Loretta Lynn died this week. She was 90 years old, so she had a long run, if not necessarily a good run. Like many of the country stars of her era, her personal life was often complicated. Most were people who lived hard lives and their music was often about the consequences of living a hard life. Of course, their audience was mostly people who also had complicated lives.

It is trite to say upon the passing of an icon that they are not making them like that anymore, but in the case of these old country stars it is true. They really are products of a bygone era. Pop music stars of all genres are now manufactured products, created by a system that selects for stability and predictability. The days of the gonzo rock star or wild living country star are long gone.

In the case of Loretta Lynn, she is also the last of the alternative feminists that flourished in the country scene into the 1970’s. We think of feminism as the increasingly deranged nonsense that comes from the harpies on the college campus, but for a long time there was an alternative to the left-wing feminism. This alternative conception of the strong women turned up in classic country songs.

Probably the closest thing today to that old right-wing image of the strong female is the trad-wife business, but that is more of an internet meme. It is also more about what it opposes than what it proposes. Like so much of what passes for right-wing now, it is mostly a reaction to the excesses of the culture wreckers. Perhaps in time it will mature into a genuine alternative to the lunacy of feminism.

Of course, when one of these old legends dies, and there are not many of them left at this point, it is a reminder that they came from a world that has been entirely replaced by something different. The world that produced someone like Loretta Lynn is gone and the audience she appealed to is also gone. There was a clean break somewhere in the last few generations and that old world is fading away.

It is most obvious in the case of someone like Loretta Lynn. She grew up in what we call grinding poverty. Fifty years ago, everyone knew someone who came from such conditions because we still had lots of genuine poor people. A young person today will expect to live their whole life never having met a poor person. That is poor as in no food poor, not as in not the newest gaming console poor.

It is not an accident that the collapse of authenticity and realism in the popular culture tracks with the elimination of want. Those old country stars like Lynn could sing about the troubles of the human condition because they lived them and more important, their audience was living them. In a world where the hardest choices are on the menu, people are not interested in the human condition.

For sites like this to exist, it requires people like you chipping in a few bucks a month to keep the lights on and the people fed. Five bucks a month is not a lot to ask. If you don’t want to commit to a subscription, make a one time donation via crypto. Or, you can send money to: Z Media LLC P.O. Box 432 Cockeysville, MD 21030-0432. You can also use PayPal to send a few bucks. Thank you for your support!

Promotions: We have a new addition to the list. Havamal Soap Works is the maker of natural, handmade soap and bath products. If you are looking to reduce the volume of man-made chemicals in your life, all-natural personal products are a good start. If you use this link you get 15% off of your purchase.

The good folks at Alaska Chaga are offering a ten percent discount to readers of this site. You just click on the this link and they take care of the rest. About a year ago they sent me some of their stuff. Up until that point, I had never heard of chaga, but I gave a try and it is very good. It is a tea, but it has a mild flavor. It’s autumn here in Lagos, so it is my daily beverage now.

Minter & Richter Designs makes high-quality, hand-made by one guy in Boston, titanium wedding rings for men and women and they are now offering readers a fifteen percent discount if you use this link. If you are headed to Boston, they are also offering my readers 20% off their 5-star rated Airbnb.  Just email them directly to book at sa@******************ns.com.

This Week’s Show

Contents

• Clown Horn (Link)
• Sad Trombone (Link)
• Boob Update (Link)
• More Sad Trombone (Link)
• Clowner Men (Link) (Link)
• David French (Link)

Direct Download, The iTunes, Google Play, iHeart Radio, RSS Feed

Full Show On Spreaker

The player is loading …

Full Show On Odysee