country music

a once-vital form of rustic music derived from European styles of folk and dance music made by European immigrants to America. It's generally played with instruments like the mandolin, acoustic and steel guitars, fiddle and so on. It used to be about observations of the world, life and love in its complexities. Now it's all cliched, with imagery of cowboys, macho bragadoccio, Southern pride, small town life, "she done him wrong", "tears in my beer", "redneck" living, sentimental tripe like the trend-chasing "Angels Among Us", and "family values". Oh yes, and "God bless the U.S.A." jingoism. Ever since Garth Brooks (who is a watered down Bob Seger) hit it big in the fucking PC 90s, country has been "yuppified" and formulaic. Now there boring piano ballads with cliched lyrics galore sung by lousy Richard Marx clones with cowboy hats, the generic hat acts, pretty ladies singing tunes fit only for shopping mall opening-dedications, sexy ladies who sing corporate pop (no, it don't impress me much) and preachy, jingoistic sentimental crap in the aftermath of all this 9/11 business like the aw-shucks "Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning". This trash is pushed on the sheep public by corporate execs in suits.