Drinkin', smokin', and singin'

Categories: Country Y'all!, Hip-Hop/Rap, Music, News You Can Use

Tobykeith_l News flash: popular music is full of references to drugs and alcohol. Okay, not a big surprise, but the sheer volume of drink and drug mentions is now quantified in a study by the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, which finds positive mentions in two thirds of recent hit songs and mentions of substance abuse in one third of those hits. Also no big surprise: drug and alcohol references are most prevalent in rap and country. I will also not be surprised if there follows a lot of hand-wringing about how rap’s favorable attitude toward drugs and alcohol is endangering our kids — and a lot of shoulder-shrugging about the same content in country. Snoop’s a menace, and so is Three 6 Mafia, but Toby Keith (pictured) may still sing "Beer for My Horses," and Joe Nichols may still sing "Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off," without anyone batting an eye. Party on, everyone!

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Comments (1-9) of 9

Dtom
Tue 02/05/08 3:10 PM

I never thought about it that way, but blue-state, family values-oriented country music promotes not only drinking (and, indeed, alcoholism) as well as violence (bar room brawls, domestic violence, anyone?) as much, if not more than rap music.
Jack Fear
Tue 02/05/08 5:32 PM

(I think you mean Red State, yeah?)
This just in: Whitey gets a free pass. In other news, Dog bites man.
no difference?
Tue 02/05/08 6:23 PM

I thought Snoop was a menace because he is constantly being arrested on drug charges and somehow involved in drive by shootings? I gues Willy Nelson has also had run ins with the law and advocates drugs…so maybe my point is moot? Hmmm
Snarf
Tue 02/05/08 6:23 PM

Parents should be aware of what thier brood is listening to regardless of the genre. That being said, questionable lyrical content does not a sociopath make – bad/non-existent parenting plays way more of a factor.
Cherilyn
Tue 02/05/08 6:46 PM

well if the side effects of drugs and alcohol turned into a song has been nominated for a grammy….
…something about rehab
Dtom
Tue 02/05/08 9:42 PM

Jack Fear – you are right, I mean red state. Sometimes I forget who the bad guys are.
Ep Sato
Tue 02/05/08 9:47 PM

Anyone who listens to old Johnny Cash knows that country and blues is where the REAL gangsters got their stripes. When Snoop was itching his dad’s pants, the man in black was playing songs about shooting a man just to see him die. Not even Cypress Hill can claim their folks were so “gangster” in the 50s and 60s.
Ricky Burro
Tue 02/05/08 9:52 PM

I should say that popular culture DOES take a more realistic approach to drugs than our government and the anti-drug forces would want us to believe. Per the DEA’s own numbers, some 45% of the grown adults in this country have smoked marijuana. That makes half of the people in this country a criminal. Is that realistic?
Or is it more realistic to assume that people get high with their friends when they camp in the rocky mountains? Or to brag about smoking a spliff with friends that you need to set yo’ cup down?
I don’t want to argue that drugs are “good”, because if used in excess they can ruin lives. But the frequency of drug references in music (and the positive reaction by the music buying audience to these messages) can at least lead to an argument that in small quantities and with the right friends, a good spliff can lead to a great time.
Trazey
Mon 02/18/08 7:56 PM

hehehe Toby Keith is so hot he can sing what he wants too and I hate country music! mmmmm toby….