Why You Should Embrace Country Music

Actually, let me start with why you don’t like country music. Then we’ll take it from there.

 

The Facts

Country music—you know it when you hear it—is an indelible part of the American tale.

And trust me when I tell you, the country music folks won’t let you forget that.

With roots in the American South, these are the patriots.

The ones whose ancestors seceded from the Union, dragged the country into its deadliest war to preserve slavery, and continue to celebrate those accomplishments today.

True patriots.

The music is a celebration of everyday life.

Make that everyday rural life.

Pickup trucks.

Cheap beer.

Tractors.

God.

Guns.

Racism.

Mediocrity.

Perhaps if they skipped the high school football game and cut back on the adult beverages, they could move on from those average jobs they sing about.

But I digress.

The chord progressions are all about the same.

The lyrics—about the same.

The instrumentation—you guessed it.

You know this sound, because it is the only sound.

And if an artist moves away from the formula, an uproar ensues.

These are conservative minds after all.

Change provokes anxiety.

You need to worship homogeneity because, well, that’s just how it should be.

 

The Other Facts

The American story is complex.

It’s time to stop making it black and white.

Roots music—which as the name implies is rooted in that story—has given us all sorts of gifts, some with blurred lines.

Folk.

Blues.

Gospel.

Bluegrass.

Cajun.

And, yes, country.

This is the art that carries the history of real Americans.

Not the bankers in New York City who drink macchiatos and enrich themselves off the backs of labor.

The people who do the actual work that keeps the country running.

Farming.

Coal mining.

Construction.

Trucking.

And in these tunes is that account, the one The New York Times will never tell you.

Songs sung by real people, not photoshopped mannequins.

Using actual instruments.

Guitars.

Banjos.

Mandolins.

Fiddles.

Not some techie’s sonic fantasy.

And when firing on all cylinders, the artists deliver some absolute classics.

Like this.

Or this.

Oh, and one last thing.

Country music is getting really popular.

So you fancy city types can figure out how to make money off these folks.

Just like you’ve been doing all along.