Bro Country

Absolutely. And not just in country, but in EVERY musical genre.

 

They often name-check more "traditional" country music stars, but I doubt even half of Bro Country fans will (A) know who Bocephus even is, or (B) know where to find a jukebox that plays vinyl singles, or (C) identify a Hank Jr. song if they actually heard one.

 

I have noticed that several members here have said that Top 40 country hits are no worse than some other musical genre which is also not very good. My reaction is, so what? Is that supposed to make this Top 4o country all right, that it is just as good as something else that is bad?

 

That has crossed my mind every time I have heard the song on the radio--that very few listeners will know who that is, or what a jukebox needle is.

At his sold out arena concert in Kansas City earlier this year, Blake Shelton mentioned Conway Twitty's name during his introduction to a song. There was no reaction from the audience.

 

While we are on this subject:

Blake Shelton Calls Classic Country Fans “Old Farts” & “Jackasses” »

 

I think bro-country is a recent sub-genre of something that has been happening for a couple/few decades (as you say) Contemporary Country Pop. (not that I see the difference)

Big picture it is not too surprising. Pop was pretty rock based but when hip-hop started there had to be an equal and opposite reaction (I'm an engineer).

 

Further, in every aspect of time spent outside of work and domestic chores. There seems to be a huge mainstream who've lost their way. On the other hand, there are more options than ever in my lifetime for those seeking authenticity and quality. Sort of interesting, actually. Just thinking about food & drink alone there is great beer, craft cocktails, local distilleries, small batch coffee, amazing restaurants, and on and on. Even still, it seems that humdrum mainstream continues to grow.

 

I'm sure Shooter Jennings meant senior, and not junior but this line of the song I posted earlier applies...

"These boys think they're tough like they been robbin' banks
Cause they name drop Johnny Cash and they name drop poor old Hank"


"Outlaw You"

I get home from a long day, put on the radio
Lookin' for some country soul, but I don't find it, no
It's a dirt road free for all, some old boys sayin' they're outlaws,
They dress the part and they talk the talk
You know they've been taught to walk the walk
These boys think they're tough like they been robbin' banks
Cause they name drop Johnny Cash and they name drop poor old Hank

Hey pretty boy in the baseball hat
You couldn't hit country with a baseball bat
Country ain't just about where you're at
It's about bein' true to what's inside
You say you're an outlaw with your perfect boots
That you got from your record label's image group
Sing another man's song with a big drum loop
Listen, son, you ain't got a clue
You can't buy true, tell you what they should do
They should outlaw you

Let me paint a picture for you, Nashville in '62
The formula had proven true, they didn't let nothing new through
When Waylon came to town, they didn't like his original sound
They tried hard to keep him down, they tried hard to starve him out
But he kept playin' shows and pressin' on, chippin' away, song by song
After years and years of strugglin' strong, he got his chance and he took it to #1
With "This Time" back in '74, with his band in the back and 4 on the floor
That one record busted down the door and the record labels had the control no more
Then in '76 came the Outlaws record, sold the first million in country music ever
Those old boys with long hair and braids stayed true to their sound and freed the slaves
And all these years later, the suits got back their grip
They took the outlaw concept and they re-packaged it
And there's a million Ol Waylon fans
Singin' "Don't y'all think this outlaw bit has gotten way out of hand"

Hey pretty boy in your cowboy hat
You couldn't hit country with a baseball bat
Country ain't just about where you're at
It's about bein' true to what's inside
You say you're an outlaw with your perfect boots
That you got from your record label's image group
Sing another man's song with a big drum loop
Listen, son, you ain't got a clue
You can't buy true, tell you what they should do
They should outlaw you
They should outlaw you

Hey pretty boy in the baseball hat
You couldn't hit country with a baseball bat
Country ain't just about where you're at
It's about bein' true to what's inside
You say you're an outlaw with your perfect boots
That you got from your record label's image group
Sing another man's song with a big drum loop
Listen, man, you ain't got a clue
You can't buy true, tell you what they should do
They should outlaw you

 

I don't listen to any country radio, but do Jason Isbell, Sturgill Simpson or Chris Stapleton get played at all? If so, I bet they stand out mixed in with the modern country sound.

 

Country & bro-country was noticeably the highest percentage of concerts at the sheds this summer (NY State).

 

Of course. I live in a rural area. Especially for a rural male that is poor, the thought of a nice 4 x 4 (a status symbol around here), and partying with a beautiful girl would be very attractive.

 

They do not get played on Top 40 country.

 

They are. The songs have multiple songwriters, and actually it is a fairly small group of songwriters writing these hits if you look at the credits. Then you have the Nashville studio machine. There is a sameness to this material.

 

That is pretty much what I suspected. Too bad.

 

Partying with a beautiful girl is very attractive to men everywhere, who listen to every genre of music!

What I find odd about this Top 40 country of today, the beautiful women are always called "girl", and are always very willing to get drunk and intimate with the country boy, as if they are the sex robots I have been reading about which are supposedly coming to market. There is never any difficulty getting the "girl" to cooperate with the country boy's desires. It is just assumed to be automatic. You have some beer, and a truck or a tractor, and the nameless girl is yours for the easy taking. I suppose that is a common adolescent male fantasy. But to base an entire genre of music on it? The lyrics in rock, pop and traditional country are often about the difficulties in winning over the woman.

 

And sadly, some of the artists in modern country (broadening out past the bro sub-genre, DO respect traditional country. You can even occasionally find those songs as deep cuts on their albums. But songs that sound traditional don't produce hits. So there is a "selling out" that takes place for some of these artists.

 

Good thoughts. You are correct that country has always flirted with pop music. You had the Nashville sound of the late 50s and 60s. You had countrypolitan in the late 70s and early 80s.

And you are correct that those movements reflected pop trends, just like pop-country does now.

But there are two big differences between those movements and now.

First, traditional country was always played side by side with the pop-country songs. You would hear both, and both kinds of artists were signed. That was not the case after about 1990. Old stars were dropped from labels, and new artists that sounded traditional could not get signed and had to form a new genre called Alt. Country that is NOT played on country radio.

Second, those pop leaning movements were always met with a correction. In the mid-60s, it was the Bakersfield Sound that rose in reaction to the Nashville Sound. In the early 70s, it was the Outlaw Movement. In the 80s, it was neo-traditionalism led by Yoakam, Earle, Travis, etc.

Maybe we are seeing the start of it with the likes of Stapleton, Jamey Johnson, etc. But little success has been gained on country radio yet.

I might also argue that the previous movements (especially the Nashville Sound of the 60s) did a better job fusing pop and still make respectable music than what is taking place now. For one, bro-country seems to be several years behind pop trends.

 

... And it's called "Somethin' 'Bout A Truck". Who knew?

 

I like Stapleton a lot.

I can't get into Jamey Johnson. He may be the real deal, but when I have seen him on TV it comes across as contrived and like someone playing the role of a country outlaw type. It seems forced. Where I first noticed it was during his performance of "Four Walls Of Raiford" on the Skynyrd tribute. It was more like he was playing a character.

Again, I am likely 100% wrong with my take on him.

 

I saw Jamey Johnson several years ago at a small fair. He played 3 hours, and besides the quality traditional material he wrote, he played one country classic after another. And, he did not quit on his own. Our stupid fair board told him to stop playing.

Now, he also co-wrote "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk". So that is a blatant sell-out to make some coin. But in these dark times, we'll have to give it a pass. Of course, he has practically fallen off the face of the earth.

 

I saw Jamey Johnson open for Willie Nelson in May, 2016. Merle Haggard had been advertised as the opening act, but he passed away in the week before the concert. Jamey was brought in to open instead. He performed many Merle Haggard songs. I liked his performance, and thought "there is no way that this guy will be accepted at the Top 40 country concerts I typically go to. He will never be played on Top 40 country radio."

 

Good article about Steve Earle and Dwight Yoakam: Rebels with a Cause: How Dwight Yoakam and Steve Earle Saved Country Music »

Need somebody like these guys today.

 

I won't go into the "informed" subjective views posted in the thread or the lack thereof.
This thread has been chock full of stereotypical comments and perspectives and has been somewhat surprising to me. The majority of posts have shown a lack of acceptance that people have different tastes in music. Some went as far as implying that fans of the genre are musical ignoramuses.
As far as expanding on the implications of my views I think I have been fairly explicit in my posts.
I believe that informed subjective opinions have value. I never implied or stated that they don't have value. I only raised the issue regarding objective vs. subjective because some of the posts hinted that their statements regarding how terrible Bro Country music is were in fact objective statements.....which we both know is wrong.
There is nothing in my posts that even suggest I believe there is no value in developing informed views.
I am not sure if you are referring to me in, "The final end that you must reach,...." or whether you just meant it in general. However, if you are referring to me, your conclusion is unfounded to say the least.