right?! it definitely was nearly unrecognizeable to me from how i remembered when i was younger and exposed to it regularly. liberties have absolutely been taken with the genre. which is kindof to me begging the question

what makes a country song a country song? like the bare minimum tenants to qualify?

then i could decide how far off this was. or if it qualifies.

 

You're from the south so have been breast fed on the stuff, so, LOL, you know what country is and isn't. I guess that you just need, if you want to really write that kind of a song, pretend that you are that Country music guy and put on the mask of another. That's what we can do as artists, put ourselves in the shoes of another and express from another's perspective. Although what you did (I don't use Spotify and only heard a skosh of your song) in this tune is a good thing in it's own rights, it seems that you didn't go there.

I'll qualify my critique by expressing that I like good Country music (as well as any and all genre of music) and have recently gone through a protracted phase of listening to Drive By Truckers "The Dirty South" which I recognize as a great album. I was raised with Johnny Cash constantly being played in the family van and my dad's old pickup truck, venerate Towns Van Zant and recognize the incredible songwriting chops of many a Country artists such as Chris Stapleton, Willie Nelson or Sturgill Simpson.

I myself seem to have been writing country-ish music which interestingly been coming through me as of late. I just wrote a TOTALLY Country song in honor of my friend's wedding in two weeks which surprised the shit out of me as I was really going for an alternate tuning thing that sputtered and crashed. When I stopped trying so hard, Fiona and Dänni's Song just popped out into the world. I just needed to get out of its way. The melody has lots of intervals which makes it memorable and the two and three part harmony bits dovetail with the genre.

And oh, a banjo doesn't inform of the Country Music genre but does so for Bluegrass (my family hails from Appalachia, so...).

 

nEO cUNTRY. I was only able to hear a snippet but it sound more like portland oregon than nashville tennessee.

Sturgill Simpson is NASHVILLE

 

Last edited: Aug 19, 2023

thanks for checking it out lois! here's a dropbox link so you can give the whole thing a listen if you care to.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/8brq...ntgp.wav?rlkey=ybyh7x3mom4nk7ugr1rko1e4x&dl=0

whats interesting is that i was doing what you were describing (kindof imagining myself as that country artist guy) and it appears that most aren't hearing it that way. i thought the draw i performed the vocal in was accurate to the genre, i thought the guitar tones and writing were very much in line with current country, i thought the lyrics were pretty in line as well. but it just doesn't seem to be translating as such lol. idk. i can totally accept that i missed the mark. that's the reason we test stuff out on here to see if what we're going for w/ a track is coming across as intended. im just going to get back after it and make another pass without maybe blending as much of my personal taste and instincts into it. i think a big detractor from it being instantly recognizeable as country may be my decisions for how i approached the drum performance. i basically played them how i would play them on a rock track just kindof thinking like "yea this is fine, it'll just feel like a really alternative country kinda vibe". and i was only half right. everybody's getting the "alternative" part loud and clear lol

 

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/8brq...ntgp.wav?rlkey=ybyh7x3mom4nk7ugr1rko1e4x&dl=0

appreciate the feedback! here's a dropbox link so you can hear the rest of it if you care to. sorry ab that. i didn't know the spotify link didn't allow the full track to be be streamed. hopefully in it's entirety you get alittle more nashville than portland lol. i hate portland so f***ing much

 

I prefer blue grass

 

lol i hear ya dude

 

It might be a joke to you, but you're not far off. I'm mostly a metal head but I'm from the south and I can easily emulate some of those stereotypical country elements. I've wanted to collaborate with someone on something like this and maybe be like the steel panther of country music.

 

All roads lead to Country, Gospel, and Blues.

 

Last edited: Aug 20, 2023

Thanks for the Dropbox link. After now listening to the whole shebang and not the snip that was probably the worst snip to represent your tune, I can totally get behind the country song thang. Yea, the drums are probably a tad outside the lines but it really makes no difference in the grand scheme of things unless it was some A & R wanker trying to prove he or she is a vital part of the operation and has appropriate ideas to justify a bloated salary.

 

Not unless you also recorded it on your porch, wearing a straw hat and was chewing tobacco at the same time it doesn't.

 

Thanks for the link! I just heard a country song. that snippit?!
maybe you could get a gig Elliston Place in Nashville.

why do you hate country? even Glen Campbell?

 

Last edited: Aug 20, 2023

Don't forget TVZ

 

Last edited: Aug 20, 2023

hm that sounds like something i would love to be a part of

 

holy shit that is great to hear lol. i was really questioning my whole understanding of how i perceive music there for a minute ha.

i really should look into how spotify chooses the snippet part they use for the sample and if there's a way to change/choose it myself..

and nope, the only outside opinions that ever get any sway on any of my stuff usually come from here as my process generally is come home from my day job and head straight out to my shed/studio and work on music by myself for the rest of the evening until i feel something's close to being ready, then i share it here for your guys/girls opinions, then refine from there (or abandon it depending on feedback which has happened once or twice)... and then from there no one else ever really hears it again sadly lol. its hard to get music out in any real way unfortunately without support and it's hard to land support when no one hears your music (whole other topic though).

but if there are any a&r guys out here let me just say that i'm a very flexible and non combative artist and i would gladly take your suggestions to make MY music better to YOU and i 100% disagree w/ lois and am sure your salary is not bloated but rather is probably not enough when compared to the value you surely bring to the label you represent. for instance signing me

i mean i bet your bosses would be like "damn, (your name) is sooo damn valuable bc he brought us tyler which is proof that he is very good at a&r-ing. let's give him a raise. hell let's just give him the whole damn label. it would be better off in his hands anyway. where the fuck is he? call him in here. let's get this wrapped up. shit, let's get him some very expensive hookers to celebrate as well."

so just think ab that a&r guys.

just think ab it.

 

i was! i was doing all of those things!

 

no, glenn campbell is not included in my dislike of most country and actually is part of the narrow band of country i enjoy. i realise that hate is probably a stronger word than i actually really mean. i am more directing my strong dislike at the "modern pop" radio country that kindof dominates the current mainstream. the same 2-3 pandering topics (god, drinkin on the weekend after a hard week at work blah blah) hammered to death using the same 50 buzz words sung over combinations of the same 3-5 chords written by the same 10 writers from nashville (notice i said writers, bc the "artists" (more like models w/ guitars) aren't writing them) dripping in autotune and trap beats to make them "cool" to the 18-24 year olds and southern soccer moms and factory workers. im finding it harder and harder to like..

 

TVZ is also excluded from my dislike

 

There should be a section called "Give Me Two Weeks."

This is a lot more fun then discussing Foster's Choice and what people put in their favourite enema before bedtime.

btw the Dropbox link does provide mor’country then then the snip. It’s closer then I originally thought.

 

Last edited: Aug 21, 2023

How about Gram Parsons?