“…cuz the South’s gonna to do it again.”
But man, that song rocks, especially the end. In a, you know, country way.
“southern pride” is just racism alllll cleaned up. so much racism.
I don’t disagree, but I’m saying it’s not that that I like. It’s the musical style, I really like it. I love Freebird and Sweet Home Alabama, Ramblin’ Man by the Allman Brothers, Frankenstein by Edgar Winter, tons of really good songs.
Sweet Home Alabama really grinds my gears. Neil Young sings about systemic racism in the south and Skynard retorts ‘yea some people here are racist ♪ but not all of us are ♪ frig off Neil Young♪ whoa now look at the sky’. Horse shit lyrics, sick composition.
You realize that they sang that ironically as a caricature of someone living in the south right?
I think you’re mistaking VanZants’ self-awareness of his southern pride and conflicting knowledge of the south’s troubled history with an intentional caricaturization .
The song was certainly written in response to Young , as Van Zant thought Neil had been too broad. However, he obviously was aware that Neil had a point, so walking the line between pointing out Neil’s generalization (as Van Zant saw it) while expressing pride was difficult and I think, ultimately too difficult a challenge.
Also Alabama just plain sucks. Muscle Shoals studio and the Mobile Bay jubilee are the only things they ever did right
There’s some styles that are more folky that are much nicer in terms of subject
oh i agree, i love folk music… all of that old school ‘country rock’ is great. not so much the twangy country/western
I used to be like you, then I played New Vegas and learned the error of my ways. Now Lefty Frizzell and Marty Robbins are my favorite country artists.
I grew up on the old stuff, even though my dad played rockabilly. We had tons of LPs and I wore out the grooves. Still love it.
My favourites are Willie Nelson and Townes Van Zandt. Folksy cowboy country, contemplative and melancholic.
Allmans are great. I grew up loving Skynyrd, but I can’t really listen to most of it anymore. Check out “Play it all night long” by Warren Zevon for a pretty brutal mockery of “Sweet home Alabama”.
I’m REALLY looking forward to that! I’ve liked Warren Zevon ever since Linda Ronstadt recorded “Poor poor pitiful me.” And who doesn’t like “Werewolves of London?”
For real! Every time sweet home alabama comes on the radio I pause for a second to see if it’s:
“the good one (Warewolves),”
“the ok one (sweet home),”
or “the bad one (that fucking kid rock abortion).”
It’s usually not the good one.
“Excitable Boy”
“Lawyers, Guns, And Money”
There is only one Southern Rock song ever created, and it is Molly Hatchett’s “Flirtin With Disaster”.
Fight me.
GREAT song. I re-listened to it just the other day and was so blown away I checked for all the other great Molly Hatchett songs.
Um.
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That’s American pride, don’t use “the south” as a scape goat.
That’s like saying “butts stink, don’t use the rectum as a scape goat”
No it’s more like proudly declaring that your own butt doesn’t stink.
Since you chose CDB, here is an interesting bit of trivia about that song in particular:
The song uses a clever play on words to promote Southern rock music. … The “it” that the South is going to do again, it is implied, is to produce additional popular rock groups.
Daniels factually bristled at more nefarious interpretations of what the “it” was. … Daniels told Billboard, “I’m damn proud of the South, but I sure as hell am not proud of the Ku Klux Klan. I wrote the song about the land I love and my brothers. It was not written to promote hate groups.”
Maybe use the songs as an opportunity for discussion … or save it for your kid-free time.
That’s so cool! Kinda like when proud Americans sing Born in the USA not realizing the actual meaning.
But. At the same time, if you need to pull up a Wikipedia article for people to not think you are a piece of shit, does it matter?
It is the Pepe the frog situation (that actually was a lot more complicated but). Some people used it because they wanted to take the meme back. Most used it to represent hate and bigotry. I know what I assumed when I saw it posted
Speaking only for myself, I generally try to contextualize before I write someone off as a “piece of shit”
I imagine you could take any popular song from today and find fault in 50 years as cultural norms change.
And if someone is listening to an anti robot anthem on the hover train, people will assume they are an asshole.
This is no different than any other media. Multiple shows have made the joke that 80s comedy films were basically nothing but rape. And that is why you have the really awkward conversations when you recommend one.
I was always surprised that all the biggest Skynyrd fans I knew seemed to know none of the lyrics, because thwy all lived the opposite of them.
RACISM IS WRONG- The Ballad of Curtis Lowe
DRUGS AND ALCOHOL ARE BAD- Needle And The Spoon, That Smell
CAPITALISM SUCKS- Working For MCA
GUNS ARE BAD - Saturday Night Special
FIGHTING IS A BAD IDEA- Gimme Three Steps
Thats all I can remember at the moment, but I should add that Alabama fucking sucks and always has. I know. Trust me.
Call me naive, but I always thought Curtis Lowe was about society not respecting bums who play good music for beer/wine money aka the starving artist. Even though the protagonist loved him as a mentor/entertainer.
Racism or the fact that he was black wasn’t the main factor in the issues the protagonist is singing about, just that he happened to be black… though I’m betting it didn’t help the way people/protagonist’s mom viewed the two of them spending so much time together
I always say him as an inspiration to Bleeding Gums Murphy and Lisa in the Simpsons.
Just my 2 cents. I agree with the rest of your list though.
The thing to keep in mind is that Curtis would have been an old black man in the early 60s so he had lived through quite a lot of the black experience to where the alcohol and music was an escape rather than being a starving artist’s expression
Right, I get that. I’m just thinking that the song isn’t about racism. Other than the fact that he’s black and has the black man’s blues. If the song was talking about his life as a black man or how he ended up a bum that would be different. But it’s the way a child sees a black guy with killer guitar playing skills. Very innocent
CCR - Fortunate son - The poor pay the cost of war and the rich benefit.
Blah blah blah I like the helicopter song
Saturday night special is my favorite one to bring up to the “fans”. Like I can see how you don’t necessarily get the others, but how anybody can hear “a handgun is made for killing, ain’t no good for nothing else, so why don’t we take our handguns and throw them to the bottom of the sea” and think that this guy is just another good ol boy is beyond me.
The leftist stuff goes under the name Alt Country. Bottle Rockets, Drive by Truckers, Uncle Tupelo, Steve Earl, …
Woody Guthrie has entered the chat…
I truly just want bangers. Looking forward to the search.
May I recommend cranking some Sturgill Simpson
Try Bottle Rockets then
Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
https://www.piped.video/watch?v=kzim1iYhmGA
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I’m open-source; check me out at GitHub.
This is the way. Would add Whiskeytown/Ryan Adams. Maybe a tiny bit of Wilco?
Have you had a listen to Drive-By Truckers? Southern rock without the yee haw rebel pride.
I never expected all the recommendations I’ve received, but I’m damned happy about it!
Happy jamming!
I second DBT. Southern Rock Opera is a masterpiece and a lot of their subject matter is a reaction to the stuff OP mentions
at a certain point southern rock & country changed from actual rebellion (Cops are bastards, Vietnam was a mistake, an unjust law needs a kick in the pants) to “I’m an oppressed martyr because someone told me I’m not allowed to be a dick to other people. America is great!
jihad jihad jihad”How about Tom Petty? Southern rocker with great lyrics and no bullshit. One of the greats as far as I’m concerned.
LOVE Tom Petty. I used to rent a room from his high school teacher at GHS. She said “Tommy Petty” wouldn’t write papers, but he would write and play songs instead, so she let him do that. They were “god-awful” according to her.
He had his moment of idiocy, but did everything he could to make it right. https://www.stereogum.com/1815875/tom-petty-admits-touring-with-the-confederate-flag-was-stupid/news/
I feel the same way about a lot of modern hip-hop and pop music. I really enjoy the music but I just can’t relate in any way to the bragging lyrics about having loads of money.
Feel like I’ve heard the Lamborghini Urus casually mentioned in about a dozen UK hip-hop tracks over the past 6 months…
They’re just not timeless. If you were to go back in time to sell your ancestors on a song from the future, a lyric like “me wearing my Oaklies and taking a Polaroid selfie in Times Square” is probably not gonna translate so well. Therefore the song’s message is probably superficial.
Not all hip-hop obviously, Pharcyde are pretty solid lyrically.
I actually have a sub dedicated to calculating how timeless a song is:
For fans of Pharcyde, check out Del The Funky Homosapian, aka Deltron 3030 for some albums, and a prominent member of the Heiroglyphics crew (who are also similarly lyrically inclined.) Idk how it’ll rank on your timeless-o-meter but he’s the only dude I’ve ever heard say “lurid” in a song.
Edit: OH and fans of Gorillaz will recognize his voice, he rapped on some of their biggest tracks.
Thanks for the recommendations!
Cool sub! I only know Outkast’s Hey Ya out of the songs you’ve analyzed but I thought the analysis was really interesting.
Thanks! Feel free to add your own songs too
Excellent point!
You are underthinking it.
Check out the band Larkin Poe. Great southern sound without any of the “rise again” BS. In fact, a lot of their stuff is counter to that culture.
On it
Lemme know what you think. They’re pretty unknown and I’d love to know I helped another person become a fan of them.
Check out Drive By Truckers
Will do
Sturgill Simpson uses a fair amount of vulgar language, but his music frequently has a better message. Sometimes hidden meanings, etc.
You sing them lullabies where babies fall out of trees.
They’ll be fine
Never too soon to learn that life is fragile and we all careen inevitably towards death!
I irrationally hate the South: its music, its culture, its history, and its people.
This is tragically unfair of me and I admit that I’m embarrassed that I haven’t quite shaken myself of that, but I will keep trying
That said, I’ll listen to Johnny Cash all day every day
Johnny Cash is a saint
Would you like to come hang out sometime? NW Florida here. I REALLY mean that. I’m asking and I’m serious.
I got a couple of spare rooms, loads of things to do around here if you like outdoors stuff. Floating the rivers and creeks in kayaks and such is my jam. Stop on random sandbanks, swap in a cold beer, eat a little, explore, move on.
I’ve never lived anywhere where people were less racist. I know, hard to believe. I live on the edge of a redneck town. My street is ~30% black, the rest white. We got one Asian! And I will marry her this Friday. Everyone is coming.
I cannot clap hard enough for your honest post. You must be a fine person for having said all that out loud and I love you for it. I’m embarrassed by my little prejudices as well, and I hate those god damned limits I put on myself. We get past those by travelling and sharing. Only way I know.
DM me and I’ll tell you where we’re at.
Man, that spring-feed water is COLD! I’m a Florida boy myself, and I love doing all that stuff you mentioned. I hope he takes you up on the offer because the world needs more connection.
Nice job stranger. Keep up the good work.
I’m in Florida too, and the most racist people I know moved here from Michigan. Apparently up north there is more segregation than in FL, they told me they went to “the white high school” and my husband said the same thing about Indiana and Maryland, the high schools he went to were segregated.
Those guys come down here where we had enforced school integration (which did work somewhat as far as I can tell) and we are just more mashed together and mixed, and they find out they are actually dead racist and think “those people” should be in a different neighborhood and a different school from their kids. They were just able to ignore their racism up north by never interacting with anyone of a different “race”.
Johnny Cash is a thing of the spirit
“Outlaw country” - Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Kristoffer Kristofferson and the like - is solid music all around.
100+%
Hank, hank jr, David Allen Coe, all of that is a vibe. Real damn shame there’s some straight n-words in a few of those old songs though, really ruins the vibe to hear the racism come out
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It’s ok, we hate you back :)
That’s OK. We hate carpet bagging, no manners having Yankees who make zero effort to assimilate into our culture. Keep trying.
Why the fuck would we want to?
You tell me, cheap land?
Doesn’t mean I have to assimilate your culture, I wasn’t clear about what I was talking about.
Doesn’t mean we have to tolerate your lack of manners, either. I think I’m crystal clear about my meaning.
If by “lack of manners” you mean “not tolerating racism” then I know exactly what you’re talking about. At least, that’s my experience with southerners.
I’m a fan of Lucero. The lead singer definitely has a Southern accent, but I haven’t noticed any questionable lyrics or glorification of ignorant redneck bullshit. No “codes” or dogwhistles. Maybe you should check them out.
I will absolutely give them a listen
Lucero is pretty legit. Really nice guys too. My buddy made friends with the singer way back when he was in his previous band and subsequently Lucero is one of the few bands I’ve been following since basically day one.
Some of these are more country than southern rock, but you might also like Jason Isbell, 16 Horsepower, Slim Cessna’s Auto Club, Corb Lund, Wovenhand, Larkin Poe, Pink Williams (if you’re not turned off by leftist politics), and Hank Williams III (if you don’t mind a lot of drug references), and The Goddamn Gallows.
Awesome!
