My Morning Jacket’s Jim James Has Some Harsh Words For Modern Country Music

Richard Chapin Downs Jr./Getty

My Morning Jacket’s Jim James Has Some Harsh Words For Modern Country Music

Richard Chapin Downs Jr./Getty

Jim James seems like a chill guy, writing prose poems about Radiohead and throwing musical festivals in Mexico and reacting sensibly to album leaks and whatnot. But broach the subject of modern mainstream country music and prepare for an outpouring of anger. A new Rolling Stone profile points out how weird it is that a massively popular festival headliner like MMJ has never scored a radio hit. “Having a hit would be awesome, but I don’t know if it’s meant to happen,” James replies, before calling modern radio “such a waste of time.” James continues:

I feel like modern country is deliberately dumbing down the human race. They’re deliberately making people take glory in being uneducated and racist, and it’s just sad. I think it’s absolute mind control.

Guitarist Carl Broemel also revisited the disappointment of not meeting Bob Dylan while on tour with him:

It was pitched to us like, “There are gonna be lots of collaborations, and Bob wants to play with you guys.” That didn’t happen.

Read the whole interview here.

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