Gone Country

We have read many essays pertaining to identity over the course of this semester. The essay that I believe truly focuses on this subject is "Gone Country". Our personalities are often associated with what music we listen to. The essay "Gone Country", discuss what makes up the personality of someone who listens to country music. People express identity in many different ways; music is just one-way to show someone's characteristics, as well as individuality. In Gone Country, the author takes country music and shows how it often has an effect on the people who listen to it. I do not agree with the credibility of the points that are expressed in the article, such as "country fans are more educated than both adult contemporary or rock audiences"(p. 423). Saying that someone who listens to country music is more educated than someone who listens to a different type of music is absurd. What they don't take into consideration is the age of the people who listen to country music. They say it themselves in the article, "These musicians-smarter, hipper; their fans-older, wiser" (p. 424). Of course the country fans are going to be wiser if the majority of their fans are between the ages of 30-50. Saying that country artists are smarter than rock artists is a falsehood. There is no way you can say someone is smarter, due to the fact they perform a certain type of music. I enjoy listening to many different types of music, particularly rock music. I think music plays a part in everyone's life, and also reflects a person's identity. When I listen to music I like to read the lyrics to figure out what message the artist is trying to relay to their listener. My favorite band is tool. Their music would be put into the hard rock category. One song they sing that I can really relate to is slip away. Maynard, the lead singer starts this powerful song by talking about how a break up leaves him cracked and drags h