Jason Aldean performs on stage during day three of CMA Fest 2023 at Nissan Stadium on June 10, in Nashville, Tenn.Jason Kempin/Getty Images
When looking to describe country music star Jason Aldean’s cerebral profile, “intellectual” might not be the first word that comes to mind. But that guy is no dummy.
The singer knew exactly what he was doing when he recorded the inflammatory ditty Try That in a Small Town, and when he released its incendiary video. Try That is a threat and a promise; a taunt. It’s a call to action for vigilantism that carefully toes the dog-whistle line.
“You think you’re tough. Try that in a small town,” he sings over footage of protests and riot police. “See how far you make it down the road.”
Mr. Aldean, a Grammy-nominated, multiplatinum country singer, was born in Macon, Ga., (current population: about 153,000). He released this ode to small-town ways – a song he did not write – back in May. But after the video was released on July 14, some people were outraged.
CMT banned the video, which features images of crimes including robberies, as well as police confronting sometimes aggressive demonstrators.
“I recommend you don’t try that in a small town,” Mr. Aldean sings. Next line: “Got a gun that my granddad gave me.”
One might think that Mr. Aldean of all people might be wary of celebrating guns; he was on stage in Las Vegas in 2017 when a shooter opened fire from the 32nd floor of a hotel, killing 60 people and injuring more than 400.
In a statement following the music video controversy, Mr. Aldean countered charges of racism: “There is not a single lyric in the song that references race or points to it.”
He’s not wrong. Of course there is no explicit, inarguably racist line or image. You can’t do that anymore; we’ve come that far, at least. It’s more vague, and cloaked in patriotism. But the video is one giant nudge-nudge-wink-wink.
For instance, the location: the video was filmed outside a Tennessee courthouse where, in 1927, an 18-year-old Black man, Henry Choate, was lynched after being accused – falsely, historians say – of raping a 16-year-old white girl.
“Around here we take care of our own,” Mr. Aldean sings.
Who exactly is “our own,” then? And who is taking care? “Good ol’ boys, raised up right,” sings Mr. Aldean.
The Make America Great Again types would love a return to this kind of world, where taking care of “your own” (read: people who look like you, with similar values) was allowed, encouraged, applauded.
But one (white) man’s American dream is another (marginalized person)’s brutal reality.
Mr. Aldean has also pointed out that “there isn’t a single video clip that isn’t real news footage.” Although, some of that news footage came from Canada, according to Rolling Stone.
With all of this fuss, Mr. Aldean has made himself into another wedge issue in an ever more polarizing American nightmare.
Speaking on stage in Mr. Aldean’s defense, country star Brantley Gilbert told an Arkansas crowd last week: “One of my many pet peeves is the fact that we live in a society nowadays when people don’t get punched in the face anymore.” The crowd cheered.
The influential music industry blogger Bob Lefsetz published a piece Saturday that was critical of the song, yet he urged the “holier-than-thou police” to stop pouring gasoline on the story. In response, he received an e-mail from a reader calling Mr. Lefsetz a “dirty Jew who’s [sic] breed of people have been kicked out of every country in history. The armpit race of America.”
Of course, being a fan of Mr. Aldean doesn’t automatically make a person racist. People are free to interpret the song and video as they like. But to me, these lyrics scream: try to protest against the police or even commit a petty crime in my town, and we’ll go after you with our guns.
Ironically, Trip Advisor features several reviews for Mr. Aldean’s Nashville bar and restaurant referencing pickpockets and stolen phones. “Hold on to your belongings and be alert,” one person wrote. Try that in a small bar!
Another review for Mr. Aldean’s new Gatlinburg, Tenn., location suggests: “Go here if you like Jason Aldean and don’t care if your food is good.”
If the numbers for Try That are any indication, I’m sure they will. The song debuted on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 this week at No. 2. Following the CMT ban, streams were up 999 per cent, according to Luminate, which tracks music sales and streams. Luminate also reports that the week before the controversy, the track sold 1,000 units. Last week, it sold 228,000.
As Mr. Aldean told concertgoers the other night, “The people have spoken.”
Guess we know what happens when you try that in a small-minded society.