Its sad. .

Shitty patriot country music has always been a thing and there are still tons of Outlaw country artists right now. This is literally just like those "rap in the 90s vs rap today" memes that ignore the fact that trap has been a thing since the 90s and old school hip hop is having a Renaissance right now

it's bro country now

What do they drink now? Since their precious Bud Light gave way to WOKENESS.

There's lots of good old fashioned country out there. You just gotta leave the mainstream behind. You'll find men in touch with their emotions. You'll find women who won't settle down. You'll find fine American classics. You'll find new classics waiting to be known. And Mckain Lakey!

The country music community may be problematic, but country music itself is wonderful. And many country musicians are fantastic, unexpected people. If you want country like it used to be, dive into Melissa Carper's catalogue. She's the master of the brand new old time song.

Every song by Johnny is a banger.

I know this is obvious, but Cash's beliefs are endlessly fascinating. The same man who recorded "Ragged Old Flag" also wrote "Man in Black" and covered "Out Among the Stars." The latter is a song about a kid who commits suicide by cop because he doesn't feel like his life matters.

We listened to the song in English class when I was about 14 years old and we discussed it quite a bit afterwards. I guess it was kind of a first transitioning into adulthood for me, seeing how much is going wrong and hurting people. Since then about 95 % of my wardrobe is black. It's a statement and a reminder for myself and I want need to carry it everywhere I go.

I dislike a lot of country music, but Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson are practically a genre in and of themselves, seperated from even the outlaw country genre they started.

Cash may sing country, but he's always been rock n' roll.

Someone needs to show it to Oliver Anthony.

Heard a lot of this growing up like Seeger, Peter Paul and Mary, Joan Baez, but also Canadians like Lightfoot and Stan Rogers. Lately I've enjoyed some of the IWWs compilations of workers' songs, Utah Philips etc. Phil Ochs is up there too.

My mother's from an assimilated Mennonite background and it was one of the non-Christian genres that was permissible to her parents, because of the pacifist and civil rights sentiments in a lot of that music at the time. Also it lacked the sex and drugs themes which rock had. "I Aint Marching Anymore" and "Where have all the flowers gone?" I remember hearing quite often.

At least with propaganda it's the ruling class messaging the citizenry. In this case, at least for the most part seems self-inflicted and without purpose. People just gravitate to whatever fits their identity.

That’s all modern country music is. It’s the music of boring middle class white people who feel uneasy if their specific cultural touchstones aren’t constantly reinforced. There have to be trucks, land ownership, high school football, generic American jingoism, glorification of alcoholism.

Well written.

I believe that mainstream country turned to shit in the 80s, not sure why. My theory is that it's down to the money men in Nashville turning out an increasingly phony product for commercial reasons, but I don't actually know enough about that aspect of the business to have an informed opinion.

Fortunately there's always been legit musicians turning out excellent alt-country or Americana, or whatever we want to call it. Also a lot of the older country musicians never completely sold out either.

The closest analogy to country music are the movies fascists made, like the ones Hans Steinhoff and Goebbels directed. Completely banal plots and lack of artistic value. The only reason they were made as to communicate fascist rhetoric and fulfill a quota of cultural markers.

That sounds exactly like the kind of slop in genres from video games to shows to movies that chuds attempt to sell to other chuds under the pretense of being "based" or "nonpolitical" mockeries of stuff they consumed before.

9 to 5 is also a socialist anthem!

Dolly Parton is a rich theme park owner who has abused her employees and she pals around with mass murderers like George W. Bush.

At a certain point she had credibility. She came from a poor Appalachian background and made music reflecting that. After a certain point though, after decades in the industry, she completely flipped. Her 9 to 5 song used to be a genuine anthem for struggling working class people, then she flipped it a few years ago as "5 to 9" for a Sqaurespace commercial, glorifying the idea of working a second job after your main one.

She's the exact problem of modern country music. It's made and financed by people too rich to be connected to humanity anymore.

She also had an awesome cameo in The Orville.

Product placement go brrrr

I grab me a Bud,
Get in my Ford truck,
Cuz I'm un-American boah

I await my royalties.

It shocked me the first time I met a real anti-Semite, in real life, in Tennessee. I've worked in a lot of places all over the world and I've seen plenty of racism. No one else topped that guy in Tennessee. Other places racism was mostly contained to 'they stay over there and we stay over here.' Tons of problems but living together but apart was possible. That doesn't speak to every experience obviously. That old guy in Tennessee wanted another Holocaust, plain and simple. Anywhere else he'd get the shit kicked out of him, there it was tolerated.

That's a scarecrow!

In case anyone didn't get the reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7im5LT09a0

It's pop music

There’s a YouTube channel called Western AF that has some good tunes that are closer to what country used to be. I can’t vouch for every song but the ones I’ve heard weren’t reactionary garbage.

This banger is how I found out about them.

I guess that's just the next evolution. Old country was basically gospel that wasn't about religion. Country in the 80s and 90s was basically old rock but about cowboys, trucks, beer and being cheated on. I suppose by now you have to transition to the kind of music that was the in thing in the 90s to keep up with being the appropriate number of decades behind.

Eh, there are some gems. Chris Stapleton, Ryan Bingham, Zach Bryan

And listened to by the same people who complain about rap music doing the same thing (in their eyes, anyway).

Sturgill Simpson and Jason Isbell too

Corn Lund

Edit: CORB, lol autocorrect

I really love "Sarah Shook and The Disarmers" as well. They actually go by River Shook now I think, but the band still uses their dead name.

A bit more on the folk side than country, but "Nick Shoulders and The Okay Crawdads" is one of my absolute favorite bands these days. They just put out a new album too and I can't recommend it enough.

Brent Cobb has some good songs. Lost Dog Street Band is pretty good too.

I'd argue that Ring of Fire is a metaphor about forbidden love that you know is damning you but the feelings are too powerful to resist.

Rather than a harmless metaphor, I find it an incredibly powerful metaphor about the pain and suffering caused by helplessly loving the "wrong" person.

Plus, there's an opportunity to make STD jokes.

"One Piece at a Time" is less of a country song and more of a novelty song.

He didn't actually write Ring of Fire

Ring of Fire was written by June Carter, and first released by her sister Anita Carter.

Ring of fire is my song to sing when I've had too much Mexican food and beer.

I don't think modern country even uses metaphors anymore. Before anyone comes at me, I'm well awair that there's some fantactic country writers out there.

"One piece at a time"

You clearly weren't there when the mountain broke its back

I don't imagine there's too many gay cowboys out there

I always get the sense that there are quite a few. Maybe even most of them.

There was a big, high wall there that tried to stop me A sign was painted said "Private Property" But on the backside, it didn't say nothing This land was made for you and me

Holy shit Buck Meek and Big Thief are so good. Definitely more on the indie folk side of country but I'd be lying if I said Dragon New Warm Mountain wasn't my favorite album of last year

Hell yeah, Adrianne Lenker’s solo stuff is great too

There is so much good country music right now. You just can't wait for the radio to bring it to you. You gotta get it for yourself.

Thanks for the suggestion! I would consider this more folk punk than country, but it's got a Johnny Cash vibe to it for sure. I like it.

I would like to add The Devil Makes Three to the list of redeemable country music. I guess they are more bluegrass/folk punk, but they shred and the lyrics are good.

The Nordic nations are societies. They care for one another. They don't resent their taxes being used to aid and elevate the other members of their society. They root for one another in more than empty rhetoric.

We the US are just a bunch of rugged individuals competing against one another at eachother's throats due to decades of propaganda by our owner class to keep us divided, isolated, and distracted from what they've inflicted upon our former society.

There's a reason they hide behind gates and door guards, they know what they've done to this country outside their steel towers and golf clubs.