‘There’s nothing American about promoting violence’: country star Jason Aldean criticised for anti-protest song
Try That in a Small Town features lyrics threatening violence against protesters and has been removed from Country Music Television, but Aldean says it is a celebration of community
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/jul/19/country-star-jason-aldean-try-that-in-a-small-town-songOpen linkView original on kbin.social449
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His song literally celebrates violence and the kind of mob mentality that leads to tremendous injustice. Oh, and his music video was filmed on the site of a lynching while it threatens black protesters today. Community? Really?
It tells you exactly who he thinks his “community” is.
It's dogwhistles all the way down with these folks.
Ah, but you see, dem black folks, them ain't a part of tha community, dey're notting but second-class.
What's a more tight knit community than a Klan?
These people are stupid. If you want a gun you will get a gun regardless of law, the same way it's been forever. Laws are just a false sense of security in America.
This loser isn’t even from a small town. He grew up in Macon, GA (pop 153k) and currently lives in Nashville (pop 692k).
That's Modern Country: Artists with manicures and private jets singing about trucks and farm work. Listened to by office workers with trucks that never leave paved roads.
Relevant Bo Burnham song for those interested
https://youtu.be/y7im5LT09a0
As someone from an actual small town, that's hilarious 😂
I grew up outside of Jackson MS. Like, wayyy outside. And yeah. It hits pretty close to home.
Same. Even in my area half the men that think they're that cool country man image have soft hands and clean trucks.
Love that song.
Hear that subtle mandolin?
Wow I love this. I had no idea he’s the famous country singer from parks and rec!
It’s the most cynical art form ever. The average pop country song is just a product; it has zero artistic value. And, it typically reflects a fake culture that has been confected from tropes.
Not true. They sometimes end up in the ditch after drunken driving.
Lol that’s a great way of putting it. Everything about it is phony. And most artists that could cross-over have been quick to do so and sever their ties to modern country.
His mind is a small town.
His mind is a ghost town.
Idk I’ve lived here for nearly 30 years and it’s absolutely news to me that promoting violence is unamerican. Especially in a small town. Motherfuckers in small towns will brag about couch guns while daring the president to come to town. Small town motherfuckers will use gallows as a decoration. These people’s issues with blm protests in a small town isn’t violence it’s black people.
Also they never minded when the ones being rounded up were the gays or the Japanese or native Americans or Latines. But sure you fucking hicks need to be afraid. Fuck off and arm a synagogue instead.
For the love of God please just say latinos. You don't need to police our language.
Latines is better than Latinx which is a monstrous perversion, but spanish is just fine the way it is.
Ive just been skipping all the weird stuff and been calling Latinos laddy nose.
Ah yes, the representative of the Latinos.
Small town men are always the cliche bad guy in every movie/tv show for a reason
"violence" is when I'm not in absolute comfort - not when I shoot people, that's my right.
if you want a read about what small town, at the time, people did during the japanese internment here in wa state
Yeah, but we’re very specially talking about America right now.
Right, but the point is this has been a hallmark of conquering nations for thousands of years, and the denialism goes hand in hand with it.
Whataboutism at its finest. Par for the course for Muricans who believe they are king of the hill in everything but just can't admit that also includes gun deaths, Black maternal mortality rates, homelessness and healthcare expenditures.
Their violence is also largely attributable to the USA's history of backing fascist coups in them.
When we’re discussing an American singer talking about American issues, and reactions by other Americans pointing out American history? Yes. Because it’s not relevant to the discussion at hand. It’s whataboutism and counterproductive. Again, we’re specifically talking about America here. Stay on topic.
Oh, so that makes it okay then.
Your whataboutism doesn't even work here. The USA was born in native American genocide, an international slave trade, and rampant settler colonial capitalism. At least the next time when you're doing racist dogwhistles on lemmy pick a country that the US 24-hour news cycle wants you to derail about like Russia and China you absolute tool. Blaming the global south was so Cold War ago.
Most other nations don't pretend to be non-violent while people are getting lynched my mobs...
Japan sits silently in the corner
Let's not talk about Nanking.
Who does he think does the rounding up?
The context makes it actually sound to me like he is saying he thinks "they" are going to come round up people's guns, not the people themselves.
That’s what I thought, too.
The lyrics are not very clear.
Who does he think gets rounded up? It’s never the plain rural majority folks.
Guns. I'm extremely confident the line is about guns. It is a common fear amongst conservatives and he mentions a gun in the line before.
The liberals have been THIS CLOSE to rounding up everyone’s guns for decades now. Somehow they never do it, though. But soon they will! Trust me!
Boo! I'm gonna get your guns! 👹
The feds, obviously. Feds v cops is one of those city mouse country mouse dichotomies.
realllll fucking funny to use the words "ontological" and "real" next to each other
It was Michael Knowles of the Daily Wire that said "transgender people is not a real ontological category." While I could see Aldean agreeing with that, I can't seem to find it in any of his songs.
Thanks for letting me know Jason Aldean is a giga chud and a transphobe
I cannot seem to find a quote from either nazis or aldean yet you used exact and stated things quite confidently
also cannot seem to find his call for trans genocide, nor them being an an ”extremist hate group”
seems like your whole comment is fearmongering emotionally driven bullshit
I've read the lyrics and listened to the song. What are you on about? Is it not enough to merely recognize the song (and the video's setting and content!?) as racist? Are the dog whistles so lowkey that you have to make shit up?
I'm guessing Jason Aldean has never pronounced the word "ontological" or "entarte", let alone sang it. Just how smart are you saying this guy is?
Nobody is calling to exterminate anybody, because the other problem with that statement is that transgender people is not a real ontological category — it’s not a legitimate category of being,” Knowles continued. “There are people who think that they are the wrong sex, but they are mistaken. They’re laboring under a delusion. And so we need to correct that delusion.”
It looks like it was some doucher from the Daily Wire during a speech at CPAC, but it was in response to Aldean's comment of literally "eradicating transgenderism."
Idk, close enough. If it walks like a nazi and talks like a nazi, then it's probably a nazi.
you can't say that! something something the left always accuses me of being a Nazi for disagreeing with them, all I want to do is lynch N******, T*********, and F***!
did I forget anything of the new standard fascist playbook?
They're right, though. If you search for "Aldean ontological" the only result you'll get with both words is this very thread. I don't see anything fascist about correcting a factual error.
LOL, wasn't so much correcting an error as pointing out that these idiots are giving WAY too much credit to a country star.
Using big words like that would get your ass whipped in his crowd. "I don't know what that means, but it sounds woke!"
Watch the video. It will help connect the dots.
I did, and I've commented as such.
https://old.lemmy.world/comment/1644245
My point was that some people, somehow, don't find the despicable nature of the song/video to be BROAD enough. They gotta get their little group in on the offense.
"I'm a liberal gun owner (<-true) and I feel targeted! I'm a victim too!"
Same shit here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdO9X7Lxzvs
Just curious, do you feel triggered by Aldean being called out because you like bigotry, or do you just have really shitty taste in music and the delusion that your favorite cuntry star must be a good person?
What in the world on you on about? Never heard his name until this shit came up. The only country I listen to is much older stuff, I have no awareness of modern country, at all.
We're talking about an in-your-face racist song, and now suddenly it's about trans folks?! The trans community is trod upon quite well enough with finding digs on them where it doesn't exist.
Sure, that's why you're hell-bent on defending him.
You're hell bent on insisting that I am. Been here 1 solid day. Have a look at my comment history. Come back and tell me I'm a racist, conservative, jack-booted thug.
Here's a starter comment, on me, enjoy:
https://old.lemmy.world/comment/[email protected]
A "celebration of community" would have lyrics about helping each other, attending local events and supporting local businesses. It would reference knowing people's names, watching families grow up together, pitching in to help neighbours and being able to relax & feel content.
It shouldn't contain combative themes, othering, divisive language and threats of violence.
Something about this comment flipped a switch for me. This is how these people bond. They find common ground in fearing the same out-groups. To them, that is exactly what "community" is, sharing a common enemy.
It is a defining feature of fascism.
Country music used to have themes like that, or simply be fun. "Down on the Farm" is catchy, fun, most can relate.
Reba sang... Fuck it, I'm done. There were some greats that sang about our common experiences, with a rural twist. Hell, even Garth is getting his ass beat for being inclusive.
If you leave mainstream, radio country even just a little, it becomes apparent that progressive gays are taking over country and Americana. If there are people and places in your life that need country music, bring S.G. Goodman, Melissa Carper, Orville Peck, Iris Marlowe, and none of these people have what I would call a niche sound. (I don't expect to convert anyone to the cult of Little Mazarn, but that's maybe my favorite country act.) And some of them are blowing up! They're making country music for me these days, and I fucking love it. It's all I listen to lately. Folk, country, and Americana are for everyone.
Anyone talking honestly about southern community is going to come off real anarchist/communist/leftist/whatever. A large part of rural life is mutual aid, a staple of leftist movements. Rural people vote conservative because they're told to hate someone else though, and that's it. Ideologically they are more leftist, though often with conservative social values regarding family and faith.
So I'm pretty far left (for an American), but I think there is a nuance that I've had explained at me by some non-mouth-frothing Republican types I've worked with.
For them, there is a difference between choosing to be part of community, helping other people, and sharing what they have, and being forced to do those things (via taxes). It always struck me as... exclusionary. It means that they can help their literal neighbor and ignore the people on the other side of town (or the other side of the country).
So it may feel like it's leftist/communist/etc, but it's just an extension of "fuck you, I got mine" to "fuck everyone else, me and mine got ours, and only on my terms."
That is a really interesting take that I hadn’t fully considered until reading your comment, so thank you! I think this is very accurate for a lot of rural community members, especially those with hard R leanings. I think when we start from the other end of the spectrum it’s easy to say oh they must be compelled by emotional responses to issues like abortion/gun rights, when really it could be they want more autonomy.
Buuuutttttt… they also don’t want others to have the same autonomy regarding birth control and healthcare so we’re still at an impasse, and you’re right it’s totally a case of fuck you I got mine (extended cut).
I don't think anyone thinks the government is our friend. I don't know why that matters though. A company isn't my friend either. When the options for things getting done are between a company (who's motivation is supposed to be profit) and the government (who's motivation is supposed to be good), I'll take the government.
Joe Biden is a neo-liberal conservative old school politician. I don't like him, and I don't know anyone who does. He has been fairly effective for getting some good done though. I wish he'd speak out more and push for doing more good, but he's done better than I expected from him (which is basically nothing, except not causing more damage like the last guy), because he's got some progressive support behind him pushing for more leftist things.
We don't need the government to be our friend. We need it to do what's needed for the most good per dollar. I don't think that should just be internal either, because humans are humans no matter where they live. I don't really value "American". I don't think being born on this piece of dirt makes you any more important than someone born on some other piece of dirt.
Also, the military spending in Ukraine is mostly not money, it's value. It's the value of weapons that were already built and built for the purpose of fighting Russia and China at the same time potentially. Them being used to fight Russia is literally the most effective thing they could do, and what they were designed for. Russia being weaker means we need to have less stockpiled. If they weren't sent over, they'd just be sitting in storage somewhere not being used. We aren't sending cash for the most part.
That's a pretty shit take from the guy who was LITERALLY on stage when the Las Vegas shooter started firing into the crowd.
More flags than a Nuremberg rally. Nationalism is a disease.
This racist asshole grew up in Macon Georgia, just another in a long line of racist, suburban posers.
I read he was from Georgia and had another moment of, “man, why does my home state have to keep embarrassing me like this?”
Seriously. I've seen to many people that avoid nice areas because of stupid shit like this. Country music is dog shit but people hear you live in Georgia and assume you're a good ol boy
He’s a supermarket cowboy.
Ooooh I have not heard this one before, I like it. I've used cowbro in the past but generally just go for bro-country. Gonna throw supermarket cowboy into the mix.
Don't assume everyone from the south is racist though, there are low life shit humans everywhere unfortunately
They're saying Macon is a suburb and not a rural small town.
I’m from New Hampshire, the Mississippi of New England.
Sure, but also don't assume that the amount of racists are the same everywhere.
Aw downvoted for reminding people that there are decent people on the planet. Reddit2.0 here we go
Down voted because you don't have solid reading comprehension skills here and not because you you're pointing out that non-racists exist in the south.
And getting upset and then whining about being the victim because you didn't read the comment correctly, yeah, you're definitely bringing some Reddit 2.0 vibes here with that.
The post I responded to mentioned a city in Georgia and a long line of racist in the family but some people in bad families do use their brains occasionally and make better decisions, but y'all keep down voting lol
He's getting downvoted for misconstruing the intent of the original remark and jumping straight to the assumption of persecution, as are you. Assuming everyone is against you and whining about downvotes is possibly the most reddit thing ever.
I simply said that not all people are racist lolol
And that was a non sequitur.
Every article or post being made about this should include Bo Burnham’s “Pandering” at the end…he already said everything needed to say and killed it.
https://youtu.be/y7im5LT09a0
Dated lyrics in only 3 years. We truly cannot predict where "Cancel Culture" will hit next.
Pandering came out in 2016, apparently, so that's more like seven years. But also, we all know they're going to forget about being mad at Bud Light, move on to the next stupid culture war BS and start buying their Bud Light again within the year.
They'll never forget about Bud Light. I have coworkers who still make Clinton/Lewinsky jokes.
You raise a good point, but are they still boycotting Nike, Gillette, or Keurig?
They'll just switch to Busch Light and think there's a difference
It's just comical watching American men get salty. I bet his hands are super soft and he has a big truck with a pristine bed.
Look at that pampered baby face of his. He probably has a fussy skin care regimen and spends more time in a spa every week than most people do in a year. But he needs to pander to the testosterone-obsessed truckbro pissbaby demographic to make his money.
piss kidney
Why do I suspect his ass is the first to flee when shit gets real? Doubt he can live up to his own lyrics, evidence has shown most of these people can't.
At the end of the day, the root cause of bigotry is cowardice. Maybe stupidity and indoctrination got them where they are, but for 100% of them, it's cowardice that's keeping them there.
This will be the trump campaign tune. At least until he's incarcerated.
Trump and Aldean need a shallow ditch
Still so much better than "Fortunate Son" lol
Trump is quite literally the exact type of person that song is making a point against. Silver spoon, draft dodger, "millionaires son"
No, because the people that make these songs and the ones who support them, seem to ignore people like Trump.
It's only the "other ones" they count....
Certainly a better fit for the maga cult
We poured hot tar and feather on the British when they raised taxes to pay for the war in which we were being defended. What part of our history is “non-violent”
We genocided the people that were here before us, there's nothing more American.
To pay for the war which we started and we were defended. And continued to need defense even after the war.
I'm happy the Revolutionary War happened, but the more I read of it the more I realize we (Americans) were on the wrong side of it.
The looming civil war continues to simmer. Shit like this is going to ramp way back up as the election gets closer.
That was very Aldean of you to say.
Haha, sorry man, I am totally in agreement. Was just making a reference to this: https://youtu.be/NYJ2w82WifU
:):(:
Aldean or Aldean?
What's sad is the controversy will make the song more popular with country fans.
Country music enthusiasts be like: "Yeah I listen to country music, it's not like that rap trash that just talks about naked girls and sex"
Country music: "Little mama got those painted on blue jeans and curves like a highway I'm going to ride all night long"
My kind of country music:
"There's a gateway in our minds That leads somewhere out there, far beyond this plane Where reptile aliens made of light Cut you open and pull out all your pain Tell me how you make illegal Something that we all make in our brain Some say you might go crazy But then again, it might make you go sane"
I'm more of a Buck Owens kinda guy but I could listen to a country song like this.
Sturgill Simpson! Song is called Turtles all the way down and the music video is also pretty epic.
Sweet. I will check it out!
I checked it out. Damn that's cool. Sound reminds me of vintage country like maybe Glenn Campbell. Love the topic. Thanks!
Why is this shitty country song being targeted by the news? There are so many other country songs with lyrics like this, and there are plenty even more troubling. Sick of seeing this headline. We’re giving attention to something that doesn’t deserve it, and it sucks.
Because it's recent and CMT took action. Nothing new here.
I'm a liberal redneck, got a country list on Spotify.
"Country Boy Can Survive", strikes a chord with me, not hellishly racist. I get it.
I like "Song of the South", I feel much of it, but the name itself is a dog whistle. If you listen to the words, well, things got better with FDR? 🤷🏻♂️ Make of it what you will.
"Indian Outlaw" is catchy, zero hate, could even be called positive. (Not by me.) Seems damned offensive to a Native American. Done with that one.
"Try That in a Small Town" is kinda OK, on its own. I get the sentiment. We small town folks take care of ourselves. Because we have to. OTOH, the video and backdrop, Jesus Fucking Christ, he might as well have said kill invading n****rs.
Anyway, different songs from different times. Now is not the time to release shit like this and try to claim... Whatever the fuck he came out with. I'm exhausted.
EDIT: LOL my God. The song and video were worse than I remembered. Song isn't even catchy, even with the video off, it's just dreck. And change that from "kill invading n****rs" to "kill all libs/woke/whatever".
This country lib is armed, for whatever that's worth.
Pass It on Down by Alabama is one of the only Top 5 charted country music songs that is Pro Environment.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iiHX2653XPE&pp=ygUacGFzcyBpdCBvbiBkb3duIGJ5IGFsYWJhbWE%3D
Good luck hearing that in today's MAGA pandering country music world.
Community is at its best when it's not making threats!
No, Community is at its best when it's rapping in a hot dog costume.
I mean, when you put it that way, how could I possibly disagree?
Yeah because the Revolutionary War was so peaceful.
Yeah because the Revolutionary War was so peaceful.
Now do rap music.
Reeeeal grand of the Guardian to criticize the lyrics of someone's song when they never called the Black Lives Matters rioters uh rioters. Insane hypocrisy from some leftist media.
Die mad about it.
There are a lot of types of country and a lot of different singers. Radio USA certainly doesn't represent all of it.
It's like saying you have to be a punk or a lower-class African American to enjoy rap. Rap is surprisingly varied, done by basically all nations and ethnicities, and more-often-than-you'd-think political or otherwise intelligent. Linkin Park (and the spin-off project Fort Minor) is my favorite band, for example; and most of their rap is about politics, introspection, dealing with mental illness, or putting down bad relationships— and the latter can be angry, melancholy, resolved-and-hopeful, forgiving, and anything in between. But I digress.
A genre is just a genre, and any genre can be smart, skillful, and all-around good.
This is sturgeon's law. 90% of everything is crap. There's tons of garbage pop, rock, industrial, etc etc. This is true in books, movies, and other forms of entertainment too
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturgeon%27s_law
Hell yeah I know about Sturgeon's Law! And its corollaries!
I believe that taste is subjective, but quality is objective. That's because I believe that quality is about how effective a work of art is at doing what it set out to do, to its intended audience. And if an aspect of a work of art distracts from that goal or brings the work down, it is of objectively lower quality. However, I want to be clear that I mean that about the audience statistically— individuals of course may be more or less affected or unaffected by individual choices in art.
Let me give an example for that last part. Most people don't see anything wrong with many of the choices in Ace Attorney; but I find that series to be ugly, tasteless, and insulting (not to mention extremely autism-unfriendly). The extremely ugly faces for many characters, the bug-eye reactions, the intuition-unfriendly dumbness, the pedophilia, the low-brow, the sexism, the constant harsh flashing and shaking... I believe that if Ace Attorney didn't make those choices, nobody who currently likes the series would like it less (okay, well, maybe some people in Japan would like it less if you took away their staples of sexism and glorious stupidity; but we can compromise)— instead you'd have a larger appreciative audience if those weren't issues. So basically, you can make aspects of a work of art better without said aspects (or others) being worse or substantially less-liked.
Aside: As an autistic person, I really can't shut off my observation, comparison, or thorough thinking— it's always going. And one of the effects of that is that high standards come naturally to me. So because I'm always passionate and scrutinizing, I get more angry or more disappointed when things are bad— but also way more excited than most people when things are good. I feel like a lot of people don't understand me, thinking that I just hate everything; but those people are focusing on when I'm negative and ignoring how giddy I get at other times.
But I digress. There's a lot of crap out there; but that makes us who notice all the bad... just that much more appreciative of the things that are genuinely good.
wasnt aware of that, thanks for the link!
yes I suppose that's true, there are a lot of generalizations used when it comes to art - in all of its many forms and flavors. country music just has these specific connotations associated with it - crooning about broken trucks, sad laments for the girl that got away (because she was your sister), limited acoustical and rhythmic harmony, etc
You're thinking primarily country pop, and I agree with your assessment - most of it's crap. That being said, if the only country you know is what you've been exposed to on the radio, you're missing out on some amazing musicianship. Since I dig sharing music that breaks (or makes) a mold, here's some country pieces that you might dig:
"Lee Highway Blues" - Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper
Jolene - Dolly Parton
The Highwayman - Wayland Jennings, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristoffersen
I liked the highwayman! and that violin solo on the highway blues was really neat.
Glad you liked! You should check out more bluegrass if you like what Cleveland was playing. If you dig the style on the Highwayman, check out more Johnny Cash - he built an amazing legacy of work, and wasn't afraid of genre jumping - here's him doing a cover of Nine Inch Nails' Hurt.
I'll check it out, thanks!
@Arotrios Going to piggyback here and also recommend an artist called Jelly Roll. Started as a rapper, but has branched into a country/rock sound recently. Vocally very strong, and is open about his issues and how he goes about trying to fix his life up for the better.
I like his older sound better, but he is still a respectable artist even with the more mainline sound. It has however gotten him radio play, for better or worse.
@stopthatgirl7 @tallwookie @orphiebaby
My go-to country song, and I'm not a big fan of country, is Juice Newton's Queen of Hearts.
Yee, the most common versions of things aren't the only versions of those things.
There's something called the "animation age ghetto". It's a phenomenon where most people assume that animated movies and shows are for kids only; and it has held back the medium a whole lot. Animation is just a method of getting the art out there, and it can have a lot of variation and be very sophisticated. Most of all, it can be about whatever— or for whomever— you want.
Nah there's definitely more variety to country music than that, but you have to dig for it (try Woody Guthrie for instance). Much like pop music, you have to go past whats popular to find the good stuff
yes thank you, I'm so sick of hearing "rap is crap" from people who've only heard a few gangsta rap songs on the radio in the 1990s and assumed that was it. That was all rap had to offer
Very based.
Wow, that was a really well thought out and well-constructed comment just to say you're inbred.
Also, good job cherry-picking the most vulnerable thing I said even though it has nothing to do with "whether or not I'm inbred (a.k.a. 'dumb')". Says a lot about what your goals are
Hey, cash and Nelson and Parton and the chicks are country. This is just dumbass country. It’s sorta like how folk could be pa with a banjo or it could be a communist strumming a guitar that says “this machine kills fascists” and singing about how we need to be as brave as the Soviets to free England and France.
Like. The Chicks are awesome. Their “I’m Not Ready to Make Nice” is amazing. So is “Goodbye Earl.” Some country is awesome. Just not this dude.
I’m Not Ready to Make Nice
Goodbye Earl
One of my favourite Fleetwood Mac songs is "That's Alright" which is undoubtedly a country song, but you'd never catch me listening to anything else you'd call country. Not even close. However, that proves that there are definitely some country songs out there I'd enjoy.
I used to hate hip-hop and R&B until I dug past the mounds of mainstream trash and found underground artists I really love. These genres are very broad terms with hundreds of sub-genres.
I found a little R&B I like. Some of R. Kelly, Musiq, and especially Jagged Edge. But I need to find more R&B I like. I love hip-hop too— in concept. I'm struggling to find good artists beyond just a song here and there that I like. Also, I absolutely hate modern mainstream hip-hop. I especially hate autotune.
I'm pretty white, too. Good music is good music.
theres some good modern country but most of the big names dont do anything for me. sturgill simpson is great modern country though imho.
Y’all dumb motherfuckers ready for a key change?