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The recent Superbowl halftime kerfuffle exposed me to some of the culture I usually don't pay much attention to; that being Country, reggaeton ,hiphop, and popular music in general. I don't really pay much attention to that side of the culture war, I'm too busy being an elitist piece of shit about music.
I saw the halftime show of course; the music was kinda boring and derivative IMO but you could dance to it, I've heard worse. The show itself was spectacular, a celebration of people doing people shit, dancing and working and getting married and having kids and living in the house you grew up in, all that good good shit I like.
Due to my circle, I also watched the TPUSA half time show. I'll discount the production because they didn't have infinity million dollars to do it and just consider the theming: Half hearted nostalgia for a past with no character and no value (infinite jihad on kid rock), shitty white versions of black music with no soul and no heart, country music whining about how hard it is, it's so sad you guys.
Upon survey of the major hits of the two most popular opposing genres (Hiphop and country, not to say there aren't communist folk singers or MAGA rappers), this kinda repeats: there are the brainless two chord songs about how much the lead singer is fukin and how good he is at it but also he is sad and relatable because he just wants to find love, maaaaaaaan (eg. 20 cigarettes); we will set those aside for the more political - aspirational - gesturing at a revolutionish songs.
I got some recs. from people who partake and I had AI slop me out a list of such songs for the right and the left over the past couple years, and the trend seems to hold: The right-pol songs are reactive, kinda dour, "I don't like how things are going, it's hard, we need to defend XYZ, try that in a small town", etc.
The left-pol songs are also "shits fucked up, but black this time" but the prominent themes are "Those rat bastards are going to get what they deserve, We are the inevitable victors of history and every setback is temporary, We're gonna be alright".
I wonder where the Bush era triumphal conservative art movement has gotten off to, Am I Berenstein Bears-ing myself into believing that there was a big swell of positive conservative leaning pop art in the post 9/11 pre-2008 crash days?
Tony Keith with the song that goes “brought to you courtesy, of the red white and blue” is quite triumphalist about the U.S. from the Bush era.
It’s iconic, but I can no longer hear the line as anything other tha
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