A note about country music

"Three electro posts in a row" you say? Time to shift to the opposite end of the spectrum.

Country music.

"Jon," you say, "you are truly insane. To suggest that you'll be posting a country song on such a fantastic blog... well that's just pure madness!"

Electro and country music, they have two things in common: they have been muddled through the years with negative stereotypes. I say, country music has gotten the even worse end of the stick. Hailing from it's roots in folk and gospel music, "country music" swept the southern United States in the 20's. As wikipedia kindly notes, the term "country music" wasn't adopted until the 40's, when "hillbilly music" was deemed as degrading.

Since then it's become the trumpet of absolutely shitty music. The term conjures up thoughts of "patriotism," "guns," "my baby," and songs about drinking shitty cocktails in the rain. Truly, the stereotypes are well deserved. However, as every musical form hails from some classic root, every musical genre has something to offer in the terms of "music."

mu·sic (myoo-zik)
The art of arranging sounds in time so as to produce a continuous, unified, and evocative composition, as through melody, harmony, rhythm, and timbre.
An aesthetically pleasing or harmonious sound or combination of sounds.

I say to you, my dear doubting friend, country "music" is, for most all of it's entirely, not music at all. However, lest we forget the roots of modern music all together, we must note that country music is, just about, the oldest, most consistent modern genre of music that is still around and readily listened to today*. It heralds back to the day when terms like "melody, harmony, rhythm, and timbre" were actually thought of before composing a song.

Because of that, the genre still has a bit of my respect. And with that, I bring some new tunes from my favorite country artist still kickin' the can.

Presenting Mr. Ben Kweller (MS)|(OS) and a few songs from his new EP "How Ya Lookin' Southbound? Comein..."

(Songs are arranged in a particular order. I suggest gapless playback.)
Ben Kweller - Things I Like To Do
Ben Kweller - Sawdust Baby
Ben Kweller - Sawdust Man

Mr. Kweller is currently on a massive tour. Check his OS for details.

<3

*With respect to the current genre of folk music. Also, gospel hella doesn't count.