| Give country music a try (11/03) | | Print | |
| Written by Sam Bowman | ||
However, since I can’t go to the country every day, I escape from my crazy, busy urban life through country music. A few years ago, I would have been hesitant to share this, but I know that music shouldn’t stereotype a person; instead, music should be a part of an individual’s personality, emphasizing one’s originality and diversity. My friends criticize me and claim that country music is for hillbillies who live in shacks deep in the forest — people who have no teeth and wear overalls as they ride on their tractors. Mind you, I’m sure some people like that listen to country, but I know many other people who do, also. Country music is a part of my personality; when my friends talk about it negatively, they are talking about me negatively. Country is different from rap and hip-hop because most of the songs emphasize the positive sides of love and life, and all the joys we see every day. I turn the radio on, to Wild 94.9 or 106.1 KMEL, and just don’t see the beauty in the words that I see in country music. Today’s rap has belittled women and love and makes life seem like one huge materialist conquest for “bling-bling” and huge shiny Escalades. Now, I’m not saying all rap is like this; many rap songs are very amusing. I am a hip-hop dancer, and I have to listen to the hard beats and the fast lyrics as I rehearse. Although I do enjoy hip-hop, rock and pop, the country music genre allows me to be different, more open-minded and unique. Country music usually tells a story. In fact, my favorite country song Tim McGraw’s “Something Like That,” describes his experience of love at first sight at 17, finding his way to deal with his heart’s feelings and learning to keep hope in his dreams. Basically, you can learn all the lessons of life from listening to country music adventures. I suppose I received my love for country through the music I was exposed to growing up. My parents would blast tapes of James Taylor through the house, and I would dance to the acoustic sounds of his smooth, yet mellow country beats. Ever since, I‘ve been an addict to not only his music, but to the country artists who followed him. Folk country singer Nanci Griffith opened my eyes to a new world of sound when my mother played her. So many songs bring me back to my childhood, perhaps that is why I love country so much. For me, all the memories and the feeling of home are incorporated into country musis, and I feel like everything is right when I hear it. I’ll admit Shania Twain and the Dixie Chicks do rely on image, but somehow I can look past these artists’ demand for physical attention and just listen to their music. I know it sounds unfair, but when these artists dress to impress, they are different from Britney Spears or Christina Aguilera in the way they demanding attention. The country stars, to me, are real artists and break the mode, and I look up to their trendsetter ways. Shania Twain was the first woman in country to show her midriff, and we can all remember the Dixie Chick scandal in which the lead singer pronounced her shame that President Bush was from her home state. Perhaps these situations don’t seem important, but they show that country stars are not afraid to do what they want and to stand for their beliefs. I love their free spirit and their courage to make a statement, rather than to preserve an artificial image like many pop stars. Music is a big part of my life — dancing, singing, acting and playing piano — and I have learned to be open to many forms of music. This love has made me wonder why others are so critical of the music I listen to. The world is always changing and problems are always arising. Music is a way for me, and others, to break out of the cocoons of our everyday lives and struggles. I encourage everyone to listen to country and try not to be judgmental. You might be surprised, and even like it! |
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to listen.
