Invasion of the Music Snatchers: An Opinion on Mainstream Country Music

What do Sugarland, Rascal Flatts, Lady Antebellum, Taylor Swift, and Carrie Underwood have in common? They're all impostors. Somehow these folks, and many many others, slowly and quietly infiltrated our radio stations and took over the airwaves. It's an invasion that's taken decades, but they've finally conquered, and the world is theirs.

The internet is rife with websites and forums devoted to uncovering the mystical secret behind “why country music sucks”. Unfortunately, most people who put down modern mainstream country music end up sounding like old men unwilling to accept change, who only listen to Hank Williams, and who only consider a song 'country' if a wailing steel guitar can be heard behind a southern accent singing about beer, women, and trucks.

Well I'm not a closed-minded country fan. I do like Hank Williams, but I also like a plethora of other singers, bands, and genres. I listen to classical music, swing, country, rock 'n' roll, hard rock, soft rock, indie rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, jazz, and the list goes on and on. One thing I cannot put up with, however, is fake music with fake emotions sung by fake people who neither wrote their own music nor their own lyrics, and rarely even play the instruments on their own albums.

When someone writes a song, they are calling upon their own experiences and their own feelings. When they perform that song, they know exactly how they feel. One of the biggest problems with bands who don't have anything to do with the creative process is that they're singing and playing someone else's thoughts and feelings, and 99% of the time, it is incredibly apparent. Watch them as they squint their eyes, and lift their hands in the air or place it over their heart just to try and portray some emotion to the audience that they're really not feeling at all. It's pathetic.

Country music has become a new form of karaoke; the kind where people with little talent can take over the radio, push real country into the underground scene where few people ever hear it, and make millions of dollars simply because their music is backed by massive marketing campaigns. Part of their advertising campaign, by the way, includes their songs being played on the radio twenty-five times a day, where the D.J. is paid to praise their 'new single' or to encourage us all to check out this 'amazing up-and-coming new band'. Repetition is their friend; it makes us buy into their hype, and in turn buy their albums.

I'm not going to take a stab at people who do enjoy mainstream country radio. It's not my position to tell others what to like. If you are a fan of mainstream country, please just do one thing for me; admit that it isn't country. Go ahead and enjoy it, as long as you can admit that what you're listening to is pop music, and that 99% of it has no business being aired on a country radio station.

Article first published as Invasion of the Music Snatchers: Mainstream Country Music on Blogcritics.

Lynyrd Skynyrd: God & Guns (47%)

With their roots in the mid 1960's, and their heyday in the mid 1970's, Lynyrd Skynyrd has reached a status that few bands can even hope to attain. A plane crash, killing three band members and a roadie, stopped the band in it's tracks in 1977. In spite of this (or possibly because of it), Lynyrd Skynyrd has become an icon. In 1987, the band decided it might be a good idea to enlist Johnny Van Zant (Ronnie Van Zant's younger brother) for the position of lead vocals/frontman. They began touring, and have since produced a handful of albums. Unfortunately, the only original band member still alive and playing with Lynyrd Skynyrd is Gary Rossington.

In 2009, Lynyrd Skynyrd released an album entitled 'God and Guns'. I'll be honest, Skynyrd was never my 'favorite' band, but I liked them. I respected them. I enjoyed their southern rock sound, and their sometimes political and sometimes just plain funny lyrics. But God and Guns has come along and tarnished the name of Skynyrd.

The album kicks off with a tune called 'Still Unbroken'. From the title, I'm sure you can figure out that this is one of those 'raise your fist in the air because you're still alive and kicking' songs. It's a fast driving song full of thudding drums and splashing cymbals and distorted guitar chords. Okay, so far it sounds like I'm describing a typical rock song, but actually it sounds like I'm listening to a hard edged Montgomery Gentry. A commercial country track with a slightly harder bite. It's hard to decide if I'm listening to country radio, or a Nickelback CD.

Track 2 starts up, Simple Life, even more mainstream country than the last. The first line, a little too many syllables but jammed in there just the same, sounds something like this, 'Hey when was the last time you sat down and had dinner with your kids, talked about what's goin' on in their lives'. And then on to 'well a lot of people are saying we're changing for the better, but that don't interest me. I like the simple life, the way it used to be...' and so on. The lyrics in this album, for the most part, are awful. They're blatant, obvious, and often painful. And this isn't the only time in this album when we learn of Van Zant's aversion to 'change'.

The third track, Little Thing Called You, almost tricks you into thinking you might actually be listening to Lynyrd Skynyrd. It opens with a southern rock sound, some interesting guitar. But then the vocals come in and destroy the illusion. Surely the next song, 'Southern Ways' will redeem the album. It's about a young man who decides to leave home, but then misses his green grass and tall pines, and the southern winds kissing his face, and punctuated with the odd 'yyeahh' from Johnny. It's amazing how many songs a person can write about how they miss the old days and the simple life.

And track 5, Skynyrd Nation, comes next. This song actually does have a classic southern sound. It brings to mind several southern rock bands from the 1970's, but one band it does not bring to mind is Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Song 7, Floyd, is actually not so bad. It's got an interesting feel, at least until it gets to the chorus, where it just turns into another Nickelback clone.

Track 8, 'That Ain't My America', pretty much sums up the feel of the whole album. These guys don't want change. The first line talks about how he wants to light up underneath the no smoking sign,and then, 'You can take your change on down the road and leave me here with mine, cause that ain't my America, that ain't this country's roots. You wanna slam old uncle Sam but I ain't letting you. I'm mad as hell, and you know I still bleed red white and blue'. Then there's the obligatory line about an old man saying thanks to a soldier returning from war. And here's a line... honestly, it's really a line in the song; 'It's to the women and men in their hands they hold a bible and a gun, and they ain't afraid of nothin' when they're holdin' either one, woooahhh, uh huhhh'. I'm pretty sure these guys all voted for Bush. I wonder how they feel now that uncle Sam is of ethnic background.

The album's tenth track, also called God & Guns, is yet another proclamation of just how much the modern Lynyrd Skynyrd hates the idea of change. They inform us that 'God and guns keep us strong, that's what this country was founded on'. Then, for the second time on the album, he let's us know that there was a time when you could sleep with your doors unlocked. But this time he adds something about a peacemaker in the dresser drawer that makes him feel safe. This song is a far cry from the original band's 'Saturday Night Special', which was actually an anti-gun song. This album defines the term narrow minded.

God & Guns is a commercial album aimed toward right wing conservatives who believe only in God and country, and who blindly believe that 'uncle Sam' shouldn't be questioned or condemned. I long for the simple life as much as anyone, and sure, policies and red tape government crap sure ticks me off from time to time. But I'm not narrow minded enough to believe that time should just stand still, or reverse. We have to try and move forward while still retaining the simple things that we enjoy.

My dislike for the political and social messages in this album are not my only reasons for putting it down. It's overproduced, it sounds way too much like a clone of twelve dozen other rock/country bands, and it is NOT Lynyrd Skynyrd. Being that only one original band member remains, they probably shouldn't be using the name at all. Lynyrd Skynyrd should've been put to rest when half of the band tragically passed away in that fateful plane crash in 1977 so these replacements wouldn't be able to tarnish such an iconic name.


(footnote: Let me clarify this as well. My aversion to this album is actually based very little on what I think a Skynyrd album 'should be'. If this was a completely different band with no relation to Lynyrd Skynyrd at all, I still wouldn't like it.)

Release year: 2009

Click here to check out Skynyrd's wikipedia page.
To hear some samples from this album, click here.
TRACK LISTING:

1. Still Unbroken
2. Simple Life
3. Little Thing Called You
4. Southern ways
5. Skynyrd Nation
6. Unwrite That Song
7. Floyd
8. That Ain't My America
9. Comin' Back for More
10. God & Guns
11. Storm
12. Gifted Hands


Rating: 43/90 (47%)

1: Lyrics: 3/10
2: Significance: 2/10
3: Music: 6/10
4: Freshness: 3/10
5: Production Quality: 8/10
6: Composition: 5/10
7: Dynamic Range: 3/10
8: Humanity: 5/10
9: Cohesiveness: 8/10

James Hand: Shadow On The Ground (92%) {2009}

James Hand is a throwback to everything good about country music; everything that we seem to have become disconnected with in this modern day of pop-country crossover stars, and the all too false passion and emotion that they bring with them to country radio. James, in his late 50's, is only now starting to receive recognition for his music, even though he's been playing and singing in Texas most of his natural life. James Hand is a slightly more modern, slightly more creative Hank Williams Sr.

Most recently, (2009) Hand has released his second album, “Shadow On The Ground”. This album is simply incredible. Shadow On The Ground starts out with a song called 'You don't Want Me Too', a song about a simple idea; a man still in love with a woman who doesn't want him anymore. Maybe that sounds a little bit cliche, but this guy can pull it off. The reason he can pull it off is because for James Hand, it's all real. He doesn't try to sing about anything he hasn't experienced first hand. He's also got an amazing knack for taking a song full of sad lyrics and making it upbeat and fun.

The second track of the album is Hand's rendition of 'Mona Lisa', originally made popular by Nat King Cole in 1950. It's also been covered by bands and artists too numerous to count, including Elvis Presley, Me First and the Gimme Gimme's, and Willie Nelson. Hand's interpretation is fairly unique, turning Nat King Cole's version, (which sounds much like any other 50's standard music) into a swinging, upbeat cover with a bit of a salsa beat. It has to be heard.

Even his slow songs, like 'Just A Heart' and 'Don't Depend On Me', flow with melody. They keep you tuned into the music and the lyrics, waiting to hear what happens next. You can tell this is a man who has a story to tell, his haggard voice wavering and just a little gravelly.

Other songs like 'The Parakeet' and 'What Little I Got Left' just fly through, leaving you wishing they weren't over quite so quickly. 'Floor to Crawl' takes us back to the time of the alcohol soaked country singer, visions of a dusty bar with sawdust on the floor and a set of swinging double doors.

Every song on this album is good. Every song is meaningful, real, and country. If you've ever enjoyed the roots of country music, Hank Williams, Lefty Frizzell, then you'd do best to check out this album.

Click here to listen to some short sample clips from this album.

For more info on James Hand, check out his official website at www.jamesslimhand.com


TRACK LISTING:

1. Don't Want Me Too
2. Mona Lisa
3. Just A Heart
4. The Parakeet
5. Floor To Crawl
6. What Little I Got Left
7. The Pain Of Loving You
8. Ain't A Goin'
9. Midnight Run
10. Leavin' For Good
11. Don't Depend On Me
12. Men Like Me Can Fly


release date: 2009 

New Rating: 83/90 (92%)

1: Lyrics - 9/10
2: Significance - 10/10
3: Music - 9/10
4: Freshness - 8/10
5: Production Quality - 10/10
6: Composition - 10/10
7: Dynamic Range - 7/10
8: Humanity - 10/10
9: Cohesiveness - 10/10