Country Music and Women

 I like country music.  There are certain artists I like better than others -- Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, Martina McBride, the Judds, Toby Keith, Casey Musgraves, Sugarland -- and I don't really get involved in the controversies that arise in Nashville.  From what I hear, women in country music aren't getting their fair share of air time on country radio, and they're upset about it.

From my perspective, they have every right to be upset.

There are some good young male singers in Nashville.  My favorite, bar none, is Luke Combs.  Not only does he have a distinctive voice, but he has hilarious songs and poignant songs and songs that evoke the true spirit of country music.  He even came out with a cover of Fast Car by Tracy Chapman, and it's phenomenal.

But I find most of the rest of young male artists lacking.  They drone on about whiskey, beer, girls shaking their booties and...little else.  Not only that, few of them are nice to listen to.  Alan Jackson has a deep, rich baritone.  Garth Brooks has a nice, even twang.  Some of these yokels now sound like they dropped out of high school and have been working on oil rigs out in the Gulf of Mexico far from English speakers.

Young women, on the other hand, usually can not only carry a tune, but they sing about interesting themes that tell a story beyond getting drunk.  Miranda Lambert is a master storyteller.  Casey Musgraves writes intricate, thought-provoking lyrics.  Megan Moroney has a song, Tennessee Orange, that's almost an apology for falling for someone from a different fanbase, something to which people in the south can certainly relate.

The Judds' songs were all soulful.  They had great harmony and were almost the kind of discussions one would have with family members or friends.  Sugarland -- yes, it's a duo with both a man and a woman, but Jennifer Nettles carries it -- has thoughtful lyrics.  Rare is the male artist who can match the material the women are putting out.

Certainly, my bias is also rooted in the fact that I love to listen to women sing.  Not all women nowadays are nightingales, but the vast majority of them have pretty voices.  The soulful lyrics they write and then sing are easy on the ear.

Country radio -- Give the women the airtime they deserve!

(c) 2023 The Truxton Spangler Chronicles

Recent Random Thoughts

 --  Since we'll be in Alaska sometime this summer, I intend to ask a fast-food joint why coupons and offers from the Lower 48 aren't good in Hawaii and Alaska.  I've always been very curious.

--  Watch out for Congressman Dan Goldman from Connecticut.  He thinks very highly of himself.  He's not as good looking as Gavin Newsome, nor does he run anything, but one can tell that he's ambitious and he's the heir to the Levi Strauss fortune.  First the Senate, then the presidency.

--  I'm constantly amazed at politicians who contradict themselves with public statements.  Don't they realize that in this day and age of the internet, virtually everything they've ever said is taped somewhere?

--  Think what you will of Megyn Kelly, but her podcast is one of the best out there.  She has very interesting guests and the discussions are usually quite informative.

--  I really have given up on most sports.  The NBA is a woke league, the NFL bores me, the NHL is fine but underpublicized and MLB is too long unless my Cubs are doing well.  I doubt I could even participate in a fantasy league anymore -- which used to be quite fun -- because I just can't pay attention.  Even the NCAA, with its NIL rules and instant transfer rules, is no longer much fun.

-- I'm very interesting in the upcoming SCOTUS rulings in the affirmative action cases.  It's high time affirmative action went away.  Not because I was ever affected by it; if I was, I was unaware of it.  Rather, it stigmatizes African-Americans unfairly.  And at what point do we say merit over skin color?

--  The View is a joke.  I like Senator Tim Scott, and I applaud his courage in going on there and showing how to debate without getting in the gutter.  But the sanctimonious tone of the show and the absolute hypocrisy of the panelists is disgusting.

--  So CNN will have a new boss.  Soon enough it will rival post-war Italy for changes in leadership.

-- Jonathan Turley is a national treasure.  For a Democrat born in Chicago who attended Northwestern University Law School, he's amazingly fair and balanced.  I highly recommend him to everyone interested in straightforward analysis.

-- I don't watch Fox much.  I admire Shannon Bream, Dana Perino, Bill Hemmer and Bret Baier.  I watch The Five.  But the rest of that lineup is nothing more than a right-wing arm of the Republican Party.  Still, it's got to be better than CNN and MSNBC.

-- Yard work is getting more tedious by the year.

-- I'm quite comfortable being alone.  I always have been.  But what makes me curious is why I'm almost always the one to reach out to my friends to see how they're doing.

-- Why is it called America's Got Talent when almost every act on there is from a foreign country and all the judges are foreign born?  Why not just rename it We Are The World Got Talent?

-- No one -- and I mean no one -- can plan a vacation like my Karen.  She could teach the military a thing or two about logistics.

(c) 2023  The Truxton Spangler Chronicles