Oh no, they got to Jacqui, too! Welcome to the group. Our meetings go a little like this:
My name is Mark, and I’m a closet country fan.
I was hit a few years back. One day I was listening to the radio, and I realized that the song I was grooving to was, fundamentally, country. My first instinct was to stop dancing in the car and switch stations, then I realized that I had put in the Dixie Chicks’ Fly into the CD changer voluntarily.
I’m going to have to give a few of the artists mentioned by Greg a look:
Some good "Country Rock" aka Rockabilly artists are: Faith Hill, Dixie Chicks, SHeDAISY, Rascal Flatts, Lonestar, Sara Evans, Martina McBride, and Gretchen Wilson (songs other than Redneck Woman, ofcourse, which was just the Ice Ice Baby of country.)
This all, of course, brings about the fact that I think I am one of the most rednecked Filipinos on earth. I like NASCAR, NHRA drag racing (the rice burners are nice, but they’re nothing like a top fuel funny car) and country music (among hip hop, classical and pop). I grew up thinking it was weird that I liked these things because, well, because they were redneck pastimes. Now, with everything so "crossed over," I’m not sure what to think anymore. I do know I won’t find myself caught line dancing at the local country bar(n), but that’s about all I’m sure of right now.
That’s it. I want a divorce.
Thank God! I was afraid I was losing any right to claim to be a contrarian. Harry Potter, Cubs, West Wing - I’m becoming so mainstream it hurts. Hell, even Fresca is becoming cool; I can’t even dodge cool anymore. This country thing is something I can still be a oddball on. Liking country is ok, as long as it is old. Johnny Cash, Roger Miller (”King of the Road”), etc. Bluegrass is even better, e.g., Allison Krauss + The Union Station. The modern stuff is awful. It’s listenable, but it’s crap. The reason it is listenable is that it is not “Rockabilly,” but “Popabilly”-Britney Spears in starched flannel. The only good crossover stuff is Alterna-Country (a/k/a Twang-core). Wilco and the Old 97’s are good examples. It does not suffer from the weak lyrics and weaker instrumentation that you run into with much of the country being made today. So, as long as this trend only incorporates contemporary country excluding Alterna-Country, I am glad to say I am bucking it. There is good news for Mark and Jacqui, too.
In the end, I don’t think anyone has to worry about his Asian “street-cred.” Contemporary country, what I call Corporate Country, has moved to you - not you to it.
–
Rich
I just read Chris’s post, then the first sentence of mine. Try it, really, it’s funny.
My god…what in the name of holy heaven has happened to all of you in my absence?!?! I see an “intervention” in your immediate, collective futures…plans are well under way.
Brad
It’s all true. I outted myself.
Rich has our divorce papers on my Mac. The only thing that is stopping Chris from filing them is that I can’t get the Mac started.
Also, she wailed on me in Settlers of Catan last night, outright preventing me from scoring any points whatsoever. The interesting part is that Grant came out of nowhere to win, leaving Chris with 9 points.