Here’s To The Farmer
I discovered this on Release Radar.
Once again, this is PERSONALIZED! I say that because I got e-mail asking me to send last week’s to a reader, he forgot to save it, which I find pretty hysterical, not only that he thought we all have the same songs but that he feels it’s my obligation to aid him, maybe that’s not the best example, it’s just that people always ask me questions that are easily answerable on Google, we’re all in it together but we’re all in it alone, there’s no tech help, if you don’t know how to find the answers you’re lost in today’s world.
Anyway, the biggest challenge today is awareness, letting people know you’re out there, have a new record, in a nation where we can’t keep our facts straight re the Presidential election…what are the odds people can keep up with a popular culture overwhelmed with options, even hard core fans are out of the loop.
Luke Bryan is the biggest star in country music. Or, at least in the top three, with Kenny Chesney and Jason Aldean, and let’s include Carrie Underwood, but I’m not sure she can sell out stadia, and Miranda Lambert is a giant, but…we live in a hip-hop nation. That’s one thing streaming has told us, hip-hop is even bigger than we thought, it’s got a larger piece of the pie than it has in the sales world, whereas country is nowhere in streaming, proven by the fact that “Here’s To The Farmer” only has 112,321 streams on Spotify, and it’s not much bigger on YouTube, where there are 450,659 views as of this writing, think about this, a superstar is nowhere online, what are the chances you can get traction, bupkes.
Unless you’re in my Release Radar playlist.
Did you know Tori Amos had a new song? I certainly didn’t, but it led off my Release Radar playlist which I live for every Friday, I’ve given up on Discover Weekly, it tells me where we’ve been, not where we’re going, and the last I checked, the past is history.
Now, last I checked, the farmer was not challenged, he was supported by the government, and no one ever lost their family farm despite all this hogwash about estate taxes, we live in a world of factory farming by big corporations and the indie growers are challenged, but they’re a small piece of the pie but no one ever lost in the U.S.A. by lining themselves up with old time values. That’s one of the things I hate about country music, all the fealty to what once was. Appalachia is a hotbed of drug use, Florida Georgia Line rap in their songs, but no one can come out against Trump and spew anything but redneck b.s. There’s a disconnect.
But at least this song isn’t about church.
And it’s a great cut, with excellent playing, good changes, with pandering lyrics that make the track hard to listen to, but…I do enjoy listening to “Here’s To The Farmer,” because it’s catchier than most of what was on Luke’s last album, which was a step down from what came before, it’s hard to deliver when all eyes are upon you.
But I do applaud Luke for releasing new music, “Here’s To The Farmer” is part of an EP, just a year after an LP sporting hit singles is still in the marketplace. This is the new era, you don’t rest on your laurels, you keep creating, delivering, your core audience is much more important than the looky-loos.
Luke used to do spring break EPs. But then that no longer felt good, he’d grown up, he turned forty, unlike the classic rockers getting plastic surgery and dying their hair to look younger than their audience, Luke Bryan decided to act his age. And not only is this EP coming soon on the heels of the last album, it’s part of a special tour, because it’s all about micro specialization these days, even if you’re huge. You may not be able to make it to one of the Farm Tour dates, but if you do…you were at something unique.
So, what have we learned?
We all know different stuff and we don’t know much. And despite grazing from hit to hit we need to believe in certain acts, it’s the natural way, and I’m a Luke Bryan fan, which makes me laughable in the eyes of the hipsters. I’m supposed to know the rapper du jour… As a matter of fact, I feel as misunderstood as those Kentuckians for Trump featured in yesterday’s “New York Times”:
That’s how it is in popular culture, if you don’t bleed Jay-Z green, if you don’t think “Lemonade” was the biggest cultural event of the year, if you didn’t go see Drake…YOU DON’T COUNT!
Can’t say that I really care, but so many feel put down, when the truth is today’s country music may be behind technologically, but in terms of selling tickets, in terms of radio formats, it’s DOMINANT!
Think about that, while pop is all in the box, it’s Nashville keeping Gibson alive, it’s where how you play makes a difference. And too many of the songs are written by committee, but NashVegas is where the bleeding edge resides, in the studio of one Dave Cobb, who made Chris Stapleton a star, deservedly, not by bringing in cowriters but by letting Chris be his best self.
The truth is there’s no center left. The VMAs were a sideshow. Music has become Balkanized. And it’s hard to keep up, but Release Radar makes sense of it.
So, it’s a brand new world, where what you did yesterday doesn’t count unless you build upon it today. And you can choose to become a clothing designer, focus on being a brand, or you can build a body of work, constantly release new material, which fans will embrace, if you can just make them aware of it.
P.S. If you think country music doesn’t rock harder than most rock and roll, listen to Eric Church’s “Before She Does” from his live album, “Caught In The Act”:
P.P.S. If you think no one knows how to play anymore, listen to Keith Urban work out on “Stupid Boy,” start off at the four minute mark if you doubt me:
P.P.P.S And if you still think Luke Bryan is just a pretty boy who keeps his catch in his Yeti… Check the emotion, the boy meets girl and tries to keep her story of “Play It Again,” my favorite track of the decade, I keep playing it again:
