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Devil's Advocate here with a hot take that will probably piss off GAW:
What is it about Oliver Anthony and his songs that makes it good?
Just finished Rich Men North Of Richmond. Good singing, but I heard much better, and I was not really impressed. Just a hillbilly bitching about his problems with a guitar.
See my reply elsewhere - and also, given your reply about what you like below, yeah, you have too narrow of an understanding about what's good. Don't like it? Fine - that's subjective - but "just a hillbilly bitching about his problems with a guitar" - no, sir, the bro's got a lot more than that on offer.
His problems minor abuse at "some island"
For all those who are not impressed with his music, why don't you pick up a guitar and give it a shot using very limited musical equipment?
I'm dying to hear it....
YUP! Also, the style is REAL country, not the sissified pop crap dominating the style these days. See the Stones' "Country Honk" for a (slightly!) more polished song in this style - they were aiming for real old-timey country with it.
Music does not always have to be super polished, perfectly sung etc to be GOOD. I mean look at John Lee Hooker FFS, some would say he could barely play but I'd argue almost no-one can do that.
John Lee Hooker was a true original and a genius in his purity of style.
Aw, Hot Dog!🌭, I think Led Zeppelin did country pretty good, as well!
Heh, I don't have much of their stuff, never heard this one.
It's not my favorite style, by far, but I agree with the sentiment. (Others' remixes of it have been better, in my opinion.)
He said several things that were "extremely pregnant" in all of us. Plenty of things repressed - like pushing down against a heavy spring - that were released for the collective... Like a part of us was finally put out of misery after severely being repressed.
Somebody finally understood "me" regarding:
So that's essentially why the song took off...a good yardstick into people being fed up - some call this phenomenon, The Great Awakening
^^^^
Was formulating a reply. Don't need to now.....
Minors at "some island"
Definitely. Art will always reflect the current consciousness of humanity. The luciferians have been controlling mass culture through art (music, movies, art, literature). This song is a song of protest that is outside the luciferian entertainment industry. It strikes a cord in all freedom loving people who have HAD IT with this Godless system of control.
This is one of my favorite (of many notable) Ayn Rand quotes:
"Art (including literature) is the barometer of a culture. It reflects the sum of a society’s deepest philosophical values: not its professed notions and slogans, but its actual view of man and of existence."
http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/art.html
I love that quote! That's exactly what I was trying to say and Ayn says it so beautifully. She too is expressing how powerful Art is and its impact on the human soul. No wonder the fallen ones have highjacked Art for millennia.
I'm so excited to see the Art that will come out out the golden age of man that we are approaching. The NOBILITY OF The HUMAN SPIRIT will be able to SOAR, finally! ❤️
I am going to guess your favorite genre of music is either kpop/jpop, prog rock, classic rock, or metal
Because if it is one of those, we look at songs like this one (rich men) the same way. Not musical enough, vocals don't give us the feels, not driving enough, no good production, no real structure. Every song I listen to is a masterpiece in its genre that I can hear in my mind when I think of it and this ain't it
I am also not really a huge fan of politics in music, that goes for cucks in rock that think being antI American or anti God is cute AND people who try to make "red pill rap" or "patriot rock" Tom McDonald might have some good takes but he is not a great rapper, so why listen to him over Tech n9ne? Kid Rock may be based AF but I am not listening to Bud Light douchebro rock even if it is singing the Q drops from start to finish, when I could listen to Coheed or Sabbath or something good.
My genres of choice is actually rock n' roll (of many kinds), metal (especially the more aggressive forms), some of the more dramatic and not-boring classical music, synthwave (of many kinds), and older pop songs (cutoff date for me is 2010, with very few exceptions in the present). Country and Hip Hop are my least favorite genres.
...Maybe it is why this song did not fit well for me. Not enough intense energy that can really make a big impact while demonstrating stellar music-ship.
And I do not mind red-pilled MAGA or Christian lyrics, but I want it to be done WELL.
This is one where, for you, just forget the music. Focus on the message. Then you'll be ok. There are plenty of songs that I can't stand from a music stand point but the message, lyrically, is stellar.
yeah, I agree, but then again its not my favorite genre, I do love old appalachain music, those people had it hard, real hard, and still could play, self taught. I get it, what his song is about, but I still see everyone walking around with cell phones listening to it. Maybe the problem is the phones. Just think about it, people made music that has lasted through the ages, without social media. And they talked about the times and the troubles, but there was a lot of prayer in those old songs.
Pretty much what my wife said when she first listened. I dont think its as much about his singing and music abilities, as the lyrics.
The way he flooded the internet was via the "youtube reaction" videos of people (including black people) reacting to his lyrics positively.
To me, this smelt like a engineered rise to fame, very typical on social media and youtube. I have seen this done before (reaction Trump, reaction to Thomas Sowell etc) to think that this particular modus operandi belonds to the WHs.
He doesn't pretend to be a good singer, just an honest one. A bit of raw intensity is a nice change from typical overproduced sounds. And it's relatable and hummable despite the minimal artistry. My 2 cents.
So?
I am an honest singer too, even though I am not a very good one and I think I will more likely bust my vocal cords if I try to sing.
...Honesty is good, but I do think that Honesty and Singing Talent is not mutually exclusive.
Raw Intensity?
I think we need to have a definition of that term, because, from what I regularly listen and watch, this is very damned mild.
I forgotten the lyrics and tune less than a minute after finished watching.
Those two cents are appreciated. I'm not trying to be an ass, but I am trying to see what about this song makes it good. People are singing praises for this song, but I don't find it live up to the hype, so I feel very cheated and lied to.
Are you confusing "good" with "viral-ity"?
I suspect that the song did what it did not because its good. Not because, oh yeah, this song is a masterpiece as far as songs go.
Rather, it's because it is tapping into the zeitgeist in the right place and the right time. BB's, comment about possible WH strategic development aside, I think the ideas and the sentiment are a very good articulation of what a LOT of people in the US are feeling about the world (country) currently. The dissonance, the breakneck pace of change, the sense of not being able to get ahead, etc. And the emerging awareness or idea that there are elites who are orchestrating this.
Throw in the allusions to Epstein Island and such: virality.
Good ala artistic quality seems quite secondary, imo.
It's cool. I didn't think it was all that good either, but I'm happy to roll with it. And even though I appreciate technical excellence and novel artistic expressions, I also like simple things like this.
I couldn't care less about Country or Rap music. However when songs come along from this Oliver guy or that Samson guy that really tell the truth, it strikes a chord (no pun intended) with a populist message. That is why people flock to these songs.
Well said. I don't think it was a great song by the metrics I generally use & have enjoyed Country & 80-90s pop most of my life, with varied gospel & celtic tossed in too. I prefer Apocalyptica to Metallica & really like Piano Guys (play for Trump on ywar nationally).
His vocals aren't anything to write home about, though he really struck a national nerve that crossed racial & political barriers. Almost everyone can relate to it on some level that has suffered at the hand of an over reaching government, which is only amplified with the current administration.
I listened to it and got the message but I don't think I made it through the whole song. I suppose it is refreshing to hear the poor white man's heartfelt lament these days. It could be a 'release valve' for the tension of rap/pop music over-saturation in a similar way as the 'reaction video' genre might be.