JT, if I recall, Neil Young recently expressed his disappointment, claiming he’s lost faith in the ability of one song to change the world. The malaise isn’t just yours.

Jeff

I agree with you about the state of country music. That being said, I’ve found that even today’s faux country stars really like to take care of their fans. They’re much more accessible than their pop/rock counterparts, despite the corporate bullshit. I will go to see a country show when someone good is in town, and am usually never disappointed.

Bob Wills to Lyle Lovett. Patsy Cline to Lucinda Williams. Jerry Jeff Walker to Robert Earl Keen. k d lang, may she live forever. That’s the organic evolution of country music. I grew up forced to listen to Gary Stewart, Lacy J. Dalton, Emmylou Harris, Johnny Cash… and now Red-Headed Stranger never leaves my car’s CD player, and Teatro soothes me when nothing else can, and I am proud of having known the lyrics to “I Can Get Off on You” before I even knew what weed and cocaine were…

Yes. Manufactured. Pap for the masses.

On music: i’ve long been disturbed by the rise of Corporate Country. (Don’t get me wrong, i love old school C&W, particularly Cowboy Jazz and the “Outlaw” variety, but what floods the airwaves today is mostly crap…MTV with a twang.) I used to think that it was just part of America’s redneck fetish – and not real rednecks either, but poseur rednecks, but after reading this piece and thinking on it i’m no longer so sure.

Was popular culture purposefully rednecktified? Were the airwaves flooded with what passes for country music today as a preemptive strike against music’s ability to unite a counter-culture? (True, pop music is often and always has been pretty shitty, and C&W is a lot like the new pop.) Was the market for Nashville organic, or was it created? Any thoughts?

That sounds like me. Although I’m considered the troll, have personna non grata status around here, and am tolerantly ignored,, I am actually the embodiment of the spirit of your paragraph. That’s a good thing despite the rancor, insults and invective hurled my way, we can all come together.

Jeff

Sure, we get some morons and trolls now and again, and we certainly don’t feel any need to agree with what our commenters have to say (or each other, for that matter), but seriously, compare our threads to what you find most other places and tell me what you see.

When i point people here, i always put political in quotes to indicate how much more there is at S&R. I generally describe this place as a meeting place of smart, articulate people with diverse interests, opinions and knowledge. You never know what you’ll find on any given day, but it will always make you think. And, for the most part, what happens here are conversations. Look at how many people use their real names and how few people caps lock their statements. I’d call it the internet equivalent of an old fashioned Salon.

I believe that i first came here to read the Weekly Carboholic about a year ago. I’ve never left because i felt immediately at home, and surmised that this is what the internet should be…or here is potentiality actualized. (And no, i’m not just saying that because i’ve been given the opportunity to post…for those non-regulars reading this. I’m honored to have that opportunity because i feel that way about S&R.)

Thanks for all your hard work.