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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)