Metro-Politan: Country Music’s New Cancer
In 1965, the Canadian-American children’s book author and illustrator Eric Gurney published a book with his wife called The King, the Mice, and the Cheese about a Arabian monarch who loved cheese, but was nearly run out of his palace by all the mice his cheese fetish attracted. So he called on his wise men to advise him on how to get rid of all the mice. The wise men suggested getting cats who could chase all of the mice away, but soon the cats became a problem in themselves. So the wise men then suggested dogs be brought to the palace to chase away the cats. Then lions were brought in to chase away the dogs, and eventually elephants to chase away the lions, all replacing the previous menace before them, but leaving the king altogether unhappy with his increasingly undesirable palace mates.
It’s a similar story for country music and it’s recent history of chasing hyper trends. Just as you begin to applaud the dying arch of one awful earache, another one emerges. First it was teen pop and the rise of Taylor Swift to the very top spot of the genre, symbolized by her 2009 win for Entertainer of the Year at the CMA’s. The next menace was country rap, symbolized by Jason Aldean’s “Dirt Road Anthem” becoming the biggest country single in all of 2011. Then country rap gave way to Bro-Country—the most dominant torment to country music arguably in the genre’s entire history. Now what looks to depose Bro-Country as the next malevolent hyper-trend? For the lack of a universally-recognized term for it at the moment, let’s just call it “Metro-Politan.”
Yes, you know I’ve been secretly jealous of New York Magazine writer Jody Rosen ever since he bested my term “Laundry List” to articulate to readers what is now recognized by even the Cambridge Dictionary (in whatever infantile stages) as “Bro-Country,” so I thought I’d try my hand at some unilateral neologism myself. In reality though, what you call it and why is pretty inconsequential compared to what the effects could be of this abhorrent vogue. EDM-infused urban dance country—destined just as its predecessors to to burn flaming hot for 18 months to two years before being relegated to the the dust bin of history and a laughing stock—is country music’s new preeminent pestilence, and it needs to die.
Metro – Originating from and being indicative of an urban locale. Commonly referring to a male that is hyper sensitive about his appearance and hygiene, but is a heterosexual that frequents urban clubs and listens to music indicative of said clubs.
-Politan – Comes from the Greek word “polis,” meaning city or city-state. A suffix with history in country music, once used in “countrypolitan” to describe the refined sound of 60’s and early 70’s country music meant to appeal to a more urban and well-healed audience.
Metro-Politan – A subgenre of country music with absolutely no material ties to country, simply using the mainstream country genre as a convenient delivery system for EDM/R&B/Dance-inspired music.
…or something like that.
*Alternative – Metro-Sexual
What, it’s not catchy enough? Doesn’t snap off the tongue? Too easily-confused with the word “Metropolitan”? Well then screw it, call it whatever you want. But you know what I’m talking about when I say Metro-Politan: This Sam Hunt bullshit.
Yes, you can point to some other early culprits who dabbled in mixing dance club rhythms with country window dressing before. Look no further than the reigning Grammy Album of the Year winner Beck and some of his work in the 90’s. But the man responsible for bringing this most unfortunate trend to the forefront of mainstream country music initially was Jerrod Niemann.
The doughy, semi-successful country star was looking for a spark to his quickly sliding career, and decided to take a chance on a song called “Drink To That All Night,” and it paid off in spades. You would think that a song that offered so little of anything country, and that was so obviously a beast of the EDM/Club Dance world, would be a hard sell to the country music constituency, but no dice for Jerrod Niemann’s detractors. The song traced a slow but steady ascent throughout 2014, eventually becoming a #1, and birthing a new generation of copycats like a Northeast blizzard does autumn babies.
But the thing about Jerrod Niemann and “Drink To That All Night” is that it immediately tipped the hand to the fickleness of the Metro-Politan trend. Though the song delivered renewed attention to Niemann and marks the greatest success of his career, that success was incredibly short-lived. The follow up single “Donkey” was hoping to capitalize even further on Jerrod’s new dance club angle, but it might go down as the worst song in the history of the genre, and was dead on arrival at radio. But Niemann had done his job. He was the EDM canary sent down the country music mine shaft, and he had returned healthy—at least initially. That’s all the country music producers needed to know, that the pliable country music public would find the approach palatable as long as it was done in a very polished way. Humor and histrionics, not so much.
Has anyone heard from Jerrod Niemann lately?
So then to allow the trend to gain traction you find an established superstar to take this specious Metro-Politan style to the next level. And who is a better candidate than Jason Aldean?—the same man who broke down the country rap barrier in the mainstream and helped bring along the eventual rise of Bro-Country. Aldean’s “Burnin’ It Down”—the first single from his Old Boots, New Dirt album, written in part by Florida Georgia Line—was the perfect way to integrate sexy R&B/EDM influences into the top of mainstream country, and open the floodgates for a litany of opportunists to come along. Panned by critics, castigated even by many Aldean loyalists at the beginning, of course “Burnin’ It Down” went on to become a mega hit, and one of the fastest-rising “country” singles in the genre’s history.
But to really set the Metro-Politan trend on the fast track to country domination, you needed to find a pretty face who could be a complete construct of the trend from stem to stern, similar to Florida Georgia Line with Bro-Country. And with a few good producers, you could turn a middling, semi-talented singer into a superstar performer emerging from the shadows of obscurity faster and higher than the genre has ever seen before.
Enter Sam Hunt.
A modestly-successful songwriter, Sam Hunt was willing to take the mother of all plunges with fellow songwriter, and apparently producer Shane McAnally—revered for his work with Brandy Clark and Kacey Musgraves among others—and make an entirely EDM-based record to sell to the country music public under spurious pretenses. The results have been nothing short of historic. With Hunt’s second single “Take Your Time” now cresting the top of the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart (following the #1 “Leave The Night On”), while at the same time Hunt’s album Montevallo is the #1 album in all of country here nearly 3 1/2 months after its release, the Metro-Politan king is the biggest cash cow in the country genre right now—and there’s nothing country about his music.
But enough has been said about how Sam Hunt is not country, and if you want to peruse over expanded coverage of this assessment, feel free to click here and here. But to even argue this point further at this juncture in the Metro-Politan timeline is to give Sam Hunt and his music a shred of credibility it doesn’t deserve.
However it’s one thing for Sam Hunt, Shane McAnally, and their co-conspirators to get insanely rich off of this complete and utter farce being perpetuated on the country music public. It’s another to be impugned for even offering a sensible and spirited dissent about what is happening. Question Sam Hunt’s country-ness, and be chastised for misunderstanding what music is all about, and be tarred and feathered as a outmoded speedbump in the way of country music’s “evolution.” As if drum machines and synthesizers aren’t 40-year-old technology being employed as a last ditch resort to squeeze commercial viability out of a dying art form. Can’t these pricks just count their money and laugh at us in private, instead of using phony intellectualism to attempt to justify what they know is unnatural and potential noxious, maybe fatally so to country music?
But let’s not just zero in on Sam Hunt and take our eyes off the bigger picture. Sure, he’s the poster boy for Metro-Politan and deserves the fiercest of lampooning if anyone does at the moment. But just like Bro-Country eventually had even the women singing along and defacing themselves in the pursuit of the almighty dollar, Metro-Politan is surely to sprout even more unfortunate tentacles before it will invariably fade like all hyper-trends do, taking its primary culprits with it down the toilet bowl of history.
When country rap was amidst its reign as country music’s misguided bastard craze, the non blood-related country rapping grandson of Waylon Jennings named Struggle took an entire album of Waylon songs and remade them into shallow and senseless country rap before being put in a penitentiary on meth charges. As I said at the time, this “leads country music down a very slippery slope where the catalogs of other country music greats could be opened and re-interpreted by country rappers or for other commercial purposes, forever soiling or superseding the original versions, and eroding their legacy.”
Well that’s already happening with Metro-Politan, and we haven’t even decided if that term is up to snuff. Say hello to Curb Records signee Ruthie Collins, and her debut single “Ramblin’ Man,” a Metro-Politan remake of the Hank Williams song. That’s right ladies and gentlemen, nothing’s sacred when it comes to culling out country music’s past to make up for the shortcomings of an industry bereft of artists with new ideas, and full of fear to develop or deal with those who do.
But is Ruthie Collins’ “Ramblin Man” bad? Even some of Sam Hunt’s music isn’t as immediately offensive as some of the worst of Bro-Country. None of it makes it right, or good, or healthy for the genre to entertain as its own when its home should be on KISS-FM. With Metro-Politan, country music is playing a dangerous game of eroding its autonomy from other genres in a way Bro-Country couldn’t even sniff. That’s because Metro-Politan’s perpetrators openly profess that genre’s don’t matter since they can’t objectively tell you what is country about their music. Maybe Ruthie Collins can come up with a defense for her “Ramblin’ Man” cover, but it is symbolic of country’s continuing trip down a slippery slope.
As has been pointed out in this dark corner of the internet before, Taylor Swift blew the cover for these Metro-Politan blokes when she said, “You can paint a wall green and call it blue, but it’s clearly not blue. That would go over badly, because people know. When people trust you, they believe you’re investing them with a piece of your life and their lives in turn, so you want to keep that trust at every level.”
And then Taylor Swift summarily left country. Like her music or not, Taylor Swift had the guts to be honest with herself, her fans, and the public in a way Sam Hunt, Shane McAnally, and the rest of these Metro-Politan sham artists refuse to, no matter what critical plaudits they may list on their resume.
So back to the little children’s storybook The King, the Mice, and the Cheese. Here was the king in his palace, surrounded by elephants that the wise men had used to scare the lions away, and the big and clumsy elephants were destroying everything. What was the king’s solution? Eventually he brought the mice back, who scared away the elephants (as mice are known to do). Then the king reasoned with the mice, concluding “I’ll learn how to get along with you, if you learn how to get along with me.”
Does that mean we should reason with the perpetrators of Metro-Politan for an amicable solution? Of course not. Metro-Politan is the elephants, Bro-Country is the lions, Country Rap is the dogs, and pure pop is the cats. What country music should learn to do is to co-habitate and reason with the pop country and country rocking performers of the world—the Carrie Underwood’s and Dierks Bentley’s . Because one of the things that sent country music down its current spiral was the feeling that country wasn’t country enough, starting with Taylor Swift, and resulting in Jason Aldean and Florida Georgia Line machine gunning out a laundry lists of reasons why they were countrier than thou.
Balance is what is needed in country to inoculate the genre from such silly hyper-trends we can see being foiled before they even begin in earnest. Because who knows what will be the hyper-trend that will break the country music circle forever? Sustainability should be what is strived for, not the next sugar rush. Is there anyone that thinks that a song like Sam Hunt’s “Take Your Time” is going to be around in 17 years? Of course it won’t be, but the damage it leaves behind might. Metro-Politan is a scourge, but you can almost guarantee it will be around for the next 1 1/2 years or so.
Let’s just hope we can repair the damage afterwards before the palace walls fall forever.
February 16, 2015 @ 10:19 am
“What country music should learn to do is to co-habitate and reason with the pop country and country rocking performers of the world””the Carrie Underwood”™s and Dierks Bentley”™s .”
Naw. Piss on that idea. I’d rather break out the mouse traps.
February 16, 2015 @ 1:49 pm
Utterly missed the point of that statement, and took it out of context as if I’m lobbying for more pop in country.
February 16, 2015 @ 5:50 pm
No. I didn’t take it out of context. I just disagree with you.
February 16, 2015 @ 5:55 pm
His thing is just disagreeing with you now.
February 16, 2015 @ 6:06 pm
Except when I agree with him, which is about 51% of the time.
February 16, 2015 @ 6:30 pm
Yeah, but what does your opinion matter when you don’t get the point?
February 16, 2015 @ 6:36 pm
If my opinions don’t matter, I hope that means you’ll stop reading them.
February 16, 2015 @ 7:02 pm
I’m just saying if you don’t take the time to understand the point, don’t expect people to care what you have to say. It seems like you just argue to argue.
February 17, 2015 @ 5:03 pm
I don’t expect people to care about what I have to say, nor do I care whether they do or not. I’m simply giving my opinions on a website.
You must be incredibly arrogant, to assume someone doesn’t understand a point, just because their opinion is different than yours.
I actually hate arguing. I would love it if everybody shared my opinions, and I had nothing to argue about.
February 18, 2015 @ 2:31 pm
Clint, if I were to apply your reasoning, then you also should hate Patsy, Waylon, and even Ernest Tubb for pushing the boundaries of country further away from what Roy Acuff and Hank Williams and Jimmie Rodgers established. Now if I were to criticize Patsy or Waylon here on SCM I would be very unpopular. I’m not defending the bros, they suck, but if we shunned all progress and anybody’s attempt to be different, we would all still be burning witches at Salem while listening to Ernest Tubb on vinyl.
March 23, 2015 @ 8:40 am
“You must be incredibly arrogant, to assume someone doesn”™t understand a point, just because their opinion is different than yours.”
The definition of the word “arrogant” as per Google is as follows: “having or revealing an exaggerated sense of one’s own importance or abilities.” The fact that you’re so sure of yourself that you think everyone should agree with your opinions is the utter cornerstone of arrogance. It’s not just that you think you’re right all the time, it’s that you think the other side of debates have absolutely no merit whatsoever and aren’t even worth considering.
“So often, it seems people are willing to tolerate something, on the basis that it”™s not as bad as something else. But that sure gets old quick”
It gets old, does it? When was the last time you tried it? Even artists like Johnny Cash and Sturgill Simpson aren’t good enough for you. Again, you don’t HAVE to like them, but even if the music isn’t garbage you still complain. And try to tell everyone how they lack perspective and are simply accepting mediocrity because they’re somehow ignorant. It seems to me that you’re less concerned with what country music should be and simply with what YOU want it to be. Bringing this comment full circle, if you fleetingly think that what you want IS what country music should be, don’t bother terming anyone else as “arrogant” because you’ll have the market cornered.
“Are you actually gonna tell me with a straight face, that Checklist Country, was a sincere attempt to be more “Country”?”
No he wasn’t nor was it an attempt to be more country. It was an ass-covering technique as a result of the constant complaints and anger from those like yourself that spend their time trying to tell everyone else what country music is and isn’t without bothering to include an explanation of what it IS.
March 23, 2015 @ 8:42 am
And no, I’m not trying to start an argument with you so much as I am responding to your comment. So if you’re going to start with me about all of that bullying crap you might as well save yourself some time and not even respond. You’re putting your thoughts onto a public forum, after all.
February 16, 2015 @ 10:39 am
1st: I still blame Shania Twain for this pop fiasco.
2nd: Taylor Swift went pop but she never openly admitted she was always pop or apologized for shelling her wares as pop. So I can’t give her full points for leaving when she should’ve left several albums go.
3rd: I’ll be interested to here the radio version of ‘Ramblin Man’ because all I found was a live cut and it’s not groundbreaking but it’s not Sam Hunt.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZkUW10Dqhw
February 16, 2015 @ 10:44 am
Also I am assuming metro-politan is a reference to the countrypolitan. I am still unsure of how critics and fans think countrypolitan holds up in the annals of country music history. Does it get a bad rap?
February 18, 2015 @ 7:52 pm
Countrypolitan is a disgusting black mark on country music history, just like bro country will be.
February 16, 2015 @ 4:11 pm
It’s not just Shania. Alabama and Garth are part of it too.
February 16, 2015 @ 4:59 pm
I’ve said it before, this all started when George Strait took his jeans to the dry cleaners and said extra starch please.
February 16, 2015 @ 7:51 pm
Are you sure it wasn’t when Conway ordered his perm with extra height?
February 17, 2015 @ 9:14 am
Ah yes, Alabama they are reason there ever was a tribute to Lionel Richie at a country awards show. I still can’t get over just how many, “Look at me I’m country!” songs they put out (i.e. Mountain Music, If You Want to Play In Texas, Tennessee River, etc.)
Though I personally think the breach of contract first occurred in a major way with Dolly Parton’s “Here You Come Again”. It wasn’t near the level of Garth or Shania but that record was so pop it was almost disco even if she fought to keep the steal guitar on the track. Great song just the same though.
February 19, 2015 @ 9:20 am
It goes back much farther than that. Gene Autry and Eddy Arnold were both pop-country artists ‘way back when. It just doesn’t seem like it because pop music was so much different in those days.
February 16, 2015 @ 5:58 pm
I pretty much agree with you on points 1 and 2, but that Collins girl just sounds like another city-dweller, who probably discovered Hank in college, butchering a Country song.
February 16, 2015 @ 11:00 am
Trigger ….great article , as usual, but I gotta totally disagree with your final thought .. I think it was country radio/fan’s initial willingness to be more than tolerant towards the Taylor Swifts and Carrie Underwoods that opened the door for the rest of the crap that’s managed to squeeze or be forced through . This total disrespect for the genre in the name of $$$ is inexcusable and unforgivable . If CU wanted to sing a revenge rock song about keying cars , there were other genres and avenues to promote it without poisoning a genre it had NOTHING to do with . Yes ….’poisoning ‘ is a strong word . So’s your use of the word ” cancer ” above …but they are the RIGHT words and that becomes clearer with nearly every new unfocussed ‘ country ‘ release . The genre has been slowly and methodically gutted of everything that makes it a unique genre – GREAT writing with great narratives – (the last bastion of songwriting craft )….incredibly gifted instrumentalists playing REAL instruments , vocalists with character , passion , respect for the greats , and ALWAYS a respect and musical acknowledgement of tradition in their performances . Youth-chasing trends , contrivance and greed have all contributed to a homogenized , lifeless , characterless, generic, bland sameness in the music which , once the complete dismantling of the genre is done , will become a parody of itself and leave no redeeming legacy whatsoever .Its the equivalent of featuring kazoo players on a Miles Davis composition and calling it ‘ jazz’ .NO MORE COMPROMISING . If people want to continue cranking out this useless shit , let them . If listeners are too naive , uninterested or simply passive enough to accept it without question, they deserve what they are getting . JUST STOP CALLING IT COUNTRY MUSIC !
February 16, 2015 @ 11:33 am
The point is that without balance and diversity, country music will continue to make itself susceptible to these wild hyper-trends that have no long-term solvency and send country music down a dangerous path.
Also for the record, I’m making a distinction between Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood. Underwood’s career encompasses more than just one song, but even then, it is not important to focus on one specific artist. The point is pop country has always been a part of the genre, and if you attempt to extricate it, you run the same risk that country is by extricating all traditional elements.
February 16, 2015 @ 12:17 pm
Hallelujah Reverend!
February 16, 2015 @ 12:21 pm
You are correct Reverend Albert. Compromise is what got us where we are now. I need for Country Music to have mass appeal in order for me to like it. I just need it to be Country Music.
February 16, 2015 @ 1:16 pm
Compromise? How is having absolutely no traditional elements in mainstream country considered compromise? There is no compromise. You’re completely missing the point, and only seeing one side of the perspective. If you think I’m lobbying for more pop in country, turn on your radio. All you’ll hear is pop. There is no compromise. It’s real country that needs to be compromised with. I was simply pointing out that what led us to this point was the misnomer that country needed to be more “country,” resulting in Jason Aldean yelling at us about swerving down back roads. If you focus on one paragraph in a 26-paragraph article, the joke’s on you.
February 16, 2015 @ 2:59 pm
Well, maybe we’re both missing each other’s points. You know the saying: “If you give ’em an inch, they’ll take a mile”? Nashville has taken so many miles that they don’t even remember where they started. And compromise after compromise, is how they got there.
So often, it seems people are willing to tolerate something, on the basis that it’s not as bad as something else. But that sure gets old quick.
Are you actually gonna tell me with a straight face, that Checklist Country, was a sincere attempt to be more “Country”? Then you need to lay off the Ramen, my friend. The preservatives are rotting your brain.
February 16, 2015 @ 3:52 pm
“Are you actually gonna tell me with a straight face, that Checklist Country, was a sincere attempt to be more “Country”? “
Never said anything even remotely close to that. I did say it was a transparent answer by Music Row to cater to a demographic saying that country had turned too fluffy with Taylor Swift.
Let me put it like this: If you think I’m calling Bro-Country better than anything, or lobbying for more pop in country, you’re probably misunderstanding my stance.
February 16, 2015 @ 3:59 pm
That’s not what he’s saying. Jason Aldean and them were trying to make themselves appear to be country by putting trucks and dirt roads in every song. The bros were associating being country with any kind of music as long as it had country items in it. So in their minds, maybe they were trying to be more country. But Trigger is not saying they were country, he is saying they were trying to prove they were country by constantly singing and rapping about being country.
February 16, 2015 @ 12:24 pm
Revision to my typo:
I DON’T need for Country music to have mass appeal in order for me to like it.
February 16, 2015 @ 11:06 am
Metro-Politan — so, sort of like the new Urban Cowboy, minus any trace of cowboy. :p (Also, it just me, or does ol’ Sam look like an even blander Adam Levine?)
February 16, 2015 @ 11:10 am
Found this while looking for a review on Sturgill Simpson’s Friday show at 9:30 Club.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/sam-hunt-has-the-fame-but-hes-not-ready-for-it/2015/02/15/fa871c90-b53a-11e4-bc30-a4e75503948a_story.html
February 18, 2015 @ 1:43 pm
Sturgill’s DC show Friday night was damn near a religious experience. Let the critics talk till they’re blue in the face about the overkill of covering him on this site and others…its warranted. That man blew my mind with a four-piece band…Little Joe is a freaking guitar slinger…they just play for the love of the music and the pure joy of the fans.
February 18, 2015 @ 1:59 pm
I agree and I was really hoping the Post would cover it. They didn’t cover his August Birchmere show, either. Was a little surprised as they have done articles on him before.
I knew it was going to be a great show, but I wasn’t quite ready for how much Sturgill and his band would have upped their game since August. And the intensity of the crowd was something else.
February 16, 2015 @ 11:10 am
I wonder mostly the longevity of these bro-country and “metro-politan” country artists. Country music as a genre has generally been pretty friendly in the sense it allows a number of artists a longer shelf life as hit makers than most other genre’s where it’s always the next big thing/artist. With the rise of Country as one of if not the most popular North American music genre along with artists like Sam Hunt, Luke Bryan, Aldean, FGL etc. who desperately ride whatever trend they can, will they burn out quickly like a lot of “hat acts” of the 90’s did?
Maybe Aldean and Bryan have been around long enough to avoid that fate, but I cannot help, but think Sam Hunt will be long forgotten in a few years. Maybe I am wrong, but I just don’t think he or FGL have the ability to sustain success long term.
February 16, 2015 @ 11:37 am
There’s nothing to wonder about. Florida Georgia Line is already dealing with an incredible backlash, and Sam Hunt will be next. I think you’re right about Luke Bran and Jason Aldean because their careers and albums are much more diverse to insulate them from these hyper trends in the long term. Their Bro-Country and Metro-Politan songs will be rebuked, but people will remember them for much more. This is the same type of wisdom that should take hold in the country genre as a whole. If you live by the hyper trend, you die by the hyper trend.
February 16, 2015 @ 1:25 pm
How bout, “sub-urban” country. For the suburban middle upper frat boys and sorority ladies driving the trend. Have to be careful with that though, Chevy will make out like bandits if it takes off – give it some actual street cred…
February 16, 2015 @ 6:48 pm
I agree with you. Country Music is going down the wrong direction for now.
February 16, 2015 @ 11:33 am
Bravo Trigger, what’s sad is I think I’d take Bro-country over this pop/EDM shit.
February 16, 2015 @ 12:28 pm
I’m with you there; if I was forced to choose between vomit and feces, I guess I’d choose vomit.
February 16, 2015 @ 11:46 am
The palace walls fell a long time ago. I’ve never had any hope for mainstream country.
February 16, 2015 @ 12:11 pm
Speaking of different country styles: Forgive my stupidity, but what exactly is Bakersfield music? Whenever I hear a Bakersfield song, it just sounds like country to me. Is it just a term used to describe country artists from the West Coast, like Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, and Dwight Yoakum?
February 16, 2015 @ 1:18 pm
In a nutshell, yes. The Bakersfield sound happened parallel to Countrypolitan or The Nashville Sound in Nashville. Where Nashville went more contemporary, Bakersfield kept to a more hard country, honky tonk sound.
February 16, 2015 @ 8:36 pm
IMO, Bakersfield country was very electric based and rock’n’roll influenced country. Telecaster twang galore, but also faster upbeat songs. The Beatles were influenced by Bakersfield country like Buck Owens and they even covered “Act Naturally”. If you listen to a Bakersfield song and a Nashville produced song from the same era, you can definitely see a huge difference.
February 17, 2015 @ 3:38 am
The Bakersfield sound was a souped-up, twanged-out, hardcore style of honky tonk with upbeat tempos, drums, and lots of Telecaster, as Kevin H. said.
It was created by (and for) the community of Okies, Arkies, Texans, and other migrants whose families came to California looking for work after the Dust Bowl. It developed in honky-tonks and dance halls, and had to be loud in order to be heard.
The Bakersfield sound represented an alternative style of country music that could be relevant in the electric 60’s while still retaining its country character, back when country radio could at least still tolerate actual twang.
February 17, 2015 @ 3:51 am
In that sense, the Bakersfield sound was similar to Western swing:
1) Both were developed/took root in the West, the geographic periphery of country music rather than the core.
2) Both introduced elements of the mainstream music of the day (rock for the Bakersfield sound, jazz for Western swing) while maintaining a strong sonic, vocal and lyrical foundation in traditional country
3) Both served as highly popular dance music.
February 16, 2015 @ 8:37 pm
Also this might help:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bakersfield_sound
February 17, 2015 @ 10:51 am
My favorite element of The Bakersfield Sound is the accordion. One of the most underutilized instruments in country music.
February 16, 2015 @ 12:13 pm
Metro-politan is a good term because I knew exactly who and what you meant before I read the description. I don’t like bro-country, but at least I know who it’s for. It has its place. My complaint with it wasn’t that it existed, but that it “overran the palace.” I don’t know who Burnin’ it Down, etc is even for. Obviously someone’s listening, but I’m scratching my head why.
And they COULD be doing something interesting with this, like Beck did. But Beck is an actual artist who makes the music he feels. This metro stuff is just more from a machine designed to churn out the most marketable crap with no regard for musical integrity. I’ll be glad when it’s over, but I fear what’ll come to chase it out. This article is spot on.
February 16, 2015 @ 12:25 pm
I’ll add that I feel popular culture in general is skewing more and more towards these “hyper-trends” and less towards things of actual substance. I think a lot of this is because the target demographic keeps getting younger and younger. Tweens and young teens are fickle and should not be dictating our cultural landscape THIS much. But selling them cheap, disposable crap brings in easy money, so I guess that’s where we are now. More so than ever before i think.
February 16, 2015 @ 12:51 pm
“I”™ll add that I feel popular culture in general is skewing more and more towards these “hyper-trends” and less towards things of actual substance. I think a lot of this is because the target demographic keeps getting younger and younger. Tweens and young teens are fickle and should not be dictating our cultural landscape THIS much. But selling them cheap, disposable crap brings in easy money, so I guess that”™s where we are now. More so than ever before i think.”
Melissa …your observation above is , I believe and have vehemently posited more than once at SCM , EXACTLY what has happened . It is not something exclusive to ‘country ‘ music but to all aspects of pop culture . Short attention spans are accepted as a given , youth RULES as a market less and less interested in substance and increasingly easier to brainwash / manipulate / exploit / condition – (pick a word) and recondition with regularity . Some would say I have a bias in this respect ..that I’m being judgmental or old school . But actual research and evidence abounds ( for anyone interested enough to seek it out ) that supports what you’ve stated and what I believe to be the heart of the issue . Its a Kardashian Kulture where , seemingly , the less substance the more addicted we are becoming to it .
February 16, 2015 @ 12:58 pm
Why does anybody care about the Kardashians?
February 16, 2015 @ 1:01 pm
‘Why does anybody care about the Kardashians? ‘
My point exactly – When you figure that out ..PLEASE let us know Brandon
February 16, 2015 @ 4:08 pm
Well, the country music fan base is still significantly older than the pop fan base, and yet country music now has less substance than pop.
February 16, 2015 @ 12:43 pm
Said it 100 times: I can’t stand Sam Hunt.
His music is terrible, his attitude is worse. I know that “country” isn’t necessarily a style of dress or a certain meter to your lyric … but this guy is working so hard to prove he ISN’T country, that it’s a damned slap in the face for the whole genre that he’s at the top of it.
He’s the epitome of the jerk-off antagonist from a song I wrote called ‘That ain’t Country’
I will not, however, cut that song. I won’t release it, and I’ve stopped performing it … because I think all the hemming and hawing about it does nothing but feed more energy into it. The buying public will eventually eschew the trend, and get back to what is real. At that point, it won’t matter what is said in support of that garbage, because people won’t be buying it anymore.
That process will occur whether we sit quietly or scream at the top of our lungs.
So I’ll just keep working on my own music, and let his die out on its own.
Great read, Trig.
February 16, 2015 @ 12:58 pm
Hey, I don’t mean to be a bother but I feel I might have a better name for this trend. I’ve used it a few times at SCM. I think we should call it “Metro-Bro.”
To me, Metro-Bro is better because it acknowledges the style’s bro-country roots but further pushes it into an electronic direction. When I hear “metro-politan” I think metropolitan statistical area. “Metro-bro” sounds like a name to describe a lame music trend while metro-politan sounds like a geography term.
I figured I’d make my case here since we still are in the early stages of naming this trend. Any chance we could call it metro-bro?
February 16, 2015 @ 1:05 pm
‘Metro-Bro’ works ……I think I’m good with just calling it SHIT , Richie .
February 16, 2015 @ 3:25 pm
I second metro-bro. Metro-Politan isn”™t indistinguishable enough from metropolitan. Plus metro-bro sounds a lot less respectful, which is a good thing.
February 17, 2015 @ 10:29 am
*distinguishable
February 16, 2015 @ 7:26 pm
I like Metro-Bro and it influenced me to think of another term.
Electro-Bro
Or Electro-Bro-Country
I’m just not sure how close Sam’s lyrics are to bro-country’s cookie cutter sexist lyrics. Seems like he uses different writers than the bros. But his music is pure pop/EDM (hence the electro) and doesn’t deserve country in its name. The vocals and lyrics are also pop. Sam reminds me of the boy band types.
Maybe we could make a list of potential names, start a poll and vote on them.
February 17, 2015 @ 12:59 pm
Thought up a few more
Metro-Boy (replacing bro with boy because he sounds more like a Bieber or boy band “teen pop sensation” than bro-country)
Metro-Bro-Boy
Metro-Electro
Metro-Electro-Boy
Metro-Electro-Bro-Boy
February 17, 2015 @ 5:54 am
A better name would be Getto-Bro
February 16, 2015 @ 12:58 pm
On a somewhat happy note, mainstream radio is showing a surprising degree of restraint regarding “Take Your Time.” It is only #19 on the most-played singles chart, which is surprisingly low for a 2nd single from the best-selling album in country music. I suppose there is a line that they won’t cross.
February 16, 2015 @ 1:21 pm
It will be in the Top 5 in a few weeks.
February 16, 2015 @ 1:37 pm
A boy can dream… Off topic, but have you heard the singles from Aaron Watson’s new album? He’s #6 on the iTunes country chart outselling Cole Swindell, Thomas Rhett, and Sturgill Simpson. I think he could be a “savior” of country music because he is less eggy than Sturgill and might gain mainstream radio play easier. Thoughts?
February 16, 2015 @ 1:52 pm
I have a review of Aaron Watson’s new album coming up soon.
I caution people on obsession over iTunes charts. It’s just one metric of many.
February 16, 2015 @ 4:02 pm
Really!? I’ll be excited to read that one. I haven’t heard his newest album yet but Aaron Watson is one my all time favorites. I’d love to see him become nationally recognized, but I’d for him to change his sound to get commercial success.
It’s funny when I go to Northern Virginia and talk to people who didn’t grow up listening to country but say, “I love it, especially that, ‘Drink to That All Night’ and that ‘Burnin’ it Down’ song.” They always bring up country music to me because I reckon I look country and my response is always the same, “Oh you like country music?! Listen to this! This is some of the best new country out!” Then I proceed to play them Sturgill Simpson, Justin Payne (which you put me on to Trigger, he’s fantastic), or Aaron Watson and then watch amused at there reaction when there faces contort and they say, “This…this is country? That’s too country for me. I can’t do that.” I just chuckle and say, “Then don’t say you like country music then.”
They usually respond with how the radio calls it country so it must be and I have to tell them, “Na, they’re just trying to sell it to y’all so they gotta water it down and make it easier to drink.” But I wish I could say it’s just the city people but even the people where I from eat the bad mainstream stuff up like it’s filet mignon.
Sorry, I digressed. My original point being. I’d like to hear what you think of Aaron Watson’s music Trigger. I love his stuff (judgment withheld on his newest album cause I haven’t heard it) and I’ve seen you mention him time to time but never really say one way or the other if you really care for his music. Not that it’d affect my view on him, I’m just curious as to your thoughts on him. Still waiting on your remarks about “Girl Crush” too.
February 16, 2015 @ 1:41 pm
Yet it, along with Zac Brown Band’s “Homegrown”, has one of the largest bullets of any single currently on the airplay chart.
This is red hot and will inevitably peak at #1 (unfortunately). For a new artist, “Take Your Time” is rising at an absolutely ridiculously fast clip.
February 16, 2015 @ 1:11 pm
Sam Hunt’s meteoric rise is strikingly similar in a lot of ways to that of Brantley Gilbert. Both of them where seen as aggressive in their take on the term country (although Brantley quite frankly looks mild in comparison to Sam Hunt nowadays) and their new sound ascended them quickly to the top, at least at first. Gilbert had at first 2 consecutive #1 singles, and once he released his more aggressive and rather heavy metal-sounding “Kick it in the Sticks” the song sunk at the 30’s. That lead to Gilbert abandoning some of his more hard rock sound and going for a more polished sound. Since then, he arguably lost the spotlight in the genre, and is being relegated to the dustbin of history despite the fact that he has one of the most loyal of fan bases.
It’s very possible that Sam Hunt’s days may be counted, especially if he pulls the too aggressive move that both Gilbert and Jerrod Niemann did at one point.
February 16, 2015 @ 5:34 pm
Extremely premature to call Brantley in the “dustbin” … his fan base is EXTREMELY loyal, and widespread. He might disappear, but I have a feeling he won’t.
To be honest, he may have a Hank-Jr like career. If you think about it, the song “Family Tradition” kinda speaks to the way Brantley is perceived right now.
I don’t know…I think if I were 18-22, I’d absolutely love Brantley’s music, and keep the CD on repeat. It’s testosterone-fueled and still there are heart-felt songs as well. He’s an interesting one to watch.
Even if he’s slightly douchey.
February 16, 2015 @ 8:00 pm
It may be premature, but it’s important to note that even with his fan base, he has garnered both the criticism of his fans and that of others due to the polishing of his sound. Besides, if Florida Georgia Line goes the way of Nickelback, it’s likely he will take the other “Bro’s” with him- including Brantley.
And by the way, I may be 20, but I am neither a fan of his music nor his persona-appearance.
February 18, 2015 @ 8:03 pm
I’ve never understood why Brantley Gilbert is fodder for jokes, while Eric Church’s The Outsiders was embraced by critics. Both very obviously owe their sound to Bon Jovi’s New Jersey & other cheesy 80s rock acts like Motley Crüe.
They both are aiming for the Nickelback fanbase…
Up here in Canada they’ve got competition from ultra douchey Nickelback protege Dallas Smith, although his “country” is more pop than his day job.
While I despise 80s hair rock, it is refreshing to hear guys like Church & Gilbert adding a little rock edge to the pop & hip hop (& apparently EDM…) influences in mainstream country these days.
February 16, 2015 @ 1:15 pm
I have remained silent on the matter, but this infantile intrusion on the integrity of my favorite music has proven so egregious that even I, Victor Von Doom, ruler of Latveria, am using my supreme genius to contact you from the Marvel dimension. This poisonous snake vomit had seeped into the very cracks in the dimension itself, and infected even my untouchable kingdom! My peasants listen the this so-called “bro-country” and “metro-politan” so much that I have made a law against it! And Trigger, I approve of your articles, especially the rants. When I invade this world and claim it as my own, I will appoint YOU Supreme Ruler of Country Music!
February 16, 2015 @ 1:26 pm
Simply put: not every musician born in the South or says “yall” from time to time should be a Country artist or be on Country radio.
February 16, 2015 @ 1:28 pm
God I hope you’re wrong about this new trend, but with the buzz about Sam Hunt and how he sold out a show in my town after a day or two of it being announced, I have a feeling you won’t be.
February 16, 2015 @ 1:58 pm
You’re probably aware of this, but maybe not, Dale Watson has been pushing what he calsl Ameripolitan with a big awards show happening in Austin tomorrow night. It’s more a cross between Americana and Countrypolitan though.
February 16, 2015 @ 4:01 pm
The problem with “Ameripolitan” is that both the prefix and the suffix describe arguably the exact opposite of what is meant to be described. Countrypolitan was everything Ameripolitan is supposed to be against, which is a Nashville-based highly-produced genteel style of country meant to be heard by urban listeners. And Ameri- comes from Americana, which is supposed to be too hoity toity and cloistered for the Ameripolitan crowd. That is why the term doesn’t work. It insinuates the exact style of country it’s supposed to be against.
All that said, Dale Watson put on an excellent show last year, and I plan on being there covering it live as I did last year.
February 17, 2015 @ 9:42 am
How about Hetero Politan? This removes the confusion of metropolitan and rolls of the tongue real nice. HeteroPolitan! Gender neutral, except in preference. Besides gay people have too much taste to manufacture crap.
February 17, 2015 @ 11:34 am
Now I see why the metro is there. Watched part of a really bad Hunt and Aldean (Burning it down)”¦stopped before I set myself on fire. How about you meet in the middle”¦.MetroBroPolitan? Or MetroBroSexual? Or MetroHeteroBro? Wow, this devolution of music is incredible – fodder for a future generations shame whip. Idiocracy on Ice”¦by Jack Daniels and the MetroHeterobros!
February 16, 2015 @ 2:07 pm
Though this silver lining seems scant when the general commercial landscape looks bleak, I think the following is nonetheless assuring.
Remember when I said previously that, with listeners having shorter attention spans than ever before, they’re far less likely to be loyal to any specific radio format as reflected in the mass exodus of disaffected Nickelback and 3 Doors Down fans from modern rock as the genre lost staggering commercial clout and viability………..and essentially flocked to Jason Aldean by default because they found he was delivering the meat-and-potatoes corporate rock harder than anyone in their former format was at the time?
https://www.countryaircheck.com/pdfs/current012615.pdf
Well, according to the latest issue of Country Aircheck Weekly, since country radio enjoyed an unprecedented summer in terms of share and peaks among key demographics……………….it has since witnessed six consecutive months of declines among all key demos, especially younger male listeners. You can refer to Page 8 for tables that more specifically document the losses.
What’s especially notable in the demo table is that while it is typical to expect a decline from the summer to winter months annually (most likely having to do, above all else, with people being more likely to crank up their radio dials during summer festivities while colder months are more likely to direct attention to sports for escapism)………………the net losses for 2014 are strikingly more precipitous compared to previous years. In 2013, the key 18-34 demo lost 8% of its share from summer to winter. This past year, it was 17%.
*
So what does all of this suggest?
We’re already seeing the first sure signs of exodus of disaffected fans from commercial country/”country” much like that of disaffected rock fans during the mid-to-late 2000’s. There’s this mass lingering “Been there, heard that!” mentality setting in and, now, they’re just chasing whatever satisfies their sweet tooth ever sine the “bro-country” and “chicken-fried metal” Gobstoppers lost their flavor.
It actually makes complete sense that corporate country/”country” is shamelessly lapping up Sam Hunt’s “metro-politan” appeal when, as Country Aircheck Weekly also points out, one of only two formats that is rising in share is Urban Contemporary. So in a desperate, Hail-Mary pass of a bid to retain a more fickle listening demographic, Sam Hunt is their way of trying to appease the Urban Contemporary crowd halfway.
And of course it will ultimately backfire.
But then the question remains: “Is a net decline in country listenership actually EXACTLY what traditional country fans need to take their format back, or will it only result in a tragic mass implosion much like rock in the 90’s/00’s?”
February 16, 2015 @ 3:55 pm
Good stuff Noah.
February 16, 2015 @ 8:54 pm
The key difference between rock and country was that rock was already losing steam from the beginning of the 1990s. Looking at the charts, you can see hip-hop and electronic music rapidly gaining control from 1990 onward. Even “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, often thought of as the seminal rock song of the early 90s, only reached #6.
With country music, there is much more of a steady audience size rather than the boom and bust waves of the mainstream genres like jazz, rock, and hip-hop/electronic.
February 16, 2015 @ 10:09 pm
I see your point, and I decided to liken the mid-to-late 00’s as the most notable tipping point because that was the time Shinedown and Kings of Leon charted what would be the last two massive legitimate rock hits ever since.
You’re right: rock’s market share declined beginning in the early 90’s. But rock nonetheless retained a degree of relevance as a crossover-capable format despite having its identity crisis up until “All The Right Reasons”-era Nickelback rode off into the sunset. Since that time, there hasn’t been a commercial rock album that has come remotely close to impacting mainstream airwaves at a decisive scale.
The primary question that remains, and we’ll have a much better idea as to the answer, is: “How much of this 18-34 demographic is loyal? Were they ever truly country fans whatsoever or did they only pounce on the crest of a wave that interested them?”
Then you can interrogate ever deeper: 1) “How many only tuned in because of ‘bro-country’?” 2) “How many who first latched onto ‘bro-country’ have since stuck around for ‘metro-politan’?” 3) “Which percentage of listeners who first found their way to the format over the past several years make up the total single sales of Eric Paslay’s ‘She Don’t Love You’ or Jake Owen’s ‘What We Ain’t Got’?” And so forth.
*
And should the statistics more than likely (I dare say probably) find that a large majority of this demographic abandoned country radio once “bro-country” began eroding in market share just as quickly as they embraced country radio once it took precedent……………then it will only prove vindicating and demonstrate without a shadow of a doubt that 1) the much-touted 18-34 demographic dominance was inflated all along by fairweather friends, and 2) “bro-country” in the longer term will be increasingly viewed as illegitimate from country music itself and more like a rain shadow that eclipsed and encumbered the format.
What remains to be seen is how long the hemorrhaging in audience and share will continue. If it goes on well past Spring Break on through Memorial Day and, most notably, listenership fails to produce a notable seasonal boost as summer begins…………….then sirens are going to be blaring.
February 17, 2015 @ 3:33 am
I truly hope that you are right about bro-country fans leaving the genre.
Good riddance!
February 17, 2015 @ 2:36 pm
I’m willing to make a gutsy prediction as to what will be a decisive bellwether moment as to how intense the 18-34 demographic drop-off in country music is:
Luke Bryan’s forthcoming final Spring Break album.
What many underreport or grossly overlook when talking about Luke Bryan and, really, bro-country to an extent………………is that Luke Bryan’s “Spring Break” series has truly been a brilliant exercise in marketing that actually largely paved the way for endless summer to saturate the airwaves. Luke Bryan has been at this since before even his sophomore album “Doin’ My Thing” was released (hence, before he became a superstar). Luke Bryan has been quoted in interviews before that his “Spring Break” EP series was a way of getting other music out there that his labe would never let him cut on studio records.
Yet, while I’m sure he was being honest at that time…………….the irony is that what dominated the charts over the past several years was what you’d expect to hear on a Luke Bryan “Spring Break” EP. His EPs were cult favorites from the start, but in brilliantly making an annual tradition off of this brand of marketing, he saw each successive release outperform its predecessor……………….culminating in the first #1 album of his career (and a Gold certification) for “Spring Break…Here To Party” (which even resulted in a non-single charting the Billboard Hot 100 in “Buzzkill” with a holy-viewed video)……………and two annual shows at the Spinnaker Beach Club in Panama City, Florida drawing an insane estimated 200,000 over two days.
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We can dissect the intentions and decision on Luke Bryan’s behalf as to why he’s phasing out of the “Spring Break” era (perhaps criticism of him being too old at Spring Break finally caught up to him, or perhaps it has gotten too out of control he doesn’t know how to contain it anymore, or perhaps he genuinely wants to mature as not just an entertainer but a recording artist as well, etc.)……………but I absolutely believe “Spring Break…Checkin’ Out” is going to serve as a barometer as to how viable the 18-34 selling demographic remains in country music.
If “Spring Break…Checkin’ Out” outsells “Spring Break…Here To Party” in its opening week, than it will prove without a shadow of a doubt that this segment of the country listening demographic is still intact and is still a most viable force to be recognized. But if sales underwhelm, then it will further add credence to what has been discussed above that a significant swath of the 18-34 demographic have already parted ways with country and are amidst a mass exodus to Urban Contemporary and whatever else strikes their instant gratification.
February 17, 2015 @ 4:31 am
From my observations of the bro-country phenomenon in the wild, it didn’t seem to me that its popularity among bandwagon-jumping enthusiasts was any more sustainable than that of the Duck Dynasty TV craze from a couple years ago, or any other short-lived pop culture trend.
For awhile, it just became popular among a certain demographic of mainstream music-listening dudes to crank FGL, drink Fireball, and be “country.” But it was pretty obvious to me just from observing this behavior that it wasn’t rooted in any kind of genuine passion or long-running interest; that’s why I knew “bro-country” was destined to flame out quickly.
That’s not to say that there isn’t a steady demo of radio listeners who many continue to enjoy bro-country style music if it’s available to them, in the same way that Duck Dynasty still has a core audience of loyal followers who continue to watch after the ratings have tanked. But I am not at all surprised to see the Country Aircheck numbers Noah referred to which apparently show that a lot of folks have already lost interest.
February 17, 2015 @ 10:27 am
I think over the past couple of years, the “country” persona became cool to the mainstream, particularly to white suburbanites and small town people.
Shows like Duck Dynasty, Buck Wild and Honey Boo Boo, as well as several other cable TV shows, became a cultural phenomenon and make it seem cool to some people to “be country.”
This crowd started wearing trucker caps, drinking flavored whiskey and listening to pop country music. It was easy to get into “the country lifestyle” because all you had to do was listen to music that was similar to what pop music sounded like 10 years ago, wear a hat that was popular 10 years ago and drink a beverage that was sweet and easy to drink straight.
Country succeeded because it was a really easy scene to get into. Country fans don’t care if new fans show up and don’t know a singer’s deep albums cuts or listen to a beloved underground artist. You just show up at the concert and sing along to the radio hits.
February 16, 2015 @ 3:06 pm
I’m not sure traditional Country music will ever take off massively at radio again. Largely due to the fact that there are so few independent radio stations that understand the long view.
Right now with the corporate powers that essentially run the industry, I think you are sadly more likely to see trend after trend after trend as conglomerate powers try to suck the last dime they can out of the genre.
February 17, 2015 @ 4:42 am
I also fear that this is the case when it comes to top 40 country, but I hold out some hope that the “Nash Icon” format and will serve as a revitalizing and balancing force in country radio in the coming years.
At least, it seems like it has made a big splash from my vantage point – it is already a big success in the Nashville market. But I am mostly not a mainstream radio-listening guy anyway.
February 18, 2015 @ 8:10 pm
In some ways, you can hear more traditional (at least in the 90s style) country in Canada, with our “stars” like Gord Bamford & George Canyon who have more in common with Aaron Watson than bro country. Guys like Corb Lund are in the mainstream up here too with really rootsy country sounds that you’d never hear down south (with the main exception of Jamey Johnson who had a surprise short time in the spotlight).
February 16, 2015 @ 3:24 pm
I second metro-bro. Metro-Politan isn’t indistinguishable enough from metropolitan. Plus metro-bro sounds a lot less respectful, which is a good thing.
February 16, 2015 @ 4:56 pm
Country will eventually fracture into numerous “sub-genres”, sort of like what happened with metal. There’s death, tech death, brutal death, doom, funeral doom, sludge, drone and so on (and on and on). You’ll have lots of different artists, none of whom “break big” like the bro-country guys but who have sizable followings nonetheless.
February 16, 2015 @ 6:38 pm
I vote we just refer to it as This Sam Hunt Bullshit regardless of whether hunt is actually the person singing it. Rolls of the tongue better than Metro-Politan.
February 16, 2015 @ 7:48 pm
Oh my god they’re going to start remixing all this new shit too aren’t they? Pop artists love remixing shit. So we get to experience the original shit bomb and then enjoy it all over again after they shit on it some more and rerelease it while the original shit is still in radio circulation. Shit man fuck
February 16, 2015 @ 9:24 pm
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_Division
February 17, 2015 @ 12:15 am
Sorry to say I believe the term “Metro-Politan” is just not catchy enough.
After Bro-Country, I guess this to me is just No-Country
February 17, 2015 @ 7:37 am
I believe it is also related to the quick news cycle we now ‘enjoy’. The media is primed to pounce on whatever spark appears and fan the flames into something big and burning bright.
Then it (typically) burns away quickly and the machine moves on to the next hot spot. or rather, they make the next hot spot out of an unsuspecting ember.
There is no time to wait and see if it is actually good. Quality is not the metric. Burn rate is.
February 17, 2015 @ 8:24 am
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/sam-hunt-montevallo-album-interview-20141028
Just read this article and threw up 3 times….oops make that 4….
February 17, 2015 @ 11:16 am
Hunt’s nervous about words like “bro country.” “I haven’t endorsed that term for my music at all,” he says skeptically, “and I don’t consider myself a bro.”
”¦.as if your own opinion on whether you are a bro matters? We will decide if the QB is a bro, you don’t get to grade yourself. HeteroPolitanism barf bag is complimentary.
February 17, 2015 @ 8:27 am
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Nashville Country is just a group of pedophiles fucking children and the parents giving the pedophile a pat on the back.
February 17, 2015 @ 12:26 pm
That’s ridiculous. Just calm down and focus on the poor quality of the songs rather than presenting this type of moralistic hyperbole.
February 17, 2015 @ 9:19 am
I really like the term “Metro-Bro” to describe this Sam Hunt bullshit. We can only hope that the genre actually splits. However, the problem with that is markets will not allow that to happen. Radio stations cannot survive without playing Taylor Swift, Jason Aldean, FGL, Luke Bryan, ect.. The general public does not like Sturgill, Johnson, Payne, Dale Watson, Aaron Watson, Whitey, Clark or Shooter Jennings. Trigger is right. We need balance. There has to be room for traditional song writer types, and corporate manufactured mainstream stuff. The problem is that nothing over than Nashville manufactured tailgate crap is given a chance on todays radio.
February 18, 2015 @ 10:17 am
I completely agree with your statement that Bro-Country and your term “Metro-Politan” country are rampant in today”™s radios. You can turn to any radio station and guarantee you will be listening to one of these new sub genres of country music. They are catchy and appeal to a younger audience that is willing to buy these songs and idolize artists that sing them. But it is not something new. That is what almost every new sub-genre of country music goal has been since the beginning of country music. Rockabilly especially geared toward a younger crowd in the 1950s. It encompassed a blend of mainstream country, rock and roll, pop, and jazz with an emphasis on the single guitar. Countrypolitan throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s also reared its head with adding smooth dancing beats into country music. But one thing these all seem to have in common is they all were just fads. They lasted for a couple of years and then something new came along. I personally find myself singing along to “Metro-Politan” country today, but I understand where you”™re coming from. I think all you can hope for is to have an artist to take a stand against these new country sub genres, almost like George Strait did with his Neo-traditionalism music in the early 1980s.
February 18, 2015 @ 10:37 am
I’m still laughing out loud at “McAnally” – a most appropriate surname!
February 18, 2015 @ 10:48 am
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXgiCr-V9HM
When everybody got along…
February 18, 2015 @ 3:17 pm
Does anyone else notice how mainstream rock and metal seems to be doing it better then country All rock and metal fans recognize past heroes such as AC/DC and Black Sabbath while country fans 17 and under (and in some cases older) don’t know who George Jones or Hank Williams is (I’m the only 13 year old I know who thinks the older stuff is better)
Rock radio plays all the classics and the modern hits while country radio won’t play crap under 10 years old
Rock and metal songs are written by the band performing them 99% of the time
Country songs are written be the artist performing them way too little (mainstream that is I’m not counting independent artist such as Sturgill Simpson)
Case in point, though lost genres that deserve more recognition, rock and metal are doing it better then country
February 18, 2015 @ 4:31 pm
F
February 18, 2015 @ 4:32 pm
Total accident, do not respond to that!
February 18, 2015 @ 4:46 pm
Although your name reminds me of the Avenger Hawkeye, I admire your taste in music, young one.
February 18, 2015 @ 4:39 pm
What I meant to say was, I’m impressed you know who a Sturgill is, since he gets virtually no recognition compared to the bros. According to Jason Aldean and them, you have to like hip hop to like country. Luke Bryan “country rock hip hop mixed tape, a little Conway a little T-Pain.” FGL “rock a little bit of hip hop and Haggard and Jagger.” How can you be a country singer and constantly bring up hip hop? And how can people believe it’s a country song when you sing about listening to rap.
February 20, 2015 @ 4:54 am
Met-Bro Politan? Shouldn’t we give Bro Country its proper credit for leading us to this rubbish?
Review – Ruthie Collins’ “Ramblin’ Man” | Country Perspective
February 20, 2015 @ 11:01 am
[…] have EDM introduced with it. Not to mention that isn’t a long-lasting, sustainable sound. As coined by Trigger at Saving Country Music, this “metro-politan” music in country right now is just a fad (by the way if you […]
February 22, 2015 @ 2:06 pm
I know this is off topic but I need to warn of a new song that needs a proper rant. The song is “Love Me Like You Mean It” by Kelsea Ballerini. Basically, it’s a variation of “Girl In Your Truck Song” that is actually getting good radio play. This song desperately needs a rant.
February 27, 2015 @ 11:29 am
Well to start off I have no idea who these people are (besides recognizing a few names) and thank god I don’t. Also I didn”™t read all the comments but glanced over them so people may have touched on some things that I will repeat.
I can appreciate your argument and ABSOLULY agree with the sentiment! Do I think these types of sub genres (if we give them enough credit to be considered that) are country? HELL NO! However, I suppose anyone other than Jimmie Rodgers isn”™t either if you want to get down to true form”¦. Look at some of the musicians we love”¦ at one point they were too edgy or not ”˜real”™ country, Now they are legends in the genre. Honky Tonk isn”™t ”˜Country”™, Alt Country isn”™t ”˜Country”™”¦ and so on. I mean music changes over time, people try new things, some things stick others go by the wayside. But just because the music isn”™t “pure” to the original style doesn”™t mean its bad (not saying Rap-country is good, it sounds horrific). I think the real issue with it , that you touched on in your article, is the intent on why it”™s being made. I mean the world is small, people these days are constantly exposed to other ideas and styles. So I guess if you grow listening to country and also like hip-hop, maybe you pick up your guitar and start messing around and mix things up”¦. That”™s who YOU are. Is it wrong? No (might not be good though) I grew up liking ”˜early”™ American music, early Rock n”™ Roll, 60”™s R&B, early Country”¦stuff like that, Then I got really into Punk, so I loved Mike Ness”™ stuff and Bands like Two Cow Garage (amongst many other forms of country and American Music) but some people I”™m sure hear music like that and think it”™s awful. Is it country? No, but I don”™t really think it”™s saying it is. And so what is the intent? Is it ”˜Cow punk”™ because you like both punk and country, or are you trying to sell records to more people? The issue with these sub genres are the fact they are blatantly manufactured. Some people sitting around some fancy office saying ”˜Man Dance/Hip-hop sales are sure up. Oh I have an Idea”¦.”¦”™ and then try and pass it off as Country.
Now I think I may have a different point of view on some of this because of where I”™m from. I live in South King County in Washington. Seattle Is only 20 min away from me so unlike a lot of the people in this country I have more resources to find new music. We are lucky to have a radio station like KEXP on the dial that plays independent music and whatever else they want to play (some good, some bad) Who just yesterday played a ton of Johnny Cash and related artists in honor of his birthday. Along with three specialty shows at night from 6-9pm on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday that play American roots music “The Roadhouse”, a Country show “Swinging Doors”, and a Rockabilly show “Shake the Shack”. Which by the way can be streamed live or listened to on archives for people elsewhere. Everyone do yourself a favor and check out Swinging Doors with Don Slack, ”˜Country”™ is alive and well, at least here in the Great Northwest and I”™m sure there are plenty of ”˜underground”™ country scenes in other parts of the United States. Even though listening to country radio it may seem the only thing from Nashville is this pop country, but there are independent musicians from there actually making good music, and all over the this country. I think the issue here is, ”˜how do people get music?”™ If you are going to turn on some commercial country radio station and never turn the channel, then your perception of Country music will be very sad and one sided. But on the other hand my perception of it may be also one side, I don”™t turn on commercial radio so like I said above, I have no idea who these people are or that they even existed until now. And so how do you get independent country music? For me it”™s easy, I turn the radio on Thursday nights, and go online from time to time, but it takes some work. Some people may not have the ability to change the channel. I bet a lot of the country only has a few radio options so it makes it harder. However people these days are just too lazy or just don”™t know what”™s out there, so they are content with what is force feed to them. Or they are more concerned with what other people are liking.
Bottom line for me, they can have it. That stuff isn”™t even on my radar.
I think that Country music isn”™t going to ever be saved by commercial radio and no other forms of music will be either, and I don”™t feel that is the appropriate avenue to promote it. If the mainstream country establishment ever caught on to ”˜our”™ music they would ruin it. The way you save all good music is to just support people we like by going to shows buying records and telling people about them. From where my mind is, I think country is well. The true forms of most music styles are always going to survive in the underground scenes. Whether its Country, Punk, or even Hip-hop. It will always be there and always has been. It”™s just sometimes hard to find.
And by no means am I criticizing your article and work. You are doing a great job promoting real country music and I think this raises some good questions about how people are get connected to art and how artists are supported.
February 27, 2015 @ 11:30 am
Damn that is long sorry
March 23, 2015 @ 8:22 am
Exactamundo. People sitting back and getting pissed off at a lack of fiddles or banjo is exactly this. Not that there’s necessarily a problem with that point of view, but to be taken seriously dissenters can’t just come across as angry victims that want it their way (which has never been unanimous) or the highway.
As for the term itself, perhaps instead of Metro-Politan, City-Politan or Urban-Politan would be more appropriate? They don’t roll off the tongue nearly as smoothly, but they certainly wouldn’t be confused with anything else. As for the next trend, I’m still waiting on country-grunge, since bro-country was essentially country hair metal.
July 23, 2015 @ 3:05 pm
Hank3’s ramblin’ Man with the Melvins is way better 🙂
January 3, 2016 @ 3:26 pm
I made a video about this topic a few weeks ago after seeing Sam Hunt for the first time when he performed on The Voice (For the past few years until now I’ve done my best to ignore Nashville and focus on Texas Country and Red Dirt). I posited that every genre can be boiled down to 3 main aspects that define them: lyrical content, image, and overall sound and how he fits squarely in R&B aside from basic image and SOMETIMES lyrical content.
August 8, 2017 @ 7:56 pm
I scrolled all the way down to the bottom of this just to say I enjoyed reading this post. I always wondered why I suddenly went ‘off’ Jason Aldean. Now I know.
My other comment was the tragedy of me and a few thousand others at Jamboree in the Hill on Saturday evening. Didn’t know the names but I sure wanted them off my stage. Kellsea Ballerini??? (Disney pop). I believe they were using ‘our’ venue to make a music video Then we had slicked back pretty boy Brett Young telling us he a California Boy (They have farms there) and using this to justify some ‘soul music’ that I forget. Oh, and clodhopper runners/sneakers/sport shoes….leave ’em on the bus, kids. But before that, some jazzed up wiener did some type of DJ pump-it-up thing. I guess that was our bathroom time. It all hurt so bad that I wanted to leave my beloved JITH EARLY for the time…and then I did. Sorry, Lady Antebellum.