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Post by Almost Honest on Apr 9, 2013 22:47:13 GMT -5
My other concern is that a lot of old-fashioned, god-fearing conservative PDs are going to betray Kacey if they feel her views are "too extreme" even though in reality Kacey represents the modern world and how many young people feel much more than any other artists do. (We have to keep in mind how the PDs IMMEDIATELY stabbed the Dixie Chicks in the back when they expressed an "anti-country" opinion, even though the Dixie Chicks' opinion of President Bush back when they insulted him would become the general consensus of the Americans about Bush a few years later.) I don't mean to get political, but I wouldn't put it past country radio. Let's hope the PDs don't behave so foolishly again! carriekins pretty much explained exactly what I would have said in regards to smoking going hand-in-hand with the culture surrounding beer, tailgates and trucks. In regards to the part of your post I quoted, that is definitely a fear I have with Kacey, though not really with this particular single. That's part of the reason I'm hoping this song becomes a big hit for her, so that if she releases something like "Follow Your Arrow" later on and does experience some backlash from conservative-leaning PD's, she at least has the leverage of a big hit prior to it to lean on. I was actually surprised that "Merry Go Round" was such a hit, because its subject matter certainly could have been rather controversial among conservative PD's.
Of note with regards to "Blowin' Smoke," Kacey is filming the music video today. While I agree you are probably right about this I just hate that thought that if a song in country music actually shows a different more negative or realistic perspective on small towns and farm-life than they automatically consider it "not country". I seriously think people are more depressed when all they hear is a perfect ideal of what country life is in almost every song now because it is "too good to be true". As for "Blowin Smoke" I keep picturing it as a modern day working class anthem. This past year I had worked at a gas station where most of the people smoke and go out for ten smoking breaks in just a six-hour shift (I won't go on about how annoying that was.) And this place is just a bad-working environment where everyone is bitter and negative all the time for multiple reasons. My point being that I really don't consider this song to be an endorsement on smoking (although I'm sure some smokers will probably take the meaning as that) but more a accurate depiction of someone working a dead-end job. Rant over.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2013 23:45:12 GMT -5
I was on the "Follow Your Arrow" team too initially; but after listening to the album a lot, I've grown to adore this song. It's easily become one of my favourites. I feel it's a good second single and has the capabilities to do well. I don't see it performing poorly by any means. The realism in this song just works.
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Post by wonderstruck on Apr 10, 2013 9:26:17 GMT -5
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Post by countrygirl918 on Apr 10, 2013 11:26:44 GMT -5
carriekins pretty much explained exactly what I would have said in regards to smoking going hand-in-hand with the culture surrounding beer, tailgates and trucks. In regards to the part of your post I quoted, that is definitely a fear I have with Kacey, though not really with this particular single. That's part of the reason I'm hoping this song becomes a big hit for her, so that if she releases something like "Follow Your Arrow" later on and does experience some backlash from conservative-leaning PD's, she at least has the leverage of a big hit prior to it to lean on. I was actually surprised that "Merry Go Round" was such a hit, because its subject matter certainly could have been rather controversial among conservative PD's.
Of note with regards to "Blowin' Smoke," Kacey is filming the music video today. While I agree you are probably right about this I just hate that thought that if a song in country music actually shows a different more negative or realistic perspective on small towns and farm-life than they automatically consider it "not country". I seriously think people are more depressed when all they hear is a perfect ideal of what country life is in almost every song now because it is "too good to be true". Oh, I didn't meant to suggest that PD's wouldn't consider it country (although, now that you point it out, that sadly could be possible). I particularly loved Kacey's quote in a recent article that "you don't have to sing about trucks and tailgates to be country". I wish more country artists would realize that, and I hope Kacey will see the success that would allow her to be part of the trailblazing path that pushes against modern country stereotypes.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2013 17:49:08 GMT -5
This one had a big move last week, jumping 56-40, and it should move up a few more spots tonight, but radio's response to it so far has been a little...underwhelming to me. Sure, it had the big move, but I think those were the typical big market stations pushing it up (Houston, Minneapolis, etc).
"Blowin' Smoke" did get 10 more adds today but it's only at 47 total now. Compared to other artists that are close in chart position, 47 isn't very many. Tyler Farr has 83 stations on board, Jon Pardi has 61, Justin Moore is already at 110, Maggie Rose has 74, Rachel Farley has 79, Charlie Worsham has 104, Joel Crouse has 85, Parmalee has 62, Randy Houser has 86, Aaron Lewis has 67, and Greg Bates has 72.
I guess I figured Kacey would be closer to 60 adds by now. She got 26 on adds date (April 1), then 8 last week, and 10 this week. I was thinking she would've had 35-40 on adds date, and a slightly higher number during the subsequent weeks as well.
I'm not trying to suggest she's struggling, especially since it's very early in the song's chart run, and Kacey continues to receive great press and to see strong album sales. I just hope that some radio stations aren't resisting this song because of the subject matter.
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Post by countrygirl918 on Apr 15, 2013 23:26:45 GMT -5
If radio is resisting this song due to the subject matter, then I'd hate to see their reaction to some of the other songs on the album. I'd consider this one to be one of the safer choices on the album in terms of subject matter. Kacey will certainly push some people's buttons in the industry, but I hope radio is willing to open their minds and attitudes a bit, and include some of her fantastic material on their playlists.
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Zazie
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Post by Zazie on Apr 16, 2013 7:35:55 GMT -5
^ That's a good wish, but country music has been playing it safer and safer as the years go by, ever since somebody figured out there was big money at stake in country radio. Songs in the mid-90's covered a lot more range than today's songs do, and I don't think it's going in the right direction. But they played Kacey's lead single and I think they'll play this one too. Expect nothing and you won't be disappointed.
The one-position move last night was just fine, because Smoke increased its audience impressions by almost 50%. Nice gain. Besides, this might as well go up slowly. What's the rush? Too much competition in the top 20 right now.
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Ten Pound Hammer
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Post by Ten Pound Hammer on Apr 16, 2013 13:08:35 GMT -5
^ I think it's turning back towards less safe material. The fact that Kacey got Top 10 with Merry Go Round is promising, as is the fact that less "safe" songs like Wagon Wheel are turning into hits. And overall, it feels like other artists are at least TRYING to change things up a bit — TBP with Better Dig Two, Brad with everything off Wheelhouse, etc. etc.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 16, 2013 16:30:04 GMT -5
If radio is resisting this song due to the subject matter, then I'd hate to see their reaction to some of the other songs on the album. I'd consider this one to be one of the safer choices on the album in terms of subject matter. Kacey will certainly push some people's buttons in the industry, but I hope radio is willing to open their minds and attitudes a bit, and include some of her fantastic material on their playlists. I like this song but I think lyrically, it might turn some people off. A lot of people smoke, and a lot of people drink, but they are two different things. People can go out on the weekends and have a few drinks and that's socially acceptable. But that's different than people who smoke a lot and I think that this song could come across very cynically to much of today's passive radio audience. The article in the BCU last night that talked about the 66,000 people cramming Aldean's Sanford Stadium show mentioned how they all had a good time and he (the author) attributed it to the escapism songs about beer, beaches, and sex that dominate today's country airwaves. Now, I do like Jason (and Luke and Jake--they were his openers), but sadly, I agree that too much of today's country music has just become escapist fare and therefore, it isn't really all that country. So many songwriters have been writing nothing but catchy, feel-good tunes. I like songs like that, but I feel like there have been too many, and not enough realistic, story-based tunes to balance it out. Somewhere along the way, people quit writing about real-life and instead we get dumbed-down party songs. I guess, in the end, I'm just worried that some of Kacey's music will be a little too out of place in today's country radio climate. I do think this can be a hit but I'm a little, I don't know, "unsettled" that it hasn't gotten a few more adds at this point in time, given the success of "Merry Go 'Round" and her debut album, not to mention all the hype and critical acclaim that surrounds her. I really hope "Blowin' Smoke" doesn't face that much resistance at country radio. I think it will face some, but I hope not too much. I think it will peak somewhere around #17.
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redguard
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Post by redguard on Apr 17, 2013 8:01:09 GMT -5
Her album wasn't available for purchase in my country until this Monday, so I've only just bought it. While 'Follow Your Arrow' is the album track that stands out most, I don't think it would have been a good idea to release it after 'Merry Go Round'. That would have been 2 songs in a row that are very critical of a certain lifestyle and mindset that is likely present in country music audiences. 'Blowing Smoke' may also be about a 'small town, going nowhere' attitude, but it seems more affectionate towards it and presents Kasey as part of that life, instead of standing outside it and wagging her finger at it.
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Post by wonderstruck on Apr 18, 2013 18:08:59 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Apr 25, 2013 20:35:48 GMT -5
Surprised no one posted this yet. From Billboard:
Wow. I did not expect that. A Billboard Music Awards performance will be huge exposure for Kacey.
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Joe1240
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Post by Joe1240 on Apr 26, 2013 11:21:29 GMT -5
Kinda late on this,Her album is so good. Many good tracks on the album. I love "Stupid" and "Sliver Lining".
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Post by Almost Honest on May 7, 2013 19:33:45 GMT -5
Anyone got any good news happening with this song? I have heard it a total of one time on radio and I'm starting to get scared.
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dajross6
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Post by dajross6 on May 8, 2013 10:48:30 GMT -5
It's almost weird to hear this song on the radio because it just sounds country. I'm also on the bandwagon of 'Arrow' being released as a single. XM is playing it as one of their 'Highway Finds' and I'm actually surprised with the push back 'Arrow' gets. I don't understand the argument that certain topics shouldn't be on country radio...it baffles my mind.
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avalyn
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Post by avalyn on May 8, 2013 17:18:59 GMT -5
Kacey just posted on twitter about the video. @kaceymusgraves The countdown is on! Go to kaceymusgraves.com this Friday for the debut of my Blowin' Smoke vid & new website! Tag #blowinsmoke please!
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Post by Almost Honest on May 8, 2013 20:51:47 GMT -5
Kacey just posted on twitter about the video. @kaceymusgraves The countdown is on! Go to kaceymusgraves.com this Friday for the debut of my Blowin' Smoke vid & new website! Tag #blowinsmoke please! Thank you! Looking from the two pictures on the site this video looks really promising! Hopefully that will lead to some more airplay.
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avalyn
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Post by avalyn on May 10, 2013 12:10:27 GMT -5
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jdbowman
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Post by jdbowman on May 10, 2013 12:25:43 GMT -5
Captain obvious posting here: This woman is very talented.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 10, 2013 13:01:36 GMT -5
The video plays for you guys? When I open up that link it just says "Sorry Charlie, this video won't be released until 5/13/2013 3:00:00 AM ET"
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freeman
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Post by freeman on May 10, 2013 13:08:01 GMT -5
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avalyn
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Post by avalyn on May 10, 2013 14:23:48 GMT -5
Yes, it's on her website. I clicked the vevo pop up on her page to get the link I did. Odd it won't play on their site but plays embedded on her site. Sorry about that! I assumed it would work that way too.
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rjz
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Post by rjz on May 10, 2013 15:43:52 GMT -5
The video looks exactly how I thought it would-I think she tells such a story with her music.
And she is a pretty good actress- very nice understated job.
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Au$tin
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Post by Au$tin on May 10, 2013 16:16:48 GMT -5
I don't understand the argument that certain topics shouldn't be on country radio...it baffles my mind. I don't think the argument is that the topics discussed in "Follow Your Arrow" shouldn't be on country radio, it's that country radio doesn't particularly want those topics to be discussed on their radios. Country is mostly very conservative, so topics like homophobia and marijuana aren't exactly charming to conservative listeners. It's not that the song isn't good enough for country, it's that the song is lyrically challenging to work on country. Though, I'd be all for it to be released just to see the reactions.
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rsmatto
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Post by rsmatto on May 10, 2013 16:57:56 GMT -5
I don't understand the argument that certain topics shouldn't be on country radio...it baffles my mind. I don't think the argument is that the topics discussed in "Follow Your Arrow" shouldn't be on country radio, it's that country radio doesn't particularly want those topics to be discussed on their radios. Country is mostly very conservative, so topics like homophobia and marijuana aren't exactly charming to conservative listeners. It's not that the song isn't good enough for country, it's that the song is lyrically challenging to work on country. Though, I'd be all for it to be released just to see the reactions. Ironically, though, the song is very "conservative" in approach because it talks about being independent and having independent thought/motives. Which is the problem with "Conservatives" as a political group. They usually want 'independence' and 'self-sustaining' citizens and less government with laws until it goes against what they're 'taught' in a church or at home based on 'selected' parts from the Good Book. These stations aren't playing songs for their audiences. They're playing songs that are the most least-offensive in every regard so as to keep people there to listen to those commercials. This will make $$ for their corporate bottom lines. THe REAL problem with modern Country music isn't the 'conservative nature' of it, it's the 'corporate nature' of it and how that corporate nature has whittled down the playlists to disallow great songs (that may be polarizing) from getting airplay. I even heard a story of an O/N jock getting fired because he played a new single he liked and it wasn't 'approved' by the central office of one of the big radio companies (It showed up on their spin reports the next day).
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.indulgecountry
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Post by .indulgecountry on May 11, 2013 0:38:08 GMT -5
I know everyone loves "Follow Your Arrow" and I myself like it as well, but I've always been kind of personally let down by the lyric that everyone chalks up to being the reason why it won't fly at radio. 'Kiss lots of boys, or kiss lots of girls if that's something you're into' is hardly a ringing endorsement of gay marriage or even something that I think is *that* big of a deal to listeners. I'm obviously biased, but it comes off more as a passing "People are people" sentiment than it does as Kacey advocating or glorifying something taboo to the main country radio demographic.
And as for the song not being played because she references marijuana, Eric Church has already proven that it's possible.
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Post by Deleted on May 11, 2013 1:10:51 GMT -5
I know everyone loves "Follow Your Arrow" and I myself like it as well, but I've always been kind of personally let down by the lyric that everyone chalks up to being the reason why it won't fly at radio. 'Kiss lots of boys, or kiss lots of girls if that's something you're into' is hardly a ringing endorsement of gay marriage or even something that I think is *that* big of a deal to listeners. I'm obviously biased, but it comes off more as a passing "People are people" sentiment than it does as Kacey advocating or glorifying something taboo to the main country radio demographic. And as for the song not being played because she references marijuana, Eric Church has already proven that it's possible. While I agree that the lyrics of FYA don't explicitly imply that Kacey is endorsing same-sex marriage (she is an equal rights advocate though), I still think the lyrics would be a bigger deal to country radio than some might think. Furthermore, even though the idea of same-sex marriage isn't explicitly stated by those lyrics, they are still way out of the box compared to all other songs and lyrics that hit country radio these days. Also, Kacey played the song at CRS and many PD's anonymously said that they loved the song but wouldn't play it for fear of turning off listeners. And just recently Kacey said in an interview that she wished it could be a single but she acknowledged it was unlikely to become one (she said something along the lines that she believes it is and will continue to be a very impactful song via other outlets). As for Eric Church and marijuana, none of his radio hits have referenced it. I'm assuming you're referring to "Smoke A Little Smoke". Well, the vast majority of radio stations played the edit of that song. The lyrics were changed from "dig down deep, find my stash" to "dig down deep, strike my match" and so it went from a song about smoking marijuana to one that was about regular old smoking. Commercially, the song sold well, and its radio peak (#16) is rather respectable, but I must point out that it is Church's lowest-peaking single since 2008. Personally, I think Kacey's own 'smoky' song here is likely to peak somewhere just inside the top 20 as well, and short of where "Merry Go 'Round" peaked (although I think "Blowin' Smoke" will prove to be a big hit by other measures, so it will likely 'feel bigger' than the typical hit that peaks in the 15-20 range, if that is indeed where it peaks at).
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.indulgecountry
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Post by .indulgecountry on May 11, 2013 1:24:55 GMT -5
As for Eric Church and marijuana, none of his hits have referenced it. I'm assuming you're referring to "Smoke A Little Smoke". Well, the vast majority of radio stations played the edit of that song. The lyrics were changed from "did down deep, find my stash" to "did down deep, strike my match" and so it went from a song about smoking marijuana to one that was about regular old smoking. Commercially, the song sold well, and its radio peak (#16) is rather respectable, but I must point out that it is Church's lowest-peaking single since 2008. Personally, I think Kacey's own 'smoky' song here is likely to peak somewhere just inside of the top 20 as well, and short of where "Merry Go 'Round" peaked (although I think it will prove to be a big hit by other measures). "Smoke a Little Smoke" was released before he was the radio A-lister that he is now, and it still did well. Also, I don't think that one lyric change altered the entire song. It removed the most obvious tie to marijuana, but the rest of the song lyrics reflect the image of being high imo. I doubt that swap really led radio listeners to believe the song was about cigarettes. I suppose referencing it directly is the real problem, which would be the dilemma with Kacey's mention of 'joint.'
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Post by Deleted on May 11, 2013 2:16:36 GMT -5
"Smoke a Little Smoke" was released before he was the radio A-lister that he is now, and it still did well. Also, I don't think that one lyric change altered the entire song. It removed the most obvious tie to marijuana, but the rest of the song lyrics reflect the image of being high imo. I doubt that swap really led radio listeners to believe the song was about cigarettes. I suppose referencing it directly is the real problem, which would be the dilemma with Kacey's mention of 'joint.' Well, plenty of casual radio listeners (that didn't have EC's album) wouldn't know it was about marijuana at all. The hook is just "drink a little drink, smoke a little smoke". The obvious marijuana tie was removed but a quick read-through of the lyrics doesn't reveal anything else about marijuana--it just talks about smoking and drinking and the world spinning (which can be due to the drinking). The song itself is basically about kicking back and not worrying about tomorrow or whether he should get the girl back or let her go. I think to a lot of people it's not a song about marijuana at all, and with the direct reference removed, many people who never heard the album version might not ever realize that the "smoke" in the song was intended to be marijuana instead of cigarettes. I acknowledged that it performed respectably at radio, but the fact remains that it is one of his lowest-peaking songs and that's in spite of strong sales and even with the direct marijuana reference removed.
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rjz
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Post by rjz on May 11, 2013 7:49:38 GMT -5
I didn't realize the song was about marijuana when it was on radio. But didn't listen to it very well because I didn't like it.
Wasn't a Church fan until HomeBoy hooked me and I've liked everything he's done since (retroactively liked Hell On the Heart a lot also).
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