Try That In A Small Town

As I sat down for breakfast and watched The View like I usually do every weekday morning, the topic of a song by country music crooner Jason Aldean called Try That In A Small Town. Apparently, this song has stirred up a huge ruckus among music listeners including accusations of the racist nature of its presentation. Vloggers near and far have stated their opinions, for and against this infamous tune.

Being the armchair journalist that I claim to be, I decided to not be influenced by either point of view; I chose to take a look and listen, with captions on, to the official video of the song by Mr. Aldean.

There you have it.

What are my thoughts?

In all honesty, I found both the lyrics and especially the visuals in the videos rather disturbing, to say the least.

For starters, the video is definitely for those on the political right, which may be expected from this music genre. Strong statements for gun rights (I’m a big supporter of the Second Amendment if executed properly), which was to be expected.

Expressions of love for Old Glory and the United States? Check.

Reference to modest and humble modus vevindi? Check.

Now the fun begins.

In my very humble opinion, the video contains thinly-veiled racial and political threats of violent retaliation. The video also strongly implies that only one particular type of individual incites and facilitates violence and lawlessness. Typical selective memory.

Once again in my humble and finite opinion, the video is a dog whistle casserole, and depending on who you ask, it comes as one of the worst times in America. The racial divide is at its widest since the Jim Crow days and for this to be occurring in the 21st century, this is downright frightening.

Meh, I have nothing else. At least for now.

What are YOUR thoughts about this song?

Back When Saturday Night Live Was Funny?

For those who love to repeat that tired ‘back when Saturday Night Live was funny” or similar statements, hear me out…

Peacock streaming has every episode of every season of SNL available for viewing. With that said, I’d advise you to watch the episodes from the original NSRFPTPs.

Yes, there were some memorable, side-splitting skits during that period. Heck, there were several that went on to be iconic in popular culture.

However, for every funny skit those shows had, you had two to three that were either bizarre, esoteric, or just plain not funny.

There were plenty of great episodes of SNL back then, but there were also some stinkers in the mix as well.

Before any of you make the claim that today’s SNL is too political, please note that Presidents Nixon, Ford, and Carter were lampooned on a semi-regular basis.

For those who claim to not have watched the show in years, how do you know it’s not funny if you’re not watching it?

That is called the illusory truth effect. That is the tendency to believe false information to be correct after repeated exposure.

Again, I suggest any of you to watch the classic SNL show and see it for yourselves.

I’m quite aware that this was a super long post, but I’ve been wanting to get this off of my chest for the longest time.

Thank you.