This little gem of a blog post has been sitting in my drafts folder since January or so, and I kept adding to it and then deleting it at the risk of alienating anyone. But it’s ready to go now, so enjoy, and please comment.

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I used to be a little bit of a fan of country music. I’ve never been really into it, but it used to be ok to me. Tolerable. I mean, I grew up with my parents listening to it. But in retrospect, I do admire a lot about older country music.

I remember seeing people like Conway Twitty, Johnny Cash, and others getting up with their guitar and singing on an old show called “Hee Haw.” It wasn’t so much that they were brilliant musicians (though you may think they were, and that’s perfectly ok – I choose no sides on this topic). It was the simple fact that they were actually singing about something that meant something to them – not something that was written for them or something that contained none of their own inspiration. You’ll never hear a George Jones song about getting a barbecue stain on his T-shirt, or a Conway Twitty record containing 13 songs about how cool it was to be in high school. No, these guys were the real “cowboys.” Not the guys who sing about hunting yet have never hunted, or even played “Duck Hunt,” for that matter.

That being said, I think this is common in a lot of music across most genres today. People seemed to have stopped singing about real life anymore. I fell into this trap as a solo musician years back, and know how easy it is to just write what people will like instead of heartfelt, original songs. These days it’s all about being a rock star. And I don’t think that’s how it was ever meant to be, although it’s dangerously hard not to fall right into that state of mind.

So if you would, please suggest some “real” music to me. Music that is authentic & genuine, inspired (not necessarily inspiring, but to each his or her own), and meaningful.

Oh, and please don’t suggest Yanni.