Memes, Nostalgia, and the War of Country Music

I decided to have a little fun because it seems like 99.99999% of country music memes involve classic country vs. bro/pop country in some form or fashion.  Take for example:  

 

It's perfectly understandable.  Over the past few years, a good chunk of songs played on country radio are about the same thing:  beer, catfish, trucks, fishing, and, as Kenny Chesney put it, objectifying women in cutoff jeans.  It amazes me when I look back 15 years ago and realize the wider variety of topics mainstream country songs covered.  At this point, I 100% relate to what my grandpa when used to say, "Today's singers all sound the same.  It's just noise."   It's different for me though, and I decided to make a meme of my own to show.

 

It's a bit messy looking, yes I know.  I also would've liked to include the Court Yard Hounds and Sherrie Austin in the bottom section, but it'd be uneven looking.  Still, it's a response to when my friends ask me if I listen to old or new country.  It's always been hard for me to give a pin-point answer.  Why?  For one thing, the word "old" has to be defined because, for example, people are nowadays referring to the 90s and even late 2000s star Kellie Pickler as "old country,"  leaving me pretty baffled.   I think of old country as the Faron Young's and the Johnny Cash's of the world, and frankly (country fans, you can bring out the torches and pitch forks if you want), I think their music sucks.  I get the influence they had, but still.  

There is also a matter of when my favorite singers came out and when my favorite songs by them were released.  With a few exceptions, most of my favorites came out in the 90s, but there are some factors in play.  Paul Brandt made his debut in 1996.  If I mention him to my friends, they may assume he's a former star I listen to so I can rewind back to that time.  Not true.  I'm actually a bigger fan of what he has released in the last decade.  Also, while he's a forgotten name for many country fans here in the US, he's still a big star in his native home of Canada, where he gets a lot of airplay with stars like Carrie Underwood.  Speaking of Carrie, it still amazes me that Jessica Andrews is younger than her and Miranda Lambert.  Jessica is another artist whose newer songs populate my playlists more than her old.  Not a knock on "Who I Am," which she reached #1 with as a 17-year-old, but the songs she's recorded since the late 2000s show how she is like a fine wine that gets better with time.  Same story with Lila McCann.  These two former teen idols have really blossomed, only under the radar.  

Overall, country music seems to have become a battlefield of classic vs. bro/pop-country.  Fans cling onto hope that someone like Jamie Johnson can bring Willie Nelson's style to mainstream radio, while people my age thrive on tailgating to Luke Bryan's songs where I live.  As for me, I look back and wonder how, for example, the 90s and early 2000s got old so fast.  I also wonder what category these lesser-known names like Victor Sanz and Cyndi Thomson fall in the eyes of country fans.  Many of the older country fans see the 90s as when country went downhill, while I look at it as an era when there was a little something for everyone.  I eventually realized that complaining about what radio is playing was vain because half of what I listen to is non-singles that wouldn't get airplay anyway.  In the end, I'll stay out of the war and savor David Kersh's cover of "Wonderful Tonight."

   

Note:  the country singers in my meme are-

Top section:  Tammy Wynette, Willie Nelson, Roy Acuff, Webb Pierce, Kenny Rogers, Patsy Cline, Porter Wagoner, Faron Young, Ernest Tubb, Dolly Parton, Bob Wills, Conway Twitty, Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, Hank Williams, George Jones, Buck Owens, Kitty Wells, Waylon Jennings, and Hank Williams Jr.

Middle section:  Brantley Gilbert, Sugarland, Randy Houser, Luke Bryan, Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, Kip Moore, Kenny Chesney, Keith Urban, Justin Moore, Jerrod Niemann, Jason Aldean, Jake Owen, Jana Kramer, Dierks Bentley, Eric Church, Chris Stapleton, Florida Georgia Line, Billy Currington, Blake Shelton, and Kelsea Ballerini

Bottom section:  The Wilkinsons, Tracy Lawrence, Tammy Rogers, Victor Sanz, Mindy McCready, Rick Trevino, Lila McCann, Jessica Andrews, Gary Allan, Clay Walker, Cyndi Thomson, Clint Black, David Kersh, Rhett Akins, Paul Brandt, James Bonamy, Michael Peterson, David Ball, Chely Wright, Tracy Byrd, and Chris Ledoux