Trace Adkins Targets Your Kids w/ Sexualized Puppets
You know how McDonald’s targets children by putting plastic toys in their garbage meals to train their eating habits so when their old and obese they have to lop off infected limbs just to stay alive until they die of a diabetic coma? Well this is the approach Trace Adkins has taken with his dumb song “Brown Chicken Brown Cow.”
When I first roasted this song, a lot of people thought I’d gone too far. That I was tilting at windmills. That I was being some sort of ultra-moralist by pointing out the sexual nature of the song. Some thought it was a stretch to say it was targeted towards kids, and putting clips of children reciting an innocuous joke that had nothing to do with the actual song was a way for me to bend facts to fit my assertion.
Well now my friends, the Trace Adkins camp has shown their complete hand, and without question, it is your kids they are after. And through what vehicle? Sexualized puppets. That’s right. As Trace put it to CNN:
We wanted to do a video that kept the innuendo, but at the same time is ‘G’ rated so kids can watch it, and their parents don’t have to worry about them seeing something–so we’re using puppets.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH VIDEO
Now you may watch the video and not see anything that looks too bad, but the CNN story also says, “Over in puppet wardrobe, designers are laying out a doll sized negligee and bra. So clearly something’s goin’ down somewhere–probably in that big red barn.”
That’s right boys and girls, if you’re from the South, or from the West, or live in the country, or enjoy country music, this is what they have done to your culture: relegated it to innuendo and puppet sex.
Unlike Joe Camel of Camel Cigarettes, or Spuds MacKenzie for Bud Light, whose creators were steadfast that they were not targeting children with their products meant for adult consumption, Trace Adkins & Co. are telling us that is exactly who they are targeting, our children, and are going out of their way to make sure it is an appealing environment for their brains to be stunted and their creativity and art appreciation stultified by this unapologetic money-driven filth.
I’m actually for talking to kids at a younger age candidly about sex, about ending the age-old stigmas about discussing sex so kids are better prepared to deal with it when they come of a sexual age. But that is not what this is about. This is about priority. You know how I found this story? I went to CNN.com to verify what I already knew, that the nation’s lead online outlet for news would be completely mum on the passing of Charlie Louvin. And what did I find instead? Sex, and puppets, and Trace Adkins.
This is the state of country music in 2011. They have replaced soul with puppets. Taylor Swift save us all!
January 27, 2011 @ 10:33 am
Triggerman, all you do is make me sad. The people who care, already avoid this kind of thing. The problem is people WANT this, they DESIRE this, and thats why the mass media gives it to them.
January 27, 2011 @ 10:45 am
That’s the thing. I wasn’t seeking this out. I do not listen to country radio. I do not go to CMT.com except the very rare occasion to research a story. I try to avoid this stuff too. I found it when digging in CNN’s entertainment section to see if a country music legend would get his proper due.
This filth is so effusive, it has permeated all of our culture to the point where you can’t avoid it. And this stuff is the ambassador for country music, so people who avoid country because they think it’s all “My wife left me, my dog left me, my car won’t start” look at this filth and think this is what country music today is all about. My bullhorn may not be nearly as big as CNN’s, but I want to do what I can to let people know there is opposition, and an alternative.
January 28, 2011 @ 10:35 am
Trigger wrote- “That”™s the thing. I wasn”™t seeking this out. I do not listen to country radio. I do not go to CMT.com except the very rare occasion to research a story. I try to avoid this stuff too. I found it when digging in CNN”™s entertainment section to see if a country music legend would get his proper due.”
Why would you go on CNN to see if a country legend got his proper due? Sure Charlie Louvin is a country legend, but a legend that is kind of for real insiders of country, not exactly something I would expect mainstream anything to really grab ahold of.
I don’t by that you just “stumbled” on this. CNN other outlets broadcast a lot of stuff. As Colby Jack said, “people who care avoid this.” Just cause it made a 1min. blip on CNN? Big deal. Why do you even give it time on here. We all know where mainstream country is, this isn’t news worthy to this crowd.
Your taking time and energy on what really sucks about mainstream country, and the bitching about it won’t do anything. It just rallies everyone to say “yep, pop-country sucks… still”
January 28, 2011 @ 11:37 am
Oh ok, so you “don’t buy” that I stumbled on to this. Then why did I remark on how I found it before there was any criticism from commentors? So I don’t have permission from y’all to go to CNN.com anymore? Do I need a hall pass to go take a piss too? NOTHING IS KEEPING THE FOCUS OFF THE GREAT MUSIC OF OUR GENERATION THAN THIS POP COUNTRY BULLSHIT. That is why I fight it. I am a cultural warrior, this is what I do. I don’t write what I know is going to be popular, I write what I am passionate about. And right now, I am passionate about this. If it doesn’t fit your taste, move on. There are plenty of other stories on this very website supporting the music. I did not NOT write a story promoting music to write this one. Actually I’ve been virtually bedridden for the last week, and that has done much more harm to my positive music output than this piece I belched out in 30 minutes because I thought it was funny, interesting, and important.
January 27, 2011 @ 3:49 pm
I don’t believe that people want this. It’s just the only thing they know- the only thing being crammed down their throat. This is what the corporations that run the world want. A population with no time or energy for anything other than what is provided by THEM. A population that’s been so systematically desensitized that they’ll take a big bite of a shit sandwich and ask for seconds because its better than eating nothing at all. A population that encourages their kids to be just as fucking stupid as that stupid fucking song and maybe someday follow the family traditions of blindly following the advice of rich white men, FOX news, political apathy and voting against their best interests.
January 27, 2011 @ 6:01 pm
I now believe this stuff is what people want. My cousin has always had good tast in music & him & other family members have complained about the state of country music today. I’ve tried to tell them there is still good music out there, but they wouldn’t listen, I burned my whole family cd’s for christmas highlighting the music talked about here. When my cousin came over for New Years Eve I asked if he listend to the cd he sais “Not yet but I realy want the new country cd by that guy who was in rock band Aaron Lewis”.. I told him that’s not country. His responce was “It’s more country than Keith Urban”. How do you argue with that?
January 27, 2011 @ 6:21 pm
Yes, the symptoms of lowered expectations. When Taylor Swift won her CMA for Entertainer of the Year in 2009, we thought it couldn’t get any worse. At that time she was the worst thing you could hear on country radio. Now she is about the only thing that is acceptable on country radio. But does this mean Taylor Swift is good? Compared to Trace, maybe.
January 27, 2011 @ 9:18 pm
I see the same thing happening with food. There are places where I live that you can go get a gourmet lunch made with fresh local ingredients and prepared by a real chef for around $10, yet people still line up at Red Lobster, Applebee’s and Olive Garden for the $15 steam-tray special prepared by some high school kid.
January 28, 2011 @ 11:29 am
Food’s my real passion right now…I agree with you on this. And just like with music, our food has been corporatized and turned into some sort of mass produced monster. I’m horrified whenever I look at the ingredients in most things anymore…
January 27, 2011 @ 10:42 am
So we now a “country” music video that is admittedly packed with sexual innuendo, yet targeted with children, as well as a television program that is making all kinds of news lately for losing sponsors, that claims that all teens are having tons of promiscuous sex, and using any drugs they can get their hand on.
Mainstream pop-culture is no longer even pretending to set good examples for young, naive children, and are instead putting in their heads that it’s all really no big deal.
I’m far, far from a prude, but I think it’s pretty evident why our society is in a clear downfall.
January 27, 2011 @ 10:48 am
I heard about that TV show, “Skins” or something. Which is MTV, the cousin of CMT, where this video will find a home. I almost mentioned something about that in the article. Underage boys running around with erections and stuff.
This is the irony. I am by far a prude either. Many of the artists and songs and albums I talk about around here have cussing and all manner of adult language, but nobody is promoting feeding Bob Wayne to your kids, or even further, specifically market it towards them.
When I start preaching morality, you know just how screwed up it must be.
January 27, 2011 @ 11:59 am
Exactly. There is nothing wrong with adult themed entertainment. However, there is something wrong (in my opinion) with the Hollywood (and Nashville is about 95% Hollywood these days) packaging adult entertainment as shows for young teenagers or “suitable for children”.
Is this video going to ruin kids and turn them into a bunch of savages? More than likely no. However it’s part of a larger problem that is sending an entirely wrong message.
January 27, 2011 @ 6:22 pm
If I had kids I’d feed them Bob Wayne. Not literally of course.
January 27, 2011 @ 6:36 pm
I’m just glad I don’t have kids, with this type of filth commanding the public conciseness.
January 28, 2011 @ 11:30 am
SOYLENT GREEN!
January 27, 2011 @ 10:53 am
1. How did Trace Adkins know that I have secret children?
2. Did you know the song Louie Louie is commie, pornographic trash? He even sings about cumming in a womans hair!
January 27, 2011 @ 11:38 am
Huh? What does Louie Louie have to do with this? I’m totally confused, Ginger.
January 27, 2011 @ 3:18 pm
What does anything have to do with anything Cock?
January 27, 2011 @ 11:14 am
I know how they say that times have changed but jeez! Hank Williams was a saint compared to the these pop country sex symbols! He smoked, drank, and chased women…..and got fired from the Opry. WTF?!
January 27, 2011 @ 12:24 pm
http://www.opry.com/artists/a/Adkins_Trace.html
In 2003, Trace Adkins became a member of the prestigious Grand Ole Opry. The 6”™6” country music star looked 4”™11” Opry star Jimmy Dickens in the eyes””a stepladder was involved””and accepted Little Jimmy”™s invitation to join the Opry cast. It was an emotional night for Trace, who says the event was a huge honor and definitely one of the biggest highlights of his professional career.”
This is where we’re at folks.
January 27, 2011 @ 11:40 am
Fame. He’s gonna live forever…he’s gonna learn how to fly…
What a waste of human energy…my kids are too smart to fall for this shit. It’s an insult to kids of all ages…
Watch the film Idiocracy, man…I think he has a staring role in the future of the world.
January 27, 2011 @ 1:28 pm
As much as Idiocracy is trying to exaggerate the future state of our nation, it hits the nail on the head…
January 27, 2011 @ 3:03 pm
No it doesn’t.
January 27, 2011 @ 12:38 pm
Sex be damned, the sheer stupidity of this song is enough to make me vomit. They put all this thought in how to market the song but didn’t take a moment to wonder if the song wasn’t the most idiotic thing they’d ever heard.
January 27, 2011 @ 2:48 pm
At some point, doesn’t stupidity and banality in art rise to the point of being offensive, regardless of it’s content is adult in nature? The reason we “protect” children from things like drugs, alcohol, and pornography is with the idea that these things are harmful to their well-being. So why should something like this be any different?
I don’t want anyone to pass a law, screw that. But in the court of public opinion, I know whose side I’m on.
January 27, 2011 @ 3:30 pm
Tipper Gore?
January 27, 2011 @ 5:40 pm
I don”™t want anyone to pass a law, screw that.
January 27, 2011 @ 1:13 pm
Just when you don’t think it can get any worse, we have “Brown Chicken, Brown Cow”…What sucks is that, as far as I know, this website is one of the few that will expose this shit. I don’t think any of us here are prudes, but the “brain washing” in country songs, specifically Trace Adkins songs, along with the bull shit on MTV, just makes me sick. What also sucks is that for people like my girlfriend, who is not big into country music, thinks that songs like this Trace Adkins song or that horrible Sugarland song Triggerman wrote about a month or two ago, are all that country is. I have to give her my cd’s that I have bought, mainly from hearing about them from this website, and let her listen to what real music is like. Keep up the good work, SCM, keep exposing these people for the frauds they are and promoting the real deal.
January 27, 2011 @ 2:49 pm
Thanks man! My bullhorn may not be as big as some others, but I’ll be screaming into it until I have no more breath.
January 27, 2011 @ 1:29 pm
Whenever something horrendous like this comes out, there’s always someone, (besides the corporate apologists) who try to promote the mantra of “what the public wants.”
The public wants garbage, right? Because they’ve been subjected to it, by the tyranny of the satellites, their entire lives?
And it’s the audience’s fault that mainstream artists and producers are making garbage?
January 27, 2011 @ 2:52 pm
An extension of this point came up in the whole XXX argument. Some people want to say “Screw the masses, they deserve this shit.” And to a point I agree. But I also think EVERYONE is entitled to good art, and if they had access to it, things might be a little different across society. Again, this is about priorities, read the quote at the top of this page. The music people listen to ,especially when they’re young effects them in so many different ways.
January 28, 2011 @ 12:52 pm
This statement warms my heart. It makes me have faith in your cause. I don’t meant to sound smarmy, but I can hear your passion here. And you make some assumptions about humanity that – shame on me – I am often too jaded to buy into. I applaud you for this. I hope you win. I mean it. Because your vision of humanity is much kinder and gentler than mine. You have faith. It reminds me of those cartoons when I was a kid where Bugs Bunny played music and made the crazy red beast thing calm down whenever it was raging in his home? I may have that wrong…but the image is a good one. More power to you!
January 27, 2011 @ 1:33 pm
Just curious…..do the puppets have a fluffer?
Or is it Trace Adkins? he must have experience doing that get to where he is with this drivel. Holy Shit this whole concept is just awful
January 27, 2011 @ 2:53 pm
I need a fluffer after listening to this crud. It leaves me limp.
January 27, 2011 @ 1:47 pm
Those puppets are creepy. He actually seemed like a decent fella when he was on The Celebrity Apprentice. After seeing this I’ve lost any respect I had for him.
January 27, 2011 @ 3:43 pm
I don’t even care enough about Trace Adkin’s contribution to pop culture enough to watch this video. Instead I’m listening to one of my favorite bands right now. Later on, I’ll put on another album by another one of my favorites. Then if I have time, I might work on some live concert video editing with the goal of helping to support a few other favorite bands of mine.
I’m a firm believer in individual responsibility as well as accountability. If you happen to find this video offensive or distasteful, don’t watch it. One of the great things about the internet is it helps to provide an infinite variety of options and nearly unlimited access to sub-cultures or niches.
As stupid as pop country is, I’m not going to spend time ranting against it or even giving it much thought. It’s simply not my cup of tea.
January 27, 2011 @ 5:51 pm
Ah ha. Now I see why you are swerving all over the place, trying to start something.
Look, this has come up many times. You know this Nick. Right now on the main page of the site, there are 13 articles. 1 has to do with trashing pop country. This is not a focus, and it wasn’t really that big of a time commitment for me.
Yes, the internet provides an infinite variety of options, but in the same respect it also can hide a lot of the good stuff because the dizzying amount of options. One of those options should also be venting frustrations that people have about elements of our culture, and this is where the energy and interest in this article comes from. Yes, you have options, and if you don’t want to read this article, then don’t. I appreciate everyone who spends the time to read what I write, but I never want anybody to feel obligated to read or participate in anything they don’t want to.
And yes, the internet has given bands, artists, and sub-cultures the ability to exist, but as money and interest is usurped by big corporate machines, it does not allow them to thrive as they should.
I’m a firm believer that EVERYONE has the right to be exposed to good art, and sometimes they are exposed to it by trying to find camaraderie in their disdain for the rest.
January 27, 2011 @ 7:06 pm
Haha, ya got me.
Dude I ain’t tryin to claim that the majority of your articles are trashing pop-country instead of promoting the music we all like. It’d be ridiculous of me to do that. And it is fun every now and again to stick a spoke in the pop-country wheels, so long as it’s in fun (my opinion anyways).
I’m not sure how I feel about having a right to be exposed to good art. I certainly think we’re privileged to be able to be exposed to so much art in our culture to begin with. We’re fortunate to be able to have the leisure time to be exposed to it and to be able to choose what we emerge ourselves in.
But at the same time, you were comin mighty close to mentioning censorship. You DIDN’T say it, but you were almost heading that direction it seemed.
One of Chuck Klosterman’s books (can’t recall which at the moment) has a section where he waxes on the idea that something can either be stupid OR dangerous and elaborates on why he feels that it can’t be both. The literal examination was based on the Tipper Gore / PMRC spectacle. For the most part, I agree with him in regards to art and culture specifically.
For me personally, it IS fun to trash pop-country from time to time but I also don’t like to get carried away in it and let the hatred bubble up and overwhelm me when there’s so many other things to celebrate and support.
January 27, 2011 @ 7:22 pm
And regarding Idiocracy….
For anyone who holds any faith whatsoever in the idea that this country will end up in the condition depicted in that movie…I hold more faith in the belief that those same people are going to raise their children properly and teach them to raise their future children properly and so forth. To me it’s just about as ridiculous as saying CB4 summed up rap music perfectly. It’s a parody.
January 28, 2011 @ 11:38 am
Look at the Ginger gettin’ all political and shit again!
Idiocracy is just a parody, for sure. But there are aspects of that film that I see playing out around me on a daily basis. People making choices for their children that I can’t even fathom making for my own, etc. Just as with all parodies, there is always an ounce of truth in it.
I think Trig’s commentary on this video is morally based. Perhaps his morality isn’t shared by you. That’s cool. And censorship is crap. But I think he has a good point that there is a ton of crap being sold to our kids nowadays that is marketed as “goodness”…like Disney and like this video. It is presented to parents who are overworked and exhausted as “wholesome” and “family friendly” when in fact it is promoting consumerism, sex, and discouraging critical thinking. Parents just accept some of this and don’t bother to look at what it is their kids are watching.
When “Ouch my Balls” becomes an official channel on cable, I guess I’ll know for sure what my kids are watching if we have cable at that time.
January 27, 2011 @ 8:14 pm
I’ve never read any Chuck Klosterman books, but I have studied in depth the PMRC situation, and I know one of the concerns over it was people not only legislating morality in music, but taste as well. Frank Zappa spoke specifically to that in his testimony, and I think that is one of the reasons the PMRC failed. People still hold the PMRC up as a boogie man, but there is no public sentiment or current legislation to regulate music content, and there shouldn’t be. But what I do find interesting is the argument that when people criticize me, for let’s say pushing a song that has lyrics that speak candidly about drug use, is this as immoral as pitching a sex song to kids?
I kind of hope that a bunch of prudy moral groups tear this song to shreds, and plan protests. It will be good theater.
January 28, 2011 @ 11:43 am
Trig, do you ever think that folks don’t look for good art just like they choose not to think? I am musing on personal choice here…and personal responsibility. I see Egypt on the internet today and then when I turned to the 15 TVs in the bar I was in (which is bizarre in and of itself) and the only news I saw being broadcast was on football teams and Hollywood. I think that the TV stations choose that programming because they know that most people don’t want to think about rebellion or overthrowing oppressive regimes. They CHOOSE to find out about the Kardashians or their favorite sports team. I agree that everyone should have access to good music just like they should have access to good educational resources…but will they choose it?
My faith is waning…
January 28, 2011 @ 12:03 pm
I don’t know that current events is a good analogy for this, and I would say my views are much different about the role education should play in people’s lives than your views, but in this instance, in regards to art appreciation, this is where education is key. Yes, people don’t want to be bothered by frightful things and would rather turn their brains off, but when it comes to music, what we must teach people is that if they learn what to listen to and listen for, they can get much more enjoyment and fulfillment from good music than bad music on a very basic level.
I don’t think the masses are choosing anything. I think that they feel they are being given the right to choose, but just like Republican or Democrat, pop country or pop hip-hop, there are really no actual choices there. American Idol is built on the idea people are choosing, but what they are choosing is subtleties between the same shit.
Like the old herdsman proverb states, the best way to move the herd is to make them think they choose their own destination.
January 28, 2011 @ 12:47 pm
OK, I agree with you there. But I guess I am thinking of the adage, “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink”…I am not sure if we offer good quality music to folks if they will turn away from what they are fed and choose to listen to the good music. This is what I mean by “choice”.
As for education, I’m not sure what you mean about our ideas being different because I haven’t really stated mine. I can speak to art education because it is something that I have done professionally. I believe that if people WANT TO learn more about art and subsequently seek out diverse (and higher quality) artistic experiences in order to engage with that art, then it is possible for them to develop an appreciation of something better than what is fed to them by corporate media. I believe that people generally don’t want to do the work of learning much. If it doesn’t land on their plate predigested, they won’t take a bite.
January 27, 2011 @ 5:42 pm
Reading through y’all’s replies makes me realize I don’t need to add anything, cept this: It’s All Been Said by Jayke Orvis will make you feel better. I refuse to listen to any how now brown cow crapola.
Thankyou and goodnight.
January 27, 2011 @ 6:26 pm
I concur.
January 27, 2011 @ 5:47 pm
Gross. And not surprising at all. Just gotta keep fighting the good fight, and taking your friends to shows and hooking them up with new music to listen to. I got a group of friends going to see the Hackensaw Boys, 357, and LFH tonight after I took them to a 357/LFH show a few months back. And another friend of mine is going out with me tonight to catch Whitey Morgan and the 78’s, and hopefully getting another convert. Trying to get a group to the LFH, Pearls Mahone and whoever took the slot for 357 on Feb. 4th. Most of my friends never even knew this kind of country existed, thought it was all Kenny Chesney and Trace Adkins.
January 27, 2011 @ 5:59 pm
I think alot of people feel that way, Chi-billy. The number ones and the award shows reiterate that misconception. I used to think Kenny Chesney’s The Good Stuff was a great song . . . til I heard the real good stuff.
Have a great time! I hope LFH play y’all $2 Pints. And the 357’s are always good. Never heard of the Hackensaw Boys til now.
January 27, 2011 @ 7:25 pm
I’ve been a Trace fan for 15 years thru the good times and bad in his career. In my opinion, he has one of the best voices in country music but you will not hear it on the radio. He had to play the game or his career would have been over and Capitol Records knew how to play it. It may have been to the lowest common denominator but it kept the buses rolling. Ballads are his strong suit but the DJs wanted the HonkytonkBaDonkadonks instead. If you haven’t seen him live or heard his ballads then don’t be too critical. The man can sing.
January 27, 2011 @ 7:31 pm
The Stubborn One, Till the Last Shot’s Fired, Wayfaring Stranger—–just a few that I enjoy.
January 27, 2011 @ 8:04 pm
I think Trace has one of the greatest voices in country music, but like my favorite country writer Juli Thanki said in her review of the song:
“Trace has a million-dollar voice; he can do so much better than this ten-cent song.”
http://www.the9513.com/trace-adkins-brown-chicken-brown-cow/
Trace should be better than this. Instead he is wallowing in the spotlight the disdain for this song is affording him.
January 27, 2011 @ 8:38 pm
I agree this is my least favorite song on his new album. But, I have seen him during the hard times——he doesn’t want to go back there again and neither do his kids. So, unfortunately, until we change country music back——he has decided to make a living using 10-cent songs.
January 28, 2011 @ 12:09 pm
I think Trace is making a bad mistake for his career with this song. First off, Trace is not starving now, and even if he never played another note of music, he wouldn’t be in the future, unless he has MC Hammer as a financial adviser. What he has to lose is his credibility and his legacy. Will people look back at Trace as one of the greatest male country singers of all time, of for his gimmick songs like this and Badanka Donk? Jamey Johnson co-wrote that song, didn’t even record it, and that has dogged his career and his cred with core country fans ever since. Trace is trading in soul for the sugar rush of a quick, short-lived hit. I have no doubt that Trace has some excellent, beautiful, heartfelt songs, but when “Brown Chicken Brown Cow” is what you’re known for, that will leave his good song inaccessible to so many folks.
He won’t be able to keep all his money when he dies. His legacy will last forever, whatever that legacy ends up being.
January 28, 2011 @ 2:32 pm
Trigger, I don’t know you from adam, and I think many of the articles on here bring about good discussion, but saying- “Will people look back at Trace as one of the greatest male country singers of all time, of for his gimmick songs like this and Badanka Donk? Jamey Johnson co-wrote that song, didn”™t even record it, and that has dogged his career and his cred with core country fans ever since.”
You and the hardcores here can’t resist taking shots at Johnson when you get the chance. I know, you do give him a much fairer shake than others on here, but there is absolutely no reason at all to mention Johnson wrote that song in the context your discussing here.
Badonkadonk was so many years ago, that to core country fans it doesn’t even register given the rest of the songs Johnson has done. It only is hanging in the minds of those on this site. For what reason I don’t know.
Better yet, I consider myself a true country fan, and when I read Bodonkadonk lyrics, they are actually very clever. Much better than any of the other gimmick songs of the current era, and if you have ever heard Johnson sing it (in old clips), it sounds pretty damn country.
January 28, 2011 @ 2:55 pm
First off, I think this is completely germane to the discussion. If you ask average Joe Six Pack to name one Trace Adkins song, he will say Badonka Donk. It was his biggest hit. It took him from being relatively obscure to a superstar.
I think what your comment shows is that despite all my efforts to try to bridge the Jamey polarity, it is still alive and well. I said nothing negative whatsoever about Jamey. I simply was making the point that you have seen illustrated many times around here, that people are unwilling to give Jamey a chance because of one song he wrote in jest years ago. If anything, I am sympathizing with him, and using it as an example of why people like Trace should stay away from these gimmick songs, because they can be kryptonite to certain elements of country music fandom.
Another good example is Billy Ray Cyrus. I know he put out many albums, and had some success with some other songs, but all he is known for in the wide public is “Achey Breaky Heart” and rocking an atomic mullet. He comes across as a bit, as a one hit wonder, when he probably had many heartfelt, deep songs.
And it can go both ways. Hank III has had some beautiful ballads and G-rated songs, but he is known as the “hellbilly” screamo freak because that is what he gets the most attention for.
January 28, 2011 @ 3:08 pm
Your right, Trace is known for that song. Not Johnson. And really most wouldn’t know that Johnson co-wrote it, less a reminder everytime it is brought up, like your reminder above.
Given your concern for artists selecting 10-cent songs and selling their legacy short of potential, I am surprised that your articles relating to acts like Billy Ray, Trace, jamey Johnson… don’t blow off these nonsense songs as black marks and poor decisions or forced by labels, and celebrate the great real country music those artists do and have made.
January 28, 2011 @ 3:18 pm
i came to first hear the rolling stones by their tunes in the 1980s-the steel wheels era. in my opinion a black mark.
as i got older-i learned to love them, but it wasnt until my 20’s before i loved them.
point being-the black mark can be recovered from-but, it can take a good 15 years..if at all.
and in this case, he’s creating a pile of them marks-and they may never be recoverable from at this point…in my opinion.
January 28, 2011 @ 7:08 pm
Triggerman, interesting thing about Billy Ray Cyrus is that he is originally from around here (well, just across the river at least) and used to play in a Southern rock band in the local bars. I never heard them, but by all accounts they were great. But Nashville called, he answered, and the rest is history. I suspect that many of these Nashville pop stars start out with good intentions, but slowly give in.
January 29, 2011 @ 2:05 pm
IceCold,
I think it is pretty well documented throughout country music that co-writing Badonka Donk was where he found his big break. I’m not saying everyone knows that, but the people who pay attention do, and not just the people on this website.
And just for the record, I have never written an article about Billy Ray Cyrus, or even really mentioned him except for in passing. And I have never written an article about Jamey Johnson that was solely negative.
January 30, 2011 @ 12:37 pm
“I think it is pretty well documented throughout country music that co-writing Badonka Donk was where he found his big break”
Where exactly is that documented? For the hardcores here maybe that is a nice fact to keep brining up. I am not going to pretend to know exactly how he came on the scene (his song “The Dollar” is more known about him than bodonkadonk), and I think his writing “Give It Away” gave him a bit more of a break and recognition. Not to mention all the songs he wrote that others performed prior to bodonkadonk and since.
I agree, you don’t write to many negatives about Jamey Johnson, but you certainly know very very very little about him or you igonore some facts in a statement like his big break came with bodonkadonk.
January 30, 2011 @ 10:09 pm
Huh. So I know “very very little” about Jamey Johnson. I know that the weakness in sales around “The Dollar” was the reason he was dropped from BNA, so I would say it is hard to say this was his high water mark. He might be known for “Give It Away” too, but the polarizing and intriguing nature of “Badonka Donk” is why more people recognize it with Jamey Johnson than they might normally for a more innocuous release like “Give It Away.” I’m not sure why I am getting a faceful of claws from you IceCold. I’m giving you my opinions as a person that spends hours a day on country music websites, and I will say that not just here, but in MANY places, I see “Badonka Donk” and Jamey’s name side by side. I don’t claim to know everything about everything, but the Jamey situation has been so polarizing here, I have made sure to educate myself about his music and career.
February 1, 2011 @ 7:23 pm
Sure you got the part right about why he was dropped from his label, but don’t record sales on a bigger name label have a lot to do with how that label markets the album and artist? The label did less than nothing for Johnson. And Johnson’s song “The Dollar” did ok with zero label support. Most songs on that album are not pop-country, and didn’t fit the mold.
Johnson won an award for “Give It Away”, so I am not sure how he is more recognized for Bondonkadonk? And I honestly don’t see how bodonkadonk ruined anything in country. It is a country tune, simply using an urban term. The video and Atkins doing the song made it a mess. The song itself is a country song.
I guess just knowing Johnson’s story of where he came from, how he came to Nashville, and how he has broken through (if you have done the research on it) it is a rock solid country music story.
You wrote some pretty edgy blogs about him years ago, alledging he was just a puppet and a creation from the mainstream. I think one was called “Country Music’s Black Friend”.
That is a pretty strong inaccurate statement looking at him now, and if you did bother to do some research on him, you might share your research and correct that accusation.
January 28, 2011 @ 12:24 pm
Long time reader firast post –
What most upsets me here is how much the muppets are selling out.
January 28, 2011 @ 2:59 pm
Yeah, I was about to say something in the article about how this also bastardizes the art of puppetry. I really don’t know much about it, but if I was a puppet nerd or a Jim Henson nerd, I would be offended by this too. And yeah, they seemed to take the “Muppets” mold for their puppets. Nothing is original about this song can’t expect them to get original with the video.
And the whole use of puppets is just . . . .weird. It’s like they were sitting in a marketing meeting in some high rise in Nashville, anticipating that anything they did with this video would be challenged by prudes, and they thought “Ah ha, puppets! Puppets solve all our problems.” It’s like an inside joke that got out of hand or something. Awful.
January 29, 2011 @ 7:40 am
I actually thought it was the Muppets, but I only watched part of it while doing something else. Looking at the video again, I think you are right, it is a rip-off. Puppetry is an art form and I think it is a shame it has been relegated to a children”™s entertainment. More generally, children”™s entertainment in the US is bland and saccharine for the littlest, then quickly becomes violent and sexualized. One of the things that was great about the Muppets is that they do what Trace says here, appealing to adults as well as children and making intelligent social commentary. But they were educating, not selling.
Anyone who likes this genre of music probably appreciates a good murder ballad or a song with sexual innuendo. Yet the issue here is less about content than it is about marketing and how it impacts our culture. Children, and girls in particular, are hypersexualized in the pursuit of profit. Sure I can turn it off, and do (no TV in this house), but I still have to live here and take responsibility for children in this environment. I know I might ruffle a few feathers around here by saying I don”™t listen much to Hank III, because I don”™t like the attitude towards women that comes through a lot of his music. Yet he is clearly directing his music toward adults and is a talented musician. I can choose not to listen to him. The collective impact of commercialization of sex and bland art is a corrosive force that we can’t ignore or turn off.
January 29, 2011 @ 8:14 am
You have no idea how deep and twisted this all goes or perhaps you do have an inkling as your post depicts. Pop country is nothing but glorified prostitution, for the money, which they can keep, as the whole genre is hiding in pseudo wholesomeness to reel you in, then the undercurrents are there to drown you with evilness. That’s right. Evilness. Didn’t think the Devil is in the music? Think again.
I love music. Always will. Before I did my own exploring, I relied on radio and whatnot to help lead me. Trace Adkins is caving to pressure to sell sell sell. Real true blue musicians and artists do their art despite the profits. American Idol? crap. Honky Tonk Badonka Donk? crap. Using children to sell your songs? crap.
We got a world going to crap. I love to sit and listen to something real and you know it’s real because you feel it. Down in your soul, til your toes wiggle and the corner of your mouth turns to the sky. Not everything will turn to crap as long as there are people who are willing to fight the good fight. People willing to stand up and say that’s a bunch of crap.
January 29, 2011 @ 1:58 pm
Good thoughts emfrank & Denise.
It doesn’t make a lot of sense to me when people say we need to ignore this stuff. Yes, we should make sure we get so wrapped up in whining that we miss the big picture, but I put a high value of importance on opposition. One person ignores it, a few people ignore it, next thing you know it is running rampant and unchecked.
January 28, 2011 @ 3:02 pm
i drafted a raging comment.
i deleted it.
its not really worth people seein my anger for this.
i can tell you i’ve been offered throughout my life to do unsavory musical things that woulda been akin to sellin my musical soul for a big payday. i always did and always will say no. there’s other ways to make $$$ that are actually much easier.
i don’t believe you have to suffer for art. i’m happy for people with $$$, that’s great. i on the other hand can wake up every day, wash the booze off and look at myself and know i did something i’m proud of-and be happy that i get to do it again the next day. i hope the $$ comes some day-but the pride-well, that’s gonna last forever…
January 30, 2011 @ 8:53 am
STOP NOW, WHAT’S THAT SOUND? EVERYBODY LOOK WHAT’S GOING DOWN!
Keep doing what you do Trig. It’s good to point out the good in the true artists and keep exposing the bull shit in the manufactured “singers.”
January 30, 2011 @ 10:34 am
“When they start combing violence with sex and sex with music and marketing it to kids, they are culture will really go to hell.” This was my quote back in about 1990. I worked in social services and I saw what was happening on TV and music as part of the problem. Mainly because I saw a lot of bad parents and baby sitters using TV to raise children and they didn’t care what was on the TV; Disney, Sesame Street or an R-rated video that they popped in the VCR, as long as it kept the kids out of their hair.
When I said this in a meeting people looked at me as if I had just grown a third eye.
Psychology is being seriously used to market to the masses, i.e., American Idol, pop music, reality shows and so on. It was once called propaganda but now is called marketing. Someone said people don’t want to work at learning, they just want it predigested and plopped on their plate. I tend to agree and children do what their parents do, not what they say. We are in the midst of the most serious lack of parents and parenting in the history of our country. The masses have been taught that they are “entitled” to get what they want without any effort on their part. The Easy Button!! The current regime in power is counting on this communistic attitude to keep them in power.
It IS up to us to advocate, teach, preach, whatever if we want good art, good education, good character to prevail instead of mass consumption of garbage, which is leading us down the path to hell.
Sorry to be so serious, but I have lived what I say and I am the Mom with the extremely talented singing daughter trying to make a living in music. It is heartbreaking. Speaking of that, I heard Ernest Tubb singing Waltz Across Texas on Country Classics this morning and almost cried like a baby.
January 30, 2011 @ 10:36 am
Geez, got too emotion: Please excuse my misspellings.
January 30, 2011 @ 11:18 am
A recurring theme I keep thinking about and seeing mentioned in the comments is that parents these days are so busy, and so tired, and trying to maximize the comfort and enjoyment of their own lives that they are letting pop culture take over their parental duties. It’s like these forces of guilt and desire and priority tugging at them from different directions that allow things like this, and the institutionalization and homogenization of a child’s upbringing, to flourish. Is it the children themselves who are really driving the desire for this stupid song, or is it the parents who want to get a good laugh from their children in a situation based in the child’s ignorance?
This has little to do with music, or sex. This song and its success is a symptom of many systemic problems throughout our society with how children are being raised and the priorities of their parents. It seems like parents want the good times, and the cutesy wootsy comfort of have little humans around them, but don’t want to make many of the classic personal sacrifices and tough decisions that come with raising a child. They want to pawn them off on institutions and supplant them with stupidity to keep everyone entertained and distracted from the truth that we are raising a selfish society that is ignorant to the importance of art and expression to the human condition. I’m not judging these people as much as I feel bad for them. “Wealth” as measured by our society has to do with how many electronic devices you have, and how new and powerful they are. When a politician asks, “Are you better off than you were four years ago?” they mean, have you prospered specifically from a financial standpoint, not only measured against yourself, but your neighbors and friends in a situation riddled with envy.
I’m probably making too much of this, and may not be making any sense, but I think this song speak to such deeper problems of priority in our society than go way beyond the fact that society is riddled with bad music. This is just a symptom of a much bigger problem.
I don’t have any kids, or any pets or even house plants, because I have a solemn understanding of responsibility when it comes to living things, and I admit that my selfishness would get in the way of being everything it is important to be to that living thing.
January 30, 2011 @ 4:25 pm
Trigger, I think we said the same thing on in a different way. I have raised children and worked in juvenile court for many years. You aren’t making too much of this because it has led to a good discussion and we all have a responsibility as human beings and as citizens.
I was one of those college educated professional moms who stopped working, budgeted, had one car etc. so that I could raise my own children. No warehousing my kids to strangers. Not bragging here. I just did what I knew was best for them. I have taught classes for parents going through divorce for years and the most difficult thing for them to get through their heads is to do what is right for the kids and not put them in the middle of their crap, not just buying them things and spending “quality” time. Oh, I could go on forever, lol, but will spare ya kiddo!
January 31, 2011 @ 11:07 am
Great discussion. I see another trend at the same time – parents too involved in their children’s lives. I teach students of mostly upper middle class, educated families. They may even restrict T.V., but have the kids been shuffled from one organized activity to another. Their activities are orchestrated by parents. This is just another side of the passive, “entertain me” culture. It is just a hunch, but I bet there is a high correlation between those who appreciate good music and those who spent hours as kids aimlessly poking around outside.
January 31, 2011 @ 11:11 am
By the way, I don’t want to suggest that Kay is this kind of parent – quality time is not the same as entertaining your kids.
And pardon my bad editing – should read “the kids have been.”
January 31, 2011 @ 10:53 pm
Nope, not that kind of parent 🙂 My kids had lots of time outdoors being regular kids riding bikes, building tree forts in the woods, playing with friends, mowing the lawn 🙂
Not a rich mom or upper class either. I was raised in the sticks with a blue collar dad who only finished 8th grade. I paid for my own college education, the first to graduate in my family.
But, I know exactly what you are talking about, the parents who orchestrate their kids lives. Some may have thought that of us at times but we were just nurturing musical talent in our daughter. She needed music, craved it and showed an early gift. We could have put her in modeling as a toddler because she was so precocious, we had an opportunity but there was no way!! We wanted her to learn music properly and at a pace for a child. We didn’t move to LA or NYC or even Nashville like many do now days to live their lives vicariously though their children.
THEN, like you say, the kids have no initiative or no imagination. They love shows like American Idol where they can learn to sashay on a stage, wear makeup and sexy clothes and learn how to scream belt in just a few weeks and attain instant stardom! Wahoo!! So much easier than actually doing the work, practicing, paying dues and becoming a real musician.
Boy could I go on forever. I am a big advocate for real music and real music educations and I do whatever I can do promote this. Kids involved in music do better academically too. I love sports too, but too many people think that sports is the only way to develop pride and teamwork. Music can do that too for more kids than small teams. Band and choir involves many more kids.
Oh, and many of those namby pamby parents don’t want any competition….gosh, I’d better quit now!! 🙂
January 31, 2011 @ 6:47 pm
Well I appreciate the attention to this because so many people have allowed the “predictive programming” of our future to determine the actual future instead of trying to change things for the better. The media, including a lot of reading material and all over the internet use the vision of the future to reinforce it to us without any hope in humanity. Sex is all fun and games, yeah tell that to all those who have been used and left in the dust. That’s not fun to me. And music seems like one of the only avenues left to express this. Now I’m thinking about Shooter’s Black Ribbon and what the motivation for that album was. Is he really trying to warn us to take back music before it’s too late? Or is it just another prediction that will come true? I guess it depends on what we the people do with the information we have. The brainwashing and misinformation is so extensive it’s hard to even begin to decipher what between what we want and what has been molded for us.
May 30, 2011 @ 12:16 pm
I think this whole article is completely stupid. Trace is a family man with himself. I’m sure he never had intentions to corrupt children when making this video. Children see and hear much worse than this on everyday tv. It’s what’s wrong with the world today we have lost our sense of humor. Besides when kids watch this video they don’t pick up on any sexual innuendos. Only adults will catch that. Just like the ones in all Disney and movies like shrek. Even spongebob makes them. Gonna bitch about all of them as well? Children have innocent minds they don’t think the way we do. It will not be dirty to them unless u make it that way. Grow up and laugh a little. Remove the bug from your butt and stop bashing people who do not deserve it.
March 26, 2014 @ 5:52 pm
i think you triggerman are a friggin moron.. leave the guy alone for the music he makes. dont like the song you can turn it off. parents can judge what their kids listen to. lets concern our selves with the real issues in this world… like kids taking guns to school and things like that. next your gonna tell me that kids take guns to school and shot up their classmates because they saw a dumb video…… please and anyone on here listening to triggerman and talking same crap are just as moronic as he is… dont we all have better things to do than sit here and down someone because of their music interests. never heard this much beef about all the gangsta rap crap thats been out. give it a rest………..
March 26, 2014 @ 8:08 pm
Okay first off, this article is over 3 years old, so I have given it a rest. Furthermore, I would like to think that Saving Country Music has been at the forefront of questioning the intrusion of gangsta rap influences into country, and any regular reader of this site will vouch for that. I understand that Track Adkins’ name has been in the news lately and so for whatever reason, folks feel the need to pick at old scabs. But Saving Country Music has taken the position of being very respectful of Trace and his current personal problems, with the hope that he and his family can work through them with privacy.