HARDY’s “Truck Bed” Video – A Boring Relic of Bro Country

I didn’t expect to spend the day wondering, once again, what’s going on with country music but I watched HARDY’s music video for “TRUCK BED” and all I can do is wonder what’s going on with country music.

Whether you agree with the accompanying music videos or not, it’s encouraging that songs about small town justice (Jason Aldean) and forbidden love (Tyler Childers) were headlining country music news in the last few weeks. Traditional values juxtaposed with homosexual relationships, all within country music. Talk about a range of lyrics! You might have thought the era of ‘bro country’ was finally over but then Luke Bryan said, “Wait, hold my Two Lane.” Yep, Luke Bryan debuted a video for his song “But I Got A Beer In My Hand.” Catchy. Playful. Fun. Even if it’s a predictable country cliché. Check out the video and more of my thoughts about it here.

But it’s HARDY’s song and video that most reminds me of a hangnail that just won’t go away. Or when you have a thorn in your sock and can’t quite find it so every time you take a step it jabs your foot or your toe or your heel. The video shows a party with the guy who was so drunk his wife or girlfriend locked him out of the house all night. Is that really something to be celebrated? It’s a relic of ‘bro country’ that was played out years ago and, anyway, who thinks it’s cool to be so drunk you pass out in your front yard and wake up threatening birds in a nearby tree? That’s just embarrassing. As the video played I found myself annoyed, bored, and embarrassed for country music… yet again.

I rather hear those birds chirping their melodies than listen to this song ever again.

I did some searching to find out if I’m just being crabby. Has anyone else spoken up about NOT liking this song (all I could find in the YouTube comments were HARDY fans praising the song)? Thankfully, yes. This link below from Kyle’s Korner calls out the song in such clarity.

Song Review: HARDY, “TRUCK BED”

Is “Truck Bed” the dumbest song in country music? HARDY gets a pass on that because Brad Paisley released this song first. And I wouldn’t call the song dumb necessarily. It’s more like a “been there, done that” type of thing, to borrow an overused phrase from the 90s. Country music has got to get past the idea that it’s fun to sing about being so drunk that the person you care about the most (besides your narcissistic self, I guess) is so fed up that you’re no longer welcome in their presence. On top of that, you act like you don’t care? That’s the stuff alcoholics are made of, and that’s not fun or funny.

-Out of the Wilderness

Lizzo out, Lady Gaga in?

By now you might’ve heard the news about famous entertainer Lizzo. Her inner circle of dancers might (if they’re telling the whole truth) be peeling back layers of Lizzo we hadn’t seen before. You can Google it to find out more, I won’t be sharing the lewd details but I’ll say this, and this is the point of today’s post: What will companies that endorse her do? Will they drop her quietly, or not drop her at all? Will they make a public statement? Will they pretend everything is fine and keep their contract with her? The accusation is big enough to cause a major ripple effect in partnerships Lizzo has with national brands. The first one that comes to my mind is Instacart. Remember that commercial with Lizzo in a bathtub ordering way too much food for one person?

Honesty is the best policy. Is it socially acceptable now to say I don’t like Lizzo? I might be bananas, but current controversy aside, I’m not really onboard with idea that being fat is beautiful. That’s Rizzo’s biggest platform. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of bigger people who can be very attractive. It’s not the weight that bothers me, it’s the lifestyle and attitude. Fatness in itself isn’t beautiful but if a woman (or man) is eating healthy, working out, caring about their appearance, I love it. An overweight person can be beautiful inside and out but Lizzo hasn’t ever come across to me as someone who genuinely cares about her health or anyone else’s.

It’s similar to why I’m bothered by the old Meghan Trainor song, “All About That Base.” The lyrics claim every inch of a fat person’s body is perfect. Umm, no. Being overweight is called that for a reason. You’re bigger than you should be. it’s not good for your heart, your joints, your lungs. Meghan’s being encouraging, and I like that… but she’s not really encouraging the right thing. Why would we support someone who’s eating or lifestyle habits are slowly killing them? That’s just bananas.

Gaga Ooo La La. Totally unrelated… I’ve recently seen Lady Gaga in a commercial I wouldn’t have expected her in. She endorses headache medicine called Nurtec. Since when did someone who I generally think of as young and vibrant become the spokesperson for an industry usually aimed at older folks? Is she getting old? AM I GETTING OLD!?!?!

For all her oddness and crazy costumes over the years (has she ever dressed in a banana costume?), Lady Gaga appears to have a maturity that is respectable. Can’t say the same for Lizzo, especially if what she’s being accused of is true. This world is… bananas. 😉

-Out of the Wilderness

Luke Bryan’s New Video Isn’t Racist or Gay? Is It Even Country?

Hello and thanks for checking out my blog today! I post every day at 1pm central so subscribe if you wanna, or just stop by when you have a chance for new content daily.

It’s kind of nice that a new country music video is out that *shouldn’t* cause any controversy. In the last few weeks there was Jason Aldean’s racist video and then the gay video from Tyler Childers. At worst, Luke Bryan’s song “But I Got A Beer In My Hand” might be called predictable or shallow (it opens with lyrics about how it’s not a stereotypical country song: a breakup, rearview mirrors, feeling blue, but then it goes on to be a stereotypical country song: beer, hollering at ladies, parties). That’s just a bit of irony, I guess. What’s not ironic is that in the video, the beer Luke holds in his hand is is own brand, Two Lane. Integrated marketing at its finest, folks. Here’s the video, the scroll down for more…

Fuss in Boots. My first question after hearing the song was what the heck is a Lucchese? Luke sings a line about deer stands and Lucchese so I looked it up. If you’re a diehard Luke fan or just love country music, don’t put up a fuss about me not knowing that Lucchese is a premium boot brand. I don’t wear boots. I have big feet and the few times I’ve tried them on made my feet look like they need their own zip code!

One Take Wonder. Luke takes advantage of a very skilled film crew to pull off a 3-minute long shot in this video. Very impressive with so much coordination from cast and crew. Other artists have done this before. Check out a few that came to mind in the videos below.

Taylor Swift “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”

Anna Kendrick “Cup Song”

Randy Houser “Note To Self”

Country On. Although there’s a party going on, this is technically still a break-up song. Here are a few more playful break-up country songs along with the accompanying videos.

Brad Paisley “I’m Gonna Miss Her”

Dierks Bentley “Drunk On A Plane”

Eric Church “Cold One”

Miranda Lambert “White Liar”

Idol. Luke performed his song back a few months ago on American Idol…

Do you like the video from Luke? I think it is probably perfect timing for country fans who might want, or need, a break from the heavy subject matter in those other videos that came out recently.

See y’all tomorrow!

-Out of the Wilderness

Is cheering AGAINST the U.S. Women’s soccer team my patriotic duty?

After the U.S. women’s final group stage World Cup game against Portugal, it’s just too easy to point out how Megan Rapinoe adds nothing to the team anymore. Errant passes, baffling miscues, I won’t even get into that because I’m sure plenty of other people will talk about it today. Today, the day the team *almost* lost, just for the sake of a few inches, to Portugal which would’ve knocked the U.S. out of the World Cup altogether. No one played very well, even golden child Sophie Smith (although I love her in this Nike commercial). What I want to confess here today is how I know I should feel guilty for cheering against my home country’s team but that’s exactly what I’ve been doing… and I feel no guilt.

For my entire life, patriotism in sports meant cheering for, standing with, supporting whatever team was representing the U.S. It was us against the world. It’s always been easy whether it was the Olympics, Little League World Series, World Cups, basketball, etc. But this particular women’s World Cup just isn’t the same. It’s almost as if being patriotic is compelling me to root for whoever is opposing this women’s team.

I’ve always loved the underdogs. That might be another aspect to my disdain for this team. The media has built up the women’s team so much, with comments like “Their game against Vietnam was a glorified practice session,” and the constant barrage of Rapinoe this, Rapinoe that, is making me nauseous.

Could it be our patriotic duty to acknowledge that they need, and it seems to be a desperate need, to be humbled? The way they walk on the field pre-game with their expensive Nike suits and colored glasses, cocky as the king of spades. They way the press praises them. The reputation they cling to. It’s all gross.

Alabama football. Kansas City Chiefs. The Lakers. U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team. I want them all to lose.

When Portugal just barely missed scoring in stoppage time of this morning’s game, it was such a let-down. What a shocker it would’ve been to take out the two-time defending World Cup champions with their arrogance and pride. But I guess the silver lining now is that the U.S. moves on and I’ll have another chance to show my patriotism by cheering for whoever the next team to play them is… Sweden? Are you ready?

-Out of the Wilderness

Loathe Nike, but love the World Cup horror commercial starring Sophia Smith

At the time of this post, U.S. soccer player Sophia Smith has scored half of the goals for the team during the 2023 Women’s World Cup. Casting her as the star of this short horror film makes a lot of sense, especially if you’re a team playing against her and the United States.

I love a good pun. Although, let’s be honest… Lindsey Horan is just as big of a threat, scoring the other half of the goals for the team so far. That header in the game against the Netherlands was killer. I’m sure she’d be pleased to beat you, too.

That GIF right there is Scott Sterling. Nothing to do with women’s soccer but he’s always welcome on this blog! So back to the Nike commercial. I can’t stand Nike… for reasons I’ll try hard to resist sharing as this post goes on. But the commercial is pretty great. It’s a 1980s-style horror mashed up with Jordan Peele type tension. The way she smiles throughout the ad…

…then how her smile turns sinister is the stuff nightmares are made of. In fact, her smile in this ad is better than the hour-and-a-half movie named for that very thing, Smile (review here). But there’s only one other unsuspecting commercial that has smiles more scary than Sophia. It’s from Publix and it wasn’t on purpose. Yeah, didn’t see that coming did you? Check out this Thanksgiving commercial that will haunt you from now till you carve your next turkey.

The horror genre is popular in commercials whether it’s tech — this current Samsung flip phone commercial — or insurance, this GEICO ad from a few years ago. Where does Nike’s commercial land on your top 10 favorite scary commercials? I post every day at 1pm central so I’ll see y’all tomorrow!

-Out of the Wilderness