On the Origins of String Thirty-Five: Background & Mission

I’ve created this site in hopes of nurturing my passion for country music into an ongoing and engaging hobby where I discuss my thoughts on the genre with an involved community of other thoughtful fans. I have found that some of the best nights of my life have come attending concerts as the genre’s nature of story-telling and celebration breeds an unmatched connection between concert attendees. These experiences have had a deep impact on my life and caused me to look deeper into the genre. As I began to do so, I supplemented my own thoughts with the opinions of critics across various online media outlets. This exposed me to other individuals passionate about country music, yet also showed the polarity of the genre’s fans.

Currently, the country music community is engaged in a long-lasting civil war between traditionalists and modernists who have different opinions on what country music should sound like. With the increasing influence of pop, hip-hop and EDM music seeping its way into mainstream country music, purists have pushed back in an attempt to maintain its tradition of natural instrumentation. Naturally, the other side argues that the genre needs to evolve to stay relevant. This has created an immense amount of tension between the two sides, where many refuse to even acknowledge the possibility of quality work from the other alternative. Unfortunately, people often will criticize the music they don’t like more frequently than praising the music that they do enjoy.

I hope to bridge this gap and provide a platform for discussions of the middle ground in which fans are open to acknowledge the merits of both traditional-leaning and progressive-leaning country music. The website is built on this idea of balance, and the name reflects this. String Thirty-Five derives its name from the middle string of a six-string guitar, “String 3.5.” Since of course this string does not actually exist, the name “String Thirty-Five” felt sufficient and also represents another quality of the page: self-awareness. Just as there is no “String 3.5”, being exactly in the middle on every issue discussed on this site is also impossible. It would strip me of any ability to have an opinion and make for extremely boring content. Therefore, I will strive to be as open-minded as possible within the genre, while still maintaining an opinion explained through logical reasoning.

The other principle that String Thirty-Five is founded on is perspective. There are countless outlets reporting on country music news and offering their opinions. I’ve always believed that everyone is entitled to their own preferences, especially when it comes to music. There are a million different reasons for someone to like a song, and just because one critic doesn’t connect with a song the way you do does not mean you are wrong to enjoy it. Music is entirely subjective and thus this website will not consistently review albums and songs. Rather, I will maintain a macro perspective and analyze the larger-trends in the genre that I find worthy of discussion. Naturally, I will share my opinion on various music in the process, but I urge all readers to form their own opinions.

If you are reading this website, you are not an ordinary consumer of music. You are likely an individual that thinks critically about the music you listen to, and therefore have a grasp for what high-quality music consists of (in your opinion). I am hoping to tap into this pool and create an intelligent community of discussion around the genre. As long as readers practice respect and empathy for their peers, this website can cultivate valuable discussions around the state of country music and the direction which it should go.