As country music goes, so goes the actual country? Prominent headlines posted in the past 24 hours: "Gun control debate enters country music community: 'Is this the kind of world we want to live in?'" And then "LAS VEGAS shooting forces country music industry to talk about gun control." And then "It's Time For Country Music To Change Its Tune On Guns." And there have been lots more. That's one of the tangential, but not inconsequential, results of Sunday's terrifying attack on the ROUTE 91 HARVEST festival. Can a debate that's gone in circles for decades in WASHINGTON actually be had in a productive way in NASHVILLE? Can the country community move a long-paralyzed needle? The BOSTON GLOBE's ANNIE LINSKEY and ASTEAD HERNDON report that adults who've gone to a country concert in the past year are "68 percent more likely than the average person to own a handgun [and] 74 percent more likely to own a rifle," which should not come as a surprise. But country fans don't appear to have a strong political leaning in any direction—31 percent Republican and 22 percent Democrat, per the Globe. My friend (and MusicREDEF contributor) COURTNEY E. SMITH notes that the country audience comprises one third of the US adult population, "from rural Americans into suburbs and urban areas." Which is to say, the Nashville community can speak, with emotional resonance, to a large cross-section of the country. But what would it say? And is it prepared to say it? Is now the time? How much sway does the NRA have? How much sway do people like newly politicized JOSH ABBOTT BAND guitarist CALEB KEETER have? Who is ready, and available, to listen?... Heartbreaking read (and listen) of the day: RANDY LEWIS' hourlong interview with TOM PETTY, conducted in MALIBU last Wednesday. Our still-growing MusicSET: "Remembering Tom Petty: He Was an American Boy"... JUDAS PRIEST(!!!), SISTER ROSETTA THARPE, RADIOHEAD, NINA SIMONE, DEPECHE MODE and KATE BUSH among 19 nominees for the next ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME class, in roughly the order I would kindly ask the hall to put them in, thank you... The single lingering question about MTV's TRL reboot, which continues to seek its footing: Why?... GHOSTFACE KILLAH is co-founder of a cryptocurrency startup. He met his partners online, during a REDDIT AMA. The company is called CREAM CAPITAL. This should probably be the basis of the next JAMES BOND movie... ALEXA's top 50 lyric requests is one of the strangest music charts I have ever seen... Curatorial help wanted: MusicREDEF is looking for a few great freelance curators for future fill-in gigs. Must love: pop, the internet, the written word. CVs to jobs@redefgroup.com.