thoughts on country music
"What genre of music do you like?"
"I like everything, except country."
When I was growing up, I heard exchanges like this one, all the time. Sometimes people listed out the specific genres they liked. Sometimes people listed out additional genres they disliked besides country. But for some reason, everyone around me was adamant that country music was terrible.
So naturally, despite never listening to a single song, I believed country music was terrible.
Fast forward to junior year of high school. I was driving out to Yosemite with a friend who played a bunch of baseball over the Altamont Pass, out in the likes of Modesto, Tracy, Manteca, etc. His buddies listened to a lot of country, and at one point on our drive he put on a playlist, starting with a song by Luke Bryan.
This was country?
Why do people hate so hard on this genre? I liked the guitar. The chorus was catchy. But the thing that stood out to me most? The story. It was simple. It was sweet. And it was relatable. Nevertheless, I rarely listened to country again after that road trip.
Fast forward to junior year of college. The girl of my dreams finally broke up with her long time partner. It was my time to shine! I was pulling out all the stops, so when I discovered she loved country music, I knew I had to expand my musical horizons. She even gave me a playlist, with the likes of Thomas Rhett, Old Dominion, Florida Georgia Line, Kelsea Ballerini, Dierks Bentley, and what d'you know, Luke Bryan!
My headphones were filled with mostly pop country starting out, but as the years went by, I gained an appreciation for classics like He Stopped Loving Her Today and Amarillo By Morning. I visited Nashville for the first time last year. I could be in a bar (or honky tonk), belting out the words to songs I loved, and for the first time in my life, I would be surrounded by other people doing the same.
Fast forward to today. It's hard to imagine a Sam without country music. It's my go-to when I need to stay awake on the road. It's what I've sung most often, lovingly and soft, to the sweethearts lying next to me. And it's the genre that has brought me to tears, unequivocally, more than any other.
You don't have to like country music. But give it a try, before you say you hate it.