Country Music Spotlight: Are Country Music Remixes Really That Bad? Or Really That Good?

Florida Goerge Line, a country music band that's had a huge hand in popularizing
the practice of remixing country music

Every other week, I post a column recognizing a popular country music artist and taking a look at their career, their highs and lows. But this week I'm shaking things up a bit. Today, I'll be presenting a piece of a very popular thing in the world of Country Music; the remix. Now, remixes have been popular for a while now in the world of pop music, mainly because they allow for unique artist collaborations as well as the opportunity to sell an already beloved song to audiences yet again.

For Country music artists, it offers the opportunity to expand their fanbase beyond just those listening country music radio listeners. I mean, what radio station is gonna turn down the chance to play a new tune from Jason Derulo, even if it does have two Country artists? The financial benefits are obvious and tremendous, but for many on the internet, the mere existence of country music remixes is an atrocity in and of itself.

I don't agree with their viewpoint, but only because songs like Jake Owns Beachin' (Which I do not like. At all.) is already so middling, what harm could a remix do? And in the case of a fun ditty like Drink To That All Night, the Pitbull remix just reinforces the songs partying atmosphere. Now, if one was to create a remix of Mama Tried that added dubstep and a portion devoted to some rapping courtesy of Juicy J, I would most certainly take issue with that since that doesn't gel with the songs primary message. But really, in terms of quality these country party songs don't lose much in the way of remixes and occasionally they manage to gain a bit of quality.

I would like to caution though that not every song needs one of these remixes. Florida Georgia Line, who really started this whole trend with the remix of Cruise (along with Jason Aldeans Dirt Road Anthem remix), did a good job with the remix of This Is How We Roll but their poignant song Dirt really does not need a remix in any shape and form. Sure, it might more airtime on certain radio stations, but at least retain some artistic integrity going forward when it comes to these remixes. To paraphrase Ian Malcom from Jurassic Park "Just because you can doesn't mean you should."