Don't Tune the Steel Guitars Yet

I don't like country music. I've said that till it sounds like the refrain of a classic. There's something about it that just......I cringe.

However, I looked at my iTunes downloads today and realized that my last 10 purchases have been country: LeeAnn Womack's "Last Call," Trace Adkins' something about memory, three John Corbett songs, a Kenny Chesney--I don't even know who these people are (except Corbett--Chris on "Northern Exposure" and one of my most favorite characters in TVland.) The songs are ones I ran into randomly and related to in some way. And I just got the new Alison Krauss/Robert Plant cd. Country? Not sure, but sorta.

Furthermore, one of my guilty pleasures right now is the CMT show "Gone Country," where celebs are competing for a chance to record for some guy I've never heard of named Rich something or something Rich--they think it's worth competing for, at any rate. The attraction? George Clinton trying to sing country, and Mickey Dolenz doing a kick-ass job of singing country. Yea, Mickey of the Monkees--see why I'm watching? Shelia E is on and doing an impressive job, too. But Mickey's gonna win!

So why do I think I don't like country? As a guitar player and storyteller, I should like it. That's what it is, really. And I like pop/folk, and heard a lot of roots country when I took my country music class in grad school--which required a night at a Honky-Tonk and learning the Texas Two-Step. Lots of fun.

So again, why...redux. I think I've figured it out: uber-emotionalism, which I'm not comfortable with, and traditional values, meaning theology that I find unsound, unthinking patriotism, and frequent gender stereotyping and objectification.

I think too much. I think I'm proving that again. (Hence, discomfort with uber-emotionalism). Maybe I need to weed through the annoying country and just enjoy some of the Honky-Tonk, life story type songs. Pop music isn't really catching my interest now; it might be time to find some cowboy boots and change the station on my radio!

Why Buffy?

That's the question I was asked last week, and the question that I've seen in the amused or befuddled eyes of people who know that this has been the Summer Of Buffy for me.

Taking a step backwards, when Buffy the Vampire Slayer was the religion practiced by my dad and my daughter, I scoffed. Laughed at their insistence that I'd like it if I just gave it a chance. Isn't that what heroin dealers say, too? Teenage cheerleader valley girls who are also mystical vampire slayers, right. I read Chekov and Dickens, I'm both hoitier and toitier than Buffy.

I'm now eating those words.

First, I have the luxury of watching all 7 episodes at my leisure, not needing 7 years to bring the story to fruition. At the beginning, I watched the first couple seasons lackadaisically, episodes when I had time as school was winding down. Then--the story line picked up as I suddenly had more time. Voila! Since summer began, I've done the intensive buffy-a-nalia at times--several episodes in a day, just soaking it all in--then, as I realized that I was getting closer and closer to the end...parceling the shows out, one new episode a day, building towards the end.

I've got just 4 episodes left to finish the whole series and see how it turns out. I want to watch them, but... summer ends when Buffy ends. And I suspect that even if I think the end is great, it won't be the happy, satisfying, tie up all the loose ends-they-live-happily-ever-after that I'm hoping for on some level.

So why Buffy? Here are some reasons, in no particular order:

• It's the Monkees' fault. Honestly. At a critical point in my development, the Monkees imprinted on me--friends, living in a beachhouse, entwining their dreams and working for the common good. And a bonus: Davy was so cute! Buffy has that same dynamic: best friends through thick and thin, through apocolypse and demons, working to keep evil out of Sunnydale. And the bonus: Angel. And Xander. And Giles (I admit that the fact I think he's hot is showing my age). And Spike...although it took me five seasons to add him to the list.
  
• Brains are respected in the show. Giles, Willow, Oz--all book-ish nerds, all central and respected, and not in the black glasses, pocket protector Pointdextery way.
  
• The writing is amazing. Each character has a different voice, different syntax. The vocabulary used is expansive--and I don't mean the made-up demon names; even Xander, who claims to be the dumb one, has a rich and varied vocabulary that fits his character like spandex. And the smart characters, Willow and Giles? Wow. The writers rank right up with Northern Exposure, MASH and Moonlighting--the best-written shows ever.
  
• The character development. The funny little quirks in Willow's personality in the first few seasons turn into tragic flaws, Xander's quiet persistence becomes his greatest strength by the end--the characters change and grow, but the seeds are true throughout. Evil Spike's redemption is almost worthy of Tolstoy, well, just add leather and blood, true. But the manipulation of flaky Willow to first-class threat, and deadly Spike to stalwart defender--and the fact that those transformations ring true...Charles Dickens would have been proud to write on a staff that created those characters.
• The complex story arcs. While each episode is a complete story, each season has a metaplot that draws in the audience, making the show as addictive as coffee. The basic formula is inevitable: Bad guy/thing/situation threatens Sunnydale/the world, and Buffy and the Scooby gang must stop it. However, Joss Weadon and his merry band of writers make as many variations on the theme as Mozart. They do kill off major characters--and they do let their characters make bad decisions and suffer for them. Major, totally unexpected plot twists (like a sister showing up in season 5), make sense and work--and make for a chaos factor I really appreciate.
  
• As I've talked with friends and family about my Buffy habit, they constantly want to know how far into the series I am. People are anxious to tell me things that happen, and I'm astounded by the extent of my friends' emotional buy-in to the characters and the overall story--and this is years after they have found out what happened! The story and the characters are compelling, and I'm abashed to admit I've gotten totally hooked.
• Love trumps evil and weakness. The friends' relationship with each other, with Giles (Buffy's mentor), and with their various romantic relationships give strength and heart to their battle.
• Fun to think about. For instance, it's the Wizard of Oz, in ways. Xander's the Tin Man, all heart; Willow's the scarecrow, the thinker; Cordelia's the Cowardly Lion, refusing to fight, but in the thick of it...see? It's a fun game!
  
• Last, it's just fun escapism. In this morally ambiguous time, I like knowing that Drusilla is bad. Always. That the badness du jour threatening Sunnydale is really, really evil. No room for political correctness, no need for Jimmy Carter. Kicking its ass to the Hellmouth and sealing it tight is the mission, and Buffy will do it...sooner or later. I'm discovering the joy of labeling something bad, evil, nasty--and knowing that Buffy, and Giles, and the rest of the gang, will do whatever it takes to make the world safe.

So...four more. After tonight, three. I want to know how it ends...but I don't. Once I know, I lose the freshness and discovery of watching. I'll miss that. I'll rewatch earlier episodes, and really enjoy them, and find new and interesting meaning in them, but I'll know how the story ends. I'll be watching with a shadow...and I know I'm not going to like some of the plot twists at the end...

I'm sure I'll write more Buffy related posts later, but this is for the people who asked, why Buffy?