You
may have heard the story. Zac Brown (of Zac Brown Band) recently made some
provocative statements during an interview with Vancouver radio station 93.7
JRfm. According to Examiner.com, he criticized the state
of commercial country music, asserting that many hit songs use the same themes
and are rearrangements of existing lyrics. "When songs make me wanna
throw up, it makes me ashamed to even be in the same genre as those songs.”
Brown
also called Luke Bryan's current single "the worst song I've ever
heard," adding that country fans "deserve something better than
that." He later clarified through Twitter that his opinion pertained to
That's My Kind of Night, but not to Bryan as an artist. Still, those
were some pretty strong words.
Does
Brown make a valid point about modern country music possibly being too generic? Probably. Another quote from
the Examiner.com article: "We really write about real life, songs
that come from life and our heart. To me country music has always been the home
for a great song." I appreciate Brown's desire for emotion and genuineness
when creating music. And I believe artists and songwriters do work
in the industry for this reason.
Still,
I feel Brown goes to far in presenting his own views as an absolute
statement about the genre. Who's the person who draws the line between country music
and non-country music? And why is this issue such a big deal, anyway? The
young radio listener may have a variety of musical tastes, including pop, which
helps explain the increase in crossover we're seeing. It's only smart for
songwriters to publish songs that appeal to more listeners.
Also,
I find it odd that Zac Brown is the one making purist statements about the state of
country music. I would personally not describe his band's latest release as
being rooted in that genre. Isn't this the same guy who plays island music and
wears a toque on-stage?
It
is absolutely normal to have preferences within a genre, but I feel Brown should be
careful not to speak for other country fans. Because in today's ever-evolving
music market, the listener is always right.
Photo
courtesy of http://www.zacbrownband.com.
Do you think the strength of Brown's opinions might have been related to the likelihood they'd get him some media attention?
ReplyDeleteI do think so – Brown could have worded his disdain in a number of ways that wouldn't have sparked any backlash (or coverage). In my opinion, though, knocking someone else's success for the sake of attracting attention isn't ethical. And considering the diverse audience, I don't think it would be smart in this situation.
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