Get down,Cowboy

I don't spend a lot of time watching music videos. I will occasionally browse CMT when I don't see anything else of interest or if I'm doing something else and just want a little background noise. That was just the case the other day. I was working on the family tree,on the computer,and CMT was playing.
As I was pondering a record about a distant ancestor I happened to look at the television. There was this singer,I don't recall his name,wearing the typical cowboy hat and jeans. That certainly wasn't surprising but a few other things about him and his performance were. He had tattoos on his neck stretching all the way to his ears. His arms were covered with tattoos as well. His movements were like those from a Rap singer,complete with some weird finger signs. Watching this I wondered just what it was he was trying to be ? A country singer,rap star,or gangsta ? It was a confusing image. The song was a mixture as well. Not quite country,not quite Rap,in fact not quite anything I could describe.
Now I suppose it is an image thing. This singer is not the first and certainly not the last. The popular images change with time. Barbara Mandrell sang I was country,when country wasn't cool,and that was cool ! Then there was a swing the other way. Country singers have always been associated with being backwoods hicks. Cowboys aren't cool. Now they all want to be cool. Most of the newer ones sing songs more closely related to rock and rap music. They put forth the image of being hip,cool and a bunch of bad a***s. Although if you are a country star today you must say something about praising Jesus or supporting the service men. That's mandatory.
Oh,there are some good genuine country music stars out there. Myself,I prefer the old line country music. Heartache,drinking songs and momma. I understand it is all about selling records. Well not records exactly,what is it now downloads ? Whatever they are calling it , it is about making money. The producers push this stuff. Now we have rapping cowboys dancing like Michael Jackson in cowboy boots. Good grief !
Just when you think you have seen it all.
Just an observation of mine. I didn't do any big study on this and it is only my opinion but there is a pattern emerging here. White boys emulating Afro Americans in an attempt to be perceived as either hip or as a bad man. At first, bad white boys were bikers. James Dean wearing his tee shirt and leather jacket. Greasing his hair back. You know the image. Then sometime in the fifties,in conjunction with the civil rights movement,white boys started singing black music. Elvis was accused of that. Jerry Lee was too. Before long white boys started wearing clothing,shall we say,not typical of your average American white boy. Soon some white boys started using the expressions and terms used in the black community. " Yo bro, know what I'm sayin' ? "
It is a complicated issue. A sociologist could do a whole paper on this. What does it mean ? White folks acting like African Americans. Are they doing that because they like it or is something else behind it ? Maybe something that is not too flattering to the black community. Is being an African American associated with crime,violence and generally being a tough guy ? Is that the image ? I don't know I'm not a sociologist.
Well, the bottom line for me is I like things simple. I like country music. I enjoy the Blues. That good old time rock and roll is happening too. Just don't try to mix all three together into one very strange combination.
\I'm a white boy. Always have been and always will be. To try to look and act like anything else is just ridiculous ! I'm just old school I guess.
To each their own. We all have to listen to our own drummer. Rock on and be cool brother. Times change and so does fashion. I can only hope for a return to the basics in life. I'm sure that is what my parents thought about my tastes and their parents said about theirs. But,a gangsta' cowboy ? What's up with that ?