what makes something country? is it the accent? or the song

bump!!! please!! this question haunts me !!!

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it is country if it is made by someone who lives in the south of the us and dangle jangles their bojangles with a rooploop

>>73707561
I think that country has more of a distinct sound. I'm thinking about a way of singing and the use of a lot of slide guitar and instruments like the fiddle in certain ways.
It's hard to say really. I'm not very familiar with a lot of country. Maybe it's more about the culture around it. I'm just as confused as you to be honest.

Sorry for the useless answer, but it's a bump

>>73707561

Is this song country music or folk?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RIn-ov1yJM&

Country basically just started as folk songs sung by people from the South West. At a point it diverged into its own thing. The classifications really are kind of arbitrary though. Songs: Ohia is basically just indie rock but people call it alt-country since Molina sang with a bit of a drawl.

>>73707874
Technically that song is gospel, generally its sung as a folk song.

"Country music" is a purely industry invention, and was originally known as "country and western". The 'country' part of that was previously categorized as 'hillbilly music', which was the music of the American Southeast and Appalachia in particular. This folk tradition has clear lineage from Scotch-Irish tradition (the primary settlers of Appalachia) and shares much of its musical elements.

Compare this rendition of a Scotch-Irish folk song and tell me if it sounds like old fashioned "hillbilly music"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLmtLBd9GB8

The "western" part, obviously, is the folk tradition of the American Southwest, which while carrying some elements from the Southeast, developed its own identity from a myriad of traditions as the Southwest was colonized by a wider variety of groups; for example, the classic cowboy yodel draws from the huge influx of German immigrants and their subsequent folk music traditions.

Not any song with a southern singer is explicitly the developing paradigm of "country music"; after all, Elvis Presley effectively abandoned the country music market as a consequence of being too "black". There is both a clear musical tradition, as well as essentially an enforced market aesthetic to radio country music.

As for a northern person transforming country into folk, country is already folk. Woody Guthrie was from Oklahoma, brought hillbilly music to New York, where it was repackaged as "folk music" so it could sell to the northern market. This is a gross oversimplification of course, but genres as a whole are a result of the music industry.

Songs Ohia is Slowcore/Folk/Indie Rock but he has a slight accent and the aesthetic is a south/midwestern US atmosphere so its considered Country, Alt-Country moreso because it isn't exactly traditional.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLfLekeIkZA

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>>73707561

So what im getting is that country = folk

>>73707828
it's not useless, i feel that using the pedalsteel distinguishes country music, but what makes Angels of Light alt-country ?

i don't think Gira has that much of a drawl

>>73708241
great bit of information, thank you!

>>73707948
does My Morning Jacket have the same story?

>>73708838
yeah basically.. kinda cheapens the identity for me a bit, I enjoy having genres to categorize styles of music

>>73708902
>but what makes Angels of Light alt-country ? i don't think Gira has that much of a drawl

For whatever reason people like to associate baritone singers with country. People used to inexplicably call The National alt-country for a while.

If you're talking about pop country, it's the remains of mainstream rock with a fake Nashville accent.

>>73710238
Nashville's fake already tho :^)
>>73709169
and Pinegrove?

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>>73707561
let me google that for you. good question though.

>>73710644
lel enjoy your walmart job faggot.

country = pop folk