Month: February 2025

The Mysterious Appeal of Morgan Wallen

FILE - In this June 5, 2019, file photo, Morgan Wallen arrives at the CMT Music Awards on at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. Wallen has been arrested after police say he threw a chair off the rooftop of a newly opened six-story bar in downtown Nashville. Wallen, 30, was booked into jail early Monday, April 8, 2024 on three felony counts of reckless endangerment and one misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct, Metro Nashville Police tweeted. (AP Photo/Sanford Myers, File)

If you’ve been following this blog for a while or know me in real life, then you should know that I’m anything but a trend follower. Half the time I’m not even aware of what the latest trends ARE, be they fashion, music, TV, or anything else. However, one trend I am aware of is country singer Morgan Wallen. To be fair, at this point I guess he isn’t even a trend anymore because he’s been famous long enough to be an established part of the genre. As I’ve said, I can’t be arsed to follow most trends myself, but I do find the psychology behind them quite fascinating, especially when it comes to music. I may not always LIKE music, TV shows, or other things that become popular in our society but I can usually understand on some level why many other people do.

Morgan Wallen, an American country music artist performs his hit single “Whiskey Glasses” during Freedom Fest, June 28, 2019, at the Iron Horse Park, Fort Carson, Colorado. Freedom Fest was a three day festival featuring carnival rides, food trucks, concerts and fireworks in celebration of Independence Day. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Robert Vicens)

Taylor Swift & Beyonce are great examples of this. I do enjoy a fair amount of Taylor Swift songs. Pieces like Back to December, All Too Well, & Mean are incredibly well written, timeless songs that anyone should be able to recognize as genius. She’s also well known for paying her employees well & generally being a decent person despite her insane celebrity status. I know less about Beyonce because I don’t follow her genre of music at all, but from what little I’ve heard of her work, she is clearly talented, not to mention gorgeous. So while I may not be a full blown “Swiftie” nor a member of the “Bey Hive,” I can still understand on some level why others are.

But Morgan Wallen’s appeal is a whole other story. I just can’t wrap my mind around it. I’ll confess a couple of years ago I wanted to dismiss him as nothing but white trash, especially after the infamous N word incident from 2021. At that point I didn’t know any of his songs so it was very easy for me to say “Screw him.” A couple of years went by & I happened across his song One Thing At A Time while driving one day. Let me be the first to say I did not WANT to like it. But I couldn’t help myself- I had to admit it was a very well written song! I’ve since heard several others of his, & while I don’t think I’ll ever be a FAN, I have to confess that he IS a good songwriter. His voice is nothing special, if you ask me, but songs like Last Night & I’m the Problem again showcase good songwriting skills.

While good songwriting is ultimately the most important thing for a musician, it takes a lot more than that to be a true STAR. And I guess what I don’t understand is how Morgan Wallen has become exactly that, not just a good songwriter but a STAR. I mean, this is a guy who has been arrested for drunken episodes on multiple different occasions, his most recent being when he threw a chair off of a roof in May 2024. If he were a black guy who did the exact same thing, I have a strong feeling that a large percentage of Wallen’s fanbase would immediately deem him a worthless thug. But somehow Wallen gets a pass… I cannot be the only one thinking this, right? What’s more, it’s not just your typical bro country dudes who love Wallen. Most of the time when I see people sharing his music, it’s actually women! If he were drop dead gorgeous, I’d understand it a little better, but this is a pasty looking white dude with a MULLET. At the risk of sounding superficial, the mullet is the world’s absolute worst haircut & I don’t care how attractive a man is otherwise, a mullet effectively ruins it. And no offence, but Wallen wasn’t exactly attractive to begin with. Of course it’s always possible that my idea of what’s attractive is wildly different than the average woman. So maybe I’m the odd (wo)man out here…

Now, don’t get me wrong- musicians don’t NEED to be attractive. I would just understand Wallen’s mass appeal more if he looked like Spencer Charnas from Ice Nine Kills or Andy Biersack from Black Veil Brides. If y’all aren’t familiar with these two incredibly talented gentleman, who also happen to be decidedly gorgeous, well, do yourselves a favor & look them up right now. (But don’t just look at them- listen to their music too.)

People are fan-girling over this dude- I’m so confused….

Now I’ll be the first to admit that a lot of the musicians I love are far from saints. Many are recovered addicts/alcoholics &, as we all know, people in the throes of addiction/alcoholism frequently do some terrible things. So I’m sure there are people who wonder why I like the stuff I like too, & not just because of previous addiction issues. For example, just this past weekend I saw one of my favorite bands The Funeral Portrait for the first time. It was an eclectic, electrifying show that sent chills down my spine & is still bringing a huge smile to my face days later. But there are plenty of people who might not like them either. I mean this is a band of 5 guys who all wear at least a little bit of makeup, dance & twirl around on stage in decidedly effeminate ways, & 2 of the members even kiss on stage during every show. One of those guys is engaged to a woman & the other has a long term serious girlfriend. So no, they aren’t dating & aren’t even gay. It’s just a thing they do, probably partly because they know it pisses some people off & that just makes them want to do it even more. I personally love that. But there are definitely people who don’t, & I feel sorry for those people in a way because they are missing out on some FANTASTIC music.

That was a bit of an aside, but what I’m getting is that I absolutely do believe in separating the art from the artist. A song can be written by someone who is far from saintly & still be a good song that helps a lot of people. We all have to decide where we want to draw the lines when we find out a musician or artist whose work we like isn’t the best person after all. For some that means never supporting their art ever again. I tend to fall more on the “don’t throw the baby out with the bath water” side, meaning I’ll still listen to the music but I won’t buy concert tickets or merch.

But back to the main subject here- Morgan Wallen. Do I think he is irredeemable because of his past? No. But I find his apologies surrounding his less than flattering incidents to be less than satisfying. And the fact that these things KEEP happening makes me think he’s probably a high functioning alcoholic who is at high risk of eventually ending up in some serious legal trouble. I mean, if a man is comfortable getting drunk & throwing chairs off a building IN PUBLIC, what he is doing at home when there are no cops or security cameras around? Something to think about…

Also, is it just me or has anyone else noticed that a common theme in Wallen’s music is toxic relationships with women? What’s more, in songs like I’m the Problem, despite the misleading title, he seems to be placing all the blame on the woman. Basically constantly making excuses for his own behavior & never owning up to his own issues. I don’t know about y’all but no matter what he looked like, that right there is a decidedly unattractive trait.

Now there are other country musicians whose fame may initially seem puzzling. Take Jelly Roll for example- a big dude with major face tattoos who is a former rapper & is very open about his past in prison. But I get why people like him- I like him too! He’s not a favorite of mine but I definitely respect him & his work. But Morgan Wallen? I just don’t get it, y’all. Clearly he has that IT factor, that je ne sais quoi, that has rocketed him from just another country singer to a true star. But for the life of me I don’t understand it. If y’all have figured it out, feel free to explain it. In the mean time, I’ll go back to The Funeral Portrait.

But damn if I don’t have I’m the Problem intermittently stuck in my head!! Ahhhhh!!!

2 CommentsLeave a comment

Disillusioned Once Again


Warning: this is going to be a brain dump. This will not be my most eloquent post, nor my most uplifting. But there are so many thoughts whizzing around my brain right now that I simply must write or else risk losing my sanity (or what’s left of it).

Here lately I am constantly circling back to this same concept over & over again: I have to stop expecting myself from other people. You see, I’m what’s called an empath or a “highly sensitive” person. And with that comes the ability to self reflect, reexamine long-held beliefs, consider new ideas, & generally remain open minded about life while also being highly sensitive to the feelings & needs of others. As I’ve evolved over the years, the thing I seem to have forgotten is that a lot of folks have not been doing the same. Instead of becoming more open minded, more empathetic, & more self-reflective, a lot of people have done quite the opposite. They’ve stewed in self pity, maximized “in group” thinking, & thus it should come as no surprise that their empathy quotient- at least for anyone different than them- is basically zero.

But, you see, sometimes I forget this. I think “Well, gosh, I’ve changed my mind about so many things because of new evidence & life experiences. Surely others must have done the same.” And that right there is where I am realizing I am 100% WRONG!! Far too many people have not done the inner work to examine why they feel they way they do, why they believe what they do, nor anything of that nature. They may not be happy with where they are but they’re very content. Which is a very dangerous place to be.

I was trying to avoid politics in this post but I no longer feel like I can. The past five to ten years, especially the past five years, have been a real eye-opener for me. I guess it’s proof of white privilege that it took me that long to realize just how many racist people still exist- more specifically how many of them I actually KNOW. And it’s not just about race. It’s the general lack of empathy that I see for anyone who looks or thinks differently that shocks & appalls me on a daily basis. Between Trump’s frequently audacious statements & the open microphone that is social media, people have become very comfortable airing their dirty laundry. I mean, maybe it’s better that way, so we know who to avoid. But it’s hard not to feel like society is unraveling a bit.

Indeed if there’s anything I’ve learned over the past few years it’s that we are not nearly as civilized as we like to think we are. Our brains have not evolved to handle the 24/7 news cycle/information overload that smart phones give us, but even more than that, we simply are not as NICE as we like to think we are. When I was in school learning about slavery, the US Civil Rights era, the Holocaust, & other such atrocities, I was horrified but also vaguely comforted by the notion that we as humanity had evolved beyond such evils, that we’d never have to worry about facing such nightmares come to life again. While on a textbook level I understood how these horrible events happened, I’d never watched it with my own eyes, never heard it with my own ears, so part of me still wondered how these things could have actually happened. Simply put, how could people be so cruel?

Well, friends, I no longer have any doubts. I know exactly how these things happened & I very much fear they may happen again. When you have people constantly hating on those they find “lesser,” blaming other groups for problems that aren’t even vaguely caused by them, it’s very easy to see how hatred takes hold of people &, especially when combined with financial constraints, leads them to view other people as somehow less than human. And it’s nothing short of terrifying.

On a more personal level, I’m also just sick of expecting people to be nicer than they are. I’m not talking about my husband or closest friends or family. I have way too much self respect to tolerate the people closest to me not treating me well. But when it comes to other people, I find that I am often disappointed. So I guess it’s just high time I woke up & realized that other people frequently do not think like me. It sounds so trite but I simply have to stop expecting me from other people. Again, it’s trite but true: “If they wanted to, they would.”

Sigh. I’d like to end this on a happier note but I don’t have the energy right now. I’m sure I’ll feel better after a good night’s rest & getting back to work in the morning (which keeps me busy helping others & not wallowing in self pity). Just know that if you’re finding the world a scary, disappointing place right now, you are 100% not alone.

0 CommentsLeave a comment