1/6/2024 0 Comments Lynyrd skynyrd jonesPandering to the Base: Their more recent work is generously peppered with right-wing political ideology that appeals to older white southerners. ![]() Both songwriter Ronnie Van Zant and producer Al Kooper expressed their disdain for the noted segregationist George Wallace, who himself recanted his racist views later in life. ![]() Misaimed Fandom: "Sweet Home Alabama" has been embraced by some White nationalists and other far right groups as an explicit defense of racial segregation and Southern values, ignoring the nuances of the passages, such as the often ignored "Boo!" line after the mention of then governor George Wallace.In mid-2022 it suddenly became popular to post videos of 3D rat(s) spinning or rotating whilst the guitar solo of Free Bird plays in the background.It was one before as well, but nowhere near as big until then. "Sweet Home Alabama" became the punchline to incest jokes in early 2019, as a way to poke fun at the incestuous Deep South stereotype.Memetic Mutation: "FREEEEE BIIIIIIRD!" People even shout it at non-Skynyrd concerts.After the tragic plane crash, Neil Young performed "Sweet Home Alabama" on his tour in the victims' honor.Really, lyrics like "the smell of death surrounds you" and "tomorrow might not be here for you" are particularly wrenching given that it was released just days before Van Zant's death. In 1986, the band's other founding guitarist, Allen Collins, was paralyzed when he got into a wreck while driving drunk, and ultimately died of complications from the injury four years later. "That Smell", a song about the dangers of drugs and alcohol, written as a response to founding guitarist Gary Rossington getting into a single-car wreck while under the influence, and warning to others not to follow the same path.It was changed shortly after, to a picture of the band standing in a spotlight from the same photo shoot. ![]() The band's 1977 album Street Survivors was released three days before the plane crash, and the front cover featured the band standing on a street while flames surround.Epic Riff: "Sweet Home Alabama", "Free Bird", among many others.
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