I'm Brian Hyatt. This is Rolling Stone Music Now. The country singer Jason Al-Din hit

number one on the Hot 100 with Try That in a Small Town. So we're going to talk

about that song and then go into the long fascinating and sometimes amusing history of reactionary country songs, which it fits right into.

To do so, I have with me Rolling Stones Joseph Hudak.

And as I said, we'll start by talking about try that in a small town.

Suck a punch somebody on a sidewalk carjacking old lady at a red light, pulled a gun on the own...

It's weird, right? This song didn't get that much attention until...

And this is the irony of the ongoing culture war, right? Is there is a bit of unfortunately strizand effect from both sides

Where sometimes something only gets a boost because the other side has noticed it and I do think that's what

happened here and it came out in May no one really noticed right that's correct

yeah so try that in a small town. I remember when I got the email about it back in May and I listened to it and I'm like that's something but chose not to write about it. Down the road of course the video dropped and it really

caught everyone's attention. Once someone sees the video and you see all

this violent imagery and the protest shots and it's very ominous very dark and brooding

dystopian right it's very dystopian as if this is a life or a future that is to come

or perhaps in an al-Din's mind or his audience is perhaps already here.

But yeah, so then someone tweeted about it and then the lyrics ended up online and then

everyone started piling on and dissecting this. So it really took on a and then

and as you said, Brian, it really took on a life of its own then,

and as you said, Brian, it really stoked the culture war on both sides

and the Strizan effect was in full effect,

and then everyone wanted to hear the song and see the song and watch the video and weigh in on what they thought.

So that's where we are and here it is right now it's the number one song on the Hot 100 this week. And may I just say possibly what's really

...