Meghan Linsey’s Anti Bro-Country Song “Try Harder Than That”
As yet another great example of how the girls of country are getting the whole “Anti Bro-Country” thing completely wrong, singer Meghan Linsey formerly of the Big Machine-signed and now defunct singing duo Steel Magnolia, has submitted her own Anti Bro offering up for the public’s listening pleasure, or displeasure as the case may be.
Written with Corey Crowder and James Otto, “Try Harder Than That” joins the already-crowded field of songs trying to juxtapose the gender perspective of Bro-Country, while still unfortunately imbibing in the same stereotyping and listing off of country artifacts that makes Bro-Country so awful in the first place. It’s like everyone got the same anti Bro-Country idea in Nashville at the same time, rushed their songs through production to piggy back off of the backlash, and now we’re hearing the half-baked results in rapid succession. It’s like a high school dance where all the girls accidentally wore the same dress.
“It’s an anthem for women, I feel like,” Meghan tells Chuck Dauphin of Billboard Magazine. “I know that people are likening it to the anti-bro-country songs, and I guess there may be a hint of that. However, it’s more about empowering women, and telling guys they need to step it up. That’s the message I was trying to get across.”
Instead it feels like Linsey is stepping down to the Bro’s level with shallow and predictable lyricism. It’s not necessarily Meghan’s fault that so many other women decided to put out similar songs at the same time, but what makes “Try Harder Than That” one measure worse than the competition is bringing on hick hopper Bubba Sparxxx to offer his slurred, lazy, and virtually-incoherent lyrical slop on the song as Meghan Linsey’s foil. Meghan doesn’t do much better with her offerings, especially at the beginning of the song with the incessant “boy” this and “boy” that indicative of hip-pop from five years ago laid over an instrument bed that stays curiously away from drum machines or EDM, but nestles quite nicely into pop rock sensibilities.
“Try Harder Than That” does not symbolize the worst of what country music has to offer in 2014, but it certainly does not do justice to the sensational talent inherent in country music’s women, including Meghan Lindsey. She has a good voice. It’s just a shame she had to use it in this unsavory, ill-fitting context. It is Meghan Linsey who should have tried harder, because unlike the “Bros,” she knows better.
1 3/4 of 2 Guns Down.
August 29, 2014 @ 8:07 am
rap is crap. how n the hell is she gonna make fun of bro country when she sounds just like bro country. that wss wurse then bro county. the hole anti bro country genre has all redy jumped the shark. I changed my mind bout bro country to. it will probly be a round in 20 years still. aww well hell I dont know. you wood never here jenifer netles do a song like that.
August 29, 2014 @ 8:28 am
Dale,
Would you please stop spelling words phonetically on purpose? Nobody thinks its funny.
August 29, 2014 @ 8:33 am
The spelling is pretty grating, but judging everything against Sugarland is a pretty good bit.
August 29, 2014 @ 9:01 am
all rite. well I aint gonna rite no more. how bout that mister.
August 29, 2014 @ 9:35 am
Lil Dale you keep bringing it anyway you want. Itz moor wut u hafta say than how itz spelt.
August 29, 2014 @ 10:11 am
Another prime example of the hip hop influence on country music.
August 29, 2014 @ 10:11 am
I’m not convinced that Lil Dale is a real person, but if he is, by all means, please let him continue doing what he does.
I like to picture Lil Dale riding around on Lil Sebastian, the stopping to fire off internet vitriol like a six shooter when he gets the desire.
August 29, 2014 @ 10:22 am
Another thing is Lil Dale is bringing nothing intelligent or insightful to the conversation. I know we can all joke and have a good time but other times there are important issues. No wonder the state of country music is the way it is.
August 29, 2014 @ 10:37 am
thanx bigfoot and big a. and 86 I hate rap. rap is crap. so I dont no what the hell yer talkin bout. my inflewances r tim mcgraw sugarland rascle flats little big town blate sheltan luke brian an diamond rio. I betcha 86s band sounds like cole szwindle meats the band parry. my band sounds like garth brookes meats 38 special.
August 29, 2014 @ 11:25 am
Lil Dale, you’re like a modern Unknown Hinson meets Talladega Nights.
He cracks me up. If these are his opinions and he’s serious – Amen. If he’s a message board character creation, then you could do a lot worse than:
“my band sounds like garth brookes meats 38 special.”
Amen.
September 2, 2014 @ 10:44 pm
Crap rap is crap. I’m not a big fan of rap music but I have to say that every once in awhile, like in every musical genre, there is a good rap song.
August 29, 2014 @ 8:16 am
This sounds like a Thomas Rhett song sang by a woman. She doesn’t even have a good voice. Steel Magnolia always drove me crazy, because they weren’t that good. Alone she’s no better. But seriously? The lyrics aren’t even that good. I don’t hear anything empowering to women.
August 29, 2014 @ 11:31 am
This sounds nothing like Rhett’s lyrics and they are the opposite and empowering. Like most female artists, Meghan outsings many of the men radio plays.
August 29, 2014 @ 8:21 am
I actually was somewhat enjoying the song more than I expected until the rapping sunk it like a rock. And the auto tune part was unnecessary as well. I think there was something there but poorly executed.
August 29, 2014 @ 9:15 am
Judging from the title, I’d hoped there would at least be a nod to FTM’s “Put the ‘try’ back in Country” slogan… Perhaps the writers should’ve taken their own advice; as it is, this song strikes me as both strident and lazy.
August 29, 2014 @ 9:24 am
Can these women STOP this…Her voice is not all that bad & she can do better. What are they trying to prove? Stand up women & show what you really have & stop jumping on the same old bandwagon
August 29, 2014 @ 10:17 am
This song sounds just like an Avril Lavigne song from 2002 but with a banjo buried was back in the mix and a white rapper…
What a piece of shit of a song.
August 29, 2014 @ 10:28 am
I’m kind of stunned by how bad this is. Why did they think putting a (terrible) rapper in a song like this would work? The song is thin to begin with, but wow.
They really are getting it wrong, The only antidote to bro-country is putting actual country music (by women AND men) back on the radio.
August 29, 2014 @ 11:37 am
“The only antidote to bro-country is putting actual country music (by women AND men) back on the radio.”
Amen to that but maybe this is a start. I think the idea is since bro-country is about all radio plays now, women are answering it with opposite lyrics set to the kind of music radio plays. Maybe that will be a start for getting actual country music back on the radio, maybe not.
August 29, 2014 @ 11:15 am
I don’t like the rap version and love the rap-free version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZOqasB0s7Q
This is way better and more empowering than bro-country. Sadly most likely FM radio won’t play it much because she’s a solo female, and I hope I’m wrong and radio changes. She’s on an indie label and I’ve seen some in radio state that as a lame bs excuse for not playing the best solo females including when people request them. Radio plays many men on indies, for example they just played Joe Nichols to #1 again, Dustin Lynch is #4, and there are 7 male and 0 female indie artists in the top 30 (I don’t count Big Machine as an indie because from Taylor’s huge sales they grew into a major of sorts years ago). The last indie solo female radio played to top 10 or 20 that I can think of is Heidi Newfield in 2008 and that was just one single. And if she didn’t mention a male legend would they have played it? Remember Taylor also mentioned a male icon in her debut single.
I see these songs as more of an answer or response to bro-country than anti bro-country. Maybe the bros were hoping women would keep quiet. Ain’t gonna happen. If you don’t like bro-country, buy this, Maddie & Tae’s and other female songs and albums to help send the message to Nashville and radio.
August 29, 2014 @ 11:58 am
Well, this is unfortunate.
So now we are going to do bro-country “backlash” songs that are essentially the same thing in disguise.
I know I should focus on country, but the song that immediately came to mind in comparison is “Royals” by Lorde. That song is SUPPOSED to be criticizing a style of music, and yet, the critical words are few. So the song ends up sounding like all the stuff she is saying is bad! Nobody hears the criticism and thinks it is just like everything else!
And this is the same. Rap?? Really?? Well join the club, lady.
I don’t get this at all.
All we are doing now is doing what everyone else does, and pretending we are criticizing it to get airplay. Sad.
August 29, 2014 @ 12:28 pm
This song is like holding a mirror up to a mirror.
August 29, 2014 @ 12:48 pm
Yeah, I definitely did not like that. Outside “Songs About Trucks” by Wade Bowen and maybe a few other ones here and there, I cant remember really liking any of these Anti-Bro songs much. As much as I dislike modern Country Music, it seems the artists that are having an real success “rebelling” against radio are those that just stick to focusing on making their own music as good as possible. This song just feels like it wants to straddle the fence, it clearly wants radio play as evidenced by the production and guest “vocalist”. It’s really hard to make a statement when you only want to make enough of one so you appear to be a rebel when said artist is clearly begging for radio’s attention still.
August 29, 2014 @ 1:59 pm
I really do want to like this song, and I find the non-rap version okay to listen to, but ultimately I agree, it’s pretty drab. With all the best will in the world, neither the melody or the production is particularly special, and the whole thing ends up sounding like a Hilary Duff album track.
In any case, I think whatever happens now, most of these anti-bro country songs are going to pale in comparison to “Girl in a Country Song”. What with it being immensely catchy, being pushed by Scott Borchetta and having a killer video, offerings such as this are going to have a hard time getting any attention, regardless of how mundane they are.
August 30, 2014 @ 9:35 am
Both this and Maddie & Tae’s song are better than many radio plays though so they should play both. They play many generic male party songs with similar lyrics at the same time, all day every day, and filled the top 10 with them but can’t play 2 or more better, more original female songs? The main obstacle is radio not playing enough solo females. No doubt Maddie & Tae are set. There’s a chance radio will play Try Harder because it’s Meghan’s solo debut single (sadly that’s about the only time they play solo females to top 20) and like Maddie & Tae’s song the music has a little of the bro sound they are playing but it’s better than bro-country. This doesn’t have generic checklist lyrics other than the few bro lyrics she responds to, EDM, pure pop or hip hop music, too much or annoying synth (I prefer none but can live with this type and amount on some songs). It’s mostly country/rock with a little pop.
I don’t know what kind of radio promotion Meghan has. It looks like XM plays the rap version. I think FM might play the no rap version since they usually don’t play this much rap and the rap version has heavier rap than 1994. An article I read, maybe a Colt Ford interview, said radio doesn’t like to play rap unless it’s from an established superstar and even then it’s just a light rap. I thought she shot a music video so maybe it will be out soon.
August 29, 2014 @ 3:24 pm
Well, I was glad that I hadn’t heard Steel Magnolia in years, but then the lesser talented vocalist in the duo is the one that gets a chance at a comeback? What the fuck?
August 29, 2014 @ 8:15 pm
LESSER talented? Meghan was the MORE talented one!! she had all the vocal ability. He was the instrumental one! What are you smokin?
August 29, 2014 @ 9:51 pm
Well, to be completely honest, it was hard to pick between two vocalists who both kinda sucked in comparison to others in the genre. Are they talented singers? Sure. Are they either exceptionally gifted singers or singers with exceptionally unique voices that stand out? No.
August 30, 2014 @ 8:21 am
But many men radio plays aren’t exceptionally gifted singers or singers with exceptionally unique voices or songs and Meghan’s voice and this song is better and more original than many of them. So I don’t get why you’re mad she gets a chance at a comeback.
August 29, 2014 @ 4:37 pm
I think what bothers me most about this generic overdone crap is that James Otto co-wrote it . His solo stuff from a couple years back is dynamite . His forgettable single from a couple of years back was no indication of his talents …and nor is this…even remotely , imo . I got to the obligatory CHANTING ( whoa-oh- oh ) and got very suspicious . I got to the rap and it was over for me . No vision , no originality , no legs , no focus ….just a waste of airtime and MY time . The artists seem to have given complete control of theri lives/careers to the producers who deliver ONLY what is radio-safe and label certified . POP SHIT !
August 29, 2014 @ 8:52 pm
Yeah this is offensive to James Otto’s writing talents. He can write better than this.
September 2, 2014 @ 10:12 am
I was really surprised that James Otto had a part in this too. I saw him open for Gary Allan a few years ago and he was really good. I think his label tried to hard to push him as the “biggest voice in country music”. He co-wrote “In Color”, “No Hurry” for Zac Brown Band, and had some really good songs in “Soldiers & Jesus”, “For You” (not sure if he co-wrote this or not), and “Let’s Just Let Go”.
August 29, 2014 @ 9:36 pm
I think the point that a lot of people are missing is that these so-called “anti-bro” songs are focusing on lyrical content only. I’m guessing most of the artists making these songs have no problem with the music, only the subject matter.
August 30, 2014 @ 7:01 pm
I totally agree. And bro-country is much more than just crappy lyrics that don’t say anything in the same way nothing was said by the last twelve dudes to do the same song about nothing… It’s about that horrible production – that typing of a chord progression into a trashville music computer that spits out a pile of crap spit out by the same 3.5 focus-group approved musicians, so compressed that it just sounds like a droning hiss. The lyrics are just part of it.
This song only has one or two lines – then they’re just repeated slightly different throughout the song – really poorly written. There’s no story. No point. Just re-running one idea over and over until finally reaching the part where the true genius kicks in and you get to hear “mama” magically rhymed with “mama” 45 times.
I’m all for writing songs that bash bad songs – why not? But, if you’re going to do that – you really need to make YOUR song better than the ones you’re bashing…
August 30, 2014 @ 2:27 am
Wow. Country and rap, without the taste of the former or edginess of the latter. This song is to country music what Lil Dale is to thoughtful discourse.
August 30, 2014 @ 4:54 am
watch it pal. u mess with the bull n youll get the horns.
August 30, 2014 @ 8:10 am
Thanks for proving my point, bro.
August 30, 2014 @ 8:41 am
Have to disagree, Meghan is very talented, don’t judge by one song you don’t like. She has lots of different songs. I hope to be just like her one day when I grow up. She’s a great role model for teenage girls like me. She sings songs with meaning, not all this crap they play now days on the big radio stations.
August 30, 2014 @ 9:43 am
Lots of negative comments above. Maybe some would be more positive if Trigger reviewed the no rap version because many people can’t stand any rap in country. At least Bubba can rap, unlike the men on country radio trying it.
To get radio to play women and country music it’s important for fans to band together and lift up ALL the women of country, not just those we personally like. Many here don’t care about radio but I wonder if radio going pop might reduce interest in non-mainstream country too. If everyone is brainwashed with pop, especially the kids listening to radio, will they ever care about country?
August 30, 2014 @ 9:50 am
Chris,
Just to clarify, I did not single out the Bubba Sparxx version of this song for review, I reviewed the predominant version that is being presented to the public as a single. The non-rap version is the ALTERNATIVE version to this song, labeled on iTunes and for radio as the “No Rap Edit.” If Meghan and her peeps wanted people to consider the non rap version first, they should have released it as a single, and offered the Bubba Sparxxx version as a remix.
I want to see women succeed in country music, and on country radio. But they are not going to do it with songs like this. This is going to drag country music’s women down. I don’t like writing negative reviews, but they are also necessary for trying to preserve the quality of the music marketplace.
August 30, 2014 @ 11:10 am
I wondered if you even saw the no rap version since it’s been somewhat hidden, your review didn’t mention it and I stumbled across it after hearing the rap version they’ve been promoting. It is unusual to start with promoting or go from a rap to no rap version instead of the other way around (remix) like Cruise and other songs after they do well on FM radio.
August 30, 2014 @ 11:22 am
I also just added a link to the non-rap version to the review, just in case people want to check it out.
August 30, 2014 @ 11:00 am
The best thing about this song is that it’s not nearly as bad as “Somethin’ Bad.” Carrie and Miranda are practically ruined for me. I can’t believe they recorded that atrocity.
August 31, 2014 @ 1:07 pm
gross
August 31, 2014 @ 3:23 pm
This song is fucking terrible.
September 4, 2014 @ 10:17 am
I have noticed that you have a weird double standard about songs that criticize country music. If they’re done by men whining about the state of country music and how they can’t get played if they don’t find a word that rhymes with Bronco, they’re genius and a deserved hit back against the crappy state of country music these days. If they actually demonstrate thought about the screwed up gender dynamics of country music these days, you find a reason to find fault with them.
The rap portion of this song is abhorrent, but the lyrics themselves are spot on and the non-rap version is acceptable.
September 4, 2014 @ 10:24 am
Respectfully, I totally disagree. It has nothing to do with gender. It has everything to do with quality. “Girl In A Country” song has some quality, and though I have my criticisms of it, I also have been a champion of it in many respects.
Here’s another girl whose country protest song I graded high:
https://savingcountrymusic.com/melody-williamsons-studio-version-of-theres-no-country-here
May 8, 2015 @ 7:18 pm
I love song and Meghan and yes I think Bubba Sparxxx is looking damn good in this video…it’s my new favorite
November 9, 2015 @ 2:09 am
“shallow and predictable lyricism” Thanks i have been trying to find these words to express what I am hearing.