Music Shows

This is a individual opinion and therefore, I don’t want any hate mail from Country Western listeners, which I know are fanatical and omnipresent. I do have my favorite s, from a chauvinistic man’s point of view. I think that Shania Twain and Faith Hill are sexy and I find pleasure in a few of their videos plus some of their songs. But is it because they’re large country western stars? No way. I have a problem listening to most of the Country Western stuff because it all is beginning to sound the same. I can’t tell a Randy Travis, Tim McGraw, Toby Keith or Alan Jackson song apart if my life depended on it.
I grew up on the Jersey shore and a lot of of you may, therefore, think I am unqualified to make such a judgment. But hold on. I have spent the last 30 years in Arizona. Does it get more country or western than that? You know, the home of Tombstone, Wyatt Earp, and where the ‘Little House on the Prairie’ has been filmed.
So I am a transplant with an attitude. Do not get me wrong, because I have given it a try. My late wife has been from West Virginia and, during her mid-life crisis, began playing Country Western music continuously for five years.  all of us  had all the CD ’s, radio stations on preset, and even watched the Country Western awards on television. I may recognize all the large names, the latest hits, and who has been new to the scene. Through it all, I really tried to find pleasure in the sound, for her sake. But, eventually, I wandered back to my classic rock and roll, jazz, or blues.
I performance the harmonica and keyboard and have oodles of sheet music. I have attempted to performance a few of the recent Country Western popular numbers, but to no avail. I have a few of the older Country Western classics that have crept into mainstream by Johnny Cash and Ernie Ford, but they are few and far amidst. The current songs have become a formula that’s fodder for Jeff Foxworthy and his ilk. According to individuals like him, it goes like this:
You start with a sad premise.  You’ve  lost your: (fill in the blank) i.e., girl, dog, select up truck. They were your 1st : love, companion, way of freedom. You recall their: smiles, wagging tail, leather seats. You wish you may, once again, feel their: hair, fur, gun rack. You really miss their: smell, smell, smell. You would do anything to get them back: tell her you love her, rub her cute little tummy, (or did I have those reversed?) hose her engine compartment. While you are waiting for them to return, you’ll have to: do your own laundry, fetch your own paper, walk to the liquor store. In other words, it is not a pretty sight.
So that’s my gripe with Country Western. They vary the harmony, the lyrics and the tempo, but the message is undeniable. I yearn for a total vary of pace where I may get my ‘Satisfaction’ or ‘Light My Fire.’ But I also have troubles with Hip-Hop, Rap, and Grunge. So, let’s say I have got issues and be done with it. And, to all you Country Western lovers out there, stick with your music and don’t let a basher like me vary your tune, pardoning the pun. And did I mention the two things I do like about Dolly Parton?