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   From: nowomr@protonmail.com   
      
   Maren Morris says she's quitting country music, blames Trump era culture wars   
      
   The Nashville-based singer faulted the country music industry for   
   intersecting with "misogynistic and racist and homophobic and transphobic"   
   sentiments.   
   Maren Morris performs onstage during the iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las   
   Vegas   
   Maren Morris performs onstage during the iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las   
   Vegas, in 2022.Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty Images for iHeartRadio file   
      
   Sept. 19, 2023, 11:59 AM EDT   
   By Natalie Kainz   
      
   Grammy Award-winning country singer Maren Morris thinks country music is   
   burning itself down, and she doesn’t plan to go down with it.   
      
   Morris announced her departure from the country music genre in an interview   
   with the Los Angeles Times last week, lamenting the industry’s failure to   
   confront its role as a “weapon in culture wars.” The Nashville-based musician   
   reflected on her departure in “The Bridge,” a new two-track EP marking her   
   move to Columbia Records from Sony’s Nashville division.   
      
   “The rot at the roots is the root of the problem, but you wanna blame it on   
   me” sings Morris, in “The Tree,” a song reflecting her frustrations with the   
   values espoused by some parts of the country music community. In the track’s   
   music video, she sets fire to a tree and walks away as the ash rains down on   
   a toy version of a small town.   
      
      
      
   “After the Trump years, people’s biases were on full display,” Morris told   
   the L.A. Times. “They were proud to be misogynistic and racist and homophobic   
   and transphobic. All these things were being celebrated, and it was weirdly   
   dovetailing with this hyper-masculine branch of country music.”   
      
   Morris has been embroiled in several of the country music “culture wars” she   
   described. Last year, she was dubbed a “lunatic country music person” by   
   former Fox News host Tucker Carlson when she criticized anti-transgender   
   remarks made by the wife of country music singer Jason Aldean. Morris printed   
   the nickname on t-shirts to raise more than $100,000 for transgender youths   
   in response.   
      
   The small town depicted in the music video for “The Tree” may be a reference   
   to Jason Aldean’s “Try That in a Small Town,” which was No. 1 on the   
   Billboard hot song chart. Morris said the song is streamed out of spite by   
   those hoping to “own the libs.”   
      
   According to The Economist, 36 per cent of Spotify’s top 50 songs in America   
   were country songs in 2023, a sharp increase from 2 percent in 2016. "Try   
   That in a Small Town" was streamed on the service more than 30 million times.   
      
   Aldean's viral hit met online criticism for what some view as its endorsement   
   of racism and violence. Its music video caused an uproar for featuring a   
   Tennessee courthouse where a teenager was lynched in the 1920s. Several   
   Republican politicians — including presidential hopefuls Donald Trump and   
   North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum — responded with public support of Aldean. At a   
   concert, Aldean told fans that his song’s message is really about community.   
   Jason Aldean responds after CMT pulls music video off the air   
   July 19, 202301:07   
      
   Morris considered skipping the 2022 Country Music Association awards because   
   of the controversy with the Aldeans.   
      
   This isn’t the first time Morris has been critical of country music’s   
   relationship with political issues. In January, she apologized for the   
   country music industry’s contentious relationship with the LGBTQ+ community   
   on an episode of "Ru Paul’s Drag Race." In 2021, she spoke out when country   
   singer Morgan Wallen was caught drunkenly using a racial slur. Wallen's 2023   
   album "One Thing at a Time" held the top spot on the Billboard 200 albums   
   chart for 15 weeks.   
      
      
   “If you truly love this type of music and you start to see problems arise, it   
   needs to be criticized,” Morris said in the L.A. Times interview. “Anything   
   this popular should be scrutinized if we want to see progress."   
      
   Morris' claims about the weaponization of country music echo similar comments   
   made by country music chart topper Oliver Anthony, whose song "Rich Men North   
   of Richmond" has become an anthem on the political right. Several Republican   
   politicians heralded the song and it was even a topic of discussion at the   
   GOP presidential debate. Anthony called the dialogue "aggravating" and said   
   he regrets that his song had been "weaponized."   
      
   Several country music stars have reacted to Morris' departure with support,   
   including Lindsey Ell, Sam Hunt and Grammy award-winner Carly Pearce. Pearce   
   told Entertainment Tonight Canada that Morris has to "follow her truth" and   
   believes she will find what she is searching for.   
      
   Now, Morris is working on her next LP with pop producer Jack Antonoff, who   
   has a history of helping country musicians rebrand. In 2020, Antonoff   
   produced The Chicks’ album “Gaslighter,” the band’s first album since   
   removing “Dixie” from their name due to negative connotations with slavery.   
      
   Morris told the LA Times that she intends to spend less time thinking about   
   whether her songs will market well in the country music universe and focus on   
   simply making good music.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)