Here’s the trouble with modern day “country” radio. Everyone on it, with very few exceptions, is trying to sell themselves as something they are not.
Essential, it’s the same thing as if you walk into an Italian restaurant, order your favorite dish, and the waiter brings you Chinese food. Now it might be good Chinese food, and you may even enjoy Chinese food from time to time. But at the end of the day, you did not walk into a Chinese restaurant and did not order Chinese food. So naturally you tell the waiter that he messed up, and brought you the wrong dish. But to your surprise, the waiter starts to argue with you, saying that the food he brought you IS Italian food. Clearly you know that this is not the case, but he is insist that not only is it Italian food, but it is newer and better Italian food than anything that has come before it. Now, your a smart individual, and not that easily fooled. They can give the dish an Italian name, use similar ingredients, and even dress the waiter up like an Italian, and have him speak with an Italian accent, but it doesn’t change the fact that what he is giving you is Chinese food.
While having this argument with the waiter, you notice a curious thing with the other customers. Some just blindly accept what they are given without even thinking about. Others show distaste, a few get up and leave for another Italian restaurant that will give them what they want, while the remaining are simply waiting around for someone to finally bring back the Italian food they have grown to love over the years. Finally, there is the new crowd that comes in, who openly admit that they do not like Italian food, but are more than happy to eat this Chinese food, that is calling itself Italian food.
And you, your still seating in the restaurant, arguing with the waiter, trying to figure out what the heck happen to the Italian food and if you will ever get it back.
