An Editor’s Note on Recently-Posted “Rant” Against Walker Hayes & His Album “Boom”
1/12/2018
Dear Saving Country Music readers, country music listeners and lovers, fellow journalists, and especially fans of Walker Hayes and the work of country music producer, Shane McAnally,
On December 18th, 2017, I wrote a “rant” entitled, “‘Boom’ By Walker Hayes Is The Worst Album In ‘Country’ Music History. Full Stop.” The point of the rant was to voice my vehement displeasure with the Walker Hayes record—an exercise Saving Country Music takes part in occasionally beyond the regular routine of publishing news, music criticism, and commentary. In that rant, I expressed many inflammatory opinions using outrageous language, employed unsavory swear words and inappropriate expressions, conveyed incredible disgust with the subject matter that brought into question objectivity, and even went as far as to express that I would rather have my genitals cut off and carried away by a carrion bird than listen to the record again.
Though obviously many of the opinions and assertions of the rant were conveyed in jest, and purposely embellished for entertainment purposes, since the posting of the rant there has been some uproar over it by fellow colleagues in the press corps and industry, fans of Walker Hayes, and other concerned parties. This includes Shane McAnally—who I labeled the ‘Country Music Anti Christ’—who addressed the rant on social media with the caption “You mad bro?” And Wide Open Country, who boiled down the arguments made by myself and others against Walker Hayes and Boom as being solely “because Walker Hayes sounds different.”
After taking much time to reflect on the words I used and how I expressed them, including over the observance of the Christmas holiday when much time was spent with family and loved ones, the passing of the New Year which gives natural rise to personal re-evaluation and reflection, and the cooling winds of time in general that have blown over me since the rant was composed and the Walker Hayes record was released, I have decided, after much inward thought and soul searching, many hours of self-judgement and estimation, that I, The Triggerman of Saving Country Music, with all sincerity and honesty, slump shouldered, and with my hat in my hat in my hand . . . stand by every fucking word of that rant, with no regrets, no remorse, and no second-guessing whatsoever, aside from where it could have been even more pointed and poisonous to the cultural rot contained in that wretched Walker Hayes effort.
Whatever integrity was lost by posting the rant against Boom by Walker Hayes, it was well worth it, and worthy of the sacrifice to help slow the spread of that audio pestilence, however marginally so.
Sincerely,
Kyle “Trigger” Coroneos
(pronounced Coronas, like two Mexican beers)
Owner/Editor/Founder/Benevolent Dictator – SavingCountryMusic.com
January 12, 2018 @ 9:06 am
Good man…
January 12, 2018 @ 9:07 am
Good man. I was about to call you a fucking pussy and to stand up against this garbage music
January 12, 2018 @ 9:12 am
Wide Open Country : “They want their country music predictable.”
No, they just want their country music to actually be country music. Or, I’d even take old pop-country at this point. This is not even close. This isn’t even close to bro-country… and that says a lot.
January 12, 2018 @ 11:14 am
Yes. It’s the same tired line used over and over and over again by pop country radio listeners and Music Row water carriers.
He says Sam Hunt and Walker Hayes are so different. OK. Fine. Here’s one similarity, as far as I’m concerned. When I hear their music and find that it’s being marketed as country music, I know I’m being lied to.
January 12, 2018 @ 9:17 am
Its a dirty job ……but somebody’s gotta do it Trigger .
January 12, 2018 @ 9:20 am
Thank god you didn’t issue an unnecessary apology for your justified and hilarious rant. That would have been depressing.
January 12, 2018 @ 9:21 am
Proud of ya’!
January 12, 2018 @ 9:24 am
I find myself longing for the good old days of Shania Twain and Lonestar. Yeah, today is THAT bad.
January 12, 2018 @ 10:40 am
No News actually sounds ok today.
January 12, 2018 @ 11:43 am
I just learned about the KKK line that was originally in that song.
January 12, 2018 @ 11:46 am
? The Lonestar song?
January 12, 2018 @ 11:47 am
In the verses, he offers several possibilities as to her disappearance, such as “Lost her car at the mall / Got locked in a bathroom stall”.[2] The line “Joined a cult, joined the Klan, on the road with Pearl Jam, buried with the Grateful Dead, came back as a parrothead” replaced the Klan reference with the milder “playin’ guitar with the band” on the radio edit.
January 12, 2018 @ 11:50 am
A DJ on one of the country Sirius stations was talking about it the other day.
January 12, 2018 @ 11:51 am
I don’t recall that. That song was shitty pop country when I was in high school, now it would be the best thing on the radio. DDD
January 12, 2018 @ 12:06 pm
I remember getting home from school, flipping on CMT and praying that the video for Seminole Wind or The Wild Ones would be on instead of Lonestar….
January 12, 2018 @ 12:30 pm
There was a ton of shitty pop country music then. The difference is we had to tolerate it. Today we have options.
January 12, 2018 @ 2:22 pm
They still do the original verse in their live shows, so that’s a fun Easter egg for those that know the history of the song!
January 12, 2018 @ 2:46 pm
“The line ‘Joined a cult, joined the Klan, on the road with Pearl Jam, buried with the Grateful Dead, came back as a parrothead’ replaced the Klan reference with the milder ‘playin’ guitar with the band’ on the radio edit.”
I seem to recall hearing both versions back in the day, though it may have depended on the DJ or station or whatever. Either way, I always liked that song. 😀
January 12, 2018 @ 11:28 am
Didn’t Trigger say a while back something like “I long for the days when Kenny Chesney was country music’s biggest problem”?
January 12, 2018 @ 9:26 am
” No I won’t back down, no I won’t back down, you can stand me up at the gates of hell but I won’t back down. Gonna stand my ground, wont be pushed around, In a world that keeps on dragging me down but I wont back down.”
January 12, 2018 @ 9:29 am
I love a good double down
January 12, 2018 @ 9:29 am
So I finally tried to listen to it just to see what all the fuss is about…and I think your review was way to kind.
January 12, 2018 @ 9:29 am
What’s the difference between this and what Dalton Domino did?
January 12, 2018 @ 12:49 pm
Dalton shat on one of his fans when she respectfully called him out for not following the rules the rest of us have to. Trigger told off a group of people who already hate him. Dalton actually had something to (arguably) apologize for. Trigger didn’t.
January 12, 2018 @ 9:31 am
I did a tiger woods first pump when I got to:
“and with my hat in my hat in my hand . . . stand by every fucking word of that rant”
I got a few looks from co-workers but it was worth it. Go Trig Go.
January 12, 2018 @ 9:41 am
Once I read “slump shouldered,” I had a feeling.
January 12, 2018 @ 12:56 pm
Up until that point, I was slightly concerned, but let out a good laugh when I got there.
If anyone should issue an apology, Walker Hayes and Shane McAnally should, for foisting empty warmed over urban flavored wannabe pop music on a country audience.
January 12, 2018 @ 9:31 am
And all this time I’ve been pronouncing it kuh-rone-ee-os in my head.
Had me going there for a moment. 😉
January 12, 2018 @ 9:34 am
We were referenced in that Wide Open Country article as well. It was hot garbage. Your review, however, poetry.
January 12, 2018 @ 9:34 am
I figured I’d listen to it while I read this post. The first few notes of the first song were all I needed to hear.
It sounds like Rap to me.
January 12, 2018 @ 4:52 pm
It’s most certainly not a “country” music album, idk what it is, but it’s not country. Good luck to Walker and the country music anti-Christ getting that crap played on the radio,besides maybe B. Bones.
January 12, 2018 @ 9:36 am
Coronas–so you were probably named like the Indians do, by bestowing upon the infant the name of the scene upon which they gaze upon entry into this plane of existence. So maybe the scene was a nice celebrational feast.
My Indian name is Two Dogs Fucking. FWIW
Shane McAnally’s net worth is estimated at 2 million dollars, I read. So maybe that is why he’s pissed. I would assume it was at least double that.
I only monitor Twitter indirectly through this site, so maybe I don’t have the best perspective and I should just shut up now.
January 12, 2018 @ 11:18 am
They also use ‘actions’ or events to name one another. That said, my cats name is Davy (spelled Davey)Crockett since he is my favorite politician (you all may go to hell I’ll go to Texas) but, his Indian name(s): In my way underfoot- knot head- knuckle head- shit head- ratchet jaw- damn it Davey- sleeps a lot- sugar cat.
January 12, 2018 @ 9:43 am
Amen!
January 12, 2018 @ 9:54 am
A man after my own heart. I laughed my head off!
January 12, 2018 @ 9:56 am
Trigger,
You didn’t need to further explain yourself. Walker Hayes’s album is a total piece of horseshit. You didn’t need to post a second article explaining this. If other people don’t like what you have to say: then fuck em! We know what real authentic country music while Shane MacAnally and company don’t even have the slightest idea.
With that being said, I’m happy to see that you’re not backing down and backpedaling from what you said. Never stand down to shitty music man!
January 12, 2018 @ 9:58 am
Brilliant ! My first thought was that PC nonsense had even reached SCM. Then half way through I thought “Hang on a minute”, this is not what it seems and then… YES !!
You never let us down Trigger- keep telling it like it is !
January 14, 2018 @ 7:20 am
PC nonsense has reached SCM. Just not in this instance.
January 12, 2018 @ 10:02 am
Hilariously I just scrolled past a post on Facebook begging me to stream the album. I kept thinking to myself “That name sounds familiar.” Switched pages to SCM and found the Trigger double down!
January 12, 2018 @ 10:08 am
Who cares what other people say, it’s not like you’re wrong.
January 12, 2018 @ 10:14 am
I did the same as others and listened to about 15 seconds before I had to vomit. Absolutely spot on rant.
January 12, 2018 @ 10:25 am
The ignorant believe that criticism is supposed to sound like a press release.
January 12, 2018 @ 10:27 am
Never been prouder to be a loyal reader.
January 12, 2018 @ 10:39 am
All you gotta do to know the truth is watch this Shane MacAnally video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vh4bJrmRg3E
He’s just pissed because you don’t participate in the Music Row circle jerk where no one dares have an opinion about how good the music really is.
January 12, 2018 @ 3:22 pm
Holy shit!! That video gave me chlamydia!!!
January 12, 2018 @ 4:02 pm
Good God,WHY did I click on that link ?!?
January 12, 2018 @ 10:46 am
Good man. You’ve turned the hyperbolic rant into an art form. The backlash only means it’s having an impact. Never succumb to those trying to choke the life out of country music as they piss prematurely on its grave.
January 12, 2018 @ 10:49 am
What a lame rebuttal from Shane McAnally. It’s clear he has no ground to stand on.
January 12, 2018 @ 11:06 am
I have a lifetime commitment and personal investment in Country Music. Of course it chaps my ass to see the current day marketing machine hijack the term “Country Music” to their gain while trampling all over the things that have made it great for so many years. So… what the hell can I do about it? I can support authentic Country Music as best as I can by supporting the artists and writers that still wave the flag. I can decline to support the carpetbaggers. I have yet to have major disagreement to most of what Trigger writes. As far as I can see, SCM is one of the best if not the very best of forums to help keep the fire burning. There’s nothing cold as ashes, after the fire is gone.
January 14, 2018 @ 10:44 am
I’m sure this must have been said before somewhere so apologies for repeating…. it is interesting to think about other genres that had to break off from their original genres after they became too different.
Rock in roll. Rock. Heavy Metal. Grunge. Thrash Death. Hair Metal. Americana. Roots. Industrial.. Etc
-Rap. Hip Hop. Trip Hop. Gangsta. East Coast. West Coast
-Electronica.Techno. EDM. House. Jungle. IDM Drum n Bass. Dubstep. Etc
When the hell can we get Bro Country referred to, officially, as it should be? I don’t even know what they should call Boom, but it has less in common with country than Heavy Metal has with Rock, for example.
January 12, 2018 @ 11:07 am
I love this term commonly used by journalists on sites like Wide Open Country in attempt to beautify artists like Walker Hayes: ‘progressive country’. In equal parts willfully dishonest, sanctimonious, and a useful means by which to distinguish its opponents as retrograde and out of touch! Please continue getting under their skin.
January 13, 2018 @ 2:36 pm
In equal parts willfully dishonest, sanctimonious, and a useful means by which to distinguish its opponents as retrograde and out of touch!
Not to mention ignorant of the history of the genre, and of the term. “Progressive country,” as I understand it, was a term that encompassed several different movements — the Outlaw movement and the Bakersfield movement, among others, but mainly (I think) the cosmic cowboy movement featuring the likes of Jerry Jeff, Gary P. Nunn, Jimmy Buffett, and all those guys.
(I think I got that right….)
It really had jack and shit to do with being open-minded about country music not sounding like country music.
January 12, 2018 @ 11:08 am
Looks to me like you have a bunch of people on the payroll Trigger! LOL!!!!
January 12, 2018 @ 11:12 am
Even though I dont always agree with you, I respect you because of this. You mean what you say and say what you mean. I hate people who lack a backbone. Good man
January 12, 2018 @ 11:26 am
God Damn Right. POS, poor excuse for music of any kind.
January 12, 2018 @ 11:35 am
Of course Shane McAnally is entitled to defend Walker Hayes’ music after such a heinous attack by Trigger.Even Harvey Weinstein will get a defence lawyer.Not that I’m comparing the two.Boom is far worse.
January 12, 2018 @ 11:36 am
Hell yeah brother!
I got a tad disheartened as I read, but I should have known better.
January 12, 2018 @ 11:38 am
you the real mvp ????
-Turner
January 12, 2018 @ 11:44 am
I never heard of her.
January 12, 2018 @ 11:53 am
I feel like your “review” was unnecessarily insulting and derogatory. I also strongly disliked the album but going after someone in such a personal manner doesn’t make you seem like the professional music journalist you’re supposed to be.
I know that won’t be a popular opinion on here but someone has to say it.
January 12, 2018 @ 12:28 pm
Do you like jello salad?
January 12, 2018 @ 12:41 pm
The kind with pretzels on the bottom?
January 12, 2018 @ 1:13 pm
Do you have grandkids you feed that jello salad to?
January 12, 2018 @ 1:35 pm
I can eat it without my dentures in.
January 12, 2018 @ 8:53 pm
No. The kind that had grapes and celery in it and was topped with a whipped topping and shaved carrots. Or forgo the whipped topping for a jello mold.
The kind with pretzel crust bottom was actually good and came later in a later generation.
January 12, 2018 @ 12:01 pm
I just bit the bullet and game him a view on youtube. I made it through 30 seconds of “Craig”. Just plain awful. Do you remember Sturgill’s line about how the most outlaw thing he ever did was settle down and raise a family. In today’s environment, the only way to sound different, outlaw or unique is have a strong steel guitar right on top of the mix – and no bullshit electric drums.
January 12, 2018 @ 12:07 pm
Walker Hayes and bro county in general is a shithole.
January 15, 2018 @ 2:07 pm
I literally just heard his some You Broke Up With Me. …..i have no words. Just awful.
January 12, 2018 @ 12:13 pm
Bravo Trigger. Bravo. ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
January 12, 2018 @ 12:16 pm
As a loyal reader of SCM & one who has a love for real organic country music, your rant was spot on Trigger. Don’t ever feel bad or apologize for the way you feel. I sure as hell don’t and never will.
As for Walker Hayes, my wife turns on the local country music station where we live on our way to work and they were playing “You Broke Up With Me.” I couldn’t get out of the truck quick enough. Not because I don’t wanna be around my wife because I do, but because that song shits on everything that is great about country music. So instead of listening to the radio, I just buy the artists that I love listening to. Trigger has recommended a lot of albums I have. Never been disappointed.
So Trigger, do what the great Johnny Cash did and stick up your middle finger because that’s exactly what they deserve. Shane and Walker are a bunch of frauds. End of story.
January 12, 2018 @ 12:35 pm
I still want to know how many acorns that dude can fit in his cheeks.
January 12, 2018 @ 6:22 pm
They are full of jizz, not acorns.
January 12, 2018 @ 8:03 pm
You might be right, but I still wonder how many acorns he could fit if he chose to. Or any kind of nuts, for that matter.
January 13, 2018 @ 9:15 pm
BOOM!
January 12, 2018 @ 12:44 pm
Reminds me of a story a former co-worker told me: he once wrote a scathing hot memo to a fellow manager to complain about his inactions and ridiculous decisions. It was filled with rather severe verbiage. It was near the end of the work day, so he decided to put the document in his desk drawer and think about it over night. The next morning he arrived at work, opened his desk drawer, re-read what he wrote and told himself, ‘Good thing I didn’t send this memo yesterday… it’s not severe enough.”
January 12, 2018 @ 12:49 pm
Shane McAnally rebutting with a “You mad, bro” is as stale as the Bro Country genre.
January 12, 2018 @ 12:52 pm
I read that Wide Open Country article. Just the same old straw-men repackaged into a new bale.
January 12, 2018 @ 12:59 pm
“Well hell”
-W.B. Walker
January 12, 2018 @ 1:05 pm
Off topic but has anyone heard the new Anderson East album that came out today? I’ve listened to it several times already. Some nice stuff on it for sure but some of it seems a tad self-indulgent and overproduced. Just my opinion…
January 12, 2018 @ 2:34 pm
I gave it a listen yesterday. It ain’t bad for an R&B old time rock n roll type thing but Country it ain’t. Don’t think I’d give it another listen though. I’m sure Miranda loves it…..lol
Now back to our regular program……… Bashing Walker Hayes and his album “Bomb”.
January 12, 2018 @ 4:32 pm
And, in fairness, East has never claimed to be anything other than “an R&B old time rock n roll type thing,” haha!
January 13, 2018 @ 10:47 am
I was about to say, I am pretty sure he has actually come out and said he doesn’t get why people are calling him country, as well — either that or he has said he doesn’t consider himself a country artist. My memory may be off on that, though.
January 14, 2018 @ 9:34 pm
I’m a fan of Anderson East and his music. I was young when Elvis, Otis Redding and other greats came on the scene. I loved the music. Still do. The first time I heard Anderson East sing, I knew he had the voice, the talent, the heart, and the love and passion for the music that would refresh, renew, and keep it alive. He isn’t the only one, but he’s the best to come along in a while, imo.
Everybody has their own tastes, but I really believe giving the complete album a listen starting at the first song and listening through the last track once or twice would give an appreciation for it to any music lover, even if they believe there are imperfections. I think this young man is truly the real deal to use an overused, but accurate phrase.
January 12, 2018 @ 5:45 pm
I saw East live on some late night show and I thought he was unremarkable , to say the least. He looked uncomfortable and the song/arrangement was …well …….kinda boring . But that’s just one song .
January 12, 2018 @ 8:27 pm
I actually do like the album, was in my browser through NPR First Listen all week long. Great crafted songs musically, lyrically not that strong. For a review was thinking a 3.5 to a 4 (out of 5). Not country, but fine blue-eyed soul with some great organic grooves.
Albert, I think we saw the same thing – he did “Girlfriend” and I was completely disheartened by the lack of stage presence and seeming to have no charisma at all. After seeing that clip I decided to not use it in my review. 🙁
January 12, 2018 @ 8:45 pm
yup…” Girlfriend” ….generic-sounding arrangment and a vocal borefest , to my ear …but again ..that’s only one song and I appreciate your thoughts on the album .
January 12, 2018 @ 8:48 pm
‘Girlfriend’ is probably my least favorite song on the album. Yes, there is nothing ‘country’ about this album but Trigger referenced it in his list of anticipated 2018 releases so I am mentioning it here. It’s a pretty damn solid album if perhaps a bit overproduced. Favorite track is ‘If You Keep Leaving Me’.
January 12, 2018 @ 1:11 pm
*LIKE*
January 12, 2018 @ 1:15 pm
Lol…..you got me.
January 12, 2018 @ 1:31 pm
no such thing as bad publicity man. keep up the good work.
January 12, 2018 @ 1:32 pm
You had me worried for a little bit when I started at the last paragraph, lol. Good on you for not backing down! 🙂
January 12, 2018 @ 1:33 pm
As an aside, that second to last paragraph has to be a new Guiness record for longest run on sentence with 158 words with no period. That is some strong stream of conciousness game you got going there Trig.
January 12, 2018 @ 1:35 pm
Very good. Keep ’em coming, trigger.
January 12, 2018 @ 1:36 pm
And this is why we Love you and this site is becoming worthy of mention!
January 12, 2018 @ 1:43 pm
Well played
January 12, 2018 @ 3:02 pm
You are the man!
January 12, 2018 @ 3:05 pm
Don’t make crap music and you won’t get a crap review.
It been that way since the git-go
January 12, 2018 @ 3:11 pm
Bravo!
January 12, 2018 @ 3:20 pm
I knew where it was going the whole time. I had complete faith. Good show.
January 12, 2018 @ 3:43 pm
“Dog Shit” As Mr. Chester Burnett would call it.
January 12, 2018 @ 3:52 pm
God bless you man. Never give in, never ever, ever, as Churchill once said (or, it was something similar to that, at least). Tell these idiots to their faces if you can that they make shit music. As fans of country music we need to hit them and hit them hard. Fans of our genre have been complacent for far too long.
January 12, 2018 @ 3:57 pm
Can we just have the old Florida Georgia Line and Thomas Rhett back and forget about whatever bullshit Walker Hayes, Sam Hunt, Shane McAnally, and the rest of the industry are on?
January 12, 2018 @ 4:28 pm
I was hoping that was where you were going with that!
January 12, 2018 @ 4:45 pm
Criticiting him for having so many kids may have been taking things a bit too far, even if it was mostly in jest. Otherwise, I fully applaud the rant.
January 12, 2018 @ 4:50 pm
Having a large family seems to be his only redeeming quality.
January 12, 2018 @ 5:41 pm
Who gives a shit if Trigger said something about having a large family. The truth is, the life of a creator is a selfish endeavor. It’s something you do when you are single or a couple and your wife supports your dreams. Once a man has mouths to feed, it’s a little less realistic and even more selfish to burden his family with his dreams. It then becomes about making the children’s lives and dreams reality. I can’t tell you how many sad stories I’ve seen in Nashville where someone just can’t give up wanting to be a star and their family suffers for it. A guy in his forties still trying to latch on to the new trends is a pretty sad sight. Trigger pointed out something that few see if they aren’t around music row. I can think of one guy that was in a band with a record deal that became a real estate agent when the band lost their deal. He’s way better off than the others. Another guy I knew in a band with a deal became a doctor after the band lost their deal. He’s way better off than his band mates. The idea that you keep fighting to make it after you get into your late 30’s is very foolish but still okay. It’s when little ones are involved and parents have to help support a man’s family that it becomes such a drag. I’m pretty sure that Walker Hayes or his wife come from a family with money in Mobile, Alabama and had to get financial help from them to support his kids while he chased this dream. I don’t think there’s anything cool about depending on someone else to take care of your family.
January 12, 2018 @ 6:08 pm
“I can’t tell you how many sad stories I’ve seen in Nashville where someone just can’t give up wanting to be a star and their family suffers for it. A guy in his forties still trying to latch on to the new trends is a pretty sad sight.”
Amen. I played baseball and I can ‘t tell you how many times I saw a guy drag his wife, and often kids, through endless travel, being away from home, making peanuts, all over minor league stadiums with no chance of ever making the majors. It is really selfish and sad. Plus, a lot of these guys spent their entire childhood and young adulthood focused solely on baseball. When they finally do quit playing, they have no education, no skills, no experience and no hope of landing decent employment.
January 12, 2018 @ 6:19 pm
Hang on there, I meant no disrespect to Trigger with my comment. You make a fair point that chasing his dreams this late in life has probably had some strain on his large family, and maybe Trigger made that point too, although I can’t remember for sure. Either way, I’m a huge supporter of what Trigger is doing and have been so for 5+ years.
January 12, 2018 @ 6:22 pm
Sorry Mike2, I meant that in the nicest way possible! 🙂
January 12, 2018 @ 6:25 pm
Some comments were edited here. Let’s try to be cool with each other, even in this context.
January 12, 2018 @ 6:31 pm
It’s all good Jessie with the long hair.
January 13, 2018 @ 10:29 am
I retired as a drummer in the music business in 1986 after 7 years and 1 album on an independent label that I still get royalties from. I was single with no kids. I knew I wasn’t good enough so I called it a day. I took a union job and now I have 30 years in, a good pension and I’ll be fine retiring in a few years. Not one regret.
January 12, 2018 @ 5:27 pm
That was good. Can we steal the phrase “shithole country”to describe this album?
January 12, 2018 @ 5:29 pm
You are doing a great job Trigger!
January 12, 2018 @ 6:49 pm
That is how a person maintains their integrity. Other journalists should take note. Shane Mcannaly has had a profoundly negative impact on country music along with Big Machine and Borchetta.
Very impressed Senor Dos Coronas.
January 12, 2018 @ 8:28 pm
It’s a dirty job but someone’s gotta do it…
That album deserved every bit of the last rant and the 2nd affirmation is icing on the cake!
BTW have you noticed how the mainline people “review reviews?” HEADLINE:“Saving Country Music blasts album- That’s Horrible!”
Who cares? It’s Trig’s opinion, take it or leave it! (I’ll take it 🙂
January 12, 2018 @ 8:48 pm
I read the Wide Open Country article. Their argument is that people hate Walker Hayes because he sounds different. Seriously? Their lips are so far up Music Rows ass it ain’t even funny.
January 12, 2018 @ 9:00 pm
Reminds me of a story a former co-worker told me: he once wrote a scathing hot memo to a fellow manager to complain about his inactions and ridiculous decisions. … it’s not severe enough.”
Atta boy trigger, go get em, don’t let em go! Drag em in from the dark lets see their mangey hydes.
January 12, 2018 @ 9:34 pm
i always assumed that people without a soul would have naturally thicker skin. apparently not. that crack about him being to stupid to pull out was hilarious though..
January 13, 2018 @ 12:50 am
You really had me worried for a minute there, Trigger!
I thought you were gonna recant all you said about the Hayes album.
Phew! I can breath again, knowing you’re still righteous against artists & corporations trying to masquerade pop as country. Keep up the good work!
January 13, 2018 @ 4:01 am
To be honest, this was the first time I had heard of her.
January 13, 2018 @ 5:23 am
I was thinking “aw, man, Trigger is giving in to all the bullshit” and then you came back with both guns blazing point blank in their face!!
Aside from piracy, is there any way to listen to this horrible waste of time and space that masquerades it’s self as country music that doesn’t give any “plays”? I mean that they count YouTube plays now, and I damn sure don’t want to make it any more popular. I use a paid Google Play Music subscription, so the bastards would actually get a fraction of a penny from me, and that I won’t stand for! I just wanted to see for myself, without helping their cause.
January 13, 2018 @ 11:11 am
Yeah, that Wide Open Country piece was some hot garbage.
“Traditionalists don’t like Walker Hayes because he sounds different!”
Well…they’re right. Just not the way they think they are. We don’t like Walker Hayes because he does sound different…as in, not the slightest bit country. As in, if there is such a thing as “less country than Sam Hunt,” Walker Hayes would be IT. I mean, they can call us closed-minded, but that doesn’t make it true. I don’t just listen to country music. Hell, the last album I bought was Savatage’s Hall of the Mountain King.
And even if you’re not one who likes all kinds of music, there’s not really anything wrong with that either. There’s only so much time in the day. If you don’t like deep house music or grindcore and don’t care to go explore them, and you wouldn’t cotton to to those types of music being marketed as country, that doesn’t make you closed-minded. It makes you someone who has preferences, and that’s OK. I don’t see why these people find such to be so objectionable.
And as I’ve said before elsewhere, albeit with different phrasing, I find it odd that country music seems to be the only genre whose fans are basically told to open their minds when they object to something like Walker Hayes. If he was marketed as, say, a progressive metal artist, or a Texas blues artist, fans of those genres would be just as up in arms as we are, and no one would bat an eye.
January 13, 2018 @ 7:53 pm
“If you don’t like deep house music or grindcore and don’t care to go explore them, and you wouldn’t cotton to to those types of music being marketed as country, that doesn’t make you closed-minded. It makes you someone who has preferences, and that’s OK.”
Beautiful. Frame it. Preach it. LIVE it proud.
January 13, 2018 @ 12:34 pm
Okay. Seriously. That is the greatest fucking thing I have ever read here. 😀
January 13, 2018 @ 2:46 pm
Hahahaha… this is why I love Trigger. When you’re getting up at 2 a.m. and checking your phone to see if there’s anything new on SCM… you know you’ve got a problem. Keep up the good work bro… we need you!
January 13, 2018 @ 9:19 pm
The savage takedown review is an increasingly lost art IMO and I applaud both your original review and your response to it. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with calling a piece of garbage a piece of garbage and if “Walker Hayes” (sweet baby Jesus help us all) fans don’t like it, so what? I mean if you like that kind of music then this blog is providing you with a valuable service, as anything Trigger hates that much should immediately appeal to you. Think of it like a gauge of sorts.
IMO we need more music critics who aren’t afraid to tell it like it is. In an era where silly pop-fluff records are lauded as massive cultural milestones it’s refreshing to read a scathing takedown of another fad-hopping machine pop album with all the depth and soul of a broken cinder block. If you enjoy this joker’s brand of summer shed alcoholic blackout urban redneck pop then go nuts, if you’re letting a bad review influence you to the point of anger you have way bigger issues than your shitty taste in music.
January 14, 2018 @ 9:39 am
Well stated!
January 13, 2018 @ 9:27 pm
You know county music is in bad shape when the Raacall Flatts are considered “true country”.
January 14, 2018 @ 7:03 am
Thank god! I thought this was turning into just another “shithole” website.
January 14, 2018 @ 9:00 am
Just deleted some comments from this thread. People come to read these comments because they want to see people’s viewpoints on whatever is being discussed, not personal back-and-forths between angry commenters, especially ones that involve words and phrases that will not just reflect bad on the commenters, but on the perception of Saving Country Music. And yes, I see the irony of saying that on an article like this, but believe it or not, there is a line, and most everyone knows where it is. Let’s make sure we stay on the right side of it. Thanks!
January 14, 2018 @ 12:49 pm
They can argue all day that their fancy feces is just a new type of food, and serve it on a silver platter, but no effing way will I eat it.
January 14, 2018 @ 3:57 pm
You Mad Bro? Not Mad enough!
January 14, 2018 @ 4:04 pm
Yup. It’s pretty awful.
January 14, 2018 @ 6:58 pm
I happened to see him live recently.
He uses live guitar, bass and drums on top of — or maybe “underneath” — the beats and programmed tracks and it’s awkward. WH kept doing all these “yo yo” hand movements and pointing but this a stiff + dorky white guy who doesn’t have the slightest affinity for hip hop culture. If there’s a market for country dudes rapping then so be it, I just don’t understand why those fans like Walker Hayes. He is out of his element and not a good fit for this kind of music.
The whole affair was really embarrassing right down to him to trying to comb the sides of his hair forward to cover up the hairline gap. This is a 38 year old trying to fit in at a high school kegger.
January 16, 2018 @ 2:05 pm
“I happened to see him live recently.”
You work security at a venue or something?
January 16, 2018 @ 10:28 pm
Played at the same festival as him with a different act.
January 17, 2018 @ 8:14 am
Good. I couldn’t imagine anyone actually paying to see him.
January 14, 2018 @ 7:27 pm
Sometimes I think that the people who love or even like music from the people generating faux country will be nice and hungry when soylent green hits the market.
January 15, 2018 @ 6:50 am
Fuck Hayes Skywalker and any dumb fuck who says “you mad bro?” Anyone who has ever said that to someone should meet the noose for being a fucking waste of life.Trendy chumps and their hip hop cultural appropriation can eat the buisness end of G.I. Joe’s blowtorch. Fucking pussies. My hate for them and theirs trumps anything they could ever muster up in defense. God like me will be pissing on those dorks until the end of time. Hail Satan!
January 15, 2018 @ 7:39 pm
You are the Man, Trigger! Maintain brother!
February 1, 2018 @ 1:15 pm
That was the most beautiful, eloquent, and succinct analysis of the fraud named Walker Hayes by Trigger.
July 2, 2018 @ 7:07 pm
From what I’ve heard, Walker Hayes is a good man, good father, and good husband. But that doesn’t make him a good country artist. There’s a place for him on radio, but it’s not on my local country station. Get your heads out of your asses, country radio programmers. There’s hundreds of REAL new country artists (many of them female) who are far more deserving of your playlists than Hayes.
February 17, 2020 @ 10:49 am
Trigger,
I think you are brilliant and spot on with this article! This “music” if you really want to call it that, is NOT country nor should it even be deemed, “rap, pop country” etc. It’s manufactured by these people on music row who have killed the spirit of true traditional Americana music. Call me a “purist” but I know so many people here in Nashville and across the country who I could name all day long who truly need to be heard because they ARE talented and WORTHY of accolades and recognition that Mr. Hayes does not deserve. To the fans of Walker Hayes, are you all listening? Do you really think this is country or GOOD music? Do you think Waylon, Cash, Willie, Kris, Buck, Loretta, Kitty,Tammy, etc would really appreciate his music? I am certain the artists who have passed would not and guarantee without a doubt- that the artists who are still with us don’t either.