Gwyneth Paltrow Does NOT “Go Country”
Usually when actors and artists from other music genres make a move to get some of that sweet, sweet nectar from the voluptuous and lucrative pop country tit, it’s my job to pull down their pants and laugh at their privates for “going country.” I’ve seen probably two dozen websites and “E news” reports saying that Hollywood starlet Gwyneth Paltrow has “gone country.” In truth, this is not the case.
Yesterday the single “Country Strong” was released to the inbred, collusive entity which is “country radio” to promote the upcoming movie of the same name starring Gwyneth and perfume magnate Tim Mcgraw. Vince Gill and Patti Griffin also appear in the song.
But this is just one song from a soundtrack. Nobody is reporting that Gwyneth has any intention or desire to get into country music as a career of any sort. Gwyneth is ACTING. Yes her LA/New York lifestyle probably does not lend to her having any genuineness behind singing country, but she’s simply playing a role, just like Jeff Bridges was in Crazy Heart. Many pop country stars are doing the same exact thing, but DO try to pass it off as genuine. I’m finding it hard to get mad at Paltrow, especially since she had the guts to do her own singing in the film.
What I am finding curious is the premise of this movie itself, and the marketing scheme behind it. Apparently Jeff Bridges, oh, I mean Gwyneth Paltrow, plays a “washed up country singer.”
Huh, tastes familiar.
Just like Music Row, the movie industry is generally bankrupt for new ideas, and when something hits it big, it is copycatted ad nauseum. Nashville used to make albums and hope that they could fit songs into movies to help promote them. Now sometimes movies are created around the songs as an advertising vehicle, so that the movie can be crossed marketed on radio, and the songs cross marketed in the movie. This by definition is homogenizing of culture, and generally leads to bad art. As the movie is not set to be released until December 22nd, I think the timing of this release is telling. Also the movie was originally called Love Don’t Let Me Down until it was changed to the title of the radio single.
As for the song, I’ve heard worse. (hear some of it in this video) Maybe I’m getting soft but it doesn’t make my stomach turn like most stuff found on country radio, though it is heroically generic, and I hear the sharp-edged note changes that usually mark a performance run through Auto-tune.
As I said in my last article, we shouldn’t judge a movie until we see it, but this has the markings of being the gender marketing equivalent of She-Ra to Crazy Heart’s He-Man.
I wonder if He-Man was ever accused of being racist for sporting the iron cross?
Anyway, to dispel and controversy over the movie, co-star Tim McGraw who plays Paltrow’s husband and manager, released the following video that he said would explain everything:
July 28, 2010 @ 1:10 pm
Damnit, I saw this mentioned online somewhere this morning and I was going to tell you about it, haha.
July 28, 2010 @ 3:20 pm
Those pic’s never get old.
July 28, 2010 @ 3:20 pm
except Jeff Bridges can actually sing and play!
July 28, 2010 @ 6:37 pm
Tim Mcgraw. Makes me laugh every time I see his face
Tweets that mention Saving Country Music » Blog Archive » Gwenyth Paltrow Does NOT “Go Country†-- Topsy.com
July 29, 2010 @ 12:43 am
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by CountryMusicConnect and Holly Norman, The Triggerman. The Triggerman said: Gwenyth Paltrow Does NOT "Go Country" https://savingcountrymusic.com/gwenyth-paltrow-does-not-go-country […]
July 29, 2010 @ 8:09 am
phew
July 29, 2010 @ 7:22 pm
I always smile when you post those perfume photos Triggerman. I’ll probably skip this flick, but I have to say I did dig Crazy Heart. Jeff Bridges is awesome.
July 29, 2010 @ 7:34 pm
I never let an opportunity slide to post those pics. In fact, since were talking about them . . .
July 29, 2010 @ 9:55 pm
Gwyneth Paltrow rocks my clock! I’d watch her sing…god forbid…”achey breaky heart”!…for $50.00 I’d even leave the sound on . . . for a coupla seconds! OK, I’ll leave the sound on for “Bette Davis Eyes”!! Thanks Triggerman.
July 30, 2010 @ 8:09 pm
The movie releases on 22 December? Gosh darn it, I have a prior engagement that day washing my hair!
August 1, 2010 @ 10:23 am
hey triggerman i seen an update on my facebook from our local station(that has went from a mom and pop to a super pop country station over the last cuople yrs)that said they were debuting her single and i usually dont make wave because i know mainstream is not even looking at us but more trying to hide us but i had a moment of clarity and flipped out….it was the last nail they were gonna drive in me without a fight!…so i commented and let them have it…i was directed to the head dj and music director “Bubba Bo”…so i emailed and tried to reason with him….yea fuckin right ..the email i received was like a confession of a criminal…if iterested i will send it to you hell ill post it here for all to see…i replied by mentioning this site and the underground movment we have started…i have not heard anything…big surprise there huh…this shit makes me sick!!!!THEY ARE GONNA BE HEARING FROM ME QUITE OFTEN NOW AND I HOPE YALL MAY HELP ME IN MY QUEST TO BOMBARD THIS STATION WITH REQUESTS TO PLAY OUR BRAND BECAUSE THEY DONT THINK WE EXSIST!!!!!!
MIKE MILLS
VANILAGAREELA@YAHOO.COM
August 1, 2010 @ 10:37 am
noLike i said bubba i get all the politics that are involved here and lets not forget the money…I’d like to ask if you have listened to any of the few artist i had mentioned?…I want you to check out http://www.savingcountrymusic.com and let me know if it changes your mind on the issue….millions of us and growing!… I really disagree with the macys clothing analogy…for one i dont know a ton about fashion but i do know that history repeats itself…my wife says in the 40s and 50s they were called pedal pushers,now they call them capris and their considered to be the latest trend….as a custodian of history one thing i have learned that history repeats itself regularly and that we must know where we came from or we have no idea where we’re going….
MIKE MILLS
——————————————————————————–
From: “bubbabo@eaglecountryonline.com”
To: michael mills
Sent: Wed, July 28, 2010 6:16:12 PM
Subject: bubba bo here
Wow, Michael…
…where do I begin.
…let’s start with continuity. It is
a cornerstone component to any radio
station. It means the station needs
to send a consistent signal of what
it is and what it has to offer.
…yesterday’s country sounds WAY
different than today’s country, so,
for the sake of that all-important
continuity you have to pick one.
You can’t play both because it sends
a mixed signal. When you play a new
country tune, the older audience
tunes out. When you play an old
country tune, the younger folks
tune out. End result–LOTS of tune
out. Not good.
…when presented with that choice, most
radio stations will go with the newer
country and younger audience. Why?
They spend money. Mountains of research
shows that most people slow their
spending considerably after age 50.
By 50, they pretty much have everything
they want, buy only what they need and
save the rest for retirement.
…that same research shows that the prime
spending years are 25 to 45. People
get married, have kids, buy a house,
fill it with furniture, buy a bigger
car, etc.
…Advertisers LOVE people who spend. As
a for-profit business, our radio
station wants to attract this audience
and sell advertising to businesses who
want to reach the people who are
most likely to spend money in their
place. Simple economics, my man.
…also, Mike, ask yourself this–does
Macy’s or Kohl’s offer the same clothing
it did 25, 30 years ago. Of course not.
Why? Because shoppers want the newest,
latest fashions.
…radio is no different. If we continued
to play the same music from 25, 30 years
ago, the only audience we would attract
would be an older audience that most
advertisers are not interested in and,
frankly, it’s an audience that shrinks
with each passing death.
…radio is like any business. We need
to BUILD our audience, not watch it
slowly die off. And, we need to build
the audience that advertisers want to
reach.
…Vince Gill once wrote a tune called
“No Future In The Past”. It’s about
a relationship gone bad but the message
of the song is clear–everything and
everyone needs to move forward. That’s
how businesses grow. That’s how people
grow. Like it or not, Mike, that’s
the way of the world.
…if you’re waiting for the “good old days”
to come back, you’re gonna be pretty
miserable the rest of your life because
the “good old days” never come back. The
old saying about “two sure things in life”
is one short. There are three “sure things
in life”—death, taxes and….change.
…this station is casting it’s lot with a
younger crowd. We’re going to play what
they want to hear and most of them don’t
want to hear old country. This is the
crowd that spends most, that advertisers
want and offer us the best hope for the
future. And THAT’S what it’s all about,
Mike—the future.
…let me point out, that in recently released
ratings, Eagle 99-3 was THE most listened
to radio station in all four SE Indiana
counties. First time that’s ever happened.
We must be doing something right.
…I hope you appreciate the time I took to
respond to your e-mail. When I get in
the mood for some Merle Haggard, I slap
a CD into my pick-up truck’s player and
sing a-way. Good luck to you.
bubba bo/eagle 99-3/lawrenceburg
> Hey bubba bo,
> I have been listening to you since waaayyy b4 99.3…I grew up listening
> to
> country when country was not cool…idk how you feel about what country
> music
> has become and how any and every pop star who wants to call themselves
> country
> so they can take advantage of the huge demograghic for more airplay and
> record
> sales but i for one hate it!..I would like to hear more REAL COUNTRY
> MUSIC…I
> know there are politics involved and other factors but I know a huge
> fanbase is
> here in eagle country for a more traditional sound and if just a few of
> the
> songs i have in mind were played at the right time it would spread like
> wildfire!…what about the artist that are keeping it real…HANK
> III,LUCKY TUBB
> AND THE MODERN DAY TRUBADORS,WAYNE HANCOCK, I know that this is not
> everyones
> opinion but we are here and their are more that dont even know this music
> is
> available BECAUSE IT GETS NO AIRPLAY!….I would donate my time,effort,and
> anything else to get even an hour a week to showcase these great artist
> and the
> movment as a whole….I dont think anyone out there(in our area)has yet to
> do
> this on air…but the results of whats happening in texas and other parts
> of the
> country speak for themselves….even mainstream has been trying to cash in
> on
> the OUTLAW STYLE…But we can smell a fake a country mile away!…I hope
> that
> this email does not fall on deaf ears as so many have done before,from one
> bubba
> to another,we have a chance to do something here that is bigger than
> getting
> some songs on the radio…It goes way deeper than that…its about
> tradition and
> i think thats what country music is all about.
>
> May god bless you always…
> Mike Mills
thing we didnt already know but….here it is
August 1, 2010 @ 11:39 am
Big Mike,
I think Bubba Bo made some good, hard, cold, honest facts about what radio stations are facing today. A radio station cannot play Wayne Hancock and survive. I don’t know if getting mad at them is the solution. I think the solution is education.
The first would be to not call this music we love “old Music.” This is where Bubba is mistaken. Hank III, Lucky Tubb, Hellbound Glory, etc are all young, fresh artists in the middle of their prime. We need to never let people get away with calling it “old” or “obscure.” III’s last two albums charted #2 and #4 in all of country. Hellbound Glory has received numerous positive reviews from mainstream publications. That is NOT obscure.
The point of radio is to expose people to new music. One way they do this is by mixing brand new music with music people are already familiar with. “Old” is relative term.
What I try to do on here every day is educate people, about music and what is going on in the industry. Catchy music is popular for a reason, but an educated music listener and get some much more out of well-written songs performed by top-notch musicians. Once that is done, people will hear holes in all this flashy pop music, and the demographics of these radio stations will change. Until then, I suggest diving head first into the podcasting world. Beside, radio is dying like the rest of the music industry, because they refuse to lead, and only do what is safe. That has never been a successful business model.
August 4, 2010 @ 4:48 pm
Big Mike – kudos to you for doing that! I agree with Triggerman … Bubba missed the point of what you were saying. The biggest irony of Bubba’s justificiations is the kind of music Big Mike is promoting is very hip and cool and WOULD find a lot of young fans on the station. But as we all know, they just don’t get the opportunity to hear of these artists, let alone get to actually listen to their music. I really loved your offer of doing a specialty show once a week for an hour. What a shame he didn’t take you up on that? How about sending him a mix-tape CD of the artists you mentioned? That way he can eject his Merle CD from the player in his pickup and give Wayne The Train, III and Lucky Tubb a roadtest on his way home from the office. I must admit, I often don’t listen to music links people send me, I intend getting around to it later, and just forget. I was especially interested in Bubba’s talk of demographics. I work in television and we have always been told the most important demographic in terms of ratings is the 25 to 54 age group as they are the household shoppers and the demo that spend the most money. We were always told to not cater to the ‘wrinklies’ as they don’t spend money. A big research project was just undertaken and it completely tips that on it’s head. Apparently Generation X and Y (a huge population of the supposed target demos) are now not spending as they are so far in debt, just treading water and out of jobs due to the recession. However the older set – the retirees ARE spending money. They’re getting more technology savvy and are buying computers, GPS, big screen televisions, new cars etc etc. They are the people who have disposable income these days. True, I live in New Zealand and these statistic are indicative of the market here but I suspect this trend is taking place the (western) world over.
Gwyneth Paltrow Planning to “Go Country” « Saving Country Music
March 7, 2011 @ 11:22 am
[…] in the movie was first announced, and the song “Country Strong” was released to radio, I chastised people for saying she was “Going Country” then. Actors act, and simply playing a country role in a movie is that and that only. But […]