Touchy turf:
Despite risks, many musicians speak out on political issues.
Stick to music.
It’s a refrain you often hear, especially in the current hyperpartisan political climate we’re collectively enduring. Now more than ever, musicians are speaking up and speaking out about what they believe in. And that makes some people really angry.
No one wants to confront the fact the connection he or she has with an artist is an emotional one that starts and stops at the music. A fan is forced consider that not only does someone you adore have different beliefs than you, but that person dislikes yours and just might dislike you as a person, to boot.
That connection with a performer doesn’t even have to be positive; it could be an artist who makes music you don’t even like. Then, the preconceived notions you have as a listener are confirmed. You can see the intersection of music and politics throughout history, from songs of enslaved people to protest-era folk music, the Woodstock-era and the anti-reagan punk rock and hip-hop of the 1980s. But for the sake of brevity, let’s just keep it to relatively recent events.
Look at Cardi B. Last month she earned the ire of conservatives for the lyrical content of her latest single, the brilliant
“WAP.” The vitriol increased after Cardi interviewed Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden for ELLE Magazine, and last weekend that furor reached a head after she was called out by MAGA shill Candace Owens. The back-and-forth was bizarre, occasionally rooted in policy, often hilariously profane and ended with Cardi B sharing a video of Owens’ husband getting down to “WAP” while participating in a Boaters for Trump rally.
Depending on how you feel about Cardi B, this exchange served to further your own preconceived notions as to her intellect, personality and moral character. The same can be said for other musicians who’ve engaged in the political discourse.
There’s only two things I know about the late Charlie Daniels: that he played a mean fiddle and that he tweeted “Benghazi ain’t goin’away” ev
ery day for nearly a decade until his death. But his team is still tweeting and retweeting that, and other political statements he’s made concerning abortion and law enforcement during his lifetime. Country legend Travis Tritt has spent a large portion of his recent days sharing conservative media stories and engaging in spats with tiresome liberal trolls. For fans and detractors alike, none of this is surprising.
And oftentimes the political leanings and performances of musicians aren’t a surprise. In 2000 at SPAC, I saw Ted Nugent urge Hillary Clinton, Al Gore and a host of other liberals to kiss his posterior as a prelude to shooting a flaming arrow and singing the song “Kiss my Ass.” The last time Pearl Jam came to Albany was in 2006, behind a self-titled album and tour rooted in rage over the war in Iraq. The 2000s saw Neil
Young spontaneously record and release a rah-rah type song soon after 9/11 called “Let’s Roll,” then follow it up a few years later with the spontaneously conceived and performed anti-george W. Bush polemic “Living with War.” All of this, even Young’s jarring political tonal shifts, was memorably entertaining and on-brand for everyone.
None of the above has really changed either the popular or fan consensus of the performers named (though Nugent’s hard-line stance on the Second Amendment, some anti-semitic conspiracy peddling and boorish remarks about his peers have turned him into a pariah). But what about when someone throws you a curveball?
Country singer Chris Stapleton is one of the biggest stars in the genre, hitting the sweet spot between mainstream success and critical acclaim that leads to crossover fame. While being interviewed by Anthony Mason on CBS News this weekend, Stapleton said that “I feel like the country that I thought I was living in is a myth” and added, “Do I think black lives matter?
Absolutely. I don’t know how you could think they don’t.”
Strongly worded remarks that question American exceptionalism are rarely spoken by country music artists. Just ask the (formerly Dixie) Chicks what happens to those that speak in opposition to the prevailing political sentiments of the pop country fanbase. And Stapleton has a new LP coming out in November. Challenging the beliefs and preconceived notions of his listeners on a popular national network news program forces them to ask some hard questions. Do his beliefs impact their ability to enjoy his music? If they disagree with him, will they still buy the new album?
Some folks may ask why he felt compelled to speak out about politics now. Why couldn’t he just stick to music?
The answer to that is simple, and it’s the same reason you or a friend or family member posts political memes, rants, etc. and argue on Facebook. Eddie Vedder said it best when he quoted historian Howard Zinn on the Pearl Jam b-side “Down.”
“You can’t be neutral on a moving train.”