About Me

Comedy

Since I can remember, music and comedy have been major parts in my life. From an early age, my mom in particular began exposing me to her favorite forms of comedy. I remember spending weekend nights watching Whose Line is it Anyway with her on the couch. Although I didn’t always understand what was going on, I remember laughing a lot. As I grew up, I was introduced to the best of SNL skits and stand up comedians. I fell in love with comedians like Bill Burr, Louis CK, and Brian Regan early on, and eventually found the likes of Dave Chappelle, Katt Williams, Chris Rock, Eddie Murphy, and George Carlin. In middle school, my sister and I didn’t miss a night of SNL, which was during some of their golden years that included cast members Bill Hader, Andy Samberg, Kristen Wiig, Jason Sudeikis, Kenan Thompson, Fred Armisen, Jay Pharoah, Taran Killam, Will Forte, Vanessa Bayer, Rachel Dratch, Seth Meyers, Tina Fey, and Bobby Moynihan. To this day, I still rewatch some of these episodes and remember simpler times. As I entered high school, I was introduced to Barstool Sports and the Onion, and thus a whole new world of comedy was opened up to me. As much as the music, this blog is inspired by the various comedy blogs I’ve loved over the years.

Music

My parents in general, but again my mom in particular, were classic rock fans. I grew up listening to the likes of James Taylor, Eagles, Bruce Springsteen, and Don Mclean to name a few. My dad, while enjoying that music, was also a major jazz, blues, and classical music fan. While I can’t recite these albums and songs I heard growing up like I can with classic rock, it’s influence was just as great. As I grew up, I continued to explore new genres and listen to more and more of the genres I already knew. In the classic rock genre, I began to dive more into Eagles, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and Jimi Hendrix. The first genre I ever listened to that wasn’t an influence of my parents was rap. Starting with Eminem, and somehow progressing chronologically backwards (I guess I always was an old soul), I became enamored with 90s rap. Specifically, I couldn’t get enough of the likes of Nas, Wu-Tang (and all their solo albums), Mobb Deep, Biggie, Pac, Outkast, Tribe Called Quest, NWA, Ice Cube, Three Six Mafia, Geto Boys, Smif n Wessun, Snoop, Jay Z, Big L, and the list goes on. I of course also listened to Slim Shady adjacent artists like 50 Cent and his group G-Unit, Rocye da 5’9″ and his group Slaughterhouse, and Slim’s group D12. But I also listened to the newer artists of that time. I was going into high school the summer Kendrick dropped good kid, m.A.A.d city. This became the summer anthem for my brothers and me. Other artists of that era like Joey Badass, ASAP Rocky, Kid Cudi, Kanye, Schoolboy Q, J. Cole, Jay Z (every decade is this dude’s era), and many others were also mixed in.

Somehow, after diving full into rap, country music became the next genre I decided to obsess over. I know, going from rap to country music seems like quite the bizarre jump. However, upon reflection it isn’t that weird. I’ve always loved songs that tell a story, be that a story that I can relate to or find intriguing. I’ve also always loved music that felt authentic, like the story being told had been experienced by the artist. I think good music, regardless of the genre, is the artists channel to process trauma and struggle. I think at the core of every great song, even the upbeat ones, is struggle. Looking at the rap I listen to and the classic rock before that, it makes sense that a lyrical, story telling genre would be the next one to tackle.

Country Music

My journey through country music fandom is actually a major part of why I started this blog. Today, country music is the genre I listen to the most, with rap at a close second. However, because of how I’ve progressed through the genre, I’ve developed some strong opinions on it. And these opinions are almost entirely around what constitutes good or “real” country music and what I believe to be a bastardization of the genre. When I first got into country music, I mostly listened to the pop/radio country sub-genre. Artists like Eric Church, Zac Brown Band, Kenny Chesney, Billy Currington, Brad Paisley, Blake Shelton, the Cadillac Three, Tim McGraw, Jon Pardi, and Toby Keith. I also sprinkled in some 80s/90s country greats like Travis Tritt, George Straight, Alan Jackson, and Brooks and Dunn. Now, if you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m one of those assholes who hates the current radio/pop country sound. I promise I’ve tried to, but I simply just can’t stand the new iteration of pop country.

Before I tear apart the new era of pop/radio country, let me offer an olive branch. There are similarities between the pop/radio country of today and the pop/radio country that I once listened to. A lot of the songs are the same. Same messaging, same tropes, same stories, same everything. I also recognize my bias. Part of why I loved those songs then was because I was in high school and early college. I was a blindly patriotic white kid living the stereotypical white kid in high school and early college experience. As a result, the songs about drinking, girls, bonfires, patriotism, and partying in fields or at house parties was relatable. And at the time, country music served as a pseudo-vision board for me. These songs either reflected my life in a way or painted a stereotypical pretty picture that I wanted my life to be like. But that’s because I was an immature 15 to 19 year old, which, I’m proud to say, I’m not anymore. While I look back at many of those songs and wonder what the hell I was ever thinking to have enjoyed them the way I did, they also hold a level of nostalgia for me. So I can still put them on ever so often now and recognize the hot garbage they are, but enjoy them because they offer a brief hit of youth and innocence. Also, generally referring to those songs by the artists I mentioned as hot garbage is just that, a generalization. There is a vast number of songs those artists made that are great songs and tell real stories in a beautiful way and are songs I still listen to. I digress. Acknowledging my bias, the new era suffers because it doesn’t offer me the nostalgia that those songs of yester year offer, but also the sound now is just so much worse. It’s over-produced, sounds computerized, uses hip-hop beats, and sometimes even just straight up blurs the lines separating the two genres. As a lover of both rap and country, the melding of the two is one of the worst things the music industry has ever allowed to happen and it makes me sick to my stomach every time I hear it. They are both their own genres for a reason.

That brings us to today. My country music fandom is of what has become labeled as the folk/americana/bluegrass subgenre(s), but what I just group together as “Outlaw Country” or “Real Country”. The list of artists that fall under this grouping include Tyler Childers, Jason Isbell, Sturgill Simpson, Turnpike Troubadours, Colter Wall, Billy Strings, Sierra Ferrell, Luke Bell, Charley Crockett, Charles Wesley Godwin, Waylon Jennings, Hank Williams, Hank Jr., Jerry Jeff Walker, Willie Nelson, David Allen Coe (whose song “You Never Even Called Me by My Name” is the inspiration of the name of the blog), George Jones, Johnny Paycheck, Gary Stewart, Townes Van Zandt, and many others like these. These artists have such a beautiful ability to tell stories and the music accompanying the lyrics is always with real instruments that take real talent to play at the level they do. This music is my religion, and these artists are my gods.

Why This Blog Exists

The inspiration for this blog is The Hard Times News. For those not familiar, Hard Times is a blog that centers around the punk music scene. In my opinion, they are some of the funniest people going on the internet these days. They produce hilarious satirical articles about anything and everything, ranging from ranked lists like which NHL mascots are most likely to kick your ass to commentary on the cultures and content of the punk scene. As a novice fan of that genre, I can say you don’t need to be a die hard fan – or even a fan at all – of that type of music to enjoy their content. They’re one of the best follows out there.

Anyway, after following them for some time, I got to thinking, why isn’t there a version of this for country? Thus, You Never Even Read My Blog was born. What I hope to do is create a place where fans of country music can come together. I want a place where we can all laugh at some good ole fashion satire and share our love for the music that gets us through each day. I want this to be a collaborative space. A space where people can share the artists they love or have recently discovered. The number of talented artists out there seems to be infinite, as I stumble upon new artists on a regular basis, and I’m always looking for more. One of my favorite things about art forms are their ability to unite. Unity is something that we seem to need desperately today. At the same time unity can also cause division when walls are put up, case in point my view of what’s “Real Country” and what isn’t, but I think that division only takes hold if you take yourself or what you read online too seriously. This is a place where you leave “taking shit seriously” at the door. At the end of the day, my word is not god’s, and the ribbing I will give to the “other side”, or anyone for that matter, is all in good fun. I have my opinions and others are allowed to have their own. That is the beautiful part of this country we live in. While there’s a lot of shit we’ve fucked up, we still have that basic right. To sum it up, you take anything I say on here too seriously, you’re doing yourself a disservice!

While this blog will be primarily a country music centric blog, it will ever so often dip it’s toes in the waters of other genres. If you’ve read my About Me, you know I listen to a range of music types, as I’m sure many of you do. Regardless of the genre, most definitely expect anniversary posts for artist death dates and release dates of all-time albums, random appreciation posts, and really whatever else comes to my scattered mind. As I’m known to do, it looks like I’m rambling on, so I’ll put a pin in it. With all that, welcome to You Never Even Read My Blog!

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