It’s Taylor Swift vs. Kanye West All Over Again (The Scourge of Celebrity)
Isn’t celebrity pop culture influencing voter habits how we got here in the first place? If you’re waiting for marching orders from your favorite pop star to figure out who to vote for, you’re uniquely unqualified to be voting in the first place, just as most pop stars and celebrities are uniquely unqualified to be attempting to advise the public on political matters.
I’m about as inclined to vote for whomever Taylor Swift endorses on Instagram between photos of her cats as I am to take under advisement the inane ramblings of Kanye West about how to feel about the President of the United States minutes after he pranced around a stage in a water bottle.
Fuck all this shit. People wonder why we have a reality TV Star as President, and why the President acts like a reality TV Star? Well you have your answer. This isn’t politics, this is a celebrity popularity contest, no different than The Voice or American Idol or Celebrity Apprentice, with legions of Stans warring to push their favorite pop star to the top spot. Celebrity in Chief.
Political fights for favored candidates and pet issues have become no different than the vacuous back and forths between Blake Shelton fans and Miranda Lambert fans, Mariah Carey fans and Jennifer Lopez fans, fraught with the same diseases of the mind and unhinged perspectives, with the truth and facts left in peril. People aren’t infuriated because any actual rights have been stripped from them. They’re infuriated because their favorite celebrity or pet cause célèbre didn’t win. Americans have bought so deeply into the cult of celebrity and certain political issues, they can no longer separate their own identity from them. It’s a strange, disturbing confluence between the Stan culture and inexorable groupthink. This is no longer punditry, this is mindless tribalism devolving into group identity, aided by the carcinoma of identity politics.
Politics is now like a video game, with social media and smartphones delivering a similar button-pushing interface, and parallel dopamine responses when points are awarded for your team, while we tell ourselves that matters of nominal consequence hold the entire balance of civilization in sway like it’s World of Warcraft. Technology has gotten one over on us.
And no, this isn’t a “shut up and sing” argument. I would take up arms for the right of Taylor Swift, Kanye West, or anyone else to get swept up in the contagion of mental illness-inducing political fervor, and spew irresponsible platitudes such as how someone must be against minorities, women, and the LBGTQ community simply because of their political affiliation, or tell people “try and love” while wearing a cap they purposely wore to piss everyone off. And somehow the opinions of these celebrities matter more than the rest of ours because pop culture has surreptitiously elevated them onto an undeserved pedestal. Arguably nobody has benefited more from the skewed priorities of out celebrity-worshiping society than Kanye West and Taylor Swift, talented as they may be, or not.
And why exactly are we so angry at each other in America? Unemployment is at its lowest level in 49 years. Unemployment for minorities is at its lowest level in history. Were enjoying the longest bull market in a quarter century. The United States is at relative peace compared to recent history. And despite the characterizations of the insidious, exploitative, and opportunistic media trying to squeeze every last vestige of commercial viability out of an outdated business model before its absolute implosion occurs, crime is down, rape is down, sexual harassment is down, complaints against police are down, and the perpetrators of systemic sexism are being paraded out in the street, and tarred and featured like never before. Even murder is down, despite the increase of mass shootings. Why mass shootings? Because now more than ever people want to go out as celebrities, with their face splashed all over popular media. And popular media is more than happy to oblige, while politicians sweep in to exploit the tragedy for political expediency.
Despite the prosperity and unparalleled equality we’re experiencing, we’re more miserable than ever. Because the media and the political class want us to be. It’s good for business. It’s what keeps the clicks coming, and the donation coffers flush. So we fear each other like never before, and feel the need to bring matters that used to be kept at home out into the open, and act like people who think different from us lack even the most basic elements of human compassion, and don’t deserve our respect.
But that’s okay, because celebrities will save us from this madness. Taylor Swift. And while we’re at it, let’s get Oprah Winfrey to run for President. Or maybe Kanye West. What’s The Rock up to these days? Is he a Democrat or a Republican? Hey, he likes Cody Jinks so I guess that means I’ll be voting for him.
Somewhere America lost touch with the fact that politics works best when it’s incredibly boring, and that it’s a virtue to never think you’re better than someone else. No act of government will ever be able to change your lot in life more than what you can do for yourself. Perhaps Idiocracy isn’t when we all become stupid. Perhaps it’s when even the smart among us fall for the idea that we must root for the demise of people who think different from us simply because we’ve become too emotionally enraptured in the outcome to see that we’re all way more similar than different.
With abundant riches, ample free time, and incredible prosperity, we’ve decided we need to devise and invent a new set of problems for ourselves. With no clear and present enemies, we’ve made enemies with each other. Because we love the fucking drama, despite professing to be enraged by the other side. We have our noses covered in it, like reading the tabloid smut about the celebrities we love to hate. If the drama left our lives, we would miss it, and figure out a way to create more of it.
That doesn’t mean there still aren’t serious issues swirling out there in society that must be addressed, and that sometimes an act of government is the only way to do so. But if even the individuals tasked with entertaining us feel the need more and more to enter the political fray as opposed to helping to be the pressure valve and escape to get our minds away from all of the acrimony that is leading to record levels of mental illness and suicide, then perhaps we truly are living in dark times. But don’t fool yourself into thinking you know who the culprit is, and that it’s the people on the opposite side of the political spectrum, or even the pop stars tasking us to choose sides. Because the true culprit, and the true party of blame is ourselves.
Alexander Barton
October 9, 2018 @ 9:36 am
Nice article, but who’s Jennifer Lopez? I don’t know her.
Billy Wayne Ruddick
October 9, 2018 @ 9:57 am
Shes the woman who played Selena in the Selena biopic. Great movie if you haven’t seen it.
Black Boots
October 10, 2018 @ 9:43 am
She is a fine wine.
Chris Lewis
October 9, 2018 @ 9:42 am
Well said
liza
October 9, 2018 @ 9:43 am
“Despite the prosperity and unparalleled equality we’re experiencing, we’re more miserable than ever.”
I’m surprised you don’t get this.
And this has nothing to do with Taylor vs Kanye. THAT is the type of shit the media and the political class love to stir up. Click-bait headline.
Boot
October 9, 2018 @ 11:22 am
What is it he’s not getting?
INDK
October 9, 2018 @ 9:44 am
What if we found out that Kanye and Taylor were secretly daytime friends and nighttime lovers hoping no one else discovers
where they go, what they do, in their secret hideaway?
Gina
October 9, 2018 @ 9:50 am
I just can’t anymore with this. Can we go back to the days when everyone kept their vote to themselves. I am all for celebrities lending their name to causes they are passionate about but this is just so tiresome.
Aggc
October 9, 2018 @ 11:36 am
I agree. While we’re at it, lets go back to the days when everyone kept their personal life private too.
Tom Smith
October 9, 2018 @ 9:53 am
“Despite the prosperity and unparalleled equality we’re experiencing, we’re more miserable than ever. Because the media and the political class want us to be. It’s good for business. It’s what keeps the clicks coming, and the donation coffers flush. So we fear each other like never before, and feel the need to bring matters that used to be kept at home out into the open, and act like people who think different from us lack even the most basic elements of human compassion, and don’t deserve our respect.” — You won’t read a more true statement for a long, long time. Guaranteed. The 24 hour news cycle is one of the worst things that’s ever happened to the planet.
RWP
October 9, 2018 @ 9:56 am
Good read Trig. Piers Morgan wrote a pretty good piece on this too. (I never thought I would say those words about that man) https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6253035/Taylor-Swift-just-Trump-biggest-favor-ever.html
Taylor hasn’t really been on top of the headlines lately. She had to do something. Being a multi millionaire wasn’t enough.
liza
October 9, 2018 @ 10:58 am
You obviously haven’t been following her tour. If she can get young people to register to vote, good for her.
FreeThinker
October 9, 2018 @ 2:28 pm
Nothing wrong with her having a get out and vote campaign, but keep your politics to yourself. I get it, your a Swift fan, but don’t sit here and say she is not trying to influence how they vote. We live in a world that has rights for everyone, no matter your race, religion, creed, sexual orientation, or what ever else people will think of to put themselves in a group that is popular at the time. You will never irradiate most if not all the issues she spoke of. The government can legislate till they are blue in the face. It will always come down to the individual and how they chose to conduct themselves. There is no way to legislate individual thought, nor do I want to do live in a world where we try and do that. We live in a country with the least amount of this stuff going on in our history. It seems like its not because we make such a bid deal about every little occurrence. There are a lot of people in our government and outside of government, celebrities includes that make a ton of money by keeping us a country divided. If some people would stop following these people mindlessly and start really thinking for themselves a lot of our problems would diminish or go away. Actually follow the political process and see why decisions or votes are made one way or another. Not just follow the up to the minute headline or one version of the story without looking at all sides. Have a healthy debate about the issues and stop the personal attacks.
Mike W.
October 9, 2018 @ 4:21 pm
Every celebrity that does a “get out of the vote” thing is trying to influence people. This is nothing new. You don’t think Ted Nugent isn’t trying to influence people politically or socially when he goes on his rants at one of his shows?
liza
October 9, 2018 @ 6:42 pm
I’m not a Taylor “fan”. But she has the right to speak up like anyone. Just as you have the right to not not listen. So what if she’s trying to influence people? So are John Rich, Ted Nugent, and others. So what?
Fuzzy TwoShirts
October 11, 2018 @ 5:42 am
Taylor Swift is still a child, and worse than that a rich adult child who’s never been out of the spotlight.
What worldly insights could she possibly have about the way things are run?
What business does somebody so out of touch have with how things in this Country go?
I may not love Charlie Daniels but at least he’s had eight decades of learning behind him and earned his success the hard way so his opinions carry more weight and probably more accuracy.
Taylor Swift is an airhead who probably doesn’t know that milk comes from a cow or what a rhubarb looks like and has certainly never had to cashier or flip burgers or get yelled at for following a policy. She hasn’t had to lift heavy things or wake up before ten a.m.
So she needs to keep her mouth shut and let the working adults decide how things are done
Mike W.
October 12, 2018 @ 4:23 am
So we should place extra weight behind someone’s opinion because they have been on this planet longer? I mean, I respect my elders, but let’s not pretend that being on this planet longer somehow automatically makes you smarter or have stronger critical thinking skills. If it did, my grandmother wouldn’t be forwarding emails from “Nigerian princes” or send me links to internet conspiracy theories.
Fuzzy TwoShirts
October 12, 2018 @ 10:49 am
I bet your grandmother understands economics, supply and demand, taxes, and how to provide for yourself on a budget.
Let’s stop valuing imaginary skills
KGD
October 12, 2018 @ 12:04 pm
a) She’s not an airhead, she’s a massively successful pop singer/songwriter/performer and a savvy AF businesswoman
b) You don’t have to have milked a cow to have a political opinion
c) I have no idea how well-read/informed she is, but everybody has the option to listen or not to what she said. I choose not to follow her advice, or listen to her music, but she has the right to offer both.
Mike W.
October 12, 2018 @ 6:07 pm
So your point is Swift is entitled, so how could she know anything? That’s fair, but Charlie Daniels has been wealthier longer than Swift has been alive.
I guess my point is all these big name artists are out of touch with modern America on some level. When was the last time Charlie Daniels had to worry about rent? Probably longer than Swift has even been alive, so I think putting age aside it’s fair to say neither is living the modern American experience.
I just disagree with your point regarding age being a factor is all. Lots of really stupid 40 year olds on this planet who can barely wipe their own butt intellectually. But there are smart 20 year olds who have to manage a household and make the mortgage. Age is a poor indicator of someone’s political or social intelligence.
Fuzzy TwoShirts
October 14, 2018 @ 8:02 am
to KGD.
Her success was paid for with someone else’s money.
If she were well-read and informed she probably could have written better lyrics than “haters gonna hate hate hate hate hate” and ‘Loving him was red.”
to Mike W. I don’t always agree with Charlie Daniels, but he started at the bottom, struggled to pay his own bills, and made his own success. If he doesn’t have to worry about rent good for him, he earned that. Nobody gave him money. I respect him as a self made success story even if I don’t always agree with him since I think he knows more about work ethic and responsibility.
I equate age to maturity. For instance, Taylor Swift, though older than me, is a child. Luke Bryan, is a child.
so I mean adults in terms of emotional maturity, I guess I should have explained that.
a
October 9, 2018 @ 9:58 am
“must be against minorities, women, and the LBGTQ community simply because of their political affiliation” If you vote for candidates who don’t support these groups legislatively, your vote at least says that the rights of those groups aren’t very important to you.
Trigger
October 9, 2018 @ 10:33 am
The problem is that voting for legislation is never a black and white issue. You can say that someone voted against women’s rights, but there are many reasons an elected representative may have decided not to back a piece of legislation purported to support women, including that it may not actually support women, despite saying so. Sometimes bills get loaded with pork, and so Senators decide not to vote for it, even though the bill on its face is good legislation. Sometimes one party will put a provision in a bill in order to kill it, like putting an anti-abortion provision in a “women’s rights” bill, and so they vote against it. That doesn’t mean they’re voting against women. It just means they’re voting against what they believe the ultimate outcome of the bill will be.
For example, in the last Presidential election, Donald Trump accused Ted Cruz of voting against immigration controls 23 times, or whatever it was. On its face, this was completely true. But the reason Ted Cruz voted against those immigration bills is because he didn’t believe they were strong enough, not because he’s for open borders. It was a mischaracterization, exploiting ignorance about how the legislative process works.
This is how the political class and media game the public. It’s the worst for Senators, because they have to be on record voting for or against legislation. That’s why Senators rarely get elected President, even though they’re arguably the most politically qualified and experienced to hold the office. This is also why celebrities make enticing candidates, because they have no voting record that can be used against them.
I’m glad Taylor Swift felt the desire to assert her 1st Amendment privilege and publicly back who she believes should be representing the State of Tennessee. But the portion of her post about all the stuff the incumbent Senator voted against read like a bad political hit ad that plays during the local news. It doesn’t even mean that it’s not partially true. But the underlying truth is much more detailed, and involved. It’s oversimplifying, just like Kanye standing on the SNL stage telling me I need to “get with love” while wearing a politically polarizing hat.
I believe most everyone wants equality for everyone. We all just have different ideas of how to get there. And that’s okay. We can still debate these points, and keep our civility and respect for one another.
Head Case
October 9, 2018 @ 11:34 am
Caring about the rights of the nation as a whole is a lot more important tha. The rights of small individual groups. Why should they have special rights? When each individual citizen has the same rights, that is equality for all. Giving special treatment is not.
Bryan
October 10, 2018 @ 3:51 pm
Neither is denying the same treatment for folks that have different ideas than you do.
TxMusic
October 9, 2018 @ 10:01 am
If you let a celebrity with no political power have so much influence over your life then the jokes on you.
wayne
October 9, 2018 @ 10:32 am
“Unemployment is at its lowest level in 49 years. Unemployment for minorities is at its lowest level in history. Were enjoying the longest bull market in a quarter century. The United States is at relative peace compared to recent history. And despite the characterizations of the insidious, exploitative, and opportunistic media trying to squeeze every last vestige of commercial viability out of an outdated business model before its absolute implosion occurs, crime is down, rape is down, sexual harassment is down, complaints against police are down, and the perpetrators of systemic sexism are being paraded out in the street, and tarred and featured like never before. Even murder is down…”
Not bad for an outsider president. The media cannot assail on grounds of accomplishment so they must continue with their liberal facade. They are the most disgusting of the whole bunch.
CountryGirl
October 9, 2018 @ 11:09 am
Imagine what he could do if he stopped tweeting about the NFL, fake news etc. or better yet stop tweeting. Sit behind that desk and focus on healthcare reform, welfare reform etc etc etc. I am so sick of the drama he creates when he opens his mouth, in the words of Bill Belecheck “just do your job”.
Mike W.
October 9, 2018 @ 4:19 pm
I’m sorry, but conservatives need to stop it with this whole “liberal façade”, just as much as the liberals need to stop crying bloody murder with each and everything the right/Trump does. Conservatives control the vast majority of states politically in this country, they control all three branches of power at the Federal level, and they have the most watched news station in America. They really need to stop always playing the victim card when it comes to the media. It’s exhausting in how wrong it is. Yes, there are segments of the media that hate the President, just like their are segments of the media that hated everything Obama did.
This trope about conservatives being powerless minorities who are picked on by the big, nasty liberal media is just flat out not factual.
As for Swift/Kanye they can both pound sand for all I care. Kanye is a talentless hack who very clearly has battled mental illness for over a decade and Swift is just another pop star who in 5-10 years will be doing the Spears thing of playing Vegas while desperately trying to stay relevant. Yawn to both of them.
Jack Williams
October 12, 2018 @ 5:58 am
I find nothing to disagree with in your first two paragraphs. As far as Kanye being a talentless hack goes, I don’t know. I mean, I really don’t know. My knowledge of rap is less than puddle deep. There are some people out there who are deeply into rap and whose intellect I respect that have good/great things to say about his artistry or some of his projects. As for Taylor Swift goes, I can say that I have never chosen to listen to her music for pleasure. But she can write songs. And if she had to, she could entertain a roomful of people by herself singing her songs playing guitar. I think she has more long term control of her destiny than the average popster.
63Guild
October 9, 2018 @ 10:36 am
Good article trig but random, what are the odds for reviewing A Star is Born soundtrack?
Trigger
October 9, 2018 @ 11:32 am
Yes, it’s on my radar, but I want to watch the movie itself first, which I hope to do very soon.
63Guild
October 9, 2018 @ 11:35 am
Thanks Trig! Still waiting on a lucero review 😉
Travis
October 10, 2018 @ 5:22 am
My wife and I walked out of the movie after about an hour and a half although I was enjoying the music of Bradley Cooper’s character. We weren’t really into Gaga’s parts and overall I started falling asleep. Definitely a good movie that I think most people would enjoy, we’re just not into long dramas. As far as this article, I love it and couldn’t have said it better myself.
Bryan
October 10, 2018 @ 3:54 pm
Surprisingly, I actually liked the movie. The one part I thought was extremely interesting is that once she signed with the agent they immediately got her lined up with dancers and singing bubble gum pop songs.
Seems eerily similar to what we’ve seen from many of the “country” singers that showed some sort of promise to sing traditional country songs in the beginning.
Paul
October 9, 2018 @ 10:38 am
You know something? The cult of celebrity and the cult of the presidency are well matched, I guess it was inevitable that the two would merge. I’m not from the US and I am sick of the whole thing, I can only imaging how americans feel.
63Guild
October 9, 2018 @ 11:21 am
It’s pretty exhausting. My favorite is people burning merchandise because a company or celebrity takes a stand or endorses something they disagree with.
Tex Hex
October 9, 2018 @ 11:15 am
Great article, Trig. Matches my sentiments exactly. If you ever run for office, you got my vote, man. 😉
But, we all know the most reasonable and critically-minded among us either make terrible candidates or don’t run for office at all. Why would they? Sensible, conscientious people rarely have the narcissism and toxic self-righteousness required for the job. Nobody wants reason and common decency. They want turmoil, tribalism, and personal validation at the expense of the very fucking fabric of civilized society.
I’ve long watched politics and entertainment converge. Politicians as entertainers, and entertainers as politicians. Is there a difference anymore? It’s all getting pretty filthy, and I fear there’s no turning back.
ScottG
October 9, 2018 @ 11:19 am
“But don’t fool yourself into thinking you know who the culprit is, and that it’s the people on the opposite side of the political spectrum, or even the pop stars tasking us to choose sides. Because the true culprit, and the true party of blame is ourselves.”
Agree with this, completely.
ScottG
October 9, 2018 @ 11:21 am
Even following this article, you can see the blaming of the opposite side in these comments. There really is not much hope….
narrativity
October 9, 2018 @ 11:25 am
Swift’s statement is mostly true: https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2018/oct/09/taylor-swift/taylor-swift-marsha-blackburn-voted-against-reauth/.
Also, instead of assuming that people have no reason to be angry, maybe you should ask them why they’re angry. I’ve been angry at the GOP since 2010 and I am very well versed in how American government works, as well as the role of federalism. It’s insulting to blame the media for my outrage, so maybe you should rethink your reductionist argument.
Herbie
October 9, 2018 @ 3:21 pm
Well, why are you angry?
Mike Honcho
October 9, 2018 @ 4:16 pm
i blame stupidity for your outrage. Baaaaah.
Trigger
October 9, 2018 @ 4:36 pm
I think people have plenty of reasons to be angry. I think passion is important. But you also have to be rational, and see the bigger picture. If you want to address lingering problems in society, that makes you a good person. Painting the United States as basically devolving back into slavery and the subjugation of women, or conversely acting like gangs of immigrants are raping women and stealing people’s jobs, these are characterizations that are just not supported by statistics. In fact the statistics tell the exact opposite story. But the media pushes anecdotal stories that spread these falsehoods that get shared rabidly on social media to make it seem like our society is devolving into chaos, and the other side must be stopped and defeated to save the very fabric of our nation.
I’m angry about certain issues plaguing country music in 2018, and address issues wherever I can. But I try to not lose the basic human respect for my adversaries. Conversely, I respect them, and try not to get angry at them, because anger affects judgement. I also seek out reasons to be positive, which are all over the place. Because overall, things are getting better, and it’s important to keep sight of that, even as we work to make them even better than they are. But if one half of the country is always working to undermine the other half, we’ll never get very far.
narrativity
October 10, 2018 @ 9:56 am
I don’t know. You said “And why exactly are we so angry at each other in America?” Are we really so angry at “each other” or are we angry that a political and economic system has compromised things that we hold dear? I mean, I’m not angry at the average person down the street who votes Republican, but I am angry at a politician like say, Todd Rokita (from my home state in Indiana) who partakes in the most insidious forms of demagoguery–at my expense–to win votes. And well, if that demagoguery is what works with a particular person, I’m not ashamed of holding that person’s beliefs in extremely low regard. If that person is a friend of mine and specifically tells me that her needs matter and mine don’t, well, I don’t think anger is such an outsized reaction.
At any rate, thank you for acknowledging–I think you acknowledged–that people have legitimate reasons for political anger. I think that Americans are extremely incompetent at discussing politics, so a lot of conversations just consist of people yelling past one another, name-calling, and not listening. I’m not sure what Taylor Swift has to do with all of this. If she were running for office, I’d be annoyed that that would seem viable (despite the fact that she would be more qualified than our current President was when he ran). But if she feels the need to speak out–whatever. She’s a citizen, too; her statement was fine. She explained the reasons why she’s not voting for Marsha Blackburn and her reasons check out. If no other celebrity were able to use social media to influence people, I might see her post as bigger problem. It seems as if her “celebrity political speech” is a real lightning rod for you, Trigger. Am I right about this? If so, why is that the case?
Bryan
October 10, 2018 @ 3:58 pm
To me it seems that too many people have no time to do any fact finding on their own anymore. If the see something on social media, or their station of choice happens to give a 15 second report on a particular topic, then that is gospel to them.
wayne
October 9, 2018 @ 11:30 am
Country Girl,
Comment well taken. However, I cannot imagine what the alternative would have been.
And yes, I do believe that the artists should “shut up and sing”.
CountryGirl
October 9, 2018 @ 11:46 am
I really could care less what taylor swift or any celebrity has to say about the issues, she in NO way will sway my vote. i do the research on the issues I care about and vote accordingly. I will say though if a celebrity tells a young person to get out and vote and they do then I am all for that!! Unfortunately with the celebrity obsessed culture we live in that is what it might take which is incredibly sad!! I think that is what your seeing now, a push for young people to vote.
Cobra
October 9, 2018 @ 2:47 pm
But to be fair, Swift’s post encouraged just that…she encouraged people to research the candidates and the issues important to them. She never said “vote this way or that.” She said who she is voting for and why.
Chet
October 9, 2018 @ 11:58 am
Shhhhh, don’t tell anyone, but Willy’s been campaigning for Dems.
Damn these celebrities!
Taylor Swift’s opinion of anything means zero to me too, but she did get tens of thousands of people to register to vote, and she did have a reasoned post and encouraged people to make up their own minds.
Voting is American, it’s our thing, we’re supposed to be the shining light of democracy, the role model for the rest of the world, and most democracies, the ones that remain, did follow our lead.
So kudos to Swift.
Now, I’m going to see if there are any music news and reviews websites that don’t feel the need to comment on politics.
Tex Hex
October 9, 2018 @ 2:41 pm
“Now, I’m going to see if there are any music news and reviews websites that don’t feel the need to comment on politics.”
Good luck! Let us know what/who you find.
Politics is baked into every other music news and reviews website out there in 2018, whether you want to acknowledge it or not – except they’re not discussing music and politics from a critical angle as Trigger’s done here, but rather as advocates for a certain political persuasion, as evidenced by the artists, genres, and topics they cover, their tone, and the carefully selected blurbs and soundbites they extract and spin from their subjects for maximum clicks and retweets! Just ask Eric Church about that.
Trigger
October 9, 2018 @ 4:56 pm
For the record, it is written into the Charter of Saving Country Music to not take any political affiliation, and to respect everyone’s political beliefs with music coverage. I hate covering political matters, and generally speaking try to avoid them. But over the last year, I have seen a very specific and dedicated incursion by blue checkmarked Twitter journalists looking to embed themselves within the country music journalism pool with the express attempt to politicize the genre, and reshape its political alignment in their image. And if they can’t accomplish this, they will work to smear and discredit country music, and undermine it from within. This is not a conspiracy theory. I have said similar things in this very comments section that have been screenshot, and then posted on Twitter by these journalists basically saying, “Yes, this is exactly what we’re doing, and you won’t stop us.”
Also, I strongly believe that music should be a place apart from political acrimony so that people can take a breather. I think the inclusion of politics into sports and entertainment is very specifically the cause in the dramatic rise of mental illness and suicides we have been seeing recently. That doesn’t mean I don’t think artists have the right to speak out if they so choose, or that political songs don’t have their place in music. Of course they do. But music must be respected as a place where people can come together despite differences. Otherwise every corner of society will become politicized.
I believe it’s important to push back on this current attempt to politicize country music by the media. Whether it’s popular or not with readers is inconsequential to me, like reporting on major label artists we may not like getting taken advantage of by their labels. You may not care, and I totally understand that, but that doesn’t mean it’s not an important issue that needs to be addressed. Right now I think the biggest threat to the integrity of country music is not pop, it’s not hip-hop invading the country music space. It’s the rabid polarization, and the attempt to use country music as a way to undermine the values of rural America.
Again, I have no political affiliation. When I first started this website, I raged against Toby Keith and others who were trying to make country music like a weapon of the right wing. My approach is universal: the integrity of music, and country music as a place apart from political acrimony should be respected. And if it isn’t, I am going to challenge that. It’s unfortunate that this may come across as “getting political.” But in truth, what I’m trying to do is the exact opposite.
ScottG
October 9, 2018 @ 5:56 pm
Do you have a link to the screenshots and them saying “yes this is what we are doing and you won’t stop us?”
I believe you, but would appreciate seeing it.
Trigger
October 9, 2018 @ 6:33 pm
Yes I do. I have files of information on numerous of these journalists, especially their Twitter activity. But believe it or not, I don’t see value in starting beefs with other journalists, though I will defend myself when they attempt to attack my credibility like Craig Jenkins did. If it becomes necessary to compile that information and address it (it’s already public), then I will.
ScottG
October 9, 2018 @ 7:21 pm
Ok fair enough, and I appreciate your reasoning.
BTW maybe you should quote the 3rd principal of journalism when that happens…or maybe that’s futile at this point.
63Guild
October 9, 2018 @ 2:50 pm
Trig and others, I think we can all be in agreement that politics and music go hand in hand, more times than others. I’m wondering if Trig has ever done a list of maybe top 10 political charged songs? More from the Americana country realm of course.
Trigger
October 9, 2018 @ 4:41 pm
I don’t really do lists any more, but here’s one along those lines, “10 Country Songs Criticizing The Police State”
https://www.savingcountrymusic.com/10-country-songs-criticizing-the-police-state/
63Guild
October 9, 2018 @ 7:05 pm
Thanks trig
ScottG
October 9, 2018 @ 3:17 pm
Something I haven’t seen said in the comments is this: It’s not that she expressed her political views. It’s not that they are for a democrat. I can completely understand why she is voting how she is and given the choice I might vote the same way in that race – not really sure, would have to do some more research. No problem with ANY of that. The problem to me is the response to her, up until now, for NOT expressing her politics. The peer pressure and anger she received for NOT expressing her politics was gross, and she finally gave in. In fairness, maybe she didn’t give in. Maybe she had a change of heart. However, there was mounting pressure for her to conform, and although I’m not even a fan of her music, I somewhat respected her for NOT conforming. This mob mentality is concerning, and personally I feel it should concern everyone, no matter what side of the aisle you are on.
Nan
October 9, 2018 @ 4:26 pm
RWP—Thanks for the link to the tweet from Taylor. I didn’t read it until now, been away a few days, tend to go ‘no-tech’ then.
Trigger–No comprende. I thought you were all for Artists voicing their political opinions. I’m not, would never stop listening to someone I like bec of it, but do think they should keep it to themselves. Do you see what Taylor did as different from an Artist passing out items at a concert on a candidate, or positive/negative views on the Pres. in a giant Video fans see, or giving a list of answers (if done purposely) to hot-button controversial issues?
Not going to annoy you with a “letter of correction” but my ‘Inner Swifty’ isn’t liking her name written like that. If you could never ‘get away’ with that with certain other Artists (of course you know who I mean………the pummeling you took would seem like a breeze in comparison).
I think this is the first time she stated something political, so it must have meant a lot to her to say it, in an intelligent, well-written manner. But I’ve liked that she had kept out of politics, and like when other Artists also have. They have to realize their fan base is more diverse than ever. Country Artists can have liberal fans, Pop and Hip-hop Artists can have conservative fans.
The issue of Americans being angry, the poll that was taken in recent years showed the interesting find, that, surprisingly, White Americans are the ‘angriest’. I think it has to do with ‘political correctness’ in recent years. Men are often ‘sexist’ until proven they’re not, White people are often ‘racist’ until proven they’re not. These are worst-case situations of course, but it seems how many people feel today when they open up about it.
Trigger
October 10, 2018 @ 8:53 am
Nan,
I have no problem with Taylor Swift voicing her opinion. This article was not a rebuke of Taylor Swift. It was a rebuke of how society has put pop stars on such a pedestal that their opinions can sway entire elections, whether that’s Taylor Swift or Kanye West. And by the way, there’s a whole story about how Kanye has swayed the black vote in America upwards of 20 percentage points due to his Trump support.
Nan
October 10, 2018 @ 4:38 pm
To respond to what you said in reply, I’m surprised to hear that any ‘Pop Star’ can sway an entire election. Not arguing it can’t happen, just never knew anyone outside of politics to have that much power to do that, even with their fans. I do really like Taylor in acceptance speech last nite,(usually don’t watch those award shows, the clip of it made it on the news) telling people to vote in the midterms–not mentioning any candidate, just saying to vote–using that moment like that.
I’m sure people commenting have disagreed with you at times, just like I’m sure you aren’t always thrilled with all of our comments. Maybe you were just making a point when saying her name like that……”………celebrities will save us from this madness. Taylor Fucking Swift.” It does seem you were saying it about her personally in a negative way, a disrespect to her it seems. Don’t want to make this a bigger deal than it is, just not sure why you wrote it that way, unless you just don’t like her (or even can’t stand her), and it came out like that purposely. Can you see, though, why a fan or someone who likes her, might not like it written like that?
Amber
October 9, 2018 @ 4:51 pm
“Slavery is a choice.” Kanye West.
Nan
October 9, 2018 @ 5:43 pm
Sometimes the shortest comments say the most—that is so deep. Such a Talented Artist.
liza
October 9, 2018 @ 6:49 pm
Say that to the children who are trafficked into slavery in the US each year.
Nan
October 9, 2018 @ 7:01 pm
Kanye West is a Black Man. He doesn’t have to go far to think of the issue of slavery. The sentence he said isn’t necessarily meant to be taken literally. Think of it in a deeper way. I think the deeper meaning of it is brilliant.
liza
October 13, 2018 @ 8:12 pm
Bullshit Nan. There was nothing deep about his comment – that’s why he apologized. I sincerely doubt that you can articulate a deeper meaning. And you walked right past my comment about children who are trafficked into slavery to wax poetic about Kanye’s brilliance.
Jack Williams
October 12, 2018 @ 10:00 am
It’s a bumper sticker.
ScottG
October 9, 2018 @ 6:10 pm
Even though I don’t necessarily agree with what he says or how he says it, damn I respect Kanye for standing against the grain to express what he believes in.
Nan
October 9, 2018 @ 6:35 pm
Very cool comment, can’t be more fair than that. The negative he had to deal with was immense, and he knew it would be, and still was outspoken in support of Trump. I respected him a lot for that also. He could have lost pretty much his entire fan base.
ScottG
October 9, 2018 @ 9:08 pm
Yeah he’s facing major backlash. Maybe it’s that backlash though that is opening some people’s eyes. I’ve mostly voted Democrat (until now), but I can’t stand the mob mentality witch hunting that is going on right now. God bless anyone that thinks for themself and doesn’t bend to peer pressure and conformity.
DJ
October 9, 2018 @ 6:24 pm
Tell that to the IRS- congress authorizes them to make sure you pay the user fees for our use of fed reserve notes and if you owe money, to anyone, you are a slave to that source- but, slavery was abolished right?
Seth of Lampasas
October 10, 2018 @ 7:42 pm
The biggest pass in history continues to be awarded to the Federal Reserve. If more people understood that any talk about getting rid of the nation’s debt is actually impossible due to the fact that the money that is printed is created with debt attached; thereby making it literally impossible to lessen the country’s debt, there would be an unstoppable revolution. That combined with the monetization of debt via fractional reserve banking has created a society of anonymous oligarchs who can steer our country in any direction they wish, regardless of which idiot currently resides in the White House or which party controls Congress.
“Give me control of a nation’s currency and I care not who makes its laws”
Ulysses McCaskill
October 9, 2018 @ 5:23 pm
I’m too drunk to taste this chicken.
Fuzzy TwoShirts
October 9, 2018 @ 5:36 pm
Bla bla bla the opinions of two ridiculous marginally talented people.
I’ve been hoping for ten years that Taylor Swift would decide to be a hermit or a morlock or something but she just won’t leave.
King Honky Of Crackershire
October 9, 2018 @ 6:54 pm
I’m with you, there hasn’t been one moment of my life where I haven’t hated every single thing about her.
I hate her face.
I hate her voice.
I hate her songs, every single one.
The fact that she’s a dumba$$ too, doesn’t change anything for me, because I really can’t hate her anymore than I already do.
Billy Wayne Ruddick
October 9, 2018 @ 7:48 pm
Why you gotta be so mean?
ScottG
October 9, 2018 @ 8:52 pm
I can comfortably say I haven’t thought about her, in increments of years, or at the very least 6 months. Every minute? You have her posters in your bedroom or something? Is she the background on your phone?
Seth of Lampasas
October 10, 2018 @ 7:44 pm
Oh Honk you are a national treasure. God bless you sir.
App Mtn Man
October 9, 2018 @ 5:55 pm
If I want politics on a music site I’ll head on over to rollingstone.com. Please stick to the music!
Trigger
October 9, 2018 @ 6:27 pm
Yes, but what if it’s part of your job to report on music media and you feel the political bias of Rolling Stone is causing negative affects in the music community and must be addressed? Is this “getting political”? Or is this pushing back against the politicizing of country music?
ScottG
October 9, 2018 @ 6:41 pm
Then click on the overwhelming majority of the stories about music. Solved.
Bear
October 9, 2018 @ 5:59 pm
Thank you for this. It says pretty much what I have been feeling recently.
DJ
October 9, 2018 @ 6:20 pm
I read a story today about LeBron James- I’ve read he is a pretty good basketball player – who hired armed guards to protect his family then made a really stupid statement- he thinks(?) guns, legal and illegal, should be against the law- LOL- I wondered if he’d start with his armed guards.
Good, well written article Trigger- we all need to vent once in a while- I was glad to see you addressed the group think mentality- there in is the problem- had a discussion (on a different message board) today with a poster who said and I quote: “Mr. Trump gave them a spine”. We were discussing what Republicans had done to repeal or roll back what Democrats had done and vice versa- the answer is, of course, nothing- by either, and both sides disrespect the Individual and play to the groups- groups by definition have to defer to others = your thoughts/beliefs are irrelevant unless you agree with the group- if not you’re toast.
Some groups are vociferous – loudest squeak gets the grease- but, they are group think personified.
I read your article you linked to- you forgot “I fought the law and the law won”
Kevin wortman
October 9, 2018 @ 6:27 pm
At least she’s not as narcissistic as Jason Isbell, which is fairly impressive based on her success. Still doesn’t sway my vote either way (not that it could, as I don’t live in Tennessee).
RWP
October 9, 2018 @ 7:00 pm
Just give it time. She’s just now in training with her pals Amy Schumer and Lena Dunham
King Honky Of Crackershire
October 9, 2018 @ 6:47 pm
Haha. I value Taylor Swift’s political analysis about as much as I value the political analysis of a music blogger.
If we’re all throwing our 2 cents in, here’s mine.
Everybody wants to cast their votes based on how these politicians view social issues, when we should be voting for politicians who understand the role of the federal government.
Unless we restore the Constitution to its rightful place as a legally binding document that limits the power of the federal government, we’re screwed.
Nobody on the left will do it, including Trump.
DJ
October 10, 2018 @ 7:26 am
I agree- first thing that came to mind is
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yifgfNv3yk
ShadeGrown
October 9, 2018 @ 8:59 pm
This was a well written piece.
People shouldn’t let politics affect what they listen to. As a libertarian I wouldn’t enjoy much of anything if I did.
Carla
October 10, 2018 @ 3:07 am
Yep, apparently T Swift got 65,000 registered voters in 1 day. I said to a co-worker today that I find it terrifying that a celebrity can have that much influence in American politics, so your article is timely.
One point I did want to raise though is you said “crime is down, rape is down, sexual harassment is down, complaints against police are down etc”. However, I did want to point out this is REPORTED crime, REPORTED rape etc. Just because reported crime increases or decreases doesn’t neccessarily mean incidences of said activity are.
And in the current climate I worry there will be even less victims coming forward and reporting crimes.
Mike Honcho
October 10, 2018 @ 6:36 am
Are you for real? In this political climate – everyone is a victim.
Mike Honcho
October 10, 2018 @ 6:37 am
@Arlene below.
Trigger
October 10, 2018 @ 8:28 am
The number of people Taylor Swift got to register to vote seems to be up for interpretation because there’s no solid way to track who registered specifically because of Swift’s proclamation. And since it was the last day of voter registration anyway and everyone is so heated politically at the moment, a spike was likely to happen anyway. I do think Swift had some effect on people on both sides registering, but I think the true measure will be in the polls and on voter day. People still have to go and pull the lever.
Also as far as reporting on crime, that is a fair point. Often victims of sexual assault are afraid or feel shame and don’t report. There are two schools of thought out there though about how accurate the statistics are. Invariably the statistics are never going to count the real number of sexual assaults, but reporting has gotten much better in recent years as far as accuracy, especially on college campuses.
Arlene
October 10, 2018 @ 5:34 am
I think that celebrities whose political views have been widely inaccurately characterized are between a rock and a hard place. Taylor Swift had been repeatedly identified as some sort of Aryan goddess by extremist white nationalists. I don’t blame her for attempting to distance herself from views which, through no fault of her own, she had come to symbolize but does not support. And if she was going to endorse any specific candidates, I’m glad she restricted herself to posting about two candidates running for election in the district where she is registered to vote.
Dirt Road Derek
October 10, 2018 @ 7:54 am
A good read with many great points. Celebrity endorsements don’t matter much in how I vote, other than providing some amusement at how upset some of their fans become when their idol picks the other team. If a reporter can ask a person on the street for their opinion on politics, musicians, actors, etc can offer their two cents, as well. That doesn’t mean we have to like it or take it as a directive. But I’m all for people like Swift encouraging her fans to vote, regardless of who those votes go to.
A daily reader
October 10, 2018 @ 8:32 am
I don’t come to country music blogs for political opinions, either. It would be great if the individuals tasked with entertaining could resist entering the political fray as opposed to helping to be the pressure valve and escape to get our minds away from all of the acrimony that is leading to record levels of mental illness and suicide.
Trigger
October 10, 2018 @ 1:45 pm
As I tried to explain in a couple of comments above, the effort of this article and virtually every other “political” article Saving Country Music has ever published is to push back against the incursion of politics in country music and entertainment. It is an unfortunate circumstance that you can’t engage in this exercise without also getting political, but I ask that readers understand this quandary, and by all means, avoid these posts if they see fit. But if I believe that political rancor poses a threat to the country music community, which I do, then I cannot avoid the subject.
Clyde
October 10, 2018 @ 1:24 pm
One of the things that drives people to celebrity is to use the power that it brings to their advantage. Whether it be political or non-political. It’s part of who they are and isn’t going to change.
Seth of Lampasas
October 10, 2018 @ 7:53 pm
I don’t agree with the incredibly broad generalization that shooters are doing what they do for celebrity. These are people who are extremely mentally disturbed, and a lot of times they’ve been deluded by themselves or others into thinking they are commiting their horrific crimes for a higher purpose. It’s irresponsible to relegate complex tragedies to simple assessments about society in general.
the realist
October 11, 2018 @ 8:10 am
All you can say is Donald Trump is a reality star? Is that it? What about how he’s governed for the last year and a half. He declared Jerusalem as the capitol of Israel (it actually is, and other than giving it cheap lip service, presidents before him ignored that). Unemployment is lower than its been since 1965. GDP is growing exponentially while it never grew under 8 years of Obama. Trump rolled back every executive order overreach Obama issued. ISIS is has been virtually non-existent ever since Trump dropped the MOAB bomb in Syria. North Korea has stopped their nuclear ICBM program, Trump put sanctions back on Iran and eliminated the Obama Iran nuclear deal. etc; – Yeah…more than just a reality TV star president. He’s been great for America. Something the clueless, non talented “entertainers” could ever conceive.
Nan
October 11, 2018 @ 3:19 pm
Not saying the article is wrong, Trigger, you wrote it obviously after her tweet about politics, but I think you just didn’t like her telling anyone how to vote. I don’t agree with everything in your article, no big deal. But I’m not liking her name written like that, and even find it offensive. I’m just one commenter, but think the view is shared by at least a few on here—-any chance in getting her name changed from the way you wrote it?—-that included the expletive between her first and last name?
Trigger
October 11, 2018 @ 4:58 pm
Nan,
This article was not a rebuke of Taylor Swift, or her right to voice her opinion in any way. The focus of the article was how society has become so focused on celebrity that it is encroaching on politics and vice versa, and blurring important lines. The expletive was included for emphasis and I think that’s the way most people took it. It was not meant to be aimed at Taylor Swift directly.
Nan
October 11, 2018 @ 5:58 pm
You could probably get away with a lot worse and not hear it regarding her. Probably just a few of us on here are Taylor fans. People can comment as they want, it’s of course up to you to monitor that. But as the Writer more is expected from you, not to be perfect, of course. You have talked about integrity, about fairness to all Artists. I have seen you give that, and I’ve liked your open mind about things.
Your last line–it was not meant to be aimed at her directly. Okay, but fair to say, it is something that Can be taken negatively. To me, you literally cursed her name. I haven’t seen you write any other Artist’s name like that, not even Kanye here. You’re saying it would always be okay to do that, for emphasis? I’m guessing no way.
You have admitted to things you’ve said on this Music Site that might have been wrong at times. We are talking about a Recording Artist, and what does seem to be, at least to me, or maybe some of us, to be written wrong about her. Even if your intent wasn’t negative, it easily can be taken like that, you have to see that. Why leave it there, then, if it upsets anyone.
Trigger
October 12, 2018 @ 9:41 am
Nan,
I’ve chosen to remove the expletive between Taylor Swift’s name just to head off any confusion. However please don’t take that as an admission of guilt. I did not cuss Taylor Swift. I used a cuss word embedded in her name for emphasis.
Nan
October 13, 2018 @ 2:25 pm
I wouldn’t dare, lol. And you of course didn’t do it “for me”, but as a fan, Thank You 🙂
liza
October 13, 2018 @ 8:28 pm
Wuss.
Kevin
October 12, 2018 @ 8:27 am
Taylor isn’t even registered to vote in Tennessee.
https://www.infowars.com/taylor-swift-is-not-registered-to-vote-in-tennessee/
justracn
October 13, 2018 @ 6:59 am
As soon as one of these twits start using their “stardom” to push politics, my side or not, I’m done with them. Their music comes on , radio gets switched, show or movie comes on , switch. I don’t need some over privalaged , out of touch with the real world, moron, attempting to influence anything in my life.
Nan
October 16, 2018 @ 3:27 pm
Liza—The guy corrected something he did wrong. The opposite of that word is fitting.