Never before had someone expressed my feelings better than I could myself, but Jaime-Paul Falcon did just this in his review of the Florida Georgia Line and Jason Aldean concert at the Gexa Energy Pavilion in Dallas on October 25th. I do not like bro-country because it is not real country. If I showed you a picture of two guys dressed in jeans with chains hanging from their belts and cut-off shirts (that had their own band’s logo on it..) that show their tattoo-covered arms, I doubt you would guess that they are considered to be country artists. I doubt this because country artists are typically considered to be classy, all American boys/girls. Bro-country artists include rap in their songs, which makes no sense to me, wear outfits like the ones I just described, and have no real musical talent (in my opinion). I know I sound harsh, but I just can’t help how much I dislike bro country.
And neither can Jaime-Paul Falcon. He explained my feelings about bro-country better than I ever could. He stated that he would “gladly endure [ebola] so long as I never again have to suffer the experience of sitting seven rows back from the stage while Florida-George Line and Jason Aldean gleefully danced on the grave of one of the most purely American forms of art”. Harsh, but true. So many country artists in the past (George Strait, Conway Twitty, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Loretta Lynn – the list goes on and on) have made great songs that had meaningful lyrics, beautiful instrumentation, and are genuinely good quality songs and bands like Florida Georgia Line and Jason Aldean are most likely making some of these artists roll over in their graves.
These great artists didn’t make songs about drinking booze and picking up girls in their jacked up pickup trucks – they sang about love, heartbreak, and the country lives they actually lived. Tyler Hubbard and Scott Stapp of Florida Georgia Line and Jason Aldean did not grow up on farms or live the lives they describe in their songs. And neither did their audience. As Falcon described it, “I swear it’s like the people who love these songs don’t realize that none of them are actually farmers”. Jason Aldean and Florida Georgia Line also constantly sing about partying and drinking beer and getting girls. That’s not what I want to listen to – I want to hear about love and living the best life possible.
I definitely recommend reading this review for any country fan, especially those who do not think bro-country is real country music. It is humorous, witty, and in my opinion, true. Bro-country is not country music. I’ll admit, I often catch myself bobbing my head to songs like “When She Says Baby” and I know every word to “Cruise”, but I do not think these are good quality songs or are real country.
I find it funny that the post directly before this one takes pretty much the opposite stance as you. Obviously music tastes vary, but Bro Country seems to be particularly polarizing. Personally I don’t hate Bro Country, but its not usually something I seek out to listen to on my own time. I do want to point out though that not all of Florida Georgia Line’s songs are all about partying. They’re pretty successful song writers and if you haven’t heard their version of “Black Tears” you might want to check it out and see what you think about that. Right now the demand is for drinking songs, so that’s what record labels are pushing for singles. Do you think a country artist has to be from a farming background to be authentic? I’m not sure if I agree with that. Willy Nelson isn’t your typical country artist image, but I don’t think anyone would dispute his belonging in the genre. It just comes back to the same question, what is country?
Thanks, Ramie, for this post. Like I mentioned in class today, I think I may use the article that you linked for my class next semester. Also, I think it is interesting that you dismiss “Bro country” artists as much for their appearance as their music. It is so hard to separate people’s image from the art they produce. I would if we should?