“All The Gold in California” by Larry Gatlin & the Gatlin Brothers…plus a personal rant about commercial country radio airplay

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Mainstream Country music is a pick and choose thing for me.  I have maybe 100 songs that I like enough to have in my Ipod stream at all times.  So much of what is formatted as straight ahead country radio just leaves me wondering why the hell the formula stays the same year after year and decade after decade.  There are a bunch of Country music format names like Nashville Country, Pure Country, new country, hot country, hit country, and commercial country, but they are essentially all the same.  I have had enough George Jones, George Strait, Waylon and Willie, and Charlie Daniels to last my lifetime.  I know it is sacrilege in certain places but I have heard all the Hank, Hank, Jr., and Hank III I’ll ever need.  I don’t want to hear any more Patsy Cline or Red Sovine, or Dottie West. 

Some of it is political, especially with Hank, Jr. and Charlie Daniels.  But most of my opposition is the sheer lack of quality song writing and the dearth of interesting music in mainstream commercial straight ahead country music these days.  As far as Hank III goes, his “I Don’t Know” is among the 100 mainstream country songs in my aforementioned Ipod.  And yes I admit to singing Hank Williams’ “Lost Highway” in my shower or driving around.   Maybe I listened so long that I ran it all into the ground, maybe country music ran itself into the ground.  Plus its harder to listen to music that seems like it is more about chasing $$$ than putting out good music.  

My feelings about “mainstream” country music are what they are, and they should in no way be lumped with “Alternative country” or Americana music, which fills up most of my Ipod, because that is the kind of music that I love the most.  That’s where songwriting, musicianship, and creativity are to be found in this early portion of the 21st Century.  Americana music is listener supported “noncommercial”countryish music, of course; and some of the   artists included are Steve Earle, John Prine, The Deep Dark Woods, Walt Wilkins, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Gurf Morlix, Kendal Carson, Mary Gauthier, Buddy and Julie Miller, Patty Griffin, Terry Allen, Robert Earl Keen, Phosphorescent, and hundreds more crackerjack artists and cool bands. 

I came up with a definition for Americana Music which is “the fertile ground where Rock, Roots, Bluegrass, Celtic, Southern Rock, Appalachian, Austin alternative country, Folk, and the Delta blues collide and come together.

Anyhow, so much for a little late night ranting about my favorite topic, Music That I Like and Don’t and the reasons why.  So, enjoy Larry Gatlin and The Gatlin Brothers with their hit “All The Gold In California.”  This is one of the mainstream songs that I really do like.  –   HL