A lawyer, commentator and old friend to many of us here at IWF, Bostonian Jennifer Braceras is the just about the last person you might expect to, as she puts it, “go redneck.”
In a charming piece for the Boston Herald, Jennifer admits to donning cowboy boots and a big hat and heading off to hear Kip Moore and Toby Keith in concert.
Jennifer clearly has developed a taste for country music—but something else is at play:
Although politics, in the sense of party affiliation, is NOT the reason I now listen almost exclusively to country, the genre’s culture certainly plays a role.
Admittedly, I am inspired by country music’s unapologetic expression of love for God and country and its simple tributes to farmers and factory workers, small towns, summer days, football, and plain ol’ appreciating what you’ve got.
And I am grateful that — for the most part — country music doesn’t embarrass me in front of my kids or require me to turn off the radio or television to avoid exposing them to profanity and misogynistic, sexually-degrading lyrics or behavior.
Of course, as Jennifer admits, there are some bad actors in country—as well as entertainers who politicize their content:
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know there’s plenty of bad behavior in country music too: tales of drinking, fighting, chewing tobacco, and ending up on the wrong side of the law. And country music certainly has its share of violent revenge songs (think “Goodbye Earl,” by the Dixie Chicks; “Before He Cheats” and “Two Black Cadillacs,” both by Carrie Underwood; “Independence Day” by Martina McBride and, most recently, Taylor Farr’s “Redneck Crazy”).
But, for the most part, these songs present as fictional stories, parables, or cautionary tales. They are a far cry from the self-indulgent,?“f— authority” anthems of hip-hop and pop music sung by wildly-inappropriate starlets utterly lacking dignity.
I'm guessing Jennifer is not a Miley Cyrus fan.