Predator - you might have already heard this genre, but I think you want to look for 'americana' stations, not country. Americana fuses traditional country, alt-country (rock bands like Son Volt that play country), folk (not hippie folk but Townes Van Zandt type folk) & outlaw country (from the 70's to the present - Lucinda Williams).
But yes, I've agreed with that assessment of country since the 80's with the emergence of Garth Brooks. It's country-pop - but unfortunately you can't tell anyone that listens to mainstream country radio that they aren't listening to 'real' country. Just like you can't tell them that Blue Collar Comedy is a caricature of a redneck, just as blaxploitation films of the 70's were a caricature of Blacks.
|