in my mind.
Of course rap and hip-hop ARE in fact music....but I don't feel like having
that debate since it's offtopic here anyhow.
> I occasionally listen to some of the newer rock, but not
> for very long. Those guys always scream, and their >voices sound > hoarse
and far too aggressive and hyper.
Rock by and large is the music of the young...people for whom EVERYTHING is
"now". Angst was invented to describe adolescence. Therefore, it's loud and
abrasive and kids connect with it. Twas ever thus....
> normally I listen to the one and only oldies station. Last week the
> oldies station was off the air for some technical problem. I changed
> the dial and listened to the modern rock station until my ears hurt.
> I switched the dial again to a country station. Several hours later I
> was feeling really depressed. All my problems in life were
> exaggerated, and my whole life seemed like a wreck. Now, I must admit
> I recently lost a loved one, and have been having some
financial
> problems and other issues. I have been trying to cope with this loss,
> and working toward changing jobs. It's not been easy, but I have been
> coping the best I can. However, after listening to this
Well THAT would be enough in and of itself to bum me out a tad.....
country music
> for a few hours, I felt like my whole life was over, and there was no
> hope. It took awhile, but I finally realized that this country music
> was really having a negative impact on my mood. The
I don't really believe music has THAT drastic an effect. At most, when I
hear it, it "connects" with what I'm already feeling. Meaning, if I'm really
happy and I hear bubblegum happy pop, I say "Yeah!" But if I'm having a
down day, I'm more likely to want to hear a song that talks about tough
times...whether it be blues, country, rock, what have you.....
> Country music is just plain depressing !!!!!
While there IS much country that is "depressing", there is an equal amount
that is "happy". (Whether a bubbly Shania Twain pop country song might be
MUSICALLY depressing is a different debate :P)
> Thank God the oldies station is back on the air today, but I think
> it's time to invest in a portable cd player, just in case they go off
> the air again.
You ought to anyhow.The BEST music is typically not aired. The "country"
station you heard most likely never aired anything by BR5-49,Steve Earle,
Emmyloy Harris, or Caitlin Cary.
> Just for the record, I am referring to the modern country > music, not >
the old stuff that my father used to listen to, and which I also > loved.
But back then, it was called country-western. A whole > different thing
from the crap they play today.
Actually I prefer country-western but not because it's NOT depressing. On
the whole, I'd say it was MORE likely to feature "depressing" lyrics...i.e.
songs about losing your loved ones to divorce or emotional distance,
death..than the Faith Hill/Tim McGraw/Shania that gets called "country"
these days.