Little Big Town’s ‘Girl Crush’, And The Close-Minded Complaints That Have Forced It Into Low Rotation

Written by TexMex

As a Music Director for a current Country music radio station in Texas, it always baffles me when people take the time to complain about a song on the radio… even here in conservative Texas. Don’t get me wrong, you certainly have a right to complain, but I have yet to run into a valid argument for any song that is currently playing on our station. Take for example the new song by Little Big Town called “Girl Crush”. First off, if you haven’t heard it, I highly recommend you listen to the full song, yes lyrics and all, and then you will fully understand my frustration with some “music” fans.

When I first came in contact with the song, LBT’s record label sent me a hard copy to listen to. There it was in BIG letters on the front “GIRL CRUSH”… I am not going to lie, at first I thought, probably no chance this makes the air and chuckled to myself. I listened to the first couple lines and again thought to myself, “Wow!! How does LBT think this makes the air?” And then, when you are least expecting it… BAM!! They hit you with the hook. It is a jealousy song, lyrically crafted by an obvious wordsmith and something of a genius. I think LBT knew this would be the reaction of many. What they couldn’t have predicted, and neither did I, was that people would still complain about the song’s “obvious” lesbian meaning. What? Did you listen to the song all the way through? Do you not like songs about women being jealous of a mistress? This is the foundation of female country music subjects most of the time.

To my surprise, after explaining the song to more than a handful of people, every one of them responded with basically the same thing (paraphrased): “You are just promoting the gay agenda on your station and I am changing the channel and never listening to you ever again!!”

So my response after hearing this? Of course I stayed calm and courteous and told them all I hated to hear that, but understood their position. I asked if they could just change the station for a bit and come back to us?? Nope! It was never my intent after fielding several complaints to take the song off the air. However, my boss thought we should move it back to a light rotation and out of medium, which for our station means 14 less spins per week. I fought for the song to stay put, but in the end he has the absolute final say, even though he agrees with me in principle.

I can understand the conservative viewpoint. I can understand the feeling of “Oh no they didn’t!!” for the first couple lines of the song. What I don’t understand is not listening to the whole song and making a valid argument for your disapproval. I also don’t understand taking the time to call a radio station to complain, listening to my response, and still refusing to believe the song is not a “lesbian” song. This basic formula is how we communicate in America.

Country music fans, please try to have an open mind about songs you are hearing on the radio today and if you don’t like them, that’s fine, but don’t not like them for the wrong close-minded reasons.