Many Country Music fans first real exposure to Sheryl Crow came with the release of “Picture,” a duet she sang with Kid Rock, in 2002. That was a strange pairing to say the least, because it put a self-proclaimed “Cowboy” who supported the then pending invasion of Iraq with an overt leftist who was anti-war and anti-Bush. But heartland America loved the song, thus Crow seemingly had an “in” with a crowd she probably lacked connections otherwise.
More recently, Crow purchased a home in Nashville, and has popped up at different events there, including last month’s Country Music Awards. To the curious onlooker, it appeared she was courting the Country Music audience, which is understandable because it’s a great group of people to have on your side.
But right in the middle of this apparent outreach to Country Music fans, Crow gave Katie Couric an interview for Glamour magazine, in which she lashed out at Tea Parties and other aspects of the Country Music crowd. As I read the interview, I could only imagine the Dixie Chicks’ former tour manager picking up a copy of Glamour and screaming – “Sheryl, didn’t you learn anything from Natalie Maines’ big mouth?!”
With one fell swoop, Crow insulted the kind of Americans who go hear Martina McBride sing at one of Sean Hannity’s Freedom Concerts on Tuesday, then attend a rally against high taxes and big government on Thursday.
For example: When Couric asked about the Tea Party movement, Crow referenced watching videos on YouTube and said: “These people…really don’t even know what the issues are, they’re just swept up in the fear of it and the anger of it.”
Hmm… By watching videos on YouTube Crow was able to ascertain that Tea Partiers are ignorant people who are controlled by base impulses (“fear” and “anger”). I’ve watched YouTube videos before and learned that Crow only wants us to use one square of toilet tissue after going to the restroom (in order to save the planet). Does she want me to form an opinion of her based on those videos and propagate it?
Her comments continued: “They’re not sure what they’re angry at; they don’t understand what’s happening on Wall Street. They haven’t educated themselves.”
Let me see if I’ve got this right: Tea Partiers are dumb (“they’re not sure what they’re angry at”), issues of finance are over their heads (“they don’t understand what’s happening on Wall Street”), and they live in a self-imposed ignorance (“they haven’t educated themselves”).
As I read further in the interview, I wondered if Crow has somehow missed the fact that “these people” she’s insulting are the heart and soul of the Country Music?
She’s not really going to try to sell an album to “these people” after this is she?
As I pondered these questions, Crow inadvertently answered them by describing her current “political activism” to Couric. This entailed going off on a tangent about the environment being “the mother ship,” and adding: “If you’re going to live in a wasteful manner, if you’re going to drive a giant car, and you’re going to live not considering that you share the planet with everybody else, then shame on you.”
When she said “giant car” and “shame on you” in the same sentence, I could only think of the insult it was to owners of 4 wheel drive pickups, SUVs with lift kits, and first generation Hummers: The kind of “giant [cars]” Country Music artists write songs about, and the kind of “giant [cars]” Country Music fans love to drive.
The one bright spot in this interview, if you’re the kind of person who looks for silver linings and such, is that somewhere, in an undisclosed location, Natalie Maines is overjoyed to see she’s finally going to have someone to eat lunch with.
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