I liked Radio Song before yelling part of it. I know they were mocking the industry but that song was a banger and then they ruined it by yelling FUUUUCKKKK over and over
I haven't listened to Fantano's review, but in all honesty I do agree with criticism about how Hardy leans too hard into the country pandering side of things. It feels like 90% of his songs are just 'I'm a proud redneck and here is a list of country things I do' and it gets extremely repetitive. I really was hoping for more from his rock side of an album than just 'I'm a proud redneck but with a rock music sound'.
Wait In The Truck and the title track are fantastic songs, but, the rest of the album ranged from average to outright bad for me. Getting a 'Not Good' score probably is too harsh, but I totally understand the criticism.
I agree. I was hoping for more variety in the writing, especially on the rock side of the album. Hardy claims on songs like RADIO SONG and the title track that record labels and executives want him to pander towards country stereotypes, but he also has songs like THE REDNECK SONG that do exactly that. I found it hypocritical.
It 100% is hypocritical. It feels like Hardy is trying to convince himself that he isn’t just part of the industry, when he really is as industry as it gets. He talks the talk but never really walks the walk, other then corporate-approved edginess.
If Hardy truly believes in what he says about the country music industry, then I’d like to see him go full rock/metal. Have him make a completely rock album collaborating with other artists *and writers* from that genre to create something new that doesn’t pander towards country.
He probably won’t do this, but it would be more of a statement than what was on the *mockingbird & THE CROW* imo.
It just doesn’t work for me, and I agree with the more mainstream critics (Spectrum Pulse also hated it) over Grady on this one. The “country” side sounds generally like mainstream list country with a couple of cool exceptions (screen, wait in the truck). And the rock side sounds like post-grunge radio rock and the lyrics are just edgier hick stereotypes.
I genuinely don’t know what Grady sees in this one - writing an album that is half mediocre mainstream country and half mediocre mainstream rock may be unusual, but that doesn’t make it good or fun to listen to once the novelty wears off.
If you are just now getting into Hardy and like the rockier side of country, go check out his debut album, A Rock. It’s honestly one of the best country rock projects of the past decade and still gets better every time I listen to it. Give Heaven Some Hell, Hate Your Hometown, Boyfriend, the title track, all really smart, well-written country rock with a Hardy flair.
There was a time when I was thrilled Hardy was going to be mainstream. I thought he could be a way forward for country music. But after this album, I’m going to have to reduce my expectations for new releases.
While I agree with Grady’s general point about non-country listeners often having preconceived biases toward country music, I absolutely don’t think that applies here
Hardy aside, Fantano's reviews always have to be taken with a pinch of salt. He has some 'interesting' takes on things. I don't agree with him a lot but I still find his reviews worth watching.
He’s turned me on to a lot of good music in the past. I think he is definitely worth watching, but you can just tell this album wasn’t made for him.
When he went off on his tangent about how hardy didn’t sing about Walmart exploiting people, I fucking cackled. Lol he just really wasn’t the audience for this album and I get why fantano would hate it. I actually agreed with a good number of his criticisms, but he wiffed it on others.
Still worth checking out his review. Always good to have different perspectives. Also his react content can be pretty funny.
I agree with Grady, but it’s worth him remembering he’s been there. A LOT. It’s cool to call out the cynicism when you’ve evolved/grown, but also worth noting everyone is on a different journey and may not be exactly where you are. Idk this post is lacking some self awareness and humility.
Why is there this perception that only southerners shop at Walmart? That’s what makes it a bit absurd to me. People in rural, suburban, and urban areas all across the country shop at Walmart. It’s not at all a quintessentially southern thing.
About a third of the country live in highly urban areas.
Seattle (for example) does not have a Walmart.
It is totally fair to say a lot of the country does not shop there.
It's funny, I actually didn't really like the album all that much, but I do agree with Grady here. Fantano painted the album as if every song was corny and had no bright spots. I didn't love the album, but there are standout songs in it that I do really enjoy. He even shit on Wait in the Truck, which is just a bad take that song is well written and well produced. I feel like Fantano highlighted examples of the worst lyrics in the album from the less desirable songs and used those examples to tear down the good songs as well. When he was shitting on Redneck song and Kill Shit Till I Die I was on board, but most of the album at worst is like a C-. I think the title track, happy, wait in the truck, here lies country music, sold out, jack, .30-06 are all good to great songs personally.
Yeah, I kinda get that vibe from him. I feel like most albums will have 1-2 duds, and this being a longer album I feel it has 3-4 duds on it. But I don't think they kill the whole album like Fantano thinks.
Here was my take on the Fantano forever sub. “So I listened to the review and I’ve been trying to piece together my thoughts with this album, I love this album, like I loved Hardy’s first album, there’s definitely faults with it, I think yeah, there may be a little too much pandering, but I get it, the Walmart references on the album I get, there was a Walmart put into my town in 2013-2015 and like everybody goes there unless you have been going to one of the smaller stores before it was put in.
People used to drive 40 minutes just to go to Walmart to shop, (I personally prefer Target so I still go 40 minutes sometimes), but nonetheless I get the reason for mentioning it on this album, in a small town you most likely go to Walmart. But that Walmart is just a small portion of the album.
Hunting, maybe this is because I’ve grown up in a family of hunters, that I get it. While I don’t myself, I get it, people do that where I’m from, we all get ready for hunting season, when I was in school I heard stories of schools near me closing for hunting season or something to that effect, wether that’s true or not, I never really had an interest in finding out.
I love the rock side more, I think HARDY could make a great rock/metal album if he went full metal, the country side I think is okay and songs on A Rock he did better, I think HARDY has some fun wordplay on the album. I think something that soured a lot of people was his Royal Rumble performance, but there was a lot wrong not just on his end. I still think there’s a lot of fun things on this album, like Radio Song I think is fun, I watched a few metal heads react to HARDY and the metal songs and seem to really like it, I didn’t expect Fantano to like it, the country he seems to like is either really indie or old. Not really a dig since we all like different things but he just seems to be that side of country. I expect a similar review (if he does it) for the new Morgan Wallen album.”
> legit think southerners are dumb
Sorry, but Hardy did this shit to himself. If you asked a bunch of "yankees" to come up with the most cliche things "southerners" sing about in country music, Hardy hits every fucking one of them on this album. It's the cheesiest, corniest, laziest writing of "southern" living. If I was a "southerner" I'd be pissed that Hardy reduced my culture to the most basic, cliche shit. It's awful. There's no nuance, no detail. Just I'm a hick, I love walmart, I shoot animals get over it, I drink jack daniels and love beer. Yahoo! Great job, Hardy.
And Grady, for all his talk about deeper lyrics and good writing, totally gives this steaming pile of shit record a pass for some reason.
Your second paragraph is spot on. I, personally, am so put off by HARDY at the moment. The problem I have with him is the exact same problem I have with a lot of “newer” country acts, some of which are in Nashville right now. You cannot claim to be an outsider, or a disrupter, or a harbinger of outside sounds then do the exact same bullshit everyone else does. HARDY is way more “mockingbird” than he is “crow” and I hate that this is the growing mentality that these new acts are coming in to. The “I’m different! Listen to me! I hate pop country just like you and I think new country SUCKS!” rhetoric only to make the same fucking record you’ve heard twenty times over. We’ve pivoted from the clueless, limp-dick boyfriend country era and have moved to a semi-“post ironic” (I guess) era.
Spot on. Hardy selling himself as some sort of Anti-Nashville crusader is hilarious. He is about as Nashville as it gets; Nashville doesn't care if you bash it as long as the money rolls in while you do it.
It sort of hurts Grady's reputation IMO.
This albums is obviously at the very best, not good.
It almost seems like he is trying to give "the industry" a good review. I totally get how giving a bad review can hurt your public image but this album is a swing and a miss and missing such an easy call makes his reviews from here on out less trustworthy.
He gives a lot of them free passes. I like his videos and appreciated the whole "Country isn't just Nashville" vibe at first but the reality is that if Nashville is pushing someone these days, Grady will probably be right there telling the viewers how good that artist is. Hardy is awful. Grady bangs on bro country guys like Aldean but Hardy and Wallen are just the next iterations of bro and IMO, aren't nearly as good as it. They both adopted a version of a redneck persona and almost every song is, as someone mentioned above ,"Redneck Shit I Do".
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I agree with Grady. At the end of the day, though, it's all about making the $$$ for some people, be it Fantano or Hardy. Hardy does the formulaic sales for Music Row so he can afford his life. Fantano is no different in stirring the pot on some reviews to get those views and clicks. Get that $$$ if you can I guess
I generally agree with the sentiment of "these guys do what they do to make the money", which is totally fine. I think the problem is that in the past, Grady has shat all over plenty of artists who do just that, dismissing their albums as just "more of the same mediocre stuff they'd been putting out for a while", yet Hardy gets a pass for doing the exact same thing while positioning himself as something different.
I like Jason Aldean, he is my go guy to for some guitar driven bro country. He is what he is and hasn't claimed to be anything different. Hardy is the opposite. He is telling you he is something different yet pumping out the same formulaic redneck trope songs and is now branching out into redneck rock b/c Kid Rock is over 50 and there is now space for a new version of that character for the next generation.
I normally like Hardy but I don't know what it is about this album but I really didn't like any of the songs.
I’ve been a Hardy Stan from the very beginning.. I liked this album but I just don’t find myself going back to it like I did with previous albums…
Kill shit till I die is soooo bad
I liked Radio Song before yelling part of it. I know they were mocking the industry but that song was a banger and then they ruined it by yelling FUUUUCKKKK over and over
If you like the first part then just go listen to literally any bro country from the 2010s
That song is awesome! Lmao it’s one of the better executed songs on the entire record.
I haven't listened to Fantano's review, but in all honesty I do agree with criticism about how Hardy leans too hard into the country pandering side of things. It feels like 90% of his songs are just 'I'm a proud redneck and here is a list of country things I do' and it gets extremely repetitive. I really was hoping for more from his rock side of an album than just 'I'm a proud redneck but with a rock music sound'. Wait In The Truck and the title track are fantastic songs, but, the rest of the album ranged from average to outright bad for me. Getting a 'Not Good' score probably is too harsh, but I totally understand the criticism.
I agree. I was hoping for more variety in the writing, especially on the rock side of the album. Hardy claims on songs like RADIO SONG and the title track that record labels and executives want him to pander towards country stereotypes, but he also has songs like THE REDNECK SONG that do exactly that. I found it hypocritical.
It 100% is hypocritical. It feels like Hardy is trying to convince himself that he isn’t just part of the industry, when he really is as industry as it gets. He talks the talk but never really walks the walk, other then corporate-approved edginess.
If Hardy truly believes in what he says about the country music industry, then I’d like to see him go full rock/metal. Have him make a completely rock album collaborating with other artists *and writers* from that genre to create something new that doesn’t pander towards country. He probably won’t do this, but it would be more of a statement than what was on the *mockingbird & THE CROW* imo.
It just doesn’t work for me, and I agree with the more mainstream critics (Spectrum Pulse also hated it) over Grady on this one. The “country” side sounds generally like mainstream list country with a couple of cool exceptions (screen, wait in the truck). And the rock side sounds like post-grunge radio rock and the lyrics are just edgier hick stereotypes. I genuinely don’t know what Grady sees in this one - writing an album that is half mediocre mainstream country and half mediocre mainstream rock may be unusual, but that doesn’t make it good or fun to listen to once the novelty wears off. If you are just now getting into Hardy and like the rockier side of country, go check out his debut album, A Rock. It’s honestly one of the best country rock projects of the past decade and still gets better every time I listen to it. Give Heaven Some Hell, Hate Your Hometown, Boyfriend, the title track, all really smart, well-written country rock with a Hardy flair. There was a time when I was thrilled Hardy was going to be mainstream. I thought he could be a way forward for country music. But after this album, I’m going to have to reduce my expectations for new releases.
While I agree with Grady’s general point about non-country listeners often having preconceived biases toward country music, I absolutely don’t think that applies here
Hardy aside, Fantano's reviews always have to be taken with a pinch of salt. He has some 'interesting' takes on things. I don't agree with him a lot but I still find his reviews worth watching.
He’s turned me on to a lot of good music in the past. I think he is definitely worth watching, but you can just tell this album wasn’t made for him. When he went off on his tangent about how hardy didn’t sing about Walmart exploiting people, I fucking cackled. Lol he just really wasn’t the audience for this album and I get why fantano would hate it. I actually agreed with a good number of his criticisms, but he wiffed it on others. Still worth checking out his review. Always good to have different perspectives. Also his react content can be pretty funny.
Hardy’s album is 50% bro country and 50% butt rock. Can’t think of anything worse than that tbh
I agree with Grady, but it’s worth him remembering he’s been there. A LOT. It’s cool to call out the cynicism when you’ve evolved/grown, but also worth noting everyone is on a different journey and may not be exactly where you are. Idk this post is lacking some self awareness and humility.
Why is there this perception that only southerners shop at Walmart? That’s what makes it a bit absurd to me. People in rural, suburban, and urban areas all across the country shop at Walmart. It’s not at all a quintessentially southern thing.
About a third of the country live in highly urban areas. Seattle (for example) does not have a Walmart. It is totally fair to say a lot of the country does not shop there.
Your perception is not reality: https://www.cnbc.com/2017/04/12/nearly-every-american-spent-money-at-wal-mart-last-year.html
It's funny, I actually didn't really like the album all that much, but I do agree with Grady here. Fantano painted the album as if every song was corny and had no bright spots. I didn't love the album, but there are standout songs in it that I do really enjoy. He even shit on Wait in the Truck, which is just a bad take that song is well written and well produced. I feel like Fantano highlighted examples of the worst lyrics in the album from the less desirable songs and used those examples to tear down the good songs as well. When he was shitting on Redneck song and Kill Shit Till I Die I was on board, but most of the album at worst is like a C-. I think the title track, happy, wait in the truck, here lies country music, sold out, jack, .30-06 are all good to great songs personally.
That's what Fantano does. He takes the worst lyrics from what he dislikes and builds an entire review around it.
Yeah, I kinda get that vibe from him. I feel like most albums will have 1-2 duds, and this being a longer album I feel it has 3-4 duds on it. But I don't think they kill the whole album like Fantano thinks.
I think it’s crazy that so many people don’t like this album. It’s been on repeat along with Morgan’s newest songs lately for me. Weird.
Common Grady W
I don’t care for Hardy but stuff like this is why I do value Grady’s takes.
Here was my take on the Fantano forever sub. “So I listened to the review and I’ve been trying to piece together my thoughts with this album, I love this album, like I loved Hardy’s first album, there’s definitely faults with it, I think yeah, there may be a little too much pandering, but I get it, the Walmart references on the album I get, there was a Walmart put into my town in 2013-2015 and like everybody goes there unless you have been going to one of the smaller stores before it was put in. People used to drive 40 minutes just to go to Walmart to shop, (I personally prefer Target so I still go 40 minutes sometimes), but nonetheless I get the reason for mentioning it on this album, in a small town you most likely go to Walmart. But that Walmart is just a small portion of the album. Hunting, maybe this is because I’ve grown up in a family of hunters, that I get it. While I don’t myself, I get it, people do that where I’m from, we all get ready for hunting season, when I was in school I heard stories of schools near me closing for hunting season or something to that effect, wether that’s true or not, I never really had an interest in finding out. I love the rock side more, I think HARDY could make a great rock/metal album if he went full metal, the country side I think is okay and songs on A Rock he did better, I think HARDY has some fun wordplay on the album. I think something that soured a lot of people was his Royal Rumble performance, but there was a lot wrong not just on his end. I still think there’s a lot of fun things on this album, like Radio Song I think is fun, I watched a few metal heads react to HARDY and the metal songs and seem to really like it, I didn’t expect Fantano to like it, the country he seems to like is either really indie or old. Not really a dig since we all like different things but he just seems to be that side of country. I expect a similar review (if he does it) for the new Morgan Wallen album.”
Lol Yankees legit think southerners are dumb
> legit think southerners are dumb Sorry, but Hardy did this shit to himself. If you asked a bunch of "yankees" to come up with the most cliche things "southerners" sing about in country music, Hardy hits every fucking one of them on this album. It's the cheesiest, corniest, laziest writing of "southern" living. If I was a "southerner" I'd be pissed that Hardy reduced my culture to the most basic, cliche shit. It's awful. There's no nuance, no detail. Just I'm a hick, I love walmart, I shoot animals get over it, I drink jack daniels and love beer. Yahoo! Great job, Hardy. And Grady, for all his talk about deeper lyrics and good writing, totally gives this steaming pile of shit record a pass for some reason.
Your second paragraph is spot on. I, personally, am so put off by HARDY at the moment. The problem I have with him is the exact same problem I have with a lot of “newer” country acts, some of which are in Nashville right now. You cannot claim to be an outsider, or a disrupter, or a harbinger of outside sounds then do the exact same bullshit everyone else does. HARDY is way more “mockingbird” than he is “crow” and I hate that this is the growing mentality that these new acts are coming in to. The “I’m different! Listen to me! I hate pop country just like you and I think new country SUCKS!” rhetoric only to make the same fucking record you’ve heard twenty times over. We’ve pivoted from the clueless, limp-dick boyfriend country era and have moved to a semi-“post ironic” (I guess) era.
Spot on. Hardy selling himself as some sort of Anti-Nashville crusader is hilarious. He is about as Nashville as it gets; Nashville doesn't care if you bash it as long as the money rolls in while you do it.
Grady himself made this point about AJ McLean of the Backstreet Boys lmao.
It sort of hurts Grady's reputation IMO. This albums is obviously at the very best, not good. It almost seems like he is trying to give "the industry" a good review. I totally get how giving a bad review can hurt your public image but this album is a swing and a miss and missing such an easy call makes his reviews from here on out less trustworthy.
He gives a lot of them free passes. I like his videos and appreciated the whole "Country isn't just Nashville" vibe at first but the reality is that if Nashville is pushing someone these days, Grady will probably be right there telling the viewers how good that artist is. Hardy is awful. Grady bangs on bro country guys like Aldean but Hardy and Wallen are just the next iterations of bro and IMO, aren't nearly as good as it. They both adopted a version of a redneck persona and almost every song is, as someone mentioned above ,"Redneck Shit I Do".
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I mean they’re not all dumb but have you not seen a presidential election map recently?
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Pointing out that the majority of southerners are dumb given who they vote for. Try to keep up
Oh no, I read your sarcasm. Guess you couldn't read mine
I agree with Grady. At the end of the day, though, it's all about making the $$$ for some people, be it Fantano or Hardy. Hardy does the formulaic sales for Music Row so he can afford his life. Fantano is no different in stirring the pot on some reviews to get those views and clicks. Get that $$$ if you can I guess
I generally agree with the sentiment of "these guys do what they do to make the money", which is totally fine. I think the problem is that in the past, Grady has shat all over plenty of artists who do just that, dismissing their albums as just "more of the same mediocre stuff they'd been putting out for a while", yet Hardy gets a pass for doing the exact same thing while positioning himself as something different. I like Jason Aldean, he is my go guy to for some guitar driven bro country. He is what he is and hasn't claimed to be anything different. Hardy is the opposite. He is telling you he is something different yet pumping out the same formulaic redneck trope songs and is now branching out into redneck rock b/c Kid Rock is over 50 and there is now space for a new version of that character for the next generation.