It gets airplay, just not on shitty corporate ClearChannel stations or Monday Night Football intros.
EDIT: In case anyone needs a pick-me-up after that:
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reminded me of Robbie Fulks (in a good way)
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So as an American expat who has been living in Europe for almost 30 years, all I need to know is that this whole “country” is about the equivalent of the boy bands of the '90s? Stuff that is made by conglomerates? Gotcha. Kind of glad I never, ever hear the stuff.
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And both currently on Netflix for those who use it.
Just “stadium country,” which is what’s being mocked here. There’s plenty of alternative country, Americana, folk, and bluegrass that hews closer to authenticity or creative reimagining of traditional sources. You can’t dismiss an entire broad genre based on some popular pandering examples. You wouldn’t judge all theater by goofy commedia dell’arte, regardless of its popularity.
Listen to this:
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Yeah, looks like this struck a nerve. There is new country that is good, I am well aware of that, but I still gravitate back to Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard and that era more than anything. This album came out in the mid- 70’s and was completely forgotten, seems the label decided to only release it on 8-track tape (those original 8-tracks are now $200 on ebay if you can find them.) A lot of folks will know Jimmie Dale Gilmore, he still tours, and was “Smokey” the pacifist bowler in “The Big Lebowski.” Whenever I talk country music with someone I mention this album as perhaps the turning point when “Nashville” lost its way, going more rock/pop instead of folk.
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I agree, I do know (and like) Calexico, as well as any act that can make it into the weather on Welcome To Night Vale. My parents raised me on Simon and Garfunkel, on Joni Mitchell and Gordon Lightfoot, so I have an ingrained love of storytellers and folk. “Country” when I left in the 1980’s was already on the road to being even more formulaic than haircut metal, another genre I ignored due to its lack of originality.
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I love these guys! They recently played in Austin. Sadly i was not able to go but i’m a fairly big fan. There’s also The Devil Makes Three.
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I think a lot of the root elements of old school country have migrated to other genres like folk, blues and bluegrass. I’m pretty big into folk and i don’t necessarily consider it country, but checking out some of the posted country videos i see the similarities.
Psst…folk came before country, not the other way around!
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I know but i’m thinking of current folk music. I also listen to some bands and artists that are considered “anti-folk” but sound pretty folksy to me 
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So what is that? Detroit Techno comes to mind as a nice folk-opposite genre.
Aw yeah.
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Lol honestly i don’t know. I don’t really think too much about music genres because they often times seem fairly arbitrary
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I hate these kinds of bands. Y’know, today I’m going to be indoors most of the day at the computer. As soon as I get done with this, I’m going to be writing copy for a good chunk of the day before I go get my kids, and tagging photos this evening. But I’m literally surrounded by corn and bean fields. It’s not a favorite activity, but I’ve spent a fair amount of time cutting firewood. I spent a good chunk of my childhood doing stuff like working out in the gardens at my parents and grandparents, hauling wood, hauling hay, cleaning out chicken houses, herding my grandma’s small herd of cattle, and so on.
FGL, man. One of them is from Daytona Beach, and the other is from Atlanta. C’mon, I’m more country than FGL. And I’m with you, that whole thing of giving lip service to Jesus is pure pandering. “At least they ain’t afraid to say it!” Yeah, so to those folks I grew up with who hated Obama so much, why is it okay for FGL to just pay lip service, but when Obama said, “I agree, Jesus Christ is the Lord,” why does that make you angry? And I didn’t even mention Rascal Flatts, who are from Columbus.
Then there’s guys like Luke Bryan. I mean, at least he’s from a rural spot, but his music’s about the same as everybody else’s. As far as I can tell, his music is aimed at people who fetishize country living. Sorry, country fetishizers, if you go huntin’, fishin’, and lovin’ every day, you’re going to go broke in a hurry.
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Yeah, Luke Bryan, he’s another one who drives me nuts. Every time I hear his music, I can’t for the life of me figure out what distinguishes it from Top 40 pop music. And I like some Top 40. If they’d just call it that, I still wouldn’t like his music, but it wouldn’t drive me nearly as crazy.
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Yep. Fake country designed to get idiots to buy albums.
I see these people all the time going to concerts. They’re dressing up like they think country people dress, but they’re suburban as hell and it shows.
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I like Robbie Fulks.
Fountains Of Wayne Hotline is a good one, and I like this one too:
If you like Robbie Fulks, you might like Jon Langford as well.
That’s a Bob Dylan song. It’s not the best Dylan song, and it’s not the best OCMS song either.
Listen to all of Tennessee Pusher if you like this song.
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Thanks for all the pointers, fellow Boingers! I know how I’ll be spending some of a rainy Saturday, from the streets of suburbia, exposing my own young’uns to some real authenticity.
I realized years ago that country was taking a right turn down Fake Street. My perspective, it started happening around the start of the 90s. My term has been Corporate Country, but Stadium Country works too, I guess.
In the late 80s, I won backstage tix to see Alan Jackson. That was cool, he’s a real tall, lanky dude. Then I went and saw him early/mid 2000s, and he’s hawkin’ Ford trucks with some of his older songs. #sellout is what I called him.
Out of all this, I also discovered bluegrass, folk, Americana. All the better for it, and even my little girl is playing bluegrass fiddle.
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