One more thought on all of this: conservatives have gone a long way toward developing a sort of rightwing identity politics. You often see this in a sort of self-victimization meme on the right. This translates, I think, into country music - but instead of adopting the "evil libruls trying to take over the world" thing that happens on rightwing radio, it takes a much more positive stance.

Do you think it's just the insipid lyrics or do you think there is cultural signalling buried in those lyrics that also turns you off?

Sam M - I didn't say pop is multifaceted. But there is a lot more diversity between say Lady Gaga and the Jonas Brothers than there is on the country dial.

I've said explicitly that there is no conspiracy.

Also. It's "Erik" as I've mentioned to several others in this thread. And yes, I know it's not your fault that I spell it the right way and nobody else spells it that way.

Mike, this is probably a big part of what's going on. And Republicans should pay attention! Those are Reagan Democrats you're talking about.

The thing is, some country music does this very well. It can be clever. Twain-esque occasionally. But sometimes it feels like it tries way to hard. Sounds phony.

Actually, though, the politics are still there I think. Again, I've said that the politics underscore the music. They don't always show up explicitly. Which is why it works on a certain level.

I should go by Herman Cain.

David, I've formatted your post in accordance with the new guidelines.

James, yes this. Something *beyond* the poppiness is at work here.

Hey, it's not my fault either...

JL mentions the Dixie Chicks also. I'll answer you both here. I agree with you, Nob, that especially these days it's designed to feed directly into the culture wars. Apparently very few people in this thread agree, but like I said I do listen to country when I drive, almost every day. It's sprinkled throughout.

JL - the fact that the Dixie Chicks did it out of country has little actual bearing on the backlash except to add insult to injury. They would have taken serious flack for their statements had they said them in America, too.

Yeah, what the hell?

Damnit JL, it's only four letters!

But also, thanks for not calling me names.

P.S. Just to sort this out upfront, I don't say that I "dislike" country. So will everyone quit saying that? I dislike a lot of it, but there's some - like Zac Brown - that I actually do enjoy. Also, I'm specifically discussing pop country. Telling me that there is other, better country out there is beside the point.

Blaise - I know everyone is eager to tell me that A) I don't "get" country or B) I don't "like" country, but neither of those things is true. I like a lot of country, it just bothers me that so much of it is musically satisfying but lyrically and thematically a huge turn off.

I know lots of people who listen to country. Most, but certainly not all, are culturally conservative. They also tend to be more blue collar. I know some conservatives who can't stand country.

Sorry guys. Had to kill a troll and screw up your thread.

JL - this seems to be a recurring critique of my post. It's the "pop" of pop country that makes it dissatisfying, not the politics. Maybe this is true, but I can't help but think that pop country has become much more of a conservative mainstay in recent years. Sure, the problem with crappy music is old. But country since the 90's I think has really been not just pop but also something more. It seems to me that what separates "alt" country from mainstream is not *just* the pop, but also the cultural signalling.

Johanna, the popularity of it is the point. I'm not writing about unpopular, non-radio country. I'm discussing this particular brand of country specifically and for a reason.

David,

A few things. I'll try not to be an asshole, but I'll probably fail.

1) I don't think "dark" matters at all. I'm sure I used it up above, but that's mostly because country tends to be all about happy endings. Upbeat and conventional. All the time.

But I love not-dark art. I have written several defenses of Disney movies. Two or three posts devoted to Tangled alone. I get as tired as the next person of the anti-hero, and I've put down fantasy books that were trying to be edgy by going as dark as possible. So your little rant here is misguided.

I wrote a post about why I like Breaking Bad, and the "darkness" of the show wasn't one of my six reasons. The cinematography, acting, humor, soundtrack, writing - these all captivate me. The plot is dark, but my other favorite TV show is Parks & Recreation which, maybe you know, is a celebration of eternal optimism.

2) Spell my name right. It's all over the page and you misspell it?

3) Frankly, this comment crosses a line. You want to call my understanding of art "so cliche, mainstream and maudlin" that it makes you sad? Call it wanna-be-sophisticate? Oh David, you're so smart and pretentious it hurts. How do you sleep at night when you're this awesome? When your understanding of art and everything else is so much more actually-sophisticated than saps like me?

Dude, I deal with enough trolling. I don't need it from the authors at this blog. Maybe it's time you found somewhere else to write about your fucking boat.

Do you disagree that the country music in particular appeals to a very specific political/cultural demographic as opposed to other radio-friendly music? I mean, so does NPR to some degree, but pop appeals more to an age demographic (the young) and classic rock tends to appeal to somewhat older listeners, but country appeals directly to a conservative population regardless of age. I think this makes it distinct from these other genres. And I think it has made it more vulnerable to pushing a particular narrative about God, guns, and country. I know you ask for specifics and I will try to go through and find them at some point.

Okay, fair enough. There are a handful of rotating themes throughout country; this isn't a problem in and of itself, it only becomes problematic - to me - when the subject matter remains so simplistic. It's like they're not really trying, at least when it comes to popular country.

Were we talking about variety? Specifically *variety*?

You misunderstand me. I'm not saying that it's overrun with songs about politics *at all.* I'm saying that the political movement that has propelled the culture war into mainstream politics on the right has infected, perhaps even subtly, the country music genre. The reason it works as well as it does is precisely because the cultural signaling isn't always in your face. You don't list the lyrics of the top 25 songs on the billboards, but rather their subject matter. What country does is take that subject matter and it drops a ton of small cultural signals throughout, sprinkling it with very distinct markers.

You can listen to it and enjoy it and still not relate to those cultural markers, because at the end of the day it's just music. It's nothing so totally overt (most of the time) that it would turn most people off. Nor is it any grand conspiracy.

In any case, I didn't really agree with Wilkinson's post - only part of it.

I formatted it for you, but feel free to make changes to the image, etc.

Bob - you would "never put yourself in a position" where I would have to censor you. Alas, you never were respectful enough to censor yourself. You were given many chances, and you showed time and again that you could care less about what we asked out of you despite your capacity to do so. If you had censored yourself, none of this would have been necessary.

I'm absolutely censoring Bob's *behavior* but not his ideas. There's a difference. A big one. And it's not lame. Bob has brought this on himself no matter how much you care to whine on his behalf.