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August 27, 2010

Jeremiah Tucker: Irony fuels country protest song’s success

By Jeremiah Tucker Globe Columnist

JOPLIN, Mo. — Every generation gets the country protest song it deserves.  

The ’60s spawned Merle Haggard’s clever -- and satirical -- anti-hippie screed “Okie from Muskogee,” and during the economic recession of the ’70s, David Allan Coe wrote the definitive wish-fulfillment anthem for the workingman “Take This Job and Shove It.”

Lee Greenwood stuck up for America amidst all the Reagan-bashing in the ’80s when he released “God Bless the USA,” a song whose history rides a fine line between patriotism and shameless cash grab.  

In the wake of Sept. 11, when garish displays of patriotism were fetching premium prices, “God Bless the USA” re-entered the charts just as it had in 1991 during the Gulf War. Perhaps sensing that fresh American blood was about to be spilled, Greenwood re-recorded the single during the build-up to the war in Iraq and titled it “God Bless the USA -- 2003.”

Greenwood also attempted to crack new markets with his only memorable single. For draft dodgers who never warmed to the original, Greenwood recorded “God Bless Canada,” quite possibly the laziest song of all time.

Using the same music, Greenwood didn’t even bother changing the lyrical structure of the song: “From Detroit we can see her / above the USA / Because there’s pride in every Canadian heart and it’s time you stand up and say / ‘I’m proud to be in Canada.’” You know the rest.   

During the affluent, multicultural ’90s, Garth Brooks -- perhaps because he was a superstar -- got away with sticking a pro-gay sentiment into the sappy white gospel of “We Shall Be Free.” The 2000s saw numerous post 9/11 songs attempting to capture the zeitgeist, but perhaps none as memorable as Toby Keith’s rowdy and pro-sodomy “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue.”

And this month, with the arrival of Trade Martin’s modest viral hit “We’ve Got to Stop the Mosque at Ground Zero,” we have simultaneously the country protest song’s absolute nadir and its most perfect incarnation for America today.  

Martin was at one time a respectable songwriter and producer who had a minor hit as a solo artist in 1962 with “That Stranger Used to be My Girl.” But considering he released an album in 2004 called “Country Freedom 43” that included such songs as “President George W. Bush (You Don’t Push Bush)” and “We Got Em (Capture of Saddam),” I’m guessing the respectable part of his career has long since passed.  

Setting aside the aesthetic virtues of the song itself -- the music video, a mix of protest footage and patriotic clipart, has surpassed 100,000 views on YouTube -- “We’ve Got to Stop the Mosque at Ground Zero” perfectly encapsulates the most sophisticated arguments for not building a Muslim community center two blocks from Ground Zero. Here’s the first 32 seconds of the song:

“We got freedom of religion, I understand, but Ground Zero is one location where a mosque shouldn’t stand. We’ve got to stop the mosque at Ground Zero  -- oh yeah! -- from thumbing its nose at every victim and hero -- thumbing its nose! -- thousands of Americans died in the attack -- sad, sad day! -- it’s a sacred place and that’s a cold, hard fact -- oh yeah!”

Leeched of any humor or artfulness, “Mosque at Ground Zero” is hilarious in its ham-fisted sincerity. It sounds eerily close to a “South Park” parody.

Some online commentators have called “We’ve Got to Stop the Mosque at Ground Zero” bigoted, idiotic and “the worst song in the history of recorded music,” and it’s probably safe to assume a large portion of the song’s YouTube views were fueled by ironic awe. In fact, my head would likely explode if I witnessed someone playing the song out of genuine, un-ironic appreciation.

While the country protest song isn’t exactly a tradition filled with artistic triumphs, “We’ve Got to Stop the Mosque at Ground Zero” certainly represents its complete devolution. Still, I doubt its inherent awfulness is keeping it from more widespread popularity.

“Okie from Muskogee” -- aside from being an infinitely better song -- poked fun of the counterculture and tapped into the resentfulness felt by reserved conservatives. Now nobody could argue that the opinions of the supposed “silent majority” aren’t finding full, ear-splitting expression. With Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin so readily available, why would anyone feel empowered by Martin belting, “If we let em build it, can’t you see, they’ll turn 9/11 into a mockery!”?

There is something poignant about the country protest song transitioning from a satirical song that conservatives misinterpreted as poking fun of the counterculture to a laughably earnest song expressing conservative outrage that’s only appreciated by people ridiculing it. 

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