{"id":4072,"date":"2015-04-04T08:00:32","date_gmt":"2015-04-04T13:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/?p=4072"},"modified":"2015-04-01T11:10:19","modified_gmt":"2015-04-01T16:10:19","slug":"too-lesbian-for-country-radio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/2015\/04\/04\/too-lesbian-for-country-radio\/","title":{"rendered":"Too Lesbian for Country Radio?"},"content":{"rendered":"

As I checked Facebook for the millionth time today, I saw two topics that really interested me. The first was that The Walking Dead<\/em> now has a spinoff show called Fear the Walking Dead<\/em> set to premiere sometime in the summer, while The Walking Dead<\/em> is in between seasons. The second topic of interest was about the Little Big Town song \u201cGirl Crush\u201d.<\/p>\n

People in Idaho, and I imagine elsewhere, were demanding “Girl Crush” not be played on the radio, because “the lyrics promote the gay agenda”. As I read the article<\/a>, I couldn\u2019t help but think of the close-mindedness of my fellow country music listeners. And the second thought in my head? Were these people even listening to the lyrics? I can understand if people were using their selective hearing and thought it was about a lesbian romance. However, if you actually listen to the song you should be able to tell that it is about a jealous woman who wishes, essentially, that she was the woman her ex now loves. \u201cI want to drown myself in a bottle of her perfume\u201d is not because the narrator of the song wants to be with said woman, but because the ex likes this woman and perhaps if the narrator smelled like this woman the ex might like her more. That\u2019s why the lyrics, \u201cyeah \u2018cuz maybe then you\u2019d want me just as much\u201d make sense. If the song were about lesbians, that line would not make sense. \u00a0I, myself, enjoy the way Charlie Worsham words his opinion on the situation:<\/p>\n

\"girl<\/a>Excuse me if this sounds rant-y, but it is 2015. Why do people have to complain every time they hear something they do not like? Why are people so easy to offend? Let\u2019s look at more components to this little ordeal. The song was written by three women Lori McKenna, Liz Rose and Hillary Lindsey. I can\u2019t think of any other song out right now that has this much girl power backing it. Little Big Town\u2019s Karen Fairchild said this back in December, \u201cthere are not many women on the radio and not many ballads with that kind of lyrical content. I’m excited.\u201d Is this song facing backlash just because it is \u201cabout pushing the gay agenda\u201d or is it just too \u201csexy\u201d for some people.<\/p>\n

The song is currently ranked 17th<\/sup> on the Country Billboard charts. I would think it would be ranked lower had it actually been about lesbian lovers just due to how conservative the country music audience tends to be, but who knows. On the reverse of this argument, I do understand why the radio stations are complying with these demands for the song to not be played. The radio needs to have listeners to make money. If one song keeps the audience from listening, you can bet that the radio will stop playing it. I just think if we keep complying with people to get offended like this, when they really shouldn’t be, it will be harder for people to accept one another and be more open minded. If you think this song is about lesbians and it angers you, I just hope you will \u00a0listen to the song again with an open heart and open ears. And if this song was about a lesbian romance, how is that bad?<\/p>\n