It's the anniversary of 9/11 tomorrow. And, as usual, I have mixed feelings.
So, I have a mix of songs to illustrate.
"Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)" is a song by country music artist Toby Keith. Rleased in May 2002, it became one of Keith’s most famous songs, largely due to America's response to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the subsequent War on Terror.
The song was written following the attacks on 9/11. Keith's father, who was a U.S. Army veteran, had passed away just six months before the attacks, and the song was inspired by both his father's patriotism and the national response to the tragedy. Keith has described it as a reaction to the emotions he felt during that time, expressing anger and pride in America.
And I get it. I think time has dulled what that day, and that time felt like. There was chaos and confusion, and there was anger and grief, panic and pain and a thirst for justice. And vengeance.
And, yeah, the world got ugly. For the next decade. Or more.
If I'm honest, I like this song precisely because it is so defiant and unapologetic, an anthem of American patriotism. Thousands died, and we were going to make those responsible pay, by God. And pay dearly. It's the most primal of responses, but that shouldn't mean that it should be dismissed.
The road to the hell that became the War On Terror was paved with all the good intentions of bringing justice back home.
And, boy, did we fuck all that up.
Mary Chapin Carpenter takes a different approach to recording her thoughts about the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.
Quoting from her interview with NPR, "Carpenter was inspired to write the song "Grand Central Station" after hearing an interview with an iron worker on the first anniversary of the attacks. The man, one of the first at the scene after the towers fell, worked at Ground Zero for days afterward. The iron worker said that at the end of each shift, he felt impelled to go to the train station so the souls of the victims could follow him.
"He'd find himself just going to Grand Central Station and standing on the platform and thinking whoever wanted to go home could catch the train home," says Carpenter."
Being honest here, I've heard Espresso before, obviously, but that was about it. I had no idea Ms. Carpenter was such a hit-making power house. So, what's her origin story? Where does she come from? Technically, Quakertown, Pennsylvania, but after that...
FROM DISNEY, OF COURSE!
Yes, that glorious Disney to Pop Pipeline!
After beginning her acting career in 2011 in a guest role on the NBC drama series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, SC was soon cast as Maya Hart in the Disney Channel series Girl Meets World, a spin-off of the popular 1990s show Boy Meets World. After that, she proceeded to record and sing on many different Disney-backed albums and shows.
Eventually, however, she released her debut EP Can't Blame a Girl for Trying in 2014, to commercial and critial success, and continued the back and forth between releasing Disney content and her own personal music. In January 2021, Carpenter announced that she had signed with Universal Music Group's Island Records, I'm assuming that that was the real break with Disney, and the rise of her solo career.
That all sounds.......very familiar.
That's because Disney has been a powerful greenhouse for growing new talent since the middle of the last century: Annette Funicello, Bobby Burgess and Darlene Gillespie coming out of the original Mickey Mouse Club Cast back in the 1950s, through Lisa Whelchel starring in The New Mickey Mouse Club in the 1970s, Whelchel later being best known for her role as Blair Warner on the sitcom The Facts of Life (1979–1988).
But it really wasn't until the late 1980s/1990s that the Disney To Pop Pipeline really starting to move metric tonnes of star talent. The All-New Mickey Mouse Club (1989-1994) produced Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera, just to name a few.
Side note: The All-New Mickey Mouse Club also had a Disney To Film Pipeline, starring actors like Ryan Gosling and Keri Russell.
From there, the Disney Channel seemed like the place to be to get your Fame And Fortune card stamped:
1. Miley Cyrus - Disney Show: Hannah Montana (2006–2011)
2. Selena Gomez - Disney Show: Wizards of Waverly Place (2007–2012)
3. Demi Lovato - Disney Show: Camp Rock (2008), Sonny with a Chance (2009–2011)
4. Nick Jonas - Disney Show: Jonas (2009–2010)
5. Hilary Duff - Disney Show: Lizzie McGuire (2001–2004)
6. Ariana Grande - Nickelodeon Show: Victorious (2010–2013) (OK, while not a Disney Channel alum, Ariana Grande's transition from child actor on Nickelodeon's Victorious to a global pop superstar is noteworthy.)
So, this is the case: Sabrina comes out of a long tradition of souless corporate generated content, diluted and sweetened for popular consumption, whose music and image only serve to reinforce non-threatening, conventional traditions of gender roles and ensure that peoples thirst for non-demanding, candy-coated safe content is satiated on a daily, now hourly basis. Right, am I right?
No. I would never write that, what am I, 14? Going through my tragically ill-advised Emo phase?
OK, maybe some of that is true.
But, reviewing her Wikipedia page, I'm impressed with the content, and the output. If nothing else, here is an artist that puts in THE WORK. And, regardless of what genre you identify with, what style you champion, I will always support artists who know that THE WORK is the key. The driver. The heart of who they are.
So, sure, I'm guessing people have struggled to take Sabrina Carpenter seriously as an artist due to her origins on the Disney Channel. Like many other Disney stars, she has faced the challenge of shedding the "child star" image to be seen as a mature, credible artist.
Also, you can bet that Sabrina Carpenter gets compared to other young female pop artists, particularly those who also came from Disney or Nickelodeon backgrounds, such as Selena Gomez or Ariana Grande, obviously contributes to her being seen as less original, or as someone trying to follow in the footsteps of more successful predecessors. And, I'm guessing, being blonde and hot also can work against you as well.
However, through all that, you can see that SC has also shown resilience and growth, grinding and pushing to establish herself as a serious artist and address these challenges. She knows how to shake it off and, again, put in THE WORK.
So, who the hell is Sabrina Carpenter? A pop star who I am very excited to see grow as a performer, songwriter, and as an artist.
