Steve Earle and Taliban John

Reuters via Yahoo! ^ | July 22, 2002 | Aly Sujo

[Illbay]

What I find is there are some here who can't separate the artist from their politics.

If that were the case, my own record collection would be sad indeed.

In fact, what I've tended to do over the years is NOT read what some artist has to say about things for which they have no clue, like, oh, anything that doesn't have to do with music.

I think Barbra Streisand is THE female vocalist of the latter-half of the Twentieth Century, but if she comes on some talk show or whatever, I turn the channel. I don't want to hear her.

I think Tom Hanks is a fine actor, but I don't want to even KNOW what he thinks about--anything outside of making movies.

I still love the old Crosby, Stills & Nash (& Young) stuff, but you KNOW what their politics were like!

It would be great if the modern conservative movement had more Bruce Willises or Tom Sellecks, but that can't be the criteria for selection.

[jumpstartme]

The very fact that Steve could write, produce, record, publish and get the song on the air kind of goes against his anti-free speech argument. Oh yeah, those are facts. I forgot.

I like Steve Earle's songwriting and music alot. He's got sarcastic wit and an edge that doesn't give a sh*t what Nashville thinks. There are very few in music today with such integrity. But, he had better care what America thinks, if he doesn't want to lose a large portion of his audience.

I'd like to see the lyrics.

[jumpstartme]

I think he just wrote this to piss people off.

That wouldn't surprise me at all.

[muleboy]

Garth Brooks?

Like Madonna and Michael Jackson, proof that the "lowest common denominator" applies to country music fans as well as pop music's.

[dead]

Song and story writers once used a device known as "point of view."

Short people got no reason to live.

[Moby Grape]

You might be right, but this would seem out of context for usual Earle.

[The KG9 Kid]

... or perhaps "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer".

It's the Country tune by which all others are judged, IMHO.

[ActionNewsBill]

I'll trust your review....but to say that Johnny the traitor will "rise like Jesus into the sky", is VERY stupid stuff.

I say give the guy a break. To me, the song looks like it is written in the first person....the lyrics don't reflect Steve's personal beliefs, but it is written to show what "Johnny Jihad" believes.

A lot of songs are written that way.

You don't think that Johnny Cash is a murderer because he wrote Folsom Prison Blues", ("...I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die...") do you?

[ActionNewsBill]

Perhaps, in other words, it's not Earle himself equating Taliban John to Jesus.

I guess I should have scrolled down one more post before posting my comment. LOL!

[jumpstartme]

In fact, the radio banned that song after having played it for weeks. In addition, I went to see him in concert during that tour and even some in the audience booed him. He suggested they insert a sense of humor.

[jumpstartme]

No, but he was a boy named Sue. ;)

[Mike-o-Matic]

   Short people got no reason to live.

They run around tellin' great big lies, don't they?

Don't want no short people 'round here! :-P

[ActionNewsBill]

No, but he was a boy named Sue. ;)

Bwahaha! Got me on that one!

[society-by-contract]

I own seven Steve Earle recordings and enjoy playing his material on my six-string. Townes *is* the man and Steve has a son named for him (to live is to fly, low and high--so shake the dust off of your wings and the sleep out of your eyes). As an individualist anarchist I am disgusted with Global-Statism (marxism). Earle's last records Sidetracks has several good cuts, but is disjointed. I've seen him perform at Mearlefest on many occasions.The tune I play the most right now is NYC from Trancendental Blues...goin to New York City...

Brady (individualist anarchist *AND* a Steve Earl fan)

[jumpstartme]

One takes his life into his own hands uttering the word, "free", in regards to anything in DC. I'm surprised that by itself didn't start a riot. Been there, done that, T-shirt.

[dead]

The tune I play the most right now is NYC from Trancendental Blues...goin to New York City...

NYC is on El Corazón. (It is a great song.)

[society-by-contract]

You are correct; thanks for pointing that out.


Brady