Sheryl Crowe on Music which Promotes Violence and is Un-American

Sheryl Crowe has called out Jason Aldean for promoting violence with his song “Try That in a Small Town” (Deadline, 18 July 2023). She also deemed the song Un-American. The MSM, judging by their reaction, has anointed Sheryl Crowe the arbitrator of what is acceptable in popular music.

                        Image copyright 2023 Rolling Stone. Cited under Fair Use.

Well, Sheryl Crowe’s singer-songwriter career does span from the early 1990s to the present — so she should certainly be familiar with the American music scene.

Before we get to the actual lyrics of “Try That in a Small Town,” let’s briefly review in chronological order a number of pop songs which Sheryl Crowe has evidently found acceptable — nothing to protest about or comment on. Decades of silence. Only now in 2023 she has something to say to and about Jason Aldean.

The reader can decide if any of these songs seem to promote violence. Or, if any of these songs are inconsistent with the reader’s understanding of American values.

NWA, “One Less Bitch” (1991), which has a rough body count of 5:

I tied her to the bed, I was thinking the worst / But yo, I had to let my niggas fuck her first / Yeah, loaded up the 44 yo / Then I straight smoked the hoe.

OG Style, “10 B 3” (1991), which has a rough body count of 10:

She turned her head and all you heard was pop / By now they knew we wasn't fakin / Blood over the floor, bodies layin there shakin.

The Convicts (featuring Choice), “Whoop Her Ass” (1991), rough body count of 1:

Slammed her to the flo' and shit / Then started beatin the bitch with a solid wood clobber stick / And threw her ass out the window / She went through the windshield of a fucked-up Pinto.

Big L, “All Black” (1995), which has rough body count of 8:

I be placin' snitches inside lakes and ditches / And if I catch AIDS, then I'ma start rapin' bitches.

Kool G Rap, “Hey Mister Mister” (1995), with no apparent fatality:

Bitch why you lyin', bitch you've been cheatin' / Now I gotsta to give your motherfuckin' ass a beatin / I punched her in the ribcage and kicked her in the stomach / Take off all my motherfuckin' jewellery, bitch run it / I stomped her and I kicked her and I punched her in the face.

DMX, “Bring Ya Whole Crew” (1998), which has a rough body count of 4:

I got blood on my hands and there's no remorse / And got blood on my dick cause I fucked a corpse.

Immortal Technique, “Dance with the Devil” (2001), with a rough body count of 1:

The shirt covered her face, but she screamed and clawed / So Billy stomped on the bitch, until he broke her jaw / The dirty bastards knew exactly what they were doing / They kicked her until they cracked her ribs and she stopped moving.

Brotha Lynch Hung, "Meat Cleaver" (2013), with a rough body count of 5:

Cut niggas up, sector by sector / Next to her dead, first cousin and nephew / Next to her head, bloody intestines / Next to her bed, other intestines.

And this list could be expanded considerably. These songs obviously concern black on black violence in the USA, and also often enough, male sexual violence against females. Do these songs profess the “American” values which Sheryl Crowe espouses?

We have no word to the contrary. In fact, we have decades of silence.

Do these songs promote violence? In anyway glorify violence? Again, it would seem Sheryl Crowe does not think so. Decades of silence.

Dear reader, on the above sample of popular music which passes the Sheryl Crowe test, please share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Now, for song that moved Sheryl Crowe to speak out after decades of silence. Below are the lyrics of “Try That in a Small Town” (by Kelley Lovelace, Neil Thrasher, Tully Kennedy, Kurt Michael Allison):

Sucker punch somebody on a sidewalk
Carjack an old lady at a red light
Pull a gun on the owner of a liquor store
Ya think it's cool, well, act a fool if ya like

Cuss out a cop, spit in his face
Stomp on the flag and light it up
Yeah, ya think you're tough

[Chorus]: Well, try that in a small town
See how far ya make it down the road
Around here, we take care of our own
You cross that line, it won't take long
For you to find out, I recommend you don't
Try that in a small town

Got a gun that my granddad gave me
They say one day they're gonna round up
Well, that shit might fly in the city, good luck

[Chorus]

Full of good ol' boys, raised up right
If you're looking for a fight
Try that in a small town
Try that in a small town

[Chorus]

Try that in a small town
Ooh-ooh
Try that in a small town

Promoting violence? Un-American? How so and how much so? Et cetera.

Your thoughts, please, in comments section below, on Sheryl Crowe as our (MSM-anointed) Czar of Pop Music.