Blowin' In the Wind

I am, admittedly, not a huge fan of modern, Top 40 "both kinds of music, country AND western" (gratuitous Blues Brothers reference there...).

My tastes in the down-home, chicken-fried, beer-soaked, flag wavin', momma lovin', Jesus worshiping, hippie stompin', gay-bashing, wife leavin', husband cheatin' an' whiskey drinkin' wavelength of the musical spectrum tend to run toward classics like Merle Haggard, classic outlaws like Waylon Jennings, and a more recently developed appreciation for much of the current outlaw and alternative country acts (for example, the now sadly defunct on the web but still alive in person Eight More Miles turned me on to the Drive-By Truckers).

In fact, if I had to be honest, I'd say I'd rather give myself a Drano enema than be forced to listen to country music for more than, say, three uninterrupted minutes. Having said that, I must say that fellow Okie Blake Shelton, unlike that cretinous troglodyte Toby Keith, doesn't seem like too bad a fellow. I even kind of like him.

From this story in the Tulsa World


No one has ever called Oklahoma country music star Blake Shelton shy.
So it's no surprise that he spoke his mind when asked about the Westboro Baptist Church  urging people to boycott his upcoming concert in Kansas City.


The controversial organization has added Shelton to the list of people and things it protests, including dead soldiers, American high schools, the U.S. Secretaries of Agriculture, The Eagles and Carrie Underwood.

In an open letter to Shelton posted Sept. 30, the church condemned him for "marriage, divorce and remarriage." The letter also advised him that "you cannot buy, charm, fake or sing your way into heaven" and was signed “your friends, Westboro Baptist Church.”

He has also been targeted for his support of gay rights, according to tmz.com.
Stopped on his way out of Usher's birthday party at a Hollywood nightclub recently, Shelton's reaction was swift and decidedly candid.

"The Westboro Baptist Church can blow me," said Shelton, the winningest coach on NBC's reality singing competition "The Voice," in video from TMZ.

"Yeah, really they can. You can quote me on that," he said as he entered a black SUV and was driven away.
The church's response to Shelton was: "'Blow me' is not going to win the day for you when you stand at the judgment seat of the Lord Jesus Christ (I Cor. 5:10-11)."

Now granted, it's not much of a stretch to publicly insult the most vile, universally hated group of people this side of Washington, but still, "they can blow me" is what I consider refreshing candor, especially coming from a prominent figure in an industry largely driven on the enduringly cornball mythos of "traditional values."

Will it make me start listening to his music? Eh, probably not (I do, however, think his wife Miranda Lambert is wonderfully talented) but at least now I know who I'm pulling for to win "The Voice" this season. And I think "Blow Me, Westboro!" really deserves to become a protest meme...