Because Everything IS Political

It has been a while since I last wrote... largely because I really didn't want to talk about politics. But, given the state of the world... given everything that is happening in the world and certainly in the United States, given the state of the Epstein files (from lies being uncovered from Howard Lutnick to foreign politicians stepping down to the potential downfall of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (who is NOT even in the Epstein files)... given the state of the complete overreach of the Department of Homeland Security and the complete lack of complying with the law... given the unraveling of the rationale for the search warrant for the election files in Fulton County Georgia (which was proffered by the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of MISSOURI)...

And yet, I still don't want to talk about these political situations. Instead, let's talk about the Super Bowl's musical acts and that of TPUSA's "All American Half-Time Show." But, as I already stated...

So, let us start with the "alternate" half-time show - which, to be completely fair, I have not and do not plan on watching. However, I have seen enough of the show - a show that TPUSA (pronounced by me as Ta-Pusa) stated would have "no agenda other than to celebrate faith, family, and freedom." So, let's take a look at if they succeeded. And, then we will look at the Super Bowl music via the same lens.

As I have not watched the show, I am utilizing this article from the Hollywood Reporter for the specific rundown. I have also utilized some other sources that I have read or listened to in order to further enhance the Hollywood Reporter's opinions.

So, after a "Star Spangled Banner" played via electric guitar - Brantley Gilbert, who was one of the initial batch of bro-country artists that came out in the early 2010s wearing a "God Family Country" T-shirt. Now, Mr. Gilbert did not play his big hit (which actually might have made some sense from the family/freedom set - the song being "Country Must be Country Wide")... but instead played the song "Real American" whose chorus is the following:

We fly that red, white, blue high

Waving all across the land

We got them good times on ice

And Old Glory's on a can

And everything's made in the USA

Hand on your heart when the song gets played

When the gloves come off, you'll find out where you stand

That's real American

A song that is relatively new and was written specifically for Hulk Hogan's Real American Freestyle Wrestling League. He then followed with Dirt Road Anthem, a big song for Jason Aldean written by Brantley and his writing partner Colt Ford. With the famous lyrical hook of:

Yeah, I'm chillin' on a dirt road

Laid back swervin' like I'm George Jones

Smoke rollin' out the window

An ice-cold beer sittin' in the console

Now, whether or not Brantley actually performed the songs well, I haven't a clue. But... the songs chosen give us a clue as to what Brantley thinks America is. It's embracing the flag. And drinking beer. And possibly smoking marijuana. And drinking more beer. And driving drunk. 

Gabby Barrett appeared next and apparently sang two songs with no particular controversy. I suppose it should be noted that Gabby is female so... diversity?

Lee Brice followed by playing his hit 2014 song Drinking Class - which is a fairly benign work of modern country with the hook of:

I belong to the drinking class
Monday through Friday, man we bust our backs
If you're one of us, raise your glass
I belong to the drinking class

He then followed with a new song Country Nowadays, which included such lyrics as:

I just want to cut my grass, feed my dogs, wear my boots / Not turn the TV on, sit and watch the evening news / Be told if I tell my own daughter that little boys ain’t little girls / I’d be up the creek in hot water in this cancel-your ass-world.

Now, the TPUSA show was theoretically supposed to be non-political... and yet, this song is much less benign and anodyne than any of the other songs presented so far. As I have stated over and over again, everything is political... but for an organization claiming to be about faith (which I am going to assume they mean Evangelical Christianity), family and freedom probably should not bring up such issues as transgenderism or the very "real" issue of flag burning.

Then, we get to Kid Rock/Robert Ritchie who appeared as the finale of the fiesta. His first song is his 1998 hit Bawitdaba, a song whose hook is lifted from the 1982 Busy Bee Song "Making Cash Money":

Of course, Kid's second biggest song "All Summer Long" was a musical mash-up of Lynyrd Skynyrd and Warren Zevon - so the fact that he essentially lifted a hook without any repercussions should not be surprising. However, the actual rap is a strange mix of things that don't make any actual sense in the context of this show - Hookers, Topless Dancers, Drug Addicts, Crooked Cops.

And this is for the questions that don't have any answers

The midnight glancers and the topless dancers

The gander freaks, cars packed with speakers

The G's with the 40's and the chicks with beepers

The Northern Lights and the Southern Comfort

And it don't even matter if their veins are punctured

All the crackheads, the critics, the cynics

And all my heroes in the Methadone clinics

All you bastards at the IRS

For the crooked cops and the cluttered desks

For the shots of Jack and the caps of Meth

Half pints of love and the 5th's of stress

I am going to avoid piling on to Kid's performance which appeared to be a huge mess of lip synching, which is crazy given the fact that the show appeared to be pre-recorded.

He then followed it up with a cover of the 2022 CMA Single of the Year - Cody Johnson's "Til You Can't." Which by the lyrics appears to be a song of "do the things you want to do because death comes too quickly" song. Certainly, not the first song of its type (especially in the country genre), but nothing particularly controversial. Of course, Robert Ritchie could not leave a good song lay without messing with it, he added the following verse:

There’s a book that is sitting in your house somewhere that could use some dusting off/ There’s a man that died for all our sins hanging on the cross.

Because a perfectly good song that doesn't needlessly reference Jesus or the Bible can only be made better by putting in a verse that does so. As an aside, I am saying that as a man who actually own multiple Stryper albums and don't have a major issue with listening to Stryper songs because - while Stryper is a self-described Christian Metal Band - the songs lyrics are made in such a way that one can read Jesus into them OR one can just relate it to regular every day life. (And, to make it even more clear, I am not a religious zealot of any sort and in fact own albums from noted satanist King Diamond and his band Mercyful Fate.)

So, did the show hit on its promise? Well, if you like swarmy right-wing adjacent countryish music that was most popular 15-20+ years ago... if you like songs that invoke right-wing talking points and strangely invoked mentions of the bible and Jesus while also enjoying alcohol while driving... I guess so. And it was sung in English by a bunch of Caucasians... so if you are afraid of diversity, it also worked.

(A quick aside. Kid Rock has been nominated for 5 Grammys, winning none. Brantley Gilbert, Lee Brice and Gabby Barrett have never been nominated for a Grammy Award).

Now, let's take a quick look at the Super Bowl. Opened by Green Day who did a a medley of four songs from their political rock opera "American Idiot." The medley of songs which are obviously political avoided the obvious political lines in Holiday (Seig Heil to the President Gasman) and American Idiot (which omitted the verse with the line "I'm not part of the Redneck Agenda"... or as they now play it "I'm not part of the MAGA Agenda."). It was a strategic move by Green Day to be completely political while avoiding the most obvious political lines. (Green Day has been nominated for 20 Grammys, winning 5.)

Brandi Carlile was next up to sing America the Beautiful with Milwaukee's SistaStrings. Brandi is, of course, openly lesbian. She is also an 11-time Grammy award winner (30-time nominee) including 3 for her work with Tanya Tucker and winning the Grammy for Best Country Song in 2021 with her group the Highwomen for the song Crowded Table. Brandi has also won Grammy's for Best Americana Album (twice), Best American Roots Song and Performance, and Best Rock Song and Performance. It is certainly interesting that some performers from the TPUSA performance stated that there hasn't been a country performer at the Super Bowl in 20 years.

Followed by Charlie Puth doing his rendition of the national anthem. (Charlie Puth has been nominated for 4 Grammys, winning none).

The half-time show was headlined by Bad Bunny - who was just coming off of 3 Grammy wins last week, including for Album of the year. Bad Bunny has a total of 6 Grammy wins (with 16 nominations). Also included in the half-time show was Lady Gaga (16 Grammys/46 nominations) and Ricky Martin (2 Grammys/8 nomination).

Now, I'm going to be very clear and say my Spanish is completely rusty and my Puerto Rican dialectical Spanish is non-existent. So, I cannot comment on the verses that were utilized during the show. However, much like the Green Day songs, I am fairly certain there was nothing that had not been vetted to make sure it passed by the critics/censors. 

So, I can only really talk about the show itself. Which was fantastic. Not unlike Kendrick Lamar last year, it wasn't a concert. It was live musical theater. A walk in the life of a Puerto Rican... both in Puerto Rico (The sugar cane fields, the telephone poles (aka the power infrastructure), the day to day life of normal Puerto Ricans (dominos, boxing), a traditional wedding, a walk in the life of the Puerto Rican diaspora in New York, a comment about colonization, and the ending with a call out to ALL America. South, Central, North, and the entire Caribbean (admittedly with a wide swath of the islands being represented by the term Antilles - I suppose, there was a time limit). 

Now, did I like the music? In terms of the underlying music, most of it was really good. I have always been a sucker for latin horns and latin rhythms. Benito's vocals... not really my vibe. It wasn't bad. It just isn't my thing. Which is fine... one does not have to like everything in the world to appreciate that it exists and that other people do like it.

Was the show itself political? No. At least, not unless you believe showing a diverse array of real people - White and Black and Latino, Homosexual and Heterosexual, old and young - the entire diaspora of the United States (and the world) - is political. Is the message shown above overtly political... or just a statement of truth? 

So, was the Super Bowl musical acts political? Absent Green Day (who could have done a bunch of songs from Dookie to avoid any question of politics), not really. Unless - being non-white, non-heterosexual, non-MAGA - is political. The TPUSA had four white country-ish artists. Not that there is anything wrong with country music as a general rule. Meanwhile, the Super Bowl platformed a Rock Band, a country-leaning female vocalist with two black string players, a male pop singer, and the biggest artist in the world who was off an album of the year award from the Grammys. Who teamed up with Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin. The Superbowl brought together a whole community of people of different races, sexualities and creeds. 

TPUSA said that the Bad Bunny halftime show was going to be divisive. However, they got the last word wrong. It was not divisive but diverse. Frankly, the TPUSA show was another run into a safe space for those who are afraid of actual diversity. The Superbowl lineup was diverse across genres and personality. It was a reflection of what the United States (and, for that matter, all of the Americas) actually is. Bad Bunny and his football is correct - Together - WE ARE AMERICA.