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Post by rick on Mar 28, 2015 2:13:24 GMT -5
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Post by Richard W on Mar 28, 2015 8:57:48 GMT -5
Which would be bad enough if it were true, but the song isn't about that. It's about a woman who is jealous yet enthralled by her ex-boyfriend's new girlfriend.
Here's the chorus that's causing such an uproar:
I want to taste her lips
Yeah, ’cause they taste like you
I want to drown myself
In a bottle of her perfume
I want her long blonde hair
I want her magic touch
Yeah, ’cause maybe then
You’d want me just as much
Crikey, people.
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Post by sliderocker on Mar 28, 2015 10:38:39 GMT -5
Which would be bad enough if it were true, but the song isn't about that. It's about a woman who is jealous yet enthralled by her ex-boyfriend's new girlfriend. Here's the chorus that's causing such an uproar: I want to taste her lips Yeah, ’cause they taste like you I want to drown myself In a bottle of her perfume I want her long blonde hair I want her magic touch Yeah, ’cause maybe then You’d want me just as much Crikey, people. This act of stupidity by country radio just shows how uptight the conservatives are but they were no less uptight in the past. They read innuendos into songs in the 60s and 70s that were so far off the mark as to be laughable. But, in the past, their objections wasn't enough to get the songs they objected to pulled from the airwaves. What's changed? Radio stations and radio programmer afraid of the shadows of conservatives, afraid they will go the FCC to have their license pulled if they don't yank the song. Radio stations should get some backbone and stand up and take a stand against the conservatives as there is nothing in the lyrics that's really offensive. I seriously doubt the FCC could find anything objectionable enough in the lyrics to pull the license of a radio station, even though I think the FCC is responsible for this kind of conservative BS because they insist on over-the-air radio and tv not airing anything offensive. If radio doesn't take a stand, what song will be next that's even more innocuous? |
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Post by erik on Mar 28, 2015 12:17:29 GMT -5
Kind of typical when it comes to country radio. They can pull a song over some non-existent "gay agenda"; but this godawful, misogynistic "bro country" they have played virtually non-stop for the last two years they don't have a problem with. And once again, every country music fan buys into it, hook, line, and sinker.
Once more, the H.L. Mencken quote comes to mind: "Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public."
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Post by Dianna on Mar 28, 2015 12:26:41 GMT -5
I've heard the song. and it's like Richard W says. it's kind of misleading.. Ever since Katy sang about kissing a girl and liking it I think a lot of these acts are trying to jump on the "Im so hip " bandwagon.
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Post by Pete on Mar 28, 2015 14:37:33 GMT -5
I get very annoyed when I keep hearing how the Country music community are homophobic. I'm a big fan of the American Country singer Chely Wright, I've enjoyed all 7 of her albums and it's a disgrace how she has been treated within that community. I read her autobiography 'Like Me Confessions Of A Heartland Country Singer' and it has been one of the most enjoyable books I have read. To read about somebody going into detail of how she had a gun in her mouth and was looking at herself in the mirror with tears streaming down her face with her thumb on the trigger was so sad and disgusts me how beating your wife, getting drunk and all that other kind of behaviour is accepted but being gay is considered so wrong. Chely Wright can sing and make brilliant country songs and I see no relevance to how being gay should be in any way considered a negative.
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Post by erik on Mar 28, 2015 18:44:31 GMT -5
Quote by Damien:
The unfortunate thing is not strictly the country music community (because there are many who are quite open-minded about the LGBT community in their midst), but an audience that has been pre-conditioned, for decades, to recoil at the mention of anything that supposedly goes against this nebulous thing often talked about as being "morality." Chely's story, which I've read, is very compelling, but there is this issue she talks about of having to hide her sexual orientation from some those she associated with in Nashville who have quite the sanctimonious view (e.g. John Rich or Big & Rich). It is an unfortunate fact that those who are super-popular in Nashville and who support LGBT rights are afraid of speaking out on the LGBT community's behalf because of the virulent right-wing homophobic backlash that may very well result.
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Post by Dianna on Mar 28, 2015 19:31:14 GMT -5
Quote by Damien: The unfortunate thing is not strictly the country music community (because there are many who are quite open-minded about the LGBT community in their midst), but an audience that has been pre-conditioned, for decades, to recoil at the mention of anything that supposedly goes against this nebulous thing often talked about as being " morality." Chely's story, which I've read, is very compelling, but there is this issue she talks about of having to hide her sexual orientation from some those she associated with in Nashville who have quite the sanctimonious view (e.g. John Rich or Big & Rich). It is an unfortunate fact that those who are super-popular in Nashville and who support LGBT rights are afraid of speaking out on the LGBT community's behalf because of the virulent right-wing homophobic backlash that may very well result. yeah and I don't think it's the artists so much as it is who they pander to. |
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Post by jhar26 on Mar 29, 2015 5:14:22 GMT -5
I guess country radio can count itself lucky that people don't stop listening because of it's 'hetero agenda.'  |
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Post by sliderocker on Mar 29, 2015 10:43:19 GMT -5
I guess country radio can count itself lucky that people don't stop listening because of it's 'hetero agenda.' Radio should take a look at what's happening in Indiana after the Republican governor there, Mike Pence, signed a law into the books which allows businesses to discriminate against gays. There's been a firestorm of such proportions against the law that any state with a Republican governor or majority in their legislative houses thinking of doing the same should reconsider. Big businesses are threatening to boycott Indiana. If there's anything which gets the attention of the conservative Republicans and their big business ideas, it's the threat that big business will pull its money, which can affect jobs in all areas. Now, Pence is working damage control, saying he will get the Indiana legislators to clarify the law. Clarify? How about repealing it altogether as otherwise, the state of Indiana may get nuked economically. |
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Post by Pete on Mar 29, 2015 11:48:49 GMT -5
Chely Wright said that she got e-mails from successful Country singers who congratulated her on coming out as gay but wanted their names and "support" to be kept hidden from the public. Chely hasn't revealed the names of the artists I don't think but I find it laughable that anyone would do that just to not damage their own career through losing sales/support from their own "fans".
Katy Perry's song 'I Kissed A Girl' is just pathetic to me, both the song in general and it's success. I find it very hard to believe that if a male artist of the same age and style of music was to have released that song singing 'I Kissed A Boy' that it would have been successful.
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Post by Dianna on Mar 29, 2015 13:16:14 GMT -5
Chely Wright said that she got e-mails from successful Country singers who congratulated her on coming out as gay but wanted their names and "support" to be kept hidden from the public. Chely hasn't revealed the names of the artists I don't think but I find it laughable that anyone would do that just to not damage their own career through losing sales/support from their own "fans". Katy Perry's song 'I Kissed A Girl' is just pathetic to me, both the song in general and it's success. I find it very hard to believe that if a male artist of the same age and style of music was to have released that song singing 'I Kissed A Boy' that it would have been successful. well that is sad but I can't say I'm surprised if what Chely says about artists wanting to keep their support or opinions of her a secret. Getting back to the song in question, I think it is very misleading and it was done on purpose to see how far it could go.. but look who their audience is.. You can't just take a giant leap forward without serious repercussion, again blame their fanbase. I'm not a fan of katy perry but she kind of made it okay to sing about girl on girl crushes . I don't know why people have a more issues with gay men verses women. I don't blame katy perry or her song for that.. I think a lot of the country music people might shock us in what their true beliefs are. I'm sure most are very worldly and professional business people.. not at all like many of their audience members |
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Post by rick on Mar 29, 2015 13:27:34 GMT -5
I guess country radio can count itself lucky that people don't stop listening because of it's 'hetero agenda.' Radio should take a look at what's happening in Indiana after the Republican governor there, Mike Pence, signed a law into the books which allows businesses to discriminate against gays. There's been a firestorm of such proportions against the law that any state with a Republican governor or majority in their legislative houses thinking of doing the same should reconsider. Big businesses are threatening to boycott Indiana. If there's anything which gets the attention of the conservative Republicans and their big business ideas, it's the threat that big business will pull its money, which can affect jobs in all areas. Now, Pence is working damage control, saying he will get the Indiana legislators to clarify the law. Clarify? How about repealing it altogether as otherwise, the state of Indiana may get nuked economically. Slide, yes, money talks and that is about all these Republican governors will listen to. Lawmakers in California have already announced travel bans to Indiana on CA taxpayer dollars. I remember that back in the early 1990s, Colorado passed such an amendment. And at the risk of being tarred and feathered, I will mention yet again the name Barbra Streisand for she was quite vocal about the Colorado law that codified discrimination against gays and lesbians. She said something to the effect of "We can't support hate." And, then, don't ask me why I remember this, but around this time, Pat Sajak, that conservative who happens to host "Wheel of Fortune," felt the need to insert politics into an innocuous game show. Once Streisand announced her support of a boycott of Colorado, Sajak was giving a contestant a trip to some location, perhaps Colorado, and felt the need to try to ridicule her by saying, "You better ask Barbra Streisand first if it is okay with her that you go there." That is the kind of attitude that allows this to exist. Someone takes a legitimate stand and then instead of a discriminatory law being the butt of jokes, the person or persons who stands up for the rights of others is the one who is ridiculed. One of the reasons I can't stomach "The Voice" is that Blake Shelton is always "joking" that he and Adam Levine have something going on but it's that 12-year-old tee-hee, "Yeah, we're gay" way -- It's so juvenile. I remember one night Conan had on as a guest Juliana Marguiles ("E.R.," "The Good Wife,") and Conan had just spent most of his pre-guest time repeating the same line about "The Tony Awards being SO GAY." And the first Juliana said when she came out to the stage was, "Why are you saying that? Grow up!" Am sure the blogosphere erupted with comments saying that Juliana was "a b---h." Radio is so corporatized nowadays. I believe Garth Brooks has a gay sister. I can't believe that Trisha Yearwood is homophobic. I love me some Trisha very much. But recently she showed up on Fox News and it floored me. Why give those hate mongers any credibility? She was after the audience of Fox News, which is predominantly white, Christian, conservative and Republican. And, sad to say, that is a lot of her and Garth's fan base. It would be great if they and other country stars made a statement about freedom of expression and tolerance. |
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Post by erik on Mar 29, 2015 14:03:09 GMT -5
Quote by rick:
I think we may be reading too much into Trisha's Fox News appearance. Just because you appear on a cable-news channel known for its in-your-face bigotry doesn't make you a bigot yourself, nor should it automatically imply that you are "after" their audience. We may be talking about a country singer in this context, but there is nothing in Trisha's history to suggest that she would ever go all-Anita Bryant.
But the reality is that there is an implied threat of "blacklisting" in Nashville because of the historically very right-wing nature of country music in general, and of country radio in particular. It's not much different from the blacklisting done in Hollywood in the late 1940s and 1950s against anyone with politics thought to support Communists; people don't speak out against this kind of tyranny out of fear for their own careers. To use a euphemism, it's called Cover Your Own A**.
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Post by rick on Mar 29, 2015 15:05:55 GMT -5
Quote by rick: I think we may be reading too much into Trisha's Fox News appearance. Just because you appear on a cable-news channel known for its in-your-face bigotry doesn't make you a bigot yourself, nor should it automatically imply that you are "after" their audience. We may be talking about a country singer in this context, but there is nothing in Trisha's history to suggest that she would ever go all-Anita Bryant. But the reality is that there is an implied threat of "blacklisting" in Nashville because of the historically very right-wing nature of country music in general, and of country radio in particular. It's not much different from the blacklisting done in Hollywood in the late 1940s and 1950s against anyone with politics thought to support Communists; people don't speak out against this kind of tyranny out of fear for their own careers. To use a euphemism, it's called Cover Your Own A**. Erik, I am not suggesting that Trisha would ever go "all Anita Bryant." Far from it. I guess I'd like to think that if a cable network spews hatred with as much regularity as Fox News does then I would hope that people would stay away from it. She did espouse any political opinions. She was there on the morning show "Fox and Friends" to promote her cooking endeavors. I will say that I can't imagine that Linda Ronstadt, however, would ever agree to appear on Faux News unless she felt the need to unload on Sean Hannity to his face. But I can't imagine that Linda at this time in her life would want to expend the energy doing that. But I do believe if given the opportunity to appear on any program on Fox News, Ms. Ronstadt would take a pass. As for Covering One's Own A--, we saw what can happen when Natalie Maines spoke up. |
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Post by Partridge on Mar 29, 2015 15:21:22 GMT -5
And at the risk of being tarred and feathered, I will mention yet again the name Barbra Streisand for she was quite vocal about the Colorado law that codified discrimination against gays and lesbians. She said something to the effect of "We can't support hate." ... . And, sad to say, that is a lot of her and Garth's fan base. It would be great if they and other country stars made a statement about freedom of expression and tolerance. Barbra Streisand.... love it when she opens her mouth and tells it like it is. I don't recall I've ever disagreed with her. But the Pat Sajak remark is amusing. As for Garth Brooks, he did/does make statements of freedom of expression and tolerance. But country radio doesn't want to hear it. He released the single "We Shall Be Free" (when we're free to love anyone we choose, when the last child cries for a crust of bread, when the last thing we notice is the color of skin, etc.- we shall be free). It was his first single ever to not make the Top 10 Country chart. I think he later released the song as a single a second time. |
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Post by erik on Mar 29, 2015 18:49:10 GMT -5
Quote by Rick:
I too think it is a given that Linda would not expose herself to the Fox Noise machine in any way, shape, or form even if she were well enough to do it; she knows that their job would be to tear her down. It should be noted, though, that, even on CNN, five years ago, she got into a very heated argument over the issue of illegal immigration on the US/Mexico border with ultra-right wing Colorado congressman Tom Tancredo on a news show anchored by John Roberts. Of course, this was before her Parkinson's condition really began to slow her down; but all the same, it showed that she is willing to really fight tooth-and-nail against any and all comers, especially short-sighted, narrow-minded politicos like Tancredo.
I would say, in defense of Trisha, that she appears to be a fairly progressive person in terms of her politics. It is a shame, in my opinion, that, in order to still be doing successfully what she does well artistically, she has to keep those views to herself. But again, that's the fault of the musical genre she is in, and, to a large extent as well, a listening audience that seems to not only tolerate intolerance but, at the end of the day, actively support it (IMHO).
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Post by sliderocker on Mar 29, 2015 19:12:06 GMT -5
Barbra Streisand.... love it when she opens her mouth and tells it like it is. I don't recall I've ever disagreed with her. But the Pat Sajak remark is amusing. As for Garth Brooks, he did/does make statements of freedom of expression and tolerance. But country radio doesn't want to hear it. He released the single "We Shall Be Free" (when we're free to love anyone we choose, when the last child cries for a crust of bread, when the last thing we notice is the color of skin, etc.- we shall be free). It was his first single ever to not make the Top 10 Country chart. I think he later released the song as a single a second time. I've always suspected that Pat Sajak was or is a closeted gay man, someone maybe too afraid to come out and say so because it wouldn't play with the other conservatives, and/or maybe fears that he'd either be out as host of "Wheel of Fortune" or that the show would be canceled. His stance is rather odd as "Wheel of Fortune" was produced by Merv Griffin, who, I believe, was said to be gay himself and who was the one that hired Sajak. One would think Sajak would've shown some gratitude and supported gay rights. Even so, Sajak is a weird looking person. His hair has a kind of greenish look to it and he always has this look like something very unpleasant has happened to him. Maybe Vanna kissed him. I'm surprised about the Garth single. Not that radio didn't play it (no surprise there, really) but that Garth took a chance like that. I'm not a Garth fan but it's nice to know he went against a very conservative prejudice with a song about compassion for others and what they are going through. To me, this kind of reception, not only on Garth's single and Little Big Town's single, and all the other artists whose songs have been barred is indicative of the stranglehold that conservatives are exerting on anyone who dares to disagree with them. That stranglehold needs to be broken, permanently, as it is an affront to our freedom of speech. Radio may only get the message if liberals are willing to hit back at them in the same way conservatives hit them: the pocketbook! |
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Post by erik on Mar 29, 2015 19:19:49 GMT -5
Quote by sliderocker:
In truth, though, country music has, with a couple of notable exceptions, really always been extremely conservative in terms of its politics. That probably isn't going to change in the main, in my opinion.
But what I do think is driving this new-wave onslaught of right-wing bigotry and prejudice is the fact that the man sitting behind the desk in the Oval Office isn't one of "them". I mean, call a spade a spade for once: The president happens to be a colored guy, that's what they have a problem with. Case closed (IMHO).
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Post by Dianna on Mar 29, 2015 22:49:10 GMT -5
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Post by Tony on Mar 29, 2015 23:47:01 GMT -5
I noticed from Wikipedia that the video for Garth's We Shall Be Free won the Video of the Year award at the Academy of Country Music Awards. Of course they are a more liberal counterpart to the Nashville-based awards. They were the first to give an award to Linda Ronstadt (although calling her most promising in 1975 was a stretch). And this year, my favorite new country singer of the last couple of years, Brandy Clark, who gets no airplay on country radio, is nominated for ACM's Best Female Vocalist. Maybe they don't know she was outed by Rolling Stone Magazine.
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Post by Dianna on Mar 30, 2015 1:42:16 GMT -5
I guess Kacey likes the song  |
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Post by erik on Mar 30, 2015 8:45:54 GMT -5
Quote by Dianna:
Not surprising under the circumstances. If I'm not mistaken (although there is always that possibility), she herself is LGBT. Even if she weren't, there's the free speech angle--which I guess country radio forgot about at least as far back as 2003, when Natalie called a spade a spade regarding Bush's Iraq invasion.
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Post by jhar26 on Mar 30, 2015 9:19:54 GMT -5
Quote by Dianna: Not surprising under the circumstances. If I'm not mistaken (although there is always that possibility), she herself is LGBT. Even if she weren't, there's the free speech angle--which I guess country radio forgot about at least as far back as 2003, when Natalie called a spade a spade regarding Bush's Iraq invasion. Why isn't there a left wing country station? There are enough alt-country, country rock and Americana artists to put on there. It doesn't even have to be left-wing. They just need a censorship free station. And those that don't like it can always listen to one of the many shit for brains stations. |
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Post by CountryDave on Mar 31, 2015 5:01:37 GMT -5
Come on, everyone knows these country people are very closeted with many having dated their grannies sheep. They have to lash out to take the attention away from themselves. It's just a cover and a lot comes out of their repressive Christian values that messes with their minds and sexual identity.
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Post by Dianna on Mar 31, 2015 12:23:18 GMT -5
Come on, everyone knows these country people are very closeted with many having dated their grannies sheep. Oh God. lol |
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