Oliver "Chris" Anthony

[80Tiger 899]

1 hour ago, Didba said:

I never said Neil Young songs weren’t political. Did you even read all of my points before responding?

further, this ignores my point that the era of a musician plays a huge part into whether they are pandering or not. 

Actually this reply is non-responsive to all of my points so I’ll just re-state them. I’ll bold them too. And surmise them here:

Already famous Neil Young wasn’t writing “southern man” thinking “oh man what buzzwords can I put in this song so it will go viral with liberals to spark my music career.“ He wrote it because he was personally disgusted it says as much in his writing later in life.

However, in the modern era, it’s more likely for an unknown artist to go “oh man what buzzwords can I put in this song so it will go viral with liberals to spark my music career.“

and here are my original points bolded for your ease of reading:

Well I think the difference there is those guys become famous writing both non-political music and political music. And they are most famous, at least Neil Young, for their non-political music. (I’ll admit my knowledge of Woody Gutherie’s catalog is limited at best).

They also didn’t start their music careers during a period of time where it is well known that the pop-country genre panders hard exactly how the record company wants. 

whereas, this guy is only famous with one hit song because it’s a very specific brand of political. His non-political music is nothing special. The only reason this one song is blowing up is because it’s political. 

whether it’s pandering is not a matter of whether someone agrees with it or not, it’s a matter of what era of music/the recording business the music was made in and whether it was written specifically for it to go viral with certain groups. 

 

Trying to have discussion. All your reply is your opinion nothing factual. This is why I don’t come to this forum much because some wet behind the ears lawyer thinks he is so much smarter then everyone else’s. 

[LPTiger 5,167]

2 hours ago, Didba said:

Well I think the difference there is those guys become famous writing both non-political music and political music. And they are most famous, at least Neil Young, for their non-political music. (I’ll admit my knowledge of Woody Gutherie’s catalog is limited at best).

They also didn’t start their music careers during a period of time where it is well known that the pop-country genre panders hard exactly how the record company wants. 

whereas, this guy is only famous with one hit song because it’s a very specific brand of political. His non-political music is nothing special. The only reason this one song is blowing up is because it’s political. 

whether it’s pandering is not a matter of whether someone agrees with it or not, it’s a matter of what era of music/the recording business the music was made in and whether it was written specifically for it to go viral with certain groups. 

Did, you have said several times that he is pandering to a conservative audience.   Lets list the points made by Anthony and see if you rate them as resonating with liberals, conservatives or both:

1.  "I've been selling my soul, working all day, overtime  hours for bull**** pay" i.e. The working class is working long hours without a "living wage" 

2. "So I can sit out here and waste my life away, drag back home and drink my troubles away" i.e. the lack of a living wage is wasting lives and causing real pain

3. "It's a damn shame what the world's gotten to" i.e. we need real change in the world

4. "For people like me and people like you" i.e. we are all in this together, even people that don't look, talk and act like me

5. "These rich men north of Richmond Lord knows they just want to have total control" i.e. Congress is mostly made up of the rich, or the very soon to be rich, there are no middle class congresspeople and all of them want power and  control.

6. "Cause your dollar ain't s*** and it's taxed to no end" i.e. inflation has adversely impacted the value of your real wages and the middle class pays to much in taxes

7. "I wish politicians would look out for miners"  i.e. coal miners work dangerous jobs in crappy conditions and are not being appropriately provided for

8. "and not just miners on an island somewhere" i.e. we need to do more to put a stop to child trafficking

9. "we got folks in the street ain't got nothing to eat" i.e. we need to do more to help the homeless

10. "the obese is milking welfare, if you're 5 foot 3 and 300 pounds taxes ought not pay for your bag of fudge rounds i.e. SNAP should be used to only pay for real nutrition particularly for those who are already suffering, obesity, a serious health condition that is the gateway to even more serious health conditions.

  

[LPTiger 5,167]

On 8/20/2023 at 2:04 PM, LPTiger said:

Dub, Oliver Anthony isn't speaking out against welfare fraud or people who otherwise abuse welfare i..e the pejorative "Welfare Queen."   "Welfare queens" can come in any size.   Anthony is making a much finer point and one that is entirely consistent with the authorizing legislation of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Act.    Anthony is arguing that the obese should not be allowed to use tax-funded assistance to contribute to their already existing health problem particularly at a time where we have homeless people starving to death.   "Lord, we got folks in the street (the homeless), ain't got nothing to eat, and the obese are milking welfare, Well God if you are 5 foot 3 and you're 300 pounds, taxes ought not pay for your bags of fudge rounds."  Online, the number of calories in 1 fudge round ranges from 150 to 260 calories.   A 12 ounce Sprite has 10 less calories.  The fudge round does not appear to offer any vitamin A or C.    If one were to eat 6 fudge rounds in a day, that is the equivalent of drinking 6 sodas. Anthony's position is entirely consistent with Congress' intent -- The authorizing legislation says that the SNAP program "is intended to alleviate hunger and malnutrition by permitting low income households to obtain a more nutritious diet."   SNAP prohibits alcohol and tobacco purchases.   But, efforts to regulate with some minimal nutritional requirements have always failed.  

Dub, is your silence an acknowledgment that upon further reflection maybe Oliver Anthony wasn't;t speaking about welfare queens after all?

[Didba 5,256]

39 minutes ago, LPTiger said:

Sure, but you have been very selective so I'll add in some verses you left out and some additional context.

Also, your "i.e."s do a lot of heavy lifting to interpret the lyrics in a non-pandering manner. In fairness, I'll disregard them and only look to the actual language of the lyrics like most casual listeners would do, mostly because I don't think many casual pop country fans are gonna be looking into deeper interpretations of these lyrics. They likely take them at face value so I will as well. 

Though, it was very clever to try and have me stipulate to your interpretations of the lyrics (and I agree with several), its almost like you are a seasoned litigator 😉

Also, I'll just say left or right for sake of brevity.

1. "I've been selling my soul, working all day, overtime  hours for bull**** pay"  In a country song, right. Generally, both.
2. "So I can sit out here and waste my life away, drag back home and drink my troubles away"  In a country song, right. Generally, both.
3. "It's a damn shame what the world's gotten to" Both.
4. "For people like me and people like you"  In a country song, sung by a white guy, listened to by mostly white people, unfortunately, right.
5. "These rich men north of Richmond Lord knows they just want to have total control"  Right.
6. "Cause your dollar ain't s*** and it's taxed to no end" its seems both but when viewed in context with the preceding verse, right.
7. "I wish politicians would look out for miners"  In a country song, right. Generally, both.
8.  "and not just minors on an island somewhere" its seems both but when viewed in context with the preceding verse, right.
9. "we got folks in the street ain't got nothing to eat" its seems both but when viewed in context with the preceding verse, right.
10. "the obese is milking welfare, if you're 5 foot 3 and 300 pounds taxes ought not pay for your bag of fudge rounds" Right.
11. "Livin' in the new world; With an old soul" Right.
12. "Lord knows they all just wanna have total control; Wanna know what you think, wanna know what you do" Right.
13. "Cause your dollar ain't s*** and it's taxed to no end; Cause of rich men north of Richmond" Right. (Here's the context for #6).
14. "I wish politicians would look out for miners; And not just minors on an island somewhere" Right. (Here's the context for #7-8).
15. "Lord, we got folks in the street, ain't got nothin' to eat; And the obese milkin' welfare" Right. (Here's the context for #9).
16. "Young men are puttin' themselves six feet in the ground; 'Cause all this damn country does is keep on kickin' them down" In a country song, right. Generally, both.
17. "Lord, it's a damn shame what the world's gotten to; For people like me and people like you" In a country song, sung by a white guy, listened to by mostly white people, unfortunately, right.

Also, just on a musical note; I noticed while looking at the lyrics that the song does have a rhyme scheme which I didn't expect. Sadly, its just:

• A
• A
• A
• A

And he only keeps up the rhyme scheme for seven lines, doesn't rhyme in the chorus, and contains zero internal rhyme schemes. But hey, he does work in some alliteration for the first line so there ya go.

  

 

[Didba 5,256]

1 hour ago, 80Tiger said:

Trying to have discussion. All your reply is your opinion nothing factual. This is why I don’t come to this forum much because some wet behind the ears lawyer thinks he is so much smarter then everyone else’s. 

Never claimed it was factual. Oh surprise, there is the personal insult. Classic.

[Didba 5,256]

1 hour ago, LPTiger said:

Dub, is your silence an acknowledgment that upon further reflection maybe Oliver Anthony wasn't;t speaking about welfare queens after all?

He might have you on ignore. Jussayin, alot of times I forget to respond to some people cause I have them ignored for sanity.

[LPTiger 5,167]

2 minutes ago, Didba said:

 

Did, white guys aren't exempt from feeling empathy and compassion.   On a separate note, have you seen the various African Americans reviewing the song? They are not in agreement with you. 

[LPTiger 5,167]

1 minute ago, Didba said:

He might have you on ignore. Jussayin, alot of times I forget to respond to some people cause I have them ignored for sanity.

Well counsel, fill it for your like minded friend😀    How do you define welfare queen?

[Didba 5,256]

Just now, LPTiger said:

Did, white guys aren't exempt from feeling empathy and compassion.   On a separate note, have you seen the various African Americans reviewing the song? They are not in agreement with you. 

I know, I am white my man, my point was there will be some dumb white people that interpret that to be referring to white conservatives because the singer is white, its a country song, and they are also white. hence, my "unfortunately".

As for the African Americans reviewing the song, they are entitled to their opinions, just as we all are.

Just out of curiosity, where are you seeing these reviews? On their YouTube channels? or twitter?

[Didba 5,256]

4 minutes ago, LPTiger said:

Well counsel, fill it for your like minded friend😀    How do you define welfare queen?

By its plain-meaning:

1. welfare queen - A woman collecting excessive welfare payments through fraud or manipulation.
   1. https://www.definitions.net/definition/welfare+queen
2. welfare queen (pl. welfare queens) - (US, pejorative) A woman collecting welfare, seen as doing so out of laziness, rather than genuine need.
   1. https://www.wordsense.eu/welfare_princess/
3. A "welfare queen" is a derogatory term used in the United States to refer to women who misuse or collect excessive welfare payments through fraud, child endangerment, or manipulation.
   1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welfare_queen

4. welfare queen (plural welfare queens) - (US, derogatory) A woman collecting welfare, seen as doing so out of laziness, rather than genuine need.

   1. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/welfare_queen

5. "Welfare Queen" is a derogatory term in the United States for a woman who abuses or collects excessive welfare benefits through fraud, child endangerment, or manipulation.

   1. https://academic-accelerator.com/encyclopedia/welfare-queen

[LPTiger 5,167]

29 minutes ago, Didba said:

I know, I am white my man, my point was there will be some dumb white people that interpret that to be referring to white conservatives because the singer is white, its a country song, and they are also white. hence, my "unfortunately".

As for the African Americans reviewing the song, they are entitled to their opinions, just as we all are.

Just out of curiosity, where are you seeing these reviews? On their YouTube channels? or twitter?

If you pull up his video on you tube, the critics' reviews are on the right side.    I've watched at least 5 of them and one of them had 4 guys reviewing it at the same time (granted not a massive sample size).   All of them have almost identical reactions -- which are positive.   I do believe it to be particularly noteworthy when liberal white people hear dog whistles in a song that African Americans don't hear.  

[SaltyTiger 7,816]

2 hours ago, LPTiger said:

Did, you have said several times that he is pandering to a conservative audience.   Lets list the points made by Anthony and see if you rate them as resonating with liberals, conservatives or both:

1.  "I've been selling my soul, working all day, overtime  hours for bull**** pay" i.e. The working class is working long hours without a "living wage" 

2. "So I can sit out here and waste my life away, drag back home and drink my troubles away" i.e. the lack of a living wage is wasting lives and causing real pain

3. "It's a damn shame what the world's gotten to" i.e. we need real change in the world

4. "For people like me and people like you" i.e. we are all in this together, even people that don't look, talk and act like me

5. "These rich men north of Richmond Lord knows they just want to have total control" i.e. Congress is mostly made up of the rich, or the very soon to be rich, there are no middle class congresspeople and all of them want power and  control.

6. "Cause your dollar ain't s*** and it's taxed to no end" i.e. inflation has adversely impacted the value of your real wages and the middle class pays to much in taxes

7. "I wish politicians would look out for miners"  i.e. coal miners work dangerous jobs in crappy conditions and are not being appropriately provided for

8. "and not just miners on an island somewhere" i.e. we need to do more to put a stop to child trafficking

9. "we got folks in the street ain't got nothing to eat" i.e. we need to do more to help the homeless

10. "the obese is milking welfare, if you're 5 foot 3 and 300 pounds taxes ought not pay for your bag of fudge rounds i.e. SNAP should be used to only pay for real nutrition particularly for those who are already suffering, obesity, a serious health condition that is the gateway to even more serious health conditions.

  

Not a fan of that type music but the guy sounds like a real progressive lefty to me.

#10 interesting. Few years ago a thread here about healthy food not being readily available for welfare customers. Trumps fault then.

[LPTiger 5,167]

4 minutes ago, SaltyTiger said:

Not a fan of that type music but the guy sounds like a real progressive lefty to me.

#10 interesting. Few years ago a thread here about healthy food not being readily available for welfare customers. Trumps fault then.

He self identifies as being down the middle.   He is young, lives in a 27 foot travel trailer with a tarp on top of it.   He isn't blindly cashing in.    He has rejected an $8MM record deal because he says he doesn't want buses and 18 wheelers.   He did a free concert yesterday that thousands attended.  So, he obviously is not much of an entrepreneur which means he is likely a lib😀.   He says his biggest wish is that we could all start getting along.   

[Mikey 16,630]

9 hours ago, Didba said:

Kudos to Anthony for stringing buzzwords together in a song knowing that it would blow up with the right crowd.

Smart song writing. Every writer wants to write a tune that will get millions of people listening. This guy accomplished it. Kudos indeed!

[Didba 5,256]

4 hours ago, LPTiger said:

If you pull up his video on you tube, the critics' reviews are on the right side.    I've watched at least 5 of them and one of them had 4 guys reviewing it at the same time (granted not a massive sample size).   All of them have almost identical reactions -- which are positive.   I do believe it to be particularly noteworthy when liberal white people hear dog whistles in a song that African Americans don't hear.  

Ah, yeah kinda what I thought, those are most likely react channels that are huge for listening to "xyz of opposite xyz people music"; honestly it sounds crazy but its totally a thing, if you just type in react to xyz tons of channels pop up. College kid reacts, young couple reacts, etc., I'd imagine the youtube algorithm is pushing anything mentioning his songs right now and people trying to ride the wave to help grow their channels will just follow the algorithm with positive videos.

If you know all about youtuber and algorithm interaction then disregard my bad.

[Didba 5,256]

2 hours ago, Mikey said:

Smart song writing. Every writer wants to write a tune that will get millions of people listening. This guy accomplished it. Kudos indeed!

Oh for sure, you aren't wrong there! On one hand I can call it pandering on the other I can see that its hard to fault a man too much for seeing the open market and nailing it so well.

Edited August 22, 2023 by Didba

[LPTiger 5,167]

Today the media is reporting that he is pulling in $40k, per day.   So awesome to see a young American hit it big.   Now he can afford to have the leaks fixed in his trailer...  Well done Oliver Anthony!!!!!

[TexasTiger 12,953]

 

[LPTiger 5,167]

Oliver Anthony just made history as the first artist ever to have a song debut at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 without any prior chart experience.

[TexasTiger 12,953]

On 8/19/2023 at 2:32 PM, Didba said:

He spends maybe 10 seconds of the song on those less fortunate if you break down his lyrics. Watch the video break down I posted. It explains it very well. 

It doesn’t. It shows fantano’s biases. Rich men north of Richmond is DC— this is not about the Mason Dixon line. That was one helluva reach .

[TexasTiger 12,953]

I don’t this is great song by any stretch, but the left & right have both overreacted and over assumed.

 

[homersapien 11,390]

Geez, with such parsing of lyrics  you'd think maybe this guy was another Bob Dylan.

Edited August 25, 2023 by homersapien

[AUFAN78 3,911]

On 8/21/2023 at 12:20 AM, Didba said:

I mean yeah this song is inflammatory. Just look at all the mud it’s causing to be slung. 

Truth has a way of doing precisely that. Time to get on board and fix it no?

[LPTiger 5,167]

18 minutes ago, TexasTiger said:

It doesn’t. It shows fantano’s biases. Rich men north of Richmond is DC— this is not about the Mason Dixon line. That was one helluva reach .

TT, I pointed out to Did earlier that the Mason Dixon is a full 200 miles north of Richmond.

[AUFAN78 3,911]

On 8/21/2023 at 1:01 PM, Didba said:

Kudos to Anthony for stringing buzzwords together in a song knowing that it would blow up with the right crowd

Agree. He knocked it out of the park. But your statement also speaks for the wrong crowd, the elites who don't give a **** for those less fortunate. He blows their arrogant a$$es up as well. Win win?