Divisions and Precisions

I should write my Congressperson.

You say "So I ended up tracking down two books on bluegrass history and ethnomusicology via interlibrary loan today. Should be here next week. :)"
Haylon grins, "Interlibrary loan is God."
You say "Yeah, especially when you live in the sticks and the local library has crap."
You say "And ESPECIALLY when you can order up books via a website."
Haylon nodnods!
You say "It makes me feel all powerful and stuff. 'You, boy! Fetch me that obscure book!'"
Haylon cackles!
You say "Of course the image is ruined slightly by the fact that I have to go to the library and pick it up, and that the book is not actually fetched by an attractive subservient 20 year old."
Haylon says "It should be damnit! You're an American! You pay taxes!"

Murder ballads and modern perceptions

Just when I'm really starting to explore not only my heritage but how music affects and mixes with my writing, last night while I was channel surfing I came across a show on CMT about murder ballads in country/folk music. There are two things I want to say right off the bat. First: yes, Country Music Television. Overall the show was about ten times more intelligent than anything I've seen on VH-1 and E! lately. Second: holy crap, I want to study enthomusicology now.

In addition to talking about recent "murder song" controversies (which I'll get to in a minute, at length), they looked at the origins of the subgenre, particularly its British/Celtic roots (for example, "Knoxville Girl"--a horrifying song, by the way--can be traced to England, where it's been sung under the name "Hanged I Shall Be", "Oxford Tragedy" and many others with only a change of dialect and location). That in an of itself was enough to get my research nerve twitching, as I've spent a fair amount of time looking into how a lot of my family traditions also carried over from Great Britain to Kentucky.

Then there was the segment on modern "murder ballads" like Garth Brooks' "The Thunder Rolls", the Dixie Chicks' "Goodbye Earl", and Martina McBride's "Independence Day". What I thought was really interesting was all the controversy these three songs caused (and a fourth to a lesser extent, Garth's "Papa Loved Mama"), while at the same time, Johnny Cash was releasing American Recordings to nothing but (admittedly deserved) critical praise, which included "Delia's Gone". Not to mention the long long history of murder ballads in country music that raised little or no real controversy. Certainly not to the same level as the modern songs, all of which were protested and banned.

I tried to figure out what the distinction was. My first thought was that sexism was involved. The first three songs are all about abused women killing their abusers, where traditionally the "murder ballad" includes a man killing a woman sometimes, like in "Knoxville Girl", for no stated reason at all. Possible, but that's too easy an answer.

Then I wondered if the tone was somehow involved: "Goodbye Earl" and "Papa Loved Mama" have a definite element of black humor to them, and "Independence Day" is downright joyful. Maybe, but "The Thunder Rolls" is deadly serious.

Is there a racial connection? You could equate the old-fashioned murder ballad to modern gangsta rap in a lot of ways, and maybe hearing country artists sing about murder around the same time that black artists are taking a lot of heat for it made some people uncomfortable.

I wondered if the controversy came from the videos, all of which depict the violent acts in question. That doesn't fly because the video for "Delia's Gone" would've made Trent Reznor proud, with its images of Johnny Cash burying a model in a shallow grave.

I couldn't figure it out. Why all the controversy now and not fifty years ago when musical men were killing "trifling" women and romantic rivals left and right? I didn't want to just chalk it up to sexism. Is it just a case of venerated traditions and singers being above controversy?

Then I got it. I think it's some of all of the above, but the real difference is in how the perception of the connection between singer-songwriter and song has changed over the past fifty years. Fifty years ago, when the Louvin Brothers sang about killing that poor Knoxville Girl, nobody expected that the original songwriter was speaking from personal experience. Even thirty years ago, when Johnny Cash sang, "I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die" there was the understanding that he was telling a story--maybe one that he related to, but not necessarily that stated his personal position.

Since the 1970s though, with the rise of singer-songwriters who performed songs that were intensely personal, our perceptions have changed. There's no longer much of a sense that someone can write (or sing) a song that just tells a story, but that doesn't necessarily spring from personal belief or experience. So when Garth Brooks sings "The Thunder Rolls" (which was originally recorded by a female artist, who didn't release it), it seems TOO personal. And when the Dixie Chicks sing about poisoning someone's blackeyed peas, it's unnerving. And when Martina McBride sings, "Let the whole world know that today is a day of reckoning", it's threatening. Because it might be personal. They might really MEAN it.

(Heh. Did anybody actually read this far?)