Murder on Music Row

I a little while back, I was having a conversation with a young lady about our tastes in music. Seeing that I was born in Alabama, and I've spent most of my life in the great state of Georgia, I have a natural affinity for country music and southern rock. I honestly don't think it gets any better than hearing George Strait sing "Amarillo by Morning" or Ronnie Van Zant mournfully wail about being "simple kind of man." Unfortunately this particular young lady didn't agree with me. She said, "I don't really like country music. You can't really dance to it or anything, but I do like Taylor Swift. She's country isn't she?" That last part of her statement is what really made me see red. I was polite when I explained to her that I thought Miss Swift is nothing more than a pop singer who is based out of Nashville, but in my head I was screaming, "No, no, no, a thousand times NO! Taylor Swift is not a country singer!"

This post doesn't have anything to do with the VMA incident, but I 'm obligated to use it, because I'm writing about Taylor Swift.

I realize that not all country fans are purists like I am, and I know that music evolves over time as well. Not everything can sound like Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, and the boys. However, Taylor Swift, while admittedly talented, has absolutely no place on modern country radio for a number of reasons. She's from Pennsylvania (that's not in the South for those of you who didn't do too hot in 5th grade geography), she uses poorly matched literary references such as "you were Romeo/I was the scarlet letter" (so he's an impetuous youth, and you're an adultress?), and she's put a techno beat to some of her songs. This is a huge no-no in country music. Heck, if she were any less country, she'd be a member of the 1980s German pop band Nena.

To be fair, their 1983 song, "Vollmond," does have a rockabilly feel to it.

While all of the reasons listed contribute to my contempt for Taylor Swift, my primary gripe stems from the content of her songs. Most of her music deals with young love and the folly of youth. Normally, I wouldn't have any problem with this. Brad Paisley's "Letter to Me" deals with similar subject matter in a poignant manner that can only come from years of reflecting upon one's life. The problem with Miss Swift's music is the fact that she hasn't had adequate time to give any depth to her ruminations about high school and ex-boyfriends. You can't wax poetic about how young at naive you were at 15 when you're only 19 at the time of writing the song. Heck, I'm 21, and I don't think I'm mature enough to look back wistfully at my 10-year-old self. Because of the lack of temporal difference between her and her subject matter, Taylor Swift fails to truly reach the depth of emotion that Paisley and so many other great country musicians do when they sing similar songs. Instead of coming off as having the wisdom that can only be gained through the years, Taylor Swift seems more like an invention of Nashville who profits from the teen angst that belongs on Radio Disney and not in the Grand Ole Opry.

So Long Dixie

Recently, the administration at Ole Miss banned the playing of the song "From Dixie with Love" at all of the university's sporting events. The song, which is probably one of the coolest in all of college football, is a combination of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" and "Dixie" the unofficial national anthem of the Confederacy. The issue of contention was the fact that many Ole Miss fans would shout, "the South will rise again" toward the end of the song. The administration deemed this phrase offensive and threatened to ban the song if the fans did not stop chanting it. Unfortunately, there were those who were determined to call the administration's bluff, and the chancellor of the university took quick action.


The University of Mississippi aka "Ole Miss" in Oxford, MS


While I understand the rationale behind the decision banning "From Dixie with Love," I cannot say that I agree with it. For years, "the South will rise again"was used as an offensive slogan to drum up support for the white power movement and strike fear into the hearts of African-Americans. However, it doesn't carry the same meaning now as it did even 20 years ago. Today, with the notable exception of a few idiots who seem hell bent on making all southerners look bad, when most people utter "the South will rise again" there is little, if any, hatred behind it. It is merely a way of expressing appreciation for the region's history. There are those who will argue that South's history is nothing to celebrate, but most southerners, myself included, will continue to do so.

Many people from outside the South believe that we should carry a great deal of shame for the sins of our past, and we do. We fully realize that our ancestors made some horrible mistakes, and slavery, one of the many reasons the Civil War was fought, was a heinous institution that needed to be abolished. However, we still like to look back to that era with some modicum of pride. The fact that our ancestors were willing to secede from and fight a war against the United States shows a fierce level of personal independence that still exists within the region today. This coupled with the fact that the South is also the region that gave the world William Faulkner, Coca-Cola, Jack Daniels, and some the most beautiful women to walk the face of the Earth creates a great deal of pride juxtaposed alongside the shame we feel about slavery and the Jim Crow era.


Oh yeah, the chicken sandwich was also invented down here.


To me, saying "the South will rise again" is a way acknowledging all of our past mistakes while honoring all that we have accomplished throughout the years. Again, I have a great deal of respect for Ole Miss and its administration. Looking it it from and outsider's prospective, they're doing a fine job running the school, but I simply do not agree with this particular decision. A phrase that is now used as a way of expressing all things southern, good and bad, is not a sufficient reason for banning one of the most stirring fight songs in all of college football.

I mean come on! Tell me that it doesn't sound cool: