Toby Keith, Willie Nelson, Jason Aldean & Country ‘Lynching’ Songs

Before anyone misunderstands the motivations of this, let’s establish that in the opinion of Saving Country Music, Jason Aldean’s song and video for “Try That In A Small Town” is a clownish, poorly-written, trite and reactionary piece of audio refuse that can’t even claim to be “country” since it’s outside of the genre’s established sonic parameters.
“Try That In A Small Town” is an embarrassment to Jason Aldean, an embarrassment to country music, and deserves to be admonished both as a work of art, and as a poorly-attempted cultural statement that has clearly proven itself as counter-productive to its mission already, aside from making Aldean, the song’s four writers, and his label Broken Bow Records lots of money.
Also, due to Jason Aldean’s careless calculations and the oversight of his production crew by staging the video at the The Maury County Courthouse where a lynch mob strung up and murdered an 18-year-old Black man Henry Choate on November 13, 1927, he’s not only opened himself up to scrutiny, but all of country music by proxy.
If you want to read more of country music’s detailed opinions on the song itself, CLICK HERE.
But the seething contempt and hyperbole associated with the backlash to this song based on patently incorrect assertions is dangerous in the way it attempts to impinge on the creative expressions of an artist (albeit, bad ones), as well as setting up a “boy that cried wolf” scenario if a song that actually does what the press is accusing this one of doing ever materializes.
The idea that the song is actively condoning or encouraging the lynching of Black people is beyond ludicrous and based in absolutely no factual information. It is the frothing, reactionary opinion of a groupthink lynch mob who will continue to ratchet up the rhetoric against Aldean until he’s forevermore extricated from popular society, which is never going to happen.
Furthermore, these excessive and distorted characterizations are only fueling a counter backlash that will take a mild, late career pseudo radio hit for Aldean to a Song of the Summer-level smash. That’s already happening as the song has rocketed to #1 on iTunes, and will surely show new significant traction on the next update to the charts due to the controversy. The Streisand Effect is in full force as we speak.
But while the prudish pearl clutchers of the politically correct class writhe and seethe over this song, there is actually another country music song that without having to make any leaps of faith or draw any conclusions from inferences in the lyrics can objectively be concluded to be about lynching and vigilante justice.
Unlike Jason Aldean’s “Try That In A Small Town” though, there was no cancellation attempt against this song. In fact, it was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Country Song in 2003. Unlike “Try That In A Small Town,” it wasn’t banned by CMT. Instead, the cable television station actually stepped up to release an entire movie around it in 2008. And unlike “Try That In A Small Town,” nobody asserted the song was racist, nobody said it was an attempt to portray a white supremacist/white nationalist view of the United States, or anything similar.
“Beer For My Horses” was written by Toby Keith and Scotty Emerick, and released as a duet with Willie Nelson in 2003. The song went straight to #1, marking Willie’s first #1 in 14 years at that time. It was also Willie’s last #1 in country, and it also made him the oldest artist to ever have a #1 country song (he was 70 at the time).
“Beer For My Horses” also got to #22 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100, marking a return for Willie on that chart as well, and a career high for Toby Keith at that time. It spent a whopping six weeks at #1 in country, and ended up being the 2nd most popular country song in 2003.
Compared to the potentially problematic lines for Jason Aldean’s “Try That In A Small Town” that require inferences or blanks to be filled for it to advocate for lynching, (and it doesn’t mention race whatsoever), “Beer For My Horses” leaves absolutely nothing to the imagination.
Similar to the Aldean song, Toby Keith starts off “Beer For My Horses” singing about crime, and is eerily similar with the lines about the perpetrators not getting away. In “Try That In A Small Town,” Aldean sings,
Cuss out a cop, spit in his face
Stomp on the flag and light it up
Yeah, ya think you’re tough
Well, try that in a small town
See how far ya make it down the road
In “Beer For My Horses,” Toby Keith sings,
Said somebody’s been shot, somebody’s been abused
Somebody blew up a building, somebody stole a car
Somebody got away, somebody didn’t get too far, yeah
They didn’t get too far
Then Willie Nelson comes in and says everything and then some that certain people are trying to pin on Jason Aldean’s “Try That In A Small Town.”
Willie Nelson sings,
Grandpappy told my pappy, back in my day, son
A man had to answer for the wicked that he done
Take all the rope in Texas find a tall oak tree
Round up all them bad boys, hang them high in the street
For all the people to see
Later in the song, Willie and Toby Keith trade off the lines,
We got too many gangsters doing dirty deeds
Too much corruption, and crime in the streets
It’s time the long arm of the law put a few more in the ground
Send ’em all to their maker and he’ll settle ’em down
You can bet he’ll set ’em down
It’s also worth pointing out that similar to Jason Aldean today, Toby Keith was an extremely polarizing character in 2003 after he’d released the very controversial “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)” just the year previous. “The Angry American” had Keith being accused of jingoism, inciting violence, and racism against Muslims for its incendiary language. Arguably, “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue” was the most controversial song released in popular country music in the modern era up until “Try That In A Small Town.”
But “Beer For My Horses” faced no significant backlash. There was nobody drawing conclusions that it was actively attempting to condone the lynching of Black people, even though the act of lynching appeared directly in its lyrics. Willie Nelson still regularly sings the song in concert today. It’s part of his common repertoire. So what’s the difference 20 years later?
The difference is in 2003, people understood that it was just a song, and art. It was a work of fiction and personal expression. Granted, “Try That In A Small Town” strikes a slightly more angry tone, and undoubtedly some may pick up on America’s troubled history with race when they hear the lyrics. But if we can’t separate personal expression from the personal responsibility everyone has for their own actions, the indictment of songs will spread much farther into music, and if anything, affect Black creators and hip-hop disproportionately.
We have entered a new phase of uptight cultural prudeness indicative of Tipper Gore’s PMRC and the “Explicit Lyrics” sticker era. As terrible as “Try That In A Small Town” might be, it is in no way so out of bounds to be receiving the kind of ubiquitous and irresponsible backlash that will only fuel its ascent. But as we’ve seen with similar incidents, the press and supposed activists just can’t help themselves.
Undoubtedly, Jason Aldean and his label knew “Try That In A Small Town” would be controversial. That was likely part of their calculus. They may have even been disappointed it didn’t stir more controversy when it was released two months prior. By the press and pundits decrying this song, Americana artists like Jason Isbell and Margo Price calling it out, Adeem The Artist making a parody of it, they are simply fueling this fire that has already spread out of control.
The amount of extra attention and revenue that “Try That In A Small Town” will generate will be directly proportionate to the amount of hyperbolic coverage and criticism it receives, and the additional undue attention it racks up from the outrage and counter-support from fans, with Jason Aldean and BBR reaping huge rewards.
Meanwhile, anyone who points this economic reality out will be called racist and complicit with Aldean and this song, just like what happened with the Morgan Wallen situation. But even Black performer Breland was later forced to admit in an op/ed for CMT how the attempted cancellation of Morgan Wallen made him a bigger star. Yet here we are again, making these same exact mistakes.
Jason Aldean is not going to be cancelled, and neither is this song. Though CMT dropping the video is significant symbolically, that cable station lost its relevance over a decade ago. But it’s also interesting that CMT not only vetted the video and added it to their rotation, they actually collaborated with Aldean’s label BBR to premier the video.
According to a press release disseminated on Friday July 14th, “[Paramount] world premiered the music video to his current radio single today via Paramount’s Times Square Billboards and CMT.”
Similar to the lack of controversy around “Beer For My Horses,” the fact that “Try That In A Small Town” was out there in the wild for two months without any criticism, and then CMT—which is known for taking very left-leaning stances on their coverage and promotion of country music—vetted the video and agreed to premier it across their platforms really speaks to the uneven and flimsy premise of why this song should be removed from public consumption.
The whole linchpin of the controversy is the revelation of the The Maury County Courthouse where the video was shot being the site of a lynching. But all evidence points to this being an oversight as opposed to an active effort to underpin Aldean’s song and video with a more surreptitious message. It’s a media “gotcha” as opposed to a substantive criticism. The Maury County Courthouse is just a courthouse located conveniently to Nashville.
As the production company TackleBox has pointed out, the location has been used to film scores of films and videos without controversy, including 2009’s Hannah Montana: The Movie with Miley Cyrus, a 2022 holiday film, A Nashville Country Christmas with Tanya Tucker, and another 2022 holiday film, Steppin’ into the Holiday with Mario Lopez and Jana Kramer.
Opportunistic and bad faith attacks on “Try That In A Small Town” are only strengthening Jason Aldean’s position, and allowing right-wing media to exploit the poor reporting and portray Aldean as a victim.
Everyone has a right to criticize “Try That In A Small Town,” and it most certainly deserves scrutiny as a song and composition. But asserting the most extreme viewpoints in hopes of shutting it down are already backfiring. Think pieces, wild-eyed assertions, and aggressive Tweets are what are fueling this episode.
Ultimately, it’s just a song, just like “Beer For My Horses” was. And whether you think it is good or bad, everyone should believe it has a right to exist as a piece of artistic expression. Because attempting to stifle people’s expressions is a slippery slope the United States as a collective has chosen not to go down, whether it’s burning flags or criticizing police like Jason Aldean attempts to decry in “Try That In A Small Town,” or Jason Aldean’s right to criticize these exercises of speech himself.
July 21, 2023 @ 10:41 am
At this point can we just chalk up Aldean’s video as a PR stunt because the song was stalling on the charts and controversy creates cash to quote Eric Bischoff and rubes from both sides ate it up.
On anothe
July 22, 2023 @ 7:52 pm
That Bischoff quote is perfect here! Thanks, Easy E!
July 26, 2023 @ 8:58 pm
No its just Free Speech
July 23, 2023 @ 5:50 pm
I love Jason’s song and I stand by Jason Aldean wholeheartedly as do millions of other Americans in spite of the woke mob’s insane reaction.
July 24, 2023 @ 5:56 pm
No one who uses the word “woke” unironically has ever said anything worth hearing. Try thinking for yourself instead of just rattling off moronic buzzwords.
July 24, 2023 @ 10:59 pm
I did think for myself when I walked away from the Dem party over 2 years ago. That was about the most liberating thing I have done in many years. You might want to try questioning your beliefs instead of believing the race bating narrative from the corporate legacy media.
July 24, 2023 @ 11:00 pm
Talk about moronic. Maybe you might want to think for yourself instead of parroting the talking heads from The View.
July 27, 2023 @ 6:27 am
S.T.F.U.
July 23, 2023 @ 6:51 pm
I was triggered by a Mario Lopez Hallmark romcom.
July 23, 2023 @ 7:25 pm
Aldean’s simple song is catchy, sufficiently well-written, quotes “Beat It” (haha) cleverly, and has hit a massive vein.
The song had “stalled,” but who cares? I don’t have any trouble believing Aldean believes its sentiment, which is noble and good. Cynics have a habit of seeing cynicism in every motive, which often means it’s just projection on their part.
There’s no “racism” in the song or in its video. The accusation itself is also probably projection: if you hear a Bull Connor dog whistle, maybe it’s because you have one stuck in your ear.
I have yet to hear one musically informed criticism of its rhythm, harmony, or melody, but that’s because people who care the most about politics in art are artistically illiterate or stunted.
This song is pop rock music with a southern accent, so it’s not country music, but millions of people are singing and supporting it because they want their communities to be safe and to survive without the interference of paid Marxist rioters and a massive State that is corrupt, inefficient, and totalitarian.
Butvthe small towners are the problem, LOL.
It’s a shame that Sierra Ferrell, unlike free people, has revealed herself to be a closeted Leftist totalitarian. She should go back to playing dress-up and retreading musical territory covered better and more fully almost a century ago.
Hooray for Aldean, and hooray for a song on its way to unifying America around the common goods of independence and solidarity.
July 23, 2023 @ 7:35 pm
Corncaster at no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.
July 23, 2023 @ 7:49 pm
I can’t imagine a better example of irony. Thanks for the chuckle.
A ’63 Guild is probably a nice guitar. Play it in good health.
July 23, 2023 @ 7:56 pm
Corncaster, dumb?
Oh, that’s rich …
: D rubbing hands together.
This oughta be good …
SixtyThreeGuild?
: D you just Wish you could be as dumb as Corncaster.
Smiling, & wishing you a good night.
July 24, 2023 @ 9:14 am
Nah I know Corn’s shtick, it gave me a chuckle. If anything he piggybacked off my comment because it’s high up instead.of his getting lost in the shuffle. I can’t fault him for that.
And yep Corn it is a sweet guitar with a cool history that my grandpa gave me, Cash played it once after a show when they were all hanging out.
July 24, 2023 @ 9:50 am
STG,
: D Was hoping you would know my reply to you was light-hearted fun.
July 24, 2023 @ 1:53 pm
Oh for sure Di!
July 24, 2023 @ 3:07 pm
Hater, how many BLM stickers you have on your car
July 23, 2023 @ 8:42 pm
Complete Bullshit. If you believe this shitty song unifies or has any other purpose you are delusional. Up until the video it was nothing.
July 27, 2023 @ 8:38 pm
CMT cancelled Jason Aldean and I cancelled Paramount’ Plus
July 21, 2023 @ 10:44 am
It’s not ok for a video like Try That In A Small Town to be released in 2023 in a place still plagued by racism like the USA. I was kind of shocked when I saw it. I don’t, maybe in Europe we have a different sensibility lmao
July 21, 2023 @ 10:46 am
Don’t know*
July 21, 2023 @ 12:08 pm
The US is plagued by anti-racism.
Western Europe is too far gone to be saved. With few exceptions, its a museum that only survives because tourists want to look at the glories of their civilization from 500 years ago. No kids, no resources, no industry, no balls, no borders, no future.
July 21, 2023 @ 12:42 pm
I was incorrect. There are kids, but they aren’t Europeans. They are the children of non-Western invaders. And, there is a future, but it is bleak.
July 21, 2023 @ 1:19 pm
“non-western invaders”
yup. no racism here folks!
July 21, 2023 @ 1:27 pm
Invaders? Really trig? Are you letting this kind of language on your platform?
July 21, 2023 @ 4:43 pm
but let’s get back to how you want there to be more balls…
– dr. freud
July 21, 2023 @ 12:54 pm
Hahahaha, meanwhile in reality the hapiness index lists the first 8’of it’s top 10 countries as
European followed by New Zealand and Australia.
The USA? Number 19! Hahahahha
July 21, 2023 @ 1:00 pm
The “Happiness Index?” Sounds very scientific.
Ten is a unicorn?
One is a frowny face?
What is five? A peanut butter sandwich on stale bread?
July 21, 2023 @ 1:24 pm
You could have googled it, instead of making a gigantic ass of yourself. Again.
But this seems par for the course.
July 21, 2023 @ 5:45 pm
Yeah Buddy, Danny,
All those al-qaeda types that have just about taken over Spain, England, the Philippines – they add tremendously to the happiness quotient.
Meanwhile, while you are talking out of both sides of your mouth, where you live in the Netherlands, – you know – a VERY homogenous society –
Am sure it is extraordinarily tough melding the mostly one culture amongst yourselves.
July 22, 2023 @ 12:13 am
What on Earth are you talking about? Is that even English?
July 22, 2023 @ 12:23 am
Tell me you know nothing about the Netherlands without telling me you know nothing of the Netherlands. Homogeneous… what a joke.
July 21, 2023 @ 12:57 pm
The jingoism of the USA has destroyed your brain if you’re so blind to say such a thing
July 21, 2023 @ 1:17 pm
Tell me you’ve never been to Europe without telling me you’ve never been to Europe.
July 21, 2023 @ 4:32 pm
Twice, but not in the past decade. I have a brother in Estonia and more cousins that I can count in Ireland. My wife lived in England and Germany, and she has many second and third cousins in Germany, Poland and Italy.
July 21, 2023 @ 1:17 pm
danny, angelo – you have to understand that if you acknowledge in anyway that america could be better or has some work to do you are immediately labeled a wokie communist or socialist (it’s usually up to the offended to decide, merely based on a feeling and no true definition of either word).
July 21, 2023 @ 7:00 pm
Europe won’t remain a museum when the migrants burn down the relics of a “colonizing” past. And it was highly likely economic migrants who lit the Notre Dame church on fire a few years back. It’s a scary thought; Europe is in real danger of having much of it’s landmarks totally eradicated much like the Library of Alexandria. The cultures that are flooding into Europe have less than zero reverence for it’s culture and history – they actively want to destroy it.
July 22, 2023 @ 12:18 am
You are not living in reality.
In all likelihood the Notre Dame burned down because of a distracted welder. The fire started in a spot where renovations were carried and that was inaccessible to the public.
Don’t talk shit.
July 22, 2023 @ 12:28 am
“ The cultures that are flooding into Europe have less than zero reverence for it’s culture and history – they actively want to destroy it.”
What bullshit. Absolute nonsense.
This is one of those Fox News/AON talking points that when examined comes up with one misunderstood tiny news story with no actual content. “Landmarks eradicated” there is no such thing.
Meanwhile, how are the Georgia Guidestrones doing?
July 22, 2023 @ 12:03 pm
Firstly are you really drawing a comparison between Notre Dame Cathedral and a couple of big engraved rocks that were in Georgia?! There have been repeated attempts to burn down places of worship in Europe by migrants. It was in video evidence on twitter. And nice job trying to freshen up a 20 yr old cope by tacking on AON. And how are you blind to all of the videos evidence of unrest and violence around migrants flooding into Europe? I literally do not understand how you can reach this point in your life and not understand that hardline middle-eastern muslims actively want to destroy White European culture.
July 22, 2023 @ 12:06 pm
Now I am curious as to how you view the state of Europe with the migrants flooding in. Are the common stories of those groups of men who rape literal children just stories of how they wanted to read books to them but there pants slipped and….(someone else can fill in the rest)
And a sizable chunk of the United States Democrat party wants to “eradicate whiteness.”
July 22, 2023 @ 12:09 pm
This story has absolutely nothing to do with migration in Europe. Stay on topic.
July 22, 2023 @ 2:14 pm
“It was in video evidence on twitter”
I am laughing so much it hurts.
And as to the reason why migration in Europe doesn’t bother me so much?
I live in Europe’s biggest port. A city where people from all over the world reside. 55% of our population is non-Dutch. And…. It is wonderful here.
July 22, 2023 @ 2:16 pm
Trig once again objecting to the least objectionable part of these replies. No wonder racists like strait feel as emboldened as they do here.
July 22, 2023 @ 4:27 pm
If you ain’t Dutch, you ain’t much.
Right, Danny?
Still laughing remembering those bumper stickers from when we lived in Grand Haven, Michigan.
You know what I’m talking about, Shugar …
And the Netherlands are indeed a much more homogenous society than the U.S.
July 23, 2023 @ 11:24 pm
Di… I have no idea what you are talking about… are you okay?
Also, the fact that the USA is less homogeneous doesn’t mean that the Netherlands is. You know this now after looking it up and feeling like an idiot and you are (unsurprisingly) trying to move the goalposts.
July 24, 2023 @ 4:43 am
Can’t address the “If you ain’t Dutch, you ain’t much” Dutch mantra?
Keep reaching.
July 24, 2023 @ 2:24 pm
You know that is an American saying, right? It is not something people here ever say.
Also you want to talk about reaching? Give me a brake.
July 24, 2023 @ 5:04 pm
Danny,
Wishing you a nice evening, & a great rest of your week.
July 21, 2023 @ 12:54 pm
It’s you fools who see racism in everything. Stop it. Get some help.
July 21, 2023 @ 5:05 pm
Hey Bob,
Calling their enemies names that already have a negative connotation, has been a communist smear tactic for decades. It’s not new, and you should understand that being called those words is a badge of honor. The United States is already so many decades deep into communist subversion, that many of the low-IQ, outer-school communists, like the ones who comment on this website, repeat these smear tactics without full knowledge of why they’re doing it. And because they were intentionally taught not to think critically, it’s unlikely they’ll ever figure it out. It’s hard-wired into them to think and react this way.
Please take 40 seconds to watch this clip. It’ll give you a better understanding of what’s going on. https://youtu.be/XfsJxkobPXk
July 22, 2023 @ 1:19 pm
The projection is amazing. You’re the guy who calls everyone a communist.
July 22, 2023 @ 4:52 pm
I understand, Adam. It must be frustrating to have your political opponents use dangerous, dehumanizing language to label you, and make you appear to be a monster unworthy of mercy.
Sincerely,
Racist Nazi White Supremacist
July 22, 2023 @ 12:07 pm
The kind of people to fixate on race are usually the racists. That’s the trend.
July 22, 2023 @ 2:17 pm
One only needs to go up about 10 posts to see your racism on full display.
July 22, 2023 @ 4:51 pm
I can applaud your vigilance in not trying to be racist that you wouldn’t bother to push the dirty migrant c*ck from your mouth if it meant you would be labeled a racist.
If you didn’t get the message, throwing around the term “racist” is meaningless name-calling that the Left uses so often it’s basically just punctuation in incoherent arguments.
July 24, 2023 @ 2:17 pm
“I am not a racist! Migrant cocksucker!”
It would be funny if it weren’t so sad… No actually it is also a little bit funny.
July 22, 2023 @ 4:46 pm
Hey Strait,
Respectfully, when you do the, “Libs are the real racists!” thing, you’re not beating them or “owning” them; you’re reinforcing their framing. Their framing is that America is a wicked, racist, oppressive nation that must be destroyed. When you call them racists, you’ve accepted their framing in regard to America, and are now simply arguing with them about which one of you is guilty.
They’re not racists; they’re communists. The race games they play are a tool; a tactic.
July 21, 2023 @ 11:23 pm
Why is it “not okay”?
July 22, 2023 @ 7:39 pm
It’s “not okay” because Angelo is one of those people who has been indoctrinated into literally hating his own ancestors for the color of their skin (cultural Marxism, or “anti-racism” as the poisonous doctrine sometimes goes by). There’s nothing but self-hatred and unearned arrogance between the ears of a white anti-white…not to mention enough cognitive dissonance to power what’s left of Detroit for a couple of years.
July 22, 2023 @ 9:36 pm
This is my last comment on this site. It is not at all– as often claimed– a bastion of free speech. If you say anything at all that goes against the totemic woke gods of black and tranny criminality you will not get to respond to the anti-white drivel freely spewed by Trigger’s most cherished longtime commenters.
Lurked for a year, and had this site in my bookmarks for months. Decided to take the plunge yesterday- bad mistake. Oh, well…I hope I’m not the only traffic this hypocrite loses.
Lose my eMail, Trigger. I don’t want you slipping it to your Antifa buddies. And kids my proud rebel ass.
July 22, 2023 @ 11:16 pm
Dude. You posted 20 COMMENTS today, and 18 went live immediately. A few of those comments went to moderation for various reasons, and I was out at a musical festival, so it took me a while to get to them.
But if you came to a country music website to rage about “tranny criminality,” you came to the wrong place anyway. We talk about country music here.
July 24, 2023 @ 11:03 pm
Plagued by those radical extremists who believe that if a white person even breaths the wrong way they are racist. Yup. That’s for sure.
July 21, 2023 @ 10:50 am
Hey Trig, before this inevitably gets lost in the comments lol, is Erin Viancourt’s new album being considered for review?
July 21, 2023 @ 11:18 am
Yes.
July 21, 2023 @ 10:53 am
The theme has been done over and over in country music. Charlie Daniels with Simple Man and Hank Jr. with I’ve Got Rights are songs that come to mind. Both are great.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQ74BwEwOJY
July 21, 2023 @ 11:20 am
Yes, there are many, many other songs that could be highlighted here, which once again undercuts the idea that “Try That In A Small Town” is exceptionally dangerous. I think “Beer For My Horses” is probably the best example though, because it points out many elements of the hypocrisy in this situation.
July 21, 2023 @ 11:27 am
If Beer for my horses had been chock full of dog whistles too you might have had a point.
July 21, 2023 @ 11:54 am
So are you saying that if Jason Aldean had actively called for lynching in “Try That In A Small Town” it would have made it less problematic/racist? I guess I just don’t understand.
The song is bad. But if we cancel it, the line begins to form to the left of other songs we have to cancel. And as opposed to the actual lyrics of a song that we’re judging, we can simply judge them off of what someone might happen to infer from them. That’s even more reckless.
Quit making me defend this stupid song.
July 21, 2023 @ 12:12 pm
How, in any way, am I saying that???
July 22, 2023 @ 1:21 pm
“I don’t actively condone every single comment left in this comments section, nor would I consider deleting any comment I don’t condone. That would defeat the purpose of it. The purpose of the comments section is for people to leave THEIR opinions, including ones that actively disagree or criticize me, so that this is not an autocracy. I give my opinions up top. This is a place for other people to share their opinions.”
But you threaten to shut down the comments when someone calls a racist moron a moron. You’re a massive liar and a hypocrite when it comes to cultural issues.
July 22, 2023 @ 2:49 pm
I specifically called Jason Aldean a moron in the first article, and in a comment here myself. That’s not why I said I would shut the comments section down.
July 22, 2023 @ 3:23 pm
“I specifically called Jason Aldean a moron in the first article, and in a comment here myself. That’s not why I said I would shut the comments section down.”
In your first Aldean post, you “specifically” replied to a commenter who said “You’re a fucking moron if you think it isn’t racist” by warning to shut down the comments. So in that instance, that’s absolutely why you said you would shut the comments section down. Keep lying.
July 21, 2023 @ 1:29 pm
No one hears dog whistles but you and your mentally ill acolytes who likewise have unresolved childhood trauma.
Help. Seek it.
July 21, 2023 @ 1:39 pm
Wow… aren’t you tough?
July 21, 2023 @ 1:48 pm
Are these really the type of comments you support in your comment section, Trigger?
July 22, 2023 @ 12:44 am
I don’t actively condone every single comment left in this comments section, nor would I consider deleting any comment I don’t condone. That would defeat the purpose of it. The purpose of the comments section is for people to leave THEIR opinions, including ones that actively disagree or criticize me, so that this is not an autocracy. I give my opinions up top. This is a place for other people to share their opinions.
July 21, 2023 @ 5:48 pm
Comments backed by facts?
There are plenty of psychological journal articles that show a strong correlation between childhood trauma and psychological issues later in life.
It’s never too late for therapy. 🙂
July 22, 2023 @ 12:11 pm
MH said nothing wrong. Proudly touting your ‘mental illness’ is so freakin’ common now. And he basically just rephrased “who hurt you?” which is another common favorite of online commenters. If you have an issue with that maybe it hits close to home.
What a bunch of crybabies.
July 25, 2023 @ 6:04 am
It’s not hypocrisy – the people that are criticizing Jason Aldean aren’t out here saying Beer for My Horses is fine, they probably don’t know that song. Also we can progress and learn to be more aware over the course of 20 years. Silly to compare a 20 year old song that doesn’t have regular rotation on CMT to a popular “country artist’s” song today.
The only take I agree with is that criticism unfortunately makes the sing more popular which we shouldn’t want, however I don’t think that should deter people from criticizing something they find culturally insensitive if not outright offensive and potentially dangerous.
July 31, 2023 @ 4:32 pm
Eh, I didn’t like that shit 20 years ago. There wasn’t much excuse for it then and there is even less now. I can’t believe you are using that bullshit fallacy. You could have at least used the silppery slope fallacy since at least that is actually happening with a slick slope of Maga bullshit greasing the slide.
Hell, Uncle Dave Macon is in the Country Music Hall of Fame and among other things, has a bridge named after him. He had a big hit with “Run, N!@@%#, Run just about 100 years ago. Maybe we haven’t got as far as we would like to believe.
July 22, 2023 @ 7:46 pm
I love those songs to pieces, and Beer for My Horses is a fun, rollicking jam.
The fact is, there’s always going to be a need for songs about so-called “vigilante justice” because there’s always going to be a NEED for people to rectify grievous wrongs themselves when our corrupt/Marxist-controlled legal system refuses to protect its own citizens because of woke bigotry (like excusing killers, thieves, rapists, etc, simply because they happen to be from a “protected” class like blacks or trannies).
July 22, 2023 @ 8:35 pm
Glad you mentioned that. I was thinking Hank’s song was a bit out of touch and dated. The idea that justice isn’t served and those who seem to be above the law and protected by lawyers, lawsuits and NDA’s would be equally despised. And it seems you and I agree that all should be held accountable based on their crimes. That no one is above the law. That those who break the law be tried in a court of law judged by their peers.
Where we diverge is the idea of “protected” classes as you stated. Give an example of “trannies” or “blacks” not being held accountable simply based on who they are? Seems quite the opposite based on prison population and its racial makeup compared to our population. So if you information about that please post it.
Another thing you can do is define “Woke bigotry” ? I think you made that up.
July 22, 2023 @ 9:19 pm
Hang on…this is what I get for posting this late after only scanning your comment. You’re not asking for clarification: you’re just a woke imbecile.
There’s absolutely NOTHING in Bocephus’ song that is “dated”, and if it is– more the pity. And you made that “Court of law….peers” nonsense up. I never said that.
I said “justice”. I don’t give a damn about the so-called “law” in a corrupt, late-stage empire/ oligarchy masquerading as a “democracy”.
July 22, 2023 @ 9:23 pm
Tried to respond with a laundry list of facts, but Trigger censored me. If I was beating white people over the head for Emmit Till here a thousand years later, I bet I could get my response through. Needless to say, all of my examples were a little more recent.
Forget it. Your comment was disingenuous and you know it. You are just an anti-white, degenerate lunatic, and the time of what’s left of good Americans being ruled by your twisted ideology is swiftly coming to an end.
July 22, 2023 @ 10:06 pm
Do all your “facts” come from the Russian search engines as well? “Fact” checked by Fox news and reviewed by Tucker Carlson?
July 22, 2023 @ 9:24 pm
Oh, get bent.
July 22, 2023 @ 9:27 pm
Would love to respond, but Trigger won’t let me. I see what side he’s on here.
If you want an answer, search with a reputable source that doesn’t repress facts with a woke algorithm. Think Yandex, never Google, for instance.
But I don’t think you really want to know.
July 22, 2023 @ 9:29 pm
Yandex search it.
There’s your response.
I think this one might be bland enough to finally get through.
July 22, 2023 @ 9:49 pm
A Russian search engine? Thats your answer? You really are a moron. I am certain you will find the truth on a Russian search engine. No doubtski
July 21, 2023 @ 10:53 am
I personally do not see the equivalency between these two songs. Beer for my Horses is meant to harken back to a time of the Wild West (probably based on depictions from Western films). Aldean is making a political statement and clearly has an agenda. Personally, I agree the two sides take on whether he’s too stupid to know what he’s saying but calculating enough to use the courthouse is laughable.
July 21, 2023 @ 11:22 am
It’s fair to point out that “Beer For My Horses” stokes a more Wild West theme, while Aldean is clearly tying his song to the current rise in crime in America. But at no point is Aldean saying, “Take all the rope in Texas find a tall oak tree. Round up all them bad boys, hang them high in the street. For all the people to see.” That seems to be a pretty big step forward when it comes to songs referencing “lynching.”
July 21, 2023 @ 11:25 am
I agree that it equates to lynching but the difference is that Beer For my Horses feels more like a fictional story while Aldean’s sounds more like a call to action and clearly has an intended group of people he’s singing about.
July 21, 2023 @ 11:29 am
he’s being purposely obtuse, he knows the difference, but that isn’t going to rile up bibs to rant about all the talking points he collected this week.
July 21, 2023 @ 1:18 pm
Your family misses you, Gentile.
July 21, 2023 @ 1:54 pm
does yours?
July 21, 2023 @ 5:10 pm
Now the only question is how long until Trigger threatens to shut the comments down because of the people calling out racism instead of the racism itself?
July 21, 2023 @ 11:56 am
“Beer For My Horses” doesn’t “equate” to lynching. It says to get a rope and hang them high for all the world to see.
Also, the idea that this is all set in the Wild West is incorrect. The video for the song is set in the modern day.
July 21, 2023 @ 12:17 pm
‘I had this title forever, and when Scott Emerick came up with a neat little melody lick, the two just went hand-in-hand. The song was written prior to September 11th. It’s about justice, but more so about the law of the Old West’
Might want to tell Toby Keith it’s not about the Wild West….
July 21, 2023 @ 1:10 pm
The video also clearly shows that they are law enforcement or prior in Willies case. It’s evoking the Texas rangers. And it’s talking about actual crimes, unlike burning the flag, which is actually exercising a first amendment right, something you were happy to discuss in relation to aldeans wife on social media.
July 22, 2023 @ 5:27 pm
Jason Isabel is either in the pockets of record Execs. to comment any time they want to stir up controversy about a song or artist to increase sales or he’s just a narcissistic “richard”. He’s the same guy that added his two cents about the Morgan Wallen mess.
July 21, 2023 @ 1:16 pm
They had the TVs in the Wild West?
The 6 o’clock news in the Wild West?
Cars?
July 21, 2023 @ 1:22 pm
Adam,
Carjacking’s not a crime?
Punching a stranger?
Armed robbery?
Provoking a cop by spitting in his face?
Those are lyrics you conveniently neglected.
You just went straight for the flag stomping lyric
July 21, 2023 @ 1:40 pm
It is only reasonable to criticize the parts that need to be. That is how criticism works.
July 21, 2023 @ 5:52 pm
“It is only reasonable to criticize the parts that need to be. That is how criticism works.”
LMAO
July 22, 2023 @ 12:31 am
You might want to learn how replying and quotations work.
Not that I mind seeing my reply twice.
July 21, 2023 @ 4:51 pm
So why include something that isn’t a crime, and is in fact a constitutionally protected act?
July 21, 2023 @ 5:59 pm
That’s something you’ll have to ask the songwriters as they’re walking into their #1 party while you’re outside with your picket signs.
I hope the writers thank you for helping the song get to #1! 🙂
July 23, 2023 @ 12:11 pm
Just cause something is protected by the constitution doesn’t mean it can’t be criticized.
July 23, 2023 @ 3:46 pm
Sure, criticism is fine. Threatening violence for protected speech is not fine.
July 23, 2023 @ 7:38 pm
I like how some people reply but somehow turn off their reply to another reply. Don’t have the courage to take a reply, don’t reply yourself. Some should stay off the internet.
July 23, 2023 @ 11:28 pm
^Paranoid much?
July 21, 2023 @ 10:54 am
Willie Nelson always gets a pass becasue he is a liberal.
July 21, 2023 @ 11:22 am
Willie Nelson gets a pass because there’s 90 years of him being Willie Fucking Nelson.
July 21, 2023 @ 12:03 pm
Willie Nelson got a pass because people understood it was just a song.
July 24, 2023 @ 3:50 pm
No Trig, not all people thought “it was just a song”. Our daughter (way back then) was appalled at the lyrics because as she pointed out to us, “Who were the ones who usually got lynched?”. Even though I loved the sound of the song (and still do) I suddenly realized that she was right. It wasn’t only ‘just a song’. I imagine it was never ‘just a song’ for those who are not white like I am. I am grateful our daughter enlightened us to our lack of understanding that the realities of others is not the same as our’s. BTW, I am frequently wondering how far tolerating intolerance should be tolerated. I am always in awe of you and how you manage this page — one that is full of clever commentators, but who often seem to be predictably intolerant and extremely polarized. Your articles are insightful and thought provoking. The comments are an exercise in navigating polarized disrespect and rudeness much of the time. But they are what they are and I commend you for all that you do. (Cheers from Canada)
July 24, 2023 @ 4:13 pm
Well, kudos to your daughter. I am sure that “Beer For My Horses” did receive some push back at the time. I did try to find some reference to it, but of course, this was mostly pre-Internet, so it’s hard to hunt down. Instead what you find is a Grammy nomination and huge sales numbers.
Thanks for reading.
July 21, 2023 @ 10:55 am
It’s all just hate mongering. Any offended by the video are probably those who did some of those things in the video.. About every courthouse in any town that’s over a hundred years old probably has had some lynchings of all races of people outside them. Funny how some want to erase the past but yet choose to bring it up at certain moments. Any artist complaining about the song should just get out of the music industry. No place for them in the industry
July 21, 2023 @ 11:56 am
Totally valid from a guy who finds it tongue in cheek to use a KKK leader for his screen name.
July 22, 2023 @ 8:09 pm
Well it happens to be my name. You have a problem with that, we can meet some place.only racist people bring up the kkk.
July 23, 2023 @ 12:17 pm
How many likes you got for this comment tells me a good deal about the percentages of morons on here.
July 21, 2023 @ 12:18 pm
‘I had this title forever, and when Scott Emerick came up with a neat little melody lick, the two just went hand-in-hand. The song was written prior to September 11th. It’s about justice, but more so about the law of the Old West’
Might want to tell Toby Keith it’s not about the Wild West….
July 21, 2023 @ 10:58 am
“ The Maury County Courthouse is just a courthouse located conveniently to Nashville.”
I don’t buy this. A casual Googling of the location shows multiple references to the lynchings that pre-date the current controversy.
It was either chosen in the hope of generating controversy or the production crew for the video are truly rank incompetents.
I think the answer is the former, though I suppose a Hanlon’s razor explanation is possible.
(That’s not to say that the song is pro-lynching. Just that it beggars belief that this was an accident of convenience.)
July 21, 2023 @ 11:10 am
No person in his/her right mind can believe that was a coincidence, only Trump fans
July 21, 2023 @ 12:06 pm
Then we must assume the same for Miley Cyrus, Tanya Tucker, Jana Kramer, and Mario Lopez as well, and call them out for their obvious racism.
People are having a visceral reaction as opposed to a rational dialogue about this issue. The idea Aldean did this on purpose, which the producers of the film have already confirmed is false, is not rooted in any manner of truth. It’s wish casting.
July 21, 2023 @ 12:13 pm
I don’t think this line of argument works because it (intentionally, because you’re trying to absolve Aldean’s people) ignores the context of what’s going on.
E.g., having Freedom Tower in the background of your movie about dating in NYC is quite different than having it in the background of your film about terrorism, and is going to be received differently.
July 21, 2023 @ 1:16 pm
Oh, well, since the producers of the video confirmed it was false, I mean, I guess it MUST be true. I mean, there’s no way they’d lie about it, would they?
July 21, 2023 @ 1:23 pm
“Then we must assume the same for Miley Cyrus, Tanya Tucker, Jana Kramer, and Mario Lopez as well, and call them out for their obvious racism.”
This is a bad faith argument. Only one of these people is advocating mob violence at the site of racial mob violence. If for the sake of the argument you accept that the courthouse was known for the lynching, no one is advocating you can never film anything there, that’s a strawman, just that the subject matters. Bigotry needs people like you to pretend the dog whistle isn’t there.
July 21, 2023 @ 1:31 pm
Exactly. The idea that a song about vigilanteism filming a video about vigilanteism at the site of a lynching is a coincidence is ludicrous.
July 21, 2023 @ 1:45 pm
Of course it’s a bad faith argument. Just like saying, “Well, of course Jason Aldean must have known” even though the production company is explicitly saying that he didn’t.
July 21, 2023 @ 11:26 am
There is absolutely no evidence that the courthouse was specifically selected because of its lynching history than it was for the Hannah Montana movie. And if it was, that would be 100% on TackleBox who says Jason Aldean nor the label had anything to do with it.
Nonetheless, if Aldean wants to help himself, he would admit it was an oversight, apologize, and leave it at that.
July 21, 2023 @ 11:28 am
I certainly agree that at a certain point, not saying something is saying something.
July 21, 2023 @ 11:32 am
The fact that he doesn’t is not a red flag for you?!
July 21, 2023 @ 5:04 pm
Apologize? Hell, they don’t even acknowledge that it could possibly be construed as poor judgement. That in itself tells you all you need to know. It’s like they’re just throwing up their arms like ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
July 21, 2023 @ 12:42 pm
But he can’t apologize because then he’ll be accused of being wOkE and then the same people who are defending him now will be screaming about boycotting him and filming themselves shooting his CDs.
July 21, 2023 @ 1:19 pm
I don’t know the Hannah Montana song, but I highly doubt that she was singing a song about vigilante justice (though correct me if I’m wrong).
If you think that singing a song about vigilanteism in front of a courthouse where a lynching took place is “just coincidence,” though, Kyle, you’re dumber than I gave you credit for.
July 23, 2023 @ 3:14 pm
No videos should ever be made in St.Louis or Montgomery then. Somebody has been murdered on every street corner.
July 21, 2023 @ 1:32 pm
Do you know how many steps are involved in making a music video? There’s the filming, the players are literally playing the song multiple times to muted instruments, lip-synching, all before the final overlay of music is put in. And that’s after all of the prep-work such as location scouting. There is absolutely NO WAY that no one knew that this was problematic.
It was deliberate. It was a conscious decision and any attempt to say otherwise is just plain ignorant.
July 21, 2023 @ 1:40 pm
“It was deliberate. It was a conscious decision and any attempt to say otherwise is just plain ignorant.”
Another pallet of tin foil just left the store and should be on your doorstep before Sunday night.
July 21, 2023 @ 1:43 pm
All you have to go off of that is a hunch. According to TackleBox, that is just not the case. At the worst, if you want to go after anyone, you have to go after TackleBox, not Aldean. It also doesn’t change the lyrical content of the song.
July 21, 2023 @ 10:02 pm
Tbh the courthouse was probably chosen due to the recent KKK flyers, the lynching was just a cherry on top of dog shit. The clips from riots in other countries, stock images. The song was a sinking ship and they threw as much qanon tropes as time allowed, to make him the victim of woke culture. I can’t say if he is actually racist or not, but he is trying to achieve success by cosplaying one. You keep trying to make argument it’s a shitty song and nothing more. The people that eat this shit up are dangerous. We are really living in an age where parents will drive their children across state lines with loaded weapons so stop those who try it in a small town. That’s the issue. He is promoting a culture of taking the law in their own hands, for profit.
July 22, 2023 @ 3:54 pm
If you’re gonna be dumb, you gotta Beetuff. What a dumb comment. You can’t even be rational. I hope you don’t have kids to pass on your stupidity to.
July 30, 2023 @ 6:45 am
Isn’t that what the rioters and looters did in 2020? Take matters into their own hands, at the expense of many minority businesses?
July 21, 2023 @ 1:35 pm
Deadlines.
Budgets.
Time Constraints.
Do you realize how ridiculous you sound when you say “all the videographer had to do was a Google search on the courthouse history?”
Live in reality, dreamer.
July 21, 2023 @ 1:54 pm
Or the fact that it is a popular filming site.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the courthouse has a preexisting relationship with filming crews.
July 21, 2023 @ 7:37 pm
I see you are posting under “CountryKnight” and “Bibs” today instead of King of Honky Crackershire (or whatever your other screen name is)
July 21, 2023 @ 9:12 pm
These are all different people and I can verify this on the back end. Anyone impersonation anyone or using multiple aliases aside from the occasional parody is shut down.
July 22, 2023 @ 8:20 am
curious how trig only responds to accusations of multiple accounts when you call out one of our right wing friends, not when MH accused me of it multiple times recently especially curious considering honky did actually impersonate me. it’s kinda like when he only threatens to shut down the thread when someone challenges them too.
July 22, 2023 @ 10:17 am
That didn’t escape my attention thegentile.
July 22, 2023 @ 11:04 am
Quit fucking whining about the comments.
I think both of y’all are going to have a very hard time convincing anyone that dissenting viewpoints are being suppressed here. You’re the two most prolific posters in this comments section, and none of your comments have been moderated in any way. I’m not sitting back, maniacally deciding who to respond to and how. I’m literally driving through the mountains with spotty reception, or out at a music festival covering actual country music, and doing the best I can. The more whining, the more inclined I am to shut down the comments, and nobody gets to speak.
July 22, 2023 @ 11:27 am
LOL, and there it is. The threat to shut the comments down! Just as predicted!
July 22, 2023 @ 11:38 am
Trigger,
They seem to be holding out hope that one more special zinger, insult, whiny comment, or “word of advice,” after all these years will finally make you bend the knee.
Enjoy FairWell…
July 22, 2023 @ 4:56 pm
Trig and Others,
I just want to clear the air on something here. thegentile[sic] is accusing me of having impersonated him at some point in the past. I’ve never impersonated anyone. And if I were going to impersonate someone, it would be someone who I find amusing, like Countryfan68.
July 22, 2023 @ 8:47 pm
Court Jester
I believe you as much as I believe that TackleBox and Jason Aldean had “no idea” that the courthouse was the site of a lynching.
July 21, 2023 @ 11:04 am
I don’t think that lynching is the only issue at play here. I agree with you that maybe saying it is endorsing lynching might be an overreach, but the song is extremely problematic and tone deaf of issues facing real Americans every day.
Jason Aldean was on stage when the Las Vegas mass shooting happened in 2017 and luckily didn’t get killed like 60 others did that night while over 400 were wounded. It just is absolutely inappropriate that he would make a song about “try rounding up the guns and find out what happens to you.”
It also looks really bad to release a song mentioning what would happen if you ever tried to be critical of law enforcement while police brutality remains a large issue in this country.
Which, this song was intentional and made for a specific audience. I see you trying to “both sides” the issue here and say the folks being critical are also at fault somehow. This song was made for that certain bro country crowd that you’re not afraid to call out. But now you want to say that it’s other folks’ fault too?
July 21, 2023 @ 11:30 am
I have a litany of grievances with this song, including the ones you cite here. Wouldn’t argue with you at all. The problem is when the media portrays this song at its most maximal, it undercuts those arguments, not strengthens them. Say that the song is actively calling for the lynching of Black people, and it seems like all the criticisms of the song are hyperbolic.
July 21, 2023 @ 1:32 pm
“I have a litany of grievances with this song, including the ones you cite here. Wouldn’t argue with you at all.”
And yet, in both of your articles you fail to mention the political grievances in any substantive way. Why is that? Why are you only okay with going into detail criticizing liberal politics?
July 21, 2023 @ 1:41 pm
Incorrect. I addressed them in both articles. But they’re so obvious, I’m not sure how helpful it is to anyone to go on and on about them. I’m trying to offer the coverage and context to this song than nobody else is. If you don’t find it of any value to you, I understand. Keep calling it a song that advocates for the lynching of Black people, and best of luck to you.
July 21, 2023 @ 1:51 pm
“Keep calling it a song that advocates for the lynching of Black people, and best of luck to you.”
When have I done that once? Now you’re lying about me? Why? Because deep down you know you’re encouraging and fostering racism within the country music fandom? I know you don’t believe in it, but your articles are so one sided you embolden bigots to feel safe here, attacking the mental health of anyone they disagree with, openly advocating for hate.
July 21, 2023 @ 11:10 am
“Stupid liberal media constantly bringing it up”
– Trig two days in a row stirring the pot
July 21, 2023 @ 11:23 am
shhh don’t tell them it’s also on fox news. and i’m sure shapiro, walsh, etc. etc.
July 21, 2023 @ 12:09 pm
I don’t give a shit how popular reporting on this story is, if people falsely call me a racist, say I’m a Jason Aldean supporter, or any of it. This is the most important story in country music right now, will likely be the most important story in country music in 2023, and perhaps in the last few years. I’m committed to dispassionately offering informed counter-arguments and context to it to help people navigate this as opposed to reading biased coverage from the left and the right.
July 21, 2023 @ 12:23 pm
trig, word of advice, if you don’t want people to think you are a racist, don’t write several articles defending racist actions (see: this, morgan wallen).
tbf, i don’t find this song particularly racist so much as a call to violence against anything they don’t like (but we know they know their audience). it is VERY selective tho. i mean, he couldn’t have included one clip of a school in small town being shot up and wanting to round them up? a story about domestic violence in a small town? anything? guess not, it’s all about ‘others’.
the reason i think it’s not particularly racist is i know that they would be just as happy to enact some small town justice on a few libs (or commies or socialists or trans or boogey men or etc.).
July 21, 2023 @ 12:38 pm
Informed is a bit much…
July 21, 2023 @ 1:35 pm
“I’m committed to dispassionately offering informed counter-arguments and context to it to help people navigate this as opposed to reading biased coverage from the left and the right.”
That’s laughable. You haven’t responded to any biased coverage from the right. You acknowledge it exists but handwaved it away every time.
July 21, 2023 @ 1:20 pm
Honestly, at this point, I’m surprised Fox News hasn’t invited Trigger on as a guest to defend the song.
July 21, 2023 @ 5:33 pm
Trigger, you get on any news program, I’ll watch! Even as Jeff Foxworthy says, “describing what the tornado sounds like”.
July 21, 2023 @ 11:21 am
It’s weird, I had this exact conversation with friends last night. One of them brought up “Beer for My Horses” and asked why no one talked about it being a lynching song. I had never thought of that song that way before, so I bet back and read the lyrics. I have to admit, it hit me differently than it did 20 years ago.
But –
Beer for My Horses was an enjoyable song. The video was hilarious. And – although Kieth was a controversial figure, Willie was as beloved then as he is now. That song did not seem like a deliberate attempt to anger people. Aldean’s songs does.
More importantly though, Try That In a Small Town is a bad song. It’s awful. My gut reaction when I first heard it wasn’t outrage over the lyrics, but outrage over how crappy the song was.
I, for one, am ticked off that MSM is making such a big deal out of this. If they hadn’t made such a big deal out of it, it would have died the quick death it deserved. Instead, not only is radio constantly inflicting THIS song on us, but ALL of Aldean’s crappy songs.
So, why the lyrics do make me uncomfortable, my biggest problem is that Aldean and his team deliberately provoked the “libs,” the “libs” fell right into the trap, and now we ALL have to suffer.
July 21, 2023 @ 12:00 pm
The “it’s not the messenger, it’s the message” excuse sort of proves my point. In truth, this has nothing to do with “Try That In A Small Town.” If it did, they would have spoken up two months ago when the song was released, and CMT would have never agreed to premier it. A group of activists saw an opportunity to cancel Jason Aldean and his wife forever (which will not happen), and pounced. That’s fine, that is their right. But their accusations deserve context and scrutiny, just like the song does.
July 21, 2023 @ 11:29 am
Weren’t the majority of the looters/asonists/property destroyers white or at least non-black? All the lynching/filming location talk is part of the left’s modus operandi: demonize conserviatives at all turns by calling them horrible names and ascribing the worst possible motives to them and avoiding the actual issues at at all costs. There’s nothing controversial here at all.
July 21, 2023 @ 11:34 am
Hank Williams Jr. – I’ve Got Rights
Originally on the Family Tradition album, 1979
Country, blues and hip-hop have long traditions of Murder songs, vengeance songs, retribution, the law is fucking up and letting things slide songs, since they are generally music for working people.
July 21, 2023 @ 11:39 am
I remember when “Beer for my horses” came out, and I thought “man, I’d hate to be the horse Toby tries to ride.” The man was well over six feet and looked like he never missed a frito pie from the hot dog stand at Fiddle and Steel.
July 21, 2023 @ 11:43 am
A lot of cluelessness going on here. The people that have issues with the song are the problem, not the song itself. Maybe the song is doing the right thing by highlighting al the people going against it.
July 21, 2023 @ 11:52 am
So you can round them up?
July 21, 2023 @ 1:42 pm
I like you better when you log in under Gentile or Interstate Daydreamer.
July 21, 2023 @ 1:50 pm
Or there’s more than two people who think your an awful person.
July 21, 2023 @ 11:58 am
Honestly, I think there should have been the same reaction to the Toby song, especially given that he sang it during the inauguration (Trump). Maybe the silly ‘beer for my horses’ line took the edge off of it. Or maybe the fact that Willy was included, a guy that by his own statements is definitely not hateful, made it seem more benign. BUT…I think the real difference in the reaction is that we are a generation past “Beer” and a portion of the population – especially much of the generation that grew up post that song – has had it with this type of bragging, violent, nonsense. They want a better society, and they believe that a more accepting, kinder approach to people is a way to that society. Wrong or right, we’ll see. But that’s the difference. No conspiracy. Social mores are just changing.
July 21, 2023 @ 12:06 pm
I don’t know that it’s fair to go so far as to say that the reaction should be the same.
I think analyzing media distinct from its social context is sort of shallow and meaningless, and the social context of 2003 is quite different from that of today. That, I think, is the real problem with this analogy.
It’s sort of like how a pro-war song in 1945 and a pro-war song in 1965 are going to be received quite differently, even if both express the same sentiments.
July 21, 2023 @ 12:21 pm
The whole point is to draw a distinction between the timeline and the social context. In 2003, people were more likely to be forgiving and understand that art is art. Today, not so much. That’s a problem.
July 21, 2023 @ 12:31 pm
That doesn’t stand up to any scrutiny. The moral panics of 2003 were different than the moral panics of today, but they were no less moral panics.
It’s just that Beer for my Horses wasn’t germane to the moral panics of 2003, while Try That in a Small Town is a manifesto designed to take a side in those currently taking place.
See, e.g., the hubub about Courtesy of the Red White and Blue in 2002.
July 21, 2023 @ 6:15 pm
There was never a magical time when people understood that ‘art was art’. Especially political art. Or political popular songs. That ‘good times’ like that ever existed is a fantasy. In 2003 there were all kinds of art and music controversies. Anyone remember Marilyn Manson? My point is that since the late 1800’s Western society has been slowly breaking away from traditional Judeo-Christian morality. There are push backs and slowdowns like the 30’s, 50’s, and 80’s, but all of the trends point to the waning influence of Christianity on Western morals. An eye for an eye, righteous justice, and original sin are ideas that are slowly going away, and are being replaced by a kind of test pattern of kindness, understanding, environmentalism, psychology, science, sociology, etc. Not saying this is good or bad, just that things aren’t ‘declining’ now they are changing. What everyone calls woke is just the latest experiment in post-Christian morals and ethics. Those ethics weren’t ready to challenge “Beer for my Horses” in 2003 but they are ready to challenge “Try that” now.
July 21, 2023 @ 7:27 pm
This comment and others are out of bounds. This isn’t about immigration, pedophiles, or trans people. I’m out at a music festival and can’t vet all of these comments. Keep it on topic, or I will have to close this comments section again.
July 21, 2023 @ 11:59 am
Call it culture war or blame the media or whatever you want, but I think a lot of the difference is because the idea of someone actually going out and stringing up people feels more probable in 2023 than 2003, sad as that is.
July 21, 2023 @ 12:03 pm
If the “Beer for my Horses” video was filmed in front of the sight of a black man’s lynching by white “law men” and interspersed with footage of racially tinged riots following the modern day murder of a black man by a white law man; and the (social) media landscape was as it is today, it would’ve struck a different tone.
Nobody got pissed off about the song until that intentionally provocative marketing ploy of a video was released in order to stir up attention for a mediocre performing song by exploiting an already division fueled social media landscape that almost assures clicks and views based on any controversy…perceived or otherwise.
Add to that that Aldean, KID Rock and the like have been using these cheap tactics to stay relevant in that landscape prior to this and there is definitely some context being sat aside here that underlies this situation moreso than what was presented as a modern take on a cowboy ballad when Toby(I wanna be a cowboy) Keith and Willie (Red Headed Stranger) Nelson did it.
July 21, 2023 @ 12:19 pm
“Nobody got pissed off about the song until that intentionally provocative marketing ploy of a video was released in order to stir up attention for a mediocre performing song by exploiting an already division fueled social media landscape that almost assures clicks and views based on any controversy…perceived or otherwise.”
And appreciate that Jason Aldean’s label partnered with CMT to premier the video across all of their platforms and on billboards in Times Square. This is how all of this started.
July 21, 2023 @ 12:06 pm
I didn’t even know CMT still aired music videos. I thought they switched to showing Reba reruns and awful movies.
Anyways, the outrage over this song is beyond pathetic. Its nothing but self loathing white people seeing lyrics about not allowing crime in small towns and immediately associating that with black people.
July 21, 2023 @ 10:05 pm
I pay $300 a month for comcast and it’s not included in my package
July 21, 2023 @ 12:07 pm
Uvalde is a really small town which someone “tried” and successfully murdered children at school while the cops Aldean admires so much cowardly stood by arresting parents trying to save their kids.. so what he’s implying in this incoherent song is off to begin with
July 21, 2023 @ 1:45 pm
How different would the conversation be if the video was done in the small town of Sulphur Springs?
The incident seems to better fit the songs narrative.
July 21, 2023 @ 1:54 pm
This comment makes zero sense. The Uvalde cops were nationally reviled for their behavior. They held back parents who wanted to rush in to the school. Their behavior as a whole was antithetical to that or regular small town cops not to mention they received stand down orders (which they should have defied)
July 21, 2023 @ 10:42 pm
You do realize Sulphur Springs and Uvalde are two totally separate towns and incidents with two totally different outcomes.
July 21, 2023 @ 12:10 pm
I already mentioned “Simple Man” by Charlie Daniels in the comments on the last Aldean article, and personally I think that’s a much more apt comparison. Just like Aldean’s latest single, both songs are “current events” political commentary, but Charlie’s effort, unsurprisingly, left nothing to speculation on top of being a well-written song that easily puts Aldean’s writers to shame. It caught plenty of flak from critics back in 1989…yet he still performed an abbreviated version of the song for a majority non-white audience on the Arsenio Hall Show in 1990. I guess back then dialogue was still possible.
July 21, 2023 @ 1:35 pm
EXACTLY. And considering in hindsight the Federal government was pushing crack into the inner-cities in the 80’s
July 21, 2023 @ 12:18 pm
You do know that Aldean has a history of racism, right? I mean he wore blackface a few years ago.
July 21, 2023 @ 12:23 pm
Yes, Saving Country Music broke the story:
https://savingcountrymusic.com/jason-aldean-wore-blackface-as-part-of-his-2015-halloween-costume/
That doesn’t make this song racist.
July 21, 2023 @ 12:41 pm
No, the video did that.
July 21, 2023 @ 4:54 pm
Lol, it’s hilarious that Trigger is so self absorbed that he thinks he “broke the story.”
July 22, 2023 @ 12:50 am
I did break that story. You can go back and see the timeline. Nashville Gab posted about it, and it went nowhere. Then I posted it days later, and it went viral. Nashville Gab will confirm this.
July 21, 2023 @ 12:27 pm
Wearing blackface is “racism?”
July 21, 2023 @ 1:38 pm
doesn’t count for Robert Downey Jr, Justin Trudeau somehow.
July 21, 2023 @ 1:50 pm
It is (D)ifferent for some folks!
July 21, 2023 @ 4:39 pm
Just off the top of my head: Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, Ralph Northam, Billy Crystal, Ted Danson.
Barbershop is essentially a movie of black people doing blackface, where they exaggerate and mock mannerisms of less self-aware black people. No condemnation there.
Of course, blacks (and whites) mock and satirize poor or Southern or rural or un-educated, etc. white folks all the time and that is a knee-slapper to end all knee-slappers. The media can’t get enough of that.
July 21, 2023 @ 12:28 pm
i’m sorry, i just don’t see how his record of racism or him being an asshole is relevant. (sarcasm)
July 21, 2023 @ 12:53 pm
He’s also from a “small town” of 150k, and attended a private segregationist academy whose mascot is the Knights. Each grade at Windsor gets a different color, so one class is actually designed as White Knights.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windsor_Academy
July 21, 2023 @ 5:43 pm
I remember Jimmy Kimmel wearing blackface many times on The Man Show. No one says thats a history of racism because he is an avowed lefty. Hypocrite.
July 22, 2023 @ 12:42 am
I think it is racist. What does he say about it himself?
July 25, 2023 @ 2:41 am
Adam S.–Aldean didn’t wear “blackface.” He had a darker shade applied to his skin to portray a character.
“Blackface” is an exaggerated caked on coating on the front of the face that was done in minstrel and vaudeville shows a century ago. Al Jolson is probably the most famous performer known for wearing blackface. Jolson was not a racist, but blackface is an anachronism that’s deemed racist today.
July 21, 2023 @ 12:39 pm
Don’t really care about this song or Aldean. But it always strikes me as arrogant how folks sing about small towns as some paragon of values and virtue. I have lived in small towns and big cities. People everywhere are all the same. Most are pretty good. A number of them suck. In my extensive experience (I am old) in tiny towns and mega cities, north and south, the percentages don’t change much based on where you live.
July 21, 2023 @ 12:48 pm
What you have written about Aldean’s song has caused me to reevaluate my reaction to it and opened my eyes to certain things I was previously unaware of. I still think Aldean and his music are garbage, but I’m going to handle my comments on the subject in a more rational, less reactionary manner going forward. Thank you, Trigger.
July 21, 2023 @ 12:57 pm
You don’t see a difference between one being “the long arm of the law” and the other being the mob justice of “around here, we take care of our own”? Between the crimes of “Said somebody’s been shot, somebody’s been abused, Somebody blew up a building, somebody stole a car” and the not actual crime of burning a flag or calling a cop a name? No, there’s nothing at all racist in the Aldean song, but it’s clearly about a mob skipping a trial or the legal system.
The videos really amplify the distinction. Beer for my Horses has detectives looking for a murderer and eventually catching him, presumably to face trial. Aldean’s thing selects violent excerpts from the largely peaceful protests over police murdering someone, a situation tinged with racism, and the projects those on the facade of a building that has a striking history of race based violence. It doesn’t say lynching, but it rhymes with the story of Henry Choate being accused of a crime and then being tortured and hung on that very spot by a mob that didn’t bother with a trial or evidence.
July 21, 2023 @ 1:22 pm
Please don’t mistake me for defending the lyricism of “Try That In a Small Town.” The song is garbage. But if you’re going to attack the song for making allusions to lynching, it seems pretty germane that you should have criticized songs with actual lynching referenced in the lyrics. “Get some rope,” “raise them high,” “for all the people to see” leaves no room for interpretation. “Beer For My Horses” is a lynching song. It’s about lynching. Period.
July 22, 2023 @ 8:57 am
The thing though is that when Willie Nelson sings about the lynching the lyrics are:
Grandpappy told my pappy
“Back in my day son a man had to answer for all the wicked that he done”
It almost sounds like Grandpappy thinks that pappy is being too soft with the criminals and they need to be given tough Justice while Pappy had more of a Sheriff Taylor approach to law enforcement. That and the way Willie Nelson sings “for all the people to see” seems like he’s disgusted by the thought of that. Plus nowhere in the chorus is lynching mentioned. While the lyrics mention when the gun smoke settles there’s no mention of lynching same as tje long arm putting a few in the ground.
July 22, 2023 @ 12:24 pm
Nobody said the “bad guys” were black! Couldn’t they be white? Race wasn’t mentioned in the lyrics of either song. You’re assuming they meant black people. Accountability doesn’t equal racism!
July 21, 2023 @ 1:05 pm
You really felt the need to spit up a second article complaining about the liberal media? You’re becoming part of the problem with all this culture war bullshit.
July 21, 2023 @ 1:10 pm
“The idea that the song is actively condoning or encouraging the lynching of Black people is beyond ludicrous and based in absolutely no factual information.”
The entire song is coded language and a dog-whistle and is indefensible. And yes, it absolutely does encourage lynching and to claim otherwise is just plain ignorant.
I have issues with “Beer For My Horses” as well, but I will point out a couple of things:
1) Willie Nelson doesn’t have a history of racist behavior (unlike Jason Aldean who was caught wearing blackface).
2) “Beer For My Horses” also mentions “the long arm of the law,” and not vigilante justice.
3) “Beer For My Horses” is also a much more light-hearted song that’s meant to be pretty tongue-in-cheek.
Now, I will admit that that second one is a pretty thin defense and it’s pretty much the only one I can offer in terms of the content of the song, but I’m not a fan of that song either.
But the rest of Willie Nelson’s reputation of being a person who loves everyone is pretty damn solid.
Aldean on the other hand has shown that he is a hate-filled bigot: he and his entire trashy family. Not only that, but Aldean blatantly lied in his defense of the video saying “there isn’t one clip that’s shown that isn’t real news footage.” A video has already shown that in the first 45 seconds alone, Aldean uses clips from a German festive event and paid stock footage of a Molotov cocktail being lit. If it’s all as innocent and innocuous as Aldean claims, why did he need to lie in his defense of it.
Stop trying to defend the indefensible, Kyle.
July 21, 2023 @ 1:31 pm
There is absolutely no empirical evidence that this song is about lynching anybody. Period. There’s nothing. Whatsoever. You can say “coded language” all you want, because then you don’t have to prove anything. Anything can be coded language. That is why folks are leaning so hard on the courthouse issue, saying Aldean MUST have known. Because without that, there’s nothing to implicate this song. Aldean said he didn’t know. TackleBox confirmed he didn’t know. CMT not only cleared it, they decided to premier it. But still, “he must have known,” because without that, the entire premise of the why this song is so problematic, it falls apart. But again, empirically, it’s not true. There’s nothing there.
I’m not defending this song. I am attacking it. But I am attacking it on merit. But if you and everyone else believe that the best way to attack this song is to give into incitement and hyperbole, full speed ahead! Best of luck to you! And I’ll see you at #1 on the charts!
July 21, 2023 @ 1:37 pm
They can say that they didn’t know all they want, Kyle. Do you really expect that they’re going to come out and admit that they knew?
With everything that goes in to making a music video, all of the steps involved, do you really believe that at no point, no one realized where they were filming this? Do you really believe that no one realized they were filming a song about vigilanteism at the site of a lynching?
Are you REALLY that naive?
It was deliberate. It was a conscious decision and any attempt to say otherwise is just plain ignorant.
July 21, 2023 @ 1:41 pm
Even if it was an accident on the part of TackleBox (which, as I’ve mentioned, I don’t really believe because there’s a certain res ipsa loquitor quality to all this), I’m not sure how that’s really a defense of Aldean himself.
What I learned in the small town that I grew up in is that if I cause offense unintentionally, I should apologize and take my lumps.
July 21, 2023 @ 1:48 pm
Small towns aren’t demanding that he apologize. It’s the Twitter mob that wants him to apologize. There is zero benefit in him putting out any sort of apology. Morgan Wallen apologized and it made the mobs want to tear him down even more as if chum was thrown into the water.
July 21, 2023 @ 1:50 pm
I’m glad the whole “coded-language” nonsense was called out.
July 21, 2023 @ 5:26 pm
The people that made the video intentionally don’t show the faces to any degree that is easy to discern. You have to work to see a black face in the video. Those that assume the video is of black people are obviously correct, and that’s the problem. It was black people carrying out the vigilante justice that many of those who criticize the song as being racist are railing against. It’s hard to believe people are so stupid and void of logical thought.
July 21, 2023 @ 7:12 pm
And you know what else, Trigger…if it’s all as innocuous and innocent as you are claiming, then why did Aldean lie in his defense of the video? Why did he say that there isn’t one clip that isn’t real news footage when that is clearly false?
https://www.tiktok.com/@destineenstark/video/7257639422705880363
Unless you want to now claim he didn’t know about that, either.
July 21, 2023 @ 9:09 pm
Jason Aldean is a moron. He has nothing to do with the video, the song, any of it. You’re yelling at a facade. If you have any beef, it’s with the production company for the video. If you want me to defend Jason Aldean, you’ve come to the wrong place. But you still can’t say that Jason Aldean wants to lynch Black people just because you want it to be true.
July 21, 2023 @ 1:29 pm
I can’t believe I find myself defending Jason Aldean and this awful song. A few things can be true at the same time:
1) The song sucks and isn’t really country. As a rule, I don’t listen to Aldean; I made an exception here. Musically, this song is awful and I hope to never listen to it again.
2) The song captures the pent-up anger that a huge portion of the US populace has regarding the past couple of years. The majority of us watched as groups of Marxists burned, looted, and victimized others unhindered, wondering how in the hell the country lost its mind. Crime rates have surged since that time and the governing elite seem content to ignore the very real suffering that takes place. Where this song is stupid, is that small town America isn’t immune to crime, violent or otherwise. This song panders to a utopian perception of small town America that just isn’t real in many places. That said, the same nonsensical idealization of small town America receives extensive attention on country music radio, so this isn’t anything new.
3) Nothing in the song is targeted at black people. The first verse is about crime. I forget.. but what’s that word we might use to describe those who assume that all criminals are black? All those who conflate a song about crime with black people are that thing… that is, racists.
July 21, 2023 @ 1:39 pm
“The song captures the pent-up anger that a huge portion of the US populace has regarding the past couple of years.”
Imagine how a portion of the population must feel after centuries of discrimination.
July 21, 2023 @ 1:52 pm
There are people living for centuries here in America?
They should be writing autobiographies!
July 21, 2023 @ 4:58 pm
You never fail to lower my opinion of you.
July 21, 2023 @ 6:16 pm
you gotta put yourself into his shoes, he’s a white male and he’s been under attack…. never
July 22, 2023 @ 10:27 pm
So what do you do to help the poor and disenfranchised afro-Americans other than bring up their plight on the internet?
July 21, 2023 @ 1:43 pm
The same people leaving the big cities because of crime perpetuated by Marxists and minorities are often the same people moving to Maury county and complaining about Conservatives and their racism and bravado.
I own guns and I believe in legal self defense. That makes me a bigot to all the nutless whiners on here and I am ok with that. I know that I am not a bigot based on the long time dictionary definition.
July 23, 2023 @ 11:40 pm
The guy talking about “invaders flooding Europe” and “al qaida types taking over in England” is not a bigot everybody. Glad he gave his word on it.
July 21, 2023 @ 1:45 pm
I think part of the issue here is that whatever message the song itself has or doesn’t has been clouded (inevitably) by its association with the video, to the point that I’m not sure that an analysis of the lyrics without reference to the video has much value in the ongoing discussion.
That’s not to say that people shouldn’t – have whatever discussions you please – just that when people today talk about the song, they’re mostly really talking about (song + video).
That means that in many places (like these comments), there are actually two very different conversations happening simultaneously and it’s causing a bit of confusion.
July 21, 2023 @ 1:33 pm
Are all Leftists completely OK with violent crime and property damage if it means they don’t risk being labeled bigots?
July 21, 2023 @ 1:51 pm
Yes.
Names matter more to them than security and freedom.
July 21, 2023 @ 1:54 pm
Closing this comments section temporarily as I travel through the mountains of Oregon to a festival and won’t be able to moderate. It will be back up shortly.
July 21, 2023 @ 10:26 pm
Hope you have a Wonderful weekend in Oregon!
July 22, 2023 @ 11:17 am
Have a good trip. My family and I are traveling through Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons from Ohio. Such beautiful country. Also have been listening to some good classic country in Cody WY on a local station. Wish we had one like it near home
July 21, 2023 @ 5:09 pm
Yeah I guess the BLM protestors in the video didn’t spell it out for you enough. Or maybe videos aren’t “saving Country…” F’n snowflake can’t handle 20 minutes in the sun and can go F himself. Not the first time he has spewed diarhea either but go ahead and apologize.
July 21, 2023 @ 5:17 pm
Willie, who I love, is a left wing dope head. But, since he’s a left winger, he’s cool, and idolized for that fact alone. He has a song also making fun of gay’s called Ain’t Going Down on Brokeback Mountain.” It’s funny as hell, but really makes fun of gay’s. The lyrics go: “I ain’t going down on Brokeback Mountain, that shit ain’t right. And, “You can bum a chew or bum a smoke, but don’t go reaching for my rip,” followed by him spinning the chamber on a pistol. Where’s the outrage lefties. Old Willie’s got a hanging song and a homophobic song, but did SVC write an article about it; did the gay fellers get riled up? Why? He’s a left winger, or so he says. Aldean makes a video that doesn’t really even show the faces of those that rioted, but he’s said to be a racist on that circumstantial evidence. Willie blatantly writes a homophobic song and it’s all good. Ignorance is abundant in leftyville. Come on lefties, more outrage please! Aldean needs more money!
July 21, 2023 @ 5:29 pm
thanks for taking a stand for the gays, bubs. who knew you were so tolerant.
July 21, 2023 @ 11:08 pm
I don’t need to be tolerant of ignorance, laziness or immorality. Being intolerant of lazy, white meth heads in Appalachia, black thugs in South Chicago and other large cities, or tranny’s using the bathroom with little girls is nothing to be ashamed of. Not being tolerant of the media, govt. or public schools trying to brainwash my children and supporting cutting toddlers/teenagers dicks off because they go through a phase where they think they might be a girl is the just and honorable thing to do. If toddlers and teenagers made rational decisions that lasted a lifetime, and we’d have a nation full cops and firefighters. Society needs standards of conduct that prevent the damage warped people like you do to our culture. People like you just follow the mob, and that’s counterproductive to a decent society. Somebody tells you how to think and you follow along because you don’t have the desire or capacity to think logically, critically and for yourself. I’m not a religious person, a Trumper, etc. How can any rational person support someone that lost to a senile, brain dead criminal like Biden? However, I’m not going to let ignorant people dictate to me what’s right and wrong, or feel like I have to hide my beliefs from your mob of fools. People like you are the kind that casually throw around the accusation that a person is racist, which hurts the cause of fighting real racism and probably creates more racists because white people feel they are under constant attack; it seems your ilk is to dumb to figure that out. I don’t care what your kind does with your life, just don’t expect the silent majority to accept you trying to ram it down our throats, or our kids’ throats. A growing number of us are deciding to stand up and use our voices/money to fight back against the ideology of people like you. I suggest you keep screaming to the top of your lungs that Aldean’s a racist, white people are all bad and men dressed as ladies should be allowed in the restroom with little girls. Go to your school board and demand that they teach kids to hate their country. Do all that stuff. Please attack with all your heart. It’s the right thing to do, bubs!
July 21, 2023 @ 5:44 pm
Exactly my point above.
July 21, 2023 @ 6:02 pm
You are dead on the money. “Ain’t going down on Brokeback Mountain, that shit ain’t right. You can bum a chew or bum a smoke, but don’t go reaching for my rope” followed by the spinning of a pistol chamber kind of suggests we shoot shot gays. But Willie’s cool and a liberal, so liberals will just ignore it. I say this and Willie Nelson is my musical hero. I own all of his books and love his music and who he is as a humanitarian. I’ve went to numerous concerts and appreciate he helps young artists. He’s the best in my book. But, we have to be intellectually honest and fair to people. I don’t like most of Aldean’s music, but I think he’s a decent guy that loves his country and deserves better. As a song goes, it’s awful. However, I’ve played it on repeat for about 24 hours. I can’t stand hypocrisy and stupidity. I’m not a racist, but I damn sure careful to not find myself in South Chicago at night. I’m not against gay people, but I am against men dressing as women going in a ladies restroom with my 8 year old daughter. It’s one step over the line. You’d be a fool not to worry about it. Society has gone to shit and we are starting to see the silent majority stand up. If the media were honest, they’d crucify Willie for being homophobic and accept no apology. He should be cancelled and his music removed from all outlets, even though a rational person would agree he most likely isn’t really homophobic. If he were a conservative person he would be.
July 24, 2023 @ 2:25 am
Sorry, I can’t let you bismirch the character of Willie Nelson to win your political argument.
1. Ain’t Goin Down on Brokeback Mountain is clearly tongue in cheek and was issued on the same album as Willie’s cover of Cowboys Are Frequently, Secretly Fond of Each Other.
2. Describing a matraca sound is “the spinning of a pistol chamber” is a stretch that defies credibility.
July 21, 2023 @ 5:24 pm
I’m on a moderation list because some fly-by-night tofu guzzler complained. I’ve been commenting here for years.
July 22, 2023 @ 8:53 pm
Fly by night tofu guzzler is my new name on this board going forward! FYI the rice noodles with tofu stir fry sold by the Thai food truck at the Grey Fox bluegrass festival are really worth trying. Had some during the Dan Tyminski band set.
July 21, 2023 @ 5:26 pm
does anyone else remember when ahmaud arbery tried jogging in a small town? or matthew shepherd just wanted to be gay in one?
July 22, 2023 @ 10:47 am
I remember when acknowledging facts and fidelity to the truth were considered virtues.
For the record:
The men who killed Arbery will be in prison for the rest of their lives, put there by a jury of their peers in Glynn county.
Terrible as it was, the killing of Matthew Shepard (says a lot that you can’t even be bothered to spell his name correctly) was not a hate crime–he was killed over money and because of his involvement in the distribution of crystal meth. The man most responsible for the killing was bisexual and was Shepard’s sometime lover. This has been known for years. The real story is the scourge of meth in rural America.
July 22, 2023 @ 11:06 am
so small towns aren’t all utopias? thanks for going on the record
July 22, 2023 @ 11:24 am
and thanks for going on the record that mob justice is murder. appreciated.
July 22, 2023 @ 11:49 am
Using a grade school-level comeback as a response to factual statements and to an accusation that you’re playing fast and loose with the truth isn’t the soundest debate technique.
July 22, 2023 @ 10:59 am
Never let the truth get in the way of a lie that advances the agenda.
July 23, 2023 @ 4:17 pm
Eliza Fletcher just wanted to go jogging too. Why is there no coverage of her compared to Ahmaud?
July 21, 2023 @ 6:07 pm
I think the hubbub is the dumb video. Otherwise, the song is really just a a modern oversized truck version of a perfectly serviceable 80s F150 version of HWJr’s Country Boy Can Survive. A bit more understated, fewer dumb parts, but still righteous.
July 21, 2023 @ 6:30 pm
Seems like a worthless argument. If you read the latest history of the Vietnam war the main protestors were professors, the media, musicians and cowards who joined the protests only because they were afraid to fight after the draft was instated. The small town people vastly supported the troops. Do many of you know how much the violence cost you that he is showing on the video. The costs are not free. Insurance companies lost millions and other are passed on to you. Funny how songs like this and songs against our government policies were once all the rage and now are so awful. Now suddenly we trust 80 year old politicians on both sides. Growing up in a small town meant a bunch of rednecks but they also will be the first ones to help when a tornado takes out your house and watches out for you. Who would you rather have in a war against China. If you like the song listen to it. If not, don’t. Plenty of 60’s protest songs that have have lyrics that would be considered detestable to vets but I still listen to because it is just good music.
July 21, 2023 @ 10:19 pm
Those protesters are from other countries pre BLM.
July 21, 2023 @ 10:51 pm
The Vietnam war a CIA created war, as was the Cold War. Read the book “The Devil’s Chessboard”. Every American should read that book to see how the military industrial complex really operates. It was a bad war that cost 58,220 American lives and untold Vietnamese lives. It was based on lies, misinformation, and propaganda. Much like the world we live in today. It was about making money, much like this terrible song. Muhammad Ali refused to go and I don’t think he was a coward. He knew it was unjust, just like many of the protesters and just like many soldiers that survived it. Merle Haggard wrote “Okie From Muskogee” criticizing the anti-war movement only to admit years later after Willie started him regularly smoking weed that “the kids were right to protest the war”. The BLM people were protesting decades of violence against them by the police. It got out of hand. The Jan 6th crowd were protesting their votes being stolen from them. It got out of hand. Violence just leads to more violence, and that is what this song really boils down to. It’s saying “come to my town and see what happens”. It’s a shitty song with a shitty message. It was released intentionally to stir division because Nashville knows that division sells, much like CNN and Fox News. It’s also several years late which is oddly suspicious. It’s like Music Row has become advertising for the alcohol industry , pickup trucks, and the NRA.
July 22, 2023 @ 11:56 am
Please check out the recently published book Triumph Regained on the Viet Nam War. It uses new sources including North Vietnamese translated documents and overturns the misinformation of the past. What all those soldiers died for was communism taking over Asian nations and destroying China and Russia plans for the region. They also helped insure that we can have this discussion. Most young people who found a way not to fight were not against the war before the draft. They came out against it after they knew they might have to fight and die. Also, there are just not the facts or scientific consensus to say violence breeds violence. There are not facts to back up that violent video games, movies or violent rap songs cause violent actions. I seem to remember our president saying he wanted to take Trump behind the bleachers and punch him. I don’t see how more violence erupted from that. Madonna said she had thought about blowing up the White House. I don’t see that that caused more violence. I don’t much care for the music in the song and would rather listen to Marty Stuart’s new album. The point is that we can make the kind of music we want and agree to disagree and if we like it or not. Personal attacks on the artist really don’t serve a purpose.
July 21, 2023 @ 6:34 pm
Wait until Gentile and his various screen names find out that there are small towns that exist where people get along regardless of color.
Hey Gentile and all of your multiple personalities, there are reaction videos up on YouTube of African Americans watching the Aldean video saying they don’t see anything racist about it.
How would you respond to them?
July 22, 2023 @ 10:19 am
He’d say they have “white supremacist” tendencies because he thinks he’s better than anyone who disagrees with him, regardless of skin color, ironically making him the racist bigot he pretends he isn’t.
July 22, 2023 @ 10:48 am
i didn’t realize all black people have the same opinions on every subject. fascinating. in addition to you thinking they all think alike do you think they look the same too?
and since you didn’t read or comprehend what i said elsewhere in this very i’ll just put it here and hope it sinks in this time.
“tbf, i don’t find this song particularly racist so much as a call to violence against anything they don’t like (but we know they know their audience). it is VERY selective tho. i mean, he couldn’t have included one clip of a school in small town being shot up and wanting to round them up? a story about domestic violence in a small town? anything? guess not, it’s all about ‘others’.
the reason i think it’s not particularly racist is i know that they would be just as happy to enact some small town justice on a few libs (or commies or socialists or trans or boogey men or etc.).”
July 22, 2023 @ 2:35 pm
Nice cut and paste job. Any particular reason why you left the first paragraph out? You know, this one?
“trig, word of advice, if you don’t want people to think you are a racist, don’t write several articles defending racist actions (see: this, morgan wallen).”
“Racist actions?”
“See: this?”
So which is it? Is it racist or not?
July 22, 2023 @ 3:10 pm
do i need to copy and paste it again for you to read it? or is it completely just a comprehension thing?
where’s your fam bruh?
July 25, 2023 @ 1:31 pm
LMAO
I’m done with you. You’ve already shown your ass.
You would get mauled in a debate offline in front of an audience.
July 21, 2023 @ 7:57 pm
I can tell you this: over the course of my life, I have listened to and greatly enjoyed some of the most “offensive” popular music ever recorded. Everything from Gene Simmons lusting after high school girls, King Diamond praising Satan, The Crucifucks screaming about decapitating Reagan, Mikey Muir singing about someone’s dead mother, Seth Putnam going out of his way to offend absolutely everyone…the list is endless. I could go on and on and on, too.
And one thing I have learned is, it’s all pretty much meaningless. They’re just dumb songs, and quite easily ignored if you don’t like them. Just my opinion, but Jason Aldean is and always has been a contrived dork, and I’d rather have rotting weasel flesh rammed down my throat with a rusty railroad spike than to be subjected to his hokey, rabble-rousing, beer-soaked anthems. But so what? It’s not geared toward me anyhow, so what the hell do I care what that prancing cowboy wannabee is doing? It’s not even for me, so who cares what I think about it?
Sure got his name in the papers (so to speak) though. Which is usually the point, unless Aldean magically became a font of musical integrity overnight, which seems sort of unlikely.
July 21, 2023 @ 10:38 pm
It’s amazing, and I mean truly amazing, that there are this many butthurt injured lefties on a country music website.
Just more confirmation that the country is sliding down the shitter—rapidly.
July 21, 2023 @ 10:54 pm
Kyle—thank you for the most thoughtful, objective piece on this. I appreciate your approach. Keep up the good work.
July 21, 2023 @ 11:09 pm
This song needs to be criticized for one reason only, it is a piece of shit song. The music is generic the lyrics are poorly written and repetitive and the melody sucks. If anyone finds racism etc in the lyrics is looking for it. Is the song making a statement? Yeah, basically that kind of shit usually doesn’t happen in a small town. I live in a small town with 2 traffic lights, a gated community, sizable redneck and black population. We have now police beyond the country police. We also really don’t have problems. The rednecks get along fine with the black folk and the other way around. Small towns aren’t a bunch of fucking racist inbred hillbillies you have been taught to believe. If you want to hear racism in country songs listen to some Johnny Rebel.
July 22, 2023 @ 12:56 am
Comments closed for overnight.
July 22, 2023 @ 10:09 am
I think these types of songs can be nice escapism when you see bad stuff happening in the news. But this song doesn’t do that. There are many songs that do a better job of that. My issue is that I am from a small town and not even small town people are doing this to each other to keep each other in check. So that’s when the reality hits. Small towns can be riddled with crime, addiction and poverty.
All that aside, the song is bad. And with country music on the charts with Morgan Wallen and Luke Combs, I’m upset this is detracting from country music in the mainstream.
July 22, 2023 @ 11:19 am
Beer For My Horses – a good song
A Country Boy Can Survive – also good song
Try That in a Small Town – total shit
Songs matter. The rest of this long list of bitching on yet another SCM click bait article is a complete waste of time. Isbell and Hank Jr. live in my collection. I don’t see the issue. Crap like this and some of the other pandering releases (both left and right) are not worth the time it takes to complain. Can we get back to what SCM was before all this butt hurt redneck and lib shit? You all need to get out of your echo chambers and spend more time actually listening to music. You’ll feel better.
But hey, what the hell does an old DeadHead know anyhow?
July 22, 2023 @ 12:02 pm
41 paragraph articles are never “click bait.” By definition, click bait is short, deceptive content created quickly to generate revenue and mislead the public. If you don’t like the conclusions or opinions shared here, I 100% respect that. But that doesn’t make it “click bait.” It is astounding how someone could read the first three paragraphs of this article and somehow conclude that I am defending this song. “Try That In A Small Town” is on the way to being the #1 song in the world next week. As far as I can tell, I am the only one in the world trying to stop that. If some wants to mischaracterize that as “defending” this song because they don’t want to engage with the substance of this article, so be it. But please, don’t mischaracterize it as “click bait” or anything else. It is an attempt to address a very real issue with deep dialogue.
July 22, 2023 @ 12:35 pm
Not saying you are defending it. It’s the inevitable shit show these articles become. Same on Facebook. This comment section isn’t a dialog. It’s left vs right spouting off the same old same old and it happens with any of these types of articles. Your often excellent reviews get less than 50 comments and this gets 500. Pity, because it cheapens what this site was all about when I found it 10 or so years ago. Works for others I guess.
I never said you were supporting this steaming pile of dog crap. I read the article, as I do with most of the ones you post, but was getting at how these articles bring out the insanity in folks. Cancel culture is bad no matter what the target is be it Andean or Bud Lite. Rioting is wrong for BLM and for those treasonous fools who stormed the capital. See that’s the thing… both the right and left extremists are the problem, not one or the other.
Then again your comment on the Facebook post (for the first article) sums it up for these types of articles…”’Here you go. Have fun”. That seems like click bait to me, but I’m a boomer so I may be a little off with my tech lingo.
These comments just further perpetuate the divisions we have in this country.
July 22, 2023 @ 2:43 pm
I agree these comments sections are a problem on these article. I wish I had a way to fix that, but it’s something I struggle with. I’ve shut this one down twice for various intervals. But they are here for the people who want to engage with them, and are elective and aside from the articles.
I appreciate your feedback. I also struggle with addressing what I believe are very important issues, and not ruffling folks who just want to come and read album reviews.
July 28, 2023 @ 8:29 am
It’s the ultimate irony for the whining, crying, frothing at the mouth, pearl clutching politically incorrect kancel Kulture crowd to lib those blatantly projecting insults at the “politically correct” crowd. I don’t see that crowd crying over beer cans, Kaepernic, who’s using what potty, Dr Seuss, Barbie, or the Dixie Chicks. If you’re going to spout bombastic declarations, you should spout them at the right bunch of snowflakes. And that’s a fact. The majority of people in this country are sick and tired of the ignorants thinking they’re the only one’s entitled to free speech, or the criticism of free speech. What’s good for the eighties is something the lefties are equally entitled to. And you don’t have to one or the other to be smart enough to know that, and I don’t care WHAT anachronistic songs of yesterday you use. Why don’t you throw in a few of David Allen Coe’s songs in there to, since you think that rearview mirror into yesterday is so relevant?
July 22, 2023 @ 12:55 pm
What a response. “I’m the only one in the world trying to stop it.” Grab your sword and attack!
July 24, 2023 @ 12:13 pm
Imagine playing like you didn’t get a taste of the traffic this type of rage bait content garners, and then purposely continue doing it for that reason. Don’t bullshit us @Trigger.
July 22, 2023 @ 11:46 am
Oh don’t worry. NitBrit Aldean is back to targeting the LBGTQ community. She’s reposted “A tip for our young boys: In a world of Sam Smiths, be a Jason Aldean”. Come on. What the absolute fuck. Man I’m done with country music. Trig you’re a good man. I appreciate your work. I don’t always agree with you but I have also used some of your articles in class. Good luck to you sir.
July 22, 2023 @ 12:44 pm
Brittany Aldean’s a boss!
July 22, 2023 @ 12:53 pm
Or it could be that Sam Smith just did a tour dressed in a variety of Satanic garb, emulating Satanic rituals on stage and having lewd sex acts performed in audiences that had children it it. But you jump straight to attack on LGBT? I think he is despicable but not for the reasons you are assuming.
July 22, 2023 @ 12:40 pm
Guess Ill try again- although I thought I had self moderated enough not to be a problem. Anyway- look up what Willie used to affectionately call Charlie Pride and even introduce him on stage that way. Starts with Super and ends with the word that cant be said. He clearly didnt mean anything bad by it-quite the opposite. Pride swore Willie wasnt racist by it until the day he died. But be honest- if it was a known right wing entertainer calling a black man that word, would he have gotten a pass? We all know the answer is no.
July 22, 2023 @ 12:54 pm
People, if this offends you, try listening to the B-S FOR RAP!! ???? That is offensive!
July 22, 2023 @ 1:20 pm
Or it could be shes a wanker. And if that was the reason why did she delete her repost already. Too late though it’s already being picked up.
July 22, 2023 @ 2:00 pm
Based on her history, I’m quite sure she doesn’t give a damn about what the lefty media or that weirdo Sam Smith thinks. I’m proud of her and her husband for standing up and saying, “fuck you” to the woke mob. He deserves an entire article written about how he’s one of a very, very few to refuse to back down. That won’t happen here or on any other lefty leaning media outlet. It’s a huge story that he won’t apologize to the mob. No decent man wants his son to grow up and be Sam Smith weird. His song sucks from a musical perspective, but he deserves a ton of credit for being courageous enough to defend himself and the values of the silent majority.
July 23, 2023 @ 1:28 pm
No decent man cheats on his wife, and no good woman cheats with a married man who has children. The “silent majority” you mention used to have actual values, not just lame “tweets” trying to sell merchandise.
July 22, 2023 @ 1:58 pm
Seriously, what am I missing? Where, in Aldean’s song doea it say anything about “lyncing?”
July 23, 2023 @ 11:56 am
Nowhere. The building in the video had a lynching in front of it like many old court houses n such did back a hundred years ago or so. So of course someone had to pint that out though very few would have known that. Now lots of history experts running around on the internet
July 22, 2023 @ 2:29 pm
Some people think they’re so intelligent they can sneak subtle signals through to their like-minded Lowest Common Denominators. Of late, people like Aldean feel empowered by prejudiced knobs like Trump and countless others.
In Nashville, most of his colleagues know who & what he is… and it’s not just this guy. But the majority of folks in the Bluegrass & Country circles look the other way. They always have; still do.
July 22, 2023 @ 3:49 pm
Who in their right mind has gone around Nashville asking others other artists to what they specifically think of Aldean. That part alone makes your comment about a 99% improbable. Even more improbable is that someone was sitting around thinking, “Let’s go ask the Bluegrass community what they think of Jason Aldean.” Highly doubtful. He was on a downward career trajectory before the mob attacked. You also don’t have to like Trump to not accept the alphabet mafia’s agenda. The lowest common denominator is those that have no standards for decency, like those in the mob that thinks kids should be subjected to drag queen shows and transvestites/gays showing their private parts to kids at PRIDE events and at the whitehouse. Aldean may be a lot of things, but he’s just advocating human decency.
July 22, 2023 @ 3:43 pm
i hope your claim that it was written by Keith and BOBBY EMERICK was just too-fast typing. it was written by Toby Keith and SCOTTY EMERICK.
July 22, 2023 @ 3:58 pm
The stupidity I see in these comments from the woke left, makes me second guess my defense of the 1st amendment and have a far greater appreciation for the 2nd!
July 24, 2023 @ 7:32 am
I was more baffles by the “ITsNOt RacISt!1!!!1!” Followed two sentences later by something racist.
But somehow I never thought about needing a gun for that.
July 22, 2023 @ 4:09 pm
As one that splits time between a relatively big city and a small town, this song rings 100% true. Never been a big Aldean fan but I am one now, it takes courage to flip off the woke mob these days, even with half the country on your side.
FAFO!
July 22, 2023 @ 4:40 pm
The song was terrible and cringeworthy as well
July 23, 2023 @ 2:38 pm
My take on the actual article not the song is this. Beer for my horses was released during a very patriotic time, any dissent to the song or what was said would be hastily put down and those people isolated. Most idealist or anyone with any thoughts outside the popular norm don’t tend to stand up by their selves cause they don’t want to be isolated. Nowadays, we have a very split country on lots of views so no one is usually isolated so it’s easy to speak up for or against something. Beer for my horses video would probably get about the same treatment as aldeans would today if it was released now particularly if it used current type stuff for the video which I’m sure it would. People and times change though not always for the better.
July 23, 2023 @ 3:39 pm
I would agree, but the woke left are would never go after Willie. If Aldean, Church, etc. released it, I would agree. As I mentioned earlier, Willie released a song called “I ain’t going down on Brokeback Mountain” in 2009 that blatantly makes fun of gays. There’s even a part where there’s a spinning of the chamber of a pistol suggesting the shooting of someone that grabs his dick. I don’t think he’s homophobic. It’s a funny song. But as Chapelle knows, it doesn’t matter if it’s funny or not. We’d be a lot better off if the left would quit being such pussies and could laugh at themselves. I have a very country accent. When I was in the military, the black guys teased me mercilessly. I teased them about watermelon and fried chicken. We teased Puerto Rican’s about knifing people (I don’t know why that’s a thing). We all laughed and it was in good nature. If you weren’t being teased about something you knew you weren’t liked. Willie has not been criticized for this song either, and it’s a better example of a song that could be called a hate song than Beer for My Horses, although I understand why Trigger chose that song in this context. But, today everyone is a victim, we don’t accept reality, and everybody wants to protest something. I guess it makes some people feel important. I do think conservative people have to stand up and fight the extreme lefties because they have gone way overboard trying to force their agendas down people’s throats.
July 24, 2023 @ 4:08 am
Maybe but since toby Keith is involved, I don’t know. He’s attracted his share of criticism. When I served, I had the same comraderie thing you did. All my ncos were all black, when they found out I was from a small town/village with no black people, they started taking about the kkk and if we used dogs to go after blacks n other stuff,. At first I wasn’t too sure how to take it, but once I got comfortable I just went along with the stuff and we all got along. Now my gunnery sergeant who was also black didn’t really chime in with that stuff, it was the lower ncos, but he still joined in a little. He was a great guy and great leader, the best leader I had when I was in there.
July 23, 2023 @ 3:15 pm
I dare Jason Isbell to to criticize Willie Nelson.
July 23, 2023 @ 3:54 pm
Does Jason Aldean always have a dip in, or does he just look like he always has a dip in?
July 24, 2023 @ 11:42 am
You can make fun of his looks if you want, but that’s about a childish, 8th grade level insult that demonstrates your maturity. His wife and kids are most likely far more beautiful than yours.
July 24, 2023 @ 1:59 am
You’re obsessed with liberals and what they’re doing that you disapprove of, even when the real story is about something else entirely, like the ignorance and bloodlust of contemporary MAGA conservatism. It’s your MO.
July 24, 2023 @ 9:35 am
The story here is how the attempt to cancel Jasaon Aldean is sending this song and Aldean by proxy to the very top of the charts, taking a song that was virtually ignored for two months, and likely making it one of the most successful tracks in all of music, making Aldean millions of dollars in the process. This is the exact controversy Aldean and his label wanted. The left is playing right into his hands. You can say that me sharing this empirically true observation is part of me being “obsessed with liberals,” but it doesn’t make it any less true.
Jason Aldean and “Try That In A Small Town” are not going to be cancelled. So you have two other options of how to handle it. If you think the way to address it is by being more visceral, more hyperbolic, and writing one article about it after another, full speed ahead. But that has already proven to be catastrophically counter-productive. That is what this article is about.
July 24, 2023 @ 11:48 am
Your lefty audience is far to dumb to take your advice. Most people on the right are happy to let people live their lives as they wish, until you start allowing men dressed as women in the women’s restroom and supporting schools and the govt.. shove that ideology down our kids throats.
July 24, 2023 @ 12:38 pm
Ain’t it funny?
As the meme goes, the left boycotts a bad song and sends it to no. 1 in the charts and the right boycotts a beer and it loses $30 billion in market value.
July 24, 2023 @ 2:34 pm
Yeah and cries about “cancel culture” nonstop. The irony isn’t lost on anyone.
July 24, 2023 @ 3:49 pm
OR, and let’s try this out, cause it seems pretty basic, it’s most essentially the responsibility of those actually sending this song to the top of the charts for it being at the top of the charts. And those people would be conservative’s with violent fantasies towards liberals.
You can argue tactics for liberal response to this kinda thing but that’s on the margins of the phenomena in terms of combating it. Most basically this is a problem for the right. That their mood is so violent and twisted and that they’re so deluded and saturated by propaganda and groupthink that they celebrate this bullshit is theirs to own. Liberals can’t solve that for conservatives–they have to work it out themselves. Talking strategy re: what the left should do is a worthy conversation but it’s ridiculous to do without the context above.
I’m sympathetic to “just ignore it” but at root this is big time problem for CONSERVATISM and our democracy most basically.
July 24, 2023 @ 3:55 pm
Ryan,
I’m not saying that the right is not culpable in this situation. Of course they are. That goes without saying. They’re the ones streaming/downloading the song. But the thing is, they were ignoring it just like everyone else until The Daily Beast said it was a “pro lynching song.” That is what sparked the controversy.
July 25, 2023 @ 5:00 am
What’s concerning is how many people rush to decry or defend the song AFTER it being labeled a “pro lynching song.” Although all of that is being done on the internet where people’s diatribes are basically posted without looking another person in the eye.
July 24, 2023 @ 11:40 am
And what about the ignorance of the left refusing to admit that the Russian dossier was a blatant ass lie, even the FBI admits it now. Trumps an ass, but the left is worse because they can’t even bring themselves to admit what is unequivocally true. To say the MAGA folks are crazy, and not also say the progressive left is just as crazy makes you a hypocrite. There’s nothing worse.
July 24, 2023 @ 11:43 am
Let’s please not veer into other divisive subjects here please like Russia-gate. Thanks!
July 24, 2023 @ 11:51 am
If you are going to let people attack, a rebuttal is only fair. I do appreciate you letting people on the right speak. That’s a credit to you. Russia gate is not the point, hypocrisy and intellectual honesty is the point.
July 24, 2023 @ 12:47 pm
You’re absolutely correct.
The left has so many inconvenient truths that is glosses over while decrying everyone and everything as racist or fascist.
July 24, 2023 @ 10:00 am
This comment section gives me little hope for the future of this country. It looks like the divide and conquer tactic of the political elite is working to a tee. As long as we continue to fight amongst ourselves over ridiculous topics, they will continue to tax us in to poverty, line their own pockets with our money, and slowly erode any remaining freedoms we have left. Seriously, tell me one thing you can do without a permit, license, or being taxed. Every one of you are on a moral high horse and yelling so loudly you can’t hear what someone else is saying. You listen to respond, not learn. This is the greatest threat to this nation. It’s not commies, liberals, racists, conservatives, dog whistles, BLM, LGBTQ+, Confederate statues, socialist, Christians, Muslims, etc., etc. It’s us constantly at each others throats. It’s a fucking song. For goodness sake, learn some compassion, learn some empathy, learn to get along with your fellow human, learn how to listen, hell just learn to be a better person. What we want out of life, is not that different. We’re all a lot more alike than we realize. Now, let’s share a beer and listen to some good country music together.
July 24, 2023 @ 11:34 am
It’s more important than you have the capacity to realize. Western culture is going to shit because we have a stunning level of immorality and ignorance on the left. The right also has flaws, but they are far fewer. Anybody with half a brain should be able to deduce that the more left leaning our nation has become the more it’s gone down the damn gutter. If you have the necessary brain cells, you go back to the 60’s and the left progressively has more power and our nation becomes less prosperous. There’s a day coming when we reach the point of no return. That day is when the US dollar is replaced as the worlds business currency. When that happens our standard of living nosedives even further. We are fucking over our kids and grandkids by being tolerant of the ignorant, woke minority. You are correct that it’s just a stupid dong; you are deadass wrong that the principles behind the fight aren’t important. We don’t trust our govt. institutions because they blatantly tried to destroy a president by an insane made up bullshit lie. He’s an asshole, but that’s not the point. The democratic is pure scum and as long as good people in that party refuse to call the bullshit lies what they are, there’s no hope for anything but continued/worsening rage by the right, deservedly so. Not a single democrat has publicly rebuked the Russian dossier lies, and none are even willingly to entertain the idea that the Biden’s are probably bought and paid for by the Chinese and Ukrainians. That’s sad as sad gets
July 24, 2023 @ 2:38 pm
Holy shit, you have lost the plot…
July 25, 2023 @ 1:36 pm
“This comment section gives me little hope for the future of this country.”
This Comments section is just like Twitter: about 0.0037 percent of the population.
July 24, 2023 @ 10:06 am
I’m just sorry I wasted 5 minutes of my life reading any of these comments.
Worse than Facebook.
July 24, 2023 @ 12:00 pm
Boy I had kinda hoped @Trigger would have cleaned up his act with posting rage bait for clicks. Guess I’ll look elsewhere for actual album and music discussions.
July 24, 2023 @ 12:29 pm
I appreciate the feedback, and appreciate there is a segment of people who only come to Saving Country Music for music recommendations. I am very aware and sensitive that this type of coverage is not what that segment of readers wants to see. At the same time, to not address extremely important subjects in country music and to act like I can be like and ostrich and put my head in the sand and act like they’re not happening is counter-productive to the cause, purpose, and mission this website was founded upon. At the same time, I always make sure it does not impinge on the direct music coverage so many people come to this site for. Just posted another review today. If this is the stuff you do not want to read, by all means don’t read it. The reviews and music discussion will never go away.
July 24, 2023 @ 1:13 pm
Can you create tabs on the website? One for reviews and then one for the National Enquirer stuff?
July 24, 2023 @ 4:08 pm
There are already different categories each article goes into. You can navigate by category in the right sidebar or at the bottom of the page. The thing is, people are drawn to these kinds of articles like a moth to the flame. They say they don’t want to read them, but in truth they do. And then they feel bad for doing so. The commenter had to navigate past an article about Chris Stapleton’s new album and a Tommy Prine review to make it to the Jason Aldean article.
I never go to a big news website or pick up a magazine and feel the need to read every single article, and if one doesn’t appeal to me, trash the entire publication into eternity and vow never to come back. I just don’t read that article.
I have thought about starting a separate property on Substack or another separate website for this kind of content. But the problem is, I would be starting from zero, where Saving Country Music has a 15 year history. People come here, and Google loves it. It would take years to build that up. But I’m still considering it.
Meanwhile, Rolling Stone, Whiskey Riff, Taste of Country have posted a dozen articles on this issue each. They are all Aldean, all the time right now, because it’s generating clicks. Meanwhile, I’m trying to write in-depth, detailed, and nuanced discussions on this issue, while also covering other important topics. Are these other outlets receiving these criticisms?
July 24, 2023 @ 6:21 pm
I come here for the reviews and a chance to check out new artists. You do a great job on reviews, though I may not always agree with you (but who the heck agrees on everything). I also appreciate the Bluegrass coverage.
This other stuff is completely out of control. It has turned into Twitter. I noticed you had to cut off the comments on the young man being beaten and kicked. It’s a cesspool.
July 25, 2023 @ 3:49 am
I haven’t been here for a few years, but came to you when the JA stuff kept popping up in my facebook. I wanted to find out what was going on. AND I then read about and listened to the Chris Stapleton and Tommy Prine posts, too 🙂 Hang in there Mr. Trigger.
July 24, 2023 @ 1:40 pm
I mean like you said, it was 20 years ago, a lot has happened since then. That being said I’ve always thought it was a shitty song too, pretty sure others probably thought so as well.
July 24, 2023 @ 4:01 pm
Is the main problem to focus on that liberals haven’t sufficiently decried every lynching song (hypocrites!) or that conservatives keep making lynching songs?
I know your answer!
July 24, 2023 @ 4:37 pm
And Willie is a conservative? I think not.
July 25, 2023 @ 4:57 am
Is Aldean racist? No idea. Never met him. Is the song racist? No. Is the song good? That’s open to taste. This is very different than something like “Am I the Only One” by Aaron Lewis. in that, he’s openly check listing Conservative talking points to make one side mad and to make one side feel good about themselves. It worked, he made money. This is clearly working for Aldean although I don’t think that was his intention, he backed into it and is attempting to salvage it but in reality he’s making a ton of money off this because, as with Lewis, it’s being used as evidence to support political beliefs.
Someone should have done their homework prior to shooting that video – but who cares about a video in 2023? He should apologize for that mistake and move on. He may have, no idea, I’m not a fan of his.
The question is, are we so divided that we look for confirmation in our beliefs around how we feel with this song? All the time Aldean is lining his pockets while we argue in the comments.
July 25, 2023 @ 10:55 am
Once again Trigger allows his comments section to degenerate into an open sewer of hate and racism. The majority of country music fans who aren’t frothing at the mouth racists and misogynists and anyone who isn’t a straight white right-wing male l are surely driven off by this, so we won’t get to hear what they think of his writing, All of this just helps reinforce the notion that country fans are ignorant racist hicks. Now I can count on a bunch of misogynist hatred in response to my comment. Who wouldn’t enjoy that!? I wish you’d clean up the sewer Trigger, you are actually a good and interesting writer.
July 25, 2023 @ 12:12 pm
Hey Kim,
I appreciate the concern about the comments section. It was actually shut down on three separate occasions, and numerous comments were deleted. That said, I always try to keep the discussion open, regardless of the outcome, because the alternative sometimes be worse. That said, I just posted another article about this topic, and we’ll try and go with a closed comments section, and see what happens. This might be the way to handle this on divisive topics moving forward.
It’s also worth pointing out there there are just as many if not more comments from people on the left as there are people on the right in this comments section. It’s just people on the left tend to gravitate more to focusing on the ones from the right.
July 25, 2023 @ 6:05 pm
You sound quite angry honey. You might think about therapy to help you with these issues. Your name calling and accusations are pretty over the top. Can you tell us, with your great wisdom, which people posting are all these things you say. Don’t just make such a statement without being more specific. But you are probably too lazy.
July 25, 2023 @ 7:58 pm
see I can handle that because I’m not driven off easily and I have a strong sense of who I am that isn’t rattled by low effort insults of men who feel threatened.
July 25, 2023 @ 6:12 pm
Your response to Kim is laughable. If you agree with her premise that there are so many derelicts commenting on your website and you still allow them to post, it makes you a person willing to sacrifice his morals and ethics for clicks (money). That’s not very courageous.
July 25, 2023 @ 8:02 pm
thanks for your thoughtful response Trigger <3 Yeah there are always some comments from the "left' (hate how we are just "left" and "right" now) but some of the "right" comments are so horrifyingly racist I'm sure it turns a lot of people off from this site and paints a terrible picture of country fans. i know country fans are more diverse than the worst stereotypes.
July 25, 2023 @ 6:04 pm
You sound quite angry honey. You might think about therapy to help you with these issues. Your name calling and accusations are pretty over the top. Can you tell us, with your great wisdom, which people posting are all these things you say. Don’t just make such a statement without being more specific. But you are probably too lazy.
July 25, 2023 @ 12:29 pm
“Neal McCoy has asked for CMT to pull his videos from the format, but it’s unlikely CMT was airing any of his videos at this point anyway.” LOL
July 28, 2023 @ 5:13 am
The same lady that started the aldean controversy has finally heard beer for my horses and is asking why such a song was ever allowed on the radio to begin with. The outrage machine just keeps on turning.
July 28, 2023 @ 7:49 am
Oh but the songs are nothing similar and I’m a racist for saying they are. That’s what Twitter told me.
July 28, 2023 @ 9:47 am
are we done yet?
that douchebag, and that POS song don’t deserve any more oxygen.
unfortunately, there are rooms full of writers at this very moment trying to write that song…again…because the reactions to it, good, bad, or otherwise, are all they are looking for. traffic. interest in their version of that song, again, good or bad.
good music is getting harder and harder to find. and isn’t that what this site is about?
“quit making make defend this stupid song”.
that says it all, trig. i wish it would have ended right there. i am quite sure that you do too…
September 10, 2023 @ 10:43 am
Do they allow men to kiss their wives in front of them, Jason?
September 17, 2023 @ 11:36 am
Didn’t even read this whole absolute garbage of an article. It sounds like you are jealous of Jason Aldean. If you can’t relate to this song you have absolutely no rite to judge what country music or country living is about. Just so you know this song will be the song that marks the moment that a line was crossed when idiots started saying it was racist. This is when a lot of people of all races listened and not only saw it wasn’t racist but actually related to the song. This is the life that all Americans want no matter the race. We want a safe community to raise our families and neighbors who look out for each other no matter the difference and people who will stand up to the evil in the world. This song woke people up and United us and made people see it’s the govt and people like the author of this article that are trying to divide us. Race politics religion but it’s not working anymore. Yeah this song is a lot more than just a country song this song United a nation and in turn we have United behind Donald Trump the only president that has ever loved this country and it’s people. So you anti Americans just know we are United now and there is nothing you can do to stop this country from becoming great again.
September 17, 2023 @ 11:39 am
Clearly you didn’t read from the tone of your comment.