About this Playlist
Country is both the most popular and most polarizing genre in music. We all know people that LOVE Country music, and we all personally HATE country music. How is that possible? Are all these fans of the honky tonk simply devoid of taste, self-respect, and emotional intelligence? Hmmm, I’ll answer that in a second.
This playlist is for those of us that love the origins of the genre (blues, rock, R&B). We love the parents, but the kids are a bunch of whining, privileged annoyances. What you WON’T hear on this playlist:
Bro-Country or Hick-Hop (rap for people scared of rappers)
Country Pop (sorry Swifties)
What you WILL hear is unmistakably Country, the core sounds and themes that made it the soundtrack of choice for outlaws, moonshiners, gamblers, and ruckus-starters. You’ll also hear hand-picked selections from the softer side of the genre, the blues-inspired songs about unrequited love, mental health deficiencies, and the ensuing self-medication (usually whiskey).
Back to the opening question: are Country fans missing the “taste in music” gene? No, just like any genre, the headliners of the genre succumb to the lowest common denominator and become synonymous with frat boys who wear flip-flops and snapbacks backwards, SEC football tailgaters who wear boat shoes, and line dancing that is both the easiest and most complex activity ever attempted by a sloshed grandmother. I’ve excavated past all of that to bring you what I feel is the heart of the genre, both past and current. You’re in a safe space: the only Florida-Georgia Line I acknowledge is the one I drive through to get to Disney World.
