Taboo Topics

Last week, while I was home sick from work, I came across a replay of the MTV Video Music Awards. The opening number for that particular awards show was the recent duet with Eminem and Rhianna. Now for those who are regular readers of this blog, you may be wondering "Why the hell is this guy writing about Eminem and Rhianna? They are as far removed from Americana and country music as you can possibly get." And, you would be right, they are as far removed from Americana and country music as you can get. But, that does not mean that they aren't relevant performers and artists. Quite frankly, Americana and country music artists could take some notes from Eminem. Let me explain.

For the purposes of this writing, I'm going to submit to you that the forerunners of what is now known as the Americana/alt-country genre were artists like Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson and the like. At one point in time, these artists recorded for the major labels of the day in Nashville and were more or less forced to toe the line as to what they had to record. In other words, they recorded what they were told to record as opposed to what they wanted to record. They were recording someone else's words, instead of what they wanted to say. Waylon's battles with RCA records in the early 1970's have been well documented and it is well known that Waylon won the war. The music business in Nashville was never the same after that. Waylon had full creative control and could record whatever he wanted, regardless of the subject matter. The "Outlaw Movement" had prevailed.

One of the things that turned me off of listening to mainstream country and turned me on to listening to Americana and alt-country is, you can hear and feel the same independence and creative control that Waylon et al created in the 1970's. There is no set formula, there is no keeping an artist in a safety net. Artists are encouraged to step out of their comfort zone and say what they feel needs to be said with no apologies. I like that.

The duet with Eminem and Rhianna reminds me a lot of the music that came out of Nashville following the Outlaw Movement. Their duet deals with, sadly, an all too common subject matter, that of domestic abuse. The narrator of the story, Eminem's part, is from the male abuser perspective. Watching their performance on the MTV Awards, I listened to the lyrics for the first time. It's a powerful song, very well written and very well performed. Eminem does the impossible performing this song, as he successfully portray's the abuser into a somewhat sympathetic figure. The man wants to stop the abusing and the lying. Sadly, he knows he's lying and once he convinces the lady in this song to come back, he knows right away that he will abuse again. This song has become a runaway hit on more than one Billboard chart.

Such songs use to be the norm in mainstream country. They used to make you think, they used to make you feel something, they used to make you step out of your comfort zone. When you get the chance, listen to Waylon's Jennings perform "Cedartown, Georgia." If you do, you will be listening to one of Waylon's most haunting performances. It is a tremendous story. Story songs such as this are essentially absent from the mainstream country music airwaves.

Thankfully, there are some artists who still push the envelope. I heard a song on the radio today by a gentleman named Chris Knight, from the great state of Texas. His song titled "Rita's Only Fault" again deals with the issue of domestic abuse, only from a friend's helpless point of view. The main character is an admirer of Rita, who has married someone else ... clearly, someone who does not treat her well. The story does take a tragic twist, and that's all I'll say about it. Check it out, it's a great song.

Jamey Johnson picks up the torch as well. The lead song on his first Mercury Records album, That Lonesome Song, was titled "High Cost of Living." The song covered such unsavory topics as cocaine abuse and soliciting prostitutes. This was the follow-up single to "In Color", which won the Song of the Year at the 2008 Country Music Association Awards. "High Cost of Living" barely cracked the top 40 on Billboard's country chart. A clear indication of mainstream country's propensity to avoid taboo topics in their art form.

Thankfully, there are artists in the Americana and alt-country movement that have been granted the creative freedom to write and perform their material regardless of subject matter. When you have an artist like Paul Thorn, who's latest release is titled "Pimps and Preachers", you know you're going to go to some shady places during the course of that album. With artists like Paul, along with Chris Knight, Jamey Johnson, Steve Earle and his son Justin Townes Earle, it's safe to say the Outlaw Movement lives on.

I think Waylon would be proud.