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I should open by saying he’s one of those artists where I’ve never heard any of his songs but I’ve heard ABOUT them, for the same reasons we’re all hearing about “Try That In A Small Town” now. He’s made his political views clear, and he knows what his audience wants to hear. So, Aldean is gonna Aldean, is what I’m saying.
What interests me more is the whole city vs country trope that has existed in country music (and literature before it) for a long time. Aldean’s take is more extreme (as befits the MAGA audience he is obviously targeting), but it builds on a tradition of country music artists portraying small town country life as little libertarian utopias and cities as multicultural atheist cesspools of crime and loose women.
NPR has a really good thought piece on this.
One thing I’d add is that it also gets me to thinking of John Mellencamp’s “Small Town”. Mellencamp has a rep as a champion of small-town America, but “Small Town” doesn’t really say that small-town life is better or that big cities suck – it just says there’s no shame in being from a small town or living in a small town your whole life, if that’s what makes you happy. There’s no city vs country antagonism. And of course, Mellencamp has recognized the downside of small-town America in other songs.
Also worth noting that “Small Town” is Mellencamp writing about his life, while “Try That In A Small Town” is a culture-war talking point based on a myth and sung by a man who did not write the song and is not in fact from a small town.
“Small Town” remains in heavy rotation on classic rock/adult hits radio all over America, almost 40 years after it came out. Will “Try That In A Small Town” still be in rotation 40 years from now?
Let’s get small,
This is dF
What interests me more is the whole city vs country trope that has existed in country music (and literature before it) for a long time. Aldean’s take is more extreme (as befits the MAGA audience he is obviously targeting), but it builds on a tradition of country music artists portraying small town country life as little libertarian utopias and cities as multicultural atheist cesspools of crime and loose women.
NPR has a really good thought piece on this.
One thing I’d add is that it also gets me to thinking of John Mellencamp’s “Small Town”. Mellencamp has a rep as a champion of small-town America, but “Small Town” doesn’t really say that small-town life is better or that big cities suck – it just says there’s no shame in being from a small town or living in a small town your whole life, if that’s what makes you happy. There’s no city vs country antagonism. And of course, Mellencamp has recognized the downside of small-town America in other songs.
Also worth noting that “Small Town” is Mellencamp writing about his life, while “Try That In A Small Town” is a culture-war talking point based on a myth and sung by a man who did not write the song and is not in fact from a small town.
“Small Town” remains in heavy rotation on classic rock/adult hits radio all over America, almost 40 years after it came out. Will “Try That In A Small Town” still be in rotation 40 years from now?
Let’s get small,
This is dF
