#noble Willingham

[letterboxd-loggd]

Career Opportunities (1991) Bryan Gordon

October 25th 2024

[maturemenoftvandfilms]

Walker, Texas Ranger (TV Series) S3/E7 'The Road to Black Bayou' (1994) - David Huddleston

I haven't seen this episode in years and a few things came to mind when watching it.

This is the episode that first got me into Huddleston, wishing I was literally in Huddleston.

David and Noble Willingham's asses.

This is the second time Huddleston and Willingham appeared in an episode together since they appeared in an episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show What Are Friends For? Season 5 Episode 10.

And they were both fuckable in that.

[abs0luteb4stard]

W A T C H I N G

I've been wanting to watch this for probably 15-20 years and it's finally streaming FREE on KANOPY. 😭

[kevinsreviewcatalogue]

Review: The Last Boy Scout (1991)

The Last Boy Scout (1991)

Rated R for graphic violence and very strong language

<Originally posted at https://kevinsreviewcatalogue.blogspot.com/2024/02/review-last-boy-scout-1991.html>

Score: 4 out of 5

The Last Boy Scout is a wild, unwieldy, and immensely entertaining buddy-cop action flick cut from the same cloth as Lethal Weapon, not much of a surprise given that Shane Black wrote both movies. It's a movie that opens with an over-the-top song that would make for a legitimately good intro to an NFL broadcast, followed by a prologue of a football player (played by Billy Blanks in a cameo) shooting three members of the opposing team on the field before killing himself. The plot of the film is one that has only become sadly relevant in the years since 1991, especially as sports betting has been legalized and normalized as just a regular part of the professional sports landscape. It's got Bruce Willis at the height of his glory post-Die Hard playing a salty private eye, a young Damon Wayans in a role that, while more dramatic than anything on In Living Color, still supplies a lot of funny moments in his interactions with Willis, and director Tony Scott delivering a ton of exciting, spectacular action scenes. It's a shallow film that's mostly an excuse to have Willis and Wayans do their thing, but that alone is enough to make it practically obligatory viewing during football season.

Our protagonists are both disgraced men. Joe Hallenbeck is a private detective and former Secret Service agent who lost his last job after he punched out a senator he caught raping a woman. Jimmy Dix is a former star quarterback for the Los Angeles Stallions (because like hell the NFL would let them use real team names in a movie like this) who was fired and banned from the league as the chronic pain caused by his injuries on the field led to drug addiction and, from there, involvement in gambling. Together, They Fight Crime -- specifically by uncovering a gambling ring within the league that's scheming to get sports betting legalized in order to make it a more exciting experience for viewers, damn the consequences (gambling addiction, game-fixing), and is willing to kill in order to do it. It's the kind of suspicion of authority and rich fat cats that, almost as much as witty buddy-cop banter, I've noticed is something of a trend in Shane Black's screenplays, and while it's an altogether shallow treatment of sports betting that serves largely as background flavor, it's a story that predicted, decades before the rise of DraftKings and FanDuel, just how corrosive it would be to sports in general. (One change, though: I would've had the shadowy hitman in the opening threatening to kill the running back if he wins instead of loses, since throwing matches and point-shaving are how a lot of sports betting scandals go down in real life.)

The heart and soul of the film is Bruce Willis and Damon Wayans as Joe and Jimmy, both deeply troubled men who mean well but are otherwise plagued by all manner of demons. Joe's strong moral code gets him compared to a Boy Scout (hence the title), but it also ruined his career once it put him on a collision course with the powerful crooks who run everything, while Jimmy was chewed up and spit out by a corrupt sports league that wore down his body and then blamed him for the resulting drug addiction. They're both bitter, cynical assholes, but they have damn good reason to be. Willis was always a master of action movie snark, and his talent for such is on full display here as he has to put up with indignities from everyone around him, not least of all his estranged wife and his rebellious daughter. Wayans, meanwhile, gets the more serious role as a guy who's pissed at the world and jumped head-first into hedonism as his life fell apart, but one who's not all that different from Joe except that his vices aren't as socially acceptable as alcoholism. Two guys who look like polar opposites, especially in the contrast between Joe's blue-collar status and Jimmy's fame and fortune (highlighted in a great exchange involving Jimmy's $650 leather pants), but turn out to have a lot more in common than they think is ripe material for a buddy comedy, and Willis and Wayans have great buddy chemistry together. The supporting cast, too, is filled with character actors giving fun performances, whether it's Noble Willingham as the villainous team owner Marcone, Taylor Negron as the terrifying hitman Milo, a young Halle Berry as Jimmy's stripper girlfriend Corey, or a young Danielle Harris stealing the show as Joe's daughter Darian, feeling almost like a prototype for Angourie Rice's character in The Nice Guys in terms of being what happens if you gave Nancy Drew the mouth of a sailor. (And now I wanna see Shane Black write a Nancy Drew movie.)

When it comes to action, this is a Tony Scott movie, and if you know the first thing about Tony Scott, you know what you're getting: flashy action, glamorous vistas, and a lot of visual flair. This movie looks damn good in that peculiar '80s/early '90s studio way, a movie that knows exactly how big and dumb it is and leans right into it. The opening scene of an ill-fated running back at the end of his rope giving a whole new meaning to "pistol offense" sets the tone and lets you know what you're in for straight away, a film big on splashy visuals and moments designed to set a mood. The plot is fairly boilerplate and easy to figure out, existing largely to drive the action and the characters' banter and get you to the real reason this movie exists, which is the car chases, shootouts, and explosions that are all handled with aplomb. From start to finish, this movie is incredibly entertaining, the kind of flick that invites you to turn off your brain and have a great time watching a pair of very charismatic actors run around Los Angeles with guns.

The Bottom Line

The Last Boy Scout is a kick-ass, no-nonsense buddy action/comedy anchored by a pair of great lead performances, a witty script, and director Tony Scott doing what he does best. This was perfect viewing just before the Super Bowl, and honestly at any other time of year.

[cool-birchbarlow-blog]

[2ndaryprotocol]

The political comedy ‘The Distinguished Gentleman’ starring Eddie Murphy opened in theaters this day 30 years ago. 🗳💸⚡️

“𝙶𝚘𝚍 𝙸 𝚑𝚘𝚙𝚎 𝙸’𝚖 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚍𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚕𝚘𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚌𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎, 𝚒𝚝’𝚜 𝚐𝚘𝚗𝚗𝚊 𝚋𝚎 𝚊 𝚏*𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚗’ 𝚗𝚞𝚒𝚜𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝙲𝚘𝚗𝚐𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚜.”

[famousborntoday]

Noble Willingham was an American actor, best known for his role as Jasper "Jazzbo" Brown on the TV series "Leave It to Beaver".

Link: Noble Willingham

[duranduratulsa]

Up next on my 90's Fest Movie 🎬 🎞 🎥 🎦 📽 marathon...Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994) on glorious vintage VHS 📼! #Movie #movies #comedy #aceventura #aceventurapetdetective #jimcarrey #courteneycox #toneloc #seanyoung #troyevans #DanMarino #udokier #raynorscheine #MarkMargolis #RIPMarkMargolis #noblewillingham #randallcraigcobb #johncapidice #alicedrummond #ripalicedrummond #SimonCallow #vintage #VHS #90s #90sfest #durandurantulsas4thannual90sfest

[sidonius5]

𝒜𝓃 𝒜𝓇𝓀𝒶𝓃𝓈𝒶𝓈 𝓅𝓇𝒾𝓈𝑜𝓃 𝓀𝓃𝑜𝓌𝓃 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝒾𝓉𝓈 𝒶𝒷𝓊𝓈𝒾𝓋𝑒 𝓉𝒶𝒸𝓉𝒾𝒸𝓈 𝓉𝑜𝓌𝒶𝓇𝒹𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒾𝓃𝓂𝒶𝓉𝑒 𝓅𝑜𝓅𝓊𝓁𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃 𝒾𝓈 𝒾𝓃 𝓃𝑒𝑒𝒹 𝑜𝒻 𝒶 𝓃𝑒𝓌 𝓌𝒶𝓇𝒹𝑒𝓃, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝗛𝗲𝗻𝗿𝘆 𝗕𝗿𝘂𝗯𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿 (𝐑𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐝𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐝) 𝓉𝒶𝓀𝑒𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒸𝒽𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓃𝑔𝑒 𝒶𝓈 𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝓊𝓇𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓈 𝓇𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉. ℋ𝑒 𝓅𝑜𝓈𝑒𝓈 𝒶𝓈 𝒶 𝓃𝑒𝓌 𝒾𝓃𝓂𝒶𝓉𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝓈𝑒𝑒 𝒾𝒻 𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓈𝑒 𝒶𝓁𝒾𝒷𝒾'𝓈 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓉𝓇𝓊𝑒. 𝒪𝓃𝒸𝑒 𝒾𝓃, 𝒽𝑒'𝓈 𝒶𝒷𝓈𝑜𝓁𝓊𝓉𝑒𝓁𝓎 𝓂𝑜𝓇𝓉𝒾𝒻𝒾𝑒𝒹 𝒷𝓎 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓅𝓇𝒾𝓈𝑜𝓃𝑒𝓇𝓈 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓅𝓇𝒾𝓈𝑜𝓃'𝓈 𝒸𝑜𝓃𝒹𝒾𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃, 𝒾𝓃𝓂𝒶𝓉𝑒𝓈 𝒷𝑒𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒶𝒷𝓊𝓈𝑒𝒹/𝓉𝒽𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓉𝑒𝓃𝑒𝒹 𝒾𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝓈𝓉 𝓌𝒶𝓎𝓈 𝓅𝓁𝓊𝓈 𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓌𝑜𝓇𝓀𝑒𝒹 𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝑒𝓍𝓉𝓇𝑒𝓂𝑒. 𝐁𝐫𝐮𝐛𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫 𝒾𝓈 𝓂𝓎 𝒻𝒶𝓋𝑜𝓇𝒾𝓉𝑒 𝐑𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐝𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝓂𝑜𝓋𝒾𝑒, 𝓈𝑜 𝓂𝒶𝓃𝓎 𝑔𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓉 𝒶𝒸𝓉𝑜𝓇𝓈 𝒾𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝒻𝒾𝓁𝓂 𝓈���𝒸𝒽 𝒶𝓈 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧 𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐧, 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐉𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓁𝒶𝓉𝑒 𝑔𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓉 𝐘𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐭 𝐊𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐨. ℐ'𝓋𝑒 𝓌𝒶𝓉𝒸𝒽𝑒𝒹 𝐌𝐫. 𝐊𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐨 𝒾𝓃 𝓂𝒶𝓃𝓎 𝓌𝑒𝓈𝓉𝑒𝓇𝓃𝓈 𝓈𝓊𝒸𝒽 𝒶𝓈 𝐁𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐳𝐚 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐢𝐠 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐲, 𝒾𝓃𝒸𝓁𝓊𝒹𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓎 𝒻𝒾𝓇𝓈𝓉 𝓂𝑜𝓋𝒾𝑒 𝓇𝑜𝓁𝑒 ℐ 𝓈𝑒𝑒𝓃 𝒽𝒾𝓂 𝓈𝓉𝒶𝓇 𝒾𝓃, 𝐀𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧 (1979). 𝗛𝗲𝗻𝗿𝘆 𝗕𝗿𝘂𝗯𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓁𝓁𝓎 𝓌𝒶𝓃𝓉𝑒𝒹 𝓉𝑜 𝓂𝒶𝓀𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓈 𝓇𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓅𝓇𝒾𝓈𝑜𝓃, 𝒾𝓃𝒸𝓁𝓊𝒹𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒾𝓃𝒽𝒶𝒷𝒾𝓉𝒶𝓃𝓉𝓈 𝒷𝓊𝓉 𝓊𝓃𝒻𝑜𝓇𝓉𝓊𝓃𝒶𝓉𝑒𝓁𝓎 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝓉𝒶𝓉𝑒 𝒹𝒾𝒹𝓃'𝓉 𝓁𝒾𝓀𝑒 𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝓌𝒶𝓎𝓈. 𝒯𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝓂𝑜𝓋𝒾𝑒 𝑜𝓅𝑒𝓃𝑒𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓅𝓊𝒷𝓁𝒾𝒸𝓈 𝑒𝓎𝑒𝓈 𝓉𝑜 𝓈𝑒𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒸𝑜𝓇𝓇𝓊𝓅𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝑔𝑜𝑒𝓈 𝑜𝓃 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓅𝓇𝒾𝓈𝑜𝓃 𝓈𝓎𝓈𝓉𝑒𝓂, 𝓌𝒽𝒾𝒸𝒽 𝒶𝓁𝓈𝑜 𝒸𝒽𝒶𝓃𝑔𝑒𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓂. ℐ 𝒽𝑜𝓅𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊'𝓁𝓁 𝑔𝒾𝓋𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝒻𝒾𝓁𝓂 𝒶 𝓉𝓇𝓎, 𝒾𝓉'𝓈 𝒶 𝓉𝓇𝓊𝑒 𝑒𝓍𝒸𝑒𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓃𝓉 𝑜𝓃𝑒.

[mydaddywiki]

Sonny Perdue

Physique: Husky/Average Build Height: 5′ 10″ (1.78 m)

George Ervin "Sonny" Perdue III (born December 20, 1946-) is an American politician who served as the 31st United States secretary of agriculture from 2017 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 81st governor of Georgia from 2003 to 2011 and as a member of the Georgia State Senate from 1991 to 2002. On March 1, 2022, the Board of Regents of University System of Georgia appointed Perdue as the system's 14th chancellor, effective April 1, 2022.

Handsome, husky vigorous and personable with a Ed Asner/Noble Willingham look to him. And what pushes him from 'attractive' to downright 'sexy' is that he wears 'fucking boots.' I know they're not called 'fucking boots' but I call them that because I'd fuck anybody while they're wearing cowboy boots. I know, I'm a whore like that. Say what you want about President Donald Trump, when it comes to hot as men. He knows how to pick them.

Lets see… he has been married since 1972 with four children, fourteen grandchildren and have also been foster parents for many children. On a side note, his son Dan Perdue could definitely get a taste too. He also the cousin of David 'Big Dick' Perdue. An avid sportsman, Sonny enjoys flying and, in a 2003 incident, was accused of flying a state helicopter without a license. Sounds like a bit of a bad boy. And everybody loves a bad boy.

[glennk56]

Gailard Sartain in the pilot of Walker, Texas Ranger, 1993.

This was the first time I ever watched this show. The 3 main characters are Texas Ranger, Cordell Walker (action movie star Chuck Norris, Texas Ranger, former pro football player, James Trivette (Clarence Gilyard Jr) transferred in to replace a fallen Ranger and retired Ranger CD Parker (Gailard Sartain). I started watching only because of Gailard, thinking it would be a routine cop action series.

CD is a bored retired Ranger who is answering Advice Column letters from the lovelorn for the local newspaper as "Trail Buddy" to help pass his time. I think this job was going to lead him to errantly guess the identity of a letter writer who is a secret admirer of his to be Trivette in a subsequent show creating some very awkward situations.

On their way to meet the new Ranger, CD tells Walker the history of the new Ranger, Trivette and how great he is.

They meet Trivette at a pool where high diving is practiced. Trivette is dressed only in his speedo and drinking a nutrition, energy drink and Walker, being the macho, homophobic type makes a snide comment to CD.

AS Walker and Trivette talk, CD looks at Trivette with his tongue pushing out his mouth, like he sees something he likes.

The three of them walk a ways with CD in the rear averting his eyes from what I can only imagine from Trivette's butt.

Walker and Trivette leave CD and CD takes this chance to take another look at Trivette's butt. Then looks back in the other direction sheepishly, in case someone was watching him.

This would be end of Gailard Sartain playing CD Parker. The Producers replaced him with Noble Willingham. They said it was because Gailard was too young for the role and younger than Norris. He was 47. Norris was 53 and Willingham was 62. But they knew this when they first cast it and explained it by CD being retired because his knee was seriously injured on the job. Gailard said he would have been happy to stay for the whole series.

I think the real reason is that the Producers wanted to be edgier than their audience could handle. They probably found out in preview screenings that the audience couldn't handle man for man love, even unrequited. They still wanted it. It made the show stand out. They ran the show over 2 weeks to get the general audience reaction. They ran only one more show for season one that didn't include CD Parker. The result was the same as the screenings and they had to replace Gailard with the older actor and scrab the edgy sub-plot.

I think Gailard's character was very interesting and I think his performance was spot on as a guy who is in lust with another guy. I'm sure throughout Gailard's life he has had guys who reacted to him this way. I know I would have been one of those.

[nochi-quinn]

legend of vox machina season 2 episode 7: the fey realm OR mmmmmmmmakinmway

the way I keep typing "campaign" instead of "season"

BUNNY LUCK DRAGON

I will forgive Amazon all their terrible merch crimes if they give me a bunny luck dragon plushie

"at least we're together" fey realm double date

vax comforting keyleth and talking her through her panic attack

keyleth does not have a good track record with magic animals

legitimately wonder how many times they said "feywild" and had to re-record

"shademurk" was at least easy to copyright dodge

keyleth broke the mountain

everyone's faces are really good this episode, I love them

percy's feywild hyperfixation

I already made my feywild anti-vax joke

I cannot believe Diplomacy has a lawnmower pull-start

"it's like they can't understand me!" her feywild plant accent (plantcent) is terrible

pike understanding that the sword was the problem, not grog

pikelan crumbs

this whole batch of episodes is pikelan crumbs. pikelan panko.

tfw you're in a toxic relationship with your sword

grog making every blacksmith cry

craven edge:

the screamer is slightly less high-pitched this time and is therefore less terrible

"whatcha doin :D"

seeing people on

skinny grog isn't real, he can't hurt you

"keyleth, you really need to learn your spells" tonight scanlan will be playing the part of the youtube comment section

seeing non-critters* on twitter going "BILLY BOYD???"

*people who watch the show but don't care enough to follow cast announcements

my kid came to give me a hug literally fifteen seconds before the sketchbook bit

percy's little :( when vax made fun of his books

they can now legally continue the "makinmyway" bit

grograft

album drop when

travis willingham does not get enough credit for the range he is capable of

grog rug in the critrole shop when

it is nice seeing the part of scanlan that actually cares about his friends

aaaand then Early Scanlan comes back out

"they're pretty! which probably means they're super-deadly." she's learning

I enjoy that percy's gun only fires when it's going to be completely ineffectual

gelatinous Non-Euclidian Shape

the animators either hated every minute of this or had the time of their lives, no middle sliders

return of jackalope keyleth!

I played this level of psychonauts 2, I did my time

and now we know why cheech marin was cast as trinket

and that was all the cheech marin we could afford

I did like this little scene of the boys working together again

not the anime glasses

"that's the thing with nobles, we're rather stubborn" p sure that might be mostly you, freddie

"where I'm going, I don't think you can follow" :(

this is my third time watching this and I still refuse to watch the rainbow puke

"garmelie was merely the traveler on this journey" fuck OFF

dragon holograms DRAGON HOLORGAMS

I swear they put "baubles" in the script for every thordak scene entirely bc lance reddick says it like that

mala: I didn't think scanlan HAD a strength score

the fact that "with our father" got the end-of-episode scare chord cliffhanger

[2ndaryprotocol]

The war comedy ‘Good Morning, Vietnam’ starring Robin Williams opened in theaters this day 35 years ago. 🪖📻🎭

“𝙶𝚘𝚘𝚘𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚅𝚒𝚎𝚝𝚗𝚊𝚖! 𝙸𝚝'𝚜 𝟶𝟼𝟶𝟶 𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜. 𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚍𝚘𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 ‘𝙾’ 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚏𝚘𝚛? 𝙾 𝚖𝚢 𝙶𝚘𝚍, 𝚒𝚝'𝚜 𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚢!”

[kwebtv]

Dream West - CBS - April 13 - 20, 1986

Historical Drama / Western (3 episodes)

Running Time: 337 minutes

Stars:

Richard Chamberlain as John Charles Fremont

Alice Krige as Jessie Benton Fremont

F. Murray Abraham as President Abraham Lincoln

René Enríquez as General Castro

Ben Johnson as Jim Bridger

Jerry Orbach as Capt. John Sutter

G. D. Spradlin as General Steven Watts Kearney

Rip Torn as Kit Carson

Fritz Weaver as Senator Thomas Hart Benton

Anthony Zerbe as Bill Williams

Claude Akins as Tom Fitzpatrick

John Anderson as Brig. Gen. Brooke

Lee Bergere as 'Papa Joe' Nicollet

Jeff East as Tim Donovan

Michael Ensign as Karl Preuss

Mel Ferrer as Judge Elkins

Gayle Hunnicutt as Mrs. Maria Crittenden

Noble Willingham as President James Knox Polk

Matt McCoy as Louis Freniere

Cameron Mitchell as Commander Robert Stockton

Burton Gilliam as Martineau

John Harkins as Secretary of State George Bancroft

George American Horse as Indian Chief

[duranduratulsa]

Now showing on my 90's Fest Movie 🎥 marathon...The Last Boy Scout (1991) on glorious vintage VHS 📼! #brucewillis #DamonWayans #HalleBerry #danielleharris #chelseafield #TaylorNegron #BruceMcGill #KimCoates #noblewillingham #badjadjola #chelcieross #billyblanks #eddiegriffin #rickducommun #MorrisChestnut #BillMedley #DickButkus #vintage #vhs #90s #90sfest #durandurantulsas3rdannual90sfest

[lapsed-bookworm]

Country music is at a crossroads. Two of its most viral songs show why

Analysis by AJ Willingham, CNN

Sat, July 29, 2023 at 2:27 PM EDT·7 min read

People — non-country lovers specifically — like to joke that modern country music is a repetitive incantation of beer, trucks, girls and American flags, with the occasional sprinkling of Copenhagen or MultiCam thrown in. (And, for the women, there’s an extra dash of marital homicide.)

That’s all part of it, for certain. But a longer pause on the radio dial, or a deeper dive into the genre’s roots, reveals far more variation — different traditions and cultures calling to each other, answering and reinventing themselves as they go.

The struggle for the soul of country music is on full display now as two very different songs have been making headlines. Jason Aldean, one of country music’s biggest stars, has been embroiled in controversy over his single “Try That in a Small Town.” The song contains what critics say are racially charged lyrics, and scenes from the music video were shot in front of a courthouse that was the site of an infamous lynching in the 1920s. The backlash was so complete, CMT removed Aldean’s video from its rotation and the original YouTube version was edited to remove several seconds of protest footage.

Meanwhile, fellow country star Luke Combs has been going viral on social media with his platinum cover of “Fast Car” by famed singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman. Some of the attention has been positive, praising his rendition of the famous ballad and discussing the impact of his homage to Chapman who, as a Black woman and queer icon, is a triple whammy of underrepresentation in country music.

In an interview with Billboard, Combs called “Fast Car” the “perfect song” and Chapman a “supernatural songwriter.”

“The success of my cover is unreal and I think it’s so cool that Tracy is getting recognized and has reached new milestones. I love that she is out there feeling all the love and that she gave me a shout-out! Thank you, Tracy!”

Chapman herself, who is notoriously private with both her personal life and her music rights, also commented to Billboard about the song’s success.

“I never expected to find myself on the country charts, but I’m honored to be there. I’m happy for Luke and his success and grateful that new fans have found and embraced ‘Fast Car.’”

The crossover also made history, cementing Chapman as the first Black woman to have a sole writing credit on a No. 1 country radio song.

Dividing the divisions

Both “Try That in a Small Town” and “Fast Car” have topped country charts in recent weeks. While they represent something of a divide among the genre, they’ve also led to an exploration of finer fissures within. Aldean has millions of supporters who see his ode to small town solidarity as a continuation of what made country music so resonant in the first place: The telling of stories forgotten by the mainstream.

(Small town pride is also a favorite theme of Aldean’s, whose hits include 2010’s “Flyover States” and “Dirt Road Anthem,” and the early hit “Amarillo Sky,” which details the noble struggles of a proud farmer.)

Aside from the controversy of lyrics slamming gun control and threatening people who disrespect police, Aldean’s song set off interesting conversations as people discussed what being from a small town really means, and indeed, what a small town even is. (Aldean himself is from Macon, Georgia, which may seem like the sticks to some people but is, in fact, a mid-sized city that also helped form rock greats like Little Richard and Otis Redding.)

“Try That In A Small Town, for me, refers to the feeling of a community that I had growing up, where we took care of our neighbors, regardless of differences of background or belief. Because they were our neighbors, and that was above any differences,” Aldean wrote in a statement defending the song.

As for Combs, the same reasons that attracted praise for “Fast Car” have also attracted criticism. The song, like Chapman herself, has been a lighthouse for people on the margins since its release in 1988, dealing as it does with poverty and loneliness and the universal appeal of getting the heck out of town with your baby by your side. (And, in the process, became a lesbian anthem.) While it’s a very country message, some fans were uncomfortable that a straight, White male singer would add his voice to Chapman’s genius.

“On one hand, Luke Combs is an amazing artist, and it’s great to see that someone in country music is influenced by a Black queer woman — that’s really exciting,” Holly G, founder of the Black Opry, told The Washington Post. “But at the same time, it’s hard to really lean into that excitement knowing that Tracy Chapman would not be celebrated in the industry without that kind of middleman being a White man.”

Defining the soul of country

These two songs, so differently received yet recorded under the same big country umbrella, are an embodiment of the crossroads where country music currently stands. Like all musical traditions that fuse, evolve and splinter, country music and its legions of fans are engaged in a negotiation for the genre’s main identity.

Do they embrace the class-conscious, anti-capitalist forefathers and foremothers who played in prisons and supported laborers and held staunchly leftist views by today’s standards? (They still live today: Willie Nelson is a proud Texas Democrat and Dolly Parton an LGBTQ ally.) Do they turn up the party-happy “Bro Country” of the early 2000s, or champion the red-white-and-blue anthems that still represent, for so many, a platonic ideal of patriotism?

Do they welcome the fresh influx of non-White country artists, or ignore the inheritance secured by the voices of Black and Latin American artists who helped build the genre? Do they sing with these voices, or sing over them?

Moreover, what can be accepted? Queer country acts are on the rise, but will they ever join country’s highest ranks of outcasts, rebels and beaten-down lovers? Or will songs with even a hint of pro-LGBTQ themes, like Kacey Musgraves’ “Follow Your Arrow” or Little Big Town’s “Girl Crush” continue to be met with friction?

What can be forgiven? When the Dixie Chicks spoke out against the Iraq War in the early 2000s, their popularity in country music circles never fully recovered.. When current superstar Morgan Wallen was caught saying racist slurs, his supporters kept his album “Dangerous: The Double Album” at the top of the charts for weeks after the backlash. In the year that followed, he launched a new tour and an appearance at the Grand Ole Opry. Combs has sought forgiveness, too: In 2021, he apologized for past performances that featured the Confederate flag.

“I know that I’m a very highly visible member of the country-music community right now,” Combs said. “And I want to use that position for good, and to say that people can change and people do want to change, and I’m one of those people trying.”

These decisions beg a larger question: Can the myriad interpretations of country music exist side by side? If something must change, what of the genre’s essential character would disappear along with it?

As the reactions to Combs and Aldean’s songs prove, it’s not an easy negotiation. Small towns, fast cars and American values are as essential to country music as three chords and the truth. Who gets to define American values, and whose truths get told; that’s where the crossroads lie.

How fortunate, then, that crossroads are as country a symbol as you can get.