Country and popular music, like any other enterprise in American life, is encountering the cultural shift to the Left. Before I go into a possible way to bypass the shift, let’s talk about politics in music.
Taylor Swift wrote a song called “Only the Young“, after the 2018 election. Swift allowed the usage of the song for the Biden/Harris campaign free-of-cost, marking the first time Swift had lent her music to be used in a political advertisement. Looking at the lyric “The game was rigged, the ref got tricked,” you might notice it’s not only Republicans who suspect election fraud.
On the other hand, popular British singer Phil Collins wrote verses recently that resonate more with conservatives, lamenting that when children had more respect, the world seemed a nicer place.
There’s no reason that country singers have to be conservative on cultural or political issues: for instance, Tim McGraw came out for Obama, and Kris Kristofferson came out against military moves versus the communists who ruled Nicaragua. But in the past, country music has been identified more with conservativism than, let’s say, rap music.
The “woke wave” according to song writer John Rich, has hit Nashville. He says: “These artists are sitting there and are being told by their publicists, their managers, the heads of their record labels: ‘Hey, we know that you think these things about America… but no, you cannot record that song because it says this’ — and they just completely control these artists…. when you start building walls around artists then the art is dying…”
An article by David Browne in Rolling Stone magazine talks of the culture wars that are happening in Country Music:
“It really is weird right now,” says one leading country manager, who spoke on the condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the moment. “Country music has always been this kind of neighborhood where everyone gets along. We had everyone’s back. But it doesn’t feel that way anymore. The heels are dug in more than ever. It’s pretty heavy.” The manager has also witnessed the same backstage chilliness that Lovelady recounts. However, he says it is unquestioningly due to opposing political ideologies and beliefs. “I’ve always enjoyed seeing people in the hallways backstage,” he says. “But it’s not like that. You tend to avoid people, because everyone talks politics backstage. Everyone used to leave their dressing room doors open. The doors are shut now.”
<img alt captext="PxHere” class=”post-image-right” height=”288″ src=”https://conservativenewsbriefing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/bypassing-the-woke-in-country-music.jpg” width=”450″>The article adds that Jason Aldean’s wife Brittany was criticized for posting the reasonable comment: “I’d really like to thank my parents for not changing my gender when I went through my tomboy phase.” Her husband’s song “Try That in a Small Town,” and especially the music video that went with it created a stir too. Jason Aldean defended himself in a statement on Instagram, saying the accusations about him were “not only meritless, but dangerous.”
It is true that some upstart singer/songwriters have put political messages in their songs. Oliver Anthony’s “Rich men north of Richmond” had lyrics that complained: “your dollar ain’t s — and it’s taxed to no end” which of course normal people can relate to.
Predictably, Anthony also received criticism.
Longtime country singer/songwriter Willie Nelson stepped into the ring with his recent song “The Border” which gives the point of view of a man who has to patrol it, and mentions two men who were imprisoned by the Feds for doing something right
One way to avoid censorship is self-release an album: “If you’ve been met with crickets after sending out your tracks to every record label under the sun, don’t fret. Decades ago, you couldn’t even get on the radio without backing from the music-industry-men-in-suits, but now, thanks mostly in part to social media, the landscape of releasing music — and the potential for self-releasing in particular — is markedly different.”
For those of us who are weekend warriors, we can go a different route. I tried that using an Artificial Intelligence website that is truly astonishing, “Suno.AI“. I wrote (with no musical knowledge) and posted a song titled Don’t Make My Red State Blue which starts with:
The California folks they run from the state they wrecked
Homeless, drugs, and potholes, the last I checked
They come, and they vote against our lifestyle and the gun
They’ll bring with them what they ran away from
It’s a load of fun to produce songs (you just have to have a knack at poetry). To distribute it you have online services such as Spotify, and YouTube, though of course getting an audience is another matter. Suno.AI generates the singer, the instruments, and the melody. Whatever your politics, or lack of them, Artificial Intelligence now provides a way to get a message cloaked in a song into the entertainment world. Of course, if you are a lyricist who wants top quality music to go with your lyrics and to get active promotion to record labels and so forth, you are better off paying about $440.00 per song with an outfit like Diamond Garden Music outside Nashville. (I’ve tried that too).
But why not be part of the music conversation? Until the woke come for conservative lyrics, I suggest to readers with a creative bent and a message to deliver, that if you have no band, and no record label, and your musical playing ability is limited to drumming on your tablecloth, that your message may still work as a song.
Image: PxHere
