Nashville, Tenn: Iraq war issue splits music industry here

The Tennessean ^ | 3/4/03 | CRAIG HAVIGHURST

[GailA]

While a popular new song on country radio seems to endorse war on Iraq, Nashville's music community is as conflicted about the standoff as the rest of America.

At the same time, artists and recording industry officials say, more music that tries to capture the country's uneasy, anxious mood is coming soon or already here

[CFC__VRWC]

I very much doubt Steve (Earle) even knows about Johnny Taliban, Afghanistan, Iraq or could find the U.S. on a map.

As I recall, Earle didn't just praise Johnny bin Walker, he actually compared him to Jesus Christ. Didn't he also state, at about the same time, that he was a Communist?

[Pahuanui]

She's made contributions to Country music in the past. Some of her work is even pretty decent.

But to say Emmylou's got that full-blown "star" power today is a bit of an exaggeration, don'tcha think?

No, I don't, actually. She is still vital and original, and continues to challendge herself and contribute to the lexicon of modern music, which is far more than I could say, for example, for Dolly Parton and the others you mention. For a bio, check out this link.

While not truly country, in the classic sense, I feel obligated to reply when someone, not you, of course, attempts to misportray a truly great artist as a 'wanna be' or 'has been'.

[CMOTB]

Steve Earle Lyrics Barf Alert:

John Walker's Blues (Steve Earle)

I'm just an American boy raised on MTV
And I've seen all those kids in the soda pop ads
But none of 'em looked like me
So I started lookin' around for a light out of the dim
And the first thing I heard that made sense was the word
Of Mohammed, peace be upon him

chorus:
A shadu la ilaha illa Allah
There is no God but God

If my daddy could see me now – chains around my feet
He don't understand that sometimes a man Has got to fight for what he believes
And I believe God is great, all praise due to him
And if I should die, I'll rise up to the sky
Just like Jesus, peace be upon him

chorus

We came to fight the Jihad and our hearts were pure and strong
As death filled the air, we all offered up prayers
And prepared for our martyrdom
But Allah had some other plan, some secret not revealed
Now they're draggin' me back with my head in a sack
To the land of the infidel

A shadu la ilaha illa Allah
A shadu la ilaha illa Allah

End Of Barf Alert

[Spook86]

I concur...Earle's career has been downhill since his "Exit 0" album, about 10 years ago. He's still a critical favorite (for some reason), and that's probably the only reason he still has a record deal. As I recall, Earle and Dwight Yokam arrived on the Nashville scene about the same time. IMO, Yokam has produced music that's just as good as Steve Earle's stuff, and a lot more popular.