Country Music Has Proven For The View Of The Contemporary Culture Essay

Commercially, some women have experienced extreme success while under the country music umbrella. Shania Twain, one of the most popular artists in the 1990s, “Not only is [...] country music’s most successful female artist, she also recorded the genre’s most successful album of all time, Come On Over in 1997” (McCarthy, par. 3). Taylor Swift’s 2013 arena tour to support her last country album was the most lucrative tour in North America that year, bringing in more than $113 million in ticket revenue (Sisario, par. 16). Critically, women have fared extremely well in recent years. A movement to make music acknowledging the genre’s roots has been lead by a group of female country musicians- to the admiration of critics and fans alike, if they get the chance to hear the music. Since 2014, seven of fifteen nominees for the Grammy Award for country album of the year have been women, with two of the three winners being female (Leight, par. 28-30). If women are given the opportunity to be heard on the radio and develop a fanbase, the chances to achieve a high level of prosperity are just as high as their male counterparts’. The level of critical success experienced by some new female artists shows that women and the themes they portray in their songs appeal to many people, even if the music is not being heard by the

In 1997, Shania Twain released the song “Man I feel like a woman!”. The catchy melody immediately made this song a huge hit, but it’s the meaning of the lyrics that made it the feminist anthem that is still loved after so many years. The music video itself is empowering as it shows a confident Shania in the spotlight surrounded by her male musicians. However, the lyrics are what this analysis is more focused on. Twain sings about being her true self and letting loose. The song is an example of feminism, because it challenges gender stereotypes, the pressure put on girls to look a certain way and gender norms. The argument will be structured in three paragraphs, each developing on one of the ideas found in the thesis.

Music defines our culture. As Americans, we listen to music while we drive our cars, are at work, doing housework, studying, etc. We have songs for special occasions: Christmas, Hanukah, birthdays, weddings, parties, etc. We have taken songs from the various cultures that make us diverse: Arabic, German, Mexican, Native American, etc. We have many genres: country, hip-hop, rap, pop, blues, jazz, rock, heavy metal, etc. And although we may think of music as simple and easy, looking at all this makes one realize how diverse and complex our music truly is. Two things that contribute to this diversity are theme and symbolism.

Country music has been around for a long time. Country music originated in the southern United States in the 1920’s. Hip hop on the other hand only started in the 1970’s. It was developed in the south Bronx in New York City. Pop music has been around since the 1950’s. I think Country music is better than hip pop or pop music. Country music has better style, singers, and more meaning to the songs.

Country music has proven as a powerful medium to express the views of the contemporary culture. As a result, the lyrical value of such songs provides listeners an insight to the changing climate of social and political ideologies. During the 1960’s defined gender roles dictated social lifestyles and were mimicked in music. In recent years, a resurgence of idealistic, stereotypical gender-specific roles have cropped up in country songs, creating a subgenre labelled “bro-country.” Jody Rosen of the New York Times first coined the term “bro-country” in order to describe songs that use lyrical tools glorifying prevailing, hegemonic gender roles present in culture. Songs such as Tim McGraw’s “How I’ll Always Be,” Luke Bryan’s “Huntin’, Fishin’, Lovin’, Every Day,” Sam Hunt’s “Make you Miss Me,” and Dierks Bently’s “Different for Girls” use the lyrical discourse, under the lens of “bro-country”, to highlight dominant, male gender-specific roles, while simultaneously reinforcing prominent, often negative, views of women.

Charlie Pride did it in 1971. Darius Rucker did it in 2009. That’s it. Two black men, spanning thirty-eight years, are the only black artists to win a Country Music Association Award. With country music rooted in bluegrass and rhythm and blues, why aren’t there more black country music stars? When considering the roots of country music, and how closely related country is to blues, bluegrass and honky tonk music, an examination of what happened to all the black musicians seems warranted, no? This paper examines the dearth of black artists in country music and the careers of one of the few black artists who has had commercial success in this genre of music.

Country music is a genre that some might absolutely love and some might absolutely hate. It is a style of music that developed in the southern and western U.S. and often contains lyrics relating to the lives of people who live in the country. While there are a lot of different types of country music, a very popular country artist of this time is Eric Church. Church brings a bit of a twist to country music, with really telling us how he feels. Talking about one of his songs in particular, “homeboy” about a lost young man needing to “come on home, boy.”

For generations, singers and songwriters of country music have been working to evoke emotions in listeners by performing and writing songs that the listeners will be able to relate to. Country music traditionally reveals stories of life, love, death, and values, all of which can be seen in the works of great singers and songwriters like George Strait, Alabama, Brooks & Dunn, and Alan Jackson. One artist in particular, Garth Brooks, forever left his stamp on country music and on the hearts of his millions of listeners with his hit songs, “The Beaches of Cheyenne”, “Callin’ Baton Rouge”, and “The River”. “The Beaches of Cheyenne” has a storyline containing themes of life, death, love, and regret. The themes of this song branch out much

Robert Altman’s movie Nashville is based on the political, social, and personal problems that our country has to deal with. These problems are rooted in the battle between the need to create some false image of success and the need for truth which is the struggle that exists in every character of this film (except Jeff Goldbloom). To show this Robert Altman takes us through Nashville’s Country Music using political commentary, music and realistically portrayed dialogue to tell the story.

In Will Wilkinson's Country Music, Openness to Experience, and the Psychology of Culture War, he argues that country music itself is an ideology. He achieves this by explaining how country music's supporters and listeners are primarily conservative individuals whose happiness comes from the “enchantment of everyday life” lives depend on and is a “bulwark against cultural change’.

Country music is one of the most popular genres of music throughout America. There are many influential figures that have changed the way country music sounds, and how people interpret it. Two important people who have made a huge impact on country music overtime are Johnny Cash and Luke Bryan. From their early life, their career, and how society views them, they have opened the minds of people and country musicians all over the country. Johnny Cash’s songs help people to experience his life growing up through the Great Depression and how people lived back then. Through Luke Bryan’s songs people could understand what life was like for Luke growing up in Georgia and all the hardships he faced. Johnny Cash and Luke Bryan are two of the many

It is hard to say if rock and roll impacts culture or is impacted by culture. I feel that as you explore music from different eras you can often hear the story being told from that time. You can feel its impact and see the impact on it. When I explored the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame site I immediately looked for my favorites because they tell a story to me. Then I randomly selected someone I had never heard of and began to listen to that music as well. It is interesting not only to see the differences but also the similarities in my purposeful choices and my random choice.

There is no disputing that society is influenced by its choices of entertainment. Some ways in which people are influenced are positive, but others are harmful. In the society we live in, the harmful ways always outnumber the positive. If we gravitated toward the positive forms of entertainment a little more often than the negative, then our society would have fewer problems. Popular music has a negative effect on society and endorses a lack of creativity.

The 1980’s consisted of several historical events and societal changes that have been relived though the lyrics of many young hip-hop artists. Of the numerous genres of songs, hip-hop has been labeled as of the most relatable genres. During this 1980’s, many of the songs that were written by male hip-hop artist tend to focus on the relationship aspect of male and female interactions. This finding is similar to what was stated in Frith’s article (1986) that most successful pop songs were about being “happy in love” and “frustrated in love” as well as having a sex interest (p. 78). Instead of using derogatory terms to describe women, men felt the need to use more delicate and gentle terms. Through their music, artists portrayed women as individuals who provide love, support, happiness and fulfillment to a man’s life. Furthermore, male artists portrayed themselves as men who weren’t afraid to express their emotions, admit their dependency on women, and their willingness to do what it takes to keep a woman. There were no signs of hypermasculinity or dominance in the first few songs

All music has changed tremendously throughout the years. Each generation has several specific songs that defines that generation. Every song has different lyrics that describe the emotions that the artists are feeling. The songs connect to each individual in many different ways. Lyrics to a song is what makes music wonderful. Each song touches someone through ways like teaching a life lesson or touching your heart. Every generation has music that impacts the world by motivating people to do certain things or defines a person’s personality. Each generation has music that defines the generation.