Best Music Video Round 1H: "Girl in a Country Song" vs. "Fight the Power"

[TroutMan]

"Girl in a Country Song" by Maddie & Tae (2014)
Nominated by Kat

The song resonated with listeners, many of whom have grown frustrated with the way women are sung about in country music’s current party phase, and the gender-reversing music video garnered more than 25m views. Even so, not all the guys that Maddie & Tae took to task were laughing along. Asked about the song by the Chicago Tribune last year, Florida Georgia Line’s Brian Kelley got irritable: “All I’m gonna say about that is, I don’t know one girl who doesn’t want to be a girl in a country song,” he said. “That’s all I’m gonna say to you. That’s it.” -The Guardian

"Fight the Power" by Public Enemy (1989)
AV Club #37

Treated as a fanfare and greek chorus in Spike Lee’s “Do The Right Thing,” Public Enemy’s “Fight The Power” is a political rallying call as a music video. Lee staged the clip as a concert that evolves into a street protest, using Chuck D and Flavor Flav as visual anchors, then populating the crowds with references to civil rights figures both past and present. That sense of history places “Fight The Power” in a continuum, one that stretches way beyond the point of its release and it still seems vital and kinetic.

[NAF1138]

Sort of love this matchup. Essentially the same topic, fighting back against systemic power imbalances in society, but VERY different takes.

Could be my own inherent bias but Fight the Power feels much more bold and direct and that feels more like what we need. But I can see arguments on the other side.

[Kat]

I hadn't see that quote from Brian Kelley. Kinda amusing* that he feels his opinion about how woman feel about their portrayal in country music is more valid than how a couple of actual woman say they feel.

*Not.

[TroutMan]

I thought Kelley's quote was hilarious. I mean, there's a song right in front of you by two "girls" who don't want to be a girl in a country song. You couldn't be more obvious about denying reality even if you stick your fingers in your ears and shout "I CAN'T HEAR YOU!"

[Kat]

Originally Posted by NAF1138

Sort of love this matchup. Essentially the same topic, fighting back against systemic power imbalances in society, but VERY different takes.

Could be my own inherent bias but Fight the Power feels much more bold and direct and that feels more like what we need. But I can see arguments on the other side.

Bolding mine. Part of that's because women can't be too direct in today's society or men get mad. Even with the song and video as-is, they got a guy mad about it. Women gotta be more subtle or they get called nasty, or bitchy, or hostile.

[NAF1138]

Originally Posted by Kat

Bolding mine. Part of that's because women can't be too direct in today's society or men get mad. Even with the song and video as-is, they got a guy mad about it. Women gotta be more subtle or they get called nasty, or bitchy, or hostile.

Absolutely. You are not wrong. Especially in Country. We all saw what happened to The Chicks for just not being pro war enough. This is not a critique of the messaging, only the video. The video was safe.

[TroutMan]

Your point is absolutely true, so I don't want to distract from it. But I do want to point out that Public Enemy has caught loads of shit for their approach, and were frequently called nasty, hostile, and much, mich worse.

Maddie & Tae made a choice to be less confrontational, and that choice probably enabled them to get their message more widely spread. Public Enemy made a different choice, not because they could avoid anger, but because they were willing to accept the consequences.

[Zeener Diode]

Originally Posted by NAF1138

Sort of love this matchup. Essentially the same topic, fighting back against systemic power imbalances in society, but VERY different takes.

Could be my own inherent bias but Fight the Power feels much more bold and direct and that feels more like what we need. But I can see arguments on the other side.

For me it boils down to which mood I'm feeling at the moment. Public Enemy's anthem still resonates, in no small part to Chuck D's deep pipes. But the playful skewering of music's misogyny by Maddie & Tae is too good to deny.

[Pogo]

But the anthem(ness) shouldn't have much to do with it. This is about the video. Fight the Power shows a bunch of people in front of a rally stage. They bounce and show fists.

The country video (that I've never heard of/seen before) has so much more to see.

[Zeener Diode]

PE's video concept is wholly unique, no question: a street convention that mirrors what political parties do. I like how there are delegations backing the individual band members. It's sort of fun in it's own right. I guess that adds another level of comparison with GIACS.

[Borborygmi]

Got a beer in my beer, and a Chevy in my truck. Got a dog at the wheel, cut-off jeans, truck. Dirt road, back road, beer, moonlight. Red, white, and blue, girl, Friday night.

[Zeener Diode]

I know you're poking fun of the genre but country really covers a very broad spectrum of music, often crossing over into other genres. The video portion of country music is sorely lacking the diversity* that pop/rock music enjoys, and it's refreshing to see artists step out of their so-called comfort zones to create a unique music video.

*not talking about DEI, don't get triggered.**

**It's truly difficult to write a serious dissertation without the unintentional pun

[Borborygmi]

Originally Posted by Zeener Diode

I know you're poking fun of the genre but country really covers a very broad spectrum of music, often crossing over into other genres.

Perhaps a bad assumption but I was assuming my earlier post would be recognized as the 'There I Ruined It' YouTube channel's What bro country sounds like to people who don't like bro country, which I think dovetails with the Maddie & Tae song, albeit a less serious-minded effort. Goofing around aside, I did want to come back to this (great) thread and thank Kat for nominating "Girl in a Country Song", which is new to me and I think is fantastic.

[Kat]

You're welcome.

[Rebo]

I second that emotion. Thanks, @Kat!