'Accidental Racist' shows Brad Paisley's not playing it safe

Brad Paisley's new album, 'Wheelhouse,' includes a song titled 'Accidental Racist.' 'Accidental Racist' follows a man with a Lynyrd Skynyrd shirt with a Confederate flag who is confronted by a Starbucks clerk about his choice in attire.

|
Delbridge Langdon Jr./The Grand Rapids Press/AP
'Accidental Racist' is one of the songs appearing on Brad Paisley (pictured)'s new album 'Wheelhouse.'

The title of Brad Paisley's new album, "Wheelhouse," could imply the country music star is sticking with what he does best. Indeed, the 17-song album — the first in which he's listed as sole producer — presents several songs extending his reputation for clever, sometimes comic, twists on love ("Death of a Married Man"), modern life ("Beat This Summer") and sentimental romanticism ("I Can't Change the World").

But Paisley also has a history of taking chances, and that's never been truer than on his new album. The song "Accidental Racist" opens with a guy being confronted by a Starbucks clerk for wearing a Lynyrd Skynyrd shirt that features a Confederate flag. The lyrics go on to explore the tension between "Southern pride and Southern blame," complete with a rap break by LL Cool J.

"Southern Comfort Zone" similarly confronts the regionalism that leads some Southerners — and many current country singers — to boast about life in the rural South. Paisley loves where he's from, he sings, but acknowledges that seeing the world has opened his mind to the perspective of others in a positive way.

Yes, Paisley knows what he does well. But "Wheelhouse" proves he's not content with playing it safe.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to 'Accidental Racist' shows Brad Paisley's not playing it safe
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Music/2013/0409/Accidental-Racist-shows-Brad-Paisley-s-not-playing-it-safe
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe