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tried to convert a mainstream country fan to ryan adams...and failed miserably


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this was a disheartening experience....i work with this 19 yr old chick who loves Kenny Chesney, Toby Keith, Dixie Chicks, Miranda Lambert, Gretchen Wilson, etc. and I've been trying to get her to listen to Ryan. so I put together this compilation for her to check out:

 

1 kiss before i go

2 too drunk to dream

3 hard luck story

4 excuse me

5 16 days

6 bar lights

7 to be young

8 new york

9 firecracker

10 cherry lane

11 let it ride

12 two

13 everybody knows

14 halloween head

15 tow hearts

16 dancing with the women

17 come pick me up

 

so i just talked to her and she said she doesn't like it at all, that he sounds "weird"...i was hoping to make a conversion...i just don't understand how you could think kenny little monkey chesney is better than ryan? oh well

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this was a disheartening experience....i work with this 19 yr old chick who loves Kenny Chesney, Toby Keith, Dixie Chicks, Miranda Lambert, Gretchen Wilson, etc. and I've been trying to get her to listen to Ryan. so I put together this compilation for her to check out:

 

1 kiss before i go (start my tractor)

2 too drunk to dream (but I still love you)

3 hard luck story (my family's farm)

4 excuse me, (have you seen my truck?)

5 16 days (till my baby gets out of jail)

6 bar lights (and redneck fights)

7 to be young (is to be a county boy is paradise)

8 new york (ain't no place for a alabama man)

9 firecracker (the ballad of Dixie)

10 cherry lane (the old hollar's been renamed)

11 let it ride (do you think my 4-wheeler can climb the mountain of your broken heart)

12 two (days till deer season)

13 everybody knows (I am a southern man)

14 halloween head (don't let children worship satan)

15 tow hearts (my mama made the best deer heart stew)

16 dancing with the women (in the Wal-Mart parking lot)

17 come pick me up (please bail me out of jail)

 

You should have fixed up the titles a bit.

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Your fatal mistake was not putting Stars Go Blue on there. You could have worked the Tim McGraw cover version connection.

:barf

 

 

I love Ryan's original. I even tolerate the Bono/Corrs version. But that McGraw version is vomitrocious.

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Nicely-played, A-man.

 

As for the original post, I'm not sure what to tell ya. My wife listens to country. Likes the Dixie Chicks (who are tolerable), but thankfully isn't really into any of those dudes who are currently mega-popular. Says she wants to get into some newer music, so I try extending an olive branch across from time to time. Told her, for instance, that one of her favorite songs off that latest Dixie Chicks album was written by a guy from a band called the Jayhawks and I've got some of their stuff if she wanted to check them out...

 

So far I've had limited success. She likes some Neko Case stuff and a few Ryan Adams things, but still not too much. The thing about mainstream-country vs. alt-country or indie or whatever is that it is working with a totally different aesthetic. My wife, for example, isn't thrown off by the "weirdness" of the stuff I've played for her, but it does sound very different from what you hear on the radio and most of the alt-country stuff she finds to be depressing as hell. (which a lot of it kind of is, to be honest)

 

As for your friend at work, I don't think it really works to try to "convert" people, especially if they're happy with what they're listening to. Sometimes ya gotta let people seek stuff out on their own.

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You should have fixed up the titles a bit.

 

1 kiss before i go (start my tractor)

2 too drunk to dream (but I still love you)

3 hard luck story (my family's farm)

4 excuse me, (have you seen my truck?)

5 16 days (till my baby gets out of jail)

6 bar lights (and redneck fights)

7 to be young (is to be a county boy is paradise)

8 new york (ain't no place for a alabama man)

9 firecracker (the ballad of Dixie)

10 cherry lane (the old hollar's been renamed)

11 let it ride (do you think my 4-wheeler can climb the mountain of your broken heart)

12 two (days till deer season)

13 everybody knows (I am a southern man)

14 halloween head (don't let children worship satan)

15 tow hearts (my mama made the best deer heart stew)

16 dancing with the women (in the Wal-Mart parking lot)

17 come pick me up (please bail me out of jail)

 

That is post of the day stuff right there.

"Do you think my 4-Wheeler..."

 

:lol

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really what you're saying is she likes pop music with southern accents rather than "country" music.

 

bingo. 'popular country' is more akin to 'pop(ular) music' than what most traditionalists would consider 'true' country. R.A. seems to lean more towards the traditional side of things. or something.

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My girlfriend loves "new" country and can't get enough of it. However, I did turn her onto Ryan and she loves the heck out of him. I ended up making her 3 different mixes of his music. The first one's track listing went like this:

 

to be young, nyny, when the stars go blue, gimme a sign, my winding wheel, dear chicago, dance all night, don't wanna know why, oh my sweet carolina, the hardest part, chin up chin up, my hometown, starting to hurt, bar lights (demo version), jacksonville skyline, 16 days, english girls approx., harder now that it's over, hallelujah, in my time of need.

 

I'm sorry, but for the most part, the track listing that you tried to give your girlfriend would not work for the casual fan. Of course that's just my opinion.

 

Also, try the Old 97's. My girlfriend loves them, even though I think their new music blows. It's better than listening to Toby Keith. Blah.

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Badda Bing Badda Boom

 

Boom Chicka Wah Wah

 

The idea must be that if someone likes crappy mainstream country pop, maybe they could be saved by listening to Ryan Adams.

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My girlfriend was listening to mainstream country when I met her (though only casually -- not much purchasing involved -- and nothing like Toby Keith or Kenny Chesney). On our second date, I put a copy of Whiskeytown's Strangers Almanac in her hand (this was before Ryan's solo career). She loved it, and hasn't had much interest in mainstream country ever since.

 

So, it's possible to turn someone away from the dark side via Ryan Adams, though obviously it's not a surefire method. I didn't set out to change her tastes, just to turn her on to something I thought she might like, and happily it worked out better than I could have expected. :)

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mainstream country =Bon Jovi - who, oddly enough, are now being marketed to a country audience

 

That is - the women who love this music do so because 1. the songs are romantic in nature 2. the dudes who sing them are attractive.

 

Also - the music is non-controversial - and does not cause anyone to think about things they would rather not think about.

 

For the most part

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The idea must be that if someone likes crappy mainstream country pop, maybe they could be saved by listening to Ryan Adams.

I would start my mix with one of his answering-machine rants. That would be sweet.

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