Haley Huett
A&E Editor
When I was a youngin’ I would sit in the backseat of my grandma’s car on the way to church. Invariably, she would play the Pandora country music station on the thirty minute drive and I would listen to all the classics. Every Sunday, I would stare out the window at the rural Indiana farmland and listen to the songs she would play. To this day, I still know all the words to our favorite tracks.
However, I, like many people, went through a phase where I detested country music. It had nothing to do with the quality of the music itself and everything to do with the perceptions I had of it. When you asked me what kind of music I liked, I was very likely to respond with “Anything but country!” Country music seemed to be twangy nonsense about drinking beer, or loving your truck like a woman. Either it was based on these motifs, or it perpetuated a rosy view of the United States.
Now, I have grown out of that phase of blind detestation, I identify proudly as a country music fan. Not all country music is alike and while certainly, some songs live up to the stereotype, there are plenty of country artists that defy expectations.
Country music began as an expression of working class values and a representation of life in Appalachia. Classic country musicians were often political activists advocating for progressive causes. Johnny Cash fought for prisoner’s rights and prison reform, testifying in front of Congress. Loretta Lynn wrote about women’s right to birth control with her song “The Pill.” Dolly Parton sings about her experience with poverty in “Coat of Many Colors” and her song “9 to 5” laments the structure of labor in the United States and the ways that workers are exploited by their bosses.
Buying into the idea that country music is somehow more primitive or unrefined than pop, rock and rap music reinforces common classist notions of the South and of Appalachia. Country music artists are not inherently more problematic than others and reducing the genre to beer and trucks robs it of its depth. Many modern country musicians refocus on its progressive roots. Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert sing about women’s agency in abusive or unfaithful relationships in songs like “Before He Cheats” or “Gunpowder and Lead.”
The current faces of country music work to revive an older style of country and recount the realities of life in the Appalachian region or the South. Eastern Kentucky native Tyler Childers revives classic fiddle tunes in his album “Long Violent History” and plucks an upbeat banjo tune in his song “Purgatory.” Colter Wall, a Canadian artist, emulates the sounds of Western and Plains country, with songs like “Cowpoke” and “Caroline” recreating a distinct cowboy-esque quality. Andrew Sa, a queer country musician, produces country covers of Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game” and Neko Case’s “I Wish I Was on the Moon” on his EP “Cosmic Country Stars: Andrew Sa.”
Most importantly, country music, with all its motifs, is just fun. Who doesn’t crack a smile at Big and Rich’s “Save a Horse” or Brad Paisley’s “Ticks”? There is no feeling of nostalgia quite like hearing twenty-first century country music. For me, I’m transported to the backseat of my grandma’s car or to a family barbeque. If you’ve never entertained the genre before, use these songs as a listening guide. Give the genre a fighting chance before you resort to the line “anything but country.” Next time someone asks what music you like, maybe your answer can just be “anything.”