I'm not sure if this is a conspiracy theory, but I think the GOP has been funneling money to hack country musicians to get them to make more music about how great small town life is to keep people from moving and weakening republican majorities in rural areas.
This is actually well documented and ramped up significantly following 9/11. There was a huge purge in the country music scene (see the Dixie Chicks) that removed the remaining working class characteristics and made it entirely a nationalist/jingoistic propaganda outlet. I think Citations Needed has a pretty recent podcast on it.
The nationalism was only right around 9/11. From the 90s on to today, the main ideological project in country music is celebrating asking for nothing, being proud of your life never improving, and drinking yourself to death, probably on a boat or beach.
It's less about keeping people from moving and more about making people accept less and stay put. They spin shitty conditions and a lack of infrastructure as being on the frontier and being proud of a simple life. "It ain't much, but it's mine".
I'm not sure if this is a conspiracy theory, but I think the GOP has been funneling money to hack country musicians to get them to make more music about how great small town life is to keep people from moving and weakening republican majorities in rural areas.
This is actually well documented and ramped up significantly following 9/11. There was a huge purge in the country music scene (see the Dixie Chicks) that removed the remaining working class characteristics and made it entirely a nationalist/jingoistic propaganda outlet. I think Citations Needed has a pretty recent podcast on it.
I've been looking for a new podcast to listen to at work anyways. I'll check it out, good shout.
The nationalism was only right around 9/11. From the 90s on to today, the main ideological project in country music is celebrating asking for nothing, being proud of your life never improving, and drinking yourself to death, probably on a boat or beach.
Could you find the name or episode number? That sounds super interesting but I skimmed through all CN eps and didn’t see it.
Citations Needed: Episode 119: How the Right Shaped Pop Country Music
Lmao it’s like the third episode down wtf. Thanks for finding that for me, putting it on rn.
They're even better than XKCD with always having a relevant episode lol. Enjoy, it's definitely a good one. They play lots of shitty stadium country
Square dancing was promoted by Henry Ford to stop white people from liking Jazz, as that was music for blacks and Jews. Not joking, it is documented.
Not just “promoted”, lobbied to be put in schools and made the “state dance” in many places...
Shit, I learned square dancing in school when I was younger
It's less about keeping people from moving and more about making people accept less and stay put. They spin shitty conditions and a lack of infrastructure as being on the frontier and being proud of a simple life. "It ain't much, but it's mine".