You Feelin' Ayree, New Hampshire?

Last night I had free tickets so I went out in Portsmouth to see a reggae band perform.  The plan was to take a date but I figured it might be fun to go alone and meet people.  There was also the chance that it was sold out and I could give my extra ticket to a hottie waiting in line.  As usual I tried to get there late but got there early.  The show was sold out but there was no line.  It seemed like everyone there was in a group of like 15 or more so it was kind of awkward standing around waiting.  Eventually the place filled up and it was less awkward to strike up conversations with people who were standing close to me.  The opening band was not great so I made my way to the back and started talking to dudes.  I'm always curious if everyone is just from UNH so that's a big opening line for me.  One guy told me he was not and that he was 26, but then he asked me if I was at UNH and I said, "oh no I went to college a long long time ago."  Then of course he asked my age and when I told him "30" he was surprised.  So I said, "It's hard to believe; I should just tell people I'm 24." And since it was a loud place with a band playing he thought I'd been joking about the 30 and was really 24.  "Oh that makes more sense!  So you only went to college 2 years ago. That's not so long ago."  Ok sure, guy.  I really wanted to talk to the enormous bouncer but I had no idea what to talk to him about.  I asked him if he did yoga because his posture was so good.  He seemed to have a pretty low self esteem for an obvious body builder and told me he thought his posture needed work.  Then the line for the bathroom moved on and that was that.
I went back up front for the headliners.    The best part was when this totally legit reggae band kept shouting out to New Hampshire, "How you feeling, New Hampshire?" "You ready to party, New Hampshire?"  It made me laugh every time.

No Spoilers Ahead

I've been reading movie summaries from students for years now but I think the one I received this week reviewing The Grey is the best yet.  I've never seen this movie but I think the ending is pretty well-known.  When I approached the student about it, he said, "It was so boring; I couldn't keep watching."  I've underlined my favorite part.

Today I watched The Grey. This movie talks about a plane got crashed in Alaska. Many people dead when it crashed and the survivors were not many. So there were some wolves start to hunt and eat the survivors. And they make a group to find out how they are going to leave this place. In the end people discovered the plane location and come to help them. I liked how they cooperate with each other because when they become as a group they go out of that place. I dislike the people who what to find out solo because they fail in the end. 

Spoiler: Obvious Racism

It seems like everyone is writing about Brad Paisley's collaboration with LLCoolJ, "Accidental Racist" and I just have to weigh in.  My first thought is, poor Brad Paisley; he tries so hard! His understanding of country music seems to be lacking.  His music is a combination of comedy and tragedy but once in a while he goes for "deep," and misses the mark.  A while ago he was most commonly know for "Whiskey Lullaby" about an alcoholic, which was a collaboration with Allison Krauss and seemed to really move people.  I knew him from "Celebrity" which is a comedic song about reality stars so hearing the sad song confused me.  He's also got "Southern Comfort Zone," which is fun but seems completely insincere.  Up until that point my understanding of Brad was that he was a not-so-serious country singer who didn't really believe in his medium.  And then he brought out "Welcome to the Future," which I complained about over 3 years ago.
This brings us to "Accidental Racist."  What has me irked is all the people who are hating on this song but said nothing when Paisley sang "Wake up, Martin Luther, Welcome to the future."  It seems like the ONLY reason people even know about this one is because LL is in on it.  Of coure that's true.  So what's the problem?  Seems like the critics are saying, "go back where you came from, Brad.  Don't talk to our people, Brad."  But he's not the country king and he doesn't speak for the genre.  I don't want to defend his lyrics because they're not great, and the song is slow paced and boring, but the whole purpose is to explain how southern pride is not inherently racist.  Case in point: we all know Lynyrd Skynyrd was racist or at least "Sweet Home Alabama" is racist but how many of us aren't gonna belt that out when it's playing?  Why is it okay to sing it in public at a bar but when we see someone wearing a confederate flag t-shirt we dismiss the wearer?  I know I certainly do.  The reason is, to the educated person a confederate flag stands for slavery and fighting to the death for it.  If we see someone proudly sporting it, we think that person is either uneducated or racist, or both.
Here's why I don't think Paisley understands country music.  The genre is about country pride, love, and tragedy, but also romanticizing the south.  When we sing "Sweet Home Alabama" we're clearly not from there but thinking about how great it would be if People Like Us lived there.  When I sing his "Southern Comfort Zone" I'm thinking about my hometown (way up north) and how it's formed me but not conformed me.  Paisley is confusing his audience with actual people who sport confederate flags.  Those People are not his fans.  Those People listen to Eminem and Uncle Kracker and think country music is "gay."  Paisley can wear his "red flag" shirt because he's a known country star who needs to show off his southern pride for cred.  We know that he's not a bad dude because we know him.  But if a civilian did that he would be a bad dude.  Country music is not just for the southerner; it's for the romantic, the melodramatic, and the people who are proud of their hometown but acknowledge the flaws.
To bring it back to the problematic song, Paisley chose the wrong example of accidental racism for his audience.  The confederate flag shirt is racist.  A Lynyrd Skynyrd shirt on the other hand is not necessarily racist.  I didn't always know what that song was about and could have worn that shirt without knowing what I was doing - that's an accident.  LLCoolJ talking about his gold chains is racist. Black people are not the only ones who wear gold chains, and the wearer is going to be judged with good reason.  I'm mad at Brad Paisley for being such an easy target for country music haters and making the intended audience seem like a bunch of racist idiots.