In his 1997 autobiography “Bad As I Wanna Be,” NBA legend Dennis Rodman took a stab at his critics by saying, “The NBA’s chosen ones think I’m setting a bad example? I think they need to look around and stop taking themselves so seriously. You’re just not that important, bro.”
In context, it’s a quote that spoke to the onslaught of negative press that the Chicago Bulls power forward received when he and his team were at the height of their notoriety. Whether or not that criticism was warranted is up for debate. What isn’t, however, is his attitude. Unapologetic toward those who had two cents and then some to give Rodman on how he carried himself. It was almost as striking as any highlight reel or Finals run his career would become littered with despite it all. The attitude, good or bad, amplified the player.
Michael Wilson Hardy and his artistic posture seems to mirror Rodman both in presence and perspective. As the backbone of one of country music’s most prolific labels in Big Loud, Hardy’s had a hand in a number of the tracks that have graced the country radio charts in the past decade. He’s built quite the name for himself, with wicked wit behind the pen for his teammates and with his hits that utilize, to put it gently, unconventional concepts. Vengeful murder ballads, redneck existentialism, and satire-on-saturation are just a few examples of the eccentric yet polarizing dish he brings to the table.
Despite continued award show recognition and a residency among some of Nashville’s best, people continue to stick their noses up at what the “God’s Country” penman prepares for them. This newest LP, Quit!!, seems to be a direct response to that. The title track and opener reflect on the disapproval that’s felt like a career-long struggle. Hardy poetically recalls a discouraging note received when he was still playing college towns, hoping to mark his own territory. Fast forward a good decade later with a few dozen hits under his belt, and those same hecklers still haven’t gone away. What’s a guy gotta do to get the same level of respect as his mullet-mates?
Where the mockingbird & THE CROW or A ROCK felt like a Hardy still trying to bait those critics into latching on, Quit!! acts as an unabashed declaration of identity for the self-appointed head-thrasher. We see this immediately on the record’s second track, appropriately named “ROCKSTAR,” where Hardy parallels his journey thus far with idealized hair bands of old. He’s getting tattoos, making his momma mad, and even becoming the subject of makeshift Halloween costumes. While country music’s chosen ones may scream in disapproval, Hardy seems to find solace in not acknowledging the imaginary gravity they’re constantly trying to place him under.
“ROCKSTAR” effectively sets the pace for the rest of this 13-track mish-mash of trailer-park and tramp-stamp-filled influences. Those who have been listening closely could probably infer that he’s been itching to dive into that deep end for years. “GOOD GIRL PHASE,” featuring Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, effectively modernizes the angst Bowling for Soup felt a little too old for in 2002. Here in 2024, and it’s still a set of themes that are squirm-inducing when iterated by anyone over the age of 19. Though, it’s commendable that Hardy is employing some of the rockers he and this record clearly hold to such a high standard.
His proficiency in country tropes gets put to use on “HAPPY HOUR,” a song that, again, feels like a pair of britches Hardy is too big for despite the feature from the alternative youngblood in Knox. While a lot of this record’s subject matter feels juvenile, it is, undoubtedly, Hardy. In your face, not sorry for it, almost as if he’s saying, “Oh, you didn’t like that? Well, then, you’re gonna hate this one.”
Even as an odd and pseudo-butt rock as Quit!! presents itself to be, it feels equally absolved of some of those sins on “JIM BOB,” the ultimate thesis of what this LP means to Hardy. Jim Bob acts as a character Hardy plays in literal and metaphorical senses. The people around want him to change and clean up his act, but none of that particularly entices him. What gets Jim Bob out of bed is living his singular, abrasive lifestyle with guns, liquor, and middle fingers joining each other in the sky.
“JIM BOB” is only the groundwork Hardy spends this record laying down: a man and a mullet now entirely out of their shell, with no real interest in what the godfathers of radio or any other code of conduct he’d usually abide by have to say. Here, he’s employing about half a dozen genres, from rock-rap duets with Fred Durst to the grimy undertones of a shelved Three Days Grace record. His approach, albeit with precise expertise, takes a page out of Sid from Toy Story’s book. He rearranges heads and torsos, blasting unwanted playthings into the sky to create something unnatural though undeniably visceral and singular.
Despite some of its heavier prose on tracks like “SIX FEET UNDER (Caleigh’s Song), Quit!! in its entirety ultimately feels like an album for no one but Hardy. He’s at his least consequential, taking all of the bells and whistles he’s picked up during his waltz down music row and fashioning them into something whose beauty may only be recognizable through one lens. In fact, he only seems fueled to keep building when told that his creation is deformed, unredeemable, or sets a bad precedent.
To that, he simply responds by caring less. Like any bad boy, telling him he can’t do something only makes him want to do it that much more. If it pisses you off, then he’s already won. The only advice there is to give to his critics is to stop taking yourself so seriously. You’re just not that important, bro.
6.8
