And you appreciate people calling it like they see it.Īt a time when our urban-rural divide is at an all-time high, anyone trying to understand rural America-media, politicians, and music industry alike - should pay attention to that. When you grow up far from the rest of the world, you learn to figure things out for yourself.
But in rural communities it’s not about agreement, it’s about authenticity. I don’t agree with everything he’s saying, and I doubt his fiercest fans do either. It's a shocking coup for the music industry, but not for the people Anthony is singing about. (And yes, it’s possible for rich backers to inflate streaming, but even if that happened Anthony is still out-performing industry giants wielding those tricks and more.) As of Friday, his hit had 10 million more Spotify streams than Aldean’s. After his record-breaking rise, Anthony remained atop the charts, despite the fact that he has no record deal. After its big industry boost, Aldean’s song faded. Here's the mind-blowing part: The charts show authenticity beats outrage. Spotify charts show Anthony's authenticity beats Aldean's outrage In fact, when he was asked about the firestorm, he said his song was about politicians on both sides. He didn’t need to score political points, because he wasn’t trying to win a political fight. Anthony didn’t need to sing about what small towns won’t put up with, because he’s lived among the rural drug crisis and other problems gripping our country. Then another friend sent it to me, and then my sister - who runs our family farm in Sauk County - did too. I first heard about him when a friend, also from rural Wisconsin, sent me his song. But Anthony has fled the political debate. He did get a boost from conservative influencers, and eventually the mainstream media reaction to his anger over high taxes and welfare. The only thing selling it was Anthony’s voice, stark and haunting, over his resonator guitar. I first heard about it when the media told me I needed to know about it.Īnthony’s “ Rich Men North of Richmond” is a spare song about working hard, falling further behind, and the hardship, addiction, and resentment so many people experience as a result. Soon enough conservative media and influencers were taking his side, and the mainstream media was reporting on the outrage. With his establishment country music juggernaut behind him, including the money it takes to get promoted and onto mainstream radio, Aldean picked a fight. Its music video may as well have been a political ad, spliced with footage of crime, vandalism, and protests. Jason Aldean's 'Try That in a Small Town' video looked like political adĪldean’s “ Try That in a Small Town” is filled with scenes of the city he says small-town America would never tolerate.
The first mistake was seeing these songs as the same. And getting that wrong is what’s really dividing our country. The problem: these two are actually showing completely opposite things about rural America, whether it’s Wisconsin farmland or fading industrial towns or the mountains of Appalachia. And Anthony actually seemed to max out the outrage machine Aldean had been throttling before him, when his song was played at the top of the Republican presidential ebate in Milwaukee to tee up questions on frustrated Americans. What the first guy (country music megastar Jason Aldean) and second guy (viral music sensation Oliver Anthony) had in common was that they both scored hit country songs that rode waves of controversy to the top of the charts. If that sounds ridiculous, it’s because it is. Saying, essentially, they stood for the same thing. For several breathless weeks, the national media has compared one of the music industry’s titans - a polished multi-millionaire - to an unknown man from rural Virginia with a ragged beard who had recently gotten sober.
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