The Massachusetts Music Conundrum

There's a surprisingly large contingent of "country" music fans in Massachusetts. Jason Aldean is playing Fenway Park and there's other "artists" playing shows throughout the state to nearly sold out crowds. I put country in quotes because what they play is not country. What they play is party music, something people get drunk to. Country, as it was, was played by men like Waylon Jennings, Hank Williams and Merle "Most Country Name in the World" Haggard, as well as ladies like Patsy Cline. And while some may hear the pang of steel guitars and the country twang in the vocals, the current incarnation of country is not the same. Those men and women sang about heartache and loss. Their drinking was to mourn and not to celebrate. They came from hard places and had hard lives and it manifested itself in the music. Their message was life sucks backwater dog balls so do what you can. Current country's message is get drunk and be an ass. This is a problem. But the question is why such songs are popular in such a non-country area such as Massachusetts? 

To understand the success of country, try and understand that Boston is a large cosmopolitan city. Fifth largest metro area in the nation. And therefore, things that are chic and popular will eventually find its way into the collective consciousness of the city and therefor state. Also, Massachusetts has a lot of people who enjoy drinking a lot. And good for them, get smashed when you like. Combining these two concepts produces the appreciation for new country. Drunk plus cool equals country success. Which also equals not cool. 

But why doesn't traditional country resonate? There's plenty of residents who live by the old country message. Life sucks, lets get drunk and forget. Instead, the people who make new country popular are by and large a crowd that's had things relatively easy. And the message of woohoo let's get drunk takes prominence. 

What about the other genres with songs that say woohoo let's get drunk? What about the prevalence of southern stereotypes that a good deal of new country lovers in Massachusetts believe? When did Massachusetts start loving foreign bodies over their homespun success? The answer to all of these questions is simple. The world is a whole hell of a lot smaller and socially people are more apt to choose fitting in. 

I'm typing this on my phone. I hit one button and it belongs to the world. A girl can take a picture of herself in daisy dukes, boots and a Stetson and have it all over the world with the caption "GOING 2 C CHESNEY LOL" before you can blink twice. So guys see it, they wanna make sexys with girls like that (read, any girl who will) and they buy tickets. Their buddies want to go to hang and get drunk and before you know it, that's a sold out in an arena or amphitheater. And how did the girl get into country? The patient zero if you will. She heard it at bar drunk, used an app on her phone to find out who it was and then she downloaded it and listened to it ad nauseam.   

There's nothing wrong with rocking out to country. I just don't like it myself. However, I'm continually stymied by its popularity considering the lyrics are about fried chicken and moonshine and I live in a land where the fried chicken sucks and moonshine is sold in stores.