Country Music in Trouble??

greenpilot

Hi Folks,

Just spotted this thought provoking article in The Mayo News...

http://www.mayonews.ie/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11758:-music-were-not-lepers-country-stars-speak-out-&catid=52:going-out&Itemid=146

Just wondered what your opinions were, oh learned ones!!

Maybe there is a gap in the market for some decent Pop/ Country crossover act???

P:D

dhmusic

greenpilot wrote: »

Hi Folks,

Just spotted this thought provoking article in The Mayo News...

http://www.mayonews.ie/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11758:-music-were-not-lepers-country-stars-speak-out-&catid=52:going-out&Itemid=146

Just wondered what your opinions were, oh learned ones!!

Maybe there is a gap in the market for some decent Pop/ Country crossover act???

P:D

Different genres of music always have their turn at the top, you could make that same argument for mod rock or metal or any guitar based music. It all goes in cycles. Mid 90's charts were dominated by mod inspired guitar bands, even metal had a brief hold on things in early 2000's. When these genres burn themselves out, chart music always reverts back to default (generic nightclub music). Country music is no different although it does have the stigma of being followed by out of touch right wing, christian nut job types.

bayles

"Hillbillies and Rednecks" HA HA HA HA LOL , I nearly dropped my banjo i was laughing so hard ....

Malice

Article text:

Our music IS cool, insist country trio

Three of Ireland’s youngest country stars have joined forces in a bid to reinvigorate the image of country music. By embarking on a national tour together, Jimmy Buckley, Robert Mizzell and Patrick Feeney want to dispel, once and for all, the myth that being a country music fan means you’re outdated, out of touch and anything but cool.
“We are all still under 40 … and we have fans that range in age from 15 upwards but for some unknown reason, our genre of music isn’t getting the recognition it deserves,” stated Jimmy Buckley. “We want to change all that, and that is why we have teamed up to tour Ireland with a show that we know will give country music a much-needed boost.“
Robert Mizzell who hails from Louisiana has now settled in Ireland. “Why is it that our fans are labelled as hillbillies and rednecks by the Irish media? It is so unfair and downright disrespectful! They deserve better!
“In America, country is more popular than pop, and this is recognised by the media in the coverage they give to the sector. Every station plays country music, but here in Ireland the national radio stations never feature country music on their daytime playlists.”
Mizzell, who has recorded numerous albums, is clearly unhappy that he has never been included on The Today FM, 98FM, or 2FM playlists. “God damn it! It just doesn’t make sense! They’re not playing us because it’s not ‘cool’ to do so,” the singer railed.
Patrick Feeney (27) concurs: “Miley Cyrus is a country singer, and she is played wall to wall on every station. The same treatment is given to Garth Brooks, and rightly so, but if you’re a country singer from Ireland, you’re treated like a leper by the media – and it’s simply not fair! If we didn’t have local radio supporting us, this industry, which employs over 2,000 people would be doomed.”

Buckley, Mizzell and Feeney will play in the McWilliam Park Hotel, Claremorris, on February 9.

greenpilot

But Seriously, That is a good point about the Right Wing, Bible belt, Farmer image of country, which isnt exactly popular in the Ireland of today, but if you look at what is coming down the tracks from young Country Acts in The States, it does bare thinking about. Now, I HATE the country played in Ireland, but DAMN, some of the American acts are extremely impressive....almost Country Blues, or Dance Country.....mmmmmmaybe Alabama 3 touched on something with Acid Country....

Owen

The Irish Country and Western Scene will always be associated with the likes of Declan Nerney and Sandy Kelly. If your band is doing something different and interesting, it'll probably be judged on it's own merits, but when 99% of the musicians playing the IC&W genre are brutal, and the audience is composed primarily of people into waltzing around a dancefloor, it'll never be popular with radio stations/younger people.

Ricosruffneck

Ryan Adams is country, and i love Mr. Adams

Me and my great granny generally don't share musical tastes (except for classical)

this brand of country is just sooooo boring in my opinion.

i like my cheese on toast, not fed into my ears.

rusty999

PaintDoctor wrote: »

The Irish Country and Western Scene will always be associated with the likes of Declan Nerney and Sandy Kelly. If your band is doing something different and interesting, it'll probably be judged on it's own merits, but when 99% of the musicians playing the IC&W genre are brutal, and the audience is composed primarily of people into waltzing around a dancefloor, it'll never be popular with radio stations/younger people.

I agree with most of this post except to say that unfortunately some radio stations will play nothing else as far as I can see.
Theres a wealth of talent in Ireland that would be far more suitable to show our visitors and the rest of the world and we dont have to copy american accents and sing crap boring songs [in some cases] to promote the music of Ireland
Irish country music is Not and thankfully never will be the music of this country and indeed its only here in Ireland that it has any real foothold.

BostonB

Decent music doesn't get airtime, never mind C&W.

We have the wrong kinda cowboys here.

acousticer

If you ask me, the reason for this is because there is far too many sh*t country songs being composed...everyone and anyone has a country album at this stage. It's ridiculous!! - and they all still seem to sound the exact same!!The same rhytyms etc...and it's so cheesey!!

At least there is a majority of good American country musicans and songs out there. I'm 19 and I never actually 'listen' to Irish country music because it it nowhere near as good as the American stuff!!

We have Jimmy Buckley etc...
They have Crosby, Stills and Nash
simpe as that

castrolracing

If it wasnt for local radio stations Irish country and traditional music would be dead!

rusty999

castrolracing wrote: »

If it wasnt for local radio stations Irish country and traditional music would be dead!

Have to agree about Irish country and western music needing the local stations and would be dead without them, but Trad Irish Music is huge internationally and can stand on its own merit and it definitely wouldn't want to be depending on my local radio station because I rarely hear trad music played on it .

Fandango

acousticer wrote: »

If you ask me, the reason for this is because there is far too many sh*t country songs being composed...everyone and anyone has a country album at this stage. It's ridiculous!! - and they all still seem to sound the exact same!!The same rhytyms etc...and it's so cheesey!!

At least there is a majority of good American country musicans and songs out there. I'm 19 and I never actually 'listen' to Irish country music because it it nowhere near as good as the American stuff!!

We have Jimmy Buckley etc...
They have Crosby, Stills and Nash
simpe as that

I could be off the mark as i consider Trad music as the Irish Country music in which case we also have The Dubliners, The Clancy Brothers, The Pogues, Christy Moore, Damien Dempsey, Jedward (had to do it! hehe), Mary Black, Clannad, Kila and many others.

teekayd25

Fandango wrote: »

I could be off the mark as i consider Trad music as the Irish Country music in which case we also have The Dubliners, The Clancy Brothers, The Pogues, Christy Moore, Damien Dempsey, Jedward (had to do it! hehe), Mary Black, Clannad, Kila and many others.

'Fraid so

"Country" means country; it means fields, valleys and hills, and the (often relatively uncomplicated) lives that are lived in / around them. Of course it also means instruments like the banjo and the steel guitar (although only the latter really applies to the Irish country genre).

It's maybe a little surprising that there hasn't been a big Irish country-pop crossover song, apart from the one or two Daniel O'Donnell had (there's been stuff like "Blanket on the Ground" and "Working Man", but they both originated in America).

What's interesting is that Ireland's "alt-country" / country-rock genre is developing. Bands like O Emperor, Hal etc. have cited US country-rock as an influence, the Calvinists use an actual banjo (well, the six-string "guitjo" version ), and LowMountain use an actual steel guitar.

So maybe now is a good time for the three acts in that article to do that tour Although the key to any of them making a crossover would probably be to have a song with lyrics that are more universal and that people from more urban backgrounds could maybe more easily relate to.

Malice

Fandango wrote: »

I could be off the mark as i consider Trad music as the Irish Country music

Way off the mark. Surely the fact that the two genres have different names would have been the first clue that they're not the same?

rusty999

Malice wrote: »

Way off the mark. Surely the fact that the two genres have different names would have been the first clue that they're not the same?

Yea, I agree

Its like Chalk and Cheese:D