Why Sam Hunt’s Hair at the 2015 ACM Awards Pretty Much Sums Up Everything
Photo: YouTube
Words were failing me in my efforts to articulate in any sort of composed and accurate manner what type of depravity country music is currently ailing from, and just what angst I feel about the current state of affairs in the genre. The 50th Annual ACM Awards left me despondent, reeling, and listless from the lack of hope for the future of the country format.
And then I saw a picture of Sam Hunt’s hair from the awards, and it seemed to encapsulate just about everything I was sensing in a way words could never express.
Look, this isn’t just about taking the low road of making fun of someone’s hair. Lord knows we’ve all had bad hair days or embarrassing eras when we tried to meet the styles of the day head on. Yes, the lines cut in the side of his head—a fashion statement usually reserved for folks of a little different ethnicity than Sam Hunt—and the strange braids or rat tails emanating from the back make the comb over from Sam’s early promo pics look halfway acceptable. But it’s the symbolism that has Sam Hunt’s haircut acting like a bellwether for where country music is today.
Let me tell you something. Sam Hunt knew if he wore his hair in this manner, he would solicit ridicule from certain sectors of the country music demographic. That’s one of the reasons he did it. He wanted some folks to feel uncomfortable. He wanted people wondering if cutting waves in his hair shouldn’t be more reserved for non whites. Sam Hunt was announcing, “I’m here. And you’re just going to have to get comfortable with it, because this is country music now. It’s stylized suits and metrosexual hairstyles. It’s EDM dance beats. And if it makes you feel uncomfortable, good. Because I’m not going anywhere.”
Contrast that with Taylor Swift, who showed up to accept her Milestone Award, even though she had sworn off the ACM’s and all country award shows when she famously made her move to pop at the end of 2014. It not that she doesn’t want to be at these award shows to soak up some more free face time, it’s that she didn’t want to come across as disingenuous to the public.
“Somebody once told me that you truly see who a person is when you tell them something they don’t want to hear,” Taylor Swift said. “You truly see who a person is when you give them news that they weren’t expecting. And so to the country music community, when I told you that I had made a pop album and I wanted to go explore other genres, you showed me who you are with the grace that you accepted that with. I will never forget it.”
Beyond focusing on the disturbing moments, the 50th Annual ACM Awards seemed to just about perfectly portray where country music is today. Here we were as a country genre, bisecting a century as a relevant force in American music, and it couldn’t have looked any more like a house divided. Country artists like George Strait, Alan Jackson, Garth Brooks, and even some not-so-old artists like Dierks Bentley were taking the time to focus on one song and attempting to craft a sincere moment for the television audience. And on the other side, it came across as sheer madness in montage form, unless of course you’re a fan of some of those younger artists.
But even a Jason Aldean fan had to be a little frustrated as he sung a chorus or two from a gaggle of his hits in rapid succession, and you never really got a moment to focus your mind on anything. Maybe it’s that older generation’s fault for rearing the younger one in front of television sets full of blinking lights, wild gesticulations, and other Yo Gabba Gabba-like craziness. No wonder 18 to 34-year-olds can’t focus on anything for more than 60 seconds as ACM organizers say, and we’re left wondering where the appreciation for a good song went.
Meanwhile someone thought it was a great idea to get all these traditional, straight-laced oldtimes and old souls, and then mix them in with a bunch of kids in their mid 20’s who sing and listen to EDM and R&B songs that reference drugs and objectify women, hoping that Cowboys Stadium would be big enough for both. The size of the enormous stadium resulted in really bad sound, but it still wasn’t suitable to allow for the gulf that exists between the two sides of country music listeners to be accurately represented. It would be impossible to put enough distance between George Strait fans and Sam Hunt’s hair.
Because you see, I don’t want racist readers coming out of the woodwork to drop “wigger” comments about whatever way Sam wants to groom his curtain. Country music aside, it’s none of our business how Sam Hunt wears his hair, and I’ll say it before you say it for me: we should be focusing more on the music than on hairstyles. But that’s the problem with Sam Hunt: his music is even worse at flying in the face of what country music is supposed to be, and by trying to put everyone in the same room, you breed conflict.
What does Sam Hunt’s hair really symbolize? It’s the perfect example of why country music needs a split; a good old-fashioned divorce. Hey, people grow up, and grow apart. 50 years is a long time, and the genre has changed dramatically in that period, but possibly never more than the amount it’s changed in the last two or three years. I don’t want to hate on Sam Hunts hair, or his music. I want to hear music that is actually country, and have everything else portrayed accurately. If you listen to a song and it more appropriately fits in multiple other genres other than country, then it needs to find a more applicable home. And that doesn’t just go for Sam Hunt. Many others who made appearances at the 50th Annual ACM Awards, including some in cowboy hats and crew cuts could heed this advice.
Because I don’t want to hate on Sam Hunt for his hair, or his music. I want to be able to see every human as a diverse, interesting, and complex creature to be understood and learned from as one unique piece in a vibrant tapestry contrasted by our differences that makes up the whole of humankind. We’re all music fans first, and then our loyalties fall to certain genres. But when we attempt to resolve those differences amidst misguided notions of “evolution,” we invariably compromise our individualism and the ties to our indigenous culture that makes each one of us different in our own special way. Then there will be no differences between us to be enlightened by.
Truth be know, I think Sam Hunt and his hair are awesome. You go Sam! Wear your hair however the hell you want. But just don’t do it in a manner where it attempts to impinge on what makes me different, in a way that attempts to resolve my uniqueness as a country fan. Because then we both run the risk of losing who we are.
– – – – – – –
“You can paint a wall green and call it blue, but it’s clearly not blue. That would go over badly, because people know. When people trust you, they believe you’re investing them with a piece of your life and their lives in turn, so you want to keep that trust at every level … I don’t really think people were surprised I made a pop album; I think they were surprised I was honest about it.”
—Taylor Swift
Fuzzy TwoShirts
April 20, 2015 @ 5:42 pm
Just brilliant, Triggerman.
Russ Goldman
April 22, 2015 @ 2:38 pm
Preach on brother, preach on… Modern day country radio is almost unbearable to listen to!
BanditDarville
April 20, 2015 @ 5:49 pm
It used to be that artists like Sam Hunt used country music as a springboard to acceptance in the pop music world. Now it seems they’d rather just destroy the genre all together.
Bear
April 20, 2015 @ 11:34 pm
I don’t think they want to destroy the genre. I personally think these, bros won’t go pop, because they are afraid of the female competition. In country radio/awards there are NO women to compete with. They have free reign. In pop you have Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Sia, Rhianna, Beyonce ect.
I call them cowards more than anything else.
Liza
April 20, 2015 @ 5:56 pm
Best headline ever.
Chris
April 20, 2015 @ 5:57 pm
Awww give him a break, Sam’s just finishing up his Padawan training.
Dave
April 20, 2015 @ 6:07 pm
Sam should just go ahead, and change his name to Mike, already.
Scott
April 20, 2015 @ 6:10 pm
I think the powers that be, (record label execs) are deliberately trying to get rid of traditional country music altogether. As far as I can tell, they don’t like simple country folks and think we’re just bothersome “backward” people who need to change what we like.
Enjoy Every Sandwich
April 21, 2015 @ 7:36 am
I think you’re right about that. One of the things that irritates me about the “country music must evolve” crowd is their sneering, snotty attitude that I don’t like bro-country or EDM country because I’m ignorant and unsophisticated.
Sam Jimenez
April 20, 2015 @ 6:16 pm
Did they just forget to clip that shit off the back?
the pistolero
April 20, 2015 @ 6:22 pm
I do believe this is your best post yet, Trigger. Well done.
Kale
April 20, 2015 @ 6:25 pm
They need to have a REAL 50th Anniversary ACM Awards for the REAL legends. How can anyone insult true legends just to look relevant in today’s short term memory world? Also, what was up with that Merle Haggard tribute? Do these people even have consciences? WHAT A JOKE!!!
Kristin
April 20, 2015 @ 6:31 pm
Hands down one of the best articles I’ve ever read.
I’m a Kip Moore fan along w Eric church which I’m sure makes me not a real country fan in some eyes. But I also love Waylon, Sturgill, Stapleton, among many others. But this – this article – very well written and exudes passion.
Not sure who the face behind this is but it’s clear you’re passionate and hats off again to one of the best things I’ve read in a LONG time
Trigger
April 20, 2015 @ 6:47 pm
Thanks Kristin.
Sonas
April 22, 2015 @ 4:13 pm
“Because I don”™t want to hate on Sam Hunt for his hair, or his music. I want to be able to see every human as a diverse, interesting, and complex creature to be understood and learned from as one unique piece in a vibrant tapestry contrasted by our differences that makes up the whole of humankind. We”™re all music fans first, and then our loyalties fall to certain genres. But when we attempt to resolve those differences amidst misguided notions of “evolution,” we invariably compromise our individualism and the ties to our indigenous culture that makes each one of us different in our own special way. Then there will be no differences between us to be enlightened by.”
That paragraph is pretty awesome. Still, I disagree with your reasoning on Sam….whatever his name is, hair. When it comes to the way a person dresses or how they wear their hair, people cannot be lumped together. As far as I know, the word “wigger” is code for the “N” word.
Kale
April 20, 2015 @ 6:39 pm
I’m kinda surprised Alan Jackson or someone else didn’t try to rebel. What’s it gonna take for them to stand up to this insanity?
sonas
April 24, 2015 @ 4:49 pm
Something more important than somebody’s hair.
Truth No. 2
April 20, 2015 @ 6:43 pm
Lord, it’s the same old tune, tailgate and beer. Where do we take it from here? EDM beats and new shiny J’s, it’s been the same way for years. We need to change. Borchetta told me when I came to Nashville, son you’ve finally got it made. Shania made it here, and we’re all sure that you will. But, are you sure she’d have done it just this way. Ten years in da club makin’ one night stands, dancin’ the young nights away. Tell me one more time just so’s I’ll understand, are you sure Twain done it just this way? Lord, I’ve seen the world with a baseball cap, hangin’ backwards outta me, singing my songs one of hers now and then, are you sure Shania done it just this way? Take it home.
Parody lyrics reflective of how far we’ve fallen. Not a Shania fan by any means.
AJ
April 26, 2015 @ 11:35 am
Brilliant. When Shania is starting to sound traditional by comparison, you know something is very, very wrong.
Dr. Doom
April 20, 2015 @ 7:30 pm
I would like to address Sam Hunt. I will try to communicate with him on his level. Ahem… Here goes…
Dear Sam Hunt,
Yo wat up homy! Im Dr. Doom. Im famus 2. Im on as miny comik buks and cartuns as u r magazins and fak aword shoz, so i ges dat maks us ivin! I no wer ur comin frum bro. Ur a yung man tryin 2 mak it tru lif and be ritch and famus. I git dat. But wi u gota destroy (if u dont no wat dat mins dont wory bout it) kuntry muzik? Kuntry muzik dusnt hav edm, drum mashinz, or dans clubs. And kuntry singerz shur dont hav har lik dat. If u wont 2 sing r and b and hip hop, go du dat. Jus dont tirn kuntry ento sumthin itz not. I hav a lot mor 2 sa, but i dont think u wud understand(2 big 4 u?) it. Gudbi, hav fun wen ril kuntry cums bak and u git thron out!
-Dr. Doom
Sam Jimenez
April 20, 2015 @ 8:06 pm
Lil’ Dale?
Dr. Doom
April 20, 2015 @ 9:09 pm
Absolutely not. I am Victor von Doom, ruler of Latveria. I was trying to speak bro. How did I do?
Sam Jimenez
April 20, 2015 @ 10:56 pm
Not bad. I could almost read it.
win the lord made Lil Dale he made a ramblin man
April 21, 2015 @ 4:01 am
not on his best day.
Red Skull aka Johann Schmitt
April 21, 2015 @ 5:13 am
NEIN! Herr Doom, how many times must I remind you that the complete destruction and takeover of country music is Hydra’s task, not yours? Herr Hunt is an agent of Hydra who is undertaking our good work to rid country music of these so-called “traditional” types. So stay in your lane, Herr Doom.
Oh, and HAIL HYDRA!!!!
Dr. Doom
April 21, 2015 @ 7:25 am
Fine Herr Schmidt, since you insist on destroying country music, I will retreat back to the Marvel world and start Bro-Country there. I already turned your archnemisis Captain America into a Bro-Country fan MWUHAHAHA! I know you mind control people with the hypnotic suggestions embedded in the sounds of pop country, so I will craft the perfect song to take over all of my world! In your disfigured face Red Red Red Red Red Red Red Red Red Skull!
Alex C
April 21, 2015 @ 6:47 am
Not a Sam Hunt fan, but this post is pretty ridiculous and ignorant. I’m fairly certain Hunt doesn’t type or speak like this at all.
Dr. Doom
April 21, 2015 @ 6:51 am
You should see the dialect I’ve prepared for Florida Georgia Line. Anyway, it is just a joke. Clearly I haven’t mastered that art yet. I’ll keep working on it.
Red Skull aka Johann Schmitt
April 21, 2015 @ 3:47 pm
Thank you fuhr yuhr support of Herr Sam Hunt. You shall make a fine agent for Hydra!
The Ghost of Waylon
April 20, 2015 @ 8:01 pm
And just exactly what is a “Sam Hunt”?
I must have missed out on this latest fad while I was ignoring mainstream country…
Liza
April 20, 2015 @ 8:06 pm
You say country music needs a split. I think that already happened, cemented about the time FGL hit the airwaves.
And I love the contrast of Taylor Swift to the oddity of rest of the evening.
gtrman86
April 20, 2015 @ 8:18 pm
I’m not about how everybody else took the shit show awards lastnite but it broke my heart to see the disgrace these people have made of the Country music world. Even a glance into the audience was the cold hard truth that these folks are anything but Country music fans. The whole deal was an absolute embarrassment and so childish it made me sick. It is like a bad dream absolute horseshit!
Rakor1906
April 20, 2015 @ 8:49 pm
Horrible….
Sam hunt could not hang with Dwight now or 30 years ago
I’m not sure where that performance wass going
It was a pay off..
Hey old timers…want to be part of the part sellout
..let’s go
.
Jamo
April 20, 2015 @ 9:43 pm
After that shit show last night, i wonder if it may just be time to let them have country music. Real artist have fought long enough to get/keep exposure and some are successful! Just enough to where i have still been willing to say “yes, i like country music, but not THAT country music” however; now I just do not think i can be comfortable saying that anymore. If real artist and fans keep fighting for the genre, even if it is won, this is a blemish on the record that I could never explain away to my future grandkids while trying to justify my fandom. Something drastic must be done to seperate me and people like me from the mindless, trend chasing drones that have invaded our space. I liken this happening to say a presidential administration that is doing all of the wrong things, yet resistance from an outside force, perhaps congress (or maybe just favorable circumstance), lead to economic prosperity in spite of the president, not because of him. And this of course leads the uninformed voter to believe that whatever they see in that office is the reason for the upturn. Ok possible digression, but point being, congress lifting it’s hand and allowing catastrophe is obviously not the preferred method, but it damn sure would teach a good lesson. A lesson that may be essential for a rebuilding to ever begin.
TLDR- it’s unsaveable, if the real talent, and coherent fans leave, the genre will soon lose it’s luster and people will look in to see a group of ingenuine trend chasers and mindless horny 40 year olds that are just there for the baby blue tight tshirts and ass shaking. The genre crumbles And these become the dark ages to the casual onlooker, not just the type that frequents this site.
Oops still TLDR
Let’s build somewhere else. Give them enough rope, and watch em hangs themselves.
Trigger
April 21, 2015 @ 8:42 am
That is why the country music format needs to split into two separate formats, one that serves Top 40 country, and one that serves more traditional country. We don’t have to be in a constant battle with each other. If people want to listen to Florida Georgia Line and Sam Hunt, let them. At the same time, I’m not interested in abandoning the word “country” to them completely. It’s not theirs to have, it belongs to the people of country music, and since what they’re doing isn’t country in the first place, people need to have a mainstream alternative to find the authentic stuff.
Jamo
April 21, 2015 @ 9:28 am
I agree, and support the fight. But lord it has left such a bitter taste in my mouth towards the genre in general.
Eric
April 20, 2015 @ 10:18 pm
I absolutely agree about how these award shows constantly demonstrate the need for real country music. I found myself fairly frustrated about the ACM too, though my expectations were very low to begin with. Having said that, there are a few points in this article that I disagree with:
1) In terms of song quality, this year’s ACM was a clear step up from last year, when the performances were dominated by bro-country. This year featured more classic country artists, and there were even some good performances from new artists such as Dierks Bentley. I will say that it exceeded my [admittedly low] expectations.
2) The whole point of flashiness in performances is an important one, but we disagree on the root of this phenomenon in country music. I do not think that this has anything specifically to do with the current generation of young people. TV has existed on a mass scale for 60 years or so, and its entire history has been flush with flashy shows, right from the variety show era. Young people (especially young men) have always enjoyed these props, as evidenced by the fact that pop and rock concerts have been defined by loud sounds, flashing lights, and dancing ever since the 1970s or earlier.
Country music, on the other hand, largely resisted these types of antics until the drastic shift of the last 4 years or so. What really changed during this period was the target demographic of the genre. Up through about 2010, middle-aged people (especially middle-aged women) constituted the core of this demographic. In the last 4 years, the country music industry has determinedly worked to appeal to young men, thus explaining both the rise of bro-country as well as the rise of pop/rock-like flashiness.
3) The discussion about Sam Hunt’s hair being “nonwhite” made me somewhat uncomfortable. I know that you did not necessarily mean it this way, but it is easy to conclude that this commentary (as well as from all the “white boy rap” jokes that often pop up in comment threads related to this topic) implies that hip-hop is for blacks and country music is for whites. This leaves your “indigenous culture” line, which is completely appropriate and correct in the musical context, quite vulnerable to an unfortunate racial interpretation.
Trigger
April 20, 2015 @ 10:26 pm
Eric (and anyone else who may be wondering about this point),
I purposefully played into the stereotypical ethnicity of Sam Hunt’s haircut to prove a point, which is that if not for things like Sam Hunt’s haircut, we’d never hear from the racist minority lurking in country music’s fandom. With it, it fuels the flames.
Trigger
April 21, 2015 @ 8:44 am
Also, the reason the 50th Annual ACM Awards were especially disheartening is because there was a hope with the historic show there would be a little more inclusion for older country artists. Also this time last year, we were talking about the country music format splitting, Sturgill Simpson had everyone’s hair on fire, and there were reasons for hope. This year so far, not so much. It feels like we’ll be stuck in this pattern forever.
Banner
April 20, 2015 @ 10:43 pm
The split happened years ago. Remember country and western? Nashville kept the country monicker but left out the western. George Strait was the last true western singer that I am aware of that has had any mainstream airplay. I would consider pretty much anything coming out of Texas (underground) to be western, Canadian artist Corb Lund and the late great Chris Ledoux. I think the dirge that is modern country will eventually lead to a resurgence of western music. Just my two cents. I know the site is called saving country music, but I believe that it is beyond saving. It has been on life support for twenty years now. When is it time to pull the plug? R.I.P. Country music. Long live western music. Anyone in my corner?
Albert
April 20, 2015 @ 11:07 pm
I always felt SHANIA was the watershed point for the end of country music . Her ‘ sex sells everything ‘ approach to videos , her trite, trite substance-less lyric song after song , her fake twang , her ” rock this country ‘ sound her exploitation of her divorce years later ….it was never about good songs . It was all about exploiting the genre and all things Shania and cashing in . Cut to the past few years and you see that EVERYONE in mainstream is taking the same approach ….trite , generic , safe , substance-less songs sung by anyone who wants to jump in there and has a few dollars to muster a following and put a bus on the road . Its like a sports league where nobody really cares about the rules or traditions …..it will never attract the greats . Mainstream music has no GREATS anymore and the route it has chosen will ensure that there will never be GREATS on mainstream country radio ever again . Why would anyone with real talent , real appreciation and respect for the traditions and the artists that have gone before , the classic songwriting , the incredible instrumentalists and vocalists want anything to do with the sham that CALLS itself ‘ country music ‘ today ? If you have even the slightest smarts and the smallest sense of awareness , you know that stuff isn’t even close to country music and will never satisfy your passions to be involved with REAL country music. So you WON’T get involved . And THAT is country music’s loss . The field is riddled with players who have NONE of the above …no respect or knowledge of traditions , no feelings for the people who made it all possible , no concern for what makes a great song great and no interest in knowing that. Why would any talented self-respecting artist /writer /player want to be associated with the people populating the genre today ??
Bear
April 20, 2015 @ 11:40 pm
I blamed Shania but fro different reasons. There has been banal lyrics in country before so I don’t fault her for that.
I theorize the decline really started and picked up speed when she released a pop and country version of the same album and the pop version sold more than the country version but both version counted towards sales and numbers (with regards to music history). After that the records execs saw real dollar signs. They could save money by not making country music (and hiring all those studio musicians to play banjo, pedal steel etc.) and simply make pop music because the masses prefer it but call it country so as to keep the genre alive for awards shows and other money making outlets the country fans (i.e. not the masses) often put there dollars into.
Eric
April 21, 2015 @ 12:11 am
I doubt that the switch to pop has anything to do with production costs. I would think that all of those electric guitarists cost money to hire as well, and digital tools don’t come cheap either.
The key here is the increased revenue, as shown by Shania’s sales.
Albert
April 20, 2015 @ 10:50 pm
Y’ know …that show IS what it IS . It’s designed to have something for everyone and its designed to be big and flashy . It’s theatre . Lord knows network TV needs to hang on to every last viewer it can muster by any means possible . Network TV has become as predictable and unadventurous ,as generic and as pandering as ANY form of entertainment….JUST LIKE MAINSTREAM COUNTRY MUSIC ! Its all part of the same desperate attempt by strawgraspers to find a demographic – ANY demographic – in order to generate ad revenue and justify their existence TO SPONSORS . Preying on the naive, uninformed , impressionable , pop-culture-addicted youth is an almost surefire way of selling anything . And by default , you sell to their ‘keepers’ ….moms and dads , grammas and grampas , older sisters and brothers etc. The keepers buy the merch and watch the show or listen to the song just because it’s on while they are doing their job as ‘keepers’ .
Most people like/tolerate/can live with and have no issues with music in general but most people are not music FANS , contrary to what we might LIKE to think. MOST people hear a nursery rhyme put to a beat and they are pacified . That must be a song …right ? It sounds like a song . There’s a beat and there’s people saying/singing …something or other . That MUST be a song ! Anyone with enough $$$$ behind them can exploit THAT scenario at will . Its done ALL THE TIME . This ACM show is a perfect example of that. If it sounds like a song and its flashy and the people are pretty and there’s some lights involved and its on TV , for Gods sakes ……IT MUST BE GOOD !! It is what it is .
Eric
April 20, 2015 @ 10:55 pm
The mainstream country demographic isn’t quite THAT young. The core fans are young adults, not children.
Fuzzy TwoShirts
April 21, 2015 @ 2:53 pm
Eric: if you see either of the Kip Moore articles you can read the work of a commenter called Jake, who is part of the target fanbase, and is obviously a child, as evidenced by his whining to Trigger when people disagreed with him. I also went to see an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical and had the misfortune of sitting in front of two thirteen year old boys talking about Luke Bryan. I dare bet the target market is children.
Eric
April 21, 2015 @ 10:47 pm
If that were the target demographic, then the mainstream country stars would have been much younger. The top figures most certainly would not be men in their late 30s (Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean, Blake Shelton).
bloozer
April 20, 2015 @ 11:39 pm
No one is more disappointed in the state of this musical genre than me but my opinion is chet atkins and owen bradley started the decay a long time ago with the “nashville sound” and now it’s snow balling so fast now you can’t stop it. You can only hope that what ever phase of country you like remains when the town burns to the ground. Do yourself a favor and go out and find your brand and listen to it, love it, spread the gospel of it, support it and stop beating this dead horse. Unless you’re into that sort of thing.
Bear
April 20, 2015 @ 11:42 pm
Ooo Countrypolitan… give me some sweeping Lynn Anderson or Charlie Rich… those were the days. Still more country than Sam Hunt.
And I miss the thumbs up button, Trigger. 🙁
Trigger
April 21, 2015 @ 8:46 am
“Like” buttons are back. They have to be turned off upon occasion because they’re buggy. Still working the kinks out on the redesign.
Scott
April 21, 2015 @ 12:20 am
Is Saving Country Music, saving country music? Or is it just a platform for people to scream for help on a sinking ship? I guess we’ll find out one day. Are The Good Times Really Over For Good?
Trigger
April 21, 2015 @ 8:49 am
Saving Country Music is an ongoing effort to attempt to turn around the direction of the genre, or at the least rage against the dying of the light to let folks know we didn’t give up on the music intentionally. In many respects, country music will never be saved, because as soon as it is saved, the same cycles that plague country music today will begin again. Country music has been saved many times. And it will be saved again in the future. It’s an eternal struggle.
Applejack
April 21, 2015 @ 3:22 am
I skipped most of Sunday night’s show in favor of following the live blog, but the comments about the stark contrast between the legacy artists and the modern performers on the show did not surprise me. It seems that what has been lost in country music today is not just traditional musical influences, but the core of the song-singing tradition itself: the ability for a performer to simply stand on a stage and convey an emotion by performing a (complete) song.
Applejack
April 21, 2015 @ 3:25 am
Anyway, regarding Sam Hunt’s hair, and what it might represent:
A year removed from the height of the bro-country tailgate craze, it is clear that the direction mainstream country is heading in is even further away from anything that is recognizable as country music. I think that is going to be the absolute last straw for a lot of folks, especially the mainstream-leaning country fans who were hanging on hoping the bro-country trend was just some sort of anomaly. If the mainstream country establishment is not going to initiate a formal split in the genre, as some had hoped, then I guess it’s up to the “real” country music audience to file for divorce. They have every right to – not only has country music irrevocably changed, it has been downright adulterous, shamelessly flirting with and pursuing other genres in front of the entire world. Even on its “anniversary,” for god’s sake. (Nick Jonas, Steven Tyler, “Xtina,” and so on.)
I think what needs to be created is a nationwide network of independent country music stations that can entirely break away from the top 40 format, basically like the Texas country / Red Dirt concept, but on a national scale. Use terrestrial radio, the internet, social media, and whatever other tools are available.
From there we establish the Independent Country Music Awards.
I know, easier said than done.
Trigger
April 21, 2015 @ 8:54 am
Part of the problem is the independent ranks of country music are so divided and so full of infighting, they’re never strong enough to offer a real alternative. Texas has done a great job, but even there you have Dale launching Ameripolitan, and others starting their own splinter organizations because they don’t like Ameripolitan. Amperipolitan was set up because Dale didn’t like Americana. Americana and Texas country seem like two completely different worlds. Anyone heard from Shooter’s XXX lately? Each new attempt to make an alternative to Nashville only makes the slices of independent fans thinner.
Jim Z
April 21, 2015 @ 10:09 am
Americana and Texas country ARE two different worlds. with two different charts and very little crossover.
Applejack
April 21, 2015 @ 3:47 pm
Part of the problem is the independent ranks of country music are so divided and so full of infighting, they”™re never strong enough to offer a real alternative.
Yeah. It seems like country music is splintering into pieces.
There is also another small country music faction: the Nashville / East Nashville “indie country” scene which has been gaining ground in recent years. (Not that that group involves any kind of formal association or infrastructure.) Oh, and of course there is also bluegrass, which is this whole other alternate universe unto itself.
Anyway, all I’m saying is, if you took most of the big performers on the bill for Willie’s 4th of July Picnic and the show at Billy Bob’s, plus add in a few other key names like Brandy Clark, Wade Bowen, and Aaron Watson, and put all those folks on a radio format, people would listen to it. The phenomenon of mainstream country turning into EDM-pop, R&B, and every other kind of music but country is going to leave a giant hole in the market, with vast swaths of underserved, unsatisfied listeners.
Americana and Texas country ARE two different worlds. with two different charts and very little crossover.
That seems to be true, although artists like Sturgill Simpson and Jason Isbell are part of the Americana infrastructure, and they seem to resonate with a lot of Texas country fans. Especially Sturgill. I think they were both even both nominated for those Lonestar Music Awards. And there also other performers who I think could bridge the gap between those audiences – Lee Ann Womack springs to mind, for example.
Then again, it is hard to imagine how the American crowd would react to a guy like Aaron Watson, what with his smooth, 90’s country sheen.
Brandon F
April 22, 2015 @ 8:13 am
“I guess it”™s up to the “real” country music audience to file for divorce.”
This is where I’m at with country currently. The only country station I can listen to on FM radio for more than a few minutes right now is 101.5 HANK FM in Dayton. They play “the icons of country music”. Hank, Hank Jr, Merle, George Jones, George Strait, Don Williams, Keith Whitley, and more women than the mainstream stations in Dayton and Cincinnati. And thanks to Sam Hunt, I now switch from the country station to the top 40 station when he comes on and then have to switch again because they are playing the same song.
I use Spotify in my car at least 75% of the time now. I can choose who I want to listen to, when I want to listen to it, with better quality than FM, and zero ads. Turn off the radio, pay for a Spotify subscription or pay for downloads from iTunes or Google, go to as many concerts as you can, buy t-shirts, posters, or whatever you can. Sturgill is proof that artists can sustain without support from radio, the Academy, or the Country Music Association.
Jared
April 21, 2015 @ 4:56 am
If I had a haircut like that my wife would want a divorce too…irreconcilable differences…no once can get past that much douchbaggery. Great article Trig.
Charlie
April 21, 2015 @ 5:04 am
Country music is in the state it is in because musicians are bad businesspersons. That is the root cause. ‘Outsiders’ flock in lured by big money. The result is too many people with good business sense and bad musical sense. Nashville is their Mecca.
In that context, quoting Taylor Swift makes sense, as she seems to be a rare exception to that rule.
The solution is the sum force of everything that weakens the Nashville oligarchy that controls the business of country music.
Behave as if #NashvilleDoesn’tExist
Dogit
April 21, 2015 @ 6:28 am
Excellent article by Trigger! IMO, the best yet. I love country music. I mean love it. I have loved it since I was 4 years old. Country music is my connection with my grand paw who passed on many years ago. I can still play the songs we enjoyed together. Country radio offers nothing for me to want to share with my kids. I don’t think we will ever have those moments like me and my grand paw had. Moments were a grown adult and a young kid can like or relate to the music and enjoy it together. My kids are exposed to excellent country music, but you will not find any of it on the radio. It is an absolute shame what Nashville selling as country music. The format must split.
BTW: I do like Dieks latest Album Riser. Riser is the best song on it too. Glad to hear it may be a single.
Albert
April 21, 2015 @ 3:07 pm
“Country radio offers nothing for me to want to share with my kids. I don”™t think we will ever have those moments like me and my grand paw had. ….”
Man …THIS sums it up . There is no tradition left in what they are shoveling at us as country music . NOTHING to share or remember or pass on ….nothing inspiring instrumentally or melodically , nothing that evokes memories and emotion …..No REAL experience outside of lust and puppy love .
Allen
April 21, 2015 @ 7:07 am
I heard a song the other day and made me think about the current trend in “country” music ( country being used vaguely). It was something by Gretchen Wilson and it made me think back to when that whole Redneck woman and Big and Rich era hit big. Everyone was so into it and made it out to be the best thing since sliced bread. Now i ask, when is the last time anyone from that little time period has done anything in the mainstream of country? Yes Big and Rich had a new song out but it’s not like it was a game changer.
My point is people got tired of the fad of the redneck, big and rich stuff and moved on, just like I think will happen here. I tuned in to the ACM’s strictly to see George, Alan and Dierks. Dierks is a one of the few mainstream artists that i can listen to. The rest of the show, or 30 minutes i watched, made me want to throw up in my mouth. When Sam Hunt came out, I seriously wanted to throw my remote at the tv for him even being allowed to be called country. But when the powers that sit up on the hill make it all about commercial appeal and money, it makes perfect sense.
Country music as a whole right now is a pure laughing stock. The ratings decline and lack of substance will catch up to it one day (hopefully soon) and people will realize how ridiculous this music is and hopefully bring back a traditional sound. The only thing we can do is hope the people who buy the Sam Hunt, FGL, Aldean, Bryan, Swindell, Bert and Ernie’s they realize what crap really is and stop buying their music and make them obsolete.
I will continue to support the independent movement, red dirt, Texas country (mind you there is bad Texas music out there too), and Americana. It’s like I was told as a young buck, the beauty of freedom of choice is if you don’t like it, you don’t have to listen, watch or pay for it. Rant over.
MH
April 21, 2015 @ 9:01 am
Definitely ALOT of bad Texas music out there.
Eric
April 21, 2015 @ 11:42 am
“The only thing we can do is hope the people who buy the Sam Hunt, FGL, Aldean, Bryan, Swindell, Bert and Ernie”™s they realize what crap really is and stop buying their music and make them obsolete.”
No, the people who buy those albums will never be fans of anything resembling actual country. Our best hope is that those people abandon the genre entirely. Thankfully, if the recent data about the exodus of the bro-country demographic is correct, this phenomenon has already begun.
CAH
April 21, 2015 @ 8:06 am
Country music certainly needs to broaden its appeal to the gangbanger community.
This should do it.
I don’t know who Sam Hunt is, but I think I can guess his brand of music.
I don’t watch any awards shows, but to have some legitimacy, they should be about the music.
JC Eldredge
April 21, 2015 @ 10:14 am
I’m waiting for the “purist” backlash to commence at any moment on Brett Eldredge’s new single released today. He’s been pretty much given a pass so far in the bro hate because he can actually sing, but I think Lose My Mind is going to open the floodgates. I’m a fan of his, but I’m a bit shocked at how different this song is compared to everything on his first album. I was really hoping that when his new stuff started dropping that he wouldn’t feel the need to move towards the Sam Hunt movement, but this new single is headed straight for the barber chair to gets its stripes.
Jason
April 21, 2015 @ 2:18 pm
That song needs to be ripped apart. When you go from songs like “One Mississippi” and “Raymond” to that, I think backlash is well deserved.
JC Eldredge
April 21, 2015 @ 3:31 pm
I agree. There were still several solid songs on his album that could have been released, this one is just not up to par.
Scott
April 21, 2015 @ 10:29 am
We’ll probably see Kanye West presenting next year.
Jackie
April 21, 2015 @ 1:36 pm
Such a well written explanation on the current state of affairs in what’s called country music. Thank you!! In my opinion, the situation is much like what’s going on with our country in general: If my friend thinks it’s good, then I will, too. If the cool people that I want to be like are fond of something, then it must be good so I will get behind it–I don’t need to know if it’s good, or if it’s right…it doesn’t matter. Being part of the in crowd is the most important thing today. Thank God I was able to grow up on real country music–I feel like I’ve been given a gift that is currently being denied to millions.
MR. Lucky
April 21, 2015 @ 2:00 pm
“Wigger” is not a racist term, and Sam Hunt is a wannabe wigger.
pete marshall
April 21, 2015 @ 3:24 pm
Sam Hunt is a big joke and he is not a country singer. I don’t like his hairdo it looks stupid. What a tool.
Country Winston Churchill
April 21, 2015 @ 3:50 pm
We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in Nashville, we shall fight on the radio and television, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength on the air, we shall defend our music against the corporate bro-country menace, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the concert grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender!!!!!
We must not let pop country win!!
James
April 21, 2015 @ 5:09 pm
I respect a lot of what you have to say about music, and often the artists you recommend are spot on. However, the tone of this article is a bit unsettling. It comes across racist and homophobic, and I’ve read you long enough to know that would be a misjudgment of your character or intentions.
For what it’s worth, I’m a newer country fan, arriving via “alt country,” and even had a momentary layover in “bro country” land. My tastes range from hip hop and electronica, to roots and bluegrass. Sometimes it feels like you really don’t want people like me among your precious “real country” listeners. If you purged the crossover fans like me who have stuck with country, and intend to stick with it long after the bro bubble bursts, your listening demographic is going to get slimmer and slimmer, then country really will be relegated to the small niche category of “ethnic music.”
Jazz has continually innovated since it emerged over a century ago, now sounding nothing like the original ragtime and bebop that used to be the orthodoxies of the jazz world. It’s ok to innovate, just as it’s ok to call out people who are clearly faking it. But lighten up a little. The world isn’t all white and straight, and the ones who aren’t shouldn’t feel unwelcome in a genre like country that is much like jazz in the sense that the orthodoxies threaten to leave the sound and the listening demographics static and stagnant.
Just two cents from a gay, non-white country fan who can’t stand Sam Hunt either.
Trigger
April 21, 2015 @ 7:41 pm
I respectfully disagree with your assessment that this is homophobic or racist in any way.
James
April 22, 2015 @ 4:46 pm
Thanks for the replies. As I’ve read through the full stream of comments, I feel no need to argue my point further since I think Trigger did a good job at explaining his point. It was really more of a gut-level impression that I felt was worth digesting a bit.
Fuzzy TwoShirts
April 22, 2015 @ 5:09 am
James: I think you missed the message; these bro and Sham Hunt types aren’t making country music, they’re making pop music. this article is meant to point out that Sham Hunt is deliberately doing things contrary to the traditions of the genre, which has traditionally been White and Conservative. Jazz music, since you brought it up, was traditionallly music by and for the colored man, as evidenced by the tragic story of Bix Beiderbecke, who wanted to play Jazz with the colored men, but couldn’t due to segregation. Jazz, more importantly, though ever evolving, has never strayed so far from it’s roots, even as it changed, it was always Jazz. Country Music has abandoned itself in pursuit of what Pop music has always had. Miles Davis fuzed Jazz to Rock, but he never threw away the Jazz. Sham Hunt isn’t fusing Country with Pop, he straight up abandoned the Country.
James
April 22, 2015 @ 4:50 pm
I was referring to crossover fans as “people like me.”
Jack Williams
April 22, 2015 @ 5:46 pm
Sure, but you also wrote this:
The world isn”™t all white and straight, and the ones who aren”™t shouldn”™t feel unwelcome in a genre like country
Anyway, many of us are crossover fans. Myself, I crossed over from rock and blues and didn’t buy my first album from the country section of a record store until I was 27. I’ve seen many comments from people who crossed over from metal.
Jack Williams
April 22, 2015 @ 7:43 am
Sometimes it feels like you really don”™t want people like me among your precious “real country” listeners.
Is this comment really directed at Trigger? If so, speaking as someone who has been a regular reader for a good number of years, I think you’re wrong. And speaking just for myself, I’m happy when a black person in particular expresses fondness for country music, because it seems to me that many think it’s a joke and there are others who are afraid to admit that they like it. I remember watching an interview with Rhiannon Giddens of the Carolina Chocolate Drops where she described how sometimes a black person will come up to her after a show and admit that they “always liked country music” as if it were a secret they were keeping.
Eric
April 22, 2015 @ 1:52 pm
Good sentiment. We don’t know if he’s black, though. He just said that he’s “non-white”.
CountryKnight
April 21, 2015 @ 6:18 pm
I have a problem with the way country artists dress. I will admit it. They don’t look country or classy. The awards shows were better whenever everyone wore suits and ties and dresses, it may not have been super blue collar, but there was a sense of pride. Now we have un-country hairstyles, clothes, dresses, etc. I’m sorry. We (the world) need to draw a line against relativism.
Country Heroes
April 21, 2015 @ 8:26 pm
Personally I don’t listen to any country radio.. But I’d like to see the likes of George Strait, Alan Jackson and other “older” artists that are similar separate themselves from the younger generation. Boycott going to these award shows. No need to show support to an industry who disrespects them every chance they get..They’ll still have their fans even without the support of Nashville. They can go their own direction and the pop country crowd can go theirs. Eventually it’ll separate the genre and we’ll see who lasts.
washita volksart
April 21, 2015 @ 9:21 pm
i think it started going downhill with the “urban cowboy” movie. blame it on travolta and the downtown secretary types that came onboard about then.
Chris
April 21, 2015 @ 10:56 pm
This haircut reveals that he still has the claw marks from his deal with the devil.
dukes
April 22, 2015 @ 11:38 am
Well said, Hoss.
Mark f
April 22, 2015 @ 12:14 pm
in the late sixties, country music fans used to laugh at us hippie kids with long hair;
Rock bands I was in stopped at truck stops; the truckers liked calling us “girls” .
25 years later the country crowd all sported long hair, and the guys wear necklaces.
If this guy’s music was more to your liking, you’d probably overlook his hair.
Scott
April 23, 2015 @ 11:03 am
Even John Denver is rolling over in his grave.