PlayList: Learning to Love Country Music

LondonCallsMe knows us well; we're darn scared of country music. But this might just be the playlist that gets us to listen!— Sparkitors

I don't know what it's like for my fellow country music lovers, but where I live, a kid liking country music is akin to a Sparkler not loving Dan: it's simply not done. So when I become friends with someone, I have to be careful of how I introduce him to my favorite kind of music.

I usually start with some country-pop to ease him in...

Song: That Song in My Head
Artist: Julianne Hough
Song: Wrong Baby Wrong
Artist: Martina McBride

Most people react favorably to country-pop, after which I make them a CD including the following tracks...

Song: You'll Think of Me
Artist: Keith Urban
Song: Take Me As I Am
Artist: Sugarland

Then, once they have proven their abilities to appreciate the above tracks, I up the ante...

Song: Back When I Knew It All
Artist: Montgomery Gentry
Song: Hello
Artist: Sugarland

For those sole survivors, of which I have found only two or three, we get deep into the backroads of my favorite genre...

Song: Shameless
Artist: Garth Brooks
Song: Fly Away
Artist: Sugarland
Song: The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia
Artist: Reba McEntire

If you don't like country, that's fine. If you don't like rap, that's fine. If you don't like pop or electronica or folk or hip-hop, that's fine. As long as there's still music, the world will hold itself together and people will be able to express themselves!

How do you feel about country music—love it or leave it?

Related post: Playlist: The Best Songs for Heartbroken Teens