Kid Rock Slams Pop Country ?
Over his career Kid Rock has done quite a remarkable thing. No, I’m not talking about bridging the genres of rock, rap, and country. I’m talking about being able to make a successful career out of being a glorified trailer park king, while at the same time besmirching the image of trailer park kings all across our great land with his colossal lack of taste and creativity.
When Kid Rock first started making moves into the country scene, I didn’t consider him pop, I just considered him bad. His recent single is the epitome of everything wrong with mainstream country. Somehow the man figured how to rip off two classic rock songs, call on every single pop country cliche on the list including reminiscent references to “going to the lake,” “summer,” and even a pot reference targeted to the disgruntled teenagers of suburbia, and still get it all in a radio-friendly under 3-minute format.
Kid Rock has also stepped in it more times than a cattle farmer. Before Rock’s sham publicity-stunt marriage to Pamela Anderson crumbled, he had the gall to get in Hank Williams III’s face to give him family advise. Oh the irony.
But Kid Rock has finally done something that I can agree with. Apparently a while back, in an interview with CMT writer Whitney Self, Kid Rock, likely while wearing a mauve feather boa said:
“I think what country can do to better its image is to be more themselves — to try not to be part of the pop world and not try to be part of the mainstream. … If you really want to get down to country music, just be more of that, exactly what it is. So, go where you’re celebrated, not tolerated. You can have a much more enjoyable experience in life with everything.”
Though I think this is a little of the pot talking to the kettle, I have to say I agree with Kid Rock 100%. Of all the criticisms I could make of the guy, I do think that when it comes to his music, he’s always done what he’s wanted to do, and not necessarily followed the money. His taste is about as good as licking a red brick, but I can understand that from his point of view, which a lot of times has been from outside of music genres looking in, a lot of pop country artists don’t belong in the country genre.
I think this story also points out that the elements of the country genre that cannot get a place under the country tent because they’ve been crowded out by pop are starting to make a difference. The reason that Whitney Self brought up this Kid Rock quote was because “Constantly, I am reading this battle on the CMT blog between people claiming a certain artist is too pop while another is too country, or not enough, and so on and so forth.”
Before detractors of pop country could be explained away as weak disparate elements. Now it seems like the detractors of pop country are in full throat outside the pearly gates of Nashville, and are gaining more attention and traction every day. Soon, the money changers who run Music City will be faced with some choices: work to add more country elements to the mainstream of the genre, or have the caterwauling of disapproval drown out whatever the mainstream is doing.
Never thought I would say this, but well said Kid Rock.
October 12, 2009 @ 12:11 pm
Talk about Kid Rock’s publicity stunts… This is probably one of ’em. Nevertheless he said it, and it needs to be said. Especially by someone in the public eye. Someone who isn’t a forgotten trail blazer, traditionalist, etc… My question is why CMT is interviewing Kid Rock, and why doesn’t he wonder why they’re interviewing him. Pop country is cheap and disgusting. On a different note. I wonder who these pop country superstars name as their influences? Do they know Merle and Johnny? I’d bet not.
October 12, 2009 @ 1:52 pm
I know that Kid Rock has penchant for publicity stunts, but the interview where this quote came from was done a long time ago. I can’t find an exact date, but he could have said it as much as a year ago. It was buried in an interview, and the writer just brought it up again to add to this now exploding conversation about the legitimacy of pop country.
October 13, 2009 @ 8:33 am
It’s obvious that Triggerman held his nose while writing this article, and I can’t blame him.
Kid Rock is a poser and a wanna-be country rocker. I was preaching and fighting this war before this hack punk was born. I never understood him as an artist. Here’s a guy who makes his name performing urban ghetto music in Detroit and next thing you know he’s sucking up to Hank Jr.and pretending to be God’s answer to southern rock.
In my opionion Kid Rock is everything as bad in music as pop country. Although he’s right, he is not the authority on country music. Kid Rock, you can dress like a pimp and dance around on stage with midgets all you want, but please stay out of this genre I have devoted my life to and quit pretending you are some sort of musical pioneer, because all you are to me is an opportunist and an ego driven hack.
October 13, 2009 @ 9:46 am
Kid Rock is the King of bits: midgets and mauve boas.
October 13, 2009 @ 12:56 pm
While I’m glad that Kid Rock said what he said to CMT, I’m cautious on praising a main stream artist. When I talk to musicians around my area and the subject of country music comes up and that it would be better played on some pop hits station, and how these people like to throw that fact in my face, saying, “Your nothing but a pop music listener!” As I clinch my fist in my hand so that I don’t end up in jail again for assaulting another person for their uneducated mainstream thinking and just plain STUPIDITY, I take a few long and deep breaths and try to calmly educate them about sites like Saving Country Music. These people then start reading about what real country music is about and all of a sudden these musicians, I use this word loosely like saying a lot lizard is a super model, try to jump on the band wagon and change their style of music and pass it off as country music. It’s almost to the point where I want to shut up and get physical with these sissy, coffee house, trend whores. I stated all of this is because I would hate to see real country become another trend just like what pop country music has become! All about the mighty dollar. Then you will see more posers, like Kid Rock, try to come in and make real country music the next big thing, when it has been here all along, in hopes of cashing in on the all mighty dollar, instead of appreciating it for what it is, a true art form from real people and independent thinkers. Remember that there are a lot of extremely well educated idiots out there, i.e. nashville executives! Everything that I have seen become mainstream has a tendency to forget about its roots,i.e. Hank Williams, Sr! I do like seeing people enjoy the real things in life, without being told to do it because its cool, because they can really relate to it, when you listen to a song and it sends a chill down your neck and arms or makes you rethink of times past, present, and what you would like them to be or just makes you want to jump up and kick some dirt up in some kind of rug cuttin kind of jig, then you know you relate to it! Because you can’t help it, it just does it to you. That’s art, not some new trend that sounds cooooool. But I’m just an unschooled hellbilly, with one foot in the grave with the devil holding a flame thrower to light my bowl and one finger pointing to the sky!
October 13, 2009 @ 6:53 pm
I understand your concerns Hellbilly Daddy and I’ve heard them before. Country has always been a major American music genre, but it was never a mainstream genre until Garth Brooks, and its only gone downhill from there. If REAL country music artists rose up to take back the genre, then my guess is you wouldn’t have 14-year-old girls in the suburbs and soccer moms listening to it; the two major demographics driving pop country.
I don’t want our “scene” to become the next hyped thing, but it would be nice if amazingly talented artists could be compensated in proportion of their talent, and that they were given a fair share of the attention from the country music infrastructure.
October 19, 2009 @ 12:50 pm
Triggerman,
You hit the nail on the head! Didn’t won’t to seem that I wouldn’t want these great artists to get there cut! Not one bit! Thanks for such a great site, and sorry it took so long for me to respond but Johnny Law was trying to get me to do their dance and it didn’t work, two left feet and hands.
Saving Country Music » Blog Archive » Miley Cyrus Trashes Pop Country ?
March 19, 2010 @ 8:32 am
[…] love that pop country has become so contrived and transparent, that even other pop stars and people like Kid Rock can see right through the sham. Some people have been waiting for Billy Ray’s daughter to […]
September 30, 2018 @ 9:20 pm
Up yours, Pete Berwick!