Jason Isbell Explains Why It’s Important to Criticize Bad Music
It comes up so often in the realm of music criticism: “If you don’t like something, just don’t listen.” It’s what some love to say as the ultimate rebuttal to any musical criticism or concern. But they’re missing the point. The point is not just about what music you like or you don’t like. And in some respects, the point is not about music at all. We are what we consume, and music has the unique power to uplift, inspire, energize, educate, breed wisdom and understanding, with little to no side effects. But music can also breed sloth, consumerism and greed, pride, stupidity, and bigotry.
Criticizing music should not be seen or practiced as an exercise in looking down upon others. It’s a sign of character to be concerned about what other humans are consuming, especially when it can ultimately go into affecting people’s choices and lives, and the lives of the people around them. That’s why the quote, “When a culture’s music is lifeless, that culture is bound for more trouble than nothing decent to listen to” is at the top of every page on Saving Country Music (at least on desktop).
Jason Isbell has never been seen as the firebrand against pop country that other independently-minded artists such as Sturgill Simpson and Whitey Morgan have. But on numerous occasions he’s iterated the importance of calling out bad music, and not letting it go unchecked. When speaking to The Off Camera Show recently, Jason Isbell articulated this concern in detail.
“I think you should listen to good music and not listen to bad music,” he said to host Sam Jones (see below). “When I get angry about something being widely consumed and hugely successful that I think really sucks and is formulaic and corporate and just crap, that’s why it makes me mad. I can’t just say, ‘We’re all fine just listening to what we want to listen to.’ Because I do think there’s some kinds of art that make you a better person. Whether you’re consuming it or trying to create it, it helps you to build a better understanding of what other people are like really inside there. It reminds you more of your similarities than your differences. And I think bad art reminds you so much of your differences.”
Jason Isbell also spoke about how bad music increases the cultural divide—felt perhaps most palpably in country music compared to other genres—and can make independent music fans feel isolated and outnumbered.
“They’re singing about things that I don’t care about,” said Isbell, taking the perspective of a disgruntled music fan. “But there must be people who care about it because they’ve sold 10 million records, so all of a sudden you feel aliened.”
Jason Isbell also spoke about the line in his song “Hope The High Road” that says, “There can’t be more of them than us,” and how this is in some regards is a coping mechanism. As we’ve seen in recent years, independent music continues to increase its market share as consumers slowly become aware they have alternatives to the music played on mainstream radio. The number of consumers feeling disenfranchised by corporate music very well might outnumber or equalize those who enjoy it. All those independent fans just don’t have the same rallying point in mega superstars to show their strength and numbers.
But with independent artists like Jason Isbell—who’s now topped the Billboard Country Albums chart twice—and Sturgill Simpson—who was nominated for Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards right beside Beyonce, Drake, and Justin Bieber—all of that is beginning to change. And it’s beginning to change partly due to criticism.
Criticism is the mechanism that allows certain consumers to be awakened to the fact that they have alternatives. And often when consumers find out they have alternatives, they make better choices … like listening to Jason Isbell, either his music, or his words.
A.K.A. City
May 10, 2018 @ 9:02 am
Great article. Both your and Isbell’s analysis is spot on. I agree completely with the sentiment that we are what we consume and that listening to good music, reading good books, and in general consuming quality art makes you a better person.
Mike W.
May 10, 2018 @ 9:09 am
I think popular art (be it film, TV, music, books, etc.) has fallen into the same rut that Facebook/Twitter has helped create with political/social stances. Facebook & Twitter allow people to exist in an echo chamber where there beliefs are constantly reinforced and they are never forced to confront themselves with the question of why they believe what they believe. The same is true at Country radio. 99% of it is just the same recycled crap over and over again with no message that doesn’t force the listener to think or feel anything. It solely exists to serve as background music in some diner off the highway or to be played as background noise in Wal-Mart.
I’m not calling for Country radio to only play Dylan-esque songs, but a little balance between songs about beer, backroads and girls and songs that speak to the modern Midwest condition would be nice.
Mike W.
May 10, 2018 @ 9:04 am
Off topic, but holy crap, I barely recognized Isbell with a beard.
I miss Stevie Gaines
May 10, 2018 @ 9:18 am
Kinda looks like Matt Broderick,
matthew rutledge
May 10, 2018 @ 11:16 am
Jason Isbeard
Aaron
May 10, 2018 @ 9:08 am
Where does that quote come from? I’ve always been curious and Google doesn’t help here…
Trigger
May 10, 2018 @ 9:48 am
It’s actually from the web developer of Saving Country Music, Dave Hampton of Aldora Computer Solutions. He left it in the comments section one day and it seemed to just about perfectly encapsulate the underlying mission of Saving Country Music.
Clyde
May 10, 2018 @ 2:09 pm
That’s great. I always assumed you were quoting Nietzsche, or Hemingway, or T.S. Elliot or something like that. It’s quite profound IMHO.
Corncaster
May 10, 2018 @ 9:15 am
“When I get angry about something being widely consumed and hugely successful that I think really sucks and is formulaic and corporate and just crap, that’s why it makes me mad.”
Uh, right, ok Jason … I think.
“Whether you’re consuming it or trying to create it, it helps you to build a better understanding of what other people are like really inside there.”
Maybe this is Isbell’s motive, but it isn’t everybody’s.
“It reminds you more of your similarities than your differences. And I think bad art reminds you so much of your differences.”
I thought he said bad art that makes him “mad” because it isn’t about the interior world of another person at all, let alone about “differences.”
And since when does “good art” only deal with things we have in common as human beings? You mean, like the idealized same-looking peasants who all want a Glorious Future in USSR propaganda? I saw a whole museum-load of that crap. It’s formulaic BS.
In my view out here in the cornfields, the best one can say is that “good art” has two essential qualities: it is psychologically insightful, and it is formally interesting. And even to say that is to ignore the whole question of what a piece of art is for in the first place. Beer-drinkin’ music isn’t intended to serve the same purpose as concert-hall symphony music. We all know this instinctively.
So my apologies, but this interview is just Isbell trying to score more political points for his “good” side being more “empathetic” than the bad mean “corporate” side. In the end, Jason doesn’t seem to be aware that he’s driving in wedges of division, too.
But he’s right that psychologically insightful lyrics have moral value, and that lyrics that are commercially cynical and trite do not.
Trigger
May 10, 2018 @ 10:03 am
Jason Isbell didn’t make this political at all. Probably not fair to turn around and make it political for him.
Corncaster
May 10, 2018 @ 12:06 pm
If I were talking party politics, you’d be right. I’m just talking about the process of drawing lines to separate people into groups. This is why I prefer your approach, Trig, which is to say “this is a valuable thing here, so let’s care for it, help it to grow, re-seed it.”
I understand the need to divide wheat from chaff, but even there, I’d say we all probably benefit more from praising the good than castigating the bad. That said, negative criticism is fun to write, and fun to read. Plus, I’m not even sure the targets of the criticism mind all that much, because they seem to be attention whores anyway. The only bad publicity is no publicity, and so forth.
Isbell is in the Billy Bragg line. Let’s not kid ourselves about the politics, which I don’t really care much about.
albert
May 10, 2018 @ 12:35 pm
well said Cornman
Benny Lee
May 10, 2018 @ 9:25 am
Good art is honest with itself.
Bad art is dishonest.
That’s why most corporate driven music is bad art.
Corncaster
May 10, 2018 @ 12:07 pm
Even honest art can be boring, though, don’t you think?
Benny Lee
May 11, 2018 @ 9:06 pm
Yes, perhaps, to people who don’t understand the art.
Those who understand, when it’s good, are moved by it.
This discussion is interesting. Not sure there’s a one-size-fits-all answer here.
Charlie
May 10, 2018 @ 9:26 am
I just want them to give us our ball back and quit playing on our field.
Strait Country 81
May 10, 2018 @ 9:29 am
Annoying as hell when someone puts words then puts the video at the bottom.
Trigger
May 10, 2018 @ 9:54 am
Video content is lazy content. You want video posts where you don’t have to think, go to Rolling Stone Country.
Strait Country 81
May 10, 2018 @ 10:33 am
Don’t see the point in wasting time reading when you can listen to the same thing.
jmarsh123
May 10, 2018 @ 10:55 am
I don’t like having to dig up my headphones and take time to listen or pause if I’m already listening to music, when I could just read the blurb in a minute. To each his own.
M.
May 10, 2018 @ 12:03 pm
Personally, the vids annoy me. I can read much faster than it takes me to listen to an interview; so give me the transcript. But to each their own – it’s not like the video wasn’t there for you at all.
Bo Fiddley
May 10, 2018 @ 12:20 pm
This. I can read it in no time at all or I can listen at a lot slower speed. I’ll choose reading in this scenario 99% of the time.
Jason Hannan
May 10, 2018 @ 11:35 am
Please keep doing what you’re doing in this regard. I’d much rather read the analysis and watch the video based on that.
Cory Holdren
May 10, 2018 @ 9:31 am
I love Jason Isbell’s music. He is my favorite artist. Having said that, I disagree. To each their own. If I like something enough to say this is great art I think it would be arrogant of me to assume everyone should too. Good music, bad music, it’s all relative to who is listening. If someone is a rap fan or a fan of country radio I don’t know how that could make them a bad person or not as informed as anyone else.
Trigger
May 10, 2018 @ 10:01 am
Completely disagree. We can’t conflate taste with quality in this issue. When Jason Isbell says something is “formulaic” and “corporate,” he’s not talking about genre or even style. Either music stimulates the brain and opens thought, or it does the opposite. I don’t listen to hip-hop music at all, but I have no doubt there are some folks in that realm doing some very stimulating and important work, and a lot of it is probably going unheralded in corporate music. As a general rule, I dislike most mainstream country, but even at the worst times there’s songs and artists out there putting out quality stuff, and I make an effort to highlight those efforts, usually to the chagrin of independent fans. This isn’t a taste issue, nor is Isbell making it one. And sure, everyone enjoys the mindless ditty every once in a while, but even that isn’t necessarily harmful. Yet go listen to songs like Mitchell Tenpenny’s “Bitches” or Walker Hayes “Mind Candy,” or Luke Bryan’s “Country Girl Shake It For Me” and tell me this isn’t caustic garbage.
matthew rutledge
May 10, 2018 @ 11:20 am
Case in point, Kendrick Lamar.
Thoroughbred
May 10, 2018 @ 11:39 am
Trigger, any opinions on the following tracks from the last three years?
Kendrick Lamar – The Blacker The Berry
Childish Gambino – Redbone
Cardi B – I Do
Jidenna – Long Live The Chief
Trigger
May 10, 2018 @ 12:18 pm
I am so busy cramming country and roots music into my brain, I can’t say I’ve heard any of these songs all the way through. And even if I did, I wouldn’t be completely qualified to give an opinion on them because I wouldn’t be able to judge them against the current trends and their peers. But championing the cause of country music should never be taken as hatred for anything else. I have no doubt hip-hop music needs to be saved, just like country does.
Thoroughbred
May 10, 2018 @ 3:59 pm
With an even smaller number of top level talent, yes hip/hop is even in a worse position than country.
JohnWayneTwitty
May 11, 2018 @ 5:13 am
Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but that doesn’t mean their opinion isn’t wrong
Everyone today is so afraid of hearing “ur just a HATER” on the internet that people start shutting up and silencing themselves.
Doug
May 13, 2018 @ 9:20 pm
“Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but that doesn’t mean their opinion isn’t wrong.”
Love that, and agree completely.
TxMusic
May 10, 2018 @ 9:37 am
Talk about increasing the divide. Tell people what they enjoy sucks and they should be listening to the music you make instead. That’s certainly going to open people’s minds to an alternative. I wonder how many Isbell fans will be equally open minded when told that he sucks and they should be listening to Chance The Rapper instead.
Trigger
May 10, 2018 @ 10:12 am
I have never seen or heard Jason Isbell say anyone’s music sucks. I’m sure he has at some point, but I’ve never heard him say that about hip-hop, pop country, or anything else in general. In fact you can pull up pictures of him hanging out with Florida Georgia Line at tribute concerts and the Country Music Hall of Fame. The point Jason Isbell is making is much more big picture when some are trying to make this about taste. I think we can all agree, country fans or hip-hop fans, that every genre and style of music has certain songs and artists that are keeping the good stuff down, and that should be challenged. And it’s not even challenging that stuff to completely tear it asunder and eradicate it. As I’ve always said, pop country has been, and always will be a part of country, because someone needs to record songs for 14-year-old girls to sing into their shampoo bottles to. But that doesn’t mean we have to accept that as the pinnacle of popular music. We must challenge the pop regime, fight for balance and equal time and representation on the public airwaves and popular institutions like awards shows. People just need to be exposed to the fact that they have more options so they can choose what music speaks most deeply to them, regardless of what that music is. If they choose the bad stuff, that’s their option. But when you only feed at the trough of corporate music, you often feel like you have no options at all.
TxMusic
May 10, 2018 @ 10:54 am
Who gets to decide what music is good and what music is bad? My point is there are people who think Jason Isbell and all of country/Americana is bad. If it were up to them there would be no country radio.
On the flip side as we see in comments here occasionally you have country fans who think country is the only music worth listening to. Break it down further and several who think the only good country was made before 1983.
Who are these arbiters of taste who get to decide what’s good music and what’s bad music? I’m willing to bet that you will find far more people who think Isbell has bad taste than good taste. Should he be shut down for his bad music or should people just accept that taste is subjective and follow a live and let live approach to art and life?
Benny Lee
May 10, 2018 @ 12:12 pm
Are you saying there should be no discussion?
“Live and let live” only works if those in power let the rest live.
I believe if there was more honest, open discussion about what constitutes good music, more people would discover and turn to an entire world of good music that the corporate music pushers try to keep hidden.
Trigger
May 10, 2018 @ 12:22 pm
Benny Lee is right here. The importance is that we’re discussing these matters, and criticizing music we dislike with stimulating discussion. Of course not everyone is going to agree on what is good and bad music, and NOBODY should be put in charge of what is deemed the best or the worst. I give my strong opinions all the time, but then I offer up a robust comments section so people can disagree, offer their own opinions and perspective, and within that exercise the guideposts for people who want to find more stimulating art are laid out, and the music is rendered better for it.
TxMusic
May 11, 2018 @ 2:37 pm
Everybody has the chance to make their own music and enjoy the type of music they favor in this day and age. Even people who are unsigned are putting out their music on YouTube and streaming services. We all have the power to put our art out there. That doesn’t mean that it’s good art or that it will be appreciated by the masses.
Pop Country isn’t preventing people from putting out their music. Country radio isn’t preventing people from sharing their art. They might not get the massive exposure that it brings but look at Chris Stapleton, Kacey Musgraves, Jason Isbell himself. They don’t have much radio support and yet they’re thriving.
I maintain, telling people what music they enjoy listening to is bad and that they have bad taste isn’t going to help you sell albums and win fans.
Benny Lee
May 11, 2018 @ 9:21 pm
I agree with most of what you’re saying, except that marketing (i.e. money) has proven time and time again to win over availability when looking at statistically significant populations.
Each of us CAN seek out the music that we will like, but most don’t bother to change the radio dial, or go beyond the first page of google/YouTube results, etc.
And so, the big money machine in practice accomplishes the very thing you’re advocating against. The corporate music industry picks what’s “good” for most people. Part of the blame lies with folks not putting any effort into their choices, but that doesn’t excuse the industry’s deceit.
Cool Lester Smooth
May 11, 2018 @ 10:00 pm
Tx…your point would be much, much stronger if payola in country radio did not, in fact, prevent people from sharing their art on a mass scale.
I enjoy pop country, on it’s own terms, significantly more than most people on this site.
Some pop country, though, fucking sucks, and needs to be called out as such.
Also, Coloring Book fucking sucks, and is entirely emblematic of Chance selling out to achieve commercial relevance by imitating Drake, after creating something wonderful and true with Acid Rap.
Problem is the worst thing Chance has ever recorded, and the rest of the album consists of various permutations of “Everybody’s Somebody’s Everything,” the single worst, least insightful song on Acid Rap.
But I digress.
As Trigger explains, the most important function criticism serves is that we are, in this very moment talking about what gives certain pieces of art value…and that’s always the first step to understanding and appreciating something.
A.K.A. City
May 10, 2018 @ 10:48 am
I see what your point is, but as a side note, Isbell frequently champions artists outside his genre. I’ve been to his concerts where Tupac and Outkast have been his pre-show music. He frequently will recognize other artists on his Twitter account, such as Leon Bridges recently. It doesn’t matter what genre you prefer, just seek the quality in whatever it is that speaks to you.
TxMusic
May 10, 2018 @ 10:56 am
Isbell champions artists he likes. My point is just because you don’t like something, doesn’t make it bad.
Habber
May 10, 2018 @ 4:33 pm
There is bad music though, I mean anyone could listen to me sing and say I suck and I would agree (that is an objective thing). The same can be said for songwriting there are songs that catch your ear, then there are song that do more that catch your emotions, thoughts and memories. The songs that catch your ear will hold your attention for a little while, but the ones that catch the other things are going to be around for a while. While song writing is obviously more subjective, you can still see/hear when a song is meant to earn money rather than emotions, thoughts and memories, or even your ear for that matter. I should say that not all songs that are meant to catch your ear are bad songs, just that is often the slot that the other songs fall into.
Here this guy kind of explains:
https://youtu.be/y0IEfohAIuw
KT
May 10, 2018 @ 9:49 am
The thing here is that “bad” is relative. That’s the thing about this argument every single time it comes up. Some may say my Friday night choice of Coors Light for beer after work is “bad”, but I like it. Not everyone is going to agree on something being bad. This isn’t something new. So long as humans have been in existence, no one has fully agreed on what’s bad versus what’s good. If you don’t like something, don’t listen to it. We as individuals aren’t special enough to be able to say that your opinion matters over someone else’s and if you think an artist makes shitty music then they shouldn’t be allowed to make music anymore. I don’t listen to rap music and I don’t like rap music. I can say I think it’s “bad art”, but I can’t say that it shouldn’t be made simply because I don’t like it. Other people do like it so they should be able to listen to it. I just think this whole argument is dumb honestly.
Jack Williams
May 10, 2018 @ 10:35 am
Well, at least enough Coors Light will get you buzzed. And a Double Quarter Pounder meal at McDonalds will fill most people up.
KT
May 10, 2018 @ 10:50 am
A double quarter pounder meal at mcdonalds would be my calorie intake for an entire day lol
Jack Williams
May 10, 2018 @ 10:53 am
Indeed.
Johnny
May 10, 2018 @ 9:50 am
I have been listening to rap a little bit lately and have come upon the realization that country and rap are in very similar spots. Popular rap and hip hop is infused with meaningless lyrics on trap beats and idiot teenagers that make a living off rapping about taking Xanax and I see parallels with that and the problem mainstream country has with pop country. J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar are the rap equivelent to Isbell and Sturgill. They are all grammy winning artists that are singing or rapping with meaningful lyrics that impact the listeners. Its surprisingly comforting knowing that country isn’t the only genre out there with its demons and that there is a large population out there that is craving real, authentic lyrics from people that don’t take the easy way out.
Steve
May 10, 2018 @ 1:07 pm
Nas cut “Hip Hop is Dead” in 2006.
Everybody sound the same, commercialize the game /
Reminiscin’ when it wasn’t all business /
If forgot got where it started /
So we all gather here for the dearly departed /
Sound familiar?
Mike Honcho
May 10, 2018 @ 2:06 pm
I listened to the Cardi b interview on Howard Stern this week. I had to listen in stages because she was so annoyingly dumb. I think she may be clinically retarded, but she sells records so she must be a genius.
Jim L.
May 10, 2018 @ 3:34 pm
The genius is making money off a whole generation of brainwashed youth who can’t think independently and are afraid to listen to something that their friends will think is retarded.
Cool Lester Smooth
May 11, 2018 @ 10:02 pm
She’s ridiculously talented.
Steve
May 12, 2018 @ 5:01 am
Isbell is a big Cardi B fan.
Bear
May 11, 2018 @ 8:07 am
All major genres are now part of the mono genre as I have said before you could have a sister site called Saving Hip-Hop Music. Or Saving Rock Music. It is all mostly garbage in the mainstream. The records labels won’t invest money and time into quality product when their target market expects to get the music for free.
Ryan
May 10, 2018 @ 9:56 am
Trigger you misspelled his name. It is Jason Isbeard now.
Anyways, great article
Whiskey_Pete
May 10, 2018 @ 10:30 am
He finally got tired of me calling him baby face.
King Honky Of Crackershire
May 10, 2018 @ 10:49 am
Can you give me an objective example of music breeding bigotry?
DS
May 10, 2018 @ 11:47 am
Kid Rock fans
DJ
May 10, 2018 @ 2:45 pm
I’m a kid rock fan and don’t have a bigoted bone in my body- except for stupid which I not only can’t, but won’t abide.
Music and art are subjective and telling somebody one something is better than another something is trying to put another’s light out which doesn’t make yours shine brighter.
Isbell is no saint when it comes to bad music- IMO. I don’t like what he produces as art or music, but I won’t criticize it until he criticizes others, which he is doing. Living in a glass house one shouldn’t cast stones.
King Honky Of Crackershire
May 10, 2018 @ 4:43 pm
If his music bred bigotry, can you please explain how?
MH
May 10, 2018 @ 12:47 pm
There’s an entire genre devoted to neo-Nazi speed metal.
King Honky Of Crackershire
May 11, 2018 @ 4:30 am
That would be bigotry breeding music, not music breeding bigotry.
I can’t think of any music that has bred bigotry, so I’m curious what Trig is referring to.
Bear
May 11, 2018 @ 8:09 am
For some reason I feel like Insane Clown Posse might be exhibit A. But that could just be me shitting on a band I think is god awful.
Cackalack
May 11, 2018 @ 6:33 am
Minstrelsy.
Bear
May 10, 2018 @ 10:53 am
Well whne you look at what is on the charts is speaks volumes to much of the mainstream culture.
Diss tracks
Tracks about how consumerism and product placement = status
You are special and can never fail, let your star shine
In the lat 60s there was a lot of come together, work together, love everybody songs, war is bad songs, politically conscious astute music amidst the teen angst and love songs and general let’s dance music.
We have not had a major hit song about unity in a LONG time and I think t hat says volumes. But plenty of your are special, self-entitlement anthems…
Adrian
May 11, 2018 @ 11:54 am
Didn’t Chesney just release something like that? And Tim McGraw also had a couple songs like that last year no? Depends what you would consider a major hit.
Pierre Brunelle
May 10, 2018 @ 11:05 am
Great article. I could not agree more. Bad music, Bad Arts is a nuisance for your brain and your heart. As a human being, we are positively and negatively impacted by what we are listening, reading and watching.
To me, in all comes down to this: true artists thrive for perfection while mediocre artists chase trend and bring the overall quality lower. Which is why I like your blog so much. You are sacrificing yourself for the better good! 🙂
Kevin Smith
May 10, 2018 @ 11:30 am
I agree that music is art. But your interpretation of “good art” may differ from mine.Taking art as an example, I look at a Monet and think ” where is the sharpness, clarity and detail? To me I see a blurry mess on a canvas. You may say, it’s inherent softness and minimalistic qualities are what make it beautiful. So We disagree. I look at a Norman Rockwell and declare it genius, you may say he’s just an illustrator, not a true “artist” . Again we disagree. My point is its subjective to the indiviual.
Same with music. But nonetheless, criticism can have merit particularly when the critic is well versed in the form being evaluated. You wouldn’t want a fan of realism evaluating impressionism, in the same way you wouldn’t care a rip what Shane Macanally thinks about Whitey Morgan and Cody jinks.
And finally, whatever happened to the idea that music is entertainment? Last time I checked, it was.
Pierre Brunelle
May 10, 2018 @ 11:49 am
I agree. Music and Art is a form of entertainment. Having said that, you can produce great entertainment or poor entertainment. Being original, having great instrumental, using storytelling, etc.
Rather than using hip hop, fake drums and singing about having sex in cornfield with a teenage girl (when you are actually a 48 years old singer).
Fishing in the Dark is a classic and fun. I cannot say the same with the crappy songs that are released nowadays. Strangly, they talk about the very same topic!…
Again, there is also a difference between releasing one song about this topic and releasing 25 songs about it. Mainstream artist lack originality.
Cool Lester Smooth
May 11, 2018 @ 10:05 pm
I’m pretty sure Kacey Musgraves’, Midland’s and Brothers Osborne’s chief songwriter fucking loves Whitey Morgan, and had probably seen Jinks before you knew e existed, haha.
Jason Hannan
May 10, 2018 @ 11:37 am
I’m going to put this as gently as possible. If you talk to people who consistently listen to bro country, well, I think there’s a good point being made here.
Paul
May 10, 2018 @ 11:38 am
I would agree that bad art (not just music) should be criticised hard, if you can articulate your criticism constructively. Too much criticism I see basically amounts to “this is shit and you’re stupid for enjoying it”, and that gets on my tits no end. I’m not very good at articulating my thoughts on what makes art good or bad which is why I pretty much stay silent and just ignore it, but I am glad that there are those out there who are much better at articulating their thoughts better than I am. Keep it up.
Mike
May 10, 2018 @ 11:44 am
Some critics and fans praises kanye west as good art while some critics and fans also criticizes him for doing bad art. Who’s right? Who’s wrong?
I listen to Bon Jovi, the most corporate of rockers but the reason i listened to them aside from their melodies was the lyrics of Welcome To Wherever You Are made me realized theres more to life and decided not to pursue suicide. It was my lowest point and that song spoke to me. So i get a little offended when someone says that’s bad music (a lot of cool hipster rock pitchfork worshipping critics said so).
I used to have same opinion as isbell but now i prefer the term good/bad listeners. Bad listeners are those who listen to whatever is cool and trendy without thinking. Good listeners are those who understand why they listen to hank sr or isbell or OneDirection
Trigger
May 10, 2018 @ 12:34 pm
Criticism is how you change people from bad listeners to good listeners. When you get people thinking about lyrical content, composition, authenticity, etc., they begin to awaken to the idea that what they’re being served in corporate music is subpar compared to the other opinions they have. I have very directly seen this happen on this very website many times. Often it’s folks who only listen to mainstream music, but then hear someone like Sam Hunt, or Walker Hayes, decide it’s gone to far, and then take to Google to see if other people feel the same. Next thing you know they’re listening to Cody Jinks and the Turnpike Troubadours, and telling their friends. But if you didn’t first offer that piece of criticism, and make available that perspective that not everything on corporate radio is excellent, they never would have become enlightened. The entire way that Saving Country Music is set up, from the back end coding of the site, the layout and presentation, what I choose to write about, when I post it, how I post it, it is all set up like a Venus Fly Trap to capture bad music listeners and convert them. So many independent fans get frustrated because they don’t understand why I devote time to the mainstream or don’t cover certain topics. I appreciate so many folks use Saving Country Music as a daily read, and I try to serve their interests as well. But the ultimate goal is to influence the marketplace, covert fans, and create support behind better music.
JB-Chicago
May 10, 2018 @ 1:55 pm
Trigs right, this site and everyone on it changed the way I now view and hear all types of Country and it’s still a learning process. I don’t love everything he touts nor do I hate everything he/they bitch about, I still make up my own mind. I don’t even care for Isbell’s music but I respect him and maybe I’ll get the next one. I still stick up for whatever I like and not care what anyone else thinks.
In turn I tell people what I’ve been turned on to here. and say “here, listen to this fuckin Cody Jinks album it’s fuckin great and not enough people know it………….yet”
Doug
May 13, 2018 @ 9:32 pm
Wow. It’s more complicated than I thought. I assumed people pretty much respond positively to what they like and negatively to what they don’t. Then again, I appreciated hip hop more when my son sent me stuff he liked and I actually listened to it, and Gram Parsons turned me on George Jones and the Louvin Brothers, and onward from there, so I guess that’s what you guys are talking about here.
Doug
May 14, 2018 @ 10:11 am
PS: Of course, as JB-Chicago says above, once a door to new music is opened, you’ve still gotta like what you hear to stay with it.
Kevin
May 10, 2018 @ 12:31 pm
Jason is assuming that he’s on the “Good music” side, but honestly, his music hasn’t made anybody a “good person,” any more than Toby Keith or Kenny Chesney or whoever…it’s just music dude.
Blackh4t
May 10, 2018 @ 12:51 pm
White Mans World is bad music that definitely divides society.
Said as a very passionate isbell fan.
I’m off to listen to Chris Ledoux singing about indian cowboys, cowboys and bikers, and cowboys and hippies.
Because Im a redneck who wants world peace, and i may be a white man, but this isn’t my world.
ScottG
May 10, 2018 @ 7:32 pm
1) Divides society? A lot of people feel the opposite, that because of it’s empathy, it brings people together. I know a lot of people also don’t like it and for you it divides, fair enough. That’s valid but not to everybody, and that is valid as well.
2) “This isn’t my world.” I’m pretty sure this song wasn’t written for you personally.
Blackh4t
May 10, 2018 @ 7:49 pm
The test of a good social awareness song is how people who disagree react to it. In the case of WMW, people who agree with it think they’re right and working class males are the problem with the world. In my case, I think he’s lost all the insight in society and think anyone who agrees with it is hopelessly shortsighted.
Contrast that with his earlier work like ‘decoration day’ which makes everyone think “wow, those inbred rednecks are people too, and we’ve all got problems we need to understand”.
Maybe it wasn’t written for me personally, but as a white man who is open to helping other people, it should resonate.
It doesn’t, therefore, it fails at its objective. And, agreeing with Jason, if I don’t criticize it, people might not realise how good social awareness songs can be.
Examples are the Chris Ledoux songs mentioned, John Prine’s ‘Unwed Fathers’, Springsteen’s ‘Ghost of Tom Joad’ (that whole album is a great example)
ScottG
May 10, 2018 @ 9:02 pm
I know what the song is about and why don’t like it. It’s not my favorite either. My point was that a lot of people agree AND disagree with you…yet somehow you are omnipotent enough to declare “therefore, it fails.” Like, OK everyone, per Blackh4t the Jason Isabell song fails. It has been said. Case closed. Glad we got that one cleared up.
Again, not my favorite, but it’s so amazing to me how that song has gotten under so many peoples skin. It’s quite telling actually.
Blackh4t
May 10, 2018 @ 9:54 pm
I agree that its telling. Its telling thats its a bad song. I don’t particularly disagree with the subject matter, but it hasn’t been written to bring people together.
The fact that we’re disagreeing over it kind of proves the point.
It doesn’t get under my skin, i just recognise it as a bad song, and as such, according to Jason, its important to criticize it
Anyway, peace, lets just skip to the next track
Johnny
May 10, 2018 @ 2:14 pm
I think his music has changed many peoples perspectives, which is a good way to learn empathy and understanding of different people. Empathy is a very important tool that leads people to act differently, and more often than not it makes them act like a better person. Music and other art is at the very core of our culture, and it most definitely can make somebody a better person.
Kevin
May 10, 2018 @ 2:50 pm
Sure Johnny…but Isbell has suggested a relative scale…and, of course put himself on the high end. I can guarantee this…I’ve had more Toby Keith fans buy me a beer than Jason Isbell fans…and have you been to a Kenny Chesney concert? There are some super hot chicks there…way more than Jason Isbell draws…so Jenny’s music has positively affected my life much more positive than isbell’s. Your experience may differ but Isbell has no room to talk about “Good people” vs bad “people.” I saw him with some piece of shot hipster bamd…Mountain Goats or something…trust me, he is no expert on good music.
Blackh4t
May 10, 2018 @ 4:13 pm
Exactly. Lots of Isbell music is great, but he’s gone from humbly telling stories like Dress Blues, to preaching his opinion.
Also spot on with the fans at mainstream country concerts being friendlier. Although this is less the case with the bro country crowd, too much urban influence.
Marc
May 10, 2018 @ 12:45 pm
I tend to criticize voices more so than the music or lyrics. Vocally, Jason doesn’t move me, make me think or feel like Cody, Tony Jackson, Mo Pitney to name a few.
albert
May 10, 2018 @ 1:01 pm
IMO and unfortunately , I think we are talking about the downsides of market-driven economies and consumerism/capitalism . If something finds a market , it will be marketed ……regardless of its intrinsic value , its spiritual or inspirational quotient , its dangers to physical health or, in many cases, the law . I’d argue that to some extent ‘bad music’ can be identified and quantified based on its ‘value ‘ as positive or negative contribution to culture .
Further , if we accept that babies are not able to make informed decisions about their well-being and safety up to a certain age ( variable ) , I think we can extrapolate that some ‘babies’ remain ‘babies’ longer than they are , perhaps , designed to simply because a society based on consumerism ensures they do by offering few external growth mechanisms in terms of cultural sophistication or enlightenment
.
Or to put it simply , it benefits a company / culture economically to program , condition and pacify people to accept what’s being force-fed with as little resistance or questioning as possible .
Shit music sells ….shit movies sell …..pet rocks sell . The most anyone can do is to constantly examine and determine if this stuff is a positive or a negative influence on themselves and a culture .
I think its incumbent upon all of us to call out bad music , bad art , negative influences and products designed only to pacify .
Abel Russell
May 10, 2018 @ 1:36 pm
Spot on, Jason. It’s the difference between real ice cream and cotton candy. Cotton candy is terrible and terrible for you.
Mike Honcho
May 10, 2018 @ 2:01 pm
Isbel’s take on Country Music is the equivalent of a Starbucks barista commenting on my investment portfolio. Neither have much credence. The beard though, would look great with a short-brimmed hat, and a sparkly jacket.
Trigger
May 10, 2018 @ 3:51 pm
Jason Isbell didn’t give a take on country music. He gave a take on why it’s important to criticize bad music, and to listen to and create good music.
…and yet another comment on an artist’s appearance.
PhillyTodd
May 10, 2018 @ 5:20 pm
Uhh…so it’s ok for you to criticize artists appearances, but not other people?
Trigger
May 10, 2018 @ 5:40 pm
Not as a marker for the quality of their music. And this is an ongoing conversation with this particular commenter, and others who are on the warpath against “hipsters” and their beards.
MH
May 10, 2018 @ 5:50 pm
I’m starting to think Honcho can’t grow a beard and is projecting his insecurities onto men that can.
Mike Honcho
May 10, 2018 @ 7:42 pm
I bet the beard MH has is his wife. Just like Nicole Kidman.
Kevin
May 11, 2018 @ 10:09 am
Isbell put his picture on an album cover…open season
MH
May 10, 2018 @ 5:02 pm
Except he didn’t offer his take on country music.
He offered his take on music.
Ulysses McCaskill
May 11, 2018 @ 9:23 pm
I think you and King Honky are the same person.
Eduardo Vargas
May 10, 2018 @ 2:03 pm
Very interesting point from Isbell- about bad music dividing people and contributing to the culture war- I agree with that, in particular in a culture in which it seems like their is no variety within music and everything sounds the same- it’s very easy to become alienated like that and disparage those who listen to Top 40 radio (I know i did)- so yes this overt dominance of corporate music isn’t good for anyone.
DJ
May 10, 2018 @ 2:56 pm
Isbell can be pretty dividing himself. He’s not a saint, nor a savior. He’s a song writer and singer with an opinion that he sets to music and sells it commercially to enrich himself. He’s also politically left which are not the saints they pretend to be- they are as divisive as the political right- both sides sell the same bullshit they just use different rhetoric and Isbell is no different.
Cool Lester Smooth
May 11, 2018 @ 10:10 pm
Isbell really, really ain’t very far “to the left.”
Unless we have, as a society, decided to label the entire “it’s important to treat other human beings with respect” camp as “politically left.”
DJ
May 12, 2018 @ 6:27 am
He is an Atlanta Braves fan and a Democrat.[59][60] In November 2017 Isbell was asked on Twitter “Why do we have to inject politics in every aspect of our life can’t we just enjoy the music and the football games?” He responded “Until you are the one being treated unfairly, that’s easy to say.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_Isbell
Full disclosure: I’m a libertarian. I don’t subscribe to Republicrat or Demopublican bullshit, because, at the end of the day there is no difference in their policy dogmatism- both subscribe to neocon policy beliefs. They just sell it with different bullshit- the politics of personality and rhetoric. He may personally be the way you describe, but, he apparently (according to the above) believes in the Democrat bullshit leading him to be divisive vs inclusive, which is what BOTH Party’s do as a matter of policy.
Cool Lester Smooth
May 12, 2018 @ 5:14 pm
The “above” being “treat people with respect,” haha?
Or is that he thinks we shouldn’t complain about people “injecting politics” into everything, when they’re just asking to be treated with respect?
Messer
May 10, 2018 @ 3:23 pm
You give a 3 year old a crayon and they’ll scribble something and technically it can be considered art, but it’s not gonna make anyone think about things or open their mind. Just like radio country can technically be considered art, and you get the same result as a 3 year old with a crayon, except people are big fans. Just helping our mindless generation with no inspiration or motivation get dumber.
Drew
May 10, 2018 @ 3:34 pm
I think Isbell is right when operating within a specific genre. If you try to take it any larger scale, it gets dreadfully complicated. Each genre or category of art seems to have its own rules and conventions and it seems easy enough to judge what is good and what is hindering the genre within it. Isbell is saying we ought to support the good music in this genre. This begs the question: how should we decide between genres on a bigger picture? Perhaps we shouldn’t. That seems to be taste. Isbell isn’t speaking to that.
Willie Potter
May 10, 2018 @ 3:44 pm
Jason Isbeard..
lmao!!!
Weird Thought Thinker
May 10, 2018 @ 4:36 pm
Long time background reader of the site and first time I felt the need to chime in because I think the taste versus quality discussion isn’t really as different as you are making it out to be. The fact of the matter is that their is no empirical measure of quality in music (unless you are talking about measuring an individuals proficiency in a specific instrument be it vocal or otherwise).That leaves us with taste as the primary metric of good or bad.
I understand the debate about the supposed “effect” that dumbed down music may have on individuals however again this can’t be quantified as I don’t think their is a definite correlation between someone’s music tastes and other aspects of character. I would much rather accept the difference in taste and compare and recommend music based on common ground. Many of my closest friends and family are interested in music that appeals not to me in the slightest but when I find something that may be slanted to the middle ground between us I recommend, otherwise I move on
Like someone else said in the comments above, the parts of this site that I appreciate most are the reviews that boost or recommend certain albums, songs or artists as I find 8/10 times they align with my taste and I now have something new to add to my rotation. In contrast sometimes I find the highly negative reviews to be pandering (albeit to a very different audience) as much as mainstream country radio is doing. That being said whether I’m getting good recommendations or entertained by the comment section I always appreciate the way this site makes me think about what I’m listening to!
Cameron
May 10, 2018 @ 5:24 pm
Hope the high road and white mans world are terrible songs that if cut by jason smith no one would pay them any attention. So there’s that.
Turtles
May 11, 2018 @ 1:03 pm
Just because they don’t align with your political views doesn’t make them bad.
jessie with the long hair
May 10, 2018 @ 6:05 pm
I agree with Jason but he’s not really a great enough artist to pull it off. He is good but he’s not great. Why is it you don’t hear John Prine, Willie Nelson, or Kris Kristofferson saying shit like this? When Tom Petty said this kind of thing it held weight. Tom Petty he ain’t. I think he should stick to becoming better. I know a lot of people buy his albums but I can’t fall in love with something that pales to what it is inspired by. I think he is way better than Stapleton or Sturgil (the other two darlings on this site) but still is it that he is great or just better than the rest we are currently offered? To be clear, I think he’s a great writer sometimes. It’s the production and albums that could be better.
Pierre Brunelle
May 11, 2018 @ 5:38 am
Jason Isbell is not perfect but he delivers quality songs. We cannot say the same about most mainstream country singers.
As often pointed out by Trigger, too often the lyric is not original (using the world girl 20 times in a song for the 25th time of the year), there is no depth in lyrics, the instrumental is computer based with fake drums, not to mention the use of hip hop.
jessie with the long hair
May 11, 2018 @ 6:25 am
I agree with all of that but Isbell is not a “mainstream country artist” that works country radio so why should we compare. That’s like comparing Norah Jones with Kesha. Different market, different audience. When Dwight Yoakam was talking shit back in the day, he was putting hits on the singles charts too.
Pierre Brunelle
May 11, 2018 @ 7:59 am
Point taken!
Cool Lester Smooth
May 11, 2018 @ 10:11 pm
How about we just compare him to artists who’ve hit #1 on the Billboard 200?
ScottG
May 10, 2018 @ 7:27 pm
There are so many misunderstandings in the comments about this, admittedly slippery subject.
All paraphrasing:
“Who get’s to decide what is good and bad.” Nobody is suggestion censorship or squashing other peoples opinions. The only thing I got out of the story is that it’s good to criticize. Nobody has suggesting forcing other people to agree.
“Good music is subjective and what’s good to someone isn’t good to other people.” Yeah no shit, but that doesn’t mean people like Isabel or this site shouldn’t express their subjective opinion either. And thank god they do.
“Jason Isbell isn’t that good anyway.” Well that right there is just some bullshit. He’s pretty bad ass (in my subjective non-authoriatian, you still have the right to yours, opinion).
jessie with the long hair
May 11, 2018 @ 6:32 am
I didn’t say that Isbell “isn’t that good anyway.” I said he’s not great. He may look great to you when you put him next to what is currently being offered but if you compare his work to the masters that he tries to emulate, he is just good. No doubt he is fighting the good fight but this isn’t a good look for someone in this stage in his career. I probably would have bought into it when I was younger but now I just think “Do your best, make music the way you think it should sound, shut the fuck up, and let the music and fans do the talking.
ScottG
May 11, 2018 @ 7:03 am
Admittedly I was too lazy to go back through all the comments and find the exact quotes on the 3 points I made, and I tried to make that clear by saying I was paraphrasing. I’m not an Isbell fanboy by any means, but I would love for you to point me to another artist that you claim he is emulating, that has 3 albums in a row that make Southeastern, SMTF, and TNS only “good” as opposed to “great.” I’m not asking to be a dick, I would love to know so I can go check them out. And I won’t care what their political views are and I won’t think they should “shut the fuck up.”
jessie with the long hair
May 11, 2018 @ 7:55 am
The production (of which I’ve said is weak) and the songwriting on “24 Frames” is clearly inspired by Tom Petty. Tom Petty is in a different league. “Something More Than Free” has the folk/country feel of the Texas Songwriters that started making waves in the 70’s. You could say it has influences like Steve Earle or his influences but without the lyrical depth. Listen to “Someday” by Earle or “Gettin’ Tough” as examples of similar themes. Again, I didn’t say he’s not really good. I just think he has some work to do before he’s at a place to talk this shit. When Tom Petty, Steve Earle, Dwight Yoakam, or Waylon Jennings talked shit, their legendary asses had the catalog to back it up. Isbell ain’t there. But then again, everyone on here worships the golden three of Isbell, Stapelton, and Sturgil. I have to say that I don’t get it. They are just good.
ScottG
May 11, 2018 @ 8:45 am
OK this will be my last reply because this wasn’t what the story was about and (my fault) we are going off on a tangent. And thank you for the suggestions. Not sure you answered the 3 album in a row quality question but close enough, I get your point. Curious to know why you are so confident that 24 Frames is inspired by Tom Petty. Is it because it has a straight forward lush guitar and talks about mamas like Free Falling? Speaking of production, unless you think cheesy chorused, brittle guitar, gated thin sounding snare drums, overly compressed production borrowed straight from 80’s metal bands is your thing, I’d argue that the production on Guitar Town is not good at all. Don’t get me wrong I’ve always LOVED the album – because, well shit, it’s Guitar Town, but I also always wished it wasn’t so overproduced and out of the hair metal playbook in terms of production.
Maybe we are splitting hairs at this point, but anyone who can do this is pretty “great,” in my humble opinion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkeIbAT1IWg
Jack Williams
May 11, 2018 @ 9:10 am
ScottG, I’ve heard Steve Earle make similar comments on about the production on Guitar Town. “It was the ’80s. It’s what we all did.”
I’m a long time Graham Parker fan and he’s done his last two albums with his old band The Rumour. I saw each show that they did it the DC area during that time. They concentrated mostly on the classic albums he did with The Rumour in the ’70s and a smattering of the new songs. They also did “Get Started, Start a Fire” from his 1987 The Mona Lisa’s Sister album. He told the story of how he sent the band members a copy of the song so that they could learn it. “Graham, was this song recorded in the ’80s?”
ScottG
May 11, 2018 @ 10:34 am
Jack, for sure that was what was done in the 80s, for the most part. I don’t think that some bands and some producers STARTED to appreciate a more honest approach until the 90s (in general). There is actually a really really perfect example of production style differences that was just released. Listen to “This Sweet Old World” vs. “Sweet Old World” by Lucinda Willams. The original, to my ears, sounds like garbage and straight out of the 80s (though it was released in 92). The new version, that was recorded just recently (because she was unhappy with the original), sounds, IMO soooooo much better. Her voice has become more “characterful” for sure, but to me, that sounds like a band. Not some sterile overproduced, thin sounding manufactured product. Guitar Town, I think, is an amazing record and I can listen to it anytime. But I think I would love it even more if it was more organic and closer to what they would have sounded like live. I’m not in the official Dave Cobb fan club, but I appreciate what he does immensely. As much is recorded live as possible, with as few microphones as possible, in as few take as possible, with minimal editing, etc. etc. I could go on and on. The end result is that the music he produces sounds like music, not some stitched together product.
Cool Lester Smooth
May 12, 2018 @ 5:17 pm
Yeah, Guitar Town sounds just a tad too “Boston,” for me.
(I’m firmly an I Feel Alright and Transcendental Blues partisan, myself.)
Jack Williams
May 13, 2018 @ 6:45 am
ScottG,
Yeah, Sweet Old World was my first Lucinda album and I think the polish of it is probably why I didn’t fall in love with it at the time. But then Car Wheels came out and I was all in on Lucinda. And then I gave those songs on Sweet Old World another listen and appreciated their greatness. This Sweet Old World was one I thought I might pass on, but I’m sure glad I didn’t. Yeah, her voice isn’t quite what it was, but it was always ragged. And it does not grate on me, like Bob Dylan’s does on some songs from Tempest. It’s the voice of an old friend. And the band sounds great.
Jack Williams
May 11, 2018 @ 8:31 am
Ah. The wisdom that comes with age, then.
JohnWayneTwitty
May 11, 2018 @ 5:08 am
Remember how Nirvana killed off the constant pukefest of identical hair bands and new wave pop? There was a lot of good rock n roll made in that era, but so much was fluff and bullshit. We need a Nirvana now more than we did back then. Ideally, we NirvanaS, plural…
Jack Williams
May 11, 2018 @ 8:27 am
“Nirvana basically killed my career.” – said the front man of Loverboy sort of good naturedly.
I think Nirvana was a bit overpraised (maybe The Pixies should have the band to get all that), but I always thought Nevermind and In Utero were very good rock albums.
kross
May 11, 2018 @ 6:57 am
Isbell is a Pseudo intellectual prick who sits around and circle jerks Ryan Adams and Patterson Hood. If anything makes me want to listen to Luke Bryan, it’s this idiot.
Jack Williams
May 11, 2018 @ 8:29 am
There, there, now.
kross
May 11, 2018 @ 9:36 am
Sorry for the harsh language. I was actually quite a big advocate of Isbells music for many years. I would tell anyone who would listen, that they should check him out. Spent many hard earned dollars on concert tix and music downloads. But when he told the Dailey Show that Trump’s election made him lose faith in the south, and that god is gone from the people in rural America, I simply had to wash my hands. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t personally care about his politics. As a matter of fact, I’d be disappointed if he wasn’t a lefty, but to dismiss a whole region of the country as godless idiots, was just a little too much for me. So you’ll understand that even when he makes valid points, they are going to fall on deaf ears as far as I’m concerned.
Jack Williams
May 12, 2018 @ 7:48 am
OK, Kross. Fair enough. I don’t know that he dismissed the whole region, but OK. Sometimes, people on the right side of the political divide will claim that the other side doesn’t get them at all, or something like that. And no noubt, there’s no small amount of truth in that. But I don’t think they completely get the other side, either. I don’t think they understand just how repulsive Trump is to us. I mean, Ted Cruz is pretty much detested by the left (I’ll include myself ), but I don’t think you hear Isbell saying what he did if Ted Cruz is president. Because there would have been some amount of cover, some plausible deniability, with him in the White House. I don’t believe that he is completely devoid of decency, as much as I can’t stand him. And after all, very few on the left, even those of us who supported her in the primary, loved Hillary Clinton.
I’ll say one more thing. What Isbell said about some of his people hit home with me because it is exactly what I think about some of my people. Specifically, that would be New York Irish Catholic (I’m about the same age as Hannity, and like him, I went to 12 years of Catholic school), but more broadly ethnic white Catholic people in the New York area (mainly Irish, Italian and Polish Americans). How could they hear The Gospel every Sunday and support Trump, I wonder?. Actually, I think I know. My mother, who immigrated from the west of Ireland, when it was the poorest part of a still poor country and is a daily communicant (goes to Mass every day and receives the sacrament) is aghast at some of the political things her fellow Irish born spout in support of Trump on Facebook.
King Honky Of Crackershire
May 13, 2018 @ 2:53 pm
Luke Bryan’s voice is a lot better.
Bear
May 11, 2018 @ 8:16 am
We seem to be in the age of everybody’s a critic and everybody hates critics. I have to wonder what one of my heroes Roger Ebert would have to say right now?
On my internet music show I have decided the best angle for me it just play music and let the audience decide based on what they here. I don’t say if it is good or bad though I do get excited with stuff I like and you can hear that and sometimes I will say why I like something. But mainly I am saying, “Check this cat/groove/song out.”
I leave criticism to the folks who have practiced that art.
Stephanie
May 11, 2018 @ 2:13 pm
This is dumb, but I am just chiming in to say Roger Ebert is also one of my heroes! And the majority of the time when I say that, people have no idea why that would be or much about him other than giving thumbs up on a TV show.
So- cheers to you!
albert
May 11, 2018 @ 10:43 am
From WIKIPEDIA
”Doctrine of Ethos was a belief during the Greek ages that music directly influenced a persons mind, body, and soul. The ancient Greeks did not allow certain music rhythms to be played because in their beliefs it would bring out bad ethos, and influence those who listened. ”
We can only imagine what sort of fate would have awaited FGL , Urban and Hunt , among others….
BlackHawgDown
May 11, 2018 @ 11:12 am
“It’s a sign of character to be concerned about what other humans are consuming”…So true, I even ended a relationship with a girl one time because all she like was teeny-bop Top 40 and would only listen to that (and of course pop country/bro country). Maybe that was a little shallow and Seinfield-ish, but I just couldn’t compromise with that.
albert
May 11, 2018 @ 12:13 pm
Hear ya ….that would put a music lover over the edge in no time .
There’s plenty of fish and some like jazz
Brent
May 11, 2018 @ 11:38 am
“But music can also breed sloth, consumerism and greed, pride, stupidity, and bigotry.” – what the hell are you talking about??
Brent
May 11, 2018 @ 11:44 am
This guy sounds like an elitist jerk.
what is this ‘bad music’ he speaks of???
who are these people he feels ‘aliened’ from???
Mike Honcho
May 11, 2018 @ 2:23 pm
I bet Jason drives a Volkswagen Passat.
Youngwomanscreek
May 11, 2018 @ 8:17 pm
I bet what he drives has no bearing on this discussion
DJ
May 12, 2018 @ 6:40 am
LOL, or a Subaru…. and wears Birkenstocks.
jimsouls
May 11, 2018 @ 9:56 pm
The Keith Urban of Americana.
Jack Williams
May 12, 2018 @ 7:23 am
Horseshit.
Aggc
May 14, 2018 @ 5:47 pm
I like alot of his stuff but i feel an almost equal amount would qualify as ‘bad music’ by his definition.
Tom R.
May 16, 2018 @ 1:54 pm
I’ve always found Isbell a little pretentious and self-important both in his songwriting and his interviews and these current comments only underline my beliefs. The arrogance that an singer-songwriter can presume they are among the “good” music and declare someone else – or another style or form of music – junk or “bad”! Sorry, Isbell but there is no definitive opinion of what is “good” and “bad” in music. And “good” country music (not that Isbell claims particularly country but he is enjoying being placed on the country chart and is being written about here on a site that presumes to “save” country music) should never be snobbish or pretentious just like, as Trigger argues on another thread, that is should be rural. Given his heavy-hand, I can imagine quite a few country icons leave him cold as well as the current crop of “stars” – are they “bad” musicians too?
As a musician Isbell may be better than most these days (and that may be because the bar is so low now) but he’s hardly created music than can hold it’s own among the most brilliant and legendary talent of the past. Just make your music Jason and let history decide who’s who and what’s what.