Top 5 Country Music Tunes for Country Music Haters (Part 1 of 666)

by: R Ibanez

“Hahaha you listen to country music” : You may have heard this comment lots of times in your life from friends, coworkers, bosses, acquaintances, and even that smartass on Facebook who thinks his music taste is superior than everyone else. Go nuts listening to your Nickleback CDs man.

Country music fans don’t stand a chance here in the Philippines whether it’s the outlaw country stuff, traditional country, or even pop country. So I compiled this list for THC Zine for some cool tunes to toke to, we don’t give a flying what if you hate it, OUTLAW COUNTRY Forever.

Wheeler Walker Jr. kicked open the saloon doors of the country music scene wide open and kicked everyone’s asses when his first two records came out in 2016 and 2018. Loaded with funny and offensive tunes that were catchy and charming, everyone took notice.

However, the biggest hit single that put him in everyone’s map is undoubtedly this track, which became even bigger when the pandemic hit and many couples broke up. It also got bumped up the charts again when Snoop Dogg gave a shoutout to Wheeler in his viral reel.

This is the ultimate outlaw country dude’s sensitive track after getting heartbroken and replaced by another dude while maintaining outlaw country badassery composure. The mighty visuals accompanying this karaoke vid are perfect for drunk karaoke-ing while reminiscing about getting dumped during the pandemic peak haha.

^ Follow this up with another one of his hit tunes “I Like Smoking Pot A Lot” for a good time. ^

Hank Williams Jr. is another Junior on this list that will kick your ass and take names everywhere. This rocking tune fuses his outlaw country style with a li’l bit of rock n roll country blues. The over-the-top music video features a slew of guests, shoutouts, mentions, and appearances from all his friends and influences in the music scene for a raucous good time indeed. While many of his other tunes are more lonely, laid back, and traditional, this hit single from the 80s shows you that he can rock n roll with the best of ’em.

David Allen Coe’s hit single here not only provides some laughs over some poor dude’s lamenting of his lonely relationship with his woman but also some good old drinking tunes when he’s alone at the bar at 2 a.m., incessantly drowning away his sorrows.

The background story is that original composers Steve Goodman and John Prine created this masterpiece totally wasted on premium alcohol in the legendary Paul Anka’s luxury suite, provided by the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, as he was doing a residency there. He was also their manager. Determined to create the ultimate country song parody all of time, they created this super classic fueled by HEAVY drinking all night.

John Prine asked to be left out of the credits in print, not wanting to risk his career in the country music scene during those years in the early 70s. DAC made it into his own tune later on and owned it with his version, even including Steve Goodman’s back and forth correspondence about it lacking the cliched elements needed and sending DAC back the ultimate add-on to finish the masterpiece.

This is the equivalent of “Amerikkkas Least Wanted” but for senior outlaw country icons smoking HEAVY joints. An ode to their heavy smoking commitment, Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard recount toked out anecdotes about life and getting buds and going organic 100%. Featuring a catchy horn section and steady acoustic picking and shredding on Trigger while hotboxing the studio, this song also attests to the medical use of cannabis and some of the hijinks and weird trips that can come from smoking too much.

Merle Haggard may not be technically an Outlaw Country artist, hell, he isn’t even part of the 70s OG movement of hell-raisers either. But his background includes years of poverty, hard times, check forgery, jail time in San Quentin due to robbery, and staying true to his art.

After years of hard toil and labor, his career took off when the local Bakersfield sound hit it big with the record labels. He even had a weed business partnership years later, before he went to the great gig in the sky. He also smoked a lot of sativa strains well into his late 70s which helped him with touring and staying in good health.

This track pretty much describes his laidback approach to life after years of hard living. It’s a nugget of wisdom from someone who actually lived hard as a real outlaw before making it big as a country artist.

Part 2 out soon.