Merle Haggard doesn’t hate all of today’s country music, just most of it. Asked for his take on who he’s liking these days, he name checked Sturgill Simpson — and that was it.

Haggard says: “As far as I’m concerned, he’s the only one out there. The rest of them sound like a bunch of [crap] to me. I can’t tell what they’re doing. They’re talking about screwing on a pickup tailgate and things of that nature.

“I don’t find any substance. I don’t find anything you can whistle, and nobody even attempts to write a melody. It’s more of that kids stuff. It’s hot right now, but I’ll tell you what, it’s cooling off.”