“Dallas Observer” Mischaracterizes Merle Haggard Comments in Support of Misguided Think Piece
It really smarts when someone in your line of work, a colleague of yours, someone whose writing you’ve respected for years and have even promoted upon numerous occasions apparently believes you’re Joe Jerkoff and all your efforts are misguided. It makes it even worse when this same person uses spurious information, and outright lies attached to the names of country music heroes of yours to back up and promote those incorrect assertions. That was the unpleasant set of circumstances I woke up to Wednesday morning (11-11) when someone passed me a link to an article published in my own hometown’s alternative newsweekly, the Dallas Observer, written by Kelly Dearmore.
Kelly also has written for American Songwriter, and Lone Star Music. Saving Country Music regularly links to Dearmore’s work in the news crawl at the top of the site, and has cited his articles as sources in the past. And apparently he thinks so little of the effort to save country music, he’s willing to go on record in print characterizing me, potentially other critics and columnists, and concerned country music listeners all across the country and world as “Insecure Elitist Country Music Fans,” and owners of “Insecure Elitist Country Music Fan Membership Kit’s,” as well as “keyboard warriors with an inferiority complex.”
Don’t get me wrong, every morning when I wake up and grab hold of the poison pen, I have my big boy pants on and am perfectly willing to take as much punishment as I dish out, if not more, and regularly find myself in the midst of that very scenario. But to receive it from a well-recognized outlet and a respected journalist is incredibly unique.
In an article that bookmarks as “Country Music Doesn’t Need to be Saved by Chris Stapleton,” but comes up now as “Country Music Isn’t In Need of a Savior” meant to apparently promote an upcoming appearance by Merle Haggard, Kelly Dearmore takes to task anyone who would get excited about what Chris Stapleton’s recent success at the CMA Awards might mean for country music at large.
But I couldn’t even get to the first official sentence of this article before it was made patently clear that Kelly Dearmore was completely and utterly full of shit.
At the very top of the article is a photo of the sainted Merle Haggard in shades playing a guitar on stage. And below the photo is this caption: “If Merle Haggard doesn’t think country needs saving, then what are we fussing about?”
It’s one thing to mischaracterize my opinions, or the opinions of Chris Stapleton fans, or concerned country music fans in general. It’s another thing to use the name and visage of a respected country music legend to assert the wrongful and misguided opinions of your think piece, especially when the aim of that think piece is to attack active and concerned country music fans. Not only has Merle Haggard never said anything even remotely close to what Kelly Dearmore and the Dallas Observer are characterizing, Merle Haggard is on record numerous times, and numerous times this year specifically, and in many instances in years past, saying the exact opposite.
The other misguided opinion of Dearmore’s piece is that Stapleton’s wins at the CMA Awards “makes Stapleton at least the third artist in a year (it’s getting more difficult to keep track) to be crowned the Musical Messiah by the vocal minority who hardly claim to give two craps about mainstream country music under normal circumstances.”
The other “Musical Messiahs” he goes on to say are Sturgill Simpson, and potentially, Jason Isbell for claiming a #1 album in country earlier this year.
The problem is that nobody in any great numbers, or in a positions to speak with authority about country music is saying anything of the sort. At the same exact time Kelly Dearmore’s piece was being posted on the Dallas Observer, Saving Country Music was putting the finishing touches on an article called, “The Case Against Chris Stapleton As Country Music’s Savior.” The impetus for the piece, which I began writing the morning after Stapleton’s CMA wins, was this incredible backlash on social media and other places against Chris Stapleton being called a “country music savior,” when in fact very very few, if anyone was actually lumping that distinction on Stapleton’s shoulders. As I said in the article,
There is something in the country music ethos that can’t help our brains latching onto the idea that at some point, some traditional country artist will come along and become a superstar without compromising and help turn the tide in country music. But even then, lumping such a distinction on any artist seems like an unfair load on their shoulders. Their job is to play music.
But who exactly is declaring Chris Stapleton a “country music savior”? As the proprietor of a site called “Saving Country Music,” I can say the vast majority of people associating Stapleton with being a country music savior are the same exact people complaining that he shouldn’t be regarded as one. In other words, even though you have to travel far and wide to find someone saying, “Chris Stapleton is country music’s savior,” you can’t post anything on Facebook about him without hoards of “REAL” country fans telling you how “he’s not a country savior.” It’s a “Straw Man,” or painting an extreme viewpoint to then refute it, when the case isn’t even really being made.
The only instance I could find of someone declaring Chris Stapleton a “country music savior” was the sports site Deadspin. And are we really going to let Deadspin write the book on Stapleton’s impact on country?
Kelly Dearmore cites “Facebook posts and tweets” as where he saw this anointing of Chris Stapleton as a “country music savior” occurring. That may be one of many mistakes Kelly Dearmore made. Anyone can go to Facebook or Twitter at any point and find enough people with an opinion to help fit to their predisposed argument.
Some people wondered aloud why Saving Country Music went through the effort to publish a 40-plus paragraph dissertation about the misnomers surrounding Chris Stapleton and his success. Some may wonder what all the fuss in this article is about. But Kelly Dearmore’s article is the perfect example of why such explanation is necessary. Otherwise, Saving Country Music and fans of country who show concern for the overall well being of the genre will be grossly mischaracterized and attacked and lampooned for their viewpoints; and not just on social network, but by well-known journalists in major periodicals. For whatever reason, there is this unmitigated anger at Stapleton’s success and the folks celebrating it, and it’s coming from people who you would assume would be allies and like-minded individuals to Stapleton proponents, including Kelly Dearmore.
But let’s go back to this question of whether Merle Haggard believes country music needs to be saved, or if he believes in a country music savior.
In an interview with The Boot from September 28th, 2010, Merle Haggard, when asked if there might be someone who could rise up to help carry on country music traditions, Haggard responded, “There’s got to be somebody in the corning fixing to spring out and save the day. That’s what I’m hoping for.”
On September 3rd of this year in an interview with In Form‘s John Lamb, Merle Haggard lambasted modern country, and he did it in the context of praising Sturgill Simpson—one of Kelly Deamore’s “Musical Messiahs.”
“As far as I’m concerned, he’s the only one out there,” Merle said of Simpson. “The rest of them sound like a bunch of (crap) to me. He comes out and does a great show.”
Merle goes on to say, “I can’t tell what they’re doing. They’re talking about screwing on a pickup tailgate and things of that nature. I don’t find no substance. I don’t find anything you can whistle and nobody even attempts to write a melody. It’s more of that kids stuff. It’s hot right now, but I’ll tell you what, it’s cooling off.”
Does this sound like someone who thinks country music doesn’t need to be saved?
Then three days later when speaking to The Blade, Haggard doubled down on his downgrading of modern country music. “It needs a melody,” Haggard said. “It needs a melody real bad. Not sure what they’ll have to remember. A song is defined as words put to music, but I don’t hear any music. All I hear is the same band, the same sound, and everybody screaming to the ceiling. You stand off at a distance and you couldn’t tell who they are. They are all screaming for one note they can barely get. I don’t find it very entertaining. I wish I did.”
So what material basis is Kelly Dearmore using to say that Merle Haggard doesn’t think that country music needs to be saved? He cites an interview he conducted with Merle Haggard back in 2012, but Haggard says nothing even close to what Dearmore is asserting he said or believes. In the interview, Haggard said, “The involvement of the Internet will help everyone get their proper due. More fans will be made because of it. The best talent will be found and people will discover Johnny Cash easier than they would have otherwise.”
Huh. Well isn’t that exactly what a site like Saving Country Music does, using the internet to help “everyone get their proper due”? Isn’t that what fans do when they share their opinions about music on Twitter, Facebook, and their own blogs? And isn’t the sharing of music and opinions party to blame for the recent successes of Chris Stapleton, Sturgill Simpson, and many others? Would it be possible for any of these artists to find the success they did if their fans kept their opinions of their music to themselves?
Nothing about what Merle Haggard said even touches close to the country legend swearing off the idea of saving country music, or even the idea of a country music savior. Kelly Dearmore used Merle Haggard like his puppet, putting words into his mouth to further the agenda of his think piece instead of properly representing Merle Haggard’s true opinions.
Dearmore then goes on to say of Merle Haggard, “He didn’t save a damn thing. If Merle Haggard never ‘saved’ country music, then I’m not sure why we should expect anyone else to.”
Huh. That’s certainly a debatable opinion. See: The Bakersfield Sound vs. Countrypolitan.
In the article, Kelly Dearmore also includes enough factual information to make you buy in to what he wants you to think Merle Haggard believes. He talks about the cyclical nature of country, how it’s always ebbed and flowed between pop and traditionalism, commercialism and substance; sometimes swinging in one direction, and other times swinging back the other way. This theory is nothing new. In fact, it is the entire embodiment of the country music journey and narrative. Anyone who has stood in the center of the rotunda at the Country Music Hall of Fame, with all of the weight of history and all the names of the greats who contributed to it hanging in the air, and sees the words written around the edge of the ceiling which read “Will The Circle Be Unbroken” knows this all too well.
The problem is, Kelly Dearmore makes no sense in his argument. Basically, he’s telling people they shouldn’t care about country music—that if they have access to great artists, which they do thanks to the internet, then it should be of no concern to them what happens in the mainstream. And if they do concern themselves with things like Chris Stapleton’s success and what it means, they’re “elitist.”
However the most elitist thing you can do as a music fan is to say, “I’ve got mine. Who cares about anyone else?”—which is exactly what Kelly Dearmore is advocating for.
God damn Saving Country Music and the thousands of country music fans who celebrated Chris Stapleton’s wins because it meant that country music might be showing signs of improving. Screw us for thinking it is a virtue to care not just about the music you listen to, but the music your neighbors, your co-workers, your friends, your family, and your kids listen to. To hell with folks who want to help spread the word about good music so that it can find the support it needs to be sustainable and prosper. Forget about people who believe and care about something bigger than themselves.
I started Saving Country Music eight years ago under the idea that music sounds better when it’s shared, and is more fulfilling when it’s passed on to a friend. Like Haggard said, the internet opened up a new era to make this exchange and sharing of music that music easier.
I don’t expect or desire an apology or clarification from the Dallas Observer or Kelly Dearmore. Merle Haggard is the one who deserves the apology for having his opinions misrepresented.
November 12, 2015 @ 8:08 pm
Borchetta or some other prick probably paid him to write that. You should just double down on what you think is important right now and be as loud as you possibly can. You are above all those other journalists. I’ll always support you. Also, I hope Merle Haggard comes out and makes this guy eat his words, destroying his whole piece.
November 12, 2015 @ 9:07 pm
Same paper that said that even musicians from Oklahoma can be categorized as red dirt. Who knew??!!
November 13, 2015 @ 8:04 am
Which article was that?! I remember laughing out loud when I read that shit, as I was a TX transplant going to school across the river. Dude’s a joke of a writer. Most of his shit reads like a BuzzFeed article.
November 12, 2015 @ 9:24 pm
One word, “kelly”
November 12, 2015 @ 9:28 pm
Hey Trig,
First off, thanks for running the site. It’s such a resource. Honestly, I’ve wrestled with some of the questions that I believe were underlying Kelly’s argument (which I thought contradicted itself when it criticized people for caring too much about mainstream recognition and then highlighted Willie/Merle’s album for that very reason). Among those questions: Do I put too much hope in chart success and awards? Would it be more beneficial to only support good music instead of bothering to chide bad stuff? And the big one: Does defending the genre distinction “country” truly matter?
Those are tough questions, and my answers to them have morphed (née “evolved”) as I’ve written country music for the past four years. I care deeply about supporting music I believe in, so I try to call good things good and also ask people to look more critically at things I believe don’t deserve automatic acclaim. Still, as a jaded writer is wont to do, I often step back and consider whether everything I say is, in fact, pure hubris.
If I had to venture a guess, I’d say that that’s what Dearmore was really criticizing here: the perceived haughtiness and/or self-importance of country music writers, especially the ones who question Nashville’s projected media narratives. He’s may have a point there (writing and ego are natural bosom buddies), but that’s a criticism that could be extended to all writers in any field. We’re all humans, after all.
Frankly, I’d argue that there’s no “right” way to write critically about country music for a mainstream readership that wouldn’t invite such criticism. Outside of local publications and subscriber-based magazines/journals that have salaried pay, writers have to find entry points for discussion that the public at large will understand and, frankly, click on. Relatedly, music fans absorb their news through so many sources and social media platforms today that I believe they’ve become more interested in reading smart interpretations of the news than simple reports of facts. (The exception, of course, is if you’re breaking news that’s truly fascinating and untouched, like your Mikel Knight saga.)
This naturally leads to pontification. And that’s okay! Sometimes I’m going to write about the ramifications of Blake/Miranda’s split, and sometimes I’ll unpack what Chris Stapleton’s success means for the country music world at large. Other times, though, I’ll try to shine some light on an indie act and give them a nice pull-quote they could use to convince a theater owner to book them next year. But I couldn’t go indie every week, and as long as I am writing for an international audience, I wouldn’t want to. The machinations of professional writing in 2015 demand a broader, thinker scope, for better and worse.
The reason people feel so deeply invested in country music”™s direction is often because they feel connected to its cultural identity or because they connect to its legacy. (Aside: I also believe people are interested in country music”™s direction is because it provides a perfect microcosm through which we acutely observe media consolidation, a largely ignored culture-defining trend that people are interested in on an inherent level, whether or not they even realize that. End of aside.) Now the question of whether or not our identities should be so intrinsically connected to country music as some monolithic entity — THAT is the compelling question that I think ultimately underlies much of what Dearmore was saying. Maybe I”™m wrong about that, though.
Really, I think every writer just has their own little field to tend to, and so they may as well do so with passion and gusto. The overwhelming majority of the world will continue living in sunny indifference to every single thing that some blogger says. All the more reason to be loud about the stuff we care about.
Now, I know I”™ve entirely ignored the issues of Merle”™s quotes here, but I”™m already almost 700 words into this misguided think-piece of an internet comment, so if there was any doubt about my earlier admission of hubris”¦ well, there ya go.
All that said, SCM is one of the best sites I visit every day. I don”™t always agree with your view on country music (I very often do, though), but I care that you care so much. It”™s compelling, it”™s fun to read, it”™s well-written, it”™s informed, and ultimately, it”™s hopeful, even if casual readers insist on believing it”™s a home of negativity. They couldn”™t be more wrong. I”™ll take your brand of visceral and occasionally unhinged hope over the nihilistic indifference of most cultural consumers any day.
I”™ll shut up and get back to this Eric Church record now.
GWS
November 12, 2015 @ 10:02 pm
Hey Grady,
Thanks for the thoughtful comment.
The Observer piece had numerous contradictory statements in it, and that’s why a wide swath of country listeners could probably feel slighted if they read the wrong sentence, especially since he was throwing out insults at folks.
I think Dearmore meant to call out specific fans on social network, but I can’t help to think that some of his barbs were aimed in this direction considering the title of the article, and the blurb under the Haggard photo. What’s funny is, this was supposed to be a piece promoting a Merle Haggard appearance. That got completely lost in the shuffule, and I know that it’s sort of the job of these alternative newsweeklys to be snarky. The Dallas Observer once predicted Justin Townes Earle would be the next celebrity to die unexpectedly (from overdose or suicide), and I know Earle was really hurt by that, and it was especially unhelpful because Earle was in recovery.
I know this is probably a lot of folks to ingest, as was my previous article on Stapleton criticism, but in my opinion, this Stapleton backlash by what is supposed to be his supporters is real, and it is heated. There are many folks, including journalists and other country performers and songwriters who are nothing short of livid. That was the motivation behind this Dearmore piece, is this serious anger about how Stapleton’s story went down. I’m not exactly sure where all of this anger is coming from, but it is very real, people are literally losing their minds over it, and I take it very seriously. If we are not going to allow artists we love to be successful in the industry without shunning them or getting angry about it, then we’ve got much bigger problems than what’s going down on Music Row.
November 13, 2015 @ 6:38 am
I’d love to hear more discussion of “does defending the genre distinction ‘country’ really matter?” (not that it hasn’t been discussed, but I’m slow, lol.) I think it matters! I care about it! But I’m not as informed or as thoughtful as many of the others around these parts.
November 12, 2015 @ 9:32 pm
It may be easy for folks like this boy who live in Texas to think country music doesn’t need saving.
But from my position here in Tennessee, it certainly does.
November 13, 2015 @ 12:42 am
Closest thing to Texas country that plays on Canadian radio stations up here is the same 3 or 4 George Strait songs once every 2 hours( 1 song every 2hr).
November 12, 2015 @ 10:02 pm
http://edpiskor.tumblr.com/post/133008856169/dump-koch-stylewars
November 12, 2015 @ 11:36 pm
I just like the fact that Merle made this excellent quote-“They”™re talking about screwing on a pickup tailgate and things of that nature.”
Even more, I like the fact that he says “talking” rather than “singing”
November 13, 2015 @ 4:38 am
This past week you’ve been killing it with fantastic articles and think pieces. The only other writer, in my opinion, who I enjoy just as much is Grady Smith of The Guardian.
If it’s not my cold meds messing with my brain, didn’t you have an interview or something a while ago with The National Post? If I recall the author of that one was more or less respectful but it still seemed to come across as “lol internet blogger doesn’t like change lol” or I’m remembering it wrong. Seems in general the print media does very little when it comes to research or well thought out opinion pieces with regards to the music industry.
I mean Dearmore basically missed the point of your entire article about Stapleton which wouldn’t have happened if he would have actually read the damn thing, and if he DID and still holds his view then there’s not much hope for him.
I do agree completely with your view of “fuck you, got mine,” it’s like he (and to an extent, most listeners of mainstream radio) doesn’t want to be challenged. It is important that radio gets called out for putting out garbage and people get exposed to music of substance. This might seem like hyperbole but the album Southeastern is one of the greatest albums I’ve ever listened to and it has made my life so much richer.
And it happened because of this website.
November 13, 2015 @ 6:26 am
“This past week you”™ve been killing it with fantastic articles and think pieces.”
“This might seem like hyperbole but the album Southeastern is one of the greatest albums I”™ve ever listened to and it has made my life so much richer.
And it happened because of this website.”
Amen!
November 13, 2015 @ 6:40 am
Stapleton”™s wins at the CMA Awards “makes Stapleton at least the third artist in a year (it”™s getting more difficult to keep track) to be crowned the Musical Messiah by the vocal minority who hardly claim to give two craps about mainstream country music under normal circumstances.”
Uh, if we didn’t “give two craps about mainstream country music under normal circumstances,” we wouldn’t be saying anything about it. We bitch BECAUSE we give a crap. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I don’t listen to the radio anymore and haven’t for a few years, but I remember the days when you could actually hear good music on the radio and think it’d be pretty great to get back to that.
Also, just want to say to you, Grady Smith ”” you’re the best thing going anymore in terms of mainstream music journalism. Keep it up!
November 13, 2015 @ 6:47 am
Keep on sharing, Trigger!
November 13, 2015 @ 7:11 am
“He”™s willing to go on record in print characterizing me, potentially other critics and columnists, and concerned country music listeners all across the country and world as “Insecure Elitist Country Music Fans,” and owners of “Insecure Elitist Country Music Fan Membership Kit”™s,” as well as “keyboard warriors with an inferiority complex.””
I hate to say it, but the truth can hurt. The term ’tilting at windmills’ comes to mind.
November 13, 2015 @ 7:17 am
Someone should make one of those Inigo Montoya memes and send it to this Kelly guy: “You keep using Merle Haggard. I do not think he means what you think he means.”
November 13, 2015 @ 7:27 am
Thanks for reading my article. It’s cool for you to disagree with me. It would’ve been weird for many people not to have varying opinions. Take it easy, and have a good one.
Kelly D.
November 13, 2015 @ 7:53 am
Oh. Sorry, one more thing: I just read some of the comments above. Sorry to say, but this site wasn’t anywhere near my thinking when I wrote the article. I have visited this site before, but Im not a regular enough of a reader to have this site or the site’s name in my consciousness so accessible. You’re reading WAY too much into it if you’re going to involve yourself in how I write or how an editor crafts a headline. — Kelly
November 13, 2015 @ 10:32 am
So, if you believe the outcry comes from a vocal minority, and you exclude this site, then who is left to cry out?
Are you risking your journalistic integrity based on what Joe Blow shares on Facebook? Bad idea. But if you insist, then I would suggest not dragging Merle into that mess.
November 13, 2015 @ 4:10 pm
What a fatuous twit. Don’t respond to the legitimate rebuttal to your piece, and nobody’s reading “way too much” into what you wrote. It’s just wrong, yet you ignore why.
What a waste of pixels you are.
November 13, 2015 @ 9:07 pm
That isn’t much of a rebuttal… Do you disagree that you have unfairly characterized Merle’s opinion on the matter? Are the people celebrating Stapleton’s wins “elitist?”
November 14, 2015 @ 7:42 am
I can’t hear you over the backpedaling. You got caught and a more informed writer put you in your place. Accept it and move on.
Oh, and NEVER attack music elitists. They may bother mainstream knuckleheads but for every person who’s annoyed by them, there are 5 more who appreciate their passion and find new artists to enjoy because of it.
November 13, 2015 @ 8:45 am
I spend a fair amount of time on political blogs, so I’m not surprised by the use of the slur “elitist” in this case. “Elitist” is a favorite slur directed at anyone who doesn’t uncritically swallow whatever the “conventional wisdom” is declared to be on a given subject. Making up your own mind on an issue is, like, dude, sooo twentieth century!
November 13, 2015 @ 8:51 am
Insecure, elitist country music fans…Isn’t this just typical for or country anymore? Not to get into a bigger picture rant or anything, but if anyone questions anything anymore, especially the status quo there is some sort of demeaning title for what you are. No one is willing to just debate things anymore, they just want to put you down for your views. The art of debate is lost on my younger generation. It’s all just a throwing of insults.
November 13, 2015 @ 8:55 am
I hate to borrow a phrase that Zac Brown borrowed for a popular song on his wretched new album, but “heavy is the head that wears the crown,” indeed. Chris Stapleton’s CMA wins and subsequent meteoric rise up the charts has been accompanied by such fervent debate about his place in country music, which has inevitably led to scrutiny and backlash against Stapleton. Hell of a reward for releasing a solid record. I’ve wrestled with how to digest this phenomenon, but in the end, I just refer to the last point of Trigger’s “Case Against” article: “Dammit, Be Happy.” Yes sir, I certainly will be.
November 13, 2015 @ 9:04 am
I also cannot stand when people say we shouldn’t care what happens to the mainstream because we have the internet and access to good artists. The rest of the non-country casual music listening public characterizes country music by what they see on TV and hear on the radio.
I have many family members and friends who are discerning listeners for other genres like rock and jazz, but they “can’t get into country” and think it’s a low-brow genre because they only know what they hear when scanning the FM dial. Many of them think I’m absurd and my music taste is questionable because I claim country music to be my favorite genre. I do introduce them to quality artists, but it’s hard to get past their stigma against country.
All they know in their minds is the tailgate/partying/stupid word play/FGL/Luke Bryan garbage. For the sake of country music’s reputation at large, I certainly care about what happens in the mainstream.
November 13, 2015 @ 9:26 am
I just love that some of my very favorites like Merle Haggard and Chris Stapleton are being discussed in general.
As a completely unrelated matter, I’ll add the song playing in the background on my computer as I type this is “Iron Road” by Waylon Jennings and The Old 97s. Great !
November 13, 2015 @ 10:26 am
The question with chris Stapleton winning is the average music fan not being able to look at themselves in the eye, and move forward from it. They have been sold a bill of goods from the gatekeepers of the country music community (radio programmers) that completely and purposely omitted the great story it was. They have to backtrack now and cater to what the fans want, and what they’re buying.
Average music fan would ask the question who is chris Stapleton. instead of looking inside themselves and say hey, perhaps my way of finding the best artists is flawed. Where the top 1% of fans and millenials already know how to find the better music or artists. When the average music fan is challenged they have nowhere near the backstory or knowledge to back it up.
November 13, 2015 @ 10:47 am
I’ll just keep on listening to my favorites and expanding my playlists. Sites like this, and reading articles from folks like Grady, have helped me immensely in my search for great music. I truly thing most people want more depth with their music also. As I share my favorites with family and friends a lot of them are amazed that the good stuff is out there. They fail to understand how it doesn’t get played on the radio. Sure, sometimes I run into the “if it’s not on the radio it’s not good crowd”, but we can’t win them all. Stapleton’s growing popularity is a big step. We just have to keep trying to help our favorite artists gain popularity.
Off topic, but Last night I finally downloaded James McMurtry’s latest album, and dammit it is good!
November 13, 2015 @ 11:20 pm
I really like real country music!!! and we need it back.
November 17, 2015 @ 12:12 am
If Kelly Dearmore thinks country music doesn’t need saving he best take a death of rock history course and read his fellow Dallas Observer writers:
https://www.facebook.com/DallasObserver/posts/10152840506909901
http://www.dallasobserver.com/music/bro-countrys-sexism-is-ruining-country-music-7070740