A new world! May 28, 2008

Like all good things, our blogging has come to an end! I must say I am also proud of us. The amount of information and light we have brought to the shadow stereotyped genreof country music I think is great! Ive learnt more than I knew about country music, although I was always aware of country music, but I must admit I am guilty of stereotyping country music to just happy go lucky families struggeling with a farm, well not the that extent I always knew their was more to it, I just never really payed attention. I am now more interested, more aware and more of a fan of country music.  Ive loved reading the blogs about different artists and information in general about the country music genre, I feel happy in the fact that if any thing has come from us showing a more interesting side to the music industry other than what is on the top forty and where the gaps in music journalism occur. Also there are at least five people who now are more aware of how good the country music industry can be! And through blogging and our page maybe even more will see our point to bring country music out of the shadows of mainstream media and give it the recognition it deserves!

On an end note, saw an interesting thing on the news tonight in regards to blogging, apparently you can earn a six digit figure through sitting at home blogging and letting your oppinions, which is what we’ve been doing these past few weeks! I just though id end on that cuz although this is the end of our blogging on this topic, there is a whole world out there, and through my first experience blogging it has lead me to a new world of not only deeper into the country music world but into blogging!

signing off…. Sophie adams

Country Music and Me! May 28, 2008

The last blog I did pretty much summed up the success we have had throughout our blog and country music has had at coming into the forefront of the music industry. So I decided as my last blog I would just reflect a little on the blogging process since this was my first time ever participating in a blog.

At the beginning of this project I wasn’t sure how much I would like doing a blog, but I ended up really enjoying it. I would have to say that this was probably my favorite project. I really liked being able to see what other people in my group found and decided to write about and furthermore, I liked being about to add comments to other blogs. Particularly within our blog, I really enjoyed learning about all the different sub-categories of country music and it makes me want to find out what sub-categories are in other music genres. As well, it was very interesting for me to be able to compare and contrast country music in Australia and the States. I even learned about a show that airs back home called Nashville Star from a post by one of my group members. I had never heard of that show before even though it is on its sixth year. It was really interesting to look at country music and all the different aspects of it that I never knew existed – I am a fan of country music and I learned so much from this project. I now like different types of country music that I had never known about and I like country music even more!

However, I do have to say that one thing did really frustrate me with this blog. I found some very good pictures and a flyer that could have enhanced some of my blogs, but I could not get them to post on my blogs. I tried so many different ways and nothing worked! Besides that though, I really liked digging deep into country music and bringing it out of its shadows!

Great Job Everyone!! I feel we did a very good job at shining a new light on country music!!

-Natalie Boyce

Summing it up…. May 28, 2008

 

 

For the past few weeks we have been using this blog site in an attempt to bring country music out of the shadows of mainstream music. We have been researching the genre and trying to cover the missing areas that are not shown in the media, including artists, events, interpretations of country music and the history of country music. I’m not sure how well we have educated others on this genre but I’m hoping they now can appreciate the genre for what it is. You don’t have to like it, just appreciated the talent that is involved. I know how much I have learnt from my own research and from reading the blogs from the other group members. I have always liked some country music songs but after researching and discovering other artists I have widened my musical taste.

  Radio and media has a strong power and is very influential. Before this blog page started my country music knowledge was limited to famous names including Slim Dusty, Keith Urban, Lee Kernaghan and the Tamworth Country Music Festival. I now know that there are many more country music festivals in Australia, I know about Aboriginal Country Music, Hick Hop, Rock influenced country music and a range of new artists including Lisa Mitchell. The media doesn’t seem to cover the broader range of the genre and it’s a shame because as Negus (1999) stated when it comes to media ‘the tail has started wagging the dog’. The media and radio is so powerful that it has a direct impact on who is being signed to recording contracts and in many ways influences the ways in which artists are recorded.

    Ever since I wrote the blog about the cyclical changes of country music I have been thinking about the stage it is now. It was at its height in 1994 and has since been lowered on the media radar. Hopefully new technologies such as Myspace can enable new artists to start their career in the Country Music Genre and help to bring Country Music back to its height. Now that music is cheaper and easier to obtain people might be more willing to down load a country music song as it is less commitment than buying a physical album and they can give the genre a go. It is good to hear that mainstream artists are taking on a bit of a country feel in their songs, maybe this will boost Country Music’s image.

   This is my last blog as part of this assignment and I wanted to finish with a final thought: after researching the genre I don’t think it deserves to slip into ‘mainstream’ as it is fantastic on it’s own it deserves much more! Hopefully our blog site here at Country Kids has given Country Music at least some of the recognition it deserves and coverage of the areas that may have been forgotten.

 

Rachelle Fenning

 

Negus, K. (1999), ‘Music Genres and Corporate Cultures’. Routledge, London.

 

 

Music culture and society how does country fit?? May 27, 2008

Looking at “Music, Culture and Society: changes in perspective” By Derk B. Scott, through this reader, the connections between music, popular culture, art, entertainment and consumption of pop culture I found quite relevent to the cracks and gaps in mainstream music top 40 charts. There is much more interesting aspects in the country music industry than can be seen in mass produced top 40 industry developed to entertain the masses, and the masses seem to consume what is thrown at them. With in the reader, Scott discusses sociological theorists who point out where modernity has had its effect on culture and what is considered mass-culture and consumption of music with in society. Looking at what is important to the music industry as an art form maybe shouldnt be associated with what should or is seen to be mass or mainstream culture. The idea of mass or mainstream culture as said by Scott, is “Mass audiences passively consuming the mass produced commodoties of a culture” This sparked the idea in me that, is “mainstream” or “Top 40″ just that, what is mass produced and directed at an audience to passively consume? Another quote I found interesting by composer Schoenberg “If it is art, it is not for all, if it is not for all it is not art” a confusing quote, yet made me think about country music, and as good as it is and what we have found out about it how diverse it is, but as well as what makes it great, it isnt for all, that then to an extent makes it an art form, what music was orginonaly!!! a performing art as I know it is defined as to an extent.

It was interesting to read the connections of art and society. Music I feel is an art form, one in which country may not be understood by all, but it should be appriciated by all, for what it is and what it does.

 

Sophie Adams

Whats in it for them May 27, 2008

After looking through out all our blogs and posts ( I admit ive been very quiet in my contributions to the blogging on this site (stupid technology not doing what its told) however, in reading over every thing thats been said, researched and displayed about country music and, yes it is a shadow industry and I must say as ive mentioned previously how, now that we’ve mentioned it, country music is all around trying to break through into the mainstream. I then thought about, it is an industry just like any other industry, though although country music is there to entertain, people are still there to make money.

Searching through cmt.com I came across “The Top earners in Country Music”

Toby Keith Tops Forbes List of Country’s Top Earners

May 22, 2008

Toby Keith tops the list of Forbes magazine’s list of the top-earning country music stars. With an estimated gross income of $48 million in 2007, the magazine notes that Keith’s earnings are maximized with a major endorsement deal with Ford trucks, involvement in his I Love This Bar & Grill chain of restaurants and ownership of his record label, Show Dog Nashville. Others on the list and their estimated incomes in 2007: Rascal Flatts ($40 million), Tim McGraw ($23 million), Kenny Chesney ($22 million), Brooks & Dunn ($20 million), Brad Paisley ($16 million), Faith Hill and Keith Urban (tied at $12 million each), George Strait ($11 million) and Alan Jackson ($10 million).

Taken directly from the cmt.com site, when looking at the small article, I had only heard of three of the artists on the list, Keith Urban, Faith HIll and Tim McGraw, who although they are still doing quite well for them selves, arent the top of the lists. I think here is where the cracks in country music appear to an extent. Although they are the industry’s top earners, from some ones point of view for sees more top 40 charts and what is main stream and pop culture, these people arent recognised to their full extent! I understand that alot of the top earners are producers and what not. But I still feel they need more recognition in regards to their contributions not only to the country music industry, but to the entertainment and music industry alone!!!

 

By Sophie Adams

The Dolly of country!! May 27, 2008

I Just wanted to say I think Dolly Parton is great, she looks like Barbie (not naturally) but none the less she is a Blonde bombshell who has built her image up through movies, music and the country music spirit!!!! Which I feel has been greatly positive, yet could be seen as detremental to the country music scene and genre……

Born on Jan. 19, 1946, in Locust Ridge, Tenn., into a poor family that would eventually include 12 children, Dolly Parton learned early to escape the hardships of life through her vivid and far-ranging imagination. Before she learned to read and write she was making up her own songs. Hows that for the positive country spirit, she provided laughter, entertainment, fun and a positive spin on what could be seen as a not so great situation. She then got her first guitar age ten and started singing on a radio station age 11!

Shes had her fair share of country music awards as well as grammys and oscers for numerous songs she has written and performed. Opened her own themepark named Dollywood in Tennessee and has also written many childrens books! Not bad for a woman who is 62 and who’s first single was called “Dumb Blonde”.

Despite the jokes of Dolly Parton inregards to the barbieish figure she seems to have maintained for quite sometime, she defenetly has made a mark in the entertainment world, but never really strayed from her country roots.

Although she isnt quite mainstream, country music and the coverage with in the media wouldnt quite be the same with out her and the contributions she has made both in the spot light and behind the scenes. One thing I found most interesting is the fact she co-wrote and produced “I will always love you” from the soundtrack to the movie “Body Guard” which was performed by Whitney Housten. There is a country music star contributing to a hit song with in the mainstream (of the time) industry.

 

Guess Blondes have more fun!

 

By Sophie Adams

The Gap In Journalism May 21, 2008

As most people primarily write about ‘top 40’ artists and mainstream music and events, we are increasingly coming to believe that this is not the most interesting aspect of contemporary music. Genres such as country music receive insufficient coverage in the media, and as we all know the media in our society in extremely influential. The broader society isn’t ever exposed to country music, so how is it ever going to scrape into the top 40 if we never get the chance to easily listen to it.

Journalism is really opinionated and as journalists tend to write about the music they generally enjoy or what they think is more popular, lesser known genres, such as country music, often are overlooked and as a result stay more under publicised.

In order for country music to gain more coverage in the media, more people need to write about the genre and its events and artists, and to look past the stereotypes of country music. That’s why we have decided to base our blog solely on the country music genre, so we can bring more coverage to this genre and fill the gap left in the music media.

Spend some time reading our blogs, we feel that you will have a new look and appreciation on country music. We hope this will help broaden your horizons when it comes to music, past the closed ideal of the top 40.

 

By Jacki Tipton, Rachelle Fenning, Natalie Boyce, and Sophie Adams.

Hick Hop May 20, 2008

While researching Country Music I have been very interested in finding aspects of the genre that I haven’t heard of before. Hick Hop is a cross between counrty music and rap. Hick Hop can be described as country music with hip hop beats and DJ scratching. This seems like an unusual combination but after listening to a song by Cowboy Troy it actually doesn’t sound that bad. It is different, it has a bit of a twang along with the normal black man rapping. Have a listen you might actually like it! Other artists known as rappers with noted country influences include Bubba Sparxxx, Nappy Roots and Kid Rock. Country singer Tim Mcgraw worked with rapper Nelly on a song called ‘over and over’. I had actually heard of this song, it was on the top 40 hits for a while, but never made the country music charts. I had never thought of this song as ‘hick hop’ before. Although Cowboy Troy didn’t invent hick hop he has certaintly taken it on and tried to introduce it to society. Troy came to the country music scene in 2004 with his blend or country music and rap.  At the country music awards he was one of the two black people who performed. You should go to a band called ‘Bourlands’ Myspace page and have a look at what they are doing to combine rap and country music.

Hick Hop is a relatively new sub genre that I think has potential to introduce country music to a younger, mainstream audience. 

 Rachelle Fenning

Welcome y’all May 7, 2008

Howdy! Welcome to country kid’s!! There are mainstream artists within the country genre. However, country music itself is not a mainstream genre. We have started this blog to explore and give a voice to the lesser known genre that is country music. We aim to bring you reviews and general information about artists, events, media information and influence, in order to educate people more about this shadowed genre. Feel free to join us to shine light on this genre. Look forward to hearing from you!

From all of here at country kids – Sophie Adams, Natalie Boyce, Rachelle Fenning, Jacki Tipton and Ryan Witt.