October 5, 2012

Just a Country Hen

After leaving Slaughterville, aka Louisville, the Hens on Ice troop has arrived in Nashville, Tennessee. Thankfully this city pays hommage to wholesome country music, not butchering innocent chickens. I may not be a country music fan, but I sure prefer it over the sound of a KFC deep fryer. It's all about perspective.
Where's the Carrie exhibit?

Today I broadened my horizons and ruffled my feathers by visiting the Country Music Hall of Fame. I may not have known about any of the country music legends other than Carrie Underwood, but I did know that I liked Carrie Underwood. I followed her entire journey on season 4 of American Idol. I couldn't wait to relive that journey, as I was sure it'd be a special exhibit.




While Carrie wasn't featured as much as I hoped and there was no American Idol exhibit, I still learned a lot! I even snapped a few pics and a video.




Things I learned at the Country Music Hall of Fame



  • Patsy Cline is unfortunately no longer with us. The hall of fame had a Patsy Cline exhibit, and all  I really knew about her was that she sang a song my dad likes to butcher called "Crazy." Everyone in the house including the cats ad grandma would run to the cellar with his off-key "crazy for feeeeeeling." Thankfully, part of the exhibit had videos of her singing that song and others to drown out dad's rendition. She really had a stellar voice, and sang many other songs. While I learned about her, listened to her music and tried on her boots, I wondered if Patsy was still with us. I thought maybe she'd passed away recently, but couldn't remember. Then I got to the "tragic end" wall, telling of her death in a plane crash in 1963. I must have gotten her confused with Dusty Springfield or Whitney Houston. 

  • Carrie Underwood is not quite as acclaimed yet as many of her fellow country singers. While I saw her face from time to time, the only relic of hers is one bland, black shirt she wore at some point. Where was the photo journey through American Idol? Where was her wing? I guess Carrie needs to belt out a few more albums before hitting Dolly or Elvis status. 

  • Elvis is all over the Country Music Hall of Fame. I had never associated Elvis with country music before, but it seemed to make sense after visiting the hall of fame. It does make me wonder - if Beyonce was featured as much as Elvis in the Country Music Hall of Fame, would I also leave feeling that she was a country artist? Maybe. 

  • Bakersfield, California was a hot bed for country music. There was an exhibit bigger than Patsy's devoted to Bakersfield and all its country bands of which I'd never heard. Before my visit, I'd never associated California with country music of any form, and figured Bakersfield was only a hot bed for dust. But country music put Bakersfield on the map before it fell back off. 

  • Even in the Country Music Hall of Fame, Taylor Swift is everywhere. Not only was there every outfit she wore of her Speak Now World Tour, there was also a TV playing behind-the-scenes-esque videos of Taylor holding a camera arms-length away and taking us through riveting moments, like her eating birthday cake and showing us she has a friend who has a birthday. It showed that even in this Mecca of the old country music greats, where even Dolly Parton and Reba McEntire only get modest displays, there is no escaping Taylor Swift. Carrie's going to have to throw some elbows.

After all that, the true lesson came in the gift shop, where I ran into some family friends and learned that the Country Music Hall of Fame also loves hens. 



It's a real barnyard in here!
Hens love reader, Dora Vikar. 









   
 
   
   

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