Only change will bring
You out of the darkness
In this moment everything is born again
— Duran Duran
The darkest four years of American politics come to an end today. Economic uncertainty, a raging pandemic, and a host of other problems do not. However, the slightest glow of hope can be seen creeping over the horizon. This will be a year of change – some good, some bad. There has to be a willingness to accept that “normal” can no longer be defined in our daily lives. And it all starts with a concert tonight.
Somehow, growing up on MTV and being surrounded by Duran Duran posters as a kid did not keep me from falling in love with country music. Some of those artists inspire a cringe today – Hank Williams Jr.’s America The Way I See It sounds like a Proud Boys soundtrack of stereotypes and bitterness. Just last week, country “legend” Travis Tritt blocked me on Twitter. I guess I started “T.R.O.U.B.L.E.” when I called out his hypocrisy of playing for the GOP candidate in Georgia after telling other artists to shut-up and play music. Sorry, not sorry.
It was in the early 1990s when I first saw Garth Brooks live and, if I’m being honest, it was probably the best rock-n-roll concert I had seen at that point in my life (sorry Whitesnake). A few years ago, I lucked into a ticket to see him again and his concert was just as good as I remembered. So, when Brooks joined today’s Inauguration concert, I was thrilled. It’s not surprising if you have followed Brooks’ career but it still turned some heads in country music.
Regardless of your taste in music, we are all passionate about certain artists and we have all been missing the experience of seeing live shows. That is one of the many things I hope we get back to this year. The other is common decency and common sense. When it came out, “We Shall Be Free” was a bold song for a country artist but what Brooks expressed lyrically seems more true than ever on this historic day in the United States of America. If we can at least all get on the same page with the ideals of this song, we can reach up for a new sunrise and do something special in this world. Are you in?
Travis Tritt is an overrated “artist” who has a history of being rude to other musicians. He’s sort of the Trump of country and the best way to deal with him is to ignore. I shouldn’t say that, because one of my “hobbies” was attacking Donald Trump on Twitter and now that he’s blocked there can’t do this. Anyway, I like a lot of older country as well as jazz. I recently watched the Jazz documentary by Ken Burns and it really discussed how music plays a part in shaping opinions. I’ve been listening to a lot of jazz along with happy songs because of being so happy about today. By the way I know a few who have met Garth Brooks and he’s a great guy.