Having recently been exposed to what's now considered "outlaw country" I had to laugh.

Harmless songs about drinking whiskey that were written by the same professional music row songwriters who penned adolescent ballads for Taylor Swift and sung by guys who've never had anything harder than a Bud Light Lime-A-Rita isn't outlaw. It's manufactured bullshit that's eaten up by people who think pickup trucks with confederate flag decals are cool.

In 1987 Steve Earle was tapped as the next big thing in country music. CMA awards, videos in heavy rotation on CMT, tours with the biggest names in music at the time. Then the cocaine crept in. Then the heroin. Finally a prison sentence. Then he got sober, grew his hair and completely stopped giving a fuck about the music industry.

That my friends is "outlaw". Not the drugs or chaos.

Doing your own thing on your own terms with no regard to popular opinion is as outlaw as you can get. Steve Earle just released his 15th studio album, his 11th since turning his back on what the industry thought he should be. It won't win any Grammys or hit #1 on the country charts, but it's one of the best albums he's ever made.

Buy this record and score a win for real "outlaw country": https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/terraplane/id960798875