The outrage over "Try That In A Small Town" by Jason Aldean

[KevShmev]

First off, I have not heard the song, and I have zero love for Aldean, but I read the lyrics and the outrage over this seems a bit...over the top.

People are so funny with their outrage.  Countless musicians calling women bitches and hoes is apparently just fine, as is Cardi B talking about her WAP, but this song is suddenly so offensive? 

Let's be serious.

[Awaken]

I'm with you, lyrically/musically - there's not much to get into a twist over.  I *think* the issue with it was that he chose to create the video w BLM footage and it set off the firestorm.  IDK though, I hear most of my Jason Aldean news from my kids, who were more irritated w him quitting mid-show last week in Hartford.  That's a separate issue, but one that certainly lowered my opinion of him more than this song.

[Skeever]

I don't think it's really about "lynching", but it is pretty typical modern country crap that rural people fill their minds with on an ongoing basis.

I.E., "the cities are a hellscape, thank God I'm from a flyover state that no problems" (actually has just as many problems, if not more, but we're just ignoring them).

[Stadler]

Yeah, it's the video. The location used was involved in past racial crimes, and the video itself showed BLM-based riot footage.  Or so the Washington Post says (I'm a country fan, but don't listen to Jason Aldean; had some good pulled pork Mac and cheese at his restaurant in Nashville a couple years ago, though.)

[Metro]

At first glance it just seemed like a typical modern country song. “Small town, guns, hell yeah”

But for me, watching the video and reading this puts it in a different light.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna95080

As he said in his tweet, he doesn’t reference race in the lyrics. But given the setting of the music video, and the underlying theme of mob justice, it gives off a bad message in my opinion. Can’t speak for the outrage of others, I just find the message slightly tone deaf.

[Skeever]

Whatever it takes to "trigger the libs" I guess! 

[lonestar]

Whatever it takes to "trigger the libs" I guess! 

I feel so triggered.

[KevShmev]

I haven't seen the video, but I will check it out later when I am home. 

[King Postwhore]

I think the outrage stems from his concert in Vegas when so many were shot down if some of you remember that.  Some feel it not in good taste since he had so many murdered at his concert a few years ago. 

[lonestar]

I think the outrage stems from his concert in Vegas when so many were shot down if some of you remember that.  Some feel it not in good taste since he had so many murdered at his concert a few years ago.

Was that his show that had the big shooting?

[King Postwhore]

I think the outrage stems from his concert in Vegas when so many were shot down if some of you remember that.  Some feel it not in good taste since he had so many murdered at his concert a few years ago.

Was that his show that had the big shooting?

Yeah.  Man it was in 2017.  6 years have flown by.  64 dead, many more injured. My guess is that's why so many are outraged. 

[lonestar]

I think the outrage stems from his concert in Vegas when so many were shot down if some of you remember that.  Some feel it not in good taste since he had so many murdered at his concert a few years ago.

Was that his show that had the big shooting?

Yeah.  Man it was in 2017.  6 years have flown by.  64 dead, many more injured. My guess is that's why so many are outraged.

Yeah, that changes things... He's come a long way from the guy that posted this I guess...

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZxYdvkAgFu/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

[HOF]

If Jason Aldean hadn't written this song and done this video, I probably would not have known who Jason Aldean is. I do think the outrage is about the video, which seems like it was designed to elicit such (and which is probably deserved). It's not too much different than Marilyn Manson in country guise, and he knows his fans will lap it up while everyone else will get mad. 

[pg1067]

Countless musicians calling women bitches and hoes is apparently just fine, as is Cardi B talking about her WAP, but this song is suddenly so offensive? 

A little weird, but what's wrong with a song about wireless application protocol?  (seriously, I have no idea)

[lonestar]

Honestly I'm not sure where the outrage is...most of my heavily liberal circles/pages are just kind of laughing at all the people thinking we're outraged.

It's not like we're taking guns and shooting his CDs and posting them on socials for attention like some people were when Bud Light used Mulvaney for one ad. It's mostly faux outrage they think we're feeling.

[King Postwhore]

Countless musicians calling women bitches and hoes is apparently just fine, as is Cardi B talking about her WAP, but this song is suddenly so offensive? 

A little weird, but what's wrong with a song about wireless application protocol?  (seriously, I have no idea)

Her Wet Ass Vajayjay

[lonestar]

Countless musicians calling women bitches and hoes is apparently just fine, as is Cardi B talking about her WAP, but this song is suddenly so offensive? 

A little weird, but what's wrong with a song about wireless application protocol?  (seriously, I have no idea)

Her Wet Ass Vajayjay

Yeah, after decades of women being denigrated in art, Cardi B took the narrative over and portrayed herself as a highly sexually active person and pearls were clutched all over the place.

[King Postwhore]

Never bothered me.  I never listened to it.

[KevShmev]

Ah yes, nothing scream female empowerment more than singing, “ Bring a bucket and a mop for this wet ass p$$$y.” Lol

[lonestar]

Ah yes, nothing scream female empowerment more than singing, “ Bring a bucket and a mop for this wet ass p$$$y.” Lol

Not female empowerment, but definitely taking ownership of her own sexuality. How many dudes brag about how much tail they nab or how big their dicks are, and how is this any different?

[Jamesman42]

Countless musicians calling women bitches and hoes is apparently just fine, as is Cardi B talking about her WAP, but this song is suddenly so offensive? 

A little weird, but what's wrong with a song about wireless application protocol?  (seriously, I have no idea)

Nothing wrong on its own, but you need to be certified 7 days a week.

[KevShmev]

Ah yes, nothing scream female empowerment more than singing, “ Bring a bucket and a mop for this wet ass p$$$y.” Lol

Not female empowerment, but definitely taking ownership of her own sexuality. How many dudes brag about how much tail they nab or how big their dicks are, and how is this any different?

I am not saying there is not a double standard still nowadays. There certainly is.  See: how Taylor Swift was slut-shamed in her early 20s for dating like a normal person, and then see how Pete Davidson is basically applauded these days for shagging a number of stars/celebs.  But, as always, the devil is in the details.  In other words, it's not what you say, but how you say it.  If a guy released a song called RHC (think of that acronym as the flip side to WAP and you can guess what it means), I would think it was just as crass and vulgar as Cardi B's song. 

[Grappler]

[Trav86]

As someone who grew up in a small town. A small southern town. I know exactly what he means with this song. It doesn’t have to be explicit in the lyrics. Everyone from where I’m from will understand what it means. That’s the problem. People are tired of the “wink wink, nudge nudge” bullshit and acting like it’s okay.

[425]

Ah yes, nothing scream female empowerment more than singing, “ Bring a bucket and a mop for this wet ass p$$$y.” Lol

Not female empowerment, but definitely taking ownership of her own sexuality. How many dudes brag about how much tail they nab or how big their dicks are, and how is this any different?

I am not saying there is not a double standard still nowadays. There certainly is.  See: how Taylor Swift was slut-shamed in her early 20s for dating like a normal person, and then see how Pete Davidson is basically applauded these days for shagging a number of stars/celebs.  But, as always, the devil is in the details.  In other words, it's not what you say, but how you say it.  If a guy released a song called RHC (think of that acronym as the flip side to WAP and you can guess what it means), I would think it was just as crass and vulgar as Cardi B's song.

I would add: If a person acknowledges that there is a double standard and thinks the double standard is wrong, there are still at least two different positions that one can take consistent with that: (1) Sexually explicit songs are fine for both male and female artists, and (2) Sexually explicit songs are inappropriate for both male and female artists.

In other words, one can think that the double standard is wrong and that the implication of this is that the men who sing explicit songs about their sexual prowess should knock it off, not that women should start doing it too.

[KevShmev]

As someone who grew up in a small town. A small southern town. I know exactly what he means with this song. It doesn’t have to be explicit in the lyrics. Everyone from where I’m from will understand what it means. That’s the problem. People are tired of the “wink wink, nudge nudge” bullshit and acting like it’s okay.

I think that's a big part of it. People from the south, small towns, rural areas, etc. are tired of being told they are backwards racist hicks, as if everyone who lives in a big city is a genius and small town folks are all morons.

I will preface this by saying again that I have not seen the video yet, but after reading the lyrics again, you have to be making a gigantic leap to think they are racist, but that is the society we live in now.  "I don't like what they said, so it's racist, and if nothing racist was actually said, I can use the 'racially coded language' phrase as a crutch, which means I can pretty much call anything racist."  That is life in America in 2023.  And that kind of silliness makes it more difficult to call out actual racism, which sadly does still exist.  It's like the boy that cried wolf.  People scream racism so much now about anything and everything that many just tune it out now, and that sucks for those who are the victims of real, actual racism.

[Duetsch Dream Dates]

Hard to be outraged by a song that practically lulls one to sleep.

[ProfessorPeart]

If a guy released a song called RHC (think of that acronym as the flip side to WAP and you can guess what it means), I would think it was just as crass and vulgar as Cardi B's song.

Jackyl sort of did that on their first album. Last track on it. I used to play it for my wife all the time as a joke. She immediately knows it now when it starts up.

[KevShmev]

If a guy released a song called RHC (think of that acronym as the flip side to WAP and you can guess what it means), I would think it was just as crass and vulgar as Cardi B's song.

Jackyl sort of did that on their first album. Last track on it. I used to play it for my wife all the time as a joke. She immediately knows it now when it starts up.

Oof, I just looked it up.  I remember their song Down on Me, which had the clever innuendo in the chorus, but that song you referenced?  Yep, crass, to say the least.

[Crow]

Countless musicians calling women bitches and hoes is apparently just fine

it isn't really but this is a false equivalence

as is Cardi B talking about her WAP

lmao boomer

but this song is suddenly so offensive?

i mean yeah "i want to kill minorities" is more provocative than "i do not respect women" or "i want to have hot sex" idk what to tell you. this take is not a good look & a lotta y'all are telling on yourselves here.

the sad thing is it really isn't surprising, jason aldean is a known racist and bigot (he got caught doing blackface a decade ago and just last year made a ton of transphobic comments in response to maren morris standing up for trans rights) but because he owns his own label it's hard to hold him accountable

and it isn't really offensive either because this is just what the right wing in this hell country has devolved to: "i want to kill everyone who isn't like me". it's just a symptom of a larger problem we've all known about since at least 2016, if not earlier

the first i heard of it was someone saying something along the lines of "that new jason aldean song is depressing because it implies that the only small town value left is shooting people you don't like" and as far as i'm concerned that's the start and end of that whole discourse because nobody's gonna say anything harsher about it than that

[KevShmev]

Crow, I would ask you where the hidden "i want to kill minorities" lyric is*, but, with all due respect, your whole post reeks of someone who is not ready to be a good faith poster.  Ironically, you just told on yourself.

*to others, I am not defending the song per se, but merely illustrating how people make things up when they want to believe someone means something they didn't actually say.

[pg1067]

Countless musicians calling women bitches and hoes is apparently just fine, as is Cardi B talking about her WAP, but this song is suddenly so offensive? 

A little weird, but what's wrong with a song about wireless application protocol?  (seriously, I have no idea)

Her Wet Ass Vajayjay

Yeah, after decades of women being denigrated in art, Cardi B took the narrative over and portrayed herself as a highly sexually active person and pearls were clutched all over the place.

So...kinda like Liz Phair did nearly 20 years ago when she implored her lover to "give me your hot, white cum" to use in her "secret beauty routine"?

lmao boomer

Yeesh....

[Grappler]

If a guy released a song called RHC (think of that acronym as the flip side to WAP and you can guess what it means), I would think it was just as crass and vulgar as Cardi B's song.

Jackyl sort of did that on their first album. Last track on it. I used to play it for my wife all the time as a joke. She immediately knows it now when it starts up.

SHE LOVES MY COCK, LOVES MY COCK, LOVES MY COCK!   

[Crow]

Crow, I would ask you where the hidden "i want to kill minorities" lyric is*, but, with all due respect, your whole post reeks of someone who is not ready to be a good faith poster.

some people have never heard of subtext i s2g

[Metro]

It once again goes back to the music video, which I think is the bigger issue than the song itself. As I said before, there’s a underlying theme of mob justice. “You do something we don’t like, me and the boys are gonna take care of you.” Not a direct quote but that’s the gist of the song, from my perspective. Rather harmless on its own, but then you look at the music video. Filmed at the steps of a courthouse where a black man was hung by a mob.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynching_of_Henry_Choate

Intentional or not, that sends a message that I think is the meaning of this “outrage”.