You know, I'm kind of wondering, why are you not writing your OWN music that reflects what you enjoy? Two weeks ago I was teaching a workshop where the average age was about 55. I was asked a question about "Do "older style" songs have a place today?"

I said, "Yes, but you have to look at them a couple of different ways. You can either do them "retro" which would be the older style of music, yet make it up to date with language. Or you could find your own local, older artists, or those on web sites, that might fit the bill for your songs."

In the case of someone like country artist, Josh Turner, he has a very deep voice and sensabilities that are EXACTLY like Johnny Cash. Many artists like him are influenced by older material, but you have to find a way to make it relevant. It is sort of a "Throwback."
Years ago, Dwight Yokum" did it by making his music a throwback to Buck Owens, from 30 years before. k.d. lang, also made her music very reminicent of the 50's-60's style of retro crooners, Patsy Cline, Etta James, etc.

But in all cases, the LANGUAGE is what makes it change. Again, from personal experiences of a show I did last Friday with several of the "older artists and writers" from the 60's and 70's, you have to make sure that your language keeps up with today. Many of their's didn't.

What I would suggest you do is study the music that you like the most. Find out what the subject matter was and think about how you would write that same song today. I would study the chord progressions, phrasings, etc.

Then I would study some of the top artists of today and try to draw comparrisons with those artists. I would again, get a sense of subject matter, and try to see what the similarities and differences are.

From there, I would start work on my own ideas and songs and see if I could recreate that vibe.

When I mention Subject matter, I mean it like this:

A few years back, in the 70's and 80's, we could talk about "one night stands." Then came Rock Hudson and the AIDS epidemic and those kinds of terms were no longer politically correct. They still happened, was still part of every day life, even TV shows around "Booty calls" and "Hook ups" happen all the time.
But in the country music industry, where the audience is a little more conservative (but not all that much many times) you could talk about "It's a quarter to three, and I need you now." Which is about the SAME thing. It is just phrased differently.

So, if I were you, that is an approach I would do. Challenge myself to find out what about the older stuff you like, find some common threads to today's marketplace, and see where you can fit your own music in. It is a challenge and should give you some fuel to look at both the new and the old.

I had a client from Ohio one time come in with the "I hate this new country" stuff. As part of his "tour" I made him sit and watch the CMT country video show for 30 minutes. They played several things he had never heard of. He changed his mind very quickly and now almost won't listen to anything else.

A lot of time there is more there than we realize. We just have to look past our own biases.

MAB