Hats Off To Randy Owen
I worked at three country stations during my radio career. I never much cared for Alabama.
Now that they're on their farewell tour, I may change my mind.
You've heard the story. Kyle Munson is the music critic for the Des Moines Register. In his review of Alabama's (first?) Farewell Tour appearance in Ames, he highlights everything that separates the red and blue in this election.:
Dear Randy Owen, lead singer of Alabama:
You had to go and open your big mouth, act like Rush Limbaugh or Michael Reagan or Michael Savage or some similar right-wing blowhard pundit, and ruin the concert review I intended to write.
There's a concert reviewin here somewhere - flat, uninspired, pretty much a cookiecutter review of, to be fair, a very proficient cookiecutter country group.
But this review was never about the concert.
No matter. [Owen's] rant spoiled all of it for me.
"Wouldn't it be great if people in the media would just say something great about our troops?" you said from the stage.
Then you went on to suggest that our reporting on the war in Iraq, including coverage of the atrocities at Abu Ghraib prison, is what's endangering the lives of U.S. soldiers overseas - not the fighting or atrocities themselves.
"Makes we want to kick their asses," you said of the media.
Of course most of the 6,591 fans applauded your rant, thanks in no small part to how you and the band set them up for your monologue by playing "America the Beautiful."
So the crowd's reaction was due to psychological manipulation, not the genuine feeling of an
awful lot of people?
There's nothing wrong with a patriotic salute in concert, and it's certainly a tradition in mainstream country music. What sickened me was how you manipulated that patriotic sentiment in the arena and, worse, the seriousness of the war, just in the name of taking a cheap shot at my industry.
In one breath you praised our nation's freedoms, but in the next breath you dismissed freedom of the press as a monolithic liberal conspiracy.
Kyle Munson! Standing at the very forefront of defending the liberties we hold dear! Against
Randy Owen of Alabama!
Look, Munson; Owen didn't "dismiss freedom of the press". He attacked media bias.
Don't misunderstand me. Of course I want every one of our soldiers to return home safely. My outrage here is very specific: your pathetic scapegoating of the media that ruined your attempt to honor the military.
Get outside the big,er, city sometime, Kyle. You might find a lot of people share Owen's beliefs. It's not "scapegoating the media". It's attacking them for their actions.
Meanwhile, good riddance to your political badgering from the stage.
Kyle - I'll make you a deal: You show me
any case where you've had a similar hissy about any of the hundreds of artists who regularly inflict these kinds of rants from the stage, from the left, and I won't think you're a precious, whiny little wanker.
Have your people call my people.
Posted by Mitch at
May 18, 2004 05:29 AM
I wonder what he had to say about the Dixie Chicks?
Posted by: Silver at May 18, 2004 07:44 AMThey were "speaking truth to power," of course. Owen was merely "ranting." Gawd, the ob(li)vious wankery of these people.
Posted by: Brian Jones at May 18, 2004 09:05 AMI think people should listen. As a member of the media, we are doing things wrong. Randy is right. I saw the concert in Council Bluffs and applauded along with the rest of the audience.
Posted by: Bama fan at May 19, 2004 09:17 PMI was not offended. I believe the media is sensationalizing the wrong things. Give it a rest! Where is the actual review. I never saw one, and Kyle is using Randy as a scapegoat for his own problems.
i dont like what kyle said!!! it made me want to explode with anger!!! he is making it seem like randy hates america!! i love randy very much and im not going to except kyle talking like that. kyle you can say what you want about other people but BACK off and leave randy alone!!i dont care if it is a opinion.!!! i am still very angry about what you said about randy in fact im furious!!! randy is a good person he loves america very much!!! stop making it sounds like he hates america!!!! go pick on someone else just lay off of randy ,teddy ,jeff and mark!!!
Posted by: bamma fan az at May 22, 2004 11:34 PMI believe Randy Owen said what a lot of American's feel. We are so very tired of the media distorting the facts, showing only the negative side of this situtation and not reporting about how Hospitals, schools and many other facilities are now functioning at about 100%. Because our American troops are over there making these things possible. Many dying for the freedom of others. While all this happens all the media focuses on is the blood and gore of war. War is not a party, freedom has never come without a heavy price, we the people of the great place called America should know that first hand.
So why don't you reporters start showing some positive things that are happening due to our troops efforts. There are many to report.
Perhaps the ratings would be just as good or better if you all did report honestly. Now there's a word that might make some of the media squirm, honest, fair reporting. On the positive and negative.
Rem. our troops read a lot of what the media prints!!!!
Naneha Lee, Mena Arkansas
Posted by: Naneha Lee at May 24, 2004 12:57 AM