Country Music and the Problem of Authenticity

Abstract

In the small but growing literature on the philosophy of country music, the question of how we ought to understand the genre’s notion of authenticity has emerged as one of the central questions. Many country music scholars argue that authenticity claims track attributions of cultural standing or artistic self-expression. However, careful attention to the history of the genre reveals that these claims are simply factually wrong. On the basis of this, we have grounds for dismissing these attributions. Here, I argue for an alternative model of authenticity in which we take claims about the relative authenticity of country music to be evidence of ‘country’ being a dual-character concept in the same way that it has been suggested of punk rock and hip-hop. Authentic country music is country music that embodies the core value commitments of the genre. These values form the basis of country artists’ and audiences’ practical identities. Part of country music’s aesthetic practice is that audiences reconnect with, reify, and revise this common practical identity through identification with artists and works that manifest these values. We should then think of authenticity discourse within country music as a kind of game within the genre’s practice of shaping and maintaining this practical identity.

Authenticity and atypicality in leadership: Can an atypical leader afford to be authentic?

“…Authenticity is a long-standing subject of inquiry in the fields of psychology (e.g., Sutton, 2018;Trilling, 1972), philosophy (e.g., Flynn, 2006) and aesthetics (e.g., Malone, 2023), while, more recently, relevant discussions have also become part of leadership studies (e.g., Gardner et al, 2011;Shamir & Eilam, 2005) and organisation theory (e.g., Lehman et al, 2019;Peterson, 2005). Authenticity is generally defined as a quality of an individual, group or culture, and is associated with attributes such as originality, novelty and tradition (Malone, 2023;Peterson, 2005;Sutton, 2018).…”

Outlaw epistemologies: Resisting the viciousness of country music's settler ignorance

“…But disagreements continued over which sounds and images sounded country enough, and whether country music could pursue commercial accessibility or preserve a more ‘traditional’ sound. Such disagreements are a key aspect of the game the country community plays as it negotiates a common practical identity, and a shared sense of what it means for country music to ‘sound authentic’; critically, this game allows country fans to identify with particular songs and artists, and to construct a set of taken‐for‐granted rules for becoming part of the community (Malone, 2022). We contend that the responses to Merle Haggard 's “Okie from Muskogee” (Burris& Haggard, 1969, hereafter Okie ) serve as a paradigmatic example of this game.…”

Styling Authenticity in Country Music

“…] respond to language varieties that are not necessarily 'authentic' to the linguistic repertoire of either the performer or the audience but nevertheless appropriate to the performance" (Moody 2021, p. 461; also see Bell and Gibson 2011). This in turn connects to the genre system described above, as the reference point for authenticity (and authentication) is determined by specific genre conventions, which establishes "cultural" rather than personal authenticity (Coupland 2003;Moody 2021; also see Barker and Taylor 2007;Malone 2023). Notably, as determined in experimental sociolinguistic research (Squires 2019), otherwise stigmatized non-standard features are commonly accepted (or even privileged) in lyrics.…”