Welcome to Country Music, American Idol Scotty McCreery
Well hello there American Idol winner Scotty McCreery, my name’s The Triggerman, and I want to formally welcome you to country music.
Don’t worry, just because I’m a hardliner, doesn’t mean I’m gonna rip into you just because you’re an Idol alum. In an ironic symptom of the current state of country music, teeming masses of 14-year-old glitter-faced girls high on Spree and voting en masse on cell phones seem to be a better judge of talent than boardrooms full of business and marketing majors. Look at Carrie Underwood; she’s kept her nose pretty clean with me. So American Idol or not, I promise I will judge you on your own merit.
You’ve got quite a voice on you there Scotty. You’ve learned how to bottom out on the beginning of phrases . . . just like Garth. Hell, just from seeing pictures of you and the adolescent suffix on your name, I thought you would sound like a castrated Smurf (sorry, don’t watch Idol so I’d never heard you before). I was wrong.
Somebody was explaining to me the other day that on American Idol, contestants at some point choose what genre they are, so there’s country people, rock people, R&B people, etc. Well isn’t that cute. I come from the school that thinks that you don’t pick country, country picks you.
Because country isn’t just a genre of music like all those other ones; a simple word to offer distinction or categorization. It is a culture that has a rich and storied history that must be honored, or at least understood for the music to be true. Your princely little American Idol crown was bestowed in the midst of a culture war in country music. While purists fight to preserve the roots of the music, pop acts look to exploit it, and outfauxs and fat white country rappers work to squeeze every last stereotype out of rural culture for financial exploit.
It’s hard to know where you fit in that scheme at the moment, because even though you’ve been given the title of an “Idol”, meaning something to be worshiped, I don’t care how many licks from a kitten it takes to clean the peach fuzz off your face, until you actually put out an album, you are nothing more than a glorified Karaoke contest winner in my eyes.
But your album will come out, and if you listen to what all those men in those tall buildings tell you to do, you can puts plenty of 0’s behind the first number in your bank account to be left behind when you die. Or maybe you could use this one-in-a-million opportunity afforded by the gratuitous excess of American media, as well as your undeniably strong voice, and truly look deep down inside yourself, and find that one divine spark that exists in every human soul at inception, that one thing we are all meant to share with the rest of the world, and then share it, regardless of the financial outcome, or what the masses or asshole critics like me have to say about it.
Now that would be something I could idolize as an American.
–Triggerman
steve
August 16, 2011 @ 8:56 am
nice, maybe he will be googling his name someday and this will change his whole outlook
Denise
August 16, 2011 @ 10:30 am
I googled myself (because I was curious) and I never showed up. I don’t idolize anyone, so it goes against my grain that this youngen is going to be MADE into anything so ambigous as a country music star. It’s the hardknocks and faith (just ask Johnny Cash) that get you there. It’s the heartbreaks (just ask Hank) that fuel your drive. It’s the devil may care attitude (just ask Waylon) and it’s the tenacity(just ask Willie) that makes your country soul sing. NOT a panel of judges and millions of called in votes. Put an end to American Idol and it’s fabricated idoltry and false greatness and you will get back to what it’s supposed to be: Meant to be from God.
shot jackson
August 16, 2011 @ 10:30 am
Saw this, thought it was funny, may not belong here but oh well…….
http://www.thebluegrassblog.com/vandalism-or-charity/
emfrank
August 16, 2011 @ 10:37 am
Let’s hope he listens.. but I do have a minor bone to pick with you. I suspect you will probably agree. Other genres of music also have a history and cultural origin. Sure, “rock” is a vague term, but certainly R&B comes out of urban Black culture and remains better music insofar as it maintains those connections. And even in rock, the music is enriched when the artist knows, and draws on, the history of the genre. As you have said in other places, the problem is the way in which pop music flattens out the diversity of musical genres and makes it all sound the same. I am not much of a hip-hop fan, but the discussion a week or so ago brought up similar thoughts, though I was a little late to chime in.
But does that mean that white suburban kids ought never try to rap or play jazz? Probably most shouldn’t, because it will end up as caricature of the genre and, worse, of the culture it grows out of. But if someone really immerses themselves and learns from the old timers, they can bring something new to the old styles. I am not sure I think GIllian Welch (southern Cali hippy chick) is country, but I love what she and Rawlings do with country and old time music. I think there is sometimes an assumption that “saving” country means not changing the sound. I am fine with change; it is more about how one respects the tradition. Another good example is how the punk/metal attitude can bring new life to the occasional stuffiness of bluegrass, perhaps even taking it back closer to its own roots.
None of this is to say that I expect much from Scotty, andI have never even heard of him.
The Triggerman
August 16, 2011 @ 3:35 pm
I can’t disagree with much you said here.
“But does that mean that white suburban kids ought never try to rap or play jazz?”
No, and I’m not sure I implied that, though just like saying I don’t want the music to evolve, this is something people seem to infer all the time.
R&B and hip hop might have roots, but they are not roots genres, like country, or blues for example. Rock n’ Roll was built on breaking traditions, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it also makes it very different from country in that regard.
emfrank
August 17, 2011 @ 7:11 am
I didn”™t think you were saying that white kids shouldn”™t rap, which is why I began saying that I didn”™t think we disagree. I am just thinking out loud, and any criticism is aimed at myself as much as you or our dear readers. I will give you that rock, like pop, is a blending and breaking of earlier tradition, but the roots certainly go back as far as bluegrass, for instance. It is still enriched by attention to its history, though it is less clear that it is rooted in any particular place or people, other than “America”. But is “country,” as a genre really all that old, or is it itself a development of folk and country blues traditions in the mid 20th century? R&B”™s roots go back that far, and it connects to a particular place and people that give it authenticity. I do prefer roots music, and am just as quick to pronounce X as the real deal while dismissing Y as derivative. But what does that really mean?
I guess I am saying that the conversation about authenticity in country, and roots music in general, would be helped by a little more careful thought about what constitutes tradition and development that is in continuity with tradition, as well as the way that is related to particular cultures (like Appalachia or south Texas, which bring very different sounds to “country” music).
And I do think unqualified statements like “country has a culture, other genres don”™t” can seem to imply that white kids shouldn”™t rap, or that the music shouldn”™t evolve if they are not qualified. Maybe I am asking for more analysis, less rhetoric (again, criticizing myself as well.) I have seen a few artists who think being “the real deal” means trying to sound like Hank, or Johnny, or whomever, and sometimes that can be just boring. So what is “authenticity” if it is not just repeating what folks have done in the past? What do I mean when I call someone the real deal?
emfrank
August 17, 2011 @ 7:32 am
[[And I do think unqualified statements like “country has a culture, other genres don”™t” can seem to imply that white kids shouldn”™t rap, or that the music shouldn”™t evolve if they are not qualified.]]
Sorry, that was convoluted and missing a comma after “evolve.” Translation – Without a richer discussion of the tradition, the rhetoric of “authenticity”can seem to imply that white kids shouldn’t rap or that the music shouldn’t change,
I know that is not what you mean to imply, but am not surprised that people make that assumption, given the rhetoric here and in the roots/outlaw commnities as a whole.
Chad Nordhoff
August 16, 2011 @ 11:31 am
Scotty auditioned before a panel of judges. His talent was recognized and he was invited to enter the competition on TV.
Hank played outside the radio station. His talent was recognized and he was invited in to sing on the air.
Scotty set himself apart from the herd through his interpretations of cover songs. People voted him their favorite by phone.
Hank broke through with his cover of “Lovesick Blues”. Radio station phone lines were jammed with callers demanding more of “the Lovesick Blues boy”.
Scotty was the subject of weekly judging by professionals and fans alike. He took their advice and allowed his raw talent to be crafted into something marketable. He now has the opportunity to work with Nashville”™s top producers and musicians to become a country superstar.
Hank pursued a career in Nashville. He worked with the top producers and musicians. He allowed Fred Rose to help craft his raw material into hit songs and became a country superstar. By most any measure, Hank was able to maintain his artistic integrity in the studio. He”™s now the legend of legends in American music.
Scotty, whatchu gon’ do?
Carla
August 16, 2011 @ 6:07 pm
That’s a fascinating comparison Chad, and difficult to argue with. I did watch the entire season of American Idol and Scotty seemed like a really sweet kid, but he wasn’t my personal pick to win. Let’s be honest, it’s not even really a singing contest it’s a popularity one. There were some really cool kids this season championing some amazing old time artists such as Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins but unfortunately Scotty wasn’t one of them. I watch the show for pure entertainment, I’ve never purchased any music any of the people featured in the show have produced and doubt I’ll start now.
Chris Lewis "Louie"
August 16, 2011 @ 1:16 pm
I don’t really see Scotty pursuing music as a career just yet. It’s already been rumored that he’s already tired of it all and wants to go back home. He doesn’t seem to like the fame that comes along with it all. Sounds like he might end up just being a songwriter unless his outlook changes.
Craig
August 25, 2011 @ 5:40 am
Where has this been rumored? I’ve read every article out there on Scotty because I think he has a fantastic voice and can sing old pure country very well. I have seen NOTHING on this, and do not believe it for a minute. This has been his dream. He isn’t giving up before his 1st album comes out LOL. Try again.
Steve G
August 16, 2011 @ 1:34 pm
This bloke looks about 10 years old…
GVFD3842
August 16, 2011 @ 3:47 pm
I kinda like I love you this big. I like his voice though. I just hope he reads this. I don’t watch idol so I don’t know about any of that. We’ll all just have to wait and see
the pistolero
August 16, 2011 @ 5:41 pm
Not a big fan of “I Love You This Big,” but the dude has a really good voice for his age. I’d be interested to see how he’d sound on a song like, say, “Amanda.”
Ga. Outlaw
August 16, 2011 @ 10:03 pm
I hate to admit it but because a local girl was on American Idol this year I watched more than I wanted to this year. Scotty has a good voice, but I wouldn’t call it anything new. He is basiclly a Josh Turner inpersonator.
Pillsbury
August 17, 2011 @ 3:51 am
He has no “pain” in his voice. He is completely unfit to sing country songs.
ShadeGrown
August 17, 2011 @ 7:54 am
I saw a fair piece of last seasons Idol and I never liked this kid. He was always holding the mic all weird and his singing was just typical of any pop-country act. The guy with the rocker with terrets was robbed.
Repohellbilly
August 17, 2011 @ 8:43 am
http://youtu.be/ZVq8nEHCKd4
Private
August 17, 2011 @ 9:11 am
What do you think of the new country singer Matt Mason. I thought he would be pop but he really wasn’t.
Ryan Roberts
August 17, 2011 @ 10:22 pm
Thanks for mentioning this . I am a huge Matt Mason fan and in fact most people on here should be getting behind him. Sure he may have been on nashville star and cmt superstar show , but he truely is one of the best acts coming out of nashvillle these days. Their is a believibility factor with Matt Mason and every song he sings ( although id say go look up Matt’s Chasing Stardust or Guns and Guitars instead of Good Year For the Outlaw or After Midnight , but thats just me)
Some of you would be amazed at a lot of the artists coming out of nashville these days ( that just like Matt Mason) are LEGIT COUNTRY! Go look up James Wesley, Bradley Gaskin, Brett Eldredge, Dirt Drifters,Craig Campbell, Randy Montana, Jacob Lyda and Troy Olsen. Granted some of these acts may have trouble right now getting on radio, but all have a very traditional and or alternative country sound. I’d say they are worth your time.
Chris
September 7, 2011 @ 1:18 pm
Wow. Thanks for the Matt Mason recommendation, I’m blown away by how good this guy is. I get a serious Waylon vibe from “I’m Your Memory”. Also, looking at the videos he has on youtube, he constantly covers the likes of Waylon, George Jones, and Johnny Cash, leaving no doubt in my mind that he was inspired and builds his music around these guys. This guy seems to be the real deal.
Thanks again for the recommendation, gonna check out the rest of your list now.
CJ Marsicano
August 17, 2011 @ 10:00 am
Another reason why James Durbin should have won this season of Idol: Triggerman wouldn’t have had to waste column space on a kid who sounds like Randy Travis and looks like Alfred E. Newman.
Seriously, though, I don’t know how the fuck this kid even made the Top 24. My wife (who loves the show but doesn’t have the musical experience and appreciation that I do) had me watching with her this year. He barely has more than an octave and a quarter of vocal range, and he wasn’t comfortable with any cover material that he couldn’t turn into pop-country garbage. (He pretty much destroyed Lieber & Stoller’s “Youngblood”, worst performance I saw of his all season, yet he stayed and Durbin got bounced… that’s when I stopped watching the show for the season.)
michiel
August 17, 2011 @ 1:01 pm
There’s no discussion that this boy can sing. I don’t watch any Idol-like show, but the winners can sing. But it what comes next that makes most of them irrelevant. Will he have any influence on the repertoire and the production, or doesn’t he have any real ideas of his own, and take what’s offered to him, and just perform.
I had a quick Youtube visit after reading this blog, and I didn’t like his act, but I don’t care. I have to deal with Dutch Idol-like show-winners. They can sing, for sure, but over here they all think they’ve got soul……
C.C
August 18, 2011 @ 12:17 pm
Whatched that video they put out. Scary as hell. I was seeing this 15 year old, Travolta look-a-like face and hearing this 35-year old country music sound-a-like voice. My brain got totaly confused and I needed a drink to calm me down. I suspect the whole thing is fake and that the singing is an over-dub by an impersonator. This is not right!
Smitty
August 19, 2011 @ 2:29 pm
You’re a freakin’ genius of a writer. Bravo! I love this shit.
The Triggerman
August 19, 2011 @ 5:22 pm
Thanks for reading!
Ive got rights
August 22, 2011 @ 12:05 am
He has the potential to sing some good ol country with his voice. Hes so young that I fear he will be molded by Nashville. Its besibe the point but he looks like the guy on the cover of Mad Magazine.
Pete Berwick
August 22, 2011 @ 12:36 pm
he would look great on a box of cookies.
Deb
August 23, 2011 @ 9:54 am
Seriously–you need to check out “Grandpa”™s Recipe” a good song by country music artist, Charlie Allen. Listen to this! http://www.charlieallenmusic.com/index.htm