I listened to a lot of country music growing up in the late 70s and 80s as that is what my dad listened to and he controlled the radio dial in his truck. Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton, Crystal Gayle, George Jones and Strait, Hank Williams, Jr., etc. – I can still sing along to most of their hits today, although I don’t usually go out of my way to listen to that era’s music anymore, being more of a classic/hard rock/metal guy as my car radio presets would illustrate.
One of my favorite songs from those days, though, was Hank Williams, Jr’s “A Country Boy Can Survive”, a slow burn of a ballad that starts off apocalyptically “The preacher man says it’s the end of time / and the Mississippi River she’s a-goin dry” and then launches into a testament to his and his people’s abilities and endurance. I always liked the verse that told of his city friend (“raised to be a businessman”) and how they’d exchange gifts until the New Yorker was killed in a mugging; Hank sings of desiring to “spit some Beech-nut in that dude’s eyes / And shoot him with my old .45”. Pretty powerful stuff for a 10 year old boy. Hell, Hollywood made a Patrick Swayze vehicle on that very premise.
I was reminded of Hank’s song when I came across news of Jason Aldean’s new song, “Try That in a Small Town.” Not that it’s anywhere as memorable as Hank’s hit: it replaces the actual praising of country folk with empty “don’t mess with us” lyrics resulting in a forgettable country power ballad that won’t have any staying power. But it’ll be lionized by Trumpers as the song’s music video makes damn sure to throw in scenes of rioting and criminal surveillance video clips as he and the band play in front of the American flag. Aldean knows his audience, to be sure: it’s a promise of violence in return for crimes both real (carjacking) and imagined (the government trying to take a gun his grandad gave him). And in the end it’s an empty song written solely to take advantage of the current culture wars being fought across our social media battlegrounds.
That might be why the song leaves a bad taste in my mouth: it’s just so politically calculated with no real depth to it. There’s the “us vs them” theme that presents big cities as evil and small towns as bastions of righteousness. Hank Williams, Jr’s current politics aside, at least his song allowed for a friendship with a New Yorker and a singer that respected different ideas about what it means to live a fulfilled life. Aldean’s song is entirely black and white. There’s also no attempt by Aldean to praise anything about small town inhabitants except their capacity for violent retribution. Hank’s song at least gives reason for the singer’s desire for revenge – it’s personal. For Aldean’s speaker, it’s nebulous and plays on “what if” fears.
I stopped listening to country music toward the end of the 80s, when I got my own car and wasn’t subject to my dad’s radio dial. Recently, though, I discovered SiriusXM’s “Red, White and Booze” which plays a pretty solid mix of barroom songs: some old country, some classic rock hits and some newer country artists. I imagine I’ll hear Aldean’s song being played on that station at some point. I’ll switch the dial and find something more authentic.
It should be easy.
The Lower Frequencies 