Country Music: Giving Voice to American Values
July 27, 2011
TownHall Magazine -'Whether it is country pop or traditional, country music has something to say to middle America,' said Rob Weiner, the pop culture historian at Texas Tech University and a longtime analyst of country music's role in American life. 'Even today there is the perception that country artists come straight from America's heartland--and that somehow country artists are a little more honest than, say, traditional pop or rock 'n' roll.'
"The chest-thumping popularity of patriotic songs such as Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the U.S.A." galvanized the long but somewhat loose relationship between much of the country music business and conservatives in culture and even politics, especially post-Sept. 11. There's a reason that right-wing talker Sean Hannity says country is his "favorite" kind of music--and Martina McBride's "Independence Day" has been one of the fixtures of the bumper interludes in his radio show. ...
"Whether it is country pop or traditional, country music has something to say to middle America," said Rob Weiner, the pop culture historian at Texas Tech University and a longtime analyst of country music's role in American life. "Even today there is the perception that country artists come straight from America's heartland--and that somehow country artists are a little more honest than, say, traditional pop or rock 'n' roll."