Sadly, my life has took such a weird turn, that i'm currently confused...

Country and western music.

Let me first give you a brief, but sure description, and background to the genre of the good ol' C&W...

American popular music form originating in the Southeast (country music) and the Southwest and West (western music). The two regional styles coalesced in the 1920s when recorded material became available in rural areas, and they were further consolidated after musicians from various sections met and mixed during service in World War II. The primary traditional difference between the two styles is that country music is simpler and uses fewer instruments, relying on guitar, fiddle, banjo, and harmonica, whereas the music of the Southwest tends toward steel guitars and big bands whose style verges on swing (e.g., The Light Crust Doughboys). Bluegrass, exemplified by Bill Monroe, is a style of country and western music distinguished by a driving, syncopated rhythm, high-pitched vocals, and an emphasis on the banjo, mandolin, and fiddle.

Country and western music is directly descended from the folk songs, ballads, and popular songs of the English, Scottish, and Irish settlers of the U.S. southeastern seaboard. Its modern lyrics depict the emotions and experience of rural and (currently) urban poor whites; they often tell frankly of illicit love, crime, and prison life. Over the last 50 years country and western music has gained a nationwide audience. Since 1925 the “Grand Ole Opry,” a Saturday night performance featuring country and western singers, has been broadcast weekly from Nashville, Tenn.

Many of the musicians have been influenced by African-American blues (see jazz) and gospel music, but the performers and audience are almost all white. Leading performers include Hank Williams and his son, Jimmy Rodgers, Johnny Cash, Tex Ritter, June Carter-Cash, the Carter Family, Chet Atkins, Patsy Cline, Merle Haggard, Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wynette, Charley Pride, Charlie Rich, Dolly Parton, and Willie Nelson. In the 1960s and 70s, country and western music significantly influenced the development of rock music. Since then, it has undergone a national revival with performers such as Ricky Scaggs, Garth Brooks, the Judds, Tanya Tucker, and Reba McEntire achieving great popularity.

Did you read it? No, didn't think so. Still, i'll act as if one kind soul did, and assume you were bored stiff. Country and Western's all that acoustic shit (acoustic guitar's not shit, the way it's used in this genre is) which sings about dog's running away from home, lost loved ones, and probably water holes drying up too. So then, why the hell would I dedicate a blog to such a travesty?

The Ballad of Chapped Lips Calhoun by Sideways Hank O' Malley and the Alabama Bottle Boys (Yes, the infamous C&W tune from Grand Theft Auto 1)
With My Baby Tonight by Jesse James (Yes, the Road Dogg for those of you who were WWF fans like me in the 90's, when it was actually watchable entertainment)

These two songs in the past have touched me in a way that others haven't. The Ballad first off, is the funniest C&W song I have ever had the pleasure to listen to. When a line of lyric reads as the following:

Menfolk found their women scary, because they were so big and hairy...

...you know you've struck gold. But in the sarcastic, ironical, and tongue-in-cheek manner that it is pulled off in, it is unrivalled. It comes across as a serious song, yet tickles you pink when you realise what the story is all about. That song is the reason I used to ditch the super-fast sports cars in GTA, for that shitty looking slow as fuck pickup truck, just so I could listen to it over and over again. As the DJ says at the end of its performance, "...and you know, that was so good, I reckon i'll play it again!" And he does.

Secondly, Baby Tonight is an intriguing song. Let me give you a bit of background. I dug my WWE Anthology album out today after not listening to it for a year, and 'With My Baby Tonight' came on. I recognised it, but didn't remember at first where from. I gave it another listen, then I remembered Jeff Jarrett released this as a single back in the early 90's of the WWF (Whether the song was genuinely released on single I have no idea, but I remember there being a video, and the WWF programs back then hyping the song up as being so). And i thought to myself, "This is actually some pretty good shit!" However, the back of the Anthology case said it was Road Dogg. Cue me being a little confused.

As you probably are now, because if you have never watched WWF in your life, or never watched it during the period i'm relating to, then you won't have a clue what i'm going about. But then, have you understood anything i've typed yet? Do you even realise why i've typed up such a surreal account about how two C&W songs have inspired me, even in the slightest? The way I look at is this; you can hate something. You can DESPISE it. But no matter how much proof, personal hatred toward it, sheer disgust of its shitness, you can't deny that in ANYTHING... could be a little glimmer of hope just bursting to break out from its confines. No matter what.

In the mean-time, i'm going to try and figure out why the fuck I can enjoy a C&W tune if it's video-game or wrestling related, whereas a genuine C&W tune makes me want to attack a wall with a spoon.