Boy, I'd sure like to take on this thread, and I hope to later on, but I am
just getting my eyebrows over this backlog of work that's piled up... In the
meantime, let me commend to your attention the fine essay on "Country Music
As Music" by Bill Evans, the banjerpicking ethnomusicologist; it appears in
that Country Music Hall Of Fame Encyclopedia Of Country Music that came out
not too long ago. It's a good starting point for getting a handle on the
stylistic contours of country music (note, please, that I say nothing about
"real" <g>). Here's a taste:
"So where is the 'country' in country music? To borrow a well-worn
advertising phrase, it might be more a state of mind than any specific set
of unique musical characteristics. Country musicians seem to share certain
assumptions about melody, harmony, form, and performance technique that
together help to shape ideas about the nature of the country sound, its
boundaries and its possibilities."
One thing I like about that is that it nudges the reader in the direction of
considering not only what those "certain assumptions" are, but how they're
transmitted.
Jon Weisberger Kenton County, KY [EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://home.fuse.net/jonweisberger/
