Luke Bryan Is Wrong in His Assessment of Country Music
Look, it’s real easy to get into the weeds when discussing genre these days, and the whole argument about what is country and what isn’t can get very tiresome very quickly. Obviously true country fans like to hold a hard line about what country music is, while pop country fans are much less concerned about the matter, and generally wonder what all the hubbub is about.
But in a recent interview in the end-of-year installment of the country radio trade periodical Country Aircheck, Luke Bryan was a veritable quote machine of misnomers, saying a few things that deserve a spirited rebuttal.
In the article, Luke Bryan is cited as the most-heard artist of the decade, and he says about the public perception of his career, “One minute, I’m the savior of country music, the next, I’ve ruined it.”
Okay, sorry Luke, but nobody has ever touted you as a “savior of country music.” Perhaps at one point you saved some label’s bottom line by releasing a song that appeals to the lowest common denominator like “Country Girl (Shake It For Me)” or “Kick The Dust Up.” But nobody’s out there speaking “country music savior” and “Luke Bryan” in the same sentence unless it’s for the sheer comedic value or as a handy illustration of two things that are completely opposite.
But whatever. The bigger issue is when Luke Bryan talks about how fluid genre has become, and how we should lay off some of radio country’s contemporary stars for adding pop, hip-hop, and EDM elements to their music.
“When I was playing 800-seat honky-tonks, as soon as I came off stage the DJ was playing Flo Rida and daggum T-Pain. Everybody had cowboy hats on and were dancing to rap music. Now, people have playlists with all forms of music. The days where everybody just listens to one style of music because that’s the only channel their car will pick up on the radio are gone. People have their music they listen to when they’re on their boat. They’ve got their music for when they ride around their farm. They’ve got their music they listen to when they’re tailgating at a football game. It’s all different, and it all sets a mood that they want to get into.”
In some respects, Luke Bryan is right. It’s true that when you go to certain clubs—especially ones who would book an up-and-coming Luke Bryan—they would and still do start pumping hip-hop through the PA after the headliner performance to get the dance floor filled up with tipsy white chicks in booty shorts to keep the redneck boys buying overpriced Budweisers at the bar. Most self-respecting real honky tonks would never engage in this practice, and some of the places up-and-coming mainstream country stars play will book a “country” act one night, and a hip-hop act the next, so they’re not necessarily a true “honky-tonk.” But Luke Bryan’s assessment is still a fair one.
He’s also right that the musical diet for many fans these days is more omnivorous and diverse than in previous eras, and there’s not really anything wrong with that. There are still plenty of country fans who would choose death over hip-hop, just as many hip-hop fans wouldn’t be caught dead listening to honky tonk music. But there’s also fans who listen to both, including fans that really believe in keeping the influences of both country and hip-hop pure because it’s the differences and diversity in these art forms that make them interesting, appealing, and authentic.
But where Luke Bryan is flat out wrong is in implying there’s nothing wrong with country and hip-hop sounding the same. When he says, “The days where everybody just listens to one style of music because that’s the only channel their car will pick up on the radio are gone,” he completely misunderstands the issue that genre hawks are worried about. The problem is no matter what music channel your car picks up these days, it all sounds the same. Whether you land on the “country” station, the pop station, or the hip-hop station, chances are you’ll hear drum loops, rapping, and quite often, shallow lyrics rooted in materialism. And regardless of what genre you want to classify it in, most of it is just flat out bad music, period.
Luke Bryan also says, “People have their music they listen to when they’re on their boat. They’ve got their music for when they ride around their farm. They’ve got their music they listen to when they’re tailgating at a football game. It’s all different, and it all sets a mood that they want to get into.”
Exactly. But when there’s no difference between the mood and the style of country, pop, hip-hop, EDM, or R&B, then the possibility of finding the right song or right artist for a mood is limited, if not eliminated.
There’s nothing wrong with hip-hop or pop music as mediums of musical expression, and it’s not that all true country fans hate these genres. It’s that calling pop or hip-hop music country, or blending all these influences and styles together until they’re indiscernible from each other is limiting choice, limiting variety, limiting diversity in expression and the ability to find new music that sets the perfect mood. It also sets us on a trajectory to a completely homogenized music culture that sounds the same no matter where you are, who you are, or what you’re listening to, if we’re not already there.
Let’s celebrate the differences in popular music. Let country be country, let hip-hop be hip-hop, let EDM be EDM. And hell, if the music is actually good, there’s nothing even wrong with combining genres. The problem is most genre mashing is done under the guise of creativity, when the true aim is commercial application.
One of the things that makes country music different from everything else is that the instruments are played by humans, there is at least an element of twang and regional influence, and most importantly, the music speaks to something deeper in the listener. No doubt playing Flo Rida and T-Pain can fill up a dance floor, because that’s what it’s for. But that’s not what country is for. It’s not for booty shaking, it’s for two-stepping. It’s for getting through a heartbreak. It’s for nostalgia and family. Country music is music by and for the people of the country that should be allowed to be enjoyed by everyone no matter who they are and where they’re from. But country will only remain this revered and cherished institution if it holds true to what makes it different from other music. Otherwise, it’s just another version of popular noise.
January 5, 2020 @ 12:14 pm
Now, people have playlists with all forms of music.
I have said it before and will say it again:
If a traditional country standard-bearer like Jason Boland can grow up listening to the likes of Judas Priest and Iron Maiden, no one else has any excuse. Luke Bryan can fuck right off with that bullshit.
January 5, 2020 @ 2:12 pm
Yeah, this idea of people listening to different genres as being this brand new thing, or that even hip-hop or electronic beats or synthesizers are a new thing is about 40 years behind the curve. I do think people probably have a little less allegiance to genre as they did in the past, but it’s in no way a new thing.
January 5, 2020 @ 8:05 pm
Yeah, exactly. I mean, shit, both Waylon and Willie covered the Allman Brothers’ “Midnight Rider,” and while I know that Outlaw country and Southern rock aren’t that far apart, it’s not a big stretch to think that they’d be listening to other songs by the Allman Brothers and other classic rock artists.
January 6, 2020 @ 6:50 am
Speaking of Outlaw Country, never forget this is the same guy who once said that was only music for drug people passed out in the gutter (something to that effect anyway).
January 5, 2020 @ 2:50 pm
Yeah, Cody Jinks was lead singer of a metal band, but his albums are pure country. You can enjoy different types of music without wanting to mix them all together.
January 6, 2020 @ 6:28 am
I have been playing “Country Music” for over 60 yrs. Evidently, I’ve lost track of the times. Just exactly,who is this Luke Bryant…?
January 7, 2020 @ 8:24 am
Anita Bryant’s son! And if you been listening for 60 years you’ll get that reference 🙂
August 29, 2020 @ 11:34 am
Sir: you should get a real job…….YOU ARE AS FAR AS YOU’RE GOING TO GO.
August 29, 2020 @ 5:07 am
Country radio is really bad. Similar to rock radio in 80s when it got watered down with soft rock music. There are still some great country performers out there that dont even get played.. for example sturgill simpson. He is with out a doubt a genious. His last 2 country albums. A sailors guide to earth and meta modern country music are easily 2 of the best country albums youll ever hear.yet they dont get any airplay at all.even the grammys noticed a sailors guide to earth as best country album. Why would country radio ignore greatness. Its like a museum refusimg to display rhe mona lisa
January 6, 2020 @ 7:32 pm
This is how stupid and clueless this untalented pos is. He can’t even correctly identify what genre of music he is shitting all over.
Hip hop is ear rspe and doesn’t even belong in the same country as country music. These Billy Goat music munchers are the reason this twat lives. Zero taste.
January 7, 2020 @ 8:04 am
You nail it.
Yes we can switch to any style we want but that also means that style matters. What’s the point of switching to a country radio when there is no country music to be found! ahaha
The sad reality is that these guys are weak and shallow. They can’t improve the quality of country music so they borrow other style and try to “innovate”. The real deal are those independent artists who actually put together some of the best album. True country music exist but not in Luke Bryan world! aha
January 29, 2020 @ 4:37 am
If radio would just play the best music it can things would straighten themselves out.country radio today suck. When a album like sturgill simpsons sailors guide to earth doesnt get played on country radio or win best m on cam you know country sucks.it would be like the yankees signing a bunch of mediocre players and not wanting the best players any more
April 19, 2020 @ 10:22 am
Give me some John Anderson cause Luke can’t sing
January 5, 2020 @ 12:35 pm
this…that’s all ..
”One of the things that makes country music different from everything else is that the instruments are played by humans, there is at least an element of twang and regional influence, and most importantly, the music speaks to something deeper in the listener. ”
January 7, 2020 @ 6:50 am
Great insight, Trigger! I grew up on pure country in the 60s, then real outlaw country and Southern rock in the 70s. It’s all on the nano, as well as every other genre – well, no rap. But your take on Country Music is right on – it’s real, it’s true, and it’s American. I can spot an electronic drum beat and a copycat line a mile away, and I’d rather listen to the wind. Keep up the good work!!
December 1, 2020 @ 4:13 am
All of you old peeps will die off soon it’s okay.
Thank (your) God.
December 12, 2020 @ 7:57 am
I recently listened to a dan and shay song and started laughing.country really?
Then I discovered tyler childers albums purgatory and country squire and all was right in the world again.
It’s not just the blending. If young listeners don’t get to hear real good country music then they won’t get a chance to prefer it. Over the ad thats being forced on them
January 5, 2020 @ 12:35 pm
“What She Wants Tonight” ( his newest single) is the WORST song of his career…. It makes “That’s my Kind of Night” sound like a country song
January 5, 2020 @ 2:11 pm
I thought it couldn’t get more ridiculous than “Knockin Boots,” but he just keeps sinking lower…
January 6, 2020 @ 11:40 am
And the most ridiculous thing is that song went #1 and this other lame one is headed to the top 10 right now. How sad is that but other great songs can’t get played and never see #1..about Luke the #1 song right now is riding roads from Dustin Lynch..
January 6, 2020 @ 1:35 pm
It is my fervent prayer that Dustin Lynch fades away in the 2020’s????
January 6, 2020 @ 8:04 pm
Wah wah wah just a crybaby! Who are you to judge him! Y’all are just like the rest of the world, dissatisfied unappreciative ignorant folks! Go sit down! If you don’t like his music, don’t worry he’ll continue to sell out arenas, millions of records while you sit there with your thumb up your ass and pacifier in your mouth!!
January 7, 2020 @ 1:07 am
damn ….if he’s selling out arenas he MUST be good . you HAVE to be good to sell out arenas.
January 7, 2020 @ 8:57 am
Well Junior, good for you, but this ignorant person won’t be spending money to listen to it or go to a show. If you think Luke Bryan’s new song is good then you are clueless about good music.. no substance to that at all…jmo of course…
January 7, 2020 @ 11:15 am
Good grief, calm down, Junior. If you love his “sexy ass moves” so much just go fan girl somewhere else. Geez.
January 5, 2020 @ 5:25 pm
I actually heard that song today for the first (and hopefully only) time on one of my short trips around town and that was my exact thought that he couldn’t get more ridiculous than “Knockin Boots” but he fuckin’ did!! Somehow I don’t think he’s hit rock bottom even yet.
January 5, 2020 @ 6:22 pm
He’s not changing with the times… Same goes for Jason Aldean… It will catch up to both of them sooner than later. Even Blake Shelton’s latest bro country single peaked at #18 on the charts and recently was pulled. If this was 2015, Hell Right for Blake would of been another chart topper. Singles with substance will become the new norm this decade on Country radio!!!
January 6, 2020 @ 10:30 pm
No they won’t Arnold. Because it’s about what sells. It’s about money for the label. What the audience out there is buying or streaming. Singles with substance may win awards which is good PR for the label but they don’t put butts in seats. And artists changing with the times? Well there’s the conundrum. The current taste, outside of this bubble, is so different. Every time I check this site all I see is grumbling about the current artists. But they are selling records. Older artists are trying to figure out the new path. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn’t. I don’t know what the future holds for the country genre. Each decade brings something different. And those from the previous decade complain that’s not x,y or z. The whole music mixing is a kerfuffle.
January 5, 2020 @ 7:57 pm
Agree! The song is so egotistical . Luke seems to be slipping in his talent, maybe he’s to busy to focus and appreciate his fan. Oh and I went to 2 concert of his in 2019– he did shots all during show. We didn’t enjoy the show because he got intoxicated!,
January 5, 2020 @ 8:50 pm
I think everyone needs to calm down. I like a lot of Luke Bryan’s music. He has always had a spectrum of songs in his last few albums. I dont think this is the time to fight among ourselves. We all like different aspects of genre.’country’ . Music services and streaming are changing things as we chat. Give it some time.
The major difference today is the artist ne ed d s to engage and have relationship with his / her audience . Not many artist have a true engaged relationship with fans like Luke Bryan. He gives a spectrum oF m as my cream of crop songwriters….and I dont mean Dallas Davidson. Luke and his mgt and label are astute to know things change and some things are classics and some songs stay on a spectrum of evolution. No one can deny he is one of the most heard artists. The man is on the road filling seats all the year long.So he needs some time to rest. Give him that time and respect. He has given his all to be the best entertainer he knows how to be….he will evolve and he will continue to be a force in music. He loves it and is devoted. We are not saving or killing country music t9night by picking apart an artist who has given his all….maybe too much in last 2years. He has to be exhausted. Let’s care about him at least vfc as much as he care for his audience.
January 6, 2020 @ 5:09 am
Luke Bryan has had a spectrum of songs in his last few albums like my asshole has had a spectrum of turds in my last few shits.
January 6, 2020 @ 3:22 pm
Do I, Country Man, All My Friends Say, and Rain is a Good Thing = all great songs by Luke during his first two albums. He’s had some decent songs since, like Drink a beer and Fast but I wish he would go back to the sounds of his 2007-2010 self. He’s already a superstar so he doesn’t need to be controlled by the trends of country pop radio anymore. I wish he could be authentically himself in his music, like how Dierks Bentley and Brad Paisley are to their songs
January 6, 2020 @ 3:01 pm
Luke with his, “she wants my hands on her tonight”,
and Chesney, with his “tip of my tongue”, inane, juvenile, egotistical, screaming for confirmation, that they are sex gods, lyrics…
You just have to laugh, or at least smile, and shake your head.
These 2 are clueless.
Guess they do not know the beauty of subtlety in certain situations
January 5, 2020 @ 12:41 pm
As far as country artists praising hip-hop go, Hank 3 was far more memorable.
“Look at rappers. Most people that work in the rap business are pretty hip, know what the fuck’s going, and a lot more American than these other motherfuckers that claim to be “preserving the correct, politically okay race,” or whatever. The rappers know what the fuck’s up, and these country motherfuckers are a buncha old fuckin’ Bible Belt, Christianity-oriented motherfuckers that are just ain’t worth a shit and fuckin’ stuck in their ways. The new rappers are fuckin’ bringin’ in the new anarchy and takin’ it to the next level and basically sayin’ “fuck alla y’all, check this out, we are the fuckin’ new dominating fuckin’ force on the street and in music, and fuck you. We don’t need your money, we don’t need your rules.” Much respect to all of ‘em. Everyone that has cost a lot and put out a record with a million “fucks” and “shits” and “goddammit, I’m gonna blow your fuckin’ head off,” more power to ‘em. At least that is more American than some asshole at Wal-Mart gettin’ rid of a song called “Dick in Dixie, Cunt in Country.” Whatever.”
January 5, 2020 @ 1:04 pm
I miss Shelton…. 🙁
January 5, 2020 @ 5:12 pm
I miss Holly more than Shelton.
January 5, 2020 @ 2:03 pm
Seriously?
January 5, 2020 @ 10:26 pm
It’s remarkable how much he sounds like a punk rocker in every interview. Dude’s a country artist extraordinaire, but he doesn’t carry himself like one.
January 6, 2020 @ 10:52 am
a large part of successfully making your point is diplomacy and ensuring that you aren’t spending more energy putting DOWN folks who may not share your view than you are in trying to help them UNDERSTAND it . in this respect hank3 seems to have failed miserably in his diatribe above .no matter WHO we are addressing , no matter the subject , the position we are taking or the case we’re making , a degree of diplomacy and respect SHOULD play a significant part . sometimes we can get so impassioned by our beliefs we can overlook the way that showing respect can actually aid our stance . i think hank3’s obvious lack of understanding in this regard has all but undermined his point and might, in fact , alienate more folks than he has ‘convinced’ .
it comes across as a drunken frustration-fueled profanity-riddled rant .
January 6, 2020 @ 11:06 am
Thank you, Albert
January 6, 2020 @ 11:38 am
Indeed. Of course, I don’t think Hank has ever cared about civility or respect. I don’t think he much cares about trying to convince people, either. Guy has his opinions, and they’re his alone. And they certainly are memorable.
January 5, 2020 @ 1:11 pm
Completely agree. I listen to pretty wide array of music, from rap, to metal, to Tejano. The beauty of it is the variety that different genres bring and listening to the craft honed by experts in each genre. Mixing them badly (as country has done with elements of hip hop) is where things fall off the rails. Well, except for this one time : )
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=B2jwYmXuJio
January 5, 2020 @ 1:54 pm
Someone who sold his ass to commercial slop is defending it. News at 11.
January 5, 2020 @ 2:08 pm
He feels the tide turning back to a more traditional sound and it scares him, so he has to defend hick-hop (or whatever the heck it is he “sings”).
January 5, 2020 @ 2:33 pm
Luke Bryan is one artist that I own none of his music(joke maybe on me, he hasn’t needed my money). He sold much of his music by wearing the way to tight jean and shaking his A** on stage for the girls….after they filled his bank account he announced the girls wasn’t to touch at meet and greets. That single he performed at our last ACM’s, my opinion was terrible, but hey it went to #1 fast. His singles to me are like most of Sheltons. Not worth remembering but they race to that #1 on media base.
January 5, 2020 @ 2:50 pm
“while pop country fans are much less concerned about the matter, and generally wonder what all the hubbub is about.”
Not just pop country aficionados, but Americana, folk, indie folk, adult contemporary, roots, folk-rock, rockabilly … all are reshaping the foundation of country music forcing it into a homogenized note.
I asked you about a country music publication a few posts ago. They published their 25 “Country” albums of the past decade. I never heard of 6 of the listed artists. Impossible. I’ve been listening to country music for 43 years. I worked in the industry for eleven years. I’ve been reading SCM for 10+ years. Another 5 of these artists listed were straight up Americana. When I questioned them about the legitimacy of their list, I was told I’m getting too hooked up on labels.
It was easier when it was country vs pop country or country vs bro country. Those distinctions were obvious. It’s the new genres popping up every Grammy cycle that’s eating away at the soul of county music.
As for Luke, he also thinks it’s ok for men to wear women’s jeans.
January 5, 2020 @ 7:32 pm
Good comment. Especially about Americanawhateverthatis.
January 5, 2020 @ 3:13 pm
Who is Luke Bryan and why the hell should I care? Isn’t he the guy that carried carried Kenny Chesney’s special underwear bag to all his early gigs?
January 5, 2020 @ 3:24 pm
Been listening to country music for 6 decades, plus. Been going into honky tonks at various
spots in the country, and various spots on this old globe for much of that time. As far as I’m
concerned Little Luke, won’t make a pimple on a real “Tonkers” ass.
January 5, 2020 @ 4:00 pm
“saying a few things that deserve a spirited rebuttal.”
And no one does it better than you Trigger!
January 5, 2020 @ 4:12 pm
Great article and could not agree more! Thanks.
January 5, 2020 @ 4:36 pm
I Like Luke Bryan He’s my Favorite he Has Great Songs.
January 5, 2020 @ 5:48 pm
What are your thoughts on turtles?
January 5, 2020 @ 4:44 pm
If Luke likes shitty genre mashing music he would LOVE Phish!
January 5, 2020 @ 5:23 pm
I have listened to all kinds of music in my 48 years, but country has always been my main choice. It’s hard to find a true country radio station these days – and I don’t care for the Like Bryan’s that are on the so-called country stations. Country is country – please stop trying to turn it into anything else.
January 5, 2020 @ 5:54 pm
I’ve stopped calling Luke Bryan, Sam Hunt, and all these other pop-country singers “Country”, because they just ain’t country. I call it like it is, Nashville Pop/Southern Pop. Musicians like Charlie Daniels were getting classified as “Southern Rock” because they weren’t country enough, so why don’t we classify Luke Bryan et al as Southern Pop and leave the term “Country” for actual Country singers? ????
January 5, 2020 @ 6:23 pm
Because “country” means you’re not submitting to the monogenre Borg. You have to be taken over, gutted, and worn as a skin suit.
“Country” stands for rebellion against all that is modern and progressive. This is 2020. Get with the Technocratic Empire of Whatever.
Or come have a beer down at the barn, where we still say things like “the land of the free.”
January 6, 2020 @ 4:06 am
‘“Country” stands for rebellion against all that is modern and progressive.’
It really doesn’t. It doesn’t imply any sort of political or religious beliefs. I’m a progressive and I love real country music – Hank, Jones, Waylon, Strait, Randy Travis, Cody Jinks etc etc.
January 6, 2020 @ 5:29 am
You realize I was parrotting the borg, right?
January 6, 2020 @ 9:26 am
Progressive don’t realize anything. They have to be spoon fed.
January 5, 2020 @ 9:11 pm
I completely agree, it seems to me that Nashville could make even more money by putting artist like Ksne Brown, Sam Hunt, and many others into a Southern pop genere and leave the country to the real country artist. If Nashville is so concerned with money, I think they could make even more by doing this instead of degrading one genere.
January 6, 2020 @ 11:02 am
“southern pop ” is a term that makes a ton of sense ……if we really need a term for the extreme vacuous commercial nature of what is being called ‘country ‘. its not a derogatory label or a confusing misnomer . its an accurate term which immediately states that it is a distinct ‘style’ of writing and knowing this upfront means a REAL COUNTRY fan won’t waste time wading through the misleading and murky waters currently being referred to as ‘country’ music .
January 5, 2020 @ 6:06 pm
I think Luke Bryan is an AWESOME singer. It’s nice to listen to the radia & hear different kind of music. SOME people DON’T want to hear about someone getting their heart broke & having crying music all the time when they are already going through a rough time. Don’t get me wrong i like the “old country” but it’s just that “OLD COUNTRY” !!Times have changed, people have changed & there’s not a Luke Bryan song that i have heard that i don’t like!! I LOVE ALL OF HIS MUSIC!!! If you don’t then so be it, Move on it’s NOT going to make him or break him!! I’ll be a Luke fan til i die!!
January 5, 2020 @ 6:40 pm
I think Luke Bryan is an AWESOME singer.
Luke Beyan is a fine singer; much like Tracy Byrd, however, he has wasted it on some abysmal songs.
January 5, 2020 @ 8:36 pm
It WOULD be nice to listen to the radio and hear different kinds of music. Unfortunately, Luke Bryan is controlled by the same Nashville Executives as everyone else on radio, so his music sounds the exact same as theirs.
January 5, 2020 @ 6:53 pm
I wouldn’t like country music if it wasn’t for artist like Luke Bryan and Keith Urban, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw. I was never a fan of Blake Sheldon, Tanya Tucker, Hank Williams, too much twang.
January 5, 2020 @ 8:01 pm
I wouldn’t like country music if it wasn’t for artist like Luke Bryan and Keith Urban,
So….what you’re saying is that you don’t like country music that actually sounds like country music.
January 5, 2020 @ 8:20 pm
So you’re saying you don’t want your “country” music to be too country?
Not that there’s anything wrong with that (in Jerry Seinfeld voice).
January 5, 2020 @ 7:29 pm
And there you have it folks. This is why Trigger has this website and we don’t. Very well said Trig.
January 5, 2020 @ 7:42 pm
Luke Bryan is wrong… that’s enough headline for me.
January 5, 2020 @ 8:42 pm
Willie Nelson and Hank Williams do not qualify as country by y’all’s standards as they to crossed genres. Hank actually put out what qualified as a real song in it’s era and Willie Nelson has been a leader in the cross genre theme. And for all you City slickers the first real song was actually by a country artist.
January 6, 2020 @ 11:32 am
I think if you are singing honestly and perhaps even from personal experience about REAL themes that reflect , with an understanding , ALL ages and stages in most of our lives and you are , for the mostpart , using traditional country lyric-crafting , instrumentation and REAL musicians to create the work , have an awareness , nay , a respect for the shoulders you stand on and visit that well with some regularity and consistency YOU ARE A COUNTRY ARTIST. if you want to visit another genre out of curiosity , respect , to be inspired , informed , to learn or to , perhaps ,help reaffirm your commitment to the country genre , you should do so and if that adventure enlightens your long-time fan base to the benefits you might have gotten from those experiences then all the better . In this light , questioning Willie and Hank’s country cred seems not only akin to sacrilege but just plain ignorant .
January 5, 2020 @ 9:29 pm
Bravo Trig. Starting the year off right.
January 5, 2020 @ 11:08 pm
I went to a Flatland concert recently. (Amazing by the way). Before the band came on, Childers, Colter Wall, Jinks, Turnpike were played. In fact, any “real” country concert I’ve ever been to never played hip hop beforehand. And this is in a variety of venues. Of course it gets played before Luke comes on. That’s the crowd he attracts
January 6, 2020 @ 3:46 am
So his argument is cause I also listen to Classic Rock,Metal,Some rap now and then that gives his songs the greenlight to be TRASH?????
January 6, 2020 @ 3:58 am
Luke ain’t no Yoakam. Luke ain’t country.
January 6, 2020 @ 4:52 am
This was a refreshing read for sure! I have been a fan of country music all my life and I see the areas where they are taking things to the “next level” and they maybe need to understand there should be a line drawn! Period! Respect the people and the paths that came before you. I am actually a fan of the original ” outlaw country” and you know Willie,Waylon,Merle, Johhny,Hank William Sr. & Jr. and even David Allen Coe are in my playlist. I also have Nelly, TPsin, Ludacris, Salt and Pepa, Hall n Oates, cheryl Crow,Several tight wearing hair metal bands (too many to name ) and so much more music that I vibe with…. but I am positive I dont want to hear a musical mashup on my radio of these genres. As hank would say it, country music isn’t just music… IT’S A STATE OF MIND… you see what I did there. <—- ok I'm finished.
January 6, 2020 @ 5:05 am
I was under the impression that in the “good ole days” of radio, DJs played whatever they wanted. and that you could hear country, blues, and whatever was pop on the same channel on the same day. Am I wrong?
January 6, 2020 @ 9:25 am
The Grand Ole Opry was broadcast on stations that had news, jazz programs, audio soap operas, all kinds of stuff. It was the country music program in an omnivorous radio diet.
January 6, 2020 @ 7:12 am
There’s no need condescending one another Here. if you like hip hop or what ever genre of music you like listen to it. It’s okay but country is country. If it’s not country then it’s not country. As for me I’ll be a cowboy till I die. Keeping it country on the radio, holding our hands when we’re saying a prayer. Cooking my family a cooked meal that’s important to me. And change could mean murder on music row. Alan and George said It all
January 6, 2020 @ 7:13 am
Here’s the thing for me. I don’t really want to hear what Luke Bryan has to say about country music or really any kind of music. He doesn’t strike me as a creative music artist. He’s a star. An entertainer. A willful product of the Music Row starmaker machinery. He’s compromised.
I don’t think rap influences are out the question in country and roots music. Rhiannon Giddens did a nice job of it in her song Better Get It Right the First Time and she didn’t lose herself in the process. The rap interlude (by another person) just fit in organically considering the subject of the song. What we’re getting from the pop country dudebros is straight up spitballing, in my opinion.
January 6, 2020 @ 7:45 am
Yet another reason why i want to punch these bro country little boys in the face. A real honky tonk does not sit 800 people. The bro country music gives me a headache. It has to hurt your iq. In fact i’ll argue the people that love it don’t even register on an iq test. Everyone ive met that loves it, has been the dumbest self centered person ever. They think just because they wear a cowboy hat or hold a guitar they’re outlaw or just country musicians. If they showed up in Nashville in the hay day of real country music, they would be laughed out of town. Every song not only sounds the same, its the sams story in every Damn song. Beer, lifted trucks, dirt roads, a girl with major issues dumb enough to fuck your bro country dumbass . how creative. Your not country your a face. If a 40 year old musician starts humping the air infront of 14-18 year old girls on stage, we call that a pervert. Its Not good enough to write a good or great story, amazing riff or solo, and just sing anymore. Take your solo cup and stick it uo your ass!
January 6, 2020 @ 7:52 am
I don’t disagree with Luke Bryan. Today’s country artists have different influences and country music has always been influenced by other forms of music. I listen to all types of music but country music is my favourite. What is and what isn’t country music is a question that is an old one and doesn’t seem to have an answer. Eddy Arnold, Jim Reeves, Glen Campbell are all referred to as country legends…….country? Maybe, maybe not. More pop than country? Luke Bryan is as country as they are? If you like it and enjoy it, does it matter? Does an artist suddenly become ‘not country’ because he is selling well (e.g. Luke Bryan ….Garth Brooks…..even Chris Stapleton I saw criticised yet I don’t hear any change in his sound) ? There is plenty of ‘traditional’ country music around. Cody Jinks, Tyler Childs, Midland etc. There is plenty of great music to suit most tastes. Country music moves with the times and always has but every now and again there is a correction and we are taken back to the more traditional sounds. We are about due that correction but will todays radio play it? I don’t care much what is in the charts or not or on the radio as I don’t listen to it much. I still like an album on CD and there were some great releases in 2019 some I heard as a result of this excellent site. Lets hope this new decade brings some great new country music of all types and more of the traditional sounds get radio play. Happy new year to you all.
January 6, 2020 @ 8:06 am
I have this website bookmarked because I love “real” country music but I don’t like people being ugly .
I always thought “real” country fans were above that.
January 6, 2020 @ 9:22 am
@Pen Welcome to “reality”.
January 6, 2020 @ 9:21 am
Luke looks like Chandler Bing trying to smile in an episode of Friends.
January 6, 2020 @ 2:56 pm
This made me laugh harder than it should have. You win the internet for the day!!
January 6, 2020 @ 9:27 am
The argument about what is country and what isn’t country isn’t a new discussion. I’m 65 years old….I remember sitting in a roadside diner in College Park GA in 1961 with my dad and his sister when someone played a Johnny Cash song on the jukebox. My aunt made a comment that Johnny Cash wasn’t country which spurred a heated discussion between her and my dad about what was country and what wasn’t country. I also remember the backlash against Jim Reeves and the other Countrypolitan artists. I also remember the days when it was said artists like Clapton and other white guys weren’t really blues artists because they didn’t grow up in Mississippi black and poor. Point is folk have always argued about what is true music of any genre and what isn’t. If you like it listen to it…if you don’t like it don’t listen to it.
January 6, 2020 @ 10:40 am
Amen!
January 6, 2020 @ 11:44 am
If we don’t want to see an artform altered beyond recognition or even eradicated we need to be careful about who is potentially or intentionally trying to do that and protect it from them . do we want a young painter saying ” I think mona lisa’s smile should have shown more teeth so I’m painting in some pearly whites …..but I won’t change the name of the painting ” ?
January 6, 2020 @ 7:14 pm
Dawg fan…in the late 50s and early 60s, the “country set” wanted to run Chet Atkins out of town for the “Nashville Strings” sounds he was putting on records as a producer at RCA. Times do change but I agree with a lot of others on here…all music is great but rap is rap and country is country!!! And the darn radio stations only want money so they play to the lowest common denominator…one huge mishmash that doesn’t sound like anything in particular!
January 6, 2020 @ 11:34 am
People have always listened to different types of music. But the idea of throwing everything into a blender and hitting blend and we’ll have a hit seems to be pretty recent. The 1980s were a dark time for country but Randy Travis and others hit reset. When you can’t tell Country from anything else it it loses what makes it special. Even Dolly Parton has to step back from Pop to salvage her unmatched career. And Luke Bryan is no Dolly
January 6, 2020 @ 5:30 pm
So the person that wrote this article knows more than a person who writes music for his fan country fans. Luke Bryan is right on every single issue. Music needs to cross over to reach other demographics. Country music is a story in a song. That will never change even some rock and roll is a story in a song. Whoever wrote this article is a ding dong
January 6, 2020 @ 7:41 pm
The GUY who writes this article us not a ding dong.
And, a LOT Of Rock and Roll, is a story in a song.
January 6, 2020 @ 7:04 pm
We haven’t had really good “words mean something” (on the whole) music for quite a while. Thank the Lord for “new” singer songwriters like Ashley Mcbryde! Of course, I bet a lot of performers like Bryan would really like to perform “real” country music but the da$n radio stations won’t play it because they want the biggest possible audience ($$$$$) they can get!!
January 7, 2020 @ 12:41 am
Trig, this seems like a good place to ask your thoughts on Gangstagrass. I’m only somewhat familiar with them myself. I could see calling what they do as monogenre, as they mix bluegrass with hip hop. But then maybe not: because it seems they try to keep the heart of the two genres intact. I’m not sure what I think.
January 7, 2020 @ 9:38 am
I’m still not sure what my thoughts are on Gangstagrass. I would say it’s far superior to most country rap projects because the players seem to approach it with respect for both art forms, and they’re actually trying to say something. They’re fun live, and I understand the appeal of the music. They also seem like really good guys. But I still can’t get behind it 100%. I’m not opposed to it though. It’s one of the few mashups of hip-hop and country (bluegrass) that I can tolerate.
January 7, 2020 @ 10:51 pm
I believe Willie Nelson said something like, there is just bad and good music. I don’t necessarily agree, and Luke Bryan can’t even be talked about here I don’t think, but I get times change, etc. But there are some guys out there with some good music out now, Randall King, Childers, etc, but my music tends to all be Tracy Lawrence, Doug Stone, and so on, I appreciate the website and trying to “save country music,” I’ll go keep going back in the day if I have to, but keep looking for new music that is good as well.
January 8, 2020 @ 8:39 am
I’ve always felt like country and metal had more fan crossover appeal than country and hip-hop, pop, r&b.
Country and metal both utilize the singer/guitarist/bassist/drummer core line-up, with real musicians playing real instruments. The musicians in both genres are typically highly skilled on their instruments, the vocalists don’t rely on autotune, and the artists really perform live without pre-recorded music or backing tracks. Country and metal fans both value tradition and the history of their genres. Both genres also experience lows and highs in the mainstream market, but they persevere.
January 11, 2020 @ 9:49 pm
Luke Bryan is a diarrhea filled cunt who looks like a wax figure that is too close to the furnace
September 16, 2020 @ 6:11 am
Hear me out, you forgot about Kane Brown, i hate his music its even worst than Luke Bryans and Sam Hunts, and i hope you agree with me on this.