#protest music
BIG DISCLAIMER: i was 9 when 9/11 happened, so this might be more about my own crystalizing tastes than anything else. i think it’s a pretty darn good theory tho and other people have validated it.
BIGGER DISCLAIMER: i am not saying that country music prior to 9/11 was free from nationalist, racist, misogynist undertones - i just think that these themes became more the norm!
MY HOT TAKE:
with very few exceptions, including goodbye earl, before he cheats, and daddy Iessons (side note - all women!) 9/11 ruined country music. around 2014 onward we’ve got margo price, sturgill simpson, jason isbell etc., who are making country music great again (wink), but those folks are mostly considered “alternative” country. the mainstream country music for well over a decade now is a glut of trash performative patriotic / working-class-but-not-really lab-crafted budweiser-sponsored nonsense that has managed to sound rebellious (or has convinced its fans that it sounds rebellious) without ever actually questioning any power structure. so much so that artists who ACTUALLY criticized the government were literally blacklisted for nearly a decade (the dixie chicks)
pre-9/11 country music, though not perfect or ideologically pure by any stretch, did not have the raging american flag painted truck boner that comes to mind for a lot of people who say “i like everything except rap and country”
SPECIFICALLY, toby keith’s “courtesy of the red, white, and blue (the angry american)” (2002) literally destroyed country music. it was a direct answer to the 9/11 attacks and war song in support of the invasion of afghanistan. the lyrics read like a disjointed feverish email chain letter forwarded from your great uncle sprinkled with glittering american flag gifs and heavily saturated pictures of bald eagles. the entire song is lifted from an estimated 248 peeling bumper stickers collected from rusted trucks on cinder blocks in overgrown yards, cut up and arranged to fit a catchy, formulaic tune that is almost certainly the background music playing in george w. bush’s head at all times.
“we’ll put a boot in your ass, it’s the american way
and uncle sam put your name at the top of his list
and the statue of liberty started shakin’ her fist
and the eagle will fly, and it’s gonna be hell, when you hear mother freedom start a'ringin’ her bell”country music and the new country musicians that toby keith paved the way for became so pro establishment and so unquestioningly nationalistic that, again, the dixie chicks who went against this grain were blacklisted by the industry and received death threats from country music fans. hell, there are folks who STILL froth at the mouth at the mere mention of the dixie chicks.
9/11 killed outlaw country - how can you sing the praises of law breakers when your main circuit consists of singing to troops? there are some great classic country songs critiquing the police state - especially from johnny cash and merle haggard - now country music artists hold fundraisers for FOPs. new country music is basically in-law country music.
you don’t have to write a pro-bush patriotic anthem to be part of this post-9/11 ruination. playing meaningless songs about living in the heart of (read: white) america, eschewing the city (read: not white), and cracking open a cold one with the boys for “authentic” country music is also important to the war effort.
there’s a progression of themes here:
post 9/11 top tier: war anthem, vocally patriotic, directly used as pro war propaganda;
which paved the way for: “things used to be so much better” thinly veiled racist laments, good for campaign ads;
which paved the way for meaningless party anthems - attempts to make things “like they used to be” and craft a reality that neither the artist nor listener likely ever experience.that brings us to what most people think of today when they say they hate country music: the country party anthem - “tiny hot gal in tight jean shorts who can drink beer like the guys, she doesn’t like beyoncé Like Other Girls, oh she’s so into me and my truck, i’m gonna take her fishing after i finish sowing my corn - sung by a guy who’s never touched a tractor” - has overtaken the tragic, done me wrong, despairing country ballads of tammy wynette, george jones, and even up into pre-9/11 contemporaries like reba mcentire and george strait. you didn’t necessarily have to be country to relate to their pain. now you have to perform suburban redneckness to enjoy luke bryan.
when was the last time you heard a sad country song?
after 9/11, cowboys (whether or not they had ever been near a cow) weren’t allowed to be sad anymore (no more done me wrong country), and they certainly weren’t allowed to question authority (no more outlaw country). partying hardy became the most important American Thing and if you don’t sing about that, our Enemies Will Win.
so - understanding that country music has always had bad stuff, and that like any genre it suffers from commercialization, 9/11 DESTROYED COUNTRY MUSIC. and toby keith gleefully helped destroy it.
for some further evidence of the decline of country music, please listen to the dixie chicks’ “long time gone” which is an indictment of the industry (i believe it was written before 9/11 but my point still stands - the genre was on the decline and 9/11 was the major cultural event that hastened the decline).
maybe i am a curmudgeon - almost every generation of country music has had its own “country music is not what it used to be” anthem, but i really think something distinct happened with 9/11.
Can confirm. Alan Jackson and Toby Keith, the blacklisting of Dixie Chicks, literally the only singer I can think of that ever spoke out against anything from 2001-2010 was Johnny Cash. I’d also say that the uber-patriotic stance lead to the shiny, vapid County Boy® nonsense that lead to so many of the solo artists all sounding and looking the same.
Johnny cash wrote an entire album about the destruction of Indigenous lands and of Indigenous people, Kris Kristofferson has been an activist most of his career working closely with the UFM, Woody Guthrie was a social justice advocate and union activist, Dolly Parton has tackled explicitly feminist issues even in the 60s and has been an avid supporter of her lgbt fans, Willie Nelson made Farm Aid to try and help farmers in danger of losing their farms due to mortgages keep them and is also an avid supporter of LGBT rights as well as marijuana legalization, Lorettea Lynn wrote about birth control in the 70s and had her song banned, i could go on!
When in the correct hands, country music is a powerful medium, but post 9/11 it’s been handed off to apathetic white men who have turned it into the most useless genre of music out there.
I think about this post a lot for some reason.
Todd in the Shadows and Lindsay Ellis each have a video (Todd’s is a solo venture, Lindsay later collabed with him on hers) which also touches on the general climate of post-9/11 and how protest music did – and didn’t – fit into the time period. They also briefly discuss the state of country music in their vids:
Watching these will help give further context, I believe, to this already awesome post.
(And yes, I was 18 when 9/11 happened. I remember everything from that time-period, and OP is 100% dead-on about how 9/11 crippled the music industry, and country in particular.)
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Some artists just know what to do and when to do it. I had to add this to my revolution playlist…Leon Bridges- Sweeter ✊
“No Justice No Peace” (New Orleans Bounce Remix to Philly Protest Chant)
Take it to the streets
Defund the police
No justice no peace.
Take it to the streets
Fuck the police
No justice no peace.
Aiken Unity Day 2016 was a success! I’d like to extend a heartfelt “THANK YOU” to Brandon Upson and every individual who played a role in organizing this amazing community event. It was my honor taking to the stage for such a worthy and necessary cause.
We must all take every step we can, utilize every resource and platform we have to promote unity amongst ourselves. Specifically, this event was built to place focus on the importance of local law enforcement and the people of the city forming and maintaining a healthy relationship with each other. This includes eating together, allowing our children to play together, enjoying music and entertainment together, and creating spaces where we can dialogue with each other, to gain perspective on better ways to coexist. That is, precisely, what occurred at Perry Memorial Park this past Saturday. Respect to every speaker, performer, vendor, participant, and most especially, the people in attendance!
On my end, I’d like to express my utmost respect and appreciation for all parts of my team for this particular show. I had two of the best singers and entertainers in the area at my side—the sultry Miss Angel Brown (usually seen fronting ATL DreamVision) and the vivacious Miss Nyla Lawrence of 824. I love the two of them, dearly. On keys and serving as musical director, Otis Wright always holds it down. We had THE Rudy Collins on bass, and Trae Beezy did his usual smashing on the drums. With all that collective energy on one stage, what else could be expected than to have an exceptional show? Many thanks to all of you, for holding me down.
One last note: As you may have observed, I’m typically spotted in all black. It makes me feel empowered, especially arriving on the scene with my crew dressed in all black. It’s polished, and makes an impact. As many may be aware, I use my platform as an artist to shine light on social issues. Right now, all black has been my uniform and way to express my solidarity with the fight toward justice for all peoples, with a specific focus on #BlackLivesMatters and the LGBTQ+ movements. On this occasion, I decided to include the piece I’m wearing on my head to pay respect to our other brothers and sisters losing their lives over on the Eastern side of our world. This is my offering, as an artist, to our shift toward a better reality for all parts of humanity.
More shows to come, of course. I’m building each one to be even more extravagant, impactful and compelling than the last. I can’t wait to exchange energy with you all.
the Musicated Minor
Photo Credit: Reggie Papparazzi Holley
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