[furquhart]

I rather like Bob Dylan's music. Actually, he's probably my favorite musician. Either him, or Johnny Cash.

[swmobuffalo]

Steve Earle is a joke, Hag is getting old and I never got Dylan in the first place. The Dixie Chicks got exactly what they deserved. Toby puts his money where his mouth is, just ask any of the troops that have seen his shows in Afghanistan and Iraq.

[Darkwolf377]

he declares the president one of "the top three ass----s of all time," right next to Hitler and Nixon.) But he's a populist

So glad I don't buy this idiot's music.

[Oztrich Boy]

I'm a little bit country.
Well I'm a little bit rock-n-roll!
I'm a little for supportin' our troops.
And I'm a little for bringin' them home.
I believe freedom isn't free.
No, but war shouldn't be our goal.
We must defend our country.
If it means war, then we say NO!
Did you forget them towers in New York?
Did you forget how it made you feel
To see them towers come down?
Were you like me? Did you think it weren't real?
I like to rock, but I don't wanna rock Iraq!
The only kind of rockin' America should do is the kind that we can all dance to, yeah!
We got GPS, ICBMs, and good old-fashioned lead.
We're gonna show Saddam what America means; that son of a bitch will be dead.
Why are we fightin' this war?
They didn't give me a choice.
War is not my voice! Yeaaaaahhhh!

[saganite]

My favorite country singer, Dwight Yoakam, is thankfully apolitical. Or at least he doesn't wear his politics on his sleeve.

[Ursus arctos horribilis]

Author knows as much about country music as I do about quantum physics, which is nothing.

[Dick Vomer]

[x]

Good article. Populism was a lot stronger in the country music of Cash's and Haggard's day than either conservatism or liberalism. There's still some truth to that today.

Things are even more complicated since it can be really hard to distinguish "real" from "fake" populism -- especially in show business, which is devoted to creating illusions and deceptive images.

Two "outlaws" -- real or fake -- can find a lot to admire in each other across political divisions.

[Emmett McCarthy]

"Much ado about nothing" here. A song is a song is a song. Some are great. Some suck. The political opinions of jugglers, clowns and minstrels are irrelevant. If and when one of them turns out to be qualified to serve as Secretary of State or something, give me a call.

[sausageseller]

If there's a moral to "Rednecks & Bluenecks," it's that most people don't fit into simple categories of blue and red, onstage or off. Not Toby Keith, not Natalie Maines, and certainly not Dylan or Haggard.

When he included fatNat he "flubbed"! She fits nicely into the "moron leftist loon" category.