Jason Aldean’s “Dog-Whistle Anthem”
What Next | Daily News and Analysis
Slate Podcasts
4.3 • 2.4K Ratings
🗓️ 27 July 2023
⏱️ 27 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Country music’s Jason Aldean has been around for years. But he didn’t crack the Billboard Top 5 until he released “Try That in a Small Town” – a controversial hit that portrays American city living as a gauntlet of violence and crime. CMT pulled down the song’s video, which featured Aldean singing at a former lynching site. But “Try That” is more popular than ever. Why? And what does its ubiquity say about modern country music?
Guest: Jason Lipshutz, senior director of music at Billboard
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Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme and Rob Gunther.
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Transcript
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| 0:46.0 | I get a question for you. |
| 0:48.0 | What's your summer anthem? |
| 0:50.0 | Is it a Olivia Rodrigo's vampire? |
| 0:53.0 | Maybe you've still got Miley Cyrus' flowers on repeat. |
| 0:57.0 | But I call them Jason Lipschitz over at Billboard |
| 1:00.0 | to talk about a very different chart topper. |
| 1:10.0 | This is Country Music star Jason Aldeans Try That in a Small Town. |
| 1:15.0 | And this week, it debuted at number two on Billboard's Hot 100. |
| 1:21.0 | Would you call Try That in a Small Town, |
... |
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