Twang

As it has been mentioned previously in this ramble, my knowledge of music is somewhat limited. Although I have never had a particular favorite style of music, I do have a wide variety of styles in my limited collection. I have everything from hard rock to early 50's and 60's rock (except for the British invasion stuff), to jazz and swing. I even own an Andrea Bocelli cd. Truth be told, I don't own 40 cds.

The one thing I never listened to was country music. It just never appealed to me. I used to say the only time to listen to country music was while you were in a bar swilling beer. And then, a funny thing happened; since the first of the year the radio in my car has only been on one of the two local country stations (except for sports-talk). The kicker is, I have absolutely no idea why.

One day I just tuned in and I haven't left. At this point, I couldn't tell you who was who, other than recognizing the names, I have no idea who sings what. After about two months I am at least beginning to recognize a few of the voices. I THINK I know Carrie Underwood's voice, Toby Keith is an easy one, unless of course there is someone out there who sounds just like him. Could be; many of the artists all seem to sound the same to me. I better be careful as he might put a 'boot up my ass', it is the American way, you know. And then there is Taylor Swift, although I can't decide if she is really country or just a grown-up whiny teenager.

And then there is the differences with country music. There are two stations that play this genre in our area. One has a playlist of more modern artists while the other, as my wonderful nephew points out, is 'older' country. That definitely has a different twang to it. Yep, it's much more twangy. I tend to listen to the 'more current' playlist. station. Another thing I noticed today on the way home from work was that Chevy trucks appear all the time in these songs. I can't say I've heard anyone singing about sliding into the cab of a Ford pickup with a girl yet. Perhaps the word Chevy just rhymes with more stuff than Ford...bored, floored, doored (is that a word)?

My awesome nephew, Handsome Son has tried to expand my listening tastes for a couple years now. I have just been hard-headed about my preferences. Now, I'm not saying he's right...I'm just sayin'. With recent events in my life perhaps it is just that country music is settling; comfortable; speaks to me at a different time in my life.

Or, maybe I just grew into it.