So You Don't Like My Music

Country music has long been a genre of music that speaks to millions of people. Over the years country music has transformed from the traditionalism of its roots, to the modern pop culture inspired country we have today. Today country music artists are consumed with becoming famous and with making profit. But has this modern country music, which some refer to as sixth genre country, become too consumed with pop culture. For those who enjoy this genre, we must also ask if it has lost touch with the traditionalism it once had. Perhaps the country that is produced today wants to stray from its origins and become a new genre in and of itself.
For us to truly understand where modern country received was birthed, we must first look at the origins of country music itself. The author Emma Miles defined country music as:
"Crude with a tang of the Indian wilderness, strong with the strength of the mountains, yet, in a way, mellowed with the flavor of Chaucer's time--surely this is folk-song of a high order. May it not one day give birth to a music that shall take a high place among the world's great schools of expression?" (47)
Historians such as Mrs. Miles believe that country music was born of and grew from traditional southern folk music. No matter where it came from, many regard country music as the music that told a story, especially the stories of struggles, trials, and tribulations. It is this genre that gave birth to such greats as Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard, who sang of their many personal troubles. Country music became popular in part because people could find it to be easily relatable. This sense of traditionalism, however, would slowly fade from country music over the course of a couple decades.
Those who study country mus...

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... I loved the simplicity and relativity of the lyrics.
While my life might not include all of the aspects of sixth generation country music, I can see that the majority of Americans' do. See, average every-day Americans, especially in the South, deal with these problems. So maybe the critiques are correct, maybe this isn't traditional country, but is that such a terrible thing. New genres of music are born everyday. So modern country doesn't cling to the style and content of traditional country, that doesn't make it less of a credible genre of music. America has changed drastically over the past decades, country musicians have simply adapted with the change. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, so if you like traditional country, then listen to traditional country. As for myself, and those who enjoy sixth generation with me, we will continue to listen to it.