First of all, I want to say how much I've always enjoyed our interactions on the boards. Even though we often disagree on things, I appreciate how we've always tried to be respectful of each others' opinions - I know you certainly have, and I hope I've held up my end in that regard.
In regards to Isbell - Jason has absolutely been critical of Nashville and the country market, just like me and many of my peers have. He never, however, has done so with the agenda of wanting to, or thinking he should, be played on the country format - at least to my knowledge. I put his comments/criticisms in the same context as those of Tom Petty, who said (paraphrasing here) that current country music is bad 70s rock with fiddle and steel guitar. Petty wasn't lobbying to get played on country stations, or complaining that he wasn't - he was expressing an honest disappointment in a genre of music he had an affinity for. Which is what Jason had done, and continues to do. SS on the other hand absolutely felt like his music should be played on country radio and was pretty downright pissed about it.
I recorded an EP for MCA/Decca in 1996. I know now, and knew at the time, that the chance of that project being a commercial success, or accepted on country radio, was a real hail mary. It was not in fact successful, but I'm very content with that. It was the album I wanted to make, I'm proud of it, it got some great reviews, and I'm thankful I got the opportunity. It flies all over me when I hear an artist complain in a way that insinuates they somehow should be a bigger star/more successful than they are.
I fully support an artist breaking new ground, and pushing the envelope. Where you and I would probably disagree is, I don't think recording an album that pretty much sounds like old Waylon Jennings accomplishes that. To address another question I was asked on the thread - no, I don't think his first two albums were country, I would classify them as Americana....although it absolutely was as close to country as he's gotten, and there were moments that I feel like it was country. His recent music is absolutely not, which was what I was really talking about.
Here's the thing, and this is probably the crux of why he gets under my skin. He made a choice to follow his heart and record music that was true to his soul - I honor and respect that, it's what we're all supposed to do. He did not, however, record music that fit the country format as it currently stands. Now it is an entirely fair (but separate) point to debate that country radio SHOULD play more artists like Sturgill and/or Isbell, and I would probably tend to lean towards agreeing with that in principle. However, when as an artist, you choose to follow a music direction that has you swimming against the current of the mainstream, you have to understand that there's a very good chance it's not going to be successful for you (in the traditional sense of how success is defined). I think it's pretty ridiculous to basically record a project that sounds nothing like anything that's being played on the radio (regardless of what era we're talking about) and then complain when it doesn't get played on the radio. That's precisely what Sturgill did, and has continued to do to some degree.
I'm not trying to convince anyone that enjoys his music that they should do otherwise. Like I said, to each his own. I get annoyed only when he gets anointed as some sort of savior of country music. To be clear, I'm not at all suggesting anyone on here has done that - but it has been said and written, and certainly discussed ad nauseam at least locally so much so, that to throw myself under the bus, I probably sometimes overreact and respond to comments/opinions that aren't actually there. I'll try to keep that in mind going forward.
Lastly, yes the Steven Tyler analogy was pretty weak in hindsight....I was in a hurry to get out the door and didn't put as much thought into it as I should have, my apologies. I do stand by the "stay in your lane" portion of that comment though. SS is an arguably great Americana-ish artist. He is not, IMO, remotely close to a great country artist, deserving of the success and attention he has indicated he feels he is due. Hope that clears up my position.
Jimbo Franchione