Page 4 Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013
Opinions
Country music no longer country Andrew Gleinser In the immortal words of George Jones, “this old world is full of singers but just a few are chosen to tear your heart out when they sing.” I’m not saying every country song needs to make you cry in your beer, but such songs seemingly don’t exist anymore. The industry now cares very little about making quality country music and more about recording songs that will sell. “The almighty dollar and the lust for worldwide fame slowly killed tradition,” said Strait and Jackson in their song “Murder on Music Row,” and they couldn’t be more right. What passes for a country music artist these days is a wannabe rock star with tattoos, skin-tight jeans and an overdone country accent. They sing about Chevys with lift kits, the ideal country woman — blonde, perfect figure, Daisy Duke shorts, loves to have sex in the bed of a truck — and
partying. They prance and jump around on the stage like they’re pretending to be Mick Jagger while fooling millions into believing they’re authentic country boys. And they fool them all the way to the bank. Quite simply, country music is no longer country music. It’s more like redneck rock. The artists are nothing more than cash cows for the record companies. Country music has forgotten its roots. If you listen to a country radio station, you won’t ever hear the likes of Hank Williams, Merle Haggard, George Jones, Loretta Lynn or Patsy Cline. The only time you’ll hear Strait is when his latest single is occasionally played. All these modern country artists profess to love their predecessors, yet they defile the music and
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legacy of these legends with the garbage they put forth on their albums. They’ve dropped the torch passed to them by the previous generation. To avoid simply being an angry man on his soapbox, I’ll offer a solution: Change the name of the g e n r e . D o n ’t call it country anymore. Simply suggesting any of these clowns are in the same league as those in the Country Music Hall of Fame is insulting. Country music is no longer country. It’s a pop and rock mixture with some twang. Call it whatever you like, but it’s not country, and we shouldn’t pretend it is any longer.
What passes for a country music artist these days is a wannabe rock star with tattoos, skin-tight jeans and an overdone accent.
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I
was raised on country music, back when it was actually country music. My formative years were filled mostly with George Strait, but also Alan Jackson, Clint Black, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash. That’s real country. After watching Wednesday’s Country Music Association awards, I can’t help but think how far the country music industry has fallen. I stopped listening to country radio roughly a decade ago for this very reason and was shocked at how awful it has become. Call me old fashioned, out of touch or a traditionalist if you wish, but the so-called music on country stations today is not country music. Such music is rarely made these days. Musically, steel guitars and fiddles are considered antiques while today’s songs are heavy on drums and electric guitars, much like rock music. The only difference between rock and country now is the singers’ accents. Real country music deals with real emotions, such as love and heartbreak. A good country singer should be able to sing a sad song and make you believe he’s felt exactly what he’s singing about.
Gleinser is The DT’s opinions editor and a first-year law student from Kingwood. ➤➤ opinions@dailytoreador.com
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Purple Heart traces origins to World War II It is wonderful to see Texas Tech will honor “Lone Survivor” author Marcus Luttrell and other Purple Heart awardees Saturday during the Tech football game. Here is a story about those Purple Hearts. On Aug. 1, 1945, the population of the U.S. was about 135 million and World War II in Europe was over. The war in the Pacific was not, and plans were being laid for the invasion of the Japanese homeland — Kyushu first, then months later, Honshu.
At the same time, 416,000 Americans had been killed in combat during World War II. Today, the U.S. population is about 310 million, and after 6,000 combat deaths from Iraq and Afghanistan, we are rightfully war weary. Imagine the physical and mental toll on the nation in 1945. In addition to the loss of 416,000 sons, brothers, uncles and dads, the nation had endured the strain of a global war as well as shortages of meat, gasoline, tires, sugar and many other things for years.
With the anticipated Japanese invasion in November 1945, military planners anticipated high casualties, with some estimates of 500,000 American deaths, as well as perhaps 10-20 million Japanese. Consequently, the U.S. government requisitioned the casting of hundreds of thousands of Purple Heart medals. After the war ended abruptly following the bombings at Hiroshima and Nagasaki as well as the Russians declaring war and invading Manchuria, the Japanese sur-
rendered and the invasion plans became moot. Since that time, from Korea to Vietnam, Grenada, Panama, Iraq, Afghanistan and all other combat endeavors, we still have not run out of those Purple Heart medals. Those intended for Americans wounded or killed in the anticipated 1945 invasion of Japan are still available and being awarded today. Bill Hodges, M.D., is a Tech alumnus from Stephenville.
Cellphones distract us from real safety threats Iowa State DaIly (Iowa State U.)
Justin Valdez, 20, was shot in the back of the head on a San Francisco train in September of this year. It was a heartless, random act of violence, but the most tragic part about the September shooting was that it could have been prevented. According to the security tapes, the 30-year-old shooter, Nikhom Thephakysone, blatantly pointed the gun across the aisle of the train, and for a moment even scratched his nose with the hand that held the weapon. District Attorney George Gascon said in an interview with NBC: “These weren’t concealed movements — the gun was very clear.” The next question that everyone seems to be asking is how such an obvious display of a deadly weapon goes unnoticed by a train car full of people. Maybe I am being naive but I like to think that if I was sitting mere feet from
a deranged man with a deadly weapon I would realize it. No one did, however, because according to surveillance footage the passengers were too engrossed with their cellphones. This murder is about more than the mental health of America, or gun restrictions, this case is about the relationship many have with their cell phones. We have become a society so addicted to our electronics that we don’t notice a gun being waved in our faces. According to Ed Tech Magazine, this year there will be more mobile device connections then there are people, and 87 percent of American adults will own cell phones. Statistics like this prove that electronics are becoming more than a simple convenience, they are becoming an increasingly vital part of our lives. Gone are the days when all you could depend on your phone for was to make a call. Now our phones are practically used in almost every
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aspect of our daily lives. They wake us up in the mornings, help us monitor the food we put in our bodies, and the number of steps we take a day. They are our credit cards, our calendars, our connection with those far away, and our source of much entertainment. But is this a good thing? In the same survey earlier mentioned, it was reported that 84 percent of American adults said they could not go a single day without their cellphones. Our dependence on these electronic devices is becoming an addiction, one that proves to have grave consequences. As displayed on the San Francisco train, cellphone use impacts our ability to be active observers, and to take note of our surroundings. We become oblivious to what is going on around us, which in many cases is a dangerous thing. Next time you walk through campus I challenge you to count how many times you see someone walking while texting (which I will admit is an impressive skill) and almost get taken out by a biker,
EDITORIAL BOARD
By TAYLOR FINN
Editor-in-Chief Kassidy Ketron editor@dailytoreador.com Managing Editor Paige Skinner managing@dailytoreador.com News Editor Catherine McKee news@dailytoreador.com La Vida Editor Chantal Espinoza features@dailytoreador.com Opinions Editor Andrew Gleinser opinions@dailytoreador.com Sports Editor Michael DuPont II sports@dailytoreador.com
or even a bus. We are glued to our cellphones so much that we can’t even take the time to occasionally look up, or check the street before crossing. Although these examples do not have nearly the same tragic outcome as the Valdez murder case, they are vital in proving the point that that we need to unplug. Many people tend to forget that the age of technology we all live in is a relatively new age, and that before the smart phones and tablets people were still able to function and have healthy social lives. The Facebook updates, emails and text messages can wait. We need to scale back our use of mobile devices and take more time to look around and observe our surroundings. Let’s take the initiative to let go of our addiction, and become more active members of society. Let’s challenge ourselves to become less involved in the virtual world, and more involved in the reality that is all around us. If we can accomplish that, then tragedies like the San Francisco train shooting can be prevented.
Students should dress presentable for class
W
e live in a time of great anticipation. As Generation Y, we are always on the verge of an anxiety attack while waiting for our hilarious Facebook status to be liked 36 seconds after posting it. Our constant attachment to our phones and detachment to the world around us is what we, as a generation, will be remembered for. The etiquette and manners of times past has eluded us. Our radios are programmed to stations that glorify hate and violence, and even more appalling, the run around of women. What is there to be proud of when Sinatra has been replaced by Kanye West and Snooki is the new Judy Cleaver? Do we have standards? Are they high standards? Whatever happened to having manners and abiding by the laws of etiquette Emily Post wrote down clear as day? College is supposed to be the best time of our lives. So why not go out and get a little crazy, have a good time and show up to class the next morning with X’s on our hands and smelling like smoke? Some would say it’s a miracle they made it to class, and their professor should just be glad they showed up, regardless of how they look. I could not disagree more. Our college professors are the exact people we, as a class, should be trying to impress and show respect to at all times. When you’re a month out from graduating and have no job prospects, whom are you going to run for a letter of recommendation? Your very future could ride on how your teachers remember you as a student and see you as a future professional. What does this have to do with having high standards? Everything. Having respect for your teachers, your peers and yourself is the first step to proper etiquette and manners. Like I mentioned before, showing up to class looking and smelling like you rolled out of bed is not flattering. Sorority-girl chic may be all the rage, but it’s not getting you ahead in life. Students’ inability to get dressed and make it to class on time in the morning baffles me. Blair Waldorf said it herself: “Tights are not pants.” Though she’s a fictional character, she had a point. Don’t get me wrong, comfort should be a priority when getting dressed, but so should looking put together.
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In a class of hundreds, do teachers really notice if you roll in dressed in your tights and oversized shirt? Probably not, but you can bet they notice your Ugg boots when you walk in with your head held high, your hands missing the telltale X, looking like you didn’t skimp on your morning coffee. This doesn’t just increase your chances of impressing your teachers, it dramatically increases your chances of improving your future. It’s a habit you really should try to break now. Why spend $90 on the everpopular LuLu Lemon workout tights you won’t work out in? Instead, invest in pieces you will be able to transfer to your future work attire. Isn’t that what college is about — preparing you for your future? Consider if your teachers were your boss or mentor in a work environment. Would they be impressed by your current choice of attire? As you will one day need to get up, get dressed and head into work bright eyed and bushy tailed, shouldn’t you start preparing for that transition now? We all hate 8 a.m. classes and most us are guilty of skipping on occasion to get that extra hour of sleep, but there will be no skipping the 8 a.m. alarm clock just because you’re a little sleepy when you have a real job. The dropping of a letter grade will seem feeble compared to the repercussions of a lost job, all because you couldn’t get out of bed and make yourself presentable on time. So here’s my closing advice for you: Get up, dress up and keep your head up. No one ever regretted getting dressed in the morning or trying to impress their teachers, but someone somewhere is regretting their college choices every day as they look in the mirror and see themselves in a vastly different position than they had imagined themselves to be in. So stay classy Texas Tech and remember: Tights are not pants. Gudgel is a junior retail major from Andrews. ➤➤ opinions@dailytoreador.com
Driving with Google glass should warrant citation By JAMES BAKER
the oracle (U. SoUth FlorIDa)
Google Glass is the next revolutionary form of communication technology. While this new technology is very “hands free,” it is not “mind free” and can easily still cause distractions while driving and should be illegal. Though Abadie plans to fight back on her added citation by claiming that the law is not specific enough and that Google Glass isn’t incorporated in that section of that law, laws cannot constantly stay up to date with new technology. In this instance, it was obviously more of a distraction than a safety tool. In reality, we are all too distracted when it comes to driving, and Google Glass is just a fancier way to become distracted. Though you don’t need your Copyright © 2013 Texas Tech University Student Media/The Daily Toreador. All DT articles, photographs and artwork are the property of The DT and Student Media and may not be reproduced or published without permission. The Daily Toreador is a designated public forum. Student editors have the authority to make all content decisions without censorship or advance approval.
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hands to operate the device and you can look through them and see the road as you drive, the biggest part of concentration is your brain. According to the National Safety Council, an estimated 1.6 million car crashes in 2010 resulted because of cellphone usage, and 1.4 million of them were actually talking on their phones, not texting. This just shows that even when not visually impaired, the mind can be distracted and it affects ones driving ability. With texting laws just now being implemented in Florida, legislators will need to start creating new legislation to ban Google Glass while driving. The glasses create new distractions for the driver that could endanger not only the individual wearing them, but also anyone else on the road. Toreador, Box 43081 Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas 79409. Letters The Daily Toreador welcomes letters from readers. Letters must be no longer than 300 words and must include the author’s name, signature, phone number, Social Security number and a description of university affiliation. Students should include year in school, major and hometown. We reserve the right to edit letters. Anonymous letters will not be accepted for publication. All letters will be verified before they are published. Letters can be emailed to dailytoreador@ ttu.edu or brought to 180 Media and Communication. Letters should be sent in before 3 p.m. to ensure the editors have enough time to verify and edit the submission. Guest Columns The Daily Toreador accepts submissions of unsolicited guest columns. While we cannot acknowledge receipt of all columns, the authors of those selected for publication will be notified. Guest columns should be no longer than 650 words in length and on a topic of relevance to the university community. Guest columns are also edited and follow the same guidelines for letters as far as identification and submittal. Unsigned Editorials appearing on this page represent the opinion of The Daily Toreador. All other columns, letters and artwork represent the opinions of their authors and are not necessarily representative of the editorial board, Texas Tech University, its employees, its student body or the Board of Regents. The Daily Toreador is independent of the College of Media and Communication. Responsibility for the editorial content of the newspaper lies with the student editors.