Country Roads Lead To WVU, Not Marshall
Posted on 08.23.10 by K. Daniel Glover @ 10:43 pm

Bad things happen when rednecks “think outside the box” — bad things like Marshall University’s band ending its tradition of playing “Take Me Home, Country Roads” at the behest of unenlightened Athletic Director Mike Hamrick:

Hamrick, who is beginning his second year at Marshall, said the university wanted to go a different direction because of all of the changes being made at the stadium. New video scoreboards and an updated sound system are a few components of the $3 million athletic facilities overhaul that fans will notice next month.

“We’re changing our approach to the game presentation,” Hamrick said. “We want to put together a new concept for the presentation, and ‘Country Roads’ is just not part of that new concept.”

Taking “a different direction” than “Country Roads” in West Virginia is like traveling the wrong way on a one-way street. Marshall has gone to the dark side, giving West Virginia University alumni like me yet another reason to despise the Thundering Herd.

But that’s OK because no band performs “Country Roads” better than WVU’s band. Now the master musicians in the Pride of West Virginia will have the tune all to themselves. I hope they play it with an extra dose of passion when we beat Marshall on the Thundering Herd’s home field come Sept. 11.


Filed under: Music and News & Politics and People and Redneck Music and Sports and West Virginia
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‘West Virginia On My Heart’
Posted on 07.03.10 by K. Daniel Glover @ 12:26 pm

West Virginia remembered Sen. Robert C. Byrd at a state Capitol service in the great Mountain State yesterday, and Mark Knoller of CBS tweeted one of the moments that will stick with me:

“He once said, ‘When I am dead and opened, they will find West Virginia on my heart,’” GOP Sen. Mitch McConnell said of Byrd.

That much Byrd and I have in common. West Virginia will forever be on my heart. (The words also were etched into postcard-sized memorial photos of Byrd.)

The other moment from the memorial that moved me, literally almost to tears, is when a bluegrass band started playing “Country Roads” and the crowd sang the lyrics to John Denver’s famous song while the honor guard carried Byrd’s casket back into the Capitol.

I can’t hear that song without getting chills. I love my home, and no matter how long I live in the Washington, D.C., area or anywhere else, I’ll always be a proud hillbilly from West Virginia.


Filed under: Music and News & Politics and People and Redneck Music and Rednecks and West Virginia
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Violent Musical Fantasies That Make You Smile
Posted on 06.26.10 by K. Daniel Glover @ 12:23 pm

Country musicians have a twisted knack for making violence seem amusing. The latest entry in this niche music genre is the song “Pray For You,” by Jaron and the Long Road to Love.

Here are the deadly wishes for a wife scorned from the chorus alone: “I pray your brakes go out runnin’ down a hill. I pray a flowerpot falls from a window sill and knocks you in the head like I’d like to. I pray your birthday comes and nobody calls. I pray you’re flyin’ high when your engine stalls. I pray all your dreams never come true. Just know wherever you are, honey, I pray for you.”

I know I shouldn’t, but I can’t help but smile, especially when I watch the video.

I unsuccessfully fought the same urge — being entertained by violent, sometimes deadly fantasies set to catchy music rather than offended by them — when The Dixie Chicks released “Goodbye Earl” and when Carrie Underwood’s tune “Before He Cheats” rose to the top of the charts. The latter is still one of my favorite songs by one of my favorite singers. Enjoy these online encore performances:


Filed under: Entertainment and Just For Laughs and Music and Redneck Music and Video
Comments: 1 Comment

‘You Picked A Fine Time To Lead Us, Barack’
Posted on 04.07.10 by K. Daniel Glover @ 11:53 pm

You might be an enlightened redneck … if you appreciate a parody song that meshes the music of country legend Kenny Rogers with the political messaging of the tea party movement.


Filed under: Entertainment and News & Politics and Redneck Music and Video
Comments: 4 Comments

Broadband For Rednecks Everywhere!
Posted on 03.11.10 by K. Daniel Glover @ 1:37 pm

In my new role as the editorial director of Digital Society, I’ve been focused like a laser on high-speed Internet the past few weeks. The FCC will be releasing its national broadband plan in six days, so leaders of the commission have been making the rounds on the speaking circuit to promote pieces of the plan.

The central message of the plan is that all Americans need broadband access — Commissioner Michael Copps this week even joined the chorus of people proclaiming it as a “right” — so the government must take steps to ensure that the poor, minorities, the elderly and, yes, rednecks in rural areas are enlightened by the Internet.

The FCC is so committed to selling its plan that Chairman Julius Genachowski spoke to the Country Music Association’s board of directors at its meeting in Washington yesterday.

Of course, country bumpkins are way too backward to understand the high-tech lingo of the FCC, so Genachowski’s staff translated his speech into “Nashvillese” that features country music titles:

When I think of those “Country Roads” and “Wide Open Spaces” without broadband, I “Fall to Pieces” and say that’s “Crazy.” We need to address these “Unanswered Prayers.”

As FCC chairman, I have friends in high places and “Friends in Low Places,” and I’m pulled to and fro on policy issues, but “I Walk the Line.” That’s because telecom politics is like a “Ring of Fire.” First I have Senator Rockefeller telling me about a “Coal Miner’s Daughter” who can’t get wireless service in some “Foggy Mountain Breakdown.” Next, “I’m on the Road Again” to where “The Grass is Blue” and “A Boy Named Sue” stops me and says we need super-duper fast broadband all the way from “Boulder to Birmingham”” — and beyond, to “Galveston” and “El Paso.” He complains that his slow dial-up service can’t get to “Amarillo by Morning” and laments that America has gone round and round for years without a National Broadband Plan and plaintively asks, “Will the Circle Be Unbroken?”

I explain — to the “Boy Named Sue” — that this issue is “Always on my Mind” and the lack of a plan should not make him “Hurt” or a “Man of Constant Sorrow” with his “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain.” Instead, I tell him to “Take it Easy” — “Don’t Rock the Jukebox” … just try to “Keep on the Sunny Side” and dream “Sweet Dreams” — because A National Broadband Plan is coming. Next week.”

Don’t you feel so much more enlightened about broadband now?


Filed under: Entertainment and Government and Music and News & Politics and Redneck Humor and Redneck Music and Rednecks and Technology
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Do The Political Hokey Pokey
Posted on 12.21.09 by K. Daniel Glover @ 12:02 am

Senate Democratic leaders yesterday bought the 60th vote they need to impose the heavy hand of government on the American health-care market. Failing a revolt by the more liberal House, “Obamacare” is looking more and more like the future for this country.

But “we, the people” always get the last word, and hopefully the decision by President Obama and Democrats in Congress to force on this nation a law opposed by a majority of Americans will prove to be their undoing politically.

Ray Stevens, my favorite comedic singer as a child, gives voice to that possibility in a new song. The best line: “Please tell Nancy Pelosi, we’re gonna do the hokey pokey — put the right ones in, pull the left ones out.”

And one of Stevens’ oldies but goodies, “The Mississippi Squirrel Revival,” is a metaphor for how the nation reached this point. Obama is the squirrel who went berserk in the first self-righteous Congress, and liberals are singing “Hallelujah” to his plan for socialized medicine.


Filed under: Government and Just For Laughs and Music and News & Politics and People and Redneck Humor and Redneck Music and Video
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Before Tiger Woods Cheats
Posted on 12.09.09 by K. Daniel Glover @ 6:02 pm

Some people jumped to the defense of celebrity golfer Tiger Woods soon after rumors began swirling that his scorned wife, Elin, had caused him to wreck his car by bashing the window with a golf club after the she confronted him about marital infidelity.

Woods refuted the rumor, saying that his wife had “acted courageously” to help him after the accident and that he alone was responsible for the accident.

Three days later, however, he vaguely admitted to cheating on his wife: “I have let my family down, and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart. I have not been true to my values and the behavior my family deserves.”

Since then, numerous women, if you can really use that word for porn stars, cocktail waitresses and the like, have laid claim to the title of Tiger Woods mistress. At last count, Woods had almost as many alleged mistresses (11) as he as major golf championships (14).

Granted, Woods hasn’t directly admitted to adultery and certainly not with any specific ladies. The evidence of him having cheated with anyone also is scant at this point.

But if even a kernel of what has been reported is true, perhaps Elin Woods can take a cue from country singer Carrie Underwood about how to respond to a cheatin’ scoundrel:


Filed under: Music and News & Politics and People and Redneck Music and Sports and Video
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Redneck Musical Moment Of The Decade
Posted on 11.26.09 by K. Daniel Glover @ 9:33 pm

To hear Country Music Television tell it, the term “redneck” began losing its stigma a few years into the first decade of the 21st century, all thanks to a song:

“Redneck Woman,” Gretchen Wilson (2004) — Gretchen Wilson tapped into a vein of country music that no one else sensed was there. That vein was a growing sense of identity by an ignored and overlooked group of women country listeners. Redneck pride soared as a result, for women and then for men, as well. And gradually the term “redneck” itself began to shed the stigma that many people liked to attach to country fans — and to Southerners, in particular.

I disagree. Catchy music aside, “Redneck Woman” wasn’t exactly a boon to the reputation of rednecks. And if the term “redneck” had begun losing its stigma as a result of Wilson’s work in 2004, I wouldn’t have launched this blog in 2008.

We rednecks are maligned as much now as ever, perhaps even more since the rise of Sarah Palin and the angry mob across America.


Filed under: Hatin' On Rednecks and Music and People and Redneck Music and Rednecks
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‘Redneck In A Fancy Restaurant’
Posted on 11.05.09 by K. Daniel Glover @ 1:56 pm

That’s the setting of the new video for the song “Hillbilly Bone,” by country singers Trace Adkins and Blake Shelton:

I despise the video’s emphasis on booze and drunkenness, but I love the underlying message of the song: “We all got a hillbilly bone down deep inside. No matter where you’re from, you just can’t hide it.”

It echoes the theme of this blog as captured in the conclusion to my essay “Rednecks Rule“:

Yes, some rednecks are dirt poor, wear hand-me-downs, and have atrocious habits and manners. But others are stinkin’ rich, array themselves in the finest of garments and religiously heed the counsel of Miss Manners. What we all share are a common-sense approach to life and a passion for the simple things.


Filed under: Music and People and Redneck Music and Redneck Musical Interlude and Rednecks and Video
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Redneck Woman Launches Redneck Records
Posted on 10.04.09 by K. Daniel Glover @ 2:49 pm

I’m not a fan of country singer Gretchen Wilson. Her debut hit “Redneck Woman” reinforced the elitist stereotype of rednecks as foul-mouthed, beer-guzzling “white trash,” and the refrain of her redneck anthem disqualifies her for enrollment in the No Cussing Club.

But this being a blog about rednecks, I feel compelled to note that Wilson, who parted ways with her record company in July, is now the president of her own company, Redneck Records:

“My management and I looked at a lot of different options over the last couple of months, and starting Redneck Records made the most sense to continue the relationships I’ve built with radio, retail and the fans,” Wilson said in a statement.

Although I enjoy the catchy beat of Wilson’s music I can’t imagine ever buying one of her records because the stories she likes to tell in her songs, and the lyrics she uses to tell them, aren’t worth a dime. But I am glad to see country stars like her and Toby Keith staking claims as record producers.


Filed under: Music and People and Redneck Music
Comments: 1 Comment

God Is Great, Beer Is Crud
Posted on 08.24.09 by K. Daniel Glover @ 10:56 pm

Country singer Billy Carrington has a hit song whose lyrics include the phrase “God is great, beer is good, and people are crazy.” I’d like to amend that statement with a dose of enlightenment: God is great, beer is crud, and rednecks would be a lot less crazy if they quit drinking booze.

In case it isn’t obvious by now, this enlightened redneck is a teetotaler.

I know it’s hard to believe. If there’s one thing people associate with rednecks, it’s liquor — from the hard stuff (Jack Daniels) to the soft stuff (pick a beer) to the illegal, homemade stuff (moonshine). But it’s all bad news, if you ask me.

On second thought, don’t ask me. Just listen to the lyrics of Brad Paisley’s hit song “Alcohol,” which perfectly captures the idiocy that ensues after alcohol consumption.

Here are some of Paisley’s pearls of wisdom:

  • I can make you believe any lie.
  • I’ve been known to cause a few births.
  • I can … get you fired from work.
  • I got blamed … for those naked pictures of you at the beach.
  • You had some of the best times you’ll never remember with me.
  • I’ll bet you a drink or two that I can make you put that lampshade on your head.

I loved the song when it was released on the radio. Then I saw the video and realized that despite the honesty of the lyrics, Paisley intended the song as a celebration of alcohol-induced foolishness.

That’s too bad because rednecks really know how to have a good time without help from Jim Beam and the rest of the Inebriation Clan. But enlightened rednecks like me — I’ve lived 42 years on this planet without once drinking for business or pleasure — don’t get to share in those good times because they aren’t family-friendly venues.


Filed under: An Enlightened Redneck ... and Culture and Music and People and Redneck Music and Rednecks and West Virginia
Comments: 3 Comments

Livin’ The Future
Posted on 07.10.09 by K. Daniel Glover @ 7:06 pm

I heard Brad Paisley’s new song “Welcome To The Future” on the radio for the first time this evening and couldn’t wait to get home to see if I could find a version to post to the blog. Here’s what I found:

I hope Paisley, who will be performing near us on July 25, releases an official music video soon. The storyline is made for video.

Paisley is one of my favorite musicians. He’s just a few years younger than me, and his hometown (Glen Dale, W.Va.) is about a half-hour from mine (Paden City). I love songs like “I’m Gonna Miss Her,” “I’m Still A Guy,” “Letter To Me,” “Mud On The Tires” and “Ticks,” because they remind me of my youth in the great Mountain State.

“Welcome To The Future” reminds me of how blessed I am to be living when “every day is a revolution.” I especially love the closing verse:

I had a friend in school,
Running back on a football team.
They burned a cross in his front yard
For asking out the homecoming queen.

I thought about him today,
Everybody who’s seen what he’s seen,
From a woman on a bus
To a man with a dream.

That allusion to how far America has come in race relations in the past 50 years was even more powerful because it was totally unexpected after the lighthearted and technologically oriented lyrics of the first two verses.


Filed under: History and Human Interest and Music and People and Redneck Music and Redneck Musical Interlude and West Virginia
Comments: 1 Comment

Crossover Craziness In Country Music
Posted on 06.23.09 by K. Daniel Glover @ 7:44 pm

I’m a child of the ’80s, so yes, I listened to Def Leppard. The one-armed drummer shtick was enough to keep my interest in spite of the head-banging music and indecipherable lyrics. These days, country music is more my middle-aged speed — and those two worlds should never mix.

Unfortunately, in its attempt to be cool, Country Music Television decided that teenage country star Taylor Swift should sing the Def Leppard songs of her parents’ era and vice versa. The end result is some of the most unenlightened redneck music I’ve ever heard.

Rolling Stone thinks Taylor Swift is cool because she raps and rocks, and that rag’s endorsement alone would have been enough to scare me away from her crossover album with Def Leppard. Now that I’ve actually heard it, I’m less inclined to buy any of Swift’s music. Sometimes you can judge an artist by the company they keep.

It’s not just Swift, though. The whole crossover trend in country music is wearing thin.
(more…)


Filed under: Entertainment and Music and People and Redneck Music and Video
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A ‘Redneck Woman’ On Capitol Hill
Posted on 04.30.09 by K. Daniel Glover @ 7:57 pm

Although I like the concept behind Gretchen Wilson’s hit anthem “Redneck Woman” and the music, I don’t care for many of the lyrics.

The song is full of curse words and promotes some of the worst stereotypes about rednecks. That’s why I’ve never embedded the video on this blog even though it’s a perfect fit in many ways.

But I do think it’s pretty cool that Wilson has been invited to testify to Congress. I worked as a redneck journalist on Capitol Hill almost every day for my first four years in Washington, so I’m always happy to see another redneck getting some time up there.

“She’s going to get about five minutes to sum up why adult education and family literacy are so vital,” Country Music Television reported. “And she should know. Wilson received her GED at age 34 after dropping out of high school when she was a teenager.”


Filed under: Government and Human Interest and Music and News & Politics and People and Redneck Music
Comments: 1 Comment

A Song For ‘Intelligent Rednecks’
Posted on 04.01.09 by K. Daniel Glover @ 9:41 am

As the father of two young daughters, I love the country tune “Cleaning This Gun,” where the father cleans his gun and lectures his daughter’s date as the boy waits for her to finish getting ready. I love it even more after reading singer Rodney Atkins’ description of the song:

“Cleaning [This] Gun” is like a funny joke that is true. That could have been really just a dumb redneck kind of song, but the songwriters — Casey Beathard and Marla Cannon — took a very intelligent approach to that idea.

You know, dad’s out there joking — “I’ll be cleaning my gun when my daughter goes out there on her date.” They took the intelligent approach about it, with the speeches that you go through — the speeches that we really all should remember, but we don’t. They’re all very important things, but yet when it comes to your little girl, you’re going to remember that speech.

My audience, I think, is intelligent rednecks, so that’s who I was singing to.

“Intelligent redneck” — sounds kinda like “enlightened redneck.” Works for me.

I’d never actually try an intimidation stunt like cleaning my gun before my daughters’ dates, but I do love the message of the song: Mess with my daughters, and you mess with me. Enjoy the video:


Filed under: Family and Redneck Music and Redneck Musical Interlude and Rednecks and Video
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