Shots Across the Bow

Crossroads I had no use for Kid Rock. I don't like his music, and I'm not a fan of hip-hop.
But I just watched a show on CMT (Country Music Television for the uninitiated) which featured Kid Rock performing onstage with Hank Williams Jr, and I have to say that young man is an outstanding musician.

Where most so-called 'artists' have only one sound, the real musicians master them all. They find the rythym beneath the beat, the melody behind the notes, and the song behind the words. It doesn't matter whether the genre is pop, rock, funk, country, or bluegrass. A musician always finds the song and lets it sing. An even better musician finds himself within the song, and lets that sing as well.

Kid Rock has that talent. He sang Hank's songs and made them his own, without compromising the emotions of the originals. He transcended the barriers of hip hop and country, and gave a performance which was true to both, because it was true to his heart.

I still don't like his music, but he is one hell of a musician.