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Some other good bands to check out.. HankIII http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-qdQ2AI2H0&feature=related
Unknown Hinson http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7_YNTQmtGg&feature=related
The Sh*tkickers http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPWts9kJq2o&feature=related
and the always classic Ween 12 Golden Country Greats http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4e-aPughYQQ
Scary thing is Kevin Costner sings better "country" than most of the main stream cookie cutter plastic "artists".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MopuThOXj1Y
He even has one about NASCAR and having cars sitting in your backyard waiting to be built (sounds like some guys around here) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PRPTUNHr6M
WTF who expected this?
rebelgtp wrote:WTF who expected this?
Not all that surprising...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icMTVV5Lwaw
Here is one he wrote:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jn3KCZEqxc
Never really liked him as a comedian but he's not bad with a banjo.
I didn't read the whole thread but have to agree that most country is now what pop music used to be. Which probably explains why I have gravitated to Bluegrass. 
There's argument that the same thing is happening in that genre; old time Bluegrass has been replaced by "Newgrass". However, I like the modern stuff better for myself. The purity of music played generally with just 4 string instruments is really refreshing, and some of it really 'rocks'. Cherryholmes, Steeldrivers, Blue Highway, Cadillac Sky, Mountain Heart, Rhonda Vincent, Michael Cleveland are just a few of the artists in my CD rotation.
EvanB wrote:There is some good country left. I like Gerald Collier and some band called Trigger 5
Oh hells yes. I don't know if I'd call Gerald Collier country, necessarily, but its good to see someone else recognize.
JoeyM wrote:Xceler8x wrote: RaconteursI love "Steady as she goes", but that doesn't sound country to me
...but this does:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qahZ-whM6o
I'm not a country fan, but that's phenomenal.
As for music catering to 40something moms, that's a by-product of the death of the music biz. The lowest common denominator is very low right now and it's dictating everything.
This thread is one big commercial for satellite radio, BTW. I don't have any of these complaints as a Sirius subscriber. People who say "I won't pay for radio" can stick w/ the awful stuff that passes for radio these days--I'll listen to good music.
By the way, it seems most every decent-sized city has at least one serious honky-tonk band. Round here Rex Hobart and his Misery Boys are probably the best known, but I bet you have one around you, too. Support your local boys and give money to real musicians making real music.
I'll cast in a vote for Wayne Hancock, too, if nobody has mentioned him yet. "Thunderstorms and Neon Signs" is great and indicative of his stuff.
Tim Baxter wrote: Support your local boys and give money to real musicians making real music.
+1
FindlaySpeedMan wrote:Apparently, the poop is that "New" Country caters to a 40+ year old female demographic. This goes a long way towards explaining the Chippendales in black hats fronting every country group now. It's basically become mildly twangy pop for soccer moms.
Whiskey drinkin' barroom country is now buried in Alternative Country next to people like Beck. Loretta Lynn put out a new country album a little bit ago with Jack White, the White Stripes guy, which shows you where old-school country has found itself lately. Ask any young music lover about Johnny Cash, and they'll at least know who he is, if not worship him. That original country sound is still out there for the finding if you miss it. It's now so far out that it's coming back in from a hipster direction. Bluegrass has absorbed a lot of cool traditional players, too.
get outta my head!
some of the older "punk/emo/indie/whatever" groups definitely went down that path. see: The Get Up Kids or Chamberlain. This is something that does actually get discussed between myself and a few good friends frequently. I believe the accessibility of music has led to more eclectic music tastes for much of my generation and as a result, some of us are really digging where country/blues/alternative are mashing up together... and it sounds suspiciously like exactly what the OP is referring to as "old barroom country" 
i do have a dirty, dirty secret though.
i love sugarland.
hands over man-card
Duke wrote:I'll cast in a vote for Wayne Hancock, too, if nobody has mentioned him yet. "Thunderstorms and Neon Signs" is great and indicative of his stuff.
Wayne the Train is definatley my favorite.
bluej wrote:i do have a dirty, dirty secret though. i love sugarland.
I have no idea what that is, but the name alone sounds horrible.
bluej wrote:i do have a dirty, dirty secret though. i love sugarland.
I'm ashamed to say that I'm with you.
mtn wrote:bluej wrote:i do have a dirty, dirty secret though. i love sugarland.
I'm ashamed to say that I'm with you.
I'm allowed to like Sugarland, as they feature Jennifer Nettles, who is a local Atlanta musician. That said, I liked her stuff with The Jennifer Nettles Band a lot better.
In reply to 16vCorey:
think Sugarland, TX. 
, then it doesn't sound as bad.
i know, it still does. 
reckless kelly, south austin jug band, cory morrow, robert earl keen, texas renegade, roger creager, cross canadian ragweed, doug moreland, jason boland, mickey and the motorcars, randy rogers, walt wilkins are where country is now, the nashville country just doesn't do it for me anymore.
Strizzo wrote:reckless kelly, south austin jug band, cory morrow, robert earl keen, texas renegade, roger creager, cross canadian ragweed, doug moreland, jason boland, mickey and the motorcars, randy rogers, walt wilkins are where country is now, the nashville country just doesn't do it for me anymore.
+214324t535325645765654645
first off I'll point out that I'm a bluegrass fan through and through... but this is country..:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1R2F9f2Cl6Y
and I still love old country.. by that I mean '40's, '50's, and '60's contry
ddavidv wrote:I didn't read the whole thread but have to agree that most country is now what pop music used to be. Which probably explains why I have gravitated to Bluegrass.
I moved to bluegrass back in the '70's and to me progressive grass is something like the Country Gentlemen..
I tend to gravitate to groups like Bill Monroe, Flat and Scruggs and expecially the Stanley Bro.
though I do like groups like JDCrow and the New South, and Doyle Lawson
I used to play in a pretty decent local country band in New Mexico back in the '90s - which is strange for a sax player, but we played some western swing, too - and we tried to keep pretty current on "top 40" country for our younger listeners - but that was the problem, they were listeners. We were a DANCE band, and whenever we'd play something new, folks would just sit and listen. Whenever that happened, our lead singer/bass player would say "key of E and follow me", and we'd launch into a 10-minute medley of Ray Price songs. Everyone in the place, ages 8 to 80, was on the floor in less than 20 seconds, guaranteed.
Classic country is still the best. How many songs from the last 10 years can you recall, and how many will people recognize 20 years from now when they hear the first few notes (with the exception of a few Alan jankson and George Strait songs)?
These days I prefer REAL Western music - it's out there but you have to look for it, try Mike Blakely - and bluegrass. And sure, I'm an old fart, but the same goes for rock, I don't follow much after Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Eagles. That's why these days I play in a jazz sax sextet and a community concert band. And singthe good old stuff at karaoke.
grinch77 wrote:The Sh*tkickers http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPWts9kJq2o&feature=related
Oh, I've heard a lot of good things about the Shotkickers.
