Thomas Rhett Sticks His “Bro-Country” Foot In His Mouth
Yes ladies and gentlemen, these are the people who are preaching to us that country music needs to evolve and want us to entrust them to be the ones to do it, and yet at virtually every turn they continue to prove they barely even know their heads from their own asses. Thomas Rhett, songwriter Dallas Davidson, Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley from Florida Georgia Line, and so many others that possess a vocabulary that begins with “beer” and ends with “tailgate” have profiteered greatly off of stupid becoming popular. But now it is all coming to roost as “Bro-Country” implodes, and these imbeciles think they can talk their way out of the inevitable. The “bros” of country live in such a vacuum of self-awareness they have no idea they are quickly becoming the country music laughing stocks of future generations.
Thomas Rhett took time away from getting hammered with Jesus and writing idiotic checklist songs to talk with Cody Alan of CMT’s After Midnite recently, and not so surprisingly, Thomas had some dumb things to say regarding his take on Bro-Country. Rhett told an eager and servile Cody Alan,
“I just have never actually used the term ‘bro country’….”
Wait, wait, hold on for just a second. Before we go any further with the Thomas Rhett comments, let’s take a closer look at this stinker that he tells us right off the bat. Has Thomas Rhett really never used the term ‘Bro-Country?” Because I seem to remember Thomas Rhett specifically setting up a self-defined “Bro-Country” playlist touting “The best of Bro-Country” under his YouTube Vevo account months ago. It included his song “Get Me Some Of That” with other Bro-Country anthems such as Florida Georgia Line’s “Cruise” and Luke Bryan’s “That’s My Kind of Night”. In fact I used Thomas Rhett’s Bro-Country YouTube playlist as the very first example of how Bro-Country was becoming a term of endearment in an article posted back in April.
Take a peek:
Hey, you want to listen to the Thomas Rhett Bro-Country playlist? Here you go:
–
Now I know what you’re thinking. “Eh, maybe it was some Thomas Rhett underling that put that playlist together.” Maybe so, but once again we catch a pop country artist trying to play both sides. It’s eerily similar to when Eric Church was asked if he was trying to craft an Outlaw image and he responded, “Oh God. No! Not at all,” and at the same time he was selling an entire line of Outlaw merch in his online store. These corporate franchise artists are so big in size and small of mind they don’t have any idea half the crap their name is on.
But back to this Thomas Rhett interview about Bro-Country, Rhett continues,
The things that we sing about are the things that everybody in this crowd are doing every single night. So I don’t understand why it’s considered bro country. I mean, yeah, I’ve said ‘tailgate’ in a song before, but I actually sit on tailgates and so do those people out there.”
What? It’s considered Bro-Country because that is what people call it.
But of course this has been the problem with the term “Bro-Country” the entire time. The biggest bros like Thomas Rhett and Brian Kelley of Florida Georgia Line (who stuck his own foot in his mouth recently saying, “I don’t know one girl who doesn’t want to be a girl in a country song”) truly believe that everyone in the entire world loves this music and any problems are simply being drummed up by pointy-nosed party poopers. A lot of people sit on toilets too, so why don’t you write about that Mr. Rhett? What is so poetic or poignant about listing off the mundane occurrences of your daily life?
It is true that Bro-Country has made country music more popular than ever. But it has also made country music more polarizing than ever. All of a sudden Dallas Davidson, Florida Georgia Line, Thomas Rhett, and others, they are the ones on the defensive, not the ones trying to save country music from their “Bro-Country” onslaught. Beyond the move to more substance on the radio, beyond the songs from country females decrying their role in modern country music, Bro-Country’s silly “head-in-the-sand” defense to what is happening is the biggest sign Bro-Country is truly circling the toilet bowl.
Tell ’em Otis:
August 11, 2014 @ 3:14 pm
This song describes the mundane occurrences of life better than any bro-country song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfVsfOSbJY0
August 11, 2014 @ 8:23 pm
Can’t argue there! 😉
October 31, 2014 @ 2:40 pm
My thoughts exactly.
August 11, 2014 @ 3:19 pm
The sad fact is that Thomas Rhett and Dallas Davidson are both capable of writing far better songs. “Beer with Jesus”, for all its religious pandering, had a beautiful classic country melody and contained lyrics that conveyed true emotion.
As for Dallas Davidson, here is an example of a good song written by him and sung by Justin Moore:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55GAUgjpDQA
August 11, 2014 @ 3:19 pm
It’s a shame that Bro-Country has driven a lot of fans away from country music. I for one will NEVER turn on an “over the air” FM/AM country station again. In fact, the only thing I am grateful for about today’s country music, is that it has forced me to seek out real country music in LIVE music venues! Thank goodness for internet/satellite radio!
August 11, 2014 @ 4:28 pm
I have like 3 or 4 country music stations in my area, and I hardly listen to any of them anymore. Every once in awhile, they will play some older music, but for the most part, they play this bro-country stuff. It really is a shame. Somebody did tell me that there is great music still coming out of Nashville, but it is just not in the mainstream, and you never hear it on the radio because it is not considered mainstream.
August 11, 2014 @ 3:27 pm
Yeah, this article about sums it up. As for Rhett himself, I find it odd that in the modern world of singers that are required to also be pretty boys that one that looks like a cross between a weasel and a horse has gotten popular at all. On top of that, he’s the only artist I’ve ever seen that succeeds at looking overly pressed and trashy at the same time. Add in a nasally and equally grating singing voice and one has the recipe for becoming baffled at someone’s success.
August 11, 2014 @ 5:06 pm
Caution: Nepotism at work!
August 12, 2014 @ 12:11 pm
Which is a bit odd since Rhett Akins never really lit up the charts, a few hits here and there notwithstanding. I think Thomas has had more success in the last two years as a recording artist that his father has had since he got started 20 years ago.
August 12, 2014 @ 12:16 pm
Rhett Akins has been a go to songwriter for the last few years. The fact he had a handful of hits in the nineties is not his current cache.
August 12, 2014 @ 12:26 pm
I know and that’s partly my point. He’s been successful as a songwriter, whilst Thomas is making his go at being a songwriter and a performer. The only reason we’re commenting on this article is because he’s made his own music. So if it can truly be based on nepotism, wouldn’t Thomas be more or less restricted to his father’s game? Of course, I’m not expecting him to last any longer than his namesake so perhaps nepotism is the most appropriate term to describe these guys 😛 .
August 12, 2014 @ 12:44 pm
Well, I guess I would put it this way. If I’m a bigwig at a record label (which sadly I’m not) and my daughter wants to be a country singer and magically she gets a record deal then is it not nepotism because she isn’t an executive? To me nepotism is using an edge achieved through family connections and I would say that Rhett Akins having connections with publishers and labels almost certainly opened all kinds of doors for his son, who by the way, was like 21 when he got his start.
Of course if someone has true talent then that always makes thing hazier but I haven’t seen anything to show me that Thomas Rhett has any more talent that hundreds of others struggling to make it.
August 12, 2014 @ 9:16 am
You’re picking the wrong side in the chicken and the egg debate. Outside of Brian Kelley, Sam Hunt and maybe Chase Rice, few of the “bros” are attractive by textbook standards
Tyler Hubbard looks like Bobby Budnick from “Salute Your Shorts” yet is considered super hot by plenty of women.
Jason Aldean is unattractive with a pathetic physique but is capable of “smoldering,” as one critic says, on his new single.
Luke Bryan has very rough facial features and skinny-fat arms but is considered a total sex symbol in music.
Cole Swindell is bald and legitimately ugly by conventional standards but has a huge female following.
Blake Shelton and Tyler Farr…do I need to comment?
If you sing the kind of music that makes women want to “shake their moneymakers,” it’s only a matter of time before women want to shake with you.
August 12, 2014 @ 12:17 pm
What “textbook” standards are you going by? I’m a heterosexual male myself and judging by your name you seem like one, but I don’t know you so correct me if I’m wrong. Anyways, your “textbook” seems to be founded on the idea that all women are shallow and need perfection to feel attracted to someone. While that’s certainly true for some I’ve found that to be more of a male-based trend than female. I’ve never personally heard any praise for Jason Aldean’s looks but I know some girls who have admitted that they only listen to Luke Bryan because he looks hot, not because they think his music is amazing. He also has that “perfect” smile so I’m not really sure what you’re getting at with your criticism of his looks. Blake Shelton, either, whom I’ve never found to be all that ugly from my observations.
August 12, 2014 @ 3:11 pm
I’m a heterosexual woman, and I don’t find any of the bro-country guys attractive. They all look and dress like tools. Especially Brantley Gilbert, he looks like something off a registered sex-offender registry.
August 13, 2014 @ 12:31 pm
Yes, but you’re also an SCM reader 🙂 special case. Just kidding, but I think everyone is misinterpreting my comments. I wasn’t defending nor supporting any of these fools.
August 12, 2014 @ 8:40 pm
Bald is sexy as hell.
August 13, 2014 @ 12:00 pm
All women aren’t shallow – actually I’d like to think most aren’t – but those that are aren’t necessarily looking for physical perception in the classical sense. Rather they’re looking for a perfect representation of their preferred stereotype.
Take Jason Aldean, for instance. If he were some random guy at a bar he’d probably have a hard time picking up women with his swollen cheeks, non-existant neck, and beer gut/love handle combination stretching the pearl snaps on his shirt to the max. But a lot of women these days are in love with the idea of landing themselves a gen-u-ine good ol’ country boy, and many are convinced that he is the ideal due to his songs about tailgates and dirt roads so they fall all over themselves for him.
August 13, 2014 @ 12:30 pm
Whoa, re-read my statement. I never claimed that “all women are shallow,” I said that was the implicit idea of Daw’s comment. Regardless, you’re right.
August 13, 2014 @ 2:15 pm
No, I didn’t think you were saying that at all, just expounding on the idea. Sorry that wasn’t clear.
August 12, 2014 @ 4:28 pm
I agree with you. I am a heterosexual woman, and the only guy that I find attractive on that list is Blake Shelton. But, I would never go nuts for him.
January 30, 2015 @ 7:48 am
Sounds like somebody is jealous I don’t know what you look like or even care for that matter but maybe you should take a look in the mirror buddy. I know nothing of this “bro-country” and could give a rats ass. I do know that country music is more popular than ever and many people who use to listen to nothing but rock music, myself included, have turned to country. And guess what else, these “bro-country” artists are laughing all the way to the bank.
April 30, 2016 @ 5:45 am
Oh GAWD!!!! LMAO!!! I just googled pics of every dude he name….an you’re right on the money Saw!
August 11, 2014 @ 3:38 pm
Sez the guy who’s latest single, Make Me Wanna (heard today for first time), is literally a disco song (at least to these ears). Not one country element in it other that checklist items, even includes bongos!
Seriously, close your eyes and imagine Donna Summers or Barry White singing this. Lord knows the instrumental tracks are already there.
August 12, 2014 @ 9:00 am
Definitely agree that it’s not consistent with what has historically been played on country. I, from a semantics standpoint, disagree with saying it’s “not country” because genres evolve and this is definitely not too far out of place with the current representation of country.
But it’s also a damn good song. The Steely Dan-inspired guitar work, while kind of a further sign this isn’t a traditional country tune, is better than 95% of what you hear on rock radio these days. And the dude can deliver a hook.
August 12, 2014 @ 9:14 am
Respectfully, I would’ve used “devolve” instead of evolve.
August 12, 2014 @ 9:56 am
I liked that song better when it was called I Just Wanna Stop, and even then, not so much.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8e1SjBHSUM
I take it you’re from New York? I’m from the NY area originally myself (born in the Bronx, raised in Rockland County). I’m not one to typically use the phrase “that ain’t country,” because I feel a little silly saying it given where I’m from. But damn, there is nothing remotely country about the sound of that song. It is discoed up ’70s light R&B. And I’m old enough to remember hearing that kind of music on WABC AM. And as far as Steely Dan goes (who I happen to think were pretty bad ass, especially pre-Aja), I would love to see Donald Fagen’s reaction if he was to ever hear this song.
August 12, 2014 @ 10:24 am
I recently heard the new Thomas Rhett song in question.
It would be a decent disco-pop song, were it not for Rhett’s grating, marble-mouthed vocals.
August 12, 2014 @ 10:39 am
this is definitely not too far out of place with the current representation of country.
Well yeah, but the current representation of country is exactly what’s wrong with the genre. I mean, you can keep talking about evolution all you want, but we’ve already been over this. As for Thomas Rhett, he’s just another one of those aforementioned pretty boys with no respect for the genre. Hell, he’s <a href=http://www.pressherald.com/2013/06/13/the-son-also-rises/tacitly admitted he’s never really been much of a country music fan:
“My dad”™s the biggest Rolling Stones fan. And I like Poison, and all the rap and hip-hop that was floating around my junior high school. That”™s why I can”™t just do a straight country song.”
I said it on my own blog and I’ll say it here. The boy’s not in it for the music. He’s in it for the money. Because if he wasn’t, he”™d be doing hip-hop or playing in a Poison tribute band. You know, doing the stuff he likes. I make the observation often anymore that while Alan Jackson’s “Gone Country” was very much a commentary on its period in history, I still thought it was a timeless piece of work, but I never expected it to be as relevant now as it was when it was released.
As far as the gee-tar in the tune…color me unimpressed. Maybe that’s just because I just listened to Iron Maiden’s Powerslave on the iPod, and followed it up with Queensryche’s The Warning (yep, it’s a metal kind of day), but there you go. But I sure didn’t think the tune itself was really anything to write home about either.
August 12, 2014 @ 11:58 am
My guitar comment was more of a condemnation of the state of rock than a majorly ringing endorsement.
But I definitely do think the guitar line is sweet on this one.
August 11, 2014 @ 3:40 pm
Not surprising in the least. This is what happens when a dumbass with zero self-awareness tries to play dumb.
And oh, Cody Alan. He’s come a long way from his days at 99.5 the Wolf, but unfortunately it has been in the wrong direction.
August 11, 2014 @ 4:11 pm
This is off topic, but why is there a playing card sticking out from under his at in this picture?
August 11, 2014 @ 4:45 pm
I’ll be shocked to learn he was aware it was there.
August 11, 2014 @ 5:33 pm
Lol good one. He just kind of looks goofy in every picture I’ve seen of him
August 12, 2014 @ 9:08 am
He’s as good at cheating in cards as he is at writing a song.
August 11, 2014 @ 4:44 pm
What a dimwit. People in the crowd are partying and sitting on tailgates every night? Well, maybe in the mind of a millionaire pop country star. In the real world, most of use are too damn busy working and paying bills and rent/mortgages.
August 11, 2014 @ 5:43 pm
Trigger;
I’ve been going back and forth with all of this over the past few days. I mean, I can’t stand the music these guys are producing – it’s terrible. But, I ask myself … if I were a songwriter in my 20’s in Nashville right now, and I could make a boatload of money writing this garbage, and that would result in all these girls who are in these videos coming out to my parties and doing indescribable things to me – would I do it?
I’m fairly sure I would.
I mean, for all the hemming and hawing those of us who don’t take that road may do, I look at a group of guys who are absolutely loving their lives right now.. and at the end of the day, them being a ‘joke’ and a ‘fad’ won’t really phase them. They’ll still have the cash next year, the next year, and ten years from now. And, being “The guys who did Cruise” will work for them with girls for at least the next 10 years (when the 11 year olds who love it now finally turn 21).
Integrity is something people often don’t see value in until their 30’s or 40’s. Idealogies like that aren’t for the young and rich.
And of course, that brings us back to the fact that the only way to beat these guys is to write better songs, and for the fans to BUY those songs. Then, the money and the fame will shift to someone else … who will likely make the same bad decisions, just hopefully more poetically.
August 11, 2014 @ 7:01 pm
Dukes . By holding up the current crop of one dimensional bro-writers and entertainers as the “the success story to shoot for ” , the industry behaves no differently than someone holding up drug -dealing as a success story to shoot for . Both of these ‘careers’ prey on the young and impressionable and hold the potential to bring you fame , fortune , women and ….did I mention FORTUNE ? Problem is , both of these career choices attract the WRONG kind of person . If Bro is the target to shoot for and someone with more talent , experience , integrity , values , smarts and self-respect to work with than radio wants or requires , that person is looking for another career or another place in the music industry ( soundtrack scoring , production , session musician ..etc..) And THAT is the real loss to the artistry of the genre. It needs to wake up and provide something worthwhile to aim for in order to attract worthwhile talent .
August 12, 2014 @ 10:48 am
I don’t think anyone holds up “bro” as the target to shoot for. The industry holds up “what sells” as the target to shoot for. Right now, (or as Trigger asserts, in recent years but possibly ebbing now) that’s “bro.” There are always trends. What makes this trend so dominant is that it comes at a time when media saturation is rampant. Super concerts, a radio conglomerate, corporate-controlled video streaming, etc … all of this makes it easy for the supplier to give the consumers what they want, EN MASSE. The delivery of content is widespread and lightning fast. So, once the industry finds something that’s selling, they can reach a saturation point in a matter of months and thus maximize their profits.
That’s what the INDUSTRY is about.
If people were buying more songs about true love, hard work and Jesus, there would be 30 mainstream artists releasing those songs right now.
I can’t stress this enough. Complaining about it does nothing. You have to BUY the music that you think will Save Country Music. The industry is fueled by dollar bills, not sensibilities.
August 12, 2014 @ 11:31 am
“I don”™t think anyone holds up “bro” as the target to shoot for. The industry holds up “what sells” as the target to shoot for.”
And what sells in truckloads happens to be ” bro ” at the moment…. and progressively so for the past 5 years or thereabouts. So , to clarify my earlier point , a young up- and- coming writer trying to ‘break in ” is encouraged to write accordingly by publishers, labels , management , artist they are pitching to , co-writers who’ve had success writing this stuff and by most of what they hear on mainstream radio . As a writer myself , I can attest to this . A talented and creative writer who wants to write music of substance , varying themes , push the envelope , develop their own style etc is NOT nurtured or encouraged to do so by the success of ” the current trend ” . In fact , the opposite is the case . And THAT writer MAY be lost to the industry if he constantly hits that brick wall . I once used a hockey analogy to illustrate this . When hockey got REALLY goony a decade or so ago , parent discouraged their kids from pursuing that sport as a career and kids with REAL talent and undeniable hockey skills were deterred from taking the sport seriously until the sport started to take itself seriously . Wayne Gretzky ( arguably the most skilled player to ever play the game ) alluded to this consequence at the time . If I was talented young writer listening to mainstream country music right now I’d be shaking my head and looking for career options .
August 12, 2014 @ 12:59 pm
But some would then argue that those in that category lack the stones to make it anyway. Even the most successful hear “no” FAR more often than they hear “yes” on the way up. What you’re alluding to is that young talent shouldn’t sell out. True. But then, that’s something that has always been the case, right? It takes a lot of gall to beat your head against a wall that doesn’t want to give for a long, long time … and keep surviving, and keep pushing, until that bastard blows apart.
If “they’re getting rich writing shit, and I don’t want to write shit, so I won’t get rich, so I should quit” is the mentality of young talent, then that young talent lacks the fortitude to succeed.
There are artists out there recording songs of substance, they just aren’t the “young hot” artists. So, those writers COULD be licensing songs out to those who DO record those songs. But, there’s less money there…and that may not be as attractive. I don’t know. I don’t live in the minds of other artists. At the end of the day, a young writer can decided to write garbage and make money so that he can eat, and then write substance so he can contribute to the world int he way he desires.
It’s an ultra-competitive line of work. You being a writer, you know that. So, you can stick to your ethics and remain out of favor with popular music until the tastes of the world shift popular music to you. Or, you can write what’s popular, put food on the table, and then decide whether you keep cultivating dross or dig for the gold.
August 13, 2014 @ 12:10 am
” If “they”™re getting rich writing shit, and I don”™t want to write shit, so I won”™t get rich, so I should quit” is the mentality of young talent, then that young talent lacks the fortitude to succeed. ”
I disagree , Dukes . This scenario has nothing to do with fortitude and everything to do with integrity , fulfillment and artistry . Not everyone considers getting rich to be the measure of success . A creative artist is motivated by challenging opportunities and growth …not just monetary reward .
Consider : If a hard-working , talented, schooled and skilled MUSICIAN ( not a songwriter per se ) went to studios looking for session work hoping to utilize his assets while being challenged and growing as a musician, was told ” just play C-F-G …don’t play any minor chords…no major 7ths and don’t play any interesting melody , counter melody or harmony lines , no soloing , no alternate tunings ,..just C-F-G ….would this not be an enormous waste of talent , musical gifts AND a life ? I know many amazing players ( as I’m sure you do ) who would consider that kind of music ‘work’ comparable to a prison sentence .
A clever , original and fresh songwriter ( lyric writer )with something to say and much to offer would find MANY options to writing bro – country in order to make a living and that may include utilizing her talents in other aspects of the industry where she is challenged and growing . Not wanting to waste her skills and her life writing bro-country ( or similar ) with the hopes of getting rich should not be interpreted as a ‘lack of fortitude ‘.
August 12, 2014 @ 7:27 am
I understand where you’re coming from, and maybe it’s just because I’m a mom, but I so highly object to this style because it makes money off the young and impressionable. I’m only 23, and at one point I didn’t mind these songs till I had a kid and now I understand that the main problem is the culture it’s creating, kinda like what Albert was saying. I don’t want my son skeezing on young girls like in these idiotic bro country anthems, and if I had a daughter I’d force her into a long conversation about the value of self respect and that the guy who wants to nail you in the bed of his pickup probably has a list of other girls he’s planning on seducing there too. these kids listening to this garbage ain’t prepared to handle the adult consequences of their choices. plain and simple. and this music glorifies their choices and it’s marketed directly to them. look at all the goings on at these concerts here lately. all the arrests for underage possession, all the cases of alcohol poisoning, the fights, girls getting harrassed. at some point these douchebags should step back and think “maybe we pushed our agendas a little too hard.” I get that they’re merely capitalizing on a trend, but seriously it’s plain morally wrong to see the culture it’s creating and still choosing to make money off people’s self destructiveness
August 12, 2014 @ 11:07 am
Right on.
Need more moms teaching their boys not to listen to this. Then again, I listened to David Allan Coe, Merle Haggard and Hank Jr.
What you have to know, is that there are artists who DON’T build their careers on “bro” … but they aren’t popular. They aren’t popular because people don’t know about them, or if they do, they don’t spend their money on them. Instead, they spend money on big super concerts. Sure, they may stream music from the artists on Spotify, but that does next to nothing for the independent artist.
I look at my own streams, and I see thousands of plays … resulting in hundreds of cents. If fans will put their money into supporting those independent artists, then the indie artists will be able to afford better promotion, and will be able to grow their fan bases. Upon building their fan bases, they’ll be able to create bigger tours, make more money, and do more promotion. Then, perhaps they’ll get picked up by radio, and increase their promotion even more.
Then, the country music landscape will change – because the “industry” will see that the tastes have shifted. But, as long as fans continue to buy into these mainstream-mega-concerts, keep listening to mainstream radio, and keep buying only mainstream albums, the industry will keep producing what sells.
There’s a long-going industry joke that A&R people are the largest 4-year-olds you’ll ever meet, and it’s pretty solid. They want satisfaction right now, and don’t want to think about it. “Just give me candy!” That’s often the Industry A&R perspective. Wanna change their diet? Make audio nutrition more attractive. Support Indie.
August 12, 2014 @ 5:38 pm
at least some of the old country songs do include consequences to the actions too. and I don’t think DAC was trying to draw in from a real young age bracket, even so he’s just a whole special case in and of himself.
and I’m well aware of the good guys of country. none of them really swing through my neck of the woods unfortunately.
August 12, 2014 @ 8:43 pm
Gotta give ’em a reason to. Get people hooked on their music. Buy the albums. Get the radio stations to spin ’em.
Trigger does a great job with this site…but I feel sometimes that what is missed, is that the people who will save country music aren’t the ones making it…but those who refuse to accept the bullshit anymore, and start fueling the fire behind solid country music.
That’s the fans. Y’all are powerful as hell. You can make it happen!
August 12, 2014 @ 10:32 am
“Integrity is something people often don”™t see value in until their 30”²s or 40”²s. Idealogies like that aren”™t for the young and rich.”
I’m not sure I agree with that. There is certainly an Archetype of the idealistic young person who wants to change the world and eventually gets chiseled down to joining the moneymaking masses and settling down, and the idealistic young person who never changes.
August 12, 2014 @ 10:41 am
Thus, “often” not “always.”
August 11, 2014 @ 6:53 pm
This may be somewhat of topic, but when Thomas Rhett started out, I had high hopes for him. I truly believe that he’s a talented songwriter and vocalist and I’ll readily admit that I bought a hard copy of the first Acoustic EP he put out. It just seems like his career was headed one way and then took a sharp turn towards the imbecilic and nausea-inducing “bro-country” sound. I’d point the blame towards his label trying to cash in on a fleeting trend…
August 11, 2014 @ 9:12 pm
I agree. His music was good before he tried to turn into a Luke Bryan/FGL clone. I used to watch his acoustic shows on Youtube before his first EP came out. It was clear his influences went beyond country but he had some solid contemporary country songs that he decided not to cut on his album. It’s too bad.
August 13, 2014 @ 4:11 pm
Oh absolutely, those early acoustic videos are pretty good. Take a song like “Georgia”, for example. That’s a fantastic song that I believe Thomas Rhett himself said was going to be on the album, if I remember correctly and then the album drops and it’s nowhere to be found on the tracklist and in its place was songs like “get me some of that”. Needless to say I was disappointed.
August 11, 2014 @ 8:13 pm
Why does Thomas Rhett have a Four of Diamonds card sticking out of his ball cap? -__-
August 12, 2014 @ 5:04 am
Why, for “4-wheel-drive” of course!
August 13, 2014 @ 2:32 am
‘Cuz itz just whut he do!!!
August 12, 2014 @ 12:06 am
Just listened to James Crothers “New Country Singers”. Hilarious!
August 12, 2014 @ 12:16 am
James Carothers. Sorry folks.
August 12, 2014 @ 8:22 am
You’re right! That is hilarious! And it’s a really clever angle of James to take.
August 12, 2014 @ 8:26 am
http://youtu.be/GnsB7Wj8l1I
Come on ya’ll. Let’s see if we can make this a hit.
August 12, 2014 @ 8:49 am
Oh, that is good. I enjoyed the hell out of that.
August 12, 2014 @ 8:45 am
Hey, remember when Dee Snyder was called in before the senate to answer for his “violent” lyrics, and he shocked the hell out of everyone when he showed that he actually had a damn brain and knew what he was talking about?
What exactly happened in the music world?
We have “Hair Metal”, which many argue was just the cash-in formula for the rock world, and then “Bro-Country” which is undoubtedly the cash-in formula for the country world.
Can you imagine what would happen if the senate took the same steps in trying to curb the violence at Bro-Country concerts? Do you think Thomas Rhett would be able to argue as successfully as Dee Snyder?
August 12, 2014 @ 10:28 am
Not a snowball’s chance in hell, PS. I was very young when all that was going on, but I remember seeing the video when I got older and being rather impressed by his eloquence.
But as you might know, Mr. Snider got the last laugh:
“Let’s cut to 25 years later. I’m still married, none of my kids have been busted for drug possession. Can Al and Tipper Gore say the same thing? I don’t think so.”
August 12, 2014 @ 11:31 am
Are you kidding? He’d probably need help figuring out how the door works.
August 12, 2014 @ 12:11 pm
Senator: Mr. Rhett, would you care to explain the sucktitude and stupidity in the lyrics of bro-country?
Thomas Rhett: Itz just wut we do!!!
August 12, 2014 @ 9:51 am
Is country really selling more now than it was back in the Garth and Shania days?
August 12, 2014 @ 10:04 am
Compared to the other genres, yes. Rock was still dominant during Garth’s big era.
August 12, 2014 @ 10:51 am
I’m talking pure numbers not relative to other genres. Sales are down across the board.
August 12, 2014 @ 11:35 am
Of course. But country now commands more of the market share than any other genre.
August 13, 2014 @ 11:17 am
sitting on a tailgate is what 14 year olds do
August 14, 2014 @ 10:50 am
Cody Alan and Thomas Rhett on the radio together? Allow me to cut my ears off.
August 16, 2014 @ 12:32 pm
Honestly, I think Rhett is much better than FGL. From “It goes like this” to “Beer with Jesus” Rhett obviously has enough talent to become more than a “bro country” type of singer. I know I’ll get hate for this, and as much as I despise “This is how we roll” and “Cruise”, most of the FGL album “Here’s to the good times” is a pretty good album. “Hell raising heat of summer”, and “Dayum baby” (although it could use a bit better grammar) are pretty good. I visit this site alot, so I’m very familiar with the hate toward FGL. But probably 80% of the lyrics in that album, most of the young country scene can relate to. I’m only 22, but alot of those lyrics bring me back to summer back home, mudding in my old Jeep, or an old girlfriend. I think the record companies are more to blame on this “bro country” scene than the artists are.
November 15, 2014 @ 11:22 pm
You all are nothing but a bunch of Thomas Rhett haters. Personally, I think he is the freshest and most talented country artist to come along and an outstanding addition to today’s country music. Music, all music, has evolved and country music will never be what it was 40-50 years ago. Neither will rock and roll, and that is where you people need to get your heads out of your asses, and see that young people more than ever are loving country music. They are not out there smoking weed and dropping acid like they rockers and repenters did in the 60’s. They “Tailgate and drink Beer” and the Country – Bros as you call them give them an escape. Just like Jimmy Buffett did in his hay-day, and the Grateful Dead. Kenny Chesney is a classic example of someone who helps the every day Joe, cut loose for a few hours, to escape, relax, let loose and have a good time. Keith Urban, is country, he is just as much a great guitarist as Brad Paisley, the only difference is he doesn’t sport a stupid looking cowboy hat. Thomas Rhett is bringing something new to country, his lyrics, his sound is unique and yet to even further evolve. Now if you wanna talk bad country music, lyrics and vocals…. let’s talk about Taylor Swift. A much over-rated excuse for talent as a female country artist. She needs to make the move over to pop where she belongs, but she is obviuosly too afraid she won’t be able to compete in that arena.Thomas Rhett, mark my words here, will go on to be top country male vocalist, album of the year, entertainer of the year sometime during his career. He has the right charisma, but beyond all that, he does have God given talent that is in his blood!
March 28, 2018 @ 4:07 pm
NO
I refuse to let some shithead asshole change the programming on my radio station because he things he knows more than I do.
I listened to Country Music in the Louvin Brother days. I was there when Porter Wagoner went from his own studio out to Opryland.
I was there.
and I’m tired of people playing POP Music on Country stations.
don’t make people eat spinach at taco bell just because you don’t like tacos.
get the shit out of Country Music
November 16, 2014 @ 12:01 am
I have to go on to say a few more words in response to the majority of these comments. Many, seem fixated on the way a certain artist looks or doesn’t look. What you idiots can’t seem to wrap your head around or even try to think outside the box your heads are in, is because you come from places like the Bronx…. There is a certain personna played on stage by these artists, because their agents and Nashville think that way. Thomas Rhett is bringing a different perspective, with “Make Me Wanna” a country singer in a tuxedo. I love it when the men in country dress up and show their classier refined southern charm and manners, just as much as I love when the women are dressed to the nines and they never seem to let their fans down. Except maybe Kacey Musgraves, who showed up at her first awards show in cut off shorts and cowgirl boots, very unclassy. Her latest appearance she had some teased up version by someone thinking they could make her into a Loretta Lynn wanna be. She will be a no name in no time. The only thing she has going for her are her pretty skinny legs.But is in the eye of the beholder. And to Applejack… Rhetts vocals are a refreshing burst of breaking away from mainstream country. No one wants to listen to, no offense to any of these artist mentioned, becasue they were great in their time, but…. Alan Jackson, Merle Haggard, George Strait, Trisha Yearwood, Terry Clark… this is not country music of today’s youth. And AppleJack you must be tone deaf from listening to too much heavy metal, screaming death music, rappers and hip hoppers who can sing about nothing but sex, twerking, and talk dirty to me…. real classy stuff, NOT.