There were two much-remarked-upon songs in the country music world last year that, at first listen, sounded like spiritual cousins: "Try That in a Small Town" by Jason Aldean and "Rich Men North of Richmond" by Oliver Anthony. One promised a swift and violent reprisal for anyone prone to "cuss out a cop" or "stomp on the flag," while the other lamented paychecks "taxed to no end" and politicians who want "total control." Both were quickly adopted as anthems by listeners sympathetic to the artists' sentiments and denounced as propaganda by people who weren't. The narrative was complicated, however, when one of the singers — Anthony — revealed a number of political beliefs that didn't plot neatly onto the familiar red-state-blue-state spectrum. As Michael Patrick F. Smith, a sometimes folk singer and part-time resident of Kentucky, notes in a guest essay today, country music often thwarts our efforts to categorize it. Perhaps no recent country star embodied this more than Toby Keith. The singer, who died on Monday at 62, sold over 40 million albums and wrote 20 chart-topping country hits, but is likely best known for his rousing post-9/11 scorcher, "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)," which promises, "You'll be sorry that you messed with the U.S. of A. / 'cause we'll put a boot in your ass — it's the American way." If you're not familiar with Keith, you might think you can easily guess his politics, right down to his voting record. But like many of the genre's biggest figures, his politics were tricky to decipher. His allegiance ultimately was to an outlaw tradition in country music more than to any one political party or platform. Even as political commentators are sorting musicians like Taylor Swift and Kid Rock into competing political squads like captains picking intramural teams, it's worth noting that most musicians, especially in the country world, aren't so easily labeled. Which, as Smith argues, means we're often missing the most important parts of what they're trying to communicate. Read the guest essay:
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Thursday, February 8, 2024
Opinion Today: Toby Keith and the elusive meaning of country music
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