R&B Here. R&B There. R&B Everywhere (Mono-Genre Watch)
It’s all R&B. Like, all of it. If it’s American and mainstream, chances are it’s better categorized as R&B than anything else. It doesn’t matter what genre of music you’re talking about. Of course R&B sounds like R&B, but so does hip-hop these days. Modern rock? Yeah, it’s pretty much just R&B. Country music? That may be the most convincing case. Jason Aldean’s biggest recent single, “Burnin’ It Down”? R&B. Luke Bryan’s “Strip It Down”? R&B. Carrie Underwood’s new single “Heartbeat”? R&B. The entire direction of the careers of Thomas Rhett, Brett Eldredge, Sam Hunt, Old Dominion, Eli Young Band, and even recent singles from artists like Gary Allan? All R&B. It doesn’t matter where you turn your radio dial, R&B is the flavor of 2015.
The new single from rock perrenial Coldplay, “Adventure of a Lifetime?” Totally an R&B song. COLDPLAY is now releasing R&B singles. Leon Bridges and the Alabama Shakes, who are sometimes designated in the rock and Americana categories? Completely a product of R&B. Big new acts in the hip-hop world like The Weeknd? They’re much more R&B than hip-hop. Nick Jonas, formerly of the Jonas Brothers? He’s out there singing in falsetto like everyone else. So is Sam Smith. And how about Queen Bee Adele with here 3.38 million debut album sales? You would certainly call her R&B before you would call her anything else.
On Monday (11-30), a band called Prophets & Outlaws from Texas released a video for their song called “Country Music Gold.” The song outwardly criticizes Bro-Country, and the current direction of modern country music. Hey, props for the message, but guess what: It’s an R&B song. And what’s funny is, Bro-Country has pretty much gone away. It’s been replaced by guess what, R&B; just like everything else. Granted, Prophets & Outlaws have always called themselves a “Texas soul” band, and this isn’t about picking on them or even the song “Country Music Gold.” It’s a fine song. But it’s R&B. In the video, the band is even dresses in suits, which is the tell tale marker of an artist or band jumping on the R&B bandwagon.
Even country music’s new golden boy Chris Stapleton—listen to the music, and most of it is country and Southern rock, with a little blues mixed in there. But his voice, which is the most overriding element to his music? He totally sings like a soul/R&B singer, not a country crooner. We’d all love to fool ourselves into thinking it’s Stapleton’s songwriting and traditional leanings that have put him on top. The truth is, he the perfect country performer for our time because he can sing like a soul/R&B singer.
Hey, R&B is much more bearable to listen to than Bro-Country or the other machinations that can be found out there in the popular music world, even for a country music fan. R&B is not necessarily a bad thing, even with it creeping into country. But who wants all of music to sound exactly the same? This whole singular R&B craze sparked by the success of Bruno Mars’s “Uptown Funk” and the mass appeal of Justin Timberlake is the mono-genre in action. There’s no more hypothesizing what mainstream music may sound like when all the natural barriers between genres, regions, and influences are eaten away. It’s here, and it all sounds the same.
When you have a British rock band, a country artist from Georgia, a hip-hop artist from Canada, and a Texas soul outfit all making music that sounds so incredibly similar, this isn’t “creativity” or “evolution” in action like we’ve all been sold, as if these artists are finally unfettered from the restrictive bounds of genre. This is all the concerns about the loss of autonomy between music’s separate genres coming into full realization, with the outcome being the death of contrast, and a complete homogenizing makeover of popular music into one same-sounding blob across every format. There was more distinction between the sound of Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson in the 70’s than there is in the entirety of popular music today, regardless of genre. It’s all just a narrow version of soul/R&B.
And what will it be next year? With everyone playing R&B, it will fall out of favor like all hyper-trends do. But now that all of the barriers have been broken down, it will be replaced by some other hyper-trend that everyone plays. And the distinct musical dialects that once made American music one of the most healthy, strong, diverse, and vibrant forms of creative expression to ever grip the earth will be gone.
December 1, 2015 @ 9:55 am
AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!
“Burnin’ it Down” is playing all throughout Ole Miss! Can’t escape it!
HEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
December 1, 2015 @ 5:47 pm
Well like I have always said, bro country is SEC frat boy music. I expected better quality music to be followed by students of SEC schools
December 2, 2015 @ 12:59 pm
Actually, for what it’s worth, SEC and Big 10 frat boys have a hankering for George Strait, outlaw country, southern rock, and classic rock. Something about doing nose candy being in common with most of the artists. Believe it or not, bro country is more loved by Floridians and the California frats. Good for parties though, I guess. Seems to be a huge following for Widespread Panic and Grateful Dead in southern fraternities as well.
December 2, 2015 @ 3:56 pm
Believe it or not, but I have never, that I can remember, ever heard a bro country song at a Alabama football game. It’s mostly rock and hip hop that’s played.
December 3, 2015 @ 8:02 pm
“Sweet Home Alabama ROLL TIDE ROLL”. A tradition for sure. And tailgating in the grove at Ole Miss is full of southern atmosphere. Beer, barbecue, whiskey, and good music. Wont hear much FGL there either.
December 1, 2015 @ 10:14 am
Jesus, now they’re playing FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE! At least it’s “Dirt” and not one of their other $hits. I fled to the library to get work done.
Robin: Holy fuckin’ shit, Batman, when will this nightmare end? When will people realize that pop country sucks?
Batman: (stoic silence)
December 1, 2015 @ 10:44 am
I still say polka is the next hyper-trend.
December 4, 2015 @ 6:46 am
From your lips to God’s ears. 🙂
December 1, 2015 @ 11:07 am
At least, the R&B trend wears nicer clothes than previous trends.
December 1, 2015 @ 11:11 am
You know if you were to ask some of these “Country-Pop singers” who in the
R&B genre they like, the answers would be Bruno Mars, Beyonce, maybe Jason Durlo. That’s Pathetic! If you are going to act like to Understand a different genre, then you should do your homework on the Actual pioneers of the genre. So say something like ” I grew up listening to Barry White,Teddy Pendergrass and Al Green along with Anita Baker and Toni Braxton. These Country pop songs have no clue about R&B. They really need to research their own genre and start actually sing Country music.
That’s my Rant for today. Peace.
December 1, 2015 @ 11:20 am
Trigger,
As a fan of country and hip hop/rap, I’ve noticed this trend too and it bothers me, but I assume it’s just the flavor of the month (year). That sound isn’t going to keep people who are fans of the real genres placated for long.
December 2, 2015 @ 12:37 am
When was the last time Drake rapped in a song?
December 2, 2015 @ 11:43 am
Many of the songs on the album/mixtape he released this year?
Including on Energy, which is the standout/most popular track.
December 1, 2015 @ 11:40 am
Chris Stapleton & Justin Timberlake’s performance showed that sometimes combining genres does yield good results. It’s just that so many get it so, terribly wrong. Stapleton’s music and voice sound authentic, where most of this mono-genre dreck sounds like it came out of a can. Like every producer in every genre has that same, computerized, (non) sick beat. It takes minimal effort, and it sells.
December 1, 2015 @ 12:15 pm
Chris Stapleton & Justin Timberlake”™s performance showed that 90% of country performers have no business trying to perform R&B. They so outclassed Thomas Rhett and Florida Georgia Line, viewers completely forgot about their perfomances aside from Tyler Hubbard’s man bun.
December 1, 2015 @ 3:31 pm
I’ve never watched the voice before well in a long time, and in spurts here and there- anyways a contestant Barrett baber was watching it live and doing periscope. It was awesome. It was about 9 minutes long. Could feel his excitement. Anyways at the end he was laughing at Florida Georgia line. Mentioned how they’re probably yelling at their manager. We have to follow up that? What a stupid move, we can’t sing.
December 1, 2015 @ 11:42 am
R&B is the modern sound. Country music needs to modernize to stay relevant. Evolution=modernization. They are just singing classic country songs in a way that this generation can relate to. As long as it originates in the South, it is country music.
December 1, 2015 @ 12:29 pm
The way u use the word evolution implies that evolution entails progress-which is not the case.
December 3, 2015 @ 7:15 am
No one ever says that, for instance, opera needs to “evolve”, and it’s still going strong after centuries, even though it’s most definitely a niche genre these days, which may have to happen to country music to prevent it becoming homogenised out of all recognition as a distinct genre.
December 1, 2015 @ 12:11 pm
I know is a legitimate genre of music, but I just hate it. From Usher to R. Kelley. What is wrong with pure (traditional) country music? Why does it have to be diluted with synthetic influences. What is next Bossa Nova country?
December 1, 2015 @ 12:20 pm
Don’t give them any suggestions. Nothing would surprise me at this point.
December 1, 2015 @ 12:34 pm
True
December 1, 2015 @ 12:37 pm
Bossa Nova wouldn’t be the worst thing right now. And remember, the rumba beat worked pretty well for Johnnie and Jack and Hank Snow.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCE_MAn1teY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWg2lANDKlQ
December 1, 2015 @ 1:24 pm
Cowpolka.
December 1, 2015 @ 1:31 pm
My wife and I had a country band at our rehearsal dinner party. They also played polkas. There are similarities and overlaps in the genres. Another poster on SCM, I can’t recall who, explained these similarities in a post a while back. In my neck of the woods, there are a lot of eastern Europeans and a lot of Celts. Many local country bands will play polkas or do traditional polka songs in a country style. Frankie Yankovic (born in West Virginia) recorded with Chet Atkins, back in the day, as well….
December 3, 2015 @ 11:06 am
Cowboy Jack Clement used to play polkas on his radio show all the time. I believe he even produced a few polka albums. And Buck Owens recorded several polkas, as well.
December 1, 2015 @ 12:17 pm
I’m starting to think the whole purpose of the CMA putting out/awarding Chris Stapleton on the awards was to showcase a legit singer all the while conditioning the mainstream audience to become familiar with a soul/R&B sound for the genre that is country by name only.
Too tin-foil hat or a legitimate theory?
December 1, 2015 @ 12:19 pm
Texas red dirt country is still r&b free. 😉
Maybe I should move to Texas country, and ruin that like I have Nashville ‘country’
Bitch.
December 1, 2015 @ 12:30 pm
Too late, Eli Young Band and Granger Smith have already done your bidding! =P
December 1, 2015 @ 12:48 pm
Hell ‘Crazy Girl’ sounded more like one of those rock love songs from the early 2000’s and we all know how good those were back then.
December 1, 2015 @ 12:22 pm
The most blatantly non-country song ever is “Breakup in a Smal Town,” by who else but Sam Hunt. I’ve only heard bits and pieces, but that’s more than I need to say that. Sam Hunt himself reminds me of one of those teen singers/actors from Disney Channel. Can you see it?
“Hey y’all, this is Sam Hunt, and you’re watching Disney Channel.” (Draws with the wand).
No, I don’t watch that…
December 1, 2015 @ 12:27 pm
In a time where intelligent, nuanced lyricism is lacking across virtually all mainstream formats (though Pop radio is better than country in the meantime), I wouldn’t at all mind seeing traditional and fusion jazz music conquering all of radio in 2016! 😉
Can we pencil in gamelan for 2017? Bal-musettes for 2018? Singing Ringing Trees for 2019? 😉
December 2, 2015 @ 2:38 pm
Sam Hunt: You know, I’ve always been a fan of Jack Pastavius and Weather Report. They had such a great funky sound. It’s only natural that country music would progress in that direction!
Although actually, given what we’ve seen from him in the past, I think he’d say it more like:
chillin’ wit my honee on da beach LOL! also a mahavishnu orchestra fan
December 3, 2015 @ 6:51 am
Jaco Pastorius? (I love that phase of Weather Report too). Love their song “Birdland”, a tribute to Charlie “Bird” Parker. Also John McLaughlin is one of the unsung guitar players who doesn’t get anything like his due, simply because he’s never been into making “hit” records. But he can play rings around all the well-known “guitar gods”. Catch him in the Friday Night in San Francisco concerts, with Al di Meola and Paco de Lucia, it’s unreal, these three together. Al di Meola’s version of “Malaguena” from his “Elegant Gypsy” album is my all-time favorite version.
Speaking of Malaguena, many, many people would be surprised to learn that Charo (of goochie goochie fame) played a mean Spanish guitar, she studied under Andres Segovia, the king of classical Spanish guitar. It’s a shame she chose not to be better known for her guitar prowess.
December 3, 2015 @ 11:09 am
This is why I love this site. Where else can Jaco and McLaughlin co-exist in a thread with Blake Shelton? 🙂
December 1, 2015 @ 12:49 pm
Does anybody remember Key West Intermezzo(I saw her first) by John Mellencamp? Not bad, but he’s making rootsier stuff these days. This trend will pass.
December 1, 2015 @ 12:50 pm
BTW how heartbreaking would it be if Jason Isbell, Sturgill Simpson, Wade Bowen and Randy Rogers were to even think of selling out?
December 1, 2015 @ 1:04 pm
Of those four, I think that Sturgill is the most likely to sell out. I like his music, but apparently, he likes a lot of shitty music. I could see him rapping and doing some EMP bullshit at some point…
December 1, 2015 @ 2:26 pm
Sturgill may get all EDM on our asses (though it porbably would only be a few songs), but I don’t see him rapping ever. He cares to much about singing and melody to make that change. That’s why he put down the electric guitar and canned the aggressive drummer in Sunday Valley. “Tired of singing over that old backline.” Despite what Sturgill is doing now, and despite all the plaudits for Little Jon, Sturgill Simpson is still the best country guitar player I’ve ever seen. And he put that all aside to be a singer.
December 1, 2015 @ 2:30 pm
Better than Jerry Reed?
December 1, 2015 @ 9:10 pm
Well technically I never saw Jerry Reed play live. But I would at least put Sturgill in the conversation beside him.
December 2, 2015 @ 12:40 am
I could definitely see him doing some R&B stuff, though. He’s got the voice.
I would actually be very down to hear a collaboration between him and someone like Trombone Shorty or Kermit Ruffins (show Zac Brown how it’s done!).
December 3, 2015 @ 7:06 am
One hopes Sturgill never sees fit to incorporate “rap” into his music-IMO, if it ain’t got no melody, it just isn’t a song. Sampling doesn’t count, neither does autotune. I also don’t have much respect for artists who can’t play their instruments at least rudimentarily, unless they’ve made their name on their real vocal skill (including Willie Nelson’s style-not a great voice, but a master of phrasing and choosing songs which fit his vocal style). Though they’re poles apart in style, I think Nelson and Sinatra would respect each other for their mutual understanding of phrasing, which is harder than it sounds to do well and effectively and to fit the song.
December 3, 2015 @ 11:50 am
That is where Willie loses me. His phrasing is not to my liking in many songs. I feel the same way about some of Whitey Morgan’s songs…
December 1, 2015 @ 8:20 pm
I wouldn’t say he’s likely to “sell out” because that implies that he would be doing it for the money. I have a feeling his next work may alienate a lot of his fans (including myself) because it would be in the interest of his own weird artistic pursuits if that makes sense. If he goes EDM or something else it will be done a hundred times better than most would do it but nonetheless anything less country than “Metamodern” will leave a lot of us scratching our heads and hoping the next one is more like “high top mountain”.
December 2, 2015 @ 7:38 am
Finding out that Sturgill likes EMP “music” is a little like finding out that someone you formerly-respected likes to play a lot of video games, or really likes Star Wars.
December 2, 2015 @ 10:40 am
There are two types of people in the world.
People who like Star Wars, and people who pretend they don’t.
December 3, 2015 @ 12:28 pm
Not in my world.
December 1, 2015 @ 1:06 pm
Sturgill said he might be going EDM…
December 1, 2015 @ 1:04 pm
Aww, y’all are just old farts and jackasses who want country to sound like Hank Williams forever, whoever the hell that is. Face it, nobody wants to listen to their grandpa’s music. Music has to sound like what the young people are into, because they are what this music is made for. Old people and closed-minded simpletons are irrelevant. There are no genre barriers. Everybody listens to everything. Labels don’t matter, music is music. If you don’t like it don’t listen to it, but we all know that if you aren’t on country radio, you don’t exist.
December 1, 2015 @ 1:29 pm
“Face it, nobody wants to listen to their grandpa”™s music.”
Oh really? I got news for you, I’m 26 years old, yeah a millennial, and earlier this year I had the great pleasure of not only buying Don Williams’ two recent new records but I actively play them alongside my other guys like Isbell and Stapleton, hell I play him alongside Garth Brooks. So don’t ever tell us that nobody likes listening to grandpa’s music because I guarantee you somebody like me might actually find something good in it, probably even better than Sam Spunk.
December 1, 2015 @ 2:24 pm
You have been brainwashed by my mortal enemy, the evil being known as Trigger. You must be cleansed of his poison. Come to me… Come to the pop side! (imagine this in a voice somewhere between Darth Vader and Christian Bale’s Batman)
December 1, 2015 @ 2:24 pm
Dude it’s a parody account. Don’t take it so seriously.
December 1, 2015 @ 2:30 pm
I swear if anyone calls me a “parody” or a “troll,” I will personally come to every one of your houses in a single night, like Santa Claus, and take a dump all over your pillows.
December 2, 2015 @ 2:40 pm
You must have an awful lot of fiber in your diet.
December 1, 2015 @ 1:30 pm
Many countrified female artists like Bobbi Gentry, Jeannie C. Riley, and Dusty Springfield in the 60s and 70s were recording R&B (or soul if you will) songs. And with just a wee bit of digging you can find recordings by male artists like Conway Twitty and Johnny Paycheck for example that were R&B (or again, soul). The proximity of Memphis with its hallmark soul sound was the likely influence and they obviously dug it enough to do some great versions. I don’t think its weird or threatening that some country artists might be interested in giving R&B a go now especially given the success of Chris Stapleton as you point out. I think his R&B voice worked extremely well in the Steeldrivers too. IMHO the Steeldrivers were the best bluegrass band in land when he was a member. Justin Townes Earle has done some Memphis-like R&B quite successfully too. At the end of the day when it works its cool but yes, you gotta call BS when it doesn’t.
December 1, 2015 @ 1:37 pm
The problem isn’t that a few artists are occasionally incorporating R&B elements into their music. The problem is that pretty much EVERYBODY is going for the R&B sound.
December 1, 2015 @ 2:22 pm
Exactly. I love traditional country, but I don’t need to hear Tone Loc try his hand at it if it becomes the next hot thing. Aces in their places. Jerry Reed was excellent at incorporating funky rhythms into country. He was better at it than anyone. He’d blow the whole lot of today’s country funky posers off the stage.
December 1, 2015 @ 6:56 pm
If not for the sole reason that he could actually PLAY a fucking guitar. Goddamnit.
December 8, 2015 @ 5:35 am
Bobbie Gentry has said in one of her (rare) interviews that she never considered her music to be strictly “country”, her strong Deep South Mississippi accent got her immediately labeled as such.
December 1, 2015 @ 2:50 pm
“Oh, I like to think that George Strait, Alan Jackson, and Garth Brooks are my heroes and I’d like to make music as good as theirs.”
* Makes R & B music *
-EVERY NEW COUNTRY MUSIC SINGER
December 1, 2015 @ 4:40 pm
as an unapologetic Garth fan, I actually find that shit insulting. Hell using Alan Jackson as an influence on this shit just makes me wanna shoot myself.
(Not directed at you, I was talking about the singers listing them as an influence)
December 1, 2015 @ 6:52 pm
“Oh and I’ll also name-drop Cash and Hank every chance I get, albeit I no earthly idea who the fuck either one of them are outside of about 2 sings each” – every male on country radio
December 2, 2015 @ 12:42 am
They’re talking about Junior when they say Hank, and they all definitely listened to him growing up.
And Cash is the go-to token country artist for people who don’t like country to claim that they’re not dismissing the genre entirely.
December 1, 2015 @ 5:45 pm
I have said many times that I would love to see a mix between death/black metal and country, though only half jokingly. I think I may have found the closest thing. This is the black metal group Panopticon, combining some elements of folk and bluegrass with metal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNVVPzjQzI0
December 1, 2015 @ 6:56 pm
When discussing R&B, it’s important to distinguish between the modern version and the old (mid-late 20th century) version. Modern R&B (like “Uptown Funk”) is highly rhythmic, and it essentially serves as a slightly more melodic version of hip-hop. Old-school R&B, as late as the mid-1990s, was much more melodic and served largely as a version of soft-rock.
Here’s an excellent example of melodic R&B from the mid-90s:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXxRyNvTPr8
December 2, 2015 @ 12:45 am
Honestly, my main issue with the R&Bleed is having to listen to Drake trying to sing when I turn on rap radio.
December 2, 2015 @ 2:43 pm
I would consider soul/rock-and-roll stuff from the ’50s and ’60s to be “old-school” R&B, back when it could actually be considered “rhythm and blues” music.
February 25, 2016 @ 7:09 pm
You’re wrong on that one.
As late as the end of the 80’s and as early as the beginning of the 90’s
R&B was already taking on aspects of Hip-Hop.
You’d do well to educate yourself on the 80’s and 90’s.
Look up producers like “Teddy Riley” or groups like “The Force MD’s” or “Bell Biv Divoe” and the entire new jack swing movement.
December 1, 2015 @ 7:39 pm
Well I got too much to say about this. So I’ll try to be honest, direct, and semi polite.
1. Great article, even read it twice to make sure we were drawing the same conclusion.
2. R&B is not necessarily bad music but their doing exactly the same thing Luke, Kenny, ect did to country music.
3.Sturgill won’t sell out (he better not) I know we bash alot of music, but there is other good music out there that ain’t country or Americana. I don’t care if he listens to the Monkees and miley Cyrus as long as he keeps making music like that.
4.Chris Stapelton already sold out, he is the preparation for a new generation of mainstream hipsters. They own him now. Plus country is just a gimmick for him.
5.All those “country” singers trigger mentioned doing r&b ARE NOT country.
5.2 if you thought the Justin timberlake/stapletron performance was “really good” you havent been around the block yet shit you ain’t even left the porch. Shooter can’t sing even half as good as either of them and he outshines all mentioned live.
December 2, 2015 @ 12:43 am
Yeah, dude. Country is totally a gimmick for the guy who founded the Steeldrivers!
May 14, 2017 @ 6:57 am
Yeah well.. He is the antithesis of Thomas Rhett and I would exactly call his attire and look appealing to the suits that want to put out Rhetts and Hunts.
December 2, 2015 @ 4:17 am
Chris stapletron had nothing to do with founding steeldrivers. Get your facts straight They just hired him to be new lead singer, get your facts right. Maybe he wasn’t always a pawn in the music industry, but the want for fame after not really seeing the kind of success that he would sell his soul for he signed on the dotted line……
December 2, 2015 @ 4:40 am
Ah, you got me! He was “just” the lead singer on their first two albums, not a founding member.
Total sellout, obviously.
December 2, 2015 @ 7:39 am
Just the lead singer? He had a hand in writing every song but one on the first two Steeldrivers albums. The vast majority of them (over 80%) were written by him and Mike Henderson.
December 2, 2015 @ 7:16 am
Excellent piece, but I would disagree that it’s a trend or that it’s anything recent. I’ve been saying for years that I wish every singer didn’t try so hard to sound like f*cking Mariah Carey.
December 2, 2015 @ 3:08 pm
Speaking of which, I think Adele pretty much inherited the “market” that Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston occupied many years ago.
In terms of genres and trends, I would love to hear the opinion of someone like Robby Turner, who has had a hand in so much music for so long. What sort of pressures and demands, if any, are placed on the instrumentalists and producers and so forth in any genre to fit a particular mold ?
December 2, 2015 @ 7:52 am
Genres are classified by the identity of the singer in America.
I feel as if a large proportion of Americans are uncomfortable with labeling music as r&b as it is largely associated with black culture.
So yes you will hear traditional black elements in all forms of American music and right now and for the whole history of America it is and has been a lot but for marketing purposes the origins of the sound are rarely alluded to.
So a white singer singing r&b will be labeled as country if it sells and a black singer singing country will be labeled as blues. At times marketing will try to dress artists up in genre labels to try to make more profits but most intelligent people see right through it. Before there was bluegrass there was traditional black music where blacks played banjos(minstrel and bluegrass style- before whites started playing it and it was renamed as bluegrass. Artists have been melding various genres together to make Americana for years but now with the programming changes in country radio and “country” stigma more country artists are claiming to be Americana artists. Genres are labels that limit, define and market artists. R&B is a style inherent in all types of popular music that unfortunately isn’t popularized as a marketing tool.
December 2, 2015 @ 10:38 am
Yeah, the blues is the foundation of American popular music.
December 2, 2015 @ 11:11 am
OK, so if all the commercial country stars are now wearing suits and singing R&B,
are all the laundry list song topics suddenly off the table? A guy in a suit singing about trucks,
back roads, kicking up dust, tailgate parties…it doesn’t make sense.
Time to start singing about appetizers, martinis, limos….haha! Oh this is gonna be a real train wreck…oh trains are off the topic table too. Get me a front row seat to watch this hot mess!
December 2, 2015 @ 2:35 pm
Carrie’s “Heartbeat” is melodic pop, but it’s not R&B. The Weekend’s EDM beats are also not R&B. I get the argument of monogenre, but it’s a disservice to R&B fans to put crap music from Thomas Rhett and Brett Elderige in the same category as Jill Scott, Luke James and Andra Day. A lot can get thrown into rhythm & blues but there’s a big difference between those trying to copy it and it done well. Luke’s “Strip It Down” is the saddest example of a country artist trying to sing soulfully and not having the voice for it.
February 25, 2016 @ 7:14 pm
There’s plenty of R&B in the Weeknds music though.
I mean, just take a trip back to the 80’s or late 70’s and listen to some Disco/Post-Disco
and you’ll hear a ton of R&B. Fast forward to today where EDM artists have been
heavily influenced by R&B (Funk, Disco and Post-Disco in paticular…) and you hear it
right in The Weeknd’s music.
December 2, 2015 @ 4:04 pm
Modern rock is R&B?
I don’t know what your listening to but the Active Rock I listen to has no R&B I can hear.
Let’s see: (Findings based of of the most recent playing of [i] LA Lloyds Rock 30 Countdown [/i]
Rock
Check
Hard rock
Check
Metal
Check
Metalcore
Surprisingly check
Rap, R&B, or any associated genres
………
Nope!
So again, what rock music are you listening to?
December 2, 2015 @ 4:16 pm
“So again, what rock music are you listening to?”
I mentioned some very specific examples of how R&B is encroaching into rock music, namely the new Coldplay single, and the Alabama Shakes and other such bands. Just because they’re not playing the latest Coldplay single on a metal station ( which I wouldn’t expect them to do anyway) doesn’t mean the theory is invalid. Coldplay is one of the biggest bands in “rock.” Their new single is an R&B song. That’s all I’m saying.
December 3, 2015 @ 7:03 pm
Doesn’t Coldplay sound like they are stuck in a cryogenic chamber that is approaching absolute zero? Every atom is slowing to a halt and growing increasingly duller and more boring as the temperature approaches the magical number….
December 4, 2015 @ 4:36 am
I don’t really listen to Coldplay that much (except Viva la Vida, that’s a pretty good song) so I wouldn’t know.
Also, my apologies if my comment seemed as if I was criticizing you trig, I was just confused.
December 4, 2015 @ 6:52 am
I’m thinking in this article, we’re talking about “rock” as in–what the MTV Video Music Awards and other major mainstream awards shows (and most people) classify as rock. Not “active rock” or metal. Nothing I personally would consider “rock” gets much attention in the mainstream, from what I can tell.
Some songs on Halestorm’s latest album definitely have hints of R&B, but other than that, I can’t really think of any blatant R&B influences in active rock or metal genres–EDM, though, is a different story–that’s definitely there.
Trigger, I think this article hit the nail on the head for me as a reason why my tastes have been going more and more into hard rock/metal. Everything else sounds the same. I’m not saying I don’t enjoy a good pop song in the car, or if I want to dance at a party, but I am increasingly finding myself bored with anything but metal and a few select country artists you cover here.
December 3, 2015 @ 6:36 am
Oh Randy Travis where are you and your neo-traditional sound when we need you so badly?
December 3, 2015 @ 7:09 am
@ Cool Lester Smooth
DECEMBER 2, 2015 @ 10:40 AM
There are two types of people in the world.
People who like Star Wars, and people who pretend they don”™t.
************************************************************************************
Cool Lester Smooth-where does that leave people who’ve never seen any of it?
December 3, 2015 @ 6:32 pm
David Nail is bringin Bro Country back lol
December 5, 2015 @ 5:55 am
You must not forget that a hint of Blues and/or R&B runs through almost all American popular music/music with roots in American popular music. Even Heavy Metal has them. You must also distinguish between the the types and era’s of R&B
Jason Aldean”™s biggest recent single, “Burnin”™ It Down = modern hiphop influenced R&B
Coldplay, “Adventure of a Lifetime – 1970’s Disco-Funk
Leon Bridges – retro 1960’s Soul ala Sam Cooke
Alabama Shakes – 1960’s Southern Soul + 1970’s Funk via Curtis Mayfield + Prince
Nick Jonas – modern r&B
Adele- roots Soul music from the 60’s w/ Blues influence
Winehouse- early 1960 Soul w/ Jazz influence
Sam Smith – 1960-1970’s Soul influence
….these sounds are quite different but fall under the macro genre “R&B”
May 14, 2017 @ 6:39 am
What’s wrong with R&B lite sound with Country? Sturgill doesn this at times, and I love it. Trigger you ave been off on a few of these reviws. You also seem to piss some artists not naming them you know who they are and even a well respected DJ That syndicates a Texas Red dirt radio show. I love your reviews, not taking shots at you, but I have to disagree with your take on Country laced with a little of Country. I get and agree with the Monogenre argument. With that said country is an extension of the blues. I get your R&B/Urban Country experiment theory especially with maren Morris. But if it offers good substance, rich in lyrics, and a clean sound, I take no issue. I like Prophet and Outaws.
July 28, 2018 @ 1:25 pm
I hate contemporary r&b. Contemporary R&B has hip hop in it. Hip hop singers’soul singers’ and r&b artists always sing neo soul. Hip hop makes people evil. It makes people commit crimes. Every police officer must know this so they can make arrests and catch the criminal. Soul music has no hip hop. Every genre without hip hop must be kept. Hip hop never was needed. we already have the governments and lawmaker. Disco and post disco is not violent. It must be kept. Equal to the day January 1st 1950 music be like this forever. Lyrics of hip hop and hip hop soul make people violent. K-pop is violent and evil makes people commit crimes.