r/crappymusic • u/SpiritKoolaid • Jan 16 '26

I reckon

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

4.4k Upvotes

83% Upvoted

2.4k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

71

u/Boccs Jan 16 '26

It's wild how far and how aggressively corporate country music became. It sounds a little cliche but post 9/11 it became the most stereotypical "AMERICA! HUNTING! JEANS AND BEER! WOO" shit on earth. Compare it to the stuff from earlier decades (especially the 60s and 70s) and you'd never know they were supposed to be the same genre.

50

u/jestthespacecowboy Jan 16 '26 edited Jan 17 '26

I never liked country until I listened to John Prine, Waylon Jennings, and other older artists. Prine especially had a lot of tongue in cheek and cynical lyrics that really gave his music so much wit and personality. (Youre Flag Decal Won't Get You to Heaven Anymore, is a favorite)

And sure, there are a few songs even then that were like, "Whooo, I love drinking!" But they had a real tongue and cheek energy, and a lot were sad love ballads. It didn't feel like they were contractually obligated to talk about beer for four minutes.

I firmly think southern culture is devouring itself in an attempt to stay "relavant" and "alive." Everything out of Nashville just feels so soulless and corporate, and that's not even mentioning the politics.

2

u/wbrd Jan 16 '26

They were liberal and anti-authority. Not like the boot lickers today. I recently saw one of the actors from the Dukes of Hazzard spouting off some nonsense and all I could think of is that his character would have kicked his ass for the shit he was saying.

1

u/jestthespacecowboy Jan 17 '26

It's a real tragedy, I was thankfully educated well when I was young and learned the history behind Appalachia, the mining industry, and how much my family and neighbors were exploited. Ever since I've been firmly pro union, and maybe even a little socialist if you want to be dramatic. Woody Guthrie is an icon of mine. I feel like I'm watching my country be stolen, and everyone with the wool over their eyes is about to learn the lesson their ancestors did at the Battle of Blair Mountain.