We’re Still Not Making a Big Enough Deal About Chris Stapleton’s Incredible Run
Some might think this will sound like a broken record or a tired topic, that all the Chris Stapleton praise and plaudits for his remarkable sales numbers have run their course. But the argument can be made that we’re still not making a big enough about what Chris Stapleton is accomplishing in country music right now, and without the aid of radio. Because what he continues to do now into the 3rd calendar year is nothing short of remarkable, and frankly, historic.
This is far beyond the tale of an overnight phenomenon like we saw transpire after the 2015 CMA Awards, which is now a solid 20 months in the rear view. This is far beyond beginner’s luck with his debut album Traveller. Chris Stapleton has been at the top of the Country Albums charts for so long now, we’ve just become used to it. We expect to see his mug beside the #1 marker, first with Traveller, and now with his latest From A Room: Vol. 1, like it’s commonplace for an artist that cuts his records in a week with his own band and writes his own material to completely dominate even while the radio ignores him. But it shouldn’t be expected. We shouldn’t get comfortable with it. We shouldn’t take it for granted. Because it is still a freak anomaly that isn’t supposed to happen, and a gift from the country music gods.
Chris Stapleton is the Adele of country music, rewriting all the rules about what we thought album sales in the streaming era were supposed to look like. Well into the 2nd half of 2017, and he is the only country music artist with a 2017 release that has been certified Gold by the RIAA. Neilsen just released the mid-year numbers, and of course From A Room: Vol. 1 takes on all comers and bests them. What’s even more surprising is what the #2 record in 2017 is. It’s Chris Stapleton’s Traveller—a record that was released now well over two years ago. In a couple of weeks, Traveller itself will have received enough sales to be certified Gold solely for its 2017 sales. It’s already been certified Double Platinum, and is the first record in country music to sell over 2 million copies since Luke Bryan’s 2013 album Crash My Party. Traveller has outsold Luke Bryan’s latest record Kill The Lights by nearly 500,000 units.
Alright so it’s total Chris Stapleton domination on the album charts if you zoom out. But what if you zoom in? This week Chris Stapleton is #1 and #2 on the Billboard Country Albums chart with From A Room and Traveller. The week before he was #1 and #4. The week before that he was #2 and #4, bested only by the debut of fellow Dave Cobb-produced Jason Isbell’s The Nashville Sound.
This is not supposed to happen. People are not supposed to buy albums anymore. Artist in country who do not receive radio play are not supposed to dominate any chart. Oh and by the way, for all of those who think this is solely an album phenomenon, you’ll notice on the Neilsen mid-year tallies that Chris Stapleton’s version of “Tennessee Whiskey” is #7 overall in country music for on-demand country songs streams with a total of nearly 80 million plays. Again, this isn’t for 2015 when Stapleton performed the song on the CMA’s with Justin Timberlake, or the 2016 aftermath. This is in 2017 folks. “Tennessee Whiskey” has received 80 million plays in 2017, underscoring how the moonshot Chris Stapleton hit is still soaring (and how stupid it was that the song was never released as a single).
Oh, and think about this: Chris Stapleton has yet another record to release this year if everything goes according to plan,—From a Room: Vol. 2. Yes ladies and gentlemen, if things hold form, there is a very real scenario where we may see the #1, #2, and #3 records atop the Billboard Country Albums chart all emblazoned with Chris Stapleton’s name. In fact, we should probably go ahead and expect that. This would put Stapleton in the company of Garth Brooks for one of the very few who’ve pulled off such a feat.
At some point, the streak will end. If you haven’t noticed, it’s been a little bit quiet on the Luke Bryan front for a while now, which means he’s likely rearing up for a new release for later this year. At some point Sam Hunt will have to release an album for his blockbuster single “Body Like a Backroad,” and that will blow away any sales numbers Chris Stapleton or anyone can else compile for weeks after the release. In fact looking at Nielsen’s mid-year numbers, it’s like the tale of two genres. As Stapleton dominates everything album related, there’s Sam Hunt stamping out all competition in the song tabulations. The cultural divide is alive and well in country music, but at least now both sides are represented.
Others will get their opportunities at the top of the albums charts as the calendar cycles through 2017. This is assured. But as they streak to the top and then slowly fade away, Chris Stapleton will still be were he’s been for going on two years now: right back at the top after the dust settles.
Charts and sales numbers are not the ultimate arbiter of quality. Time is. And time has proven that Chris Stapleton’s dominance on the album charts is no fluke. He’s a generational talent of country music, overcoming an obvious bias at radio, and insurmountable odds of an artist of his ilk. He might not be your ideal candidate for someone to turn the tables on Nashville’s Music Row, and he doesn’t seem to have any desire to stir the pot himself. But he’s proving there is a way forward in country music outside of the tired schemes, and beyond the formulaic pap that has burdened the industry for too long.
Chris Stapleton doesn’t need country radio. Country radio needs Chris Stapleton. They’re just too paralyzed by their own morassed and outmoded ways to realize it.
July 14, 2017 @ 7:50 am
First comment for the first time ever!
July 14, 2017 @ 7:52 am
Trigger,
Who do you think will release a new album first?
Sam Hunt, Luke Bryan or The Turnpike Troubadours?
July 14, 2017 @ 8:11 am
I know there’s only one of those I will buy.
July 14, 2017 @ 8:16 am
Same. But Trigger mentioned the two non country singers in the article and I remembered that I wanted to ask him about TT.
July 14, 2017 @ 8:13 am
Nothing personal, but I shuddered a bit at seeing those three all in one sentence…
July 14, 2017 @ 8:17 am
I shuddered heavily when I wrote the sentence.
July 14, 2017 @ 6:03 pm
Right i love chris stapleton he is my playlist
July 14, 2017 @ 8:13 am
Expect something from the Turnpike Troubadours this fall, maybe September or October-ish. In fact I would expect an announcement in the coming weeks. Luke Bryan I’m guessing is waiting for the fall and the Sam Hunt phenomenon to die off before he releases something. Sam Hunt is hard to predict because they’ve been talking about holding off on an album and only focusing on singles. At some point there will be one, but we may get one or two more singles before we get there.
July 14, 2017 @ 8:15 am
I am only asking because you said a month or two ago that an announcement should be coming and I am impatient person. Haha
Thanks for the information.
July 14, 2017 @ 8:23 am
I saw them in Kansas City a week ago and they told the crowd the album was finished and it’ll be out this fall. Got me pretty excited! They played a new song too.
July 14, 2017 @ 8:45 am
What is the name of the new song?
July 14, 2017 @ 9:56 am
It was the same one hoptowntiger94 mentioned below.. “Something To Hold On Too”
July 14, 2017 @ 6:07 pm
Yep said the same in Peoria. And “Something to Hold On To” was just the quality you would expect from TT.
July 16, 2017 @ 11:08 am
Fantastic news; given the gap between GNS and the self-titled I figured it’d be longer.
July 14, 2017 @ 9:09 am
According to RC it seems it’s tentatively scheduled for October 20th. Circling on calendar now..
https://glidemagazine.com/188537/turnpike-troubadours-make-run-west-coast-interview/
July 14, 2017 @ 4:49 pm
OOOOOH October 20Th if true would be 4 days after my Birthday what a gift that’ll be, now if I can just get them to come to Buffalo,Ny.
July 14, 2017 @ 9:39 am
The new song at the rehearsal I attended in April in Knoxville was titled “Something To Hold On To.”
July 14, 2017 @ 4:53 pm
Yeah, they played that when I saw them in Boston as well.
July 17, 2017 @ 9:42 am
Thanks, Tiger94!
I was worried it was that “Get Loud” song they played in Philly. I, and most of the crowd, didn’t care for it. Except for the Johnny Football part. That was clever.
July 14, 2017 @ 9:16 am
Turnpike’s album will debut with 40k album sales in first week. Previous record was 20k in debut week.
July 14, 2017 @ 8:12 am
Being ”in the trenches ‘ as it were , the Stapleton thing has been an interesting thing to monitor . I’m suprised ( but not really ) at the number of younger folks who LOVE Stapleton’s music and can actually sing the lyrics as opposed to just being peripherally aware of him . Yeah …the same folks might request an older Luke Bryan or Keith Urban thing …but they are as likely to request a Willie classic or an Alabama classic. Point being that if the ”good stuff’ can get exposure anywhere , anyhow there is most certainly a market willing to embrace and support it …..and I don’t see it as being an age thing with folks like Stapleton , Sturgil or any of the other acts who operate outside of the system , so to speak . I’m also encouraged and , yeah , surprised that a younger crowd talks about and relates to the conviction Stapleton brings to a song like Tennessee Whisky and responds to it viscerally . How can you not . Its sheer talent on display …connecting .
I’ve always been convinced that if you ‘ bring it’ they will come ….even a younger demographic who may have been force-fed the drivel, the Jake Owens , the Kruise Kids …..they get it when they actually hear something delivered with authenticity and honesty . Stapleton has been invaluable to the preservation of real music in that respect.
July 14, 2017 @ 8:22 am
I think that’s exactly right. Stapleton has less to do with “genre” issues than keeping it real. He sings great, he plays great, he steps up to the mic and delivers. He’s like a one-man reality check in the digital world: honest passion and skills, people. That’s what it’s about. Not this clever marketing bullshit that’s all over the radio.
July 14, 2017 @ 9:02 am
to albert & Corn – you guys got it right. Today’s technology and methods being what they are, anybody that can grab you deep down without all the smoke & mirrors has intrinsic value that results in hardcore, lifelong fans. Not listeners but fans. That’s why personally, I avoid arena shows & frequent clubs where the acts have no money for the smoke & mirrors and have to rely on a mic, a guitar & and a beat up amp to make it work. As for records, I follow current trends as part of my vocation but for real musical nutrition, I got my private stash. Although it pisses me off that the modern day Hipster marketing machine has hijacked the term “Country Music” to sell their generic music product…. in the end, I could give a shit what you name it, as long as there’s folks out there keeping it real for me to hitch my wagon to.
July 14, 2017 @ 9:02 am
I was at the KC show also and can’t recall the name of the new song, or if they even mentioned it. Here’s a review of the show for anyone interested: http://www.kansascity.com/entertainment/ent-columns-blogs/back-to-rockville/article160290309.html
July 14, 2017 @ 9:03 am
Sorry–my comment was intended several posts higher!
July 14, 2017 @ 8:14 am
Is Vol 2 lined up for this year ?
July 14, 2017 @ 9:50 am
They originally said it would be released later this year, but who knows. Won’t be for certain until we have a release date.
July 14, 2017 @ 11:04 am
Given his record label’s complete inability to handle him competently, I would be surprised if they actually give us the date before the album.
July 14, 2017 @ 9:08 pm
Speaking of Volume 2’s, Trigger…..Got any info or hear anything about Willie Watsons Folk Singer Volume 2? Apologize for hijacking the comment section.
July 14, 2017 @ 8:57 am
I’m not trying to throw cold water on Stapleton but this doesn’t make sense to me. I thing CS is a very talented musician and songwriter and I like a lot of his stuff albeit not all of it. I will say up front that perhaps loving guys like Sturgill, Cody Jinks, and more recently Paul Cauthen and Zephaniah Ohora says that my musical pallate is simply too eclectic. I don’t see CS as being better than the artists I just mentioned. I don’t understand why he is selling so much more. I remember listening to a Shooter Jennings conversation several years ago when he discussed Anheiser Busch buying massive quantities of albums for one of their sponsored artists (My specualtion leads me to believe it was Kid Rock) so they could have a better long-term chart position. My point being is there something else to CS’s sales. I know he has more ties to mainstream Nashville than pretty much any other artist I like. I think he is very talented and deserves all the acclaim he is receiving but this is hard for me to fathom. Any thoughts?
July 14, 2017 @ 9:40 am
Your tastes aren’t eclectic, they are downright mainstream here on SCM! Ha ha. My answer to you is I don’t have any reason to believe there’s anything underhanded going on. Like most everybody here I have friends, family, acquaintences who don’t particularly identify as Country fans.. Often though I am finding many of these folks talking about how great Stapleton is. In terms of specifics, they love his bluesy, gutteral soul like vocals. It’s been a trendy vocal style for the last couple years. So, I think it makes him more accessible to non country pseudo music fans who probably have never heard of Cody Jinks for example. That and the whole aw shucks vibe tends to endear him to the masses. As Albert mentioned, honesty in the style. That’s the draw. And he is very different from status quo.
As for Cody, Sturgill etc, there’s plenty of room for them as well and I will say this about Jinks: I initially thought his fan base at live shows was likely gonna be older folks who like people like Hag and others with that classic country baritone like Keith Whitley etc. But how wrong I am. His shows fill up with bikers, rednecks, Cowboys, radio country listeners and the occasional NPR listener. His shows are a party! My point is he is enjoying a diverse crowd and in my opinion he will continue to grow in popularity. Sturgill is a superstar period. Cauthen is great live but I don’t see his current record on the same level as Simpson, Stapleton or jinks. Cauthen is young and if he plays it right will also get bigger. But Stapleton has happened organically and that makes him quite the phenom.
July 14, 2017 @ 10:09 am
At a recent Jinks show, I was surprised that there were as many Turnpike Troubadours’ t-shirts as there were vintage Alabama (the band, not the college football team). He’s the bridge between old /classic country and the outlaw, non-mainstream country music. He’s got something good brewing.
July 14, 2017 @ 9:57 am
The reason I have don’t believe Stapleton’s sales are somehow a manipulation of the market is because Music Row seems completely dumbfounded by them, and completely clueless of how to deal with them. If they had half an idea of what they were doing, they would have released “Tennessee Whiskey” as a single, and Traveller would have probably sold 3 million records by now. The roll out for “From A Room” was abysmal, his single strategy is failed (even if he is inherently going to struggle at radio, at least they can release singles that make sense), yet he’s still selling records like crazy.
Zephania Ohora and Paul Cauthen are never going to get the same reception as someone such as Chris Stapleton because they are niche artists, doing purposely throwback, retro country music that is only going to appeal to a certain segment of people. The reason Stapleton is doing so well is because he’s appealing to an incredibly wide swath of people. However, Stapleton’s success does give a path forward for more independent and traditional artists without radio, and this is a good thing for all.
July 14, 2017 @ 10:50 am
Also they are always on the look out for groups trying to manipulate the charts so if somebody was attempting it then patterns would be seen. We have seen acts include albums with concert tickets which at one time was counted as an album sale but now there are restrictions on that and of course we have seen labels deeply discount albums and they have put restrictions on that also.
July 14, 2017 @ 11:12 am
chris sells more because he’s simpler and louder. no “turtles” and no brooklyn. he’s travis tritt without the wink. people are full of energy, sick of bullshit, and can relate. personally, i’ll take sturgill and zeph, but i’m an outlier.
July 14, 2017 @ 2:00 pm
Agree, and I love him, but he’s not doing concept albums or singing about the meaning of life either. Sturgill is way more my speed with the baritone, the smart lyrics, and the badassery, but that’s just me. Chris is absolutely amazing of course, but I’ve noticed he does appeal to some of my friends who also like the Christian Contemporary and Country Pop stuff.
July 14, 2017 @ 2:43 pm
All very true. I can’t even begin to count the number of times I have heard or seen the phrase “I don’t even like country, but I loooove Chris Stapleton”. His style touches a vast potential audience…..much larger than a more traditional country artist.
July 16, 2017 @ 10:59 am
Trigger, I totally agree with what you are saying about Chris Stapleton–we aren’t making a big enough deal about his ability to succeed without the support of the anemic country radio format. Certainly Nashville has frequently been behind when it comes to new talent that they don’t “get” (witness Opry coordinator Jim Denny in 1954 telling a young Memphis truck driver named Elvis Presley not to quit his day job; how did THAT work out?). I would only caution that his success not be overhyped.
And I would also caution against Stapleton being the ONLY one deserving of attention, either for himself or for the men. If the kind of music he represents, which seems to me to be a mix of both traditional and progressive values, is to succeed with a wide audience, it also needs to include female artists who are doing much the same thing as he is: women like Margo Price, Kelsey Waldon, and others. Since we are still pressing about the extreme dearth of female artists who are not named Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert, or Kelsea Ballerini, it doesn’t hurt to point out that the womenfolk have a huge part to play in this too (IMHO).
July 14, 2017 @ 2:39 pm
Good questions. I think the fact that Stapleton leans much more toward a bluesy / soul / southern rock vibe vs. traditional country is the reason why he has had such a bigger audience from young to old. He is a great singer, no doubt. But I think the main point is that the combo mentioned above has a significantly larger potential audience than someone like a Jinks or Ohora…..or someone like Sturgill who’s a little too eclectic to connect with a broader audience (not to mention I think there are a ton of radio type listeners who would simply find his vocal style too purely country.)
July 14, 2017 @ 9:29 am
Here’s my thought: take off your tin foil hat, enjoy the music you like, all will be right with the world.
July 14, 2017 @ 9:52 am
Ha. I’ve never been accused of wearing a tin foil hat before. I’ll try to take it off.
July 14, 2017 @ 10:57 am
LOL, if it fits, wear it. With pride. I do…
July 17, 2017 @ 5:22 pm
10-gallon!
July 17, 2017 @ 7:14 pm
Yes!
July 14, 2017 @ 9:34 am
The Stapleton run has been great – a phenomenon. However, I’m no longer surprised like I was in the fall of 2015. It seems every week we are uncovering a co-write stretching way back to 2003. And these were cuts on multi-plantimun albums – “Independent Trucker,” Brooks & Dunn’s ‘Greatest Hits II’ (2004); “Higher than the Wall,” Patty Loveless’ ‘On Your Way Home’ (2003); “Drinkin’ Dark Whiskey,” Gary Allan’s ‘See If I Care.’ Stapleton’s influence on Nashville began 17 years ago – you make a lot of friends in 17 years (if you’re a nice guy). I think that explains the award shows that jump started this run, great music sustained it.
July 14, 2017 @ 10:03 am
You know who else is having an incredible run without a ton of help from country radio? Miranda Lambert. She’s never been a radio darling but has racked up record breaking amounts of awards and platinum albums.
I no longer know the CMA calendar, but I hope Room Vol.1 is eligible for Album of the Year and it competes with Mirada’s Wings. The only thing better would have been if Room was released as a double album and competed with Wings.
July 14, 2017 @ 4:29 pm
They are both eligible for CMA album of the year…
July 14, 2017 @ 9:41 am
I don’t follow country music. I saw Chris Stapleton’s 2015 CMA performance and connected with his music in a way I have not done so in a very long time. I came to this site to read news about him. I check out your page frequently now even though I am not really a country music fan. I want to applaud you on your in-depth analysis of topics. Nowadays I find it hard to find depth in most publications (Even worse for country music focused websites). Keep up the good job!
July 14, 2017 @ 9:58 am
Thanks Mary, glad you found the site!
July 14, 2017 @ 11:00 am
Welcome, Mary! Most of us are harmless. Most…
July 14, 2017 @ 10:23 am
Stapleton has paved the way for mor traditional acts to get some radio time like Jon Pardi. There is still good country out there you just have to look for it. I found a gem the other day in Trent Tomlinson’s new single “that’s what’s working right now”. It’s worth a listen and a review.
July 14, 2017 @ 10:38 am
+1 for ‘That’s What’s Working Right Now.’ Excellent song from the same guy that gave us ‘Just Might Have Her Radio On.’ I’m glad Trent is putting new music out
July 15, 2017 @ 6:52 pm
Ditto on the Trent Tomlinson song, best damn thing I’ve heard in years!
July 17, 2017 @ 5:29 pm
And if Stapleton fans get a little bluegrass in their lives via Chris’s Steeldrivers work, that would be a good thing.
July 14, 2017 @ 10:29 am
I just don’t see this guy as country music. I appreciate that he covered the David Allen Coe song, but most of his music reminds me of acoustic Bob Segar. My liberal hipster friends that don’t like traditional country music love him and Jason Isbell. Neither one particularly appeals to me. I think he is a talented singer, but nothing that I have heard so far makes me want to hear more. Sturgill Simpson, on the other hand, is awesome. Sometimes I think Keith Whitley was reincarnated when I hear him sing.
July 14, 2017 @ 12:06 pm
I hear ya. Common complaint here about Stapleton. Truthfully I’m a little bored with his current album. But in fairness his cover of Willies Last thing I needed is pretty true to the original. Chris has taken a minimalist approach to his production on his records and truthfully it’s reminiscent of Willies Red Headed Stranger in its sparse spproach. He does really let his bluesy voice rip though. It’s a different kind of voice for Country, true, but his Kentucky heritage still comes through.
Check out his first two albums , The Steeldrivers and Reckless to hear Chris at his country best. That’s where most of us first heard him, with The Steeldrivers and he was as country, bluegrass, good Ole boy as it gets. Very Outlaw style songs and bluegrass instrumentation. Songs like Good Corn Liquer, Peacemaker, Midnight Train to Memphis, Can You Run, Heaven Sent etc. Many of us hope he may get back to doing songs like that eventually.
July 14, 2017 @ 12:21 pm
that Steeldrivers stuff is the business
July 15, 2017 @ 2:58 pm
Hell yes. They’re still a great band with the new singer, but when Stapleton fronted them they were something else. Tremendous songs, tremendous playing and that voice…man.
I do like the stuff he’s doing now and fair play to the man for getting paid while making good music in the country genre (which I don’t know much about, but from reading pieces on this website and elsewhere that seems a rarity in these days of Bryan, Shelton et al and their homogenous brand of pop country) but I’d be over the moon if he ever decided to go back to that bluegrass loveliness.
July 17, 2017 @ 5:32 pm
Absolutely, In fact on the whole I prefer his Steeldrivers work better than some of his current stuff.
July 14, 2017 @ 2:47 pm
As a huge Keith Whitley apologist, I can honestly say I have never thought of him while listening to Sturgill. NO disrespect to Sturgil–although I do gravitate more toward Stapleton considerably–but I just don’t hear Keith Whitley in him or in anyone else for that matter. I don’t think anyone ever will be able to sound like Keith Whitley reincarnate; there’s something about his life that bled into his songs and gave him a depth of emotion that no one in country music is ever going to come close to imho.
July 14, 2017 @ 5:47 pm
I didn’t mean to imply that SS is Whitley incarnate. Most of the time he has his own sound, but once in a while I can hear a little Keith coming out. Especially in the Nirvana cover that he did. I prefer Sturgill’s smooth style to the raspy style of Stapleton. I think Bruce Springsteen is dogshit, and got away with it because of that style. I wore out a Kentucky Bluebird CD in college.
July 14, 2017 @ 5:59 pm
I hear Keith Whitley in Sturgill’s voice at times, as well. Some say Waylon, but I’ve never heard that.
July 15, 2017 @ 2:49 pm
I hear more Waylon than anything in SS.
July 14, 2017 @ 9:36 pm
Thanks for clarifying 🙂 sometimes i hear Waylon in Sturgill, but mostly I just hear Sturgill. Which is one of his strengths, and Stapleton’s too really. Both of them have their own unique style, unlike a lot of what’s popular today.
July 17, 2017 @ 11:19 pm
Definitely Waylon, but he is own thing. The voice is like butter, which is why I probably prefer it to Chris’s.
July 17, 2017 @ 6:21 am
You lost me at Bruce is dogshit. No hope for ya now. LOL
July 14, 2017 @ 2:51 pm
Mike – I agree 100%, but am always a little hesitant to post anti isbell or Stapleton stuff because I do actually respect what they do.
July 17, 2017 @ 9:24 pm
I also agree Mike. One look at the hat and beard and you know its Southern Rock and white southern blues. I find the music very bland and boring, nothing to twist the ear, no humor or playfulness. Every song is way too serious and over-dramatic. Not my cup of tea.
July 14, 2017 @ 1:15 pm
Just bought a copy of ‘Traveller’ this week. 🙂
July 14, 2017 @ 2:55 pm
P.s. My “respect” comment wasn’t inferring that you don’t respect them and should. Purely a comment on my own thoughts!
July 14, 2017 @ 3:39 pm
Wow. 4 years since a country CD went platinum 2x??? “Crash My Party” came out around this time in 2013, if I recall correctly. As far as the new Sam Hunt CD equalling or surpassing “From a Room, Vol. 1”, I would yet wouldn’t be surprised. My thinking is Chris Stapleton has a fan base that will download his singles and buy his CDs. The Sam Hunt fan base seems like they’re more of a singles purchasing fan base. Seeing how Sam Hunt is at his zenith right now, though, he could very well have the biggest selling CD this year. I couldn’t be happier for Chris Stapleton. I agree with Patrick that artists like Jon Pardi are getting radio play most likely by people who want more meat & potatoes country music. (Saw Jon Pardi at KeyBank Pavilion with Cole and Dierks 06/24/17 and JP was fantastic!)
July 14, 2017 @ 5:58 pm
Thanks for the tip, Kevin. Ill give him another shot.
July 14, 2017 @ 6:43 pm
I thought he was a soul singer?
July 14, 2017 @ 6:45 pm
The man is really good I don’t know how people don’t know about him they need to put him on the radio I’m going to go buy the record Tom
July 14, 2017 @ 7:27 pm
Except Chris Stapleton isn’t a Country singer. Neither he, nor Sam Hunt belong on the Country charts.
You folks will cling to anything that’s not mainstream.
July 15, 2017 @ 7:10 am
Not a country singer? True. Neither was Levon Helm, but I still listen to him, because his music is badass. And he was country enough. For me, anyway. I take it you’re a purist, Honky. And that’s okay. What’s not okay is when you declare everyone else an idiot for not agreeing with you 100%. It’s very Donald Trumpish.
July 15, 2017 @ 8:44 am
I thought this site was about saving traditional country music. If that is true, some of you should posting on ChangingCountryMusic.com. Seems to be a lot of old hippies, and young hipsters on here that think Country Music needs to “culturally evolve’. Country music is music made by rural people, for rural people, and that shouldn’t change. Alan Jackson was prescient with his words:
“Well, the folk scene’s dead, but he’s holding out in the Village
He’s been writing songs, speaking out against wealth and privilege
He says, I don’t believe in money, but a man could make him a killin’
‘Cause some of that stuff don’t sound much different than Dylan
I hear down there it’s changed, you see
Well, they’re not as backward as they used to be.”
If you don’t want to hear traditional country music, then create your own genre and name it something else.
July 15, 2017 @ 8:50 am
I like Alan Jackson. But he don’t sound much like Hank Williams. So by your logic, I guess we’ll rename Alan’s music something else.
July 15, 2017 @ 10:09 am
I can see logic isn’t your strong suit.
July 15, 2017 @ 10:16 am
Chris Stapleton is from Staffordsville, Kentucky, which has a population of less than 2,500 and is in the heart of rural Kentucky’s coal mining region. His father was a coal miner, and much of his family were and are coal miners. The idea that Chris Stapleton is not country enough to be considered country is ridiculous. Yes, his music has a strong soul influence in it, primarily because of the way he sings. Nobody is trying to sell it as straight down the middle country. But it’s country more than it’s anything. It’s traditional country more than it’s contemporary country or pop country for sure.
Whenever Chris Stapleton is highlighted, people love to say, “But so and so is better.” But that’s not the point. The point is Chris Stapleton is so much better than anything else the mainstream is offering. It’s not a compromise, it’s a step in the right direction. Rome was not conquered in a day.
July 15, 2017 @ 10:29 am
I agree 100%. The whole “you kids get off my lawn with your music that doesn’t fit my definition of country” bit is beyond lame
July 15, 2017 @ 10:49 am
Bringing people into Country Music that do not like Country Music is going to save traditional Country Music? The key is bringing people back that have given up on Country Music.
July 15, 2017 @ 1:30 pm
Trigger,
I don’t care where he’s from, or what his daddy did. He’s not a Country singer, and celebrating his success as being a victory for Country music is absurd.
The King of Rock N Roll is from rural Mississippi
July 15, 2017 @ 6:39 pm
Why are you selectively letting my comments through? If you’re going to keep doing this, please tell me so I can stop wasting my time.
July 15, 2017 @ 10:07 pm
Honky (and others),
There was a period this evening where moderated comments were unable to be approved due to maintenance on the site.
July 16, 2017 @ 1:19 pm
I’m still leaving comments that aren’t showing up. What gives?
July 16, 2017 @ 3:22 pm
People don’t come here to see incessant, personal insults from commenters back and forth that have nothing to do with music or the topic at hand. You are not the only one whose comments are being moderated for this. The last thing I want to do is erase anyone’s comments or play referee in the comments sections. But one of the reason these comments sections have become on of the best discussion forms in country music is folks respecting each other. When it turns into Jerry Springer, it reflects negatively on all of us.
Also, as I said, the site has been undergoing maintenance this weekend, and I’m not in front of the computer 24/7 to moderate comments. Show a willingness to adhere to the comment rules, and I will take you off of moderation. I appreciate everyone’s opinions, but when it devolves into insults, or is constantly veering the conversation in a bad direction, I have to take action.
I appreciate your understanding.
July 15, 2017 @ 12:05 pm
Whether or not you are “rural” shouldn’t come into play. Whitey Morgan grew up in Detroit. Jinks is from a suburban town, and big city. Zephaniah Ohora is probably the best example……being a “liberal hipster” from Brooklyn. As long as the music is there and you aren’t putting on an annoying act with your “country authenticity”, it really shouldn’t matter.
July 15, 2017 @ 1:22 pm
I’d say that people like Stapleton could bring people into the country fold whose only exposure to country has been the pop-country of the last 15-20 years. There are a ton of people who thought they didn’t like country until hearing someone like Stapleton because they though country consisted of Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Florida Georgia Line, etc. As a life-long country fan, I just can’t see that as a bad thing.
July 15, 2017 @ 2:21 pm
You’re just trading bro country for coffee house country. I don’t see how that benefits traditional country. I don’t imagine Stapelton is going to go back to traditional, now that he has tasted commercial success.
July 15, 2017 @ 10:19 pm
Completely agree.
There are too many NPR types in Country Music today singing about how we rural people are supposed to feel about life. Earle doesn’t speak for me and neither do the rest of them. Neither does most of mainstream country music. Man, are there any sharp Conservative country music singers left? I must be missing them.
July 16, 2017 @ 12:32 pm
So it’s only country music if it’s performed by a person with conservative politics?
July 17, 2017 @ 9:39 am
Reading comprehension. Try it.
Country Music is the expression of the rural, originally Southern and later expanded to other rural regions, experience. Conservative values are a huge part, not all part, of that.
July 17, 2017 @ 4:25 pm
Country certainly CAN be an expression of rural, Southern experiences, but that’s far from all it is. Waylon’s “Lonesome, On’ry, and Mean” is as country as anything else I’ve ever heard, but there’s nothing necessarily rural about it. It could easily be sung as a blues song, a rock song, or a soul song, and nothing would be lost. Most of Haggard’s hits weren’t sung from a rural, Southern perspective, as he didn’t lead a rural life, being from Bakersfield, California. The same can be said of most of the country greats. Many may have been from the rural South, but many(if not most) of their songs were fairly universal.
July 15, 2017 @ 10:13 am
I never said Stapleton wasn’t talented. I just said he’s not a Country singer.
July 15, 2017 @ 10:14 pm
No, that is the SJW way.
July 15, 2017 @ 10:32 pm
This comment belonged under the Donald Trumpish one above. Not sure why it ended up here.
July 15, 2017 @ 8:18 am
Didn’t hank jr have like 9 albums on the country charts at once? If Stapleton had enough albums he could possibly match that.
July 15, 2017 @ 9:51 am
Adele of country music says everything. It’s the way he stares at his wife while on stage, that he needs her there in every interview. We’ve only seen this a few times before and it’s the most amazing thing. We love, love, love it. Sets him a part from every other music maker.
July 15, 2017 @ 12:22 pm
I can’t reply to your @10:49 comment, so I’m replying here.
How should country music respond to the reurbanization of America, in your view? While rural life will not fully die off, some numbers released last month suggest that the birth rate in rural America is no longer sufficient to fully counteract big migrations, like they one we’re having now, precisely because so many of the people migrating away are precisely the people who would be having families.
Now, they tried to declare cities dead once, and look how that turned out, so nothing is definitive. What IS almost definitive, however, is that if rural areas experience a renaissance it will be due to combinations of people returning from sub/urban areas, or immigrants in search of opportunity. At bare minimum, those people will have different stories than the rural people of 50+ years ago. They’re probably also going to bring in some of the sonic influences that they picked up elsewhere.
IMO, *that’s* the biggest question that country as a genre will need to answer: as the rural story goes through a period where it becomes a story of migration elsewhere, how do you preserve the basic sonic format and signature of country while accommodating the necessary desire that these migratory artists will have to bring in influences from elsewhere?
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.
July 15, 2017 @ 12:23 pm
Argh, this was meant to go under the comment tree for Mike Honcho (and Honky, to a lesser extent).
July 15, 2017 @ 2:09 pm
Merf,
I have been saying for years that Country Music is dead, due in large part to what you speak of, the fact that rural America is continuing to decrease in size.
With the exception of the most backwoods regions of Appalachia, yankees and urban dwellers have infested most of the South, diluting the culture and the accents. Additionally, mass communication has exposed 3 generations of Country kids to pop culture, and that lures them away from their own culture.
In regards to the Music, the only thing that could bring it back from the dead, would be a living, breathing authentic Country boy, with the looks to get in the door, and the generational talent to keep him there.
Outside of that, we’re stuck with talented guys who don’t sing Country and aren’t handsome enough to be adored, Indie Rock singers who can’t sing, and role-playing hipsters who do the right kind of music, but lack the authenticity to be truly original.
Right now, William Michael Morgan and Mo Pitney are as close as we’re going to get to what I’m talking about. The problem is, they’re not talented enough to grab people’s undivided attention.
Daryle Singletary would’ve been the guy to carry the torch from the late 90’s to now, but he didn’t have the looks.
July 15, 2017 @ 9:58 pm
There may be another way to look at this. Even many smaller languages (with under a million speakers) have multiple dialects that often developed in response to collisions with other cultures or other historical trends. Maybe country music could do something similar? I’m thinking of a language spoken in NE Italy called Friulian–it has an antique dialect, a classic/educated dialect, a German/Slav influenced dialect that is evidence of the trade and cultural exchange between Friuli and the German/Slav speaking polities on its border and 500+ years of Habsburg influence, and a Venexian influenced dialect that is evidence of the occupation of the Venetian Empire.
Are you willing to consider the notion that country might develop similar dialects? They would share most of the same sonic ‘bones’ as it were, but each would have distinctive flourishes that are authentic extensions of the evolving rural population in this country. What you call traditional country would be the oldest dialect, but there would also be one that develops out of the experiences of rural people who had to migrate to cities, or one that develops out of the experiences of Hispanic immigrants who move to small towns and rural areas, or a dialect that is a new type of outlaw country where the non-religious or LGBTQA people and others who have ALWAYS existed in rural America, but have been erased by the ‘official’ Christian culture get to have their say.
I would hope that there is a way for country to develop those dialects without sacrificing its sonic foundation, because I would hate to see it relegated to a mere museum piece, which you seem to be suggesting may be the genre’s fate.
July 15, 2017 @ 10:27 pm
“official” Christian culture makes it sounds like the rural area is running a theocracy.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
July 15, 2017 @ 10:56 pm
“Nothing could be further from the truth.” –CountryKnight @10:27
Well, it’s a good thing that I didn’t say there was a theocracy then, isn’t it? It’s a good thing that all I said is that the dominance of Christianity, which almost gives it the power of official religion, means that a certain type of non-religious voice that has always existed in rural America is rarely heard in rural America’s music.
And please, please don’t try to suggest that rural America is generally friendly to the non-religious. I’ve never lived in a rural area that didn’t at least subtly ostracize the non-Christian churched. Sure, maybe no one was literally burning down houses or spitting on people, but still. In one town I lived in, there were business that would ask suspected non-Christians or suspected-LBGTAQ people to leave. If you weren’t churched you could kiss local elected office goodbye. If you were part of a couple and one of you stayed home with the children, the stay-at-home parent would be ostracized. If you owned your own business, you’d always be excluded from the inner circles at the Chamber or the local business owner association. In the worst cases, the ostracism and taunting would even affect your children at school.
I know not literally every rural area is like these were, and even in communities like these there were people who, in the words of the Hank Jr. song, say, “if you ain’t into that, we don’t give a damn,” but to suggest that rural America isn’t a difficult place to be non-religious seems a bit of a stretch to me.
Here are some pieces that discuss the phenomenon of closeted atheism and the fear that the non-religious feel of being known as non-religious, especially in the south:
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/godlessindixie/2014/09/24/why-some-of-us-dont-come-out-of-the-atheist-closet/
https://thehumanist.com/features/articles/southern-atheist
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/way-more-americans-may-be-atheists-than-we-thought/
July 17, 2017 @ 9:37 am
Never said you used the word theocracy.
And please, please don’t try to suggest that rural America is generally unfriendly to the non-religious.
I love how you went right to the burning down houses or spitting on people and then refused those strawman points. When the heck has that lasted happened? The national media would be all over it.
How many rural areas have you lived in? I have lived in two rural areas and never encountered anything like that. Since we are using anecdotal evidence per your stories.
What town was that? If you are going to slander a town, provide a name.
I can’t believe in this day and age of social media and stories that those people acted to leave business or other incidents wouldn’t have their stories presented somewhere. Nowadays, even the tiniest story goes viral. Prime example, the story about the Rey Star Wars Monopoly piece, yet this stuff, apparently according to you, didn’t go viral. What didn’t you say something?
Then you cleverly say to appear unbiased and to show both sides (even though you didn’t provide a positive view of rural areas regarding religion), “I know not literally every rural area is like there were.” How enlightened of you to admit the truth.
I never said it wasn’t a difficult place to be. I said that the rural areas aren’t running a theocracy which is far different.
Really, it sounds to me that atheists are not brave enough to admit their non-belief. You, yourself, admitted there aren’t any acts of violence being perpetrated against them.Or else they want people (to betray their own beliefs) to agree with them about it and pat them on their back for going against the proverbial grain. Yeah, it is not tough to be an atheist in America. Try being atheist or Christian in the Middle East. When they disagree with you there, you end up without a head.
Two atheist/humanist websites and the 538 which links to a small study which gave numbers that are radically different than traditional sampling, aka an outliner. Not much there.
July 17, 2017 @ 3:13 pm
CountryKnight- You say that you think that atheists are not brave enough to admit their beliefs. I think there’s some truth to that. As someone that grew up in rural East Texas, it was much easier for me to just not say anything about my lack of religious beliefs than to be open with them. This was an area where something as commonplace as Catholicism was seen as foreign, and atheism was seen as unfavorably as Islam. Basically if you weren’t a protestant, Baptist or Methodist specifically, you were viewed with some level of suspicion by a number of people. if you were an outright non-believer, you were a bit of a pariah. It’s true, unless you’re in school, you’re probably not going to be assaulted for your beliefs by your peers, but you’ll likely feel unwelcome in the community.
July 17, 2017 @ 3:42 pm
“I love how you went right to the burning down houses or spitting on people and then refused those strawman points. When the heck has that lasted happened?”
I wasn’t refuting anything with that comment. I was establishing the fact that I was not going to make hyperbolic claims and to also establish the position that there are things other than direct threats of violence that can harm a person.
“I can’t believe in this day and age of social media and stories that those people acted to leave business or other incidents wouldn’t have their stories presented somewhere.”
“Really, it sounds to me that atheists are not brave enough to admit their non-belief. You, yourself, admitted there aren’t any acts of violence being perpetrated against them.”
People who don’t have a lot of mobility generally don’t want to ruin their lives by drawing negative attention on a national scale to the communities in which they live (which is why there is no way I am naming a specific town). And I said there weren’t EXTREME acts of violence being perpetrated on a mass scale. There are certainly instances–some provided in my sources–of individuals being victims of vandalism or having their pets harmed, among other things.
“Try being atheist or Christian in the Middle East. When they disagree with you there, you end up without a head.”
It is possible to both object to the way Christians are treated in the MENA and the way the non-religious are treated in rural America, and it is possible to take steps to address both problems.
“Two atheist/humanist websites and the 538 which links to a small study which gave numbers that are radically different than traditional sampling, aka an outliner. Not much there.”
I’ll meet you a quarter-way on this, I suppose, in that I dislike relying on polls, because I know how finicky they are. However, I have confidence that the techniques used in the study linked by 538 represent best practices and that the study will prove to be an important gateway toward the study of a larger phenomenon that is almost certainly being underreported in aggregate, given the proliferation of experiences that people are sharing more anecdotally on blogs, etc.
July 15, 2017 @ 10:23 pm
My favorite part about all the Yankees moving South is how they escape the North because of high taxes stagnating economic progress and once they get settled in the South, they reintroduce the same dumb policies. Also, they try to change the culture. And I say this as a PA Yankee. It makes sad to see how the South is under cultural attack but no one in the national media cares about that.
July 17, 2017 @ 8:00 am
To your last sentence here… AMEN
July 16, 2017 @ 8:19 am
Still hilarious that honky continues to throw under the bus everyone from Sturgill to Jinks, yet will never go into any depth about why he thinks their brand of country sucks. Again, Honky, substance is your friend. Back to my question a few weeks ago – tell us why Sturgill is a “no talent hack” and “can’t sing”.
Also, what about his vocal style is “indie rock”? You repeatedly make these statements, yet haven’t once given any substance behind them.
July 16, 2017 @ 9:49 am
Still hilarious how obsessed you are with me and my opinions.
July 16, 2017 @ 9:50 am
Also, it seems that the only thing Honky will accept as country music not being completely “dead” is a handsome guy from the farm selling out arenas nation wide. Not sure what the looks have to do with anything, other than maybe attracting younger female fans. Note some of his recent stances towards females, including the use of such terms as “fat whores” in the thread about the Sam hunt concert fight.
I also don’t quite understand the points on the world being better off if there were large swaths of rural America that mirrored the deepest parts of Appalachia from the perspective of being completely untouched by the modern world. This whole country “purity” schtick from honky is really starting to take some odd turns, many of which are toward some odd xenophobic / country folk nationalist viewpoints.
July 16, 2017 @ 11:58 am
It does seem like some folks seem to present the “country music is about all rural people” face, while their comments elsewhere make it abundantly clear that they really believe country is not about all rural people, but only the ones THEY have decided actually matter.
July 16, 2017 @ 9:21 am
Murf, that is a great question, but not one that I or anyone else here can answer. We are in the midst of a paradigm change in just about everything due to rapid technological advances. Who knows if radio will even be around in a decade? I do know that “Country Music” is more popular now than it ever has been, and while I don’t know the demographics, it dominates the radio. I also know that the more people start listening to Country Music, the more the music strays from its traditional roots. Bringing in people that do not like country music is good for Nashville wallets, but not traditional country music. Even on a site that is dedicated to saving country music, there are a lot of people on here that don’t the difference between Jimmie Rodgers and Kenny Rogers. Modern country music is so diluted that it no longer has an identity. Just like NASCAR where you can no longer tell what kind of car is racing.
July 16, 2017 @ 12:10 pm
I certainly hear and understand the concerns about dilution and straying from the genre’s sonic signature. I guess where I am right now in my thinking about it is that if the community that is preserving the traditional country sound can overcome the perception that it isn’t friendly to people who don’t fit a very narrow cultural profile that might attract artists who like the sound but have felt unwanted for other reasons (they aren’t the right religion, they went to the city for work and ended up returning but don’t totally hate the city, their families weren’t blue-collar/ag enough, whatever).
Now that’s an extremely speculative set of thoughts that I am not 100% committed to and reserve the right to retract, as it were, but I would be interested in hearing whether or not you think that doing this would be too much compromise in your view.
July 16, 2017 @ 2:27 pm
I’m not concerned with where an artist comes from if they are true to tradition. My posts were referring more to new country fans that want to take the rough edges off. The kind of people that don’t object to bro country because it is lazy and repetitive, but because of the subjects the songs are about. For some reason many people that live in cities think that people that choose to not live in cities are backwards, and need to be set straight. They want to make the Progressive, Social Justice artists more prominent because it plays into their superiority complex. I really don’t give a shit what an artist’s politics are, as long as they STFU about it. That being said, it does take a certain life experience to be authentic about Country Music. We used to have real outlaws in CM, not guys like Eric Church that wear sunglasses. Ive even seen Jason Isbell called an outlaw, when I know damn well that Miranda Lambert would kick the shit out of him in a fight. Ive always thought of an outlaw as somebody that could go to prison for a few years, and not be somebodys bitch the whole time. Guys like Merle, Waylon, DAC, Charlie Daniels, Hank Jr and Sr were not people you messed with. Do you think Johnny Paycheck and the boys from Rascal Flatts would have hung out? When is the last time you heard a cheatin song? You cant have those anymore because somebody will be offended that you are promoting adultery. What drew me to CM was the authentic rawness of the artists and groups. That just doesn’t exist anymore in the mainstream. Corporatization has killed the thing that made CM so great. Nobody can be offended.
July 17, 2017 @ 2:58 pm
Mike- Little ass Willie Nelson was one of the first outlaws, but you’d never think of him as some sort of rough-and-tumble ass-kicking good old boy. The whole “Outlaw” moniker came about because folks like Willie and Waylon told the Nashville machine to fuck off so they could record their music the way they wanted to. It had nothing to do with them being a bunch of Billy Badasses. Now, this doesn’t mean that I think Isbell is an outlaw; he’s just a really good songwriter that drifts between southern rock, folk, and country. It just bugs me when people seem to have the perception that all those outlaw country singers were criminals and hard-cases.
July 15, 2017 @ 3:12 pm
Interesting thoughts. As someone who grew up in a rural area and currently lives in a city, I think the opposite might actually be true as it relates to more traditional country. Somebody brought this up a few weeks ago on the modern thread, but city dwellers are by and large not the ones supporting bro country. A majority of people who listen to and support pop country are the rural ones who should know better. This is certainly the case among everyone I know (city vs. small town or country dwellers I grew up with.). I believe this all goes directly back to the influence that radio, awards shows, and the big “country” concert tours still has on millions of people. Until traditional country can get more exposure and support from the mediums that reach the rural audiences, traditional country is going to have limited upside.
Another interesting thing to think about on this front is whether there really is that big of a potential market in the more rural markets. Is it just a fact these days that a huge portion of blue collar listeners in rural areas want little more than the simple, easy, lighthearted, sexually / party focus that bro and pop country brings? If exposed to modern day traditional country, would they really gravitate to it over the pop crap?
The rise of Stapleton had shown that an artists who doesn’t just put out shallow made to be a hit BS can resonate with a large number of people. But, as many people have pointed out, his last two albums aren’t exactly great examples of traditional country, and therefore a large number of the purchasers and downloaders aren’t people who are drawn to a tradional country sound.
July 15, 2017 @ 10:31 pm
It is not shocking. Bro Country is played on the radio. The radio has been the primary outlet for generations. It is going to take a while to wean people off it. Or most likely, we must win the battle on the radio. Lots of people here want to concede the field (radio) to the fake Country Music forces. I disagree. The fight is in Nashville.
July 15, 2017 @ 3:07 pm
Chris Stapleton doesn’t need radio. But does radio really need Chris?
As you mentioned, there are two cultural playing fields here. And “country” radio culled its traditional fans years ago (anybody listening to country radio knows it is nonstop metro-bro dreck, and decided to listen).
Thus, it seems that a country radio consumer is much more in line with the “Sam Hunt streamer” than the “Stapleton album buyer.”
Sure, the radio industry in general is in financial trouble. But I doubt Stapleton’s popularity with album-buyers makes him essential to “country” radio.
July 15, 2017 @ 6:58 pm
Ginger here again. I didn’t realize Chris Stapleton was bro country. What a disappointment. Can’t stand the idgits running around with their swords. Game of Thrones is the stupidist show ever to run. That being said, I went back to visit my relatives in rural country a few years ago. The song Truck Yeah came on the radio and I turned it up as loud as it would go, because it was the most ridiculously messed up song that spoke to all the reasons I couldn’t wait to get out of there when I was young. It’s standing around the campfire drinking cheap beer and wine coolers music with the truck doors open and the girls stumbling into the fire. Young, stupid and drunk, one of your friends just found out she’s pregnant at 17, because (like she’ll tell you), ’18 is too old.’ Living in their dreams, because they are grandmothers at 35, great grandmothers at 50. Doesn’t matter who goes to their concerts because their target audience are home with their families.
July 15, 2017 @ 7:48 pm
btw – back then, when the truck doors were opened, everyone was listening to classic ACDC, lip syncing and air guitaring along. Slick, hollywood, actors, singing weird stuff and calling it country music is never an option where I’m from. Bro country is making fun of their lives, or theirs, which of course, they take very, very seriously. They will fight you because you are a two faced liar. It’s a favorite screaming, girl-fight starter, of all ages there. I personally like Keith Urban’s Fighter and many of my friends agree. But he’s probably acting like a city pigeon with lady and men city pigeons other than one he’s married too. You know how they get all puffed up and start acting cool, eyeing whatever female’s around out of one eye? That’s bro country. It’s casual, popular family, waterskiing on the lake. I wonder if they’re driving around in their trucks listening to it loud, four wheeling in the mud and up the dirt road mountains straight up in their muscle shirts and tight wranglers, base ball caps and tennis shoes. Posing their truck just right in the right scene and taking a photo of it for facebook. At least they are holding the rednecks back, we don’t want them wandering around the street. If bro country weren’t there, the rednecks would come out. Rednecks suck! There are some people even I would drag behind a truck. Give the people who want to marry babies a contingent in the Pride Parades in all the cities. You can marry a 5 year old but you can’t have sex until you are 18. Hold hands proudly with your young spouses and have Pride. Unconditional love! Try it. There was a time gays and bisexuals were jailed for sodomy. Maybe street justice for bro country songwriters is giving them exactly what they want: space in the Pride Parades. They can marry who they actually feel “love” towards. They can finally be free, less misogynistic, loving even, so to fly in the wind. Right now they are angry, their lives are difficult, they have anxiety because they are living lies, they feel like they were left standing in the rain and their parade was cancelled. I feel awful about their plight. They should be allowed to love and marry who they like.
July 16, 2017 @ 8:26 am
Holy Shit!
July 16, 2017 @ 8:43 am
That’s quite a manifesto there, Ginger
July 16, 2017 @ 9:23 am
I remember my first beer.
July 16, 2017 @ 9:28 am
There is very little rural in “country” music these days. I’m surprised anyone would assume there was. Rural America doesn’t constitute enough of a share to explain modern country music’s popularity. A town of 5,000 isn’t rural. A farm 30 minutes from a metropolitan area is surrounded by subdivisions, not back roads and wooded tranquility. The singers in country music, whether radio country, bluegrass, Americana, or Alt-Country are for the most part from the suburbs, cities and small towns, not isolated rural America. Most of them sing with an exaggerated rural Southern accent and they sing about things that aren’t a part of their direct experience. Some pull it off better than others. Some are sincere in their efforts while for many it is completely contrived. Those that are a product of a true rural background are few and far between, and probably over 70.
July 16, 2017 @ 9:52 am
Here’s a nice, incendiary hypothesis: mainstream country music radio is popular with suburban audiences because suburbanites are aware at some level, even if only subconsciously, that the artificial world they have created is almost wholly lacking anything that constitutes meaningful culture. And, despite, the bleating from certain circles about the uselessness of the humanities and arts, it turns out that most humans feel a void when they live in cultureless places. Since cities are hard, scary places with minorities and “weird” art, suburbanites have chosen to cannibalize small town/rural culture to sate their ravenous longing for even the semblance of depth or substance. And, alas, Music Row’s desire to cater to the suburban audience is not likely to abate soon, due to the C.R.E.A.M. Principle.
July 16, 2017 @ 10:51 am
incendiary, or banal
people everywhere use music to jack up and have fun. they don’t treat it like art. it’s like craft beer.
psychological generalization sounds clever but doesn’t scale
July 16, 2017 @ 12:25 pm
I’m not sure what you’re contending here: that mainstream country music radio has always been thus? that suburban audiences are major consumers of mainstream country radio? that I have mischaracterized the suburbs by claiming they have no culture? that I have mischaracterized the suburban fear of the urban?
Re: potential objection #1: Sure, mainstream country radio has never been as good as it should be to its most traditional artists or to its older legends. I absolutely grant that. But even only 25 yeas ago there was more space for traditional artists AND the Nashville apparatus as a whole wasn’t so wholly complicit in projects like those awful “reality” shows that made a mockery of Southern culture or awards shows that reek of desperation in terms of trying to court non-country starts.
Re: potential objection #2: This very site has marshaled sufficient evidence to show that suburban audiences are important to the mainstream country music industry.
Re: potential objection #3: While there is always some subjectivity involved when one claims a place doesn’t have a culture, given that there is a long American tradition of wrangling over this question (John Updike, anyone?) that generally comes down on the ‘the suburbs are culturally lacking’ side, I think that someone who wants to claim that the suburbs have a meaningful culture needs to provide a positive case in support.
Re: potential objection #4: There is a wide literature on the historical and contemporary relationship between racial anxiety and the suburbs, so I don’t think it’s controversial to say that many suburbanites are driven by those fears and that those fears would case them to avoid the city (because of how they stereotypically perceive cities).
However, I grant that I could have done a better job of acknowledging that there are certainly a meaningful number of Gen X/Old Millennials who were raised in suburbia and chose to take urban culture for their own (thus spawning many gentrification-related problems). Of course, they are still evidence for my claim that many suburbanites feel the need to go elsewhere, physically or metaphorically, in search of culture.
July 17, 2017 @ 9:00 am
ok merf
“because suburbanites are aware at some level, even if only subconsciously”
my wife’s old math teacher used to say “‘everbody’ never did nuthin'”
“the artificial world they have created is almost wholly lacking anything that constitutes meaningful culture”
what would be ‘meaningful culture’ to them is not up to you define
“most humans feel a void when they live in cultureless places”
there is no human place without culture
“Since cities are hard, scary places with minorities and ‘weird’ art”
this is a slur against suburbanites. and actually, it sounds like suburbia is a scary place for you, full of people and art you don’t like
“suburbanites have chosen to cannibalize small town/rural culture to sate their ravenous longing for even the semblance of depth or substance”
merf, life isn’t a ‘cultural studies’ essay, it’s full of real people
I live in a suburb with my wife and kids, and most of our neighbors are retired and elderly people who keep to themselves (mostly due to loss) but who are full of memories, knowledge, and a longing for connection. the other families growing up around ours come from all “races,” from all continents, and they’re all pretty much consumed with the task of raising and educating kids to be good people who become teachers, doctors, tradesmen, entrepreneurs, you name it. most go to church, though not the same church. in my immediate neighborhood, there are old poets, retired football coaches, nurses, schoolteachers, pediatricians, and guys who own plumbing supply stores and landscaping services.
they’re too busy to listen to “country” radio, much less care about its lyrical content and musical banality (many, but not all of them, are musically illiterate)
and the pediatrician two doors over? she’s black, with a black husband, with two black boys with dreads, one of whom is still in high school, and we hear him playing piano all the time. what does he play? currently, Chopin, and WELL.
there’s no fear here at all — just commitments and desires
if you got the chance to know some of them, you might even like them
maybe
July 17, 2017 @ 2:04 pm
Oh, OK, I get it…all the evidence and scholarship about racism in suburbia (which is gained by studying real people in aggregate instead of relying on unreliable and potentially unrepresentative anecdotes like the ones you present as evidence for your position) is wrong because you have some black neighbors.
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PS. I did time in suburbia. My experiences are in line with the statistical and historical evidence about suburban residence.
July 16, 2017 @ 10:13 am
You’re closer to being on the right track than most, when it comes to defining rural.
A town of 5,000 outside of a city is not rural. But a town of 5,000 in an area all by itself is part of rural America. The farmers and mountaineers come into town to do their business. And the only differences between the people in the town and the country people, are certain amenities. Their is no difference culturally.
July 16, 2017 @ 2:34 pm
Ha, I grew up in a town of 1,000 and my friends from the country called me a city boy. There just aren’t that many people living in rural america. The rural towns today that might have had 5,000 thirty years ago are probably down to 2 or 3,000 with most of these under 40 having fled to the metro areas and populated with lots of elderly folks on fixed incomes. The number of farms are fading fast and with it the agriculture supported jobs in those small and medium size towns. An example would be eastern North Carolina. Tobacco farms are gone save a few large contract farmers, textile mills that were found in most towns have moved to India or China. The region beyond the metro triangle to the coast has basically a third world economy. Life experiences for the last few generations is just not anything resembling what Loretta Lynn, Stonewall Jackson or Porter Wagner experienced. I’m not saying you don’t have a point, just that the numbers just aren’t there.
July 16, 2017 @ 2:14 pm
Imitation is the truest form of flattery. The fact that on nearly every televised “talent” competition has a couple of soulful country singers says volumes about what Stapleton has done. Guys that sound and have the style of Stapleton are getting noticed. It’s only a matter of time before all the big labels have a soulful male country singer on thier label trying to duplicate the grass roots movement of Stapleton. Problem for them will be that you can never be the original. An imitation can stir some emotion, but never the same feel. Hoping Stapleton continues to redefine what “a successful artist” looks like and does.
July 17, 2017 @ 2:20 am
My favorite comment from this thread:
“I’ve even seen Jason Isbell called an outlaw, when I know damn well that Miranda Lambert would kick the shit out of him in a fight.”
LOL, true.
July 17, 2017 @ 5:50 am
I think the notion that Isbell is a physical wimp is probably wishful thinking.
July 17, 2017 @ 7:51 am
Yeah, I’ll bet he’s pretty tough for a munchkin.
July 17, 2017 @ 8:31 am
In an interview he did with The Daily Show’s Trevor Noah, he said that the vitriol that comes his way because of his views is always from the on-line “Mom’s basement” guys and that no one actually does it to his face because he’s 6’1”, 200 pounds.
July 17, 2017 @ 9:12 am
I played Defensive End on a National Champion D1 football team. He’s still a munchkin to me. Besides, social justice warriors are notoriously timid when confronted.
July 17, 2017 @ 9:14 am
Which team? Maybe I watched you played.
July 17, 2017 @ 9:27 am
OK. So maybe YOU could kick his ass.
I get it, though. He’s a “social justice warrior,” so he’s automatically a “pussy” in your eyes.
July 17, 2017 @ 11:56 am
University of Colorado Golden Buffaloes. We won the NC my Freshman year and should have won another in ’94 if we didn’t shit the bed against the Cornholers. My claim to fame was pulling the facemask off of Dwayne ‘the Rock’ Johnson’s helmet during a brawl. We had enough of the Big East refs they brought to town with them.
July 17, 2017 @ 1:44 pm
That was just before my time. Your NC season was a heck of a run. I think seeing a 30 for 30 on ESPN about your coach. I always liked him. Seemed like a great guy to play for.
July 17, 2017 @ 2:43 pm
C’mon, Jack. Everybody knows that liberals are all a bunch of pussies. Mike Honcho and every conservative meme I’ve seen on Facebook say so, so it must be true.
July 17, 2017 @ 5:18 pm
I prefer the term ‘beta male’. Pussy is so misogynistic.
July 20, 2017 @ 6:14 am
Mike Honcho – Humble Bragger
July 17, 2017 @ 7:10 am
Stapleton’s success is due to a combination of factors, including:
– undeniable talent
– a vocal style and range that in itself spans multiple genres
– honesty
– connections in the “mainstream” country world
I think Nashville is confused about his success because the business model doesn’t even consider honesty. It’s all paint-by-numbers driven by marketing data for them.
Most of the “true” country artists that many of us follow don’t have this whole package. Talent alone does not lead to the pinnacle of success, no matter the endeavor.
August 6, 2017 @ 12:04 am
Wow, well we just saw Chris for the first time live while visiting the folks in St. Louis and wow did he smoke it. Just a perfect show. Margo and Brent Cobb opened and they killed it too. Chris is even better live, which is really saying something. Beautiful vocals, blistering guitar, and masterful songs. So glad to see so many people out loving and supporting real country. hi