The CMA's

George Jones recently said that what's on Country radio now should be re-named, because it sure ain't Country. He might be right. Today's Country singers have grown up with MTV, and so have today's Music City executives. Looks and packaging. Back in the mid-70's Nashville traditionalists got ticked off at the CMA's for giving awards to John Denver and Olivia Newton-John. So, the fight against "outsiders" invading the purity of the Nashville Golden era will go on until the last of that first generation has passed.
No, Taylor Swift isn't any more Country than Shania Twain. Darius Rucker's album sounds like a Hootie one with steel guitars. But I don't agree completely with Jones. There is the Golden era sound in some of Brad Paisley's stuff, or Miranda Lambert's. But like I said it's all been processed to sell beyond Nashville to a younger audience. Maybe George Jones fans like Taylor Swift more than he thinks they do. But the days of Hard Country getting any chart action, save for a fluke hit single, will never come back. To hear this stuff you have to go outside of the major labels and find Indie artists.