Country Mike Blog

Chesney, hypocrite?

Mike Sudhalter  |  January 15, 2009

Let me start off by saying, I love Corey Smith's music.

I'm not sure I agree with all of the Athens, Ga. singer's views. He blasts modern country as being cliche and fake. Some of that's true, but I think it's incorrect to paint an entire genre with a broad brush.

In the song, Smith longs for the country legends of old. If you want something a little more original, check out the Texas/Red Dirt scene.

Nashville will always be Nashville....just like Hollywood, trends come and go.

He accuses Kenny Chesney of being a hypocrite because he lives in the Carribean and "sings about the islands, and what about the Tennessean?"

Well, Chesney did sing about Tennesseans on his first few albums, but he could never catch a break. This generation didn't have a Jimmy Buffett, so Chesney found a niche. Yes, I miss him singing songs with a twang, but I'll always have those records. If Chesney hadn't chosen that path, he'd either be playing small clubs and bars or forgotten alongside the likes of Bryan White, Daron Norwood and Billy Dean in the Hall of Nineties Country Music Obscurity, which I believe is located in Chanute, Kansas.