Two things:
Watched a bio on Shania on VH-1, and I'll confess some embarrassment at
demonizing the gal -- holding her out as an example of all that's rotten
about commercial country. She seems like a fairly straightforward
working-class girl, who parlayed (to my ears, at least) modest talent into
superstar status. I still don't like her music very much, but if I'm gonna
play the blame game, then it belongs with the usual culprit, the triumph
of marketing over substance, or the other usual culprit, there's no
accounting for taste, mine or yours.
I finally snagged that cable TV music service, where you get 31 different
musical genre selections. I wanted it mainly to have access to "classic
country." But lo and behold, classic country these days isn't what it used
to be (since the word "classic" in terms of music changes over time).
Anyhow, during the half-hour I was listening, the station played such
classics as 80s vintage Oak Ridge Boys, Gary Morris, Ronny McDowell, and
Alabama. So my dreams of a station that only plays Tammy, George, Buck,
Loretta, Merle -- or Hank, Ray, Johnny, and Hank -- went up in smoke. I
switched to the blues station, which was just dandy. -- Terry Smith
