#MusicMonday: Nerd gone country
#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @Rishegee
There is one thing I adore about traveling to the States. Along with Minute Maid orange juice, American accents and being called “Miss and Ma’am”, it begins before you’ve even stepped onto Northern shores: The moment you board the plane.
I refer, of course, to country music. That blissful genre that has never quite made it on Australia shores was first introduced to me when flying to New York back in 1996. As a musically discerning 11 year old, my flying companion told me to select Channel 8, because, ‘It sounds like 101.1’, at that time the popular station for Aussie tweens. Turns out the music was nothing like 101.1, which back then played a mix of Mariah Carey, The Spice Girls, and a never ending loop of the Macarena. It was, however, my first introduction to Country Music, and I fell in love from that moment on.
Of course in the interim days between 1996 and 2005, which brought the advent of YouTube and myriad possibilities to listen to songs of Ye Olde, the tunes I had so fallen in love with slipped my mind – except at particularly appropriate moments, where I would hum the song subconsciously in my head.
2005 also brought with it my year of living in the USA, where my roommate and I presently became hooked on KZLA, the country station in LA at the time. We loved Rascal Flatts and Tim McGraw and I couldn’t get enough of Gretchen Wilson, who just about summed up my life at the time.
Picture this: Two 20 year old females, driving to work at their teaching jobs at 7.30 in the morning. We’d be trying to eat our cereal and prevent our coffee from spilling while doing our makeup and simultaneously negotiating the 405. In the backseat were a group of sullen teenagers we drove every day in carpool, who were often in a huff with us after one too many “We’re leaving without you” charades when again; they had failed to be ready on time. It was crappy morning on steroids, and nobody dared break the silence to speak.
Through the veil of grumpiness and irritation, however, there was a sound. It was the voice of KZLA doing her thing, trying to soothe the thousands of Angelenos stuck in traffic, most with mornings like ours. Then the song came on, and without realising, our ears perked up as the silence thickened.
Subconsciously, I reached over to turn up the volume as the lyrics came over the wireless. We listened to the voices singing the melody like they were telling us a story, making us feel their heartbreak and pain.
By the time we pulled into the parking lot, I turned around to see my roommate’s eyes filled with tears. Mine were exactly the same.
Not particularly conducive to our next activity of teaching a crowd of excitable elementary schoolers.
Well my nerdy obsession with storytelling meant I never got rid of my little country music obsession, and when I left LA a year later, I had a swag of CDs accompanying me that got me laughed at in Melbourne’s musical snob circles but kept me looking forward to each American trip with bated breath.
This year’s adventure was no different, with my plane ride home introducing me to a new favourite that I promptly proceeded to purchase on American iTunes. Oh yeah, I’m a sneaky one – switch stores and I get all the goodies.
As a word nerd, I’ve never ceased admiring the way country singers craft a song so beautifully. Nothing tells a story the way a country song does. The heartbroken woman on the guitar, the man on the other side of the world singing the same song, the gorgeous chord changes making your heartstrings snap along with the guitar strings, and the plaintive lyrics describing to you precisely how you feel. Last night was the CMAs so I found myself watching Carrie, Taylor, Lady A and all my favourites on YouTube was the order of the evening tonight.
I’m not sure if country music constitutes full fledged nerdiness in other countries, but in Oz it’s up there with daggy nanna music for who knows how long. Exhibit A: Yesterday I bought meself a stack of new CDs, from a real live shop, in real live cases, because they were all on special for Mother’s Day. The second coming of country music recently, with crossovers like the gorgeous Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood, can be likened to the Nerd Revolution still in its pioneer stages.
Five years ago, I said I loved country music and all the kids laughed. This year? I got asked to burn mix CDs. The world is a changing, dear lovelies, and country music was the first straw.
Nerds unite , the revolution is at hand! And in the meantime, we’ve got a helluva lot of real purdy music to listen to while we journey that long and dustry road.
Follow Rishe on Twitter - @Rishegee