Listen To Live Or Live To Listen
Dear Avid Reader,
Have you heard of this new genre of music? Well, it probably isn't new, but relatively speaking it is. It's called "Hick-Hop". What is Hick-Hop you ask? We'll let me tell you. Essentially it's country with a rapper.
Have you heard about this? It's like the fourth seal of the Apocalypse has been broken. Currently, the big deal is a guy named Cowboy Troy. He works with country acts Big n' Rich and Gretchen Wilson. He' black, wears a cowboy hat, and raps...during country songs.
It's insane.
And the really crazy part is that this isn't the first time rap and country have been thrown together. Click on this link. I'll wait until you come back.
Did you see that? This has been going on since the 80's! And did you read the other crazy names it had? Hick-Hop, Hill-Hop, Hip-Hopry & Country-Hip-Hop. What in the heck is going on here. Am I the only one who realizes that this is crazy?
Does anyone else think hearing the phrase "Hick-Hop" is akin to hearing the phrase "Nazi Synagogue"?
I fell like I'm taking crazy pills!
Behind The Music
I know I'm not the only one that feels that way. But why do I feel that way? I feel as though it's because of the way I think of music.
When someone asks you what type of music you like, they are really asking what type of person you are. Or at least, they are asking why type of person do you want to be associated with.
If someone says jazz, you probably think they are either cultured or pretentious. When someone says country, you probably think that are honest & hardworking or you think they are ignorant. When someone says rap, you may think they tough or stylish or ignorant or violent. Every music has a philosophy behind it.
Let's take country and hip-hop. They have varied cultures. One is urban and one is rural. The median listener age for one is younger and for the other it is older. And to be perfectly honest, one has listeners that are white and one has listeners that are black.
These different groups create different cultures for themselves. In hip-hop, the culture is rooted in street life. The four elements of hip-hop are MC, DJ, Breakdance, and graffiti Art. For country listeners, there is Old West mythology, field & Stream sports, and line dancing. The two ideologies are seemingly on opposite ends of the spectrum.
Mix Tapes Of Affiliations
See I think about music and philosophy and listener. I wonder, which comes first, the philosophy or the music. Would I feel as individualistic if I hadn't listened to punk music? Would I be so concerned with the little hypocrisies that everyone makes each day as a sign of a dark, corrupt world if I had chosen to listen to Tejano? Like in the movie High Fidelity:
Depends On What The Chicken And The Egg Listen To?
So I wonder, do we gravitate to these philosophies because it is inevitable and we cannot escape who we are? Or do we choose the music we listen to because we find the genre's philosophy appealing and decide to be a part of that? Maybe the reason is more selfish and we choose to be a part of these culture because we want others to associate us with the values of a particular genre.
I think back to the first time I bought music. It was through one of those clubs that "gives" you ten albums for a penny, then you spend the rest of your life on the run. I remember buying albums that were popular at the time. Ace of Base, Real McCoys, and others. I really liked them. I still like Ace of Base.
No, I am not ashamed of that fact. Ace of Base ROCKS!
But I remember the first time I listened to a They Might Be Giants album. I had gotten the idea to buy it from a friend of mine and an appearance by TMBG on Tiny Toons. When I first head the album, I could stop playing it over and over and over. The same thing happened when I bought my first Green Day album. I listened to it constantly.
These two bands are two of my favorites. I still buy every new release. But after I purchased these albums initially, I began to become aware of a culture beneath. There was a prevailing thought of "integrity", "non-conformity" and other cliche's of punk culture.
I began to learn more about it. I came to understand that Green Day was a controversial figure in this culture. I felt pressure from the culture that I was becoming a part of to choose between the band that I loved and was instrumental in exposing me to the culture, or the rest of the bands that I like as well.
I came to the conclusion that there was flawed thinking in becoming to extreme with punk ideology. I realized that each person has made some form of conceit and become part of the system that they seek to change. Even the most ardent members of the underground are hypocrites.
Essentially, I've chosen Green Day. I've chose to believe that if everyone sells-out, then no one sells-out.
So is Hick-Hop a bad thing? No, not culturally. I like the idea of people removing barriers rather than me or someone else trying to draw the lines.
But does that mean it's good music, or even a good idea? The jury is still out on that.
Have you heard of this new genre of music? Well, it probably isn't new, but relatively speaking it is. It's called "Hick-Hop". What is Hick-Hop you ask? We'll let me tell you. Essentially it's country with a rapper.
Have you heard about this? It's like the fourth seal of the Apocalypse has been broken. Currently, the big deal is a guy named Cowboy Troy. He works with country acts Big n' Rich and Gretchen Wilson. He' black, wears a cowboy hat, and raps...during country songs.
It's insane.
And the really crazy part is that this isn't the first time rap and country have been thrown together. Click on this link. I'll wait until you come back.
Did you see that? This has been going on since the 80's! And did you read the other crazy names it had? Hick-Hop, Hill-Hop, Hip-Hopry & Country-Hip-Hop. What in the heck is going on here. Am I the only one who realizes that this is crazy?
Does anyone else think hearing the phrase "Hick-Hop" is akin to hearing the phrase "Nazi Synagogue"?
I fell like I'm taking crazy pills!
Behind The Music
I know I'm not the only one that feels that way. But why do I feel that way? I feel as though it's because of the way I think of music.
When someone asks you what type of music you like, they are really asking what type of person you are. Or at least, they are asking why type of person do you want to be associated with.
If someone says jazz, you probably think they are either cultured or pretentious. When someone says country, you probably think that are honest & hardworking or you think they are ignorant. When someone says rap, you may think they tough or stylish or ignorant or violent. Every music has a philosophy behind it.
Let's take country and hip-hop. They have varied cultures. One is urban and one is rural. The median listener age for one is younger and for the other it is older. And to be perfectly honest, one has listeners that are white and one has listeners that are black.
These different groups create different cultures for themselves. In hip-hop, the culture is rooted in street life. The four elements of hip-hop are MC, DJ, Breakdance, and graffiti Art. For country listeners, there is Old West mythology, field & Stream sports, and line dancing. The two ideologies are seemingly on opposite ends of the spectrum.
Mix Tapes Of Affiliations
See I think about music and philosophy and listener. I wonder, which comes first, the philosophy or the music. Would I feel as individualistic if I hadn't listened to punk music? Would I be so concerned with the little hypocrisies that everyone makes each day as a sign of a dark, corrupt world if I had chosen to listen to Tejano? Like in the movie High Fidelity:
"What came first: the music or the misery? People worry about kids playing with guns and watching violent videos. That some sort of culture of violence will take them over. No one worries about kids listening to thousands, literally thousands of songs about heartbreak, pain, rejection, suffering and misery. Did I listen to pop music because I was miserable, or was I miserable because I listened to pop music?"That part in the movie always resonated with me. Music to me is more about participating in a life philosophy rather than just entertainment. Better stated, there exists cultural rules to each major genre of music, and listeners are aware of those rules when they listened to these particular forms of music.
-Gordon, R. (2000). From the Movie High Fidelity. Based on the book High Fidelity by Nick Hornsby.
Depends On What The Chicken And The Egg Listen To?
So I wonder, do we gravitate to these philosophies because it is inevitable and we cannot escape who we are? Or do we choose the music we listen to because we find the genre's philosophy appealing and decide to be a part of that? Maybe the reason is more selfish and we choose to be a part of these culture because we want others to associate us with the values of a particular genre.
I think back to the first time I bought music. It was through one of those clubs that "gives" you ten albums for a penny, then you spend the rest of your life on the run. I remember buying albums that were popular at the time. Ace of Base, Real McCoys, and others. I really liked them. I still like Ace of Base.
No, I am not ashamed of that fact. Ace of Base ROCKS!
But I remember the first time I listened to a They Might Be Giants album. I had gotten the idea to buy it from a friend of mine and an appearance by TMBG on Tiny Toons. When I first head the album, I could stop playing it over and over and over. The same thing happened when I bought my first Green Day album. I listened to it constantly.
These two bands are two of my favorites. I still buy every new release. But after I purchased these albums initially, I began to become aware of a culture beneath. There was a prevailing thought of "integrity", "non-conformity" and other cliche's of punk culture.
I began to learn more about it. I came to understand that Green Day was a controversial figure in this culture. I felt pressure from the culture that I was becoming a part of to choose between the band that I loved and was instrumental in exposing me to the culture, or the rest of the bands that I like as well.
I came to the conclusion that there was flawed thinking in becoming to extreme with punk ideology. I realized that each person has made some form of conceit and become part of the system that they seek to change. Even the most ardent members of the underground are hypocrites.
Essentially, I've chosen Green Day. I've chose to believe that if everyone sells-out, then no one sells-out.
So is Hick-Hop a bad thing? No, not culturally. I like the idea of people removing barriers rather than me or someone else trying to draw the lines.
But does that mean it's good music, or even a good idea? The jury is still out on that.
The Next Post Promises To Be Better,
James
James
posted by James at 6:58 AM
5 Comments:
I think that possibly you need to go deeper in your thoughts about the comparison of rap and country. I think the real root of both of these is poverty. Overall, poor whites listen to country and poor blacks listen to rap thus this relationship is not so odd. Maybe what you need to asses is the culture of poverty. Just my thoughts I dont really love it but I did enjoy that song with Nelly and Tim McGraw. Keep posting much love
That's funny...cause I hate that Nelly/McGraw song.
I think about it over and over again.
I like the idea of both coming from poverty. So let's say that it is true, both are driven/created because of a lack of means.
But there is still a difference, and I think that it is key. Rap is concerned with creating a world of excess to give the listener an escape from their reality. We'll call it bling. This is the current state, but I think that it has always been a form of escape from reality. Even the gansta rap of the 90's was an embelishment of reality.
With country, there is more of an acceptance of that way things are. We are this way, we've always been this way, why not enjoy what we have. This sentiment can almost be called a fatalism. As if nothing about the situation can change.
I think we can explore this angle. I'm glad you found the common thread Clarice. Thanks.
I reckon I respect you for trying to made the absurb a bit less nonsensicle.
Regardless, I have no interest... but I do respect you.
Well my name is Johnny
I'm a Needville Cracker
I work in Houston
and I drive a blue Tracker
Yo...Yo Yo
My life is a freeway my commute is too long so I have too much time to rap out dis cool song
Yo...Yo Yo
I'm also thinking of combining bagpipes to my next blues tune...
DJWB
Actually, if we want to get into audience base, rap has a larger white audience base among teenagers than black.
And neither form of music was created out of or because of poverty. It came from creative, artistic folk who wanted to express themselves. Speaking rhythmically is not something that was just invented in the last few decades. It's been around since man learned to speak and discovered that certain sounds mirrored our own internal rhythms and were pleasing to listen to.
Country music came from Appalachian music which, in turn came from an eclectic mix of Celtic, Anglo, and African music.
Rap came from the strong rhythmic underpinnings of African dance and, well, the presence of speech. I would definitely NOT say that rap predominanly deals with escapism simply because any form of music can become escapism. That's part of what all music is. We get lost in it. Especially since the poetic aspect of rap is so crucial to its existence and poetry can be far more than escapism. But, I think rap has always prided rhythm over all else as evidenced by the structural simplicity of it: beat + spoken word. It's based upon the pleasing aural aspects of contrapuntality or opposing and complementary rhythms. It's dancing music, plain and simple.
While it's true that a lot of great art in history has come from the lower classes, poverty does not inherently create the urge for artistry.
Artists are born, not made. Their surroundings may provide them with impetus and ideas, but certainly not the talent necessary to create it.
All that to say, "hick-hop" sounds like a train wreck in my mind. And for that reason, I'm fascinated by the idea. It may suck. Or it may be the next big leap forward.
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