The Biggest Takeaways from Sturgill Simpson’s Busking Set at the 2017 CMA Awards
As the CMA Awards were transpiring Wednesday (11-8) night inside the Bridgestone Arena, Sturgill Simpson decided to take his guitar, his Grammy for Album of the Year from 2016, and do a busking set in front of the arena as local journalist Adam Gold broadcast the whole thing via Facebook Live. The entire episode lasted about 45 minutes, with Sturgill Simpson taking questions, and playing a few songs.
Sturgill had made two small signs for the busking set, one that said “I don’t take requests but I take questions about anything you want to talk about . . . because fascism sucks,” and another that said, “Struggling country singer . . . anything helps (all donations go to the) ACLU God BLESS AMERICA.”
The event itself became a pretty significant sidebar to the CMAs themselves, with multiple media outlets breaking into their CMA coverage to cover Sturgill. We’ll cover some of the implications and results of Sturgill’s words and actions in due course. But since he laid out quite a bit of information, we’ll spell that out here first.
Also, though many have characterized it as a protest against the CMAs, that not really how Sturgill semed to view it. He said he hoped Jason Isbell would win, as well as Chris Stapleton and Miranda Lambert. He also mentioned that Keith Urban “was a really nice guy” and wrote him a kind email once. If he was protesting anything, it was the proposed, and then rescinded requests by the CMA for the media to not ask artists on the CMA red carpet political questions.
Here’s the biggest questions asked of Sturgill, and his answers.
What would your acceptance speech be if you won a CMA?
Nobody needs a machine gun, coming from a guy who owns a few guns. Gay people should have the right to be happy, and live their life any way they want to, and get married if they want to without fear of getting dragged down the road behind a pickup truck. Black people are probably tired of getting shot in the streets and enslaved by the industrial prison complex. And hegemony and fascism is alive and well in Nashville, TN. Thank you very much.
Will you be playing shows in 2018?
We’re doing some festivals this year (2018) just to keep the chops up while I’m working in between . . . I’m working on a bunch of really cool stuff. I’ve never had the downtime to make the record I think I’m about to make next, and it’s going to be pretty involved, and I’ll probably spend the better part of the next year working on it. But Richmond and the rest of the US in probably 2019.
About the Telecaster guitar he smashed on Saturday Night Live
It is fucking destroyed. I’ve been trying to kill that guitar for ten years. Maple is stronger than ash. The body completely broke all around the plate where the neck bolts on. So I glued it back together and it’s hanging on the wall at the house. So it’s a piece of art right now. And I might turn it into a table at some point, I don’t know.
On making a bluegrass record
I want to do a bluegrass record someday with all the guys from Kentucky that are still alive. JD Crowe, Bobby Osborne, Ricky Skaggs. That would be so fun.
Will Sunday Valley ever reunite?
Never going to happen.
Would you ever tour with Cody Jinks?
I’ve already toured with Cody. I’m moving in a different direction. Honestly, I love Cody and I love what he’s doing. I’m glad somebody came along and did what a lot of people probably wish I was still doing. But my head is just headed in a completely different direction artistically. But I’m super proud of what guys like him and Whitey Morgan, and Jason Boland and Jason Eady, and Tyler (Childers) and all them are doing. I kind of feel like my work is done in that realm. Someday I’ll wake up and feel like making a hard country record again, just that ain’t tomorrow. And that’s just me being honest.
On not being nominated for a CMA Award
I think that’s my fault. I think you have to submit to be nominated. And I’m not sure that we ever submitted, or if anybody submitted for me. I honestly don’t know. So that could have been my fault. I’m not going to say that I was snubbed, because I’m not sure that’s true. It’s really cool to see Jason (Isbell) get recognized on that platform though. I’m on a label now, and he’s a truly independent artist.
(EDITOR’S NOTE: Sturgill Simpson actually has been nominated and considered for CMAs. He just has never made it to the final nomination ballot.)
On not meeting fans after shows
It is typical. I have to save my voice. I also suffer from extreme social anxiety, and I’m a highly introverted individual. I used to run the merch booth myself. And then we got to playing venues where that just wasn’t feasible. If I run into people, I will stand and talk to them all day. But I have to save my voice so it’s tough every night to stand and talk to literally hundreds of people. I stared this thing way too old and late in my life to take the fame thing seriously. But if people want to come up, I’ll stand there all fucking day.
Are you still only making five albums?
Yes. I’m only making five albums. And they all do serve a cohesive narrative of a life journey of a human soul from a traditional Western perspective. So High Top Mountain was a seminal album or a past life, you can’t go home. Metamodern (Sounds in Country Music) was ethereal, literally like the soul’s journey through space. A Sailor’s Guide (To Earth) represents birth, and life lessons learning them. The next one is going to be about life and sin. We’re literally going to go to hell. And the fifth one will be returning to the light. Absolution.
Would you ever do an album with Jason Isbell and Chris Stapleton, Highwaymen style?
Absolutely, after I get my shit out of the way. I think it would be cool once we all get to the point where . . . like I’m only in competition with myself. So when I feel like I can’t outdo myself anymore, I think it would be cool if Jason, and Chris, and Margo (Price), and a bunch of people like that, if we just all went on the road together forever. I think that’s what the fans want.
Why don’t you play encores?
Encores are the new mosh pit. We come out and try to give our all 100%, whether it’s 90 minutes, two hours, or whatever. But I’ve got a very low bullshit threshold. Walking off stage, and pretending like we’re not coming back, and everybody in the crowd acting like we’re not coming back, let’s just skip that, and just keep rocking the fuck out until we’re done.
On The Grammy Awards
The first time I went to Merle Haggard’s house, he had one Grammy I think in his career. He was using it as a doorstopper to hold the front door open. So that immediately put a lot of things in perspective. People say (Grammys) don’t mean anything anymore, but that’s the one that to me actually means the most because it’s voted on my other songwriters, and engineers, and producers. Your actual peers that are saying that your work deserves to be recognized. So that’s something I don’t take lightly at all. I was very humbled and appreciative. And my grandpa lived long enough to see that, so that was probably the best part.
On Trump
He’s a fascist fucking pig, and I’m not afraid to say that because at this point anybody who’s still supporting that guy can’t be anything in my mind but an ignorant fucking bigot. So there it is. Anybody that’s surprised to hear me say that is going to unfollow me or stop listening to my record was probably not listening that close anyway.
liza
November 9, 2017 @ 12:13 am
I’d prefer to hear what he has to say through his music. Q&A with him is always good, though.
Hungary Dink
November 9, 2017 @ 12:35 am
Somewhat surprised he’s a liberal but after reading this I’m not so it’s whatever. Liberal, Republican, Islamic…just pump out the damn songs….Glad he’s getting out of the business since he hates his fans so much. And black people aren’t getting shot in the streets everyday and slavery ended decades ago honey. Glad he’s leaving cause he can’t hang with everyone else. Love what he said about encores though..that shit gets on my nerves an artist leaves fans screaming for like 10 minutes, half leave then the artist returns…yawn. Was kinda shocked Isbell didn’t win AOTY but then not really…same people win every damn year…not sure why the outsiders even bother to show up
Spoony
November 9, 2017 @ 12:44 am
It ended a century and a half ago. But yeah, anyway, bye Sturgill, smoke another one.
Mike2
November 9, 2017 @ 5:37 am
He was referring to how modern day for-profit prisons are disproportionately filled with African Americans, not pre-civil war slavery.
Jacob W.
November 9, 2017 @ 6:39 am
This may be hard to accept, but african Americans disproportionately commit crimes. I know it is easy to look at the numbers and make broad generalizations, but you cannot extrapolate opinion from statistics.
Matt
November 9, 2017 @ 8:45 am
Yeah, and in studies, when you control for joblessness, researchers have found that black and white crime rates are no different than each other. I think many people can agree the primary drivers of crime are poverty and unemployment. Right now, unemployment for black people is about twice as high as it is for white people. The rate for blacks sits at 7.1%, compared with 3.8% for whites. Between 1983 and 2013, according to a new report from the Institute for Policy Studies, the wealth of the median black household declined 75 percent (from $6,800 to $1,700).
Right now, black people are nearly 6 times more likely to be imprisoned for a drug crime than white people, despite the fact black people use drugs roughly at the same rate as white people.
There’s a reason why crime stats look the way they do in this country, and most of it can be traced to income inequality and lack of job opportunities. But, there is also an institutional bias that does exist. I have no problem with Sturgill pointing that out, because we need to be talking about it.
Whiskey_Pete
November 9, 2017 @ 10:25 am
Excuses, excuses. Some cultures need to get their shit together and stop playing the victim card.
sophie
November 9, 2017 @ 5:21 pm
matt, we’ve been ‘talking’ about it my whole life, and things keep going from bad to worse…Enough with the talking…
Someguy
November 9, 2017 @ 7:43 pm
” I know it is easy to look at the numbers and make broad generalization”
⬇️
“african Americans disproportionately commit crimes.”
OK mate.
Someguy
November 9, 2017 @ 7:56 pm
You know that opiod problem tearing up communities that look like yours and mine? All the jobs being sent overseas? No opportunity or upward mobility? All the crap that got Trump elected?
That shit started for blacks in the 70s. They have had to deal with what is hitting rural white people for almost 50 years. Is it really that surprising that this might cause a crime problem?
Is there a cultural problem? Of course. And in 50 years, if nothing gets better, white people will have “cultural problems” of their own.
Whiskey_Pete
November 10, 2017 @ 9:01 am
Yea, so how do Chinese/Koreans do so well and barely have a grasp of the English language? Or people from India? Or Persia/Iran? Or Armenia? Those cultures are heavy on education and not so much emphasis on sports. That’s why. All my doctors are usually from the groups I listed above. I rarely see any black people at colleges or universities. There’s definitely a cultural problem with certain groups.
Why are the county jails in California 90% Hispanic? Please, give me another set of excuses. You’d be lucky to find a white guy or Korean in there.
Whiskey_Pete
November 10, 2017 @ 9:03 am
Oh on today news: “The national anthem is racists.” -NAACP
Excuse makers. Lazy bums.
Kevin Broughton
November 9, 2017 @ 10:23 am
Blacks are 12% of the population and commit 53% of the homicides.
Cold fact.
No conspiracy.
jimsouls
November 9, 2017 @ 6:22 pm
You folks are proving Sturgill’s point. Enjoy your irrelevance while the rest of America moves forward.
Greg Guess
November 14, 2020 @ 6:46 pm
Souls, who exactly are you calling irrelevant? Conservatives? I would say that seventy plus million will definitely fall under the relevant category. Who really care what Sturgill Simpson thinks? I personally couldn’t care less. He’s just another musician that wants people to bow down to his opinion on social issues, really? Are you that stupid? Before its all said and done there will be some liberals that will totally understand the relevance of those seventy million people who don’t agree with his and other liberals bull💩.
Is politics taking over this site too? Kinda disappointing I thought this was about country music but here I am listening to crap about how many negroes are in jail. 🤮
Speedlimit9
November 9, 2017 @ 4:14 am
Statistically yes they are.
Police kill 3.4 people every single day in this country.
We imprison more people than any other nation on Earth, statistically black people are given significantly higher sentences for the same crime.
I would invite you to look through the data on opendatapolicing.com with an open mind and see what the numbers actually show. Especially in regards to search rates sorted by race and contraband found sorted by race.
Kevin Wortman
November 9, 2017 @ 4:26 am
Could you give 1 example of a black and white person being convicted of the same crime, in the same place/circumstance, being sentenced by the same judge differently? Just one example would be great…
Delphia40
November 9, 2017 @ 5:49 am
Look up Corey Batey and Brock Turner’s cases. Both raped a female. One got a minimum sentence of 15 to 25 years. The other got THREE months. Guess what the difference was about both cases?
Kevin Wortman
November 9, 2017 @ 8:28 am
I highly doubt that the same Judge presided over both a case in Palo Alto and Nashville, but if you want to compare…poor old Charles Manson got a life sentence for a murder that he didn’t actually do (just masterminded) while OJ Simpson, in the SAME town, got away Scott free because of his color…black privilege I guess.
Tom Baker
November 9, 2017 @ 7:03 am
Are you asking that question seriously are are you just that dumb? It doesn’t matter if it’s the same exact situation, it’s the same exact *system* and everyone should be treated equally within it. I know you probably won’t do it because it has lots of words and no pictures, but go read Matt Taibbi’s “The Divide: American Injustice in the Age of the Wealth Gap.” It is full of examples of how the disadvantaged are facing a different justice system.
Kevin Wortman
November 9, 2017 @ 7:13 am
OK Tom….just one example please (should be easy in such a widespread epidemic)…anything…?
Splitear
November 9, 2017 @ 9:50 am
I’ll see your fact, and raise you an “I don’t believe in facts”….
Speedlimit9
November 9, 2017 @ 7:16 am
https://www.acslaw.org/acsblog/racial-disparities-in-sentencing-three-sources-and-three-solutions few examples of what we are talking about here.
Kevin Wortman
November 9, 2017 @ 7:25 am
Right, those are statistics (wholich are pretty bulletproof from such a nonbiased source, I’m sure), but what I want is an example… the specific names of criminals or their case numbers that have been treated differently than white folks just because they’re colored.
Chris
November 9, 2017 @ 11:21 am
The cops that beat Rodney King and the looters that beat Reginald Denny.
Honky
November 9, 2017 @ 7:19 am
Kevin,
Tom just cited Matt Taibbi as a source. So you won. Congrats.
Amanda
November 9, 2017 @ 7:48 am
Kevin, it’s not that hard to do for yourself. But since you seem to be helpless, here is one study that compared black vs. white sentence lengths for first time offenders who committed the same crimes:
In Georgia: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jels.12077/full
Here’s another in Pennsylvania:
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1745-9125.2001.tb00919.x/full
They both show that on average blacks and Hispanics receive harsher sentences.
Kevin Wortman
November 9, 2017 @ 10:53 am
Amanda, I don’t see a single name or case # in either of these reports
Travis
November 9, 2017 @ 2:43 pm
Just from personal experience, I was caught by the cops with a small amount of cannabis four times between the ages of 17 and 18. I’m white and each time I was caught, I was polite and honest with the officer. Of those 4 times, I was arrested once and only given a ticket to appear in court. If I was black, I think it’s a good bet I would have been in more trouble and who knows how that would have affected the next few years. I finished school and have a professional engineer’s license. If I had to put 4 arrests on my application for my engineer’s license, it probably would get declined. I don’t think that’s fair at all (not because I should have been in more trouble but I don’t think a minority would have had the same chances I had).
Kevin Broughton
November 9, 2017 @ 5:08 pm
Blacks are 12% of the population and commit more than half the murders in this country. Does white privilege cause that?
Splitear
November 9, 2017 @ 9:49 am
Wait, you’re throwing facts around, we don’t buy facts around here. Listen, sometimes we are going to disagree with the facts, and that’s when we turn to alternative facts…
Rebel Jones
November 9, 2017 @ 10:05 am
Matt is exactly correct. Fix poverty and education and opportunity and the problems are reduced substantially. For examples look at any country that provides quality education and equal opportunity. Cheers to Matt!
SMarco
November 9, 2017 @ 2:16 pm
What you’re talking about is a public health crisis.
The problem isn’t officers shooting African American men at a disproportionately higher rate, the problem is what leads people to make the choices they do.
Unstable families, ignoring the value of public education, lack of housing, lack of healthcare, access to higher education or vocational training, no job prospects.
A lack of hope.
These are the things that lead to unfortunate choices. It’s not the police, who are often faced with only one option.
We, as a society, need to do a better job of helping everyone (everyone!) feel valued, loved and seen for what they are: worthy.
Until that happens, the cycle of senseless violence will continue.
BSMA
November 9, 2017 @ 3:21 pm
Everyone?! Really? Think about it. Do you really mean everyone or are you forgetting exactly who that includes? 4 months in prison, and out to do it again. Can you make them feel worthy? How we gonna do that?
sophie
November 9, 2017 @ 5:26 pm
Give me a break, a dear friend is a dept head at a vocational college. He is now required to teach felons how to become electricians. They pay nothing for this. Nice kids from nice families, pay through the nose.
Alex
November 10, 2017 @ 5:41 am
White people: CULTURES SHOULD GET THEIR SHIT TOGETHER
Also white people: OH NOES FELONS ARE LEARNING A TRADE THAT WILL GET THEM A GOOD JOB
Go fuck yourself.
Whiskey_Pete
November 10, 2017 @ 9:12 am
Chinese and Koreans have their shit together. Oh and they’re not white. Crazy.
So stop crying you bum and making excuses. Go flip a car or vandalize a store, I’m sure that’ll help you.
Jacob W.
November 9, 2017 @ 4:06 pm
You cannot “look through data with an open mind.” You have to let the data speak for itself. If you control for joblessness, what does that mean? There is no control group for committing crimes. You sound like you are arguing crime is committed to feed a family. These kinds of crimes would be insignificant, stealing a loaf of bread at wal mart, ect… Smarco has given valuable insight that is like “the forest for the trees,” for those playing the victim. I was at a meeting and the Texas shooting this past week was brought up, “there is nothing we can do about these things,” that was the reply that I heard. This is not the case, we can raise our children balanced and right, and we can be compassionate and respectful to strangers.
Kevin Broughton
November 9, 2017 @ 6:33 pm
Sir, you know nothing of my politics. I did not vote for Trump.
Since you cannot refute the objective fact that I posted, I assume you’re not interested in facts.
Tell me, please, where I am wrong.
Thanks.
Jim
November 9, 2017 @ 8:13 pm
Killedbypolice.net
Spoony
November 9, 2017 @ 12:41 am
That was super fun watching a stoned guy for like fifteen minutes. Sorry I bothered. Didn’t buy his last album and probably won’t buy the next one. First two were great (and paid for). Thanks for the memories, Bye Sturgill.
Hugh
November 9, 2017 @ 7:16 am
There, there Spoony, everything is going to be ok. You can’t be a fair weather fan, you got to weather the storms. Stay strong.
Alex
November 10, 2017 @ 5:43 am
well you’re a special little snowflake, aren’t you?
jtrpdx
November 9, 2017 @ 8:55 am
How is Sturgill going to survive, Spoony? Please buy his next album!
Gina
November 9, 2017 @ 9:26 am
Ha! Seriously, some sensitive people here. I read last year that Loretta Lynn voted for Trump. You know what? I still love Loretta Lynn. Really this has gotten out of hand. He talked about Trump for about a minute out of 45 minutes.
The Anti-Bro
November 9, 2017 @ 9:38 am
Spoony, he’s been clean for almost a decade now. Goes to show how much you know about the guy.
Kyle
November 9, 2017 @ 10:37 pm
He said he smoked weed with Joe Rigan before their last podcast. He’s sober from alcohol and hard drugs.
CaliforniaCountry
November 9, 2017 @ 11:49 am
Love to see all of these ladies and gents confirming EXACTLY what Sturgill said about them.
Dom
November 9, 2017 @ 1:08 am
Bought first three albums….good music, saying that this bigot won’t be spending another dollar on sturgill, way to go to ruin your music mate
The Ghost of Buckshot Jones
November 9, 2017 @ 5:12 am
If you’ve listened to his albums, and any of this comes as anything resembling a surprise to you, then you haven’t been listening to his albums. There’s a reason he covered “in bloom” on the last record. You’re the one being mocked in the song.
No one’s gonna miss you.
matthew rutledge
November 9, 2017 @ 7:05 am
Spot on, his idealism is conveyed throughout all three of his records.
Whiskey_Pete
November 9, 2017 @ 11:44 am
Not really. It’s pretty subtle.
CaliforniaCountry
November 9, 2017 @ 11:50 am
“Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran. North Korea tell me where does it end.”
Yeah, super subtle…
Whiskey_Pete
November 9, 2017 @ 12:52 pm
Both Democrats/liberals and Republicans/conservatives are responsible for fighting wars around the world. I’m registered republican and I agreed with S.S. on that comment. Does that make me a liberal? No. Traditionally the Republican party was the party usually against wars. Of course that changed.
He could be libertarian?
It’s not so black and white.
jtrpdx
November 9, 2017 @ 8:57 am
That’s what I don’t get in all of this. Have these idiots never listened to his albums?
Gina
November 9, 2017 @ 4:01 pm
Seriously. We’ve all heard “Call to Arms” right?
Hugh
November 9, 2017 @ 7:34 am
Dom’s just a threatener. Guys like Dom never leave.
C
November 9, 2017 @ 1:12 am
I will say that Sturgill Simpson is a real artist. He makes the records he wants to make and is inspired to make. He seems like he would get bored if he had to stick within the confines of one genre strictly over the other. To top it all off, I would definitely say that he loves to piss people off. I can tell just from the interiew that he is trying to shake things up and keep people guessing. He is a wild-card which I do not think is a bad thing. At least you know that whatever he comes out with next will be creative enough to get peoples attention and be entertaining enough to keep people coming back. The music industry needs someone like him. He is in complete control over what he does. Whatever he makes is 100% Sturgill and not influenced by the preferences of his fans, a record label, or what is popular. I think that if he keeps it up, he can blaze a trail for other artists and inspire other artists to take more creative control over their music.
Mike2
November 9, 2017 @ 5:41 am
He’s already has…Chris Stapelton was inspired to record Traveler after listening to Metamodern. He also helped bring Tyler Childers into the national spotlight.
Bobbie
November 9, 2017 @ 2:25 pm
The saying opinions are like assholes, same here. As an artist a song writer an entertainer I do love Sturgill Simpson. He has much talent and in my opinion he has already found his place where he wants to be in music. Not saying I agree with some of his politics, yes I voted Trump and yes I support and love my gay loved ones, but I don’t plan on arguing my point of views against his and I’m looking forward to my first Sturgill show and I’m highly anticipating his next record!
Gina
November 9, 2017 @ 1:27 am
First of all badass move. He got more press than they actual CMAs. I loved it. As far as politics, Carrie and Brad did a far more scathing anti-Trump bit than Sturgill did, so if you’re going to be mad, be equal opportunity about it. I personally don’t care about anyone’s politics when it comes to music. I separate the art from the artist. There are artists who share the same views as I do whose music I can’t stand and people whose politics are the polar opposite and I love them. It’s not a good reason to stop listening to someone’s music. Anyway, I thought the whole thing was deliciously outlaw.
Tom
November 9, 2017 @ 3:18 pm
Did they suggest that all of Trump’s supporters are racists, though? It’s one thing to rip on the president, quite another to make a presumptuous statement like that about everyone who supports him.
I didn’t vote for Trump myself, but I’m not narrow-minded enough to presume to know the mind of everyone who did.
Jacob W.
November 9, 2017 @ 3:57 pm
This is a publicity stunt. There is no viable candidate for sturgill simpson, he is getting hooked on the machine.
Gina
November 9, 2017 @ 4:10 pm
How do you know? Seriously, y’all need to stop caring about what everyone you listen to thinks about everything you do. He’s not your friend or your family so who cares? I’m not going to stop listening to someone because they call me a snowflake or a libtard or whatever the choice word is these days. I still listen to Stranglehold and I’m pretty sure Ted Nuget would call me a libtard.
-Ed.
November 9, 2017 @ 3:37 am
First I’m deplorable, now I’m an ignorant fucking bigot.
I watched Sturgill’s conniption fit on his Facebook account last night. I thought it was pretty cool until he aimed his arrows at me, so before I went to bed my copies of his three CDs that I bought on his website landed with a thud at the bottom of my kitchen garbage can. The two tour shirts I bought on his website went into the rag bag. A cool picture of John Prine and him I found on the Internet got removed as my laptop wallpaper and deleted from my photo collection.
If I knew you hated me like this Sturgill I never would’ve helped make you famous in the first place. You never even met me. Sorry I stunk up your life. Adios.
The Ghost of Buckshot Jones
November 9, 2017 @ 5:00 am
So you trashed the stuff you already paid for. I’m sure he’s heartbroken, after he already got your money.
You’re a sharp one, aren’t ya there chief?
Cobra
November 9, 2017 @ 5:12 am
Bye Felicia.
matthew rutledge
November 9, 2017 @ 7:08 am
Dear Stan…..
Hugh
November 9, 2017 @ 7:20 am
Call the ambulance! This man is having a breakdown. Stay strong Ed, he loves you. Give him the time he needs to pull himself together. He does it all for you.
Rachel
November 9, 2017 @ 7:23 am
I’ll pay the postage if you’ll send me what you threw away (for real)
jtrpdx
November 9, 2017 @ 9:00 am
Pleeeeeaaaaaaaaaaase say it aint so Ed! How will Sturgill or his other fans go on? Sidnote: how in the hell can you claim to be a fan, and not yet know his political views. Second, how on earth is it shocking to you that (especially in this very divided political age with such a shit stirring president…whether you like the clown or not) others might have a different political opinion than you and choose to express that in no uncertain terms. I thought one of the things you people admire about trump is that he “tells it like it is” and doesn’t sugar coat things? Sturgill did the same thing, so get over it.
Cobra
November 9, 2017 @ 9:33 am
*CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP*
R2D2
November 9, 2017 @ 1:00 pm
Hell yes!
ManBearPig
November 9, 2017 @ 10:14 am
no one cares…..
Splitear
November 9, 2017 @ 10:19 am
It’s okay Ed, my feelings get hurt too when people call me mean names…
Ivanka's Throw Pillow
November 9, 2017 @ 10:22 am
Truth hurts, dunnit? Simpson doesn’t need you and he already has your money anyway. If you voted for the game show host sorry, his antics are on you. YOU are to blame…no one else.
Jacob W.
November 9, 2017 @ 4:12 pm
Fuck Sturgill for doing that bullshit and falling prey to political machinations. Negative Ivanka’s throw pillow, if someone presents themselves as one thing to win your favor and then becomes a attention whore, disillusioning his original fans, the fans are not to blame. Sturgill is full of shit like a christmas goose, while it is obvious that he would not support trump, his remarks are just as divisive as trump himself. He is drinking his own kool aid and way too into it. And that was a pretty backhanded comment about Cody Jinks, as if her were on some higher plane and that type of music were yesterdays news,
Jacob W.
November 9, 2017 @ 5:00 pm
I regret this comment, I overreacted because of the above comment. The whole thing was not that bad and if it had not gotten political then I probably would have thought it was cool. I always forget that it is not Sturgill that I hate, it is his fans (including myself). He has the worst fans, we all wanted different things from him and he let us all down, but we are still waiting. This is a toxic relationship that has produced some venomous remarks with many of us. I apologize for the negative remarks.
Trainwreck92
November 10, 2017 @ 9:37 pm
I didn’t read his comment about Jinks as backhanded at all. He’s just saying that right now he’s not interested in making traditional country music in the vein of High Top Mountain/ Metamodern Sounds.
Hugh
November 10, 2017 @ 9:46 pm
Jacob is an assohole. He gets mean, then apologizes. Not worth a penny if you ask me.
Kevin Wortman
November 9, 2017 @ 3:37 am
Nobody NEEDS more than one guitar (maybe 2) but Sturgill just breaks them because he has a bunch…fascist pussy snowflake!
The Ghost of Buckshot Jones
November 9, 2017 @ 7:48 am
Man, you’re all over the map, aren’t you there kiddo?
I own 17 guitars. I haven’t done live performances in front of any real audience in over ten years. My Tele certainly sounds different than my strat, which sounds different than my tele with a b bender, which sounds different than my twelve string, which certainly has a different style than my resonator or pedal steel. No one I know that does any serious recording or performing owns fewer than 25. Get real. Do you only one two pairs of shoes or one car?
Kevin Wortman
November 9, 2017 @ 7:56 am
Ghost…there you go…you don’t NEED them, you like them or want them…your right to ownership. My point exactly. BTW I own 1 pair of gym shoes, 2 pairs of cowboy boots, and 2 pairs of work boots and 5 trucks/SUVs.
The Ghost of Buckshot Jones
November 9, 2017 @ 7:58 am
He’s a musician, that’s like saying a senior auto mechanic can get by with a 40 piece craftsman toolkit.
Kevin Wortman
November 9, 2017 @ 8:14 am
John Fogerty has played the same guitar/amp for like 30 years and he sounds great…it’s a luxury, but sure…I’m a shooter, I NEED semiauto rifles….I’m glad we agree on that.
The Ghost of Buckshot Jones
November 9, 2017 @ 8:20 am
As someone that mostly shoots black powder, my Remington 850, 770 and my .38. What’s the attraction to the AR-15 crap and semi auto stuff? Screams wannabe soldier boy.
Kevin Wortman
November 9, 2017 @ 8:31 am
The attraction is that it’s cool. Some people like fat chicks, some don’t…there’s no accounting for taste. I’m a Mini 14 man myself.
Splitear
November 9, 2017 @ 10:37 am
My grandpa would rise from the grave and smack me upside my damn head if I ever bought one of those ugly, useless things.
Spoony
November 9, 2017 @ 10:39 am
Thanks for again showing who you truly are. You surely know better than the rest of us. Having the most effective means of defending myself available to me “screams wannabe soldier boy” to you. It screams common sense to the rest of us.
Kevin Wortman
November 9, 2017 @ 10:51 am
Splitear…what did your Grandpa have against fat chicks?
Splitear
November 9, 2017 @ 11:00 am
Hardee Har Har… 🙂 I’ll give you one thing Kevin, we may not agree on a lot of stuff, but after reading some of your comments, you’re one of the more respectful posters. Have a great day man!
the pistolero
November 9, 2017 @ 12:31 pm
ugly, useless things
I might grant you the ugly part, but just because you don’t like the AR-15 doesn’t mean it’s useless. That rifle’s versatility for a variety of tasks, from home defense to hunting to plinking at the range, is precisely why it has gotten to be one of the most popular rifles, if not the most popular rifle, in the United States.
R2D2
November 9, 2017 @ 1:01 pm
Best home defense weapon is a shotgun. Any cop will tell you that.
Hugh
November 9, 2017 @ 2:15 pm
Scream as loud as you want, no one is around for miles. Go to the stadiums scream for (or at) your favorite teams. You’re a fair weather fan, get out of my face! We don’t change body temperature just because the weather changed.
the pistolero
November 9, 2017 @ 5:06 pm
Any cop will tell you that.
Which means precisely jack and shit, since cops aren’t experts on guns and their uses by default.
R2D2
November 9, 2017 @ 6:45 pm
Oh ok.. I guess they aren’t trained with firearms.
Whiskey_Pete
November 10, 2017 @ 9:18 am
Yea give a shotgun to 105 lb woman for self defense.
No the best self defense weapon is what fits you. You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about. Get out of here with your expertise and keep watching Star Wars in your stormtrooper costume.
R2D2
November 10, 2017 @ 1:30 pm
Whiskey Pete your a real know it all mother fucker.. Actually you don’t know shit from apple butter.. Anyways sick star wars burn you clever motha fuckaaaaaaaaaa
Nate
November 9, 2017 @ 2:23 pm
Lol, sure he doesn’t need 30 guitars. But until I see someone mow down churchgoers, or concertgoers, or schoolchildren with a guitar, I’m really not worried about it. The only things getting blown away by 30 guitars are minds, and that’s all right.
Kevin Wortman
November 9, 2017 @ 2:34 pm
Well, anything is a weapon in the right hands.
Trainwreck92
November 10, 2017 @ 9:40 pm
Sure, you could kill someone with a telecaster. But you can kill a hell of lot more people with a gun.
Flying J
November 9, 2017 @ 4:22 am
Is there a chance that he is being blackballed by Nashville because of his personality?
jtrpdx
November 9, 2017 @ 9:04 am
No. He isn’t in the Nashville scene because he has chosen not to cozy up to them, or compromise his integrity to put out a shitty album that would get radio play. Well, small correction….if you are saying that he isn’t part of the nashville clown show because his personality is not giving a shit about nashville’s form of “success”, then you are correct.
Flying J
November 10, 2017 @ 3:42 am
I have a hard time accepting the premise that he “doesn’t give a shit” when he shows up to “busk” on one of the establishment’s big gala nights.
Ulysses McCaskill
November 10, 2017 @ 12:37 am
How do you explain all the other folks getting blackballed by Nashville? You know like everything that is actually country music and not pop? It must be those dang personalities.
Flying J
November 10, 2017 @ 3:58 am
Those “other folks” haven’t achieved the same level of success independent of Nashville. He had a #1 album and sells sold-out shows. He’s developed something that works clearly. Maybe he doesn’t fit their business model, but I have a feeling that his inability to integrate into the greater Nashville scene (something he clearly wants) has to do with his personality. Nashville is a business first and foremost, and in spite of the music (which is mostly dreck) they still make largely conservative business decisions.
In any case, his public statements and antics would be a disaster for your average Nashville PR firm.
Abel
November 9, 2017 @ 5:08 am
People get dragged down the road behind pickup trucks EVERY Day!! 🙂 (actually around here gay people OWN pickups!)
If someone has a point to make, mockery rarely gets it across. Anyway, Sturgill can really sing. I’ll not be disposing of his music.
Hugh
November 9, 2017 @ 2:18 pm
They shouldn’t have allowed you to drive! It’s to easy., like reading and writing. Look what you do with technology. Now you’re mobile.
Eric Norby
November 9, 2017 @ 5:11 am
I just got done visiting Auschwitz I and II in Poland this morning. After being totally moved by the experience, I find it hard under any reasonable definition to call President Trump a fascist. Hopefully, both sides of he political debate back home in the US can realize every individual deserves dignity.
Cobra
November 9, 2017 @ 5:15 am
Chump is a fascist and if you can’t realize that then you’re seriously just ignoring the obvious.
Eric Norby
November 9, 2017 @ 5:26 am
Can you provide some reasoned examples? Any bills he has signed into law? Please because I would love to prevent another genocide.
Deezy
November 9, 2017 @ 6:57 am
People like you are the reason he won in the first place and are the reason him or another righty will win in the ’20. So on behalf of Texas, thanks for being you.
Deezy
November 9, 2017 @ 6:58 am
That was meant for the guy above you.
Art
November 9, 2017 @ 4:07 pm
Donald Trump has tried to silence free speech that doesn’t like ever since he took office. Examples include:
-Condemning any and all media sources that report anything he doesn’t like
-Condemning a federal judge because he struck down his “travel ban” (calling him a “so-called judge”)
-Scientists being silenced by the Environmental Destruction Agency Leader Scott Pruitt (“climate change” being removed from EPA websites, Trump making the U.S. the ONLY COUNTRY to withdraw from the Paris accords, climate scientists not being allowed to speak at meetings, Pruitt has been meeting almost exclusively with fossil fuel interests and the like since he was appointed)
Face it, Donald Trump is a self-absorbed, self-enriching fascist, and many of us are thankful for what little checks-and-balances we still have in the federal government. I can’t understand how anyone left or right could be remotely okay with what he’s been doing. And for what it’s worth, I voted for Gary Johnson last year.
With that being said, I hate to go on a political rant and apologize to Trigger for that. But the amount of outrage over this is ridiculous. Sturgill speaks for many Americans whose hate for Trump is NOT ABOUT POLITICS (FASCISM AND BIGOTRY HAVE NO PLACE IN AMERICAN POLITICS). Now can we please only discuss the man’s music?
On a side note, I was happy to hear that he’s a fan of Cody Jinks and Whitey Morgan. I really hope that down the road he collaborates with those guys. I think they’re the best in country music right now.
Greg Green
November 9, 2017 @ 7:40 pm
It’s leftist college campuses that are actually censoring speakers.
bwh
November 9, 2017 @ 6:39 am
I’m not sure you manage to get anything else done with such a well thought out and well cited research.
Eric Norby
November 9, 2017 @ 5:40 pm
Thanks for providing some thought to your answer, but I have a quick rebuttal. In my opinion, a fascist not only “tries” but “does” silence free speech by ignoring the law. For example, even though President Trump has not agreed with some Federal District Court rulings, he actually followed the proper appeals process all the way to the US Supreme Court. Wouldn’t a fascist ignore the Federal District Court rulings and continue forward with the unlawful behavior and not appeal to a higher court? It is highly likely we will have to agreee to disgreee, but at least we can demonstrate how to have a respectful reasoned discussion.
Cobra
November 10, 2017 @ 5:06 am
Funny you should say that considering all the times Obama was compared to Hitler (I’m still trying to figure that one out).
Hmm, let’s look at another example. Trump has *still* refused to release his tax returns. Now, while this may not be legally required, it is a tradition that has been followed by Presidential candidates since long before I was even born. It’s just yet another example of how he thinks he’s above everyone else. Does this particularly make him a fascist? No, but it shows that he’s only got self-interest in mind, and it shows his hypocrisy considering he was practically the leader of the birther movement (even after Obama had shown his birth certificate multiple times.)
Your argument is that he only “tries” and therefore that makes him not a fascist? Fine, he’s doing everything he can to be a fascist but just hasn’t been able to fully achieve that yet…much like he hasn’t achieved anything else in the ten months he’s been in office. If the path he’s on continues, he will continue to try and if the Republican Party has their way, he’ll succeed sooner rather than later.
Is that a more satisfactory explanation of the situation for you?
R2D2
November 9, 2017 @ 7:23 am
Trump isn’t a full blown fascist, but has fascist tendencies.. i.e blaming a countries problem on a group of people such as Mexicans, extreme nationalist views, etc.
Spoony
November 9, 2017 @ 10:42 am
Illegal immigration can pretty much be based on a group of people. Those people aren’t from New Zealand….
Billy Chav
November 9, 2017 @ 10:15 am
Strong argument.
Whiskey_Pete
November 9, 2017 @ 12:42 pm
Cobra is a communist. Loves Che Guerra. Works out on the elliptical machine at the gym.
Hugh
November 9, 2017 @ 2:22 pm
Prison camp in most countries to spew your rudeness like that! If we get rid of our right to guns, we should throw out freedom of speech next, please.
jtrpdx
November 9, 2017 @ 9:06 am
I am no trump fan, but I do agree that it would have been cool if Sturgill would have strayed away from the tired “fascist” insult that gets thrown around way too much these days. Swam with “nazi”. These terms are being used so much and in an incorrect context these days, that their meaning is being greatly diminished and cheapened, which is sad from a historical context.
Sam
November 9, 2017 @ 5:14 am
Sturgill is right, anyone who was listening to his music already knew this about him. I’m really confused at these people in the comments acting miffed. Throughout all three of his albums he has woven in political commentary and his views on religion. In SGTE there is a whole thing about
As both a Christian and a conservative I think political and religious differences shouldn’t stop you from enjoying art. I have ZERO problems listening to others who disagree with me. You have to keep your brain turned on listening to art like Sturgills. I will proudly keep on listening to Sturgill, and keep watching his charming personality in live streams.
Jacob W.
November 9, 2017 @ 6:43 am
I agree with most of what his view points, but some of them are too extreme to be considered legitimate. There is no fascism in America, not even in country music. People saying this do not understand what fascism, communism, or socialism is. And if you want to run your mouth that loud, you better be doing something viable to change it. Also you better not release some bullshit album that sucks, you put yourself in the spotlight, Strurgill, now everything you do will be analyzed with a critical eye.
R2D2
November 9, 2017 @ 7:27 am
The most basic definition of fascism is when a country is ran by corporations.. and since the repeal of citizens united this is what we have, where a corporation is now considered an individual. this along with unlimited campaign funding and all of the former Wall Street exec’s in DC I think we can definitely be classified as a somewhat fascist country.
DJ
November 9, 2017 @ 11:22 am
LOL….. Hillary is different how? Obama? How? Bill was different how? How many times was Bill called on being a sex predator? How have the Clintons and Obama gotten rich?
Trump is merely a progression of neoliberalism subscribed to by both sides of the aisle who sell the same shit with different rhetoric. Both sides want to control your life cradle to grave.
Same destination, different rate of descent.
I do agree with SS statements about hegemony. But, it didn’t begin with Trump, and it won’t stop with a Democrat as POTUS. See Obama as most recent example.
Kevin Wortman
November 9, 2017 @ 7:17 am
Here’s the thing…When I was into punk, there were always bands of the style I liked that fell into the white supremacists category. I never gave them the time of day. Was I wrong for never giving bands like Skrewdriver a chance simply because I disagreed with their political stance?
Andrew
November 9, 2017 @ 7:46 am
Totally agree. I’m a libertarian-leaning Christian and think it’s really dumb to deprive yourself of enjoying quality music just because you and the artist don’t agree on anything. Refusing to listen to people with different viewpoints is partly how the country got in this mess to begin with.
DJ
November 9, 2017 @ 11:24 am
Depends on how that different opinion is presented.
james
November 9, 2017 @ 3:16 pm
theres enough good music out there. and no matter how good the singing is, i would never enjoy listening to a libtard
Gina
November 9, 2017 @ 9:01 am
Seriously. You’re not listening very closely if you’re surprised by this. He doesn’t hate his fans. If you actually listen what he’s saying he’s anticipating that he might lose a few fans because of his political views. Why anyone thinks that he cares what your views are is ridiculous. He doesn’t know what they are. Don’t take it so personally. I’m pretty sure Hank Williams doesn’t agree with my views either but I love his voice and I’m not going to throw his CDs in the trash either.
Kevin Wortman
November 9, 2017 @ 9:06 am
Gina, he’s dead.
Gina
November 9, 2017 @ 9:10 am
Hank Williams III, which I thought was obvious. Sorry I had to spell it out for you.
Kevin Wortman
November 9, 2017 @ 9:36 am
No reason to be sorry…I ‘m glad you did.
Billy Chav
November 9, 2017 @ 10:18 am
Sturgill’s a great musician but he’s not all that smart. Reminds me of Springsteen that way. I’ll still listen to him even though his politics are garden-variety stoner level.
DJ
November 9, 2017 @ 11:25 am
LOL, excellent!
Jacob W.
November 9, 2017 @ 4:19 pm
I knew he was liberal (like me) but I did not know that he subscribed to the idiotic far left neo- marxist, fascist who calls others fascist, blindly hates all trump voters, type of ideology. Both sides are wrong and right about a lot of points, but both far/alt sides are wrong about everything. Center is the only viable solution; compromise.
DJ
November 10, 2017 @ 8:22 am
I don’t like Trump, and I don’t believe in nationalist theology, but I don’t care for leftist ideology either and compromising is what’s gotten us to where we are.
The Constitution provided a set of rules to restrict the fed gov’t from interfering in citizens lives.
Neither ideology adheres to the rules intended to protect us, the citizens, from an over bearing, tyrannical styled ideology.
There should be no compromise on the rules intended to help ensure citizens aren’t forced by a fed gov’t to “compromise” their pursuits in life, exercising their liberty in the pursuit of happiness, and both ideologies do.
Gina
November 10, 2017 @ 9:23 am
I actually agree about the far left and I’m also a liberal. I didn’t think his statements veered into that territory though.
Sam
November 9, 2017 @ 5:17 am
I can’t believe everyone is too busy bitching about his Trump comment to be excited about the stuff he is about to put out! Can you imagine how hard he is going to rock out for that sin and he’ll album???? It’s going to be BAD ASS.
Trigger
November 9, 2017 @ 9:26 am
That is because music has now been 100% politicized and is nothing more than an extension of politics. This comments section is a perfect example.
Honky
November 9, 2017 @ 9:41 am
I hope you’re not going to pretend that you don’t love how these political articles drive your revenue up.
Trigger
November 9, 2017 @ 9:48 am
Ha. This site doesn’t make any fucking money.
Honky
November 9, 2017 @ 10:17 am
But some articles make more than others, and that’s why you’re happy to write them.
Adrian
November 9, 2017 @ 4:52 pm
Hahaha comments like that are why I love reading this site!
KBDay
November 9, 2017 @ 10:40 am
Trigger, you hit the nail on the head. Unfortunately, we are witnessing the politicization of *everything*, even feeding fish. It’s insane.
Scott
November 9, 2017 @ 10:41 am
If this country and society is in an extremely tense political climate, why shouldn’t music be politicized? Isn’t country music supposed to tell the truth and talk about hard stuff?
Splitear
November 9, 2017 @ 10:18 am
Absolutely!
Johnnyboy Gomez
November 9, 2017 @ 5:24 am
I find these responses educational and challenging. Politically I pretty much agree with Sturgill word for word. To me saying that black people suffer from discrimination is like saying that the sky is blue. Saying that Trump is ignorant (and utterly unaware of his own ignorance) is like saying water is wet. Yet it offends some people. More importantly it offends people on THIS site. I read this site religiously so to an extent the other readers are part of my tribe. So I care what they think. I am willing to question my own biases and assumption….. And I have…. but I just can’t come around. Sad.
Kent
November 9, 2017 @ 5:40 am
Wow, he is not afraid to speak what’s on his mind is he…
I hope both the bluegrass album he talked about and this:
“…So when I feel like I can’t outdo myself anymore, I think it would be cool if Jason, and Chris, and Margo (Price), and a bunch of people like that, if we just all went on the road together forever. I think that’s what the fans want.”
will will come true, what a dream… Got Margo’s “All American Made” yesterday, and I love it…
Don
November 9, 2017 @ 5:47 am
Although I knew Simpson had different political views than I do, I was okay with that. I did not hate him for it, as I do not hate anyone who might disagree with me. Turns out he has turned into your run of the mill liberal hate machine, which is disappointing. What’s the difference? He attributes bad ideas (ideas he considers bad) with bad people. I, being of the conservative/libertarian type, attribute bad ideas to people. I don’t think they are bad people just because I disagree with them. Simpson seems too, as apparently I am now a f***ing idiot. I could even overlook that, if he made an intelligent argument, which he does not, instead he just throws out talking points. You’d think a dude that made such great, intelligent albums, could string together a coherent argument.
matthew rutledge
November 9, 2017 @ 7:27 am
Yea, i found that surprising as well Don. Almost like he is purposely trying to push a large majority of his fans and followers away in such a “cruel” way. Thats the sin and going to hell part of it and will bring them back with the absolution. Not sure if anyone else caught that or interpreted it in that way. He’s very intelligent and calculated with everything he does so this wouldn’t surprise me.
R2D2
November 9, 2017 @ 7:29 am
He just doesn’t like Trump, who is a fake conservative anyways.. I doubt he would have such a scathing opinion of a guy like John Kasich.
Kevin Wortman
November 9, 2017 @ 7:59 am
I’m guessing he does. I’m a conservative who lives in Ohio and I wouldn’t piss on John Kasich if he was on fire.
R2D2
November 9, 2017 @ 8:09 am
I am a left leaning individual and I really liked Kasich.. maybe its the fact that both candidates in the past election were so bad, and that made Kasich more appealing.
Kevin Wortman
November 9, 2017 @ 8:36 am
Likely true
Spoony
November 9, 2017 @ 10:57 am
Or maybe it’s that Kasich is a left-leaning individual. I’m sure you’re a big fan of McCain too. Unless he was actually the candidate on the ballot or elected President, then he’d be just as bad as anyone.
R2D2
November 9, 2017 @ 1:07 pm
Kasich is a moderate republican at best, left leaning is a stretch there chief. As for John McCain, he is a hell of a lot better candidate than Trump ever was. I respect him as a statesman and a veteran. I will respect John McCain a hell of a lot more than I ever will the current POTUS for the simple fact that McCain fought for his country and wasn’t a draft dodging piece of shit.. 5 fucking deferments give me a break.
Whiskey_Pete
November 9, 2017 @ 10:01 pm
John McCain is a fucking war hawk. Interventionist. Big government proponent. A pseudo conservative. The only thing he has cared to conserve is being a career politician. You really think you got a state-of-the-art judgement on Presidents? Get the fuck out of here with that.
R2D2
November 10, 2017 @ 7:01 am
Hey Whiskey Pete you can go fuck yourself, acting like your some elitist here with your opinions. Neither Kasich or McCain have been Presidents of this country there chief so there goes your argument against me.. Also I don’t consider myself an expert on Presidents but I do have a history degree and feel like I can input my opinion into a conversation.. also don’t get all triggered because McCain fought for his country and was a POW, while your boy Trump was back home getting 5 deferments to Vietnam..
Whiskey_Pete
November 10, 2017 @ 9:25 am
Yea you got me, I’m super elite class over here.
Kevin Wortman
November 10, 2017 @ 1:04 pm
R2D2, can you please stop using racist, xenophobic, hate mongering, culturally appropriating words like “chief,”. the Indians don’t like it lol.
R2D2
November 10, 2017 @ 1:25 pm
Sorry Wortman I’ll stop using that word.. wasn’t my intention to get Whiskey Pete all riled up and triggered.
Gina
November 9, 2017 @ 9:04 am
Just FYI, Trump was a Democrat until about 2008, so this isn’t a liberal or conservative thing. He’s just a conman who would have done anything to get elected. There’s the difference.
jtrpdx
November 9, 2017 @ 9:11 am
Spot on Gina. Trump is simply an immature, impulsive blowhard. Everyone knew it while he was a democrat and a media personality as well. I didn’t actually think that even his supporters really argued with that, and their main support was driven by the fact that he was entertaining and a more palatable choice than hillary, but maybe I am wrong.
Bill Weiler
November 9, 2017 @ 10:36 am
Trump has no ideology other than what’s good for him. He posed as a Democrat in NYC because that’s where the wheels of power are NYC. He’s not even a day trader. He will totally change positions and contradict himself in ten minute intervals if he feels that satisfies his own feeling of comfort for that precise point in time.
Gina
November 9, 2017 @ 11:31 am
Just what I was getting at. The guy is a full on snake salesman. The guy who really doesn’t care about his fans is Trump, not the guy being nice to his fans outside the CMAs. Ironic.
Kevin Wortman
November 9, 2017 @ 2:37 pm
Well…my stock portfolio has been doing great since January…Trump has shown his love for me just fine.
jtrpdx
November 9, 2017 @ 7:36 pm
Kevin – if you think Trump (or any president for that matter) is able to have any kind of near term noticeable affect on the stock market, you are completely insane. The US stock market has been on an uptrend since early 2009, not to mention the uptrend in global markets. The appreciation over the past year has been driven by domestic and global growth trends, none of which Trump has had anything to do with.
DJ
November 9, 2017 @ 11:34 am
Speaks volumes about Democrats. Right?!
Gina
November 9, 2017 @ 11:44 am
No. He was a Democrat because almost everyone in NYC is. Again he’s a con artist.
Cool Lester Smooth
November 9, 2017 @ 9:52 am
Exactly.
I know Ayn Rand devotees who worship at the altar of Reagan and think the Clintons had people murdered to cover up Whitewater…who ended up voting for Hillary in the past election, because the other option was, in their words: “an incompetent shitbag who spews racism and sexually assaults women.”
DJ
November 9, 2017 @ 11:29 am
What were Bill’s indiscretions?
I like Ayn Rand and can’t stand Reagan.
I wouldn’t vote for Hillary under any circumstance and I didn’t vote for Trump.
Painting with broad brushes is what SS just did with his attention grabbing.
Cool Lester Smooth
November 9, 2017 @ 12:37 pm
…did you even read what he said, haha?
Or were you too triggered by the THOUGHT of an artist disagreeing with you to bother?
Simpson did not attack Republicans.
He did not attack conservatives.
He attacked people who continue to defend Trump’s racism, misogyny, corruption and fundamental incompetence.
Plenty of Republicans defend none of those things. No actual conservative would ever defend that intellectually vapid, two-bit con-man.
Unfortunately, the snowflakes are too busy crying to bother reading what he wrote.
hoptowntiger94
November 9, 2017 @ 6:11 am
Outlaw.
Honky
November 9, 2017 @ 6:23 am
Cute. Hahaha.
Marc
November 9, 2017 @ 8:50 am
Music wise yes. Politics he’ an Outlaw like Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus, Madonna, Rosie O’Donnell, George Clooney..
Jack Williams
November 9, 2017 @ 8:59 am
He won the Grammy for best country album. He said what he said in Nashville outside of the build where the CMA show was going on. Outlaw.
Kevin Wortman
November 9, 2017 @ 9:07 am
Marc, well put.
R2D2
November 9, 2017 @ 9:24 am
So if you are liberal you can’t be an outlaw Marc?
Cool Lester Smooth
November 9, 2017 @ 9:49 am
That would be news to Merle, Willie, Guy Clark and Steve Earle, haha.
Marc
November 9, 2017 @ 11:46 am
No, but if he’s an Outlaw because of his politics than 99.9 percent of celebrities are Outlaws. In their world Patricia Heaton is a bigger Outlaw than Sturgil, Katy, Rosie, Ven Matt.
RedDirtCyclone
November 9, 2017 @ 12:26 pm
Steve Earle, Not an Outlaw. OK Then.
ezra
November 9, 2017 @ 6:11 am
“Nobody needs a machine gun, coming from a guy who owns a few guns. Gay people should have the right to be happy, and live their life any way they want to, and get married if they want to without fear of getting dragged down the road behind a pickup truck. Black people are probably tired of getting shot in the streets and enslaved by the industrial prison complex. And hegemony and fascism is alive and well in Nashville, TN. Thank you very much.”
the sad thing is, in this Country, and clearly some commentators on this site, think the above talking points are considered “liberal” talking points. Everything he stated is just pure logic, and should be agreed upon by all people, regardless of political affiliation. Yet somehow those points are considered liberal, when its mostly human rights, civil rights, and pure logic (when it comes to machine guns). All these points fit easily into “life, liberty, pursuit of happiness”, as well as “All men are created equal”
bwh
November 9, 2017 @ 6:37 am
“nobody needs a machine gun”
“pure logic”
Yet, pure logic spends 10 seconds educating yourself and finding out that it is borderline impossible to legally own a machine gun as a private citizen. One has not been used in the commission of a crime in any shape of recent history.
If morons like this spent those 10 seconds, they’d realize that the NFA process is exactly the kind of gun control they advocate for – thorough background checks, long waiting periods, fingerprinting, etc.
ezra
November 9, 2017 @ 6:41 am
oh sorry, i guess I should have specified semi-automatic weapons, as opposed to the blanket term “machine gun”
Deezy
November 9, 2017 @ 7:01 am
Well since its obvious you don’t know what you’re talking about having to use a blanket term to make a point and failing. Maybe you shouldn’t try.
Joseph
November 9, 2017 @ 10:40 am
See, a semi-automatic rifle ain’t a machine gun. Simpson’s a vet, so I’m guessing when he said “machine gun” he meant “machine gun.”
I disagree with him vociferously, because he has no right to tell me what I do or do not need (he has no *need* for a vintage Gibson he bought earlier this year from a guitar shop I frequent…I mean, he could’ve given it to me!), yet he has one anyway.
Waiting on that bluegrass album, hoss.
The Ghost of Buckshot Jones
November 9, 2017 @ 7:51 am
Ah, the 450lb “open carry” nerds going batsh*t over a semantic term. Right on cue.
Joseph
November 9, 2017 @ 10:43 am
What you call semantics I call the correct use of words. A machine gun is one thing; a semiautomatic rifle is another. It’d be like conflating a firecracker and a daisy cutter. But you do you.
bwh
November 9, 2017 @ 11:26 am
Do you mean I’m 450lbs or I open carry something that weighs 450lbs?
It’s hard to tell with how terrible your grammar is.
Proper nomenclature, like grammar and punctuation, matters. Being a vet, I’m fairly confident Strugill knows what a machine gun is. Which means he thinks something already banned/difficult to obtain should be banned/difficult to obtain. Either that, or the DMT has further eroded his brain and he associates black rifles as machine guns. If so, his Drill Instructor would be ashamed.
But at least you’ve got snark to fall back on when you don’t have anything relevant to say.
Cool Lester Smooth
November 9, 2017 @ 12:39 pm
Oh, anyone with a solid command of grammar can tell that GBJ was calling you a 450 pound nerd.
They also know how to use the word “nomenclature” correctly, kiddo.
Whiskey_Pete
November 9, 2017 @ 12:03 pm
Semi-Automatic is not the same as machine gun. It’s not semantics. There is an actual difference.
Eduardo Vargas
November 9, 2017 @ 6:19 am
Ive reached a point in which I cannot stand Sturgill Simpson. Sorry, but his annoying and idiotic need to rant and rave at anything involving the CMA and ACM to prove he’s a badass is beyond childish and immature at this point. Why the hell continue to stir up controversy by showing up outside of the Bridgestone Arena and purposely make a hateful political rhetoric in defiance of the unity stance the CMA is taking is beyond me ( and this comes from someone who mostly agrees with his political Views).
He talks about how humble he is, yet his attitude here is anything but humble- and his annoying arrogant ranting reminds me of Eric Church when he was at his pompous worst
Jim
November 9, 2017 @ 8:17 pm
Please feel free to fuck right the fuck off.
Eduardo Vargas
November 10, 2017 @ 4:35 am
Very mature and intelligent response Jim
hoptowntiger94
November 9, 2017 @ 6:22 am
Although I feel all these artists lean to the left but just pander to the lowest common denominator, it warms my heart to hear them express their political views. Insecure, bigoted white man tears are my new favorite thing … No NFL, No Sturgill, No Six Flags!
Honky
November 9, 2017 @ 6:39 am
I’m thankful that I haven’t had to shed any yet. I hate pro football. I hate Simpson. And I hate roller coasters.
Gina
November 9, 2017 @ 9:08 am
Really, because you never talk about it. Speaking of boring 🙄
Jack Williams
November 9, 2017 @ 6:49 am
Insecure, bigoted white man tears are my new favorite thing … No NFL, No Sturgill, No Six Flags!
Ha! Right there with you.
R2D2
November 9, 2017 @ 7:31 am
Hahahah right on dude
Whiskey_Pete
November 10, 2017 @ 9:29 am
Haha yea it’s so great. It’s like Christmas and Kwanza rolled up into one. Oh man, lets all hold hands.
Honky
November 9, 2017 @ 6:22 am
I’m no Trump fan. I disagree with many of his policy ideas.
But calling him a fascist is so boring at this point. If he were a fascist, you wouldn’t be allowed to call him one, you freaking morons.
The good news for me, is I already hate Simpson’s music, so I don’t need to get excessively irritated by the fact that he’s an imbecile. I get that he’s sort of a pseudo-intellectual, who writes “deep” songs, but if he’s going to throw “fascist” around, he should at list look up the definition first.
Jared S
November 9, 2017 @ 7:54 am
His rhetoric endorses fascism. The way he wants to control NFL players and teams, his desire to limit the rights of media, his calls for boycotts of companies whose owners are critical of him (or dare to discontinue his daughter’s product line), his fascination with military power. They all indicate that he, given the opportunity, would be a fascist leader.
Thankfully our government limits the power of the presidency, but calling Trump fascist is not unwarranted.
Greg Green
November 9, 2017 @ 7:43 pm
Yes, democrats just legislate against companies they don’t like, that’s much better.
Pops90
November 9, 2017 @ 8:01 am
Yep. Hillarious that the same person that calls Trump a fascist also says nobody needs to own a machine gun.
I voted for Johnson, but this crap is so tiring.
DJ
November 9, 2017 @ 11:42 am
Didn’t you get the memo? He’s an “artist” he doesn’t have to use proper definition. Artistic license. And he will be defended by all the “experts” on artistry as though their opinion is more valid than your opinion because. His pseudo intellectualism is esoteric which requires “deep” philosophical beliefs brought to us by the MSM….lOL
Jacob W.
November 9, 2017 @ 4:22 pm
He is a million miles and a cab ride away from intellectual.
Wicket
November 10, 2017 @ 7:03 am
Says the centerist promoting compromise after someone was actually murdered in Charlottesville for protesting neo nazis. Millions of miles and a cab ride from being a political theorist, aren’t you? No wonder Sturgill thinks you are all ignorant bigots.
Oh, but not you as you lean left & want to compromise with Trump voters. People voted for Trump because they hate democracy & wanted him to burn it all down & he is if you haven’t noticed. Compromise with what?
Trump is outwardly racist in his policies & rhetoric & if you refuse to see it, I’m aftaid that’s called ignorance. There is no compromise. Democracy is broken when white nationalists were brought in to run the White House. I’m glad to see all these morons bailing on Sturgill. At least there won’t be anyone screaming white power in their maga hats at his concerts anymore.
Andrew
November 9, 2017 @ 7:44 pm
Nobody said he was a successful fascist
Someguy
November 9, 2017 @ 8:08 pm
The thing is, he’d be a fascist if he could get away with it. Our institutions have proven cable of stoping him from jailing journos and the like. Plus, clearly he isn’t right in the head
RWP
November 9, 2017 @ 6:28 am
Dude likes himself and likes attention for himself just as much as the people sitting in that big arena behind him does. Good for him. Maybe he’ll be invited to a few Hollywood parties now.
TheKillerRocksOn
November 9, 2017 @ 6:41 am
While seeing a Sturgill show last summer, and what a fine show it was, I couldn’t help but notice the large number of man-bun wearing, patchouli smelling, coors light sipping douche nozzels that high fived and yelled ‘woo’ constantly.I know know his target audience. Here we are a year removed from the election and the name calling continues. It has become quite comical at this point, and for the record I’ve avoided calling anyone a snowflake as well. It’s also a bit childish to watch a grown man say he’s done making country records while whining outside the CMAs..We had a good run Sturgill, but I’m gonna have to step away now. Your ‘art’ has become more drama than it’s worth.
Camie Jo
November 9, 2017 @ 8:34 am
Saving yourself is not the same as saving face.
Ozal Ventura
November 9, 2017 @ 6:46 am
I wish his speaking was as unintelligible as his singing
jtrpdx
November 9, 2017 @ 9:30 am
What are you talking about, it is!
Splitear
November 9, 2017 @ 10:26 am
Okay, I’m a big Sturgill Fan, but I have to admit, that’s pretty funny 🙂
Connie
November 9, 2017 @ 11:32 am
Hi Sturgill!
MH
November 9, 2017 @ 6:47 am
I’m sorry but if you stop listening to an artist because of political stances, you’re a pussy.
TheKillerRocksOn
November 9, 2017 @ 7:00 am
its not the political stance, its the consistant name calling. thanks for making the point.
MH
November 9, 2017 @ 7:37 am
Oh, and I can’t stand hypocrisy either.
“While seeing a Sturgill show last summer, and what a fine show it was, I couldn’t help but notice the large number of man-bun wearing, patchouli smelling, coors light sipping douche nozzles…”
Your words. Your name calling.
TheKillerRocksOn
November 9, 2017 @ 7:51 am
fair enough, but I said I avoided snowflake not douche nozzle. I can hang with anyone in insulting and name calling but I refuse to have it come from my entertainment.
Sam Hunt Steve
November 9, 2017 @ 6:53 am
In time, I guess, things come to light. Free speech is one of the greatest things about this country. Sturgill is entitled to his opinion, like we are entitled to ours, but to say that “anyone who still supports the President is an ignorant fucking bigot” is not the man I thought I was supporting. You are helping to divide this country, and you are now dividing your loyal fans. Since I first heard High Top Mountain almost four years ago, I fell in love with the music. I own all three albums on vinyl and finally saw him live last October. I even wanted to name my son after him, if I was blessed to have one eventually. It is not about an ego or political gain, it is about the golden rule. Maybe you can redeem yourself. Otherwise, he did a good job outside the venue last night. I’m sure he would use his first amendment rights to talk about Garth Brooks’ lip-syncing skills to earn EOTY. What a shame.
The Ghost of Buckshot Jones
November 9, 2017 @ 8:02 am
How dense are you, exactly? Give me a precise number in the IQ range. Because if you’ve listened to *any* of his music and find any of his comments surprising, than you’re about one failed synapse away from being in a coma.
Sam Hunt Steve
November 9, 2017 @ 8:37 am
I didn’t say anything about his other comments. They are not surprising, since I did suspect left tendencies. Evidently, you don’t see anything wrong with him calling half his fans what he did. You probably don’t know what your IQ is anyways.
Jim
November 9, 2017 @ 8:29 pm
“you’re about one failed synapse away from being in a coma.”
I died, for realzies! Sam hunt steve just sees left/right, but there’re plenty of other options. I’m an anarchist myself-not the Guy Fawkes mask-wearing edgy teen type, but the CPA type. For what it’s worth, sam hunt steve, my IQ’s approximately 128-132…at least according to the good folks at Mensa, whatever the hell their opinion’s worth.
Jared S
November 9, 2017 @ 8:04 am
As a libertarian-leaning moderate, I sincerely have a hard time understanding how any competent person who is paying attention could honestly say that Trump is “the right man for the job.” If you want to say you think he’s better than Hillary would have been, fine. We can agree to disagree.
But if you think he’s actually a “good president” I have to wonder what you are smoking. “Ignorant fucking bigot” might be a little over-the-top and insulting, but I can’t say that Sturgill is wrong.
R2D2
November 9, 2017 @ 8:11 am
Exactly!
Sam Hunt Steve
November 9, 2017 @ 8:19 am
This isn’t meant to be a political thread. I’m am American. I respect the right of the people to elect who the hell they want and hope that he makes good decisions that better this country. Go comment on Yahoo news if you want to be political.
Jared S
November 9, 2017 @ 8:24 am
I try to stay out of politics on this site too. But on this thread, the cat is out of the bag. You can’t even try to make the argument that talking politics on this article is out of line.
DJ
November 9, 2017 @ 12:07 pm
If you think Hillary would have been better how can you call yourself a christian or a libertarian?
Cool Lester Smooth
November 9, 2017 @ 12:42 pm
One of the keys to thinking that literally any candidate in last year’s election would have been better than Trump is having read and understood the words and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth.
DJ
November 9, 2017 @ 1:03 pm
LOL, right. Hillary being such a saint.
Jared S
November 9, 2017 @ 1:02 pm
I am a Christan, although I didn’t call myself one here. I don’t call myself a libertarian, I said that my politics are libertarian-leaning. And I’m not sure how preferring Clinton to the womanizing, vulgar, race baiting, utter moron in office would disqualify me from being either Christian or libertarian.
DJ
November 9, 2017 @ 2:24 pm
LOL…. Hillary is a saint. I get that. But how would she have been better, or different?
Supporting ANY politician who lies is not very christian like and supporting a politician who subscribes to bigger and more gov’t intervention (foreign and domestic) is not a libertarian belief. libertarians believe in less gov’t. Libertarians (as in party) also believe in less gov’t. Hillary is the epitome of more gov’t., as are all current office holders. Their voting records speak for themselves in that regard.
Jared S
November 9, 2017 @ 2:32 pm
Again, you’re attributing things to me that I never said. Don’t think she’s a saint. I’m not a libertarian, I’m a moderate. I said I think she’s better than Trump. Doesn’t really matter, she’s not president.
If you disagree, that is fine. That could be perfectly defensible. But if you think that Trump is actually doing a good job as president, I don’t think that is defensible.
james
November 9, 2017 @ 4:06 pm
if u think hillary would have been better than trump, your not a christian. and i don’t care how many times u claim u r
Benny Lee
November 10, 2017 @ 8:09 am
Accidentally liked this comment and unable to unlike it, so replying to clear this up:
Trump has publicly stated multiple times that he’s not even remotely religious. His entire life story is a master class in how not to be a Christian.
You compared him to Hillary. I thought she was a very poor candidate. But in comparison to trump, as a person and a political candidate, there’s no contest.
Trump openly endorsed hate. He’s as anti-Christian as it gets.
DJ
November 9, 2017 @ 6:54 am
Needs: Air, water, food, shelter, clothing.
Anything else is a desire, and NO individual, or gov’t entity has the authority, morally or legally to tell another what he can or cannot desire. Stupid comments meant to draw attention are better thought through before being made.
I’ve never liked SS and still don’t.
Jim
November 9, 2017 @ 8:32 pm
Please feel free to fuck right the fuck off.
Cameron
November 9, 2017 @ 8:53 pm
Please feel free to shut the fuck up
DJ
November 10, 2017 @ 8:37 am
LOL…. thanks. But, can you cite any evidence to disprove what I said?
Jackbob
November 9, 2017 @ 6:57 am
Are people so ignorant that they’re shocked that someone who plays music they like can have these views? I’m a fan of his. I don’t agree with everything he says. Atleast the gun part. But there are tons of liberals in country music.
Do you people also hate Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard?
Get over yourselves snowflakes.
Racer53
November 9, 2017 @ 6:58 am
I’ll try not to get too political here… but, what Sturgill said is pretty disheartening to me. I’m not surprised that Sturgill is left leaning. I do not mind if someone has a different political view than me, but I’m so sick and tired of being called racist, bigot, homophobe, etc. etc. etc, because of my political views. I used to not pay any attention to such stuff. If a person made good music, that was enough. I could ignore the rest. I have drawn a line in the sand on how much shit I’ll take out of someone’s mouth. It has got to the point for me, that any artist/celebrity that crosses my line, I’m done with. None of their music or movies, or whatever it is that gets them paid. Usually it’s easy to not support these ass holes. It’s hard with Sturgill. But… instead of playing some music, the fucking asshole decided to spend his time calling me an ignorant, fucking bigot.
Jared S
November 9, 2017 @ 9:11 am
If you think Trump is doing a good job as president, you are either ignorant (not paying attention), or you are a bigot (you think the Nazis in Charlottesville really are “good people”).
If you think he’s the lesser of two evils and you’re just happy to have a Republican as president, you might not be ignorant or a bigot. But if you think Trump is the good guy, you need to reevaluate some things. I’m sorry that Sturgill didn’t say that more nicely.
jtrpdx
November 9, 2017 @ 9:31 am
Exactly, Jared.
Jared S
November 9, 2017 @ 3:44 pm
Wow. Ok then. An economy that is basically doing just as good as it was in the later years of Obama’s term is the only evidence that we need that Trump is awesome. Anyone who disagrees is a fucking child. Thanks for clearing that up.
james
November 9, 2017 @ 3:57 pm
trump is cutting regulations and lowering taxes. obama put in more regulations the ANY president in American history and he’s the king of high taxes.i wonder why the economy did so bad under him and y gdp was so dam low……………….people like u are what give me cancer- and yes i do have cancer
Trigger
November 9, 2017 @ 4:06 pm
James,
I don’t appreciate the tone and some of the language in your comments. Some have been deleted. We can disagree here and still show respect to one another. We’re not going to solve the world’s political problems in this thread.
Jared S
November 9, 2017 @ 4:25 pm
Trigger, this is your site and you can moderate how you like. James’ comments to me (that you deleted) were quite disrespectful. But, in his defense, the language he used wasn’t really any worse than what Sturgill said to kick off this whole conversation.
I do genuinely agree with Sturgill’s sentiment, but I wish he would have shown just a bit of restraint and respect in how he shared it.
james
November 9, 2017 @ 5:37 pm
yeah, my bad trig i sometimes just get really passionate about things
Alethia
November 10, 2017 @ 6:55 am
Some reading for you James.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bloomberg.com/amp/view/articles/2017-01-19/ranking-the-obama-economy
Cameron
November 9, 2017 @ 8:56 pm
Sturgill is starting to come off as a whiny bitch. Let’s look at the fact that he made inflammatory comments outside an award show that was trying to bring everyone together.
He’s approaching Steve Earle territory.
CountryCharm
November 9, 2017 @ 6:59 am
The one thing I find funny is that people on the right can dish it out with libtard, snowflakes ….but Sturgill calling a spade a spade, now he’s suddenly hateful and his music needs to be trashed.
Last night was most definitely a stunt but you have to hand it to him he has the courage of his convictions which a lot of others in country lack.
Honky
November 9, 2017 @ 7:07 am
What spade did he call a spade?
CountryCharm
November 9, 2017 @ 7:28 am
Trump supporters.
DJ
November 9, 2017 @ 7:32 am
That’s your opinion. Don’t forget that. Provide evidence and let the jury decide.
Honky
November 9, 2017 @ 7:53 am
Oh, then he didn’t call a spade a spade. He called a spade, “ignorant, f***ing bigots”.
You and Simpson are as dumb as Trump is. You are as politically ignorant as Trump is.
CountryCharm
November 9, 2017 @ 3:24 pm
You’re mightily upset
DJ
November 9, 2017 @ 7:28 am
Can you provide evidence of the spade you’re dishing out?
His music sucks. IMO. I’ve never liked it and I’ve had the courage of my convictions to say so in this forum more than once.
I find it funny people on the left believe calling people names because somebody calls them names makes their name calling justified. Attempting to put out another’s light doesn’t make your’s any brighter.
I’d think someone who is so wise would recognize that, especially a wordsmith (song writer) who claims a wisdom the other side doesn’t possess.
Cool Lester Smooth
November 9, 2017 @ 9:47 am
It’s really not about “Left” and “Right,” though.
Everyone, on each side, who hates racism hates Trump.
For what it’s worth, I think Sturgill’s incorrect in claiming that remaining Trump supporters are racist.
I’m sure that a good chunk of them simply do not care that he’s a sex offender who regularly spews racist garbage and has no respect for our troops or their families, because they support his policies.
DJ
November 9, 2017 @ 12:01 pm
Did/do all Democrats hate LBJ? Bill? The left aren’t saints as they portray. Hillary is a great current example of their ignoring facts and Obama is the most recent POTUS who practiced divisiveness.
Can’t you people (on both sides) see there is NO difference except rhetorically?
Personally I don’t care what you think of Trump, or Republicans (I’m an agnostic libertarian), but please, be honest in your political assessments. Neither side follows the Constitution. Democrats claim to want to tax the rich to save whatever, Republicans want to tax less (read differently) to save whatever. Same destination, different rate of descent. Ninety mph down a dead end street vs 84mph down a dead end street. Either is catastrophic and until “We the people” stop letting the left right paradigm divide us it ain’t gonna change.
Both sides subscribe to neoliberalism policy, the same foreign policy and the same monetary policy which affords/allows the imperialistic hegemony completely disregarding what this country was founded on. Liberty.
R2D2
November 9, 2017 @ 7:34 am
Exactly.. it’s always a one way street.. easy to see who the real sensitive side really is.
Whiskey_Pete
November 9, 2017 @ 11:38 am
That’s ridiculous. Trump is not a fascist dictator. That’s not even an argument.
He didn’t call out anything. Just more liberal nonsense rhetoric.
james
November 9, 2017 @ 3:29 pm
yeehaw parder
Oyster Boy
November 9, 2017 @ 7:08 am
He seems like a prima donna attention whore with this move. Who really cares about the political opinions of pop culture entertainers? He’s jumped on the outrage-du-jour bandwagon. He needs to hold up a mirror with that “ignorant fucking bigot” comment. But the real question is why he continues to be so idolized on this site when he seems to be saying himself that he has no intention of making a hard country record again. Can we all just move on to whomever IS saving country music and let ‘ol Sturgill blather his political opinions elsewhere? As for me, I’ve never voted Republican in the last 28 years. Ha!
jtrpdx
November 9, 2017 @ 9:33 am
So in your mind you should have to make straight down the fairway, “hard country” music to get attention on this site? If that were the case, it would be pretty slim pickens and would get boring pretty quickly around here.
Oyster Boy
November 9, 2017 @ 11:18 am
The ‘hard country’ was a quote from Sturgill above and he seems to imply (to me anyway) that he intends to continue to move away from country music.
“I’m super proud of what guys like him (Cody Jinks) and Whitey Morgan, and Jason Boland and Jason Eady, and Tyler (Childers) and all them are doing. I kind of feel like my work is done in that realm.”- Sturgill Simpson
I could be misinterpreting it.
jtrpdx
November 9, 2017 @ 11:29 am
Yes, and he also said we could easily see another hard country album from him someday. He was referring to the immediate future. Whatever he does, he is always going to be a country singer from a pure vocal standpoint, and that fact alone, combined with his history and what he has done for country music over the past 4 years, makes him worthy of coverage here…..even if his next 2 albums aren’t going to be as narrowly country as his first two.
Trigger
November 9, 2017 @ 9:35 am
I had no choice but to cover this story. Last night, it was not my intention to run yet another Sturgill Simpson story. I was covering the CMA Awards, which is the busiest, most all-engrossing thing I do all year, while my phone, email box, social media, and comments sections were blowing up about this. I have covered Sturgill since the very beginning of his career. It would have been irresponsible to not cover this.
Oyster Boy
November 9, 2017 @ 11:12 am
I agree- I just wonder how far into the future that coverage should extend. I suppose the direction of his next album may help to make that decision.
Charlie
November 9, 2017 @ 7:09 am
‘I started this thing way too old and late in my life to take the fame thing seriously.’
That’s the root of why he seems screwy to me. I’m a late arrival to the Sturgill Simpson thing, so his acting like the grizzled old veteran seems odd to me–pretentious. But from his perspective I’m sure it all makes sense.
It’ll all seem pretty cool to me in a decade or so.
Jack Young
November 9, 2017 @ 7:19 am
Sturgill is a legend
Benny Lee
November 9, 2017 @ 7:21 am
Wow, lots of butthurt in this comments section.
I’m hurt, too, but not because of his political rant. Sturgill pretty accurately summed up my feelings on the orange one and his all too willing accomplisses, and did it with authority. He’s even more badass for it in my book.
What hurt me was his response to the Cody Jinks question. His next record is clearly not going to be country (hard rock perhaps?) and that really sunk my hopes for a return to anything near the sounds that blew my mind on HT and MM.
DJ
November 9, 2017 @ 7:29 am
What authority? A musicians? LOL….
Benny Lee
November 9, 2017 @ 9:45 am
With conviction then.
Nice deflection.
DJ
November 9, 2017 @ 12:10 pm
No deflection at all. Words mean things.
Benny Lee
November 9, 2017 @ 2:06 pm
You’ve been cherry picking off people’s posts all over this comments section.
Common angry troll tactic.
Stay classy.
DJ
November 9, 2017 @ 2:35 pm
No, I don’t need to cherry pick. I point out fallacy. SS has one and anyone who believes he’s correct in his assumptions is subscribing to the same fallacy. Leftist are no better than nationalist since they both want the same thing. They just want one of their saints running the show and their saints are just as bad as nationalists. Neither side wants to enhance OUR liberty. They both vote (sometimes, sometimes they mandate) to take our liberty and both rob us of our money using it to buy votes and kill others who don’t agree with their policy. BOTH sides do it. The only differences are rhetoric and personality, hence; the politics of personality. They sell their bullshit, often wrapped in (right leaning nationalist) red, white and blue and just as often in (left leaning nationalist) “social justice”, neither of which are not a constitutional authority granted, but taken.
Marc
November 9, 2017 @ 8:52 am
Not much of a badass if you’re doing what 99.9% of celebrities are doing.
Jack Williams
November 9, 2017 @ 9:29 am
Tell that to The Dixie Chicks.
Marc
November 9, 2017 @ 4:12 pm
Dixie Chicks, had they done what they did in their home state or even their home country maybe. But nothing badass about doing it across the pond. You can say the way they did it was more “Bush” leauge than badass.
Jack Williams
November 10, 2017 @ 6:46 am
I guess I wasn’t clear. Their career in mainstream country career was destroyed, despite voicing an opinion that was fairly mainstream (taking the country as a whole) and that certainly was not out of step with the so called “celebrities.” I’m sure Sturgill knows that. And yet he said what he said in Nashville and acknowledged that he might lose fans.
Trainwreck92
November 10, 2017 @ 9:59 pm
Country listeners tend to lean right politically, so Sturgill calling out Trump was sure to alienate a good deal of his fans, as evidenced by the commenters on this thread. So, I’d say it’s a bit different than someone like Beyonce calling Trump a fascist.
Nick
November 9, 2017 @ 5:11 pm
Totally agree. I am pretty conflicted on this statement. I’m no professional, but I do write songs. They’re very much country/folk/blues based. I would be somewhere between dismissive and downright irate if someone ever demanded that I only write songs the way they prefer. However, I couldn’t be too shocked when my motown or rock and roll album tanked in the court of public opinion after my first two albums were straight country.
I gave ASGTE several legitimate listens before I decided it wasnt for me. I thought “well it’s Sturgill, so if I don’t like it then I must be missing something.” After that album, the departure of two of his bandmates, the crazy guitar solos at his recent shows, and these comments, it’s safe to say that Sturgill has left traditional country music behind for the time being. I adore and respect the guy, even if I don’t agree with every artistic direction or political comment he makes. If he’s got two albums left, I can almost promise that I’ll buy them both.
Hugh
November 9, 2017 @ 7:39 am
He couldn’t say he loved Trump and still respond to the CMA’s problem with making anything political. Wasn’t that the problem? CMA said you couldn’t use it as a political soap box? Memories…. minds… opinions…. personality disorders….who needs them anyway?
matthew rutledge
November 9, 2017 @ 7:47 am
This is what I got, hes cruelly pushing fans away for his next album sin and hell in which i believe will be a hard rock, jam band type and then he will pull them back in with his last album of absolution. Previously stating he will get back to country, just not whats on his mind right now.
Randy
November 9, 2017 @ 8:08 am
The worst part of this to me is to see all the political polarization over this here at SCM. If you are a Sturgill fan it comes with some baggage. Hightop Mountain is one of my favorite country albums. Metamodern was pretty good, but I never bothered buying Sailor’s Guide. I’ll probably never buy any of his stuff again, but I enjoy what I do have. Artists are entitled to their beliefs and opinions, but if they choose to make them public then they’ll have to understand it will drive some fans away. I don’t think he’s really worried about that.
The biggest problem for me is the blanket statement on Trump voters / supporters. It’s bound to create some fallout. It’s bound to cost him some fans. Again, I don’t think he cares. I think it’s interesting that he points to Cody Jinks as filling a place most people wanted him to fill. I could not agree more. That’s why I am a huge Cody Jinks fan and will buy anything he puts out.
Sturgill is an artist who obviously does not want to be confined by the boundaries of a particular musical genre. I can respect that. He also wants to use his influence to be a bullhorn for what has been called a “liberal agenda.” I can respect that too. It just means I’ll probably never buy any more of his material. It does not mean I’ll delete him from my iPod.
I hope here in the realm of country music we can unite over our love of the music and not divide over politics. Throughout the history of country some artists have chosen to address controversial or political issues while others have ignored them all together. Let’s rejoice together over the great music and not divide over the political junk.
Kevin Wortman
November 9, 2017 @ 8:33 am
Yep…Sturgill is like Taylor Swift.
Chris Lewis
November 9, 2017 @ 9:38 am
Randy you hit the nail on the head. Same here. I have no problem with people having different views or bash the president because they hate him, that is their god given right, but to name call and alienate those fans with a different view is wrong. It saddens me that everyone wants to politicize everything including all forms of entertainment. Music is one of the few areas where we can unite people, even if they hold different views. I think the biggest problem we have in this country is blatantly grouping people together under one view (all white males are racists, all muslims are terrorists, all blacks are lazy, etc.). To call all Trump supporters as ignorant, bigots, racists, etc. is just wrong and only makes those with an opposing view dig their heels in more and be less open to coming together. Hell I love Sturgill’s, Price, Isbell, Nelson’s, music even though they have a different view. That is ok with me because I value their talent over their views, but to call me an ignorant bigot crosses the line for me.
Trigger
November 9, 2017 @ 9:39 am
Three years ago, whatever political stuff Sturgill Simpson or any artist may have said would be taken in passing. Today, it’s what everyone focouses on first and foremost, even when they’re being fed juicy info on what an artist’s future intentions are with their music and careers.
stinks
November 9, 2017 @ 10:11 am
Yeah idgaf about politics, but it broke my heart to read he’s not planning on making more country music in the near future
eastside johnny
November 9, 2017 @ 8:35 pm
yeah – i think the next release might just blow it all up..
it’s all over the place. gonna be cool to see it.
Cameron
November 9, 2017 @ 9:02 pm
if Liberals didn’t call conservatives racists and sexists and every other ist because they disagree with them we wouldn’t be having this conversation.
Wicket
November 10, 2017 @ 7:19 am
If there weren’t white nationalists working in the White House, Republicans might not be considered racist.
Trainwreck92
November 10, 2017 @ 10:03 pm
If so may conservative didn’t espouse racist and sexist beliefs, liberals wouldn’t NEED to call them racists, sexists, etc.
Mo Crawford
November 9, 2017 @ 8:26 am
Country fans don’t like different points of view..reminds me of Sharia Law
Racer53
November 9, 2017 @ 8:37 am
Buddy, I don’t have a problem with different points of view, and I’m not thin skinned. Somewhere down the middle is probably where we need to be. The name calling has beyond wore thin for this guy. How should I react? Should I say nothing? I decide not to spend any more money on a guy that has such low regard toward people such as myself.
Mo Crawford
November 9, 2017 @ 8:58 am
enjoy your guns,,entertainment and art isn’t for people of your caliber
Kevin Wortman
November 9, 2017 @ 9:19 am
Yeah Racer…enjoy your guns, patriotism and heterosexuality…Sturgill’s art isn’t for people of your caliber, lol.
Racer53
November 9, 2017 @ 9:20 am
If calling your fans ignorant fucking bigots is art?! You’re right, it’s not for me.
Splitear
November 9, 2017 @ 10:14 am
It’s okay, my feelings get hurt when people call me mean names too….
DJ
November 9, 2017 @ 2:38 pm
Mo Crawford
November 9, 2017 @ 8:26 am
Country fans don’t like different points of view..reminds me of Sharia Law
………..
Presentation is everything. It could easily be said for leftist as well.
Old Brett
November 9, 2017 @ 9:13 am
Dang, everyone wants to talk politics, I just want to know how we ensure this Kentucky bluegrass album gets made.
Splitear
November 9, 2017 @ 10:13 am
Right?!
Connie
November 9, 2017 @ 11:29 am
Hi sturgill!
Ajax666
November 9, 2017 @ 9:27 am
What a complete dick!
Splitear
November 9, 2017 @ 12:02 pm
Imagine what an incomplete dick would look like, that’s quite the picture now…
Loudist
November 9, 2017 @ 9:33 am
He’s just brown nosing the grammy voters. They love ’em some libs. It’s why the Dixie Chicks won in ’07. Heck, even Al Gore has a grammy.
I still say if his name was Bob Smith nobody would have ever have cared about his music.
Cool Lester Smooth
November 9, 2017 @ 9:38 am
Aw jeez, Sturgill.
Doesn’t he know how many snowflakes he just triggered?
Everyone knows that art is supposed to be a safe space that doesn’t challenge anyone’s preconceptions!
Splitear
November 9, 2017 @ 10:10 am
Right on!
Eric
November 9, 2017 @ 9:43 am
God i hate hipsters
Aaron
November 9, 2017 @ 9:51 am
All the snowflakes that I see here are conservative snowflakes who cannot stand the idea of liking someone’s music and hating their politics.
As a lifetime liberal Democrat who loves Merle Haggard, Ted Nugent, and all sorts of other musicians who’s politics I detest, I gotta tell you all to stop being such whiny bitches about it. Expand your narrow fucking minds just enough to understand that there is room in this world to like someone’s art and hate their politics. If your skin is really that thin, then you need to get yourselves to your safe space, because Sturgill triggered you. Now who’s the pussified snowflakes?
Denixx
November 9, 2017 @ 10:04 am
Here Here!
BJones
November 9, 2017 @ 9:59 am
Boy, didn’t take this guy long to turn into an insufferable douche.
Splitear
November 9, 2017 @ 10:09 am
Boy, it didn’t take long for “fans” to turn on him either 🙂
It’s okay, I don’t like people who call me mean names either, I get it. I guess I’m lucky that one of my favorite artists has a similar stance to me on things, I don’t get that very often with country music. Somehow I carry on as a fan though, and I’m able to bond with people over good music, even though they may think I’m a “libtard” or whatever the flavor of the week is…
BJones
November 9, 2017 @ 10:18 am
I don’t necessarily disagree with a lot of what he says, actually. I just don’t like to hear the political opinions of musicians unless they’re set to music, and even then the political stuff is so well-worn it’s usually pretty cliche. “War bad! Equality good!” Yeah, I get it. I don’t give a shit about is opinions, just like I don’t give a shit about what George Clooney or Ted Nugent has to say. They’ve all got a perfect right to say it, no question. I just don’t care to hear it. I wouldn’t stop listening to SS’s music because of his political opinions. I would stop listening to his music because I don’t like it, which is the case with his last album, and it sure sounds like it will remain the case for the foreseeable future.
Splitear
November 9, 2017 @ 10:21 am
I can respect that!
jtrpdx
November 9, 2017 @ 1:33 pm
So, you would respect him more if, when asked what he thought about trump (as he was last night), he just said “no comment”? To me, that would be more of a d-bag move.
BJones
November 9, 2017 @ 2:52 pm
@jtrpdx: I wouldn’t respect him any more or less. I just wouldn’t give a fuck about his response. Also, I didn’t read super-carefully, but I believe what the post says is that he was asked what he would say in an acceptance speech, and then he launched directly into a political polemic. So let’s not pretend that he didn’t actively steer the conversation towards politics.
Al
November 9, 2017 @ 10:11 pm
His Trump comments were the response to a direct question as to what he thought of the current President, they came 25 minutes after he answered the acceptance speech question.
Casey Goins
November 9, 2017 @ 10:03 am
Why the hell is every comment on here in response to his political comments?
Whatever, moving on…. I wonder if he’ll truly quit after five albums. Maybe he’s George Lucas’d it and already had everything laid out in this 5 part concept album plan from the start.
I’ll be really upset if we only get two more sturgill albums in the next 4 or 5 years and then just nothing. I don’t care what kind of music he makes, I just want him to keep making music.
Trigger
November 9, 2017 @ 10:45 am
I have always said I don’t buy into Sturgill’s “Five album” limit, and even after last night’s tripling down on those comments, I still don’t. In fact I think what he said lends to the idea that there will be more. I think his career will be defined by a “Five album” opus, of which his three solo releases have been a part of so far, the the two forthcoming will round out. But after that, I fully expect him to make a smoking bluegrass album, or a country shit kicker just for the fun of it, or an album with Isbell and others supergroup style. Maybe this stuff will just be seen as a sidebar to his more expansive five album career-defining suite, but Sturgill’s too restless, and too brilliant to impose ANY arbitrary limitations on the creative output in his life. Who knows, after he does his first five, perhaps he’ll start another cycle of five.
jtrpdx
November 9, 2017 @ 11:25 am
It was also cool that he mentioned he is going to likely be in the studio producing an album for someone else in a few months.
Someguy
November 9, 2017 @ 8:21 pm
agreed, whether SS realizes it or not. Dude will get bored if he’s not making music.
Even if he moves away from country, I hope to God he keeps giving guys like Tyler Childers the stepping stone they need to make the big time.
Purgatory has got to be the album of the year right??
Trainwreck92
November 10, 2017 @ 10:10 pm
“Purgatory” and Turnpike Troubadours “A Long Way From Your Heart” are going to be tough to top for me.
Splitear
November 9, 2017 @ 10:06 am
Yesterday: “Sturgill Simpson is a Bad A$$!”
Today: “Sturgill Simpson said something that I don’t agree with and called me a mean name, and I hate him for it!”
He said it right there in the video, if you’re just now realizing what he stands for, you obviously haven’t been listening very well. I understand if your feelings are hurt because someone called you a mean name, though I don’t understand if you are mad only because someone disagrees with you.
As for me, keep on doing what you do Sturgill, I’m looking forward to the next album!
Whiskey_Pete
November 9, 2017 @ 11:19 am
He’s been talking shit low key for awhile now and we have all been wondering what he was really getting at. Remember the beard and flannel comment? I mean it’s no fucking secret he likes to be ambiguous at times.
Recently he’s become more straight up. That’s fine if he doesn’t like people on right and you know what they don’t have to like him and not buy his music. I mean, why would you support a guy that talks shit about you? I can understand if people are choosing to throw his music in the bin.
As for me, my enthusiasm for him has worn off. He is too dramatic for me and he clearly has no interest in country music anymore. Shame really but it’s his life. Can’t deny his talent but you can deny supporting him.
Not sure why everyone keeps calling ‘The Hag’ a liberal. He’s not. He is middle of the road kind of guy. Like he said you could have D or R before you name but that doesn’t mean shit. It’s what you really believe in that counts.
Splitear
November 9, 2017 @ 11:51 am
I guess we’re coming at this from totally different ends, since I agree with most of what he says his stances are, and I’m assuming that you don’t. With that being said, I guess I haven’t heard him say that he doesn’t like people on the right. I did hear him say some mean things about Trump supporters, and I’ll admit they are non-constructive, but nothing about people on the right. Honestly, I don’t know many unwavering Trump supporters that I like, I certainly don’t hate any of them, but I don’t like a lot of them that I know. However, I know a lot of people on the right that I don’t agree with, whom I still like and respect. I do respect that you are upset if he called you names, and I won’t hold anything against you if you stop listening.
I found the “Hag” to bit of a Jesus figure in country music, regardless of what you believe in, you’ll find something that he said that supports your opinion. After reading his book “My House of Memories” I realize that Merle Haggard human, and made a lot of mistakes. Just because you agree with someone stance on something, doesn’t mean that you have to agree with their stance on everything. Merle Haggard is a musical hero of mine, and there are things that he believed that I agree with, but there a lot that I don’t. That being said, I’ll listen to a Haggard song later today, and maybe even “Stranglehold” if I feel like it 🙂 Have a great day Whiskey Pete!
DJ
November 9, 2017 @ 12:18 pm
Merle Haggard is a better artist than SS will ever be.
Splitear
November 9, 2017 @ 12:23 pm
To each their own. Merle Haggard is a hero of mine, but at this point in my life (or maybe this month) I find myself listening to Sturgill more than Haggard…
Someguy
November 9, 2017 @ 8:23 pm
Hag is a better artist than will ever be seen again, but sturgill is very damn good
Cool Lester Smooth
November 9, 2017 @ 12:45 pm
…and how on earth do you think Sturgill’s comments about Trump supporters conflict with the idea that “you could have D or R before you name but that doesn’t mean shit. It’s what you really believe in that counts”?
Did you read what Sturgill actually said, or are you too busy being triggered, honey?
Whiskey_Pete
November 9, 2017 @ 1:09 pm
Yes baby, I did. I just don’t agree with your comparison.
No sugar tits, I didn’t get triggered.
Kevin Wortman
November 9, 2017 @ 2:46 pm
Whiskey, quit triggering poor little Lester, he may melt.
Cool Lester Smooth
November 10, 2017 @ 12:19 pm
So is the issue that you don’t understand that plenty of people with “an R before their name” hate Trump, because of what they believe in?
KGD
November 9, 2017 @ 10:15 am
I don’t care what he says, but he, and a whole shit-ton of other folks, need to look up the definition of “fascist”. Trump is a lot of things, and I don’t like him much myself, but he’s not a fascist and the people I know who voted for him aren’t bigots or racists or white supremacists.
Jack Williams
November 9, 2017 @ 10:32 am
OK, I looked it up.
fascism. /ˈfæʃɪzəm/ noun (sometimes capital) 1. any ideology or movement inspired by Italian Fascism, such as German National Socialism; any right-wing nationalist ideology or movement with an authoritarian and hierarchical structure that is fundamentally opposed to democracy and liberalism.
With respect to the text I italicized, I’d say close enough.
And Sturgill called out the people who still support him., not necessarily all the people who voted for him. There’s a difference.
kgd
November 9, 2017 @ 11:05 am
Nope. Nowhere except in the American Left’s fevered imaginations is anybody in current public life fundamentally opposed to democracy. Thanks for playing.
Jack Williams
November 10, 2017 @ 7:10 am
Donald Trump has called the news media the “enemy of the American people.” As president, he has pressured the Justice Department to investigate Hillary Clinton, the person he defeated in the election, for crimes. That’s what often happens in real life in countries without strong democratic institutions. Just recently, he said that he thinks it’s wrong that he doesn’t have control of the Justice Department. Luckily for us, he’s much better at the demagogue thing and not so good at the governance thing. But it’s clear enough to me that he doesn’t have much use or respect for democratic/republican (small d and r) norms, principles or institutions. Donald Trump is different.
Whiskey_Pete
November 9, 2017 @ 11:27 am
I’m pretty sure President Donald Trump is not a dictator.
We’re not a democracy. We are a Constitutional Republic.
DJ
November 9, 2017 @ 12:19 pm
Except the politicians don’t abide by the Constitution.
Whiskey_Pete
November 9, 2017 @ 1:14 pm
Yea that’s an on going problem with the republicrats.
Splitear
November 9, 2017 @ 11:59 am
I certainly think there is a segment of the population that fits the “right-wing nationalist ideology”, and I certainly think that there have been numerous occasions where President Trump has played to that population. However, I think that our forefathers set up a solid foundation and our citizens have always taken a stand to prevent “an authoritarian and hierarchical structure”.
Now, would the agenda of this administration, or any administration, be easier to enact if we were structured in such a fashion, absolutely, but that is what separates our system from fascism. I understand the fear of fascism when whoever you disagree with is in power, the left fears it now, the right feared it with President Obama. However, we are blessed that those fears have never come to fruition.
DJ
November 9, 2017 @ 12:22 pm
How many laws has ANY politician made that enhances liberty?
Just because incremental losses don’t fully equate doesn’t mean incremental losses won’t.
Splitear
November 9, 2017 @ 12:26 pm
That’s true on both sides. I guess the solace comes in the fact that every once in a while we get to vote on who makes the laws, and we even have the freedom to run for office ourselves if we wish. There are a lot of counties where you have to be born into that kind of power. That’s not to say that there aren’t some born into that kind of power here in the good ole USA, but it’s certainly not a prerequisite….
Whiskey_Pete
November 9, 2017 @ 10:17 am
I see the communists came out for this article.
James
November 9, 2017 @ 11:33 am
lol ik
Kross
November 9, 2017 @ 10:19 am
I guess I’m an ignorant fucking biggot. Bye Sturgill, you know longer get my hard earned money.
Splitear
November 9, 2017 @ 10:23 am
I understand, it hurts my feelings too when people call me mean names. There are a lot of good artists out there who won’t be mean to you, so I hope you find people that you like!
James
November 9, 2017 @ 11:32 am
Yeehaw buddy never buy his music again!
Wicket
November 10, 2017 @ 8:10 am
He called people that still support trump after Charlottesville bigots, which is pretty fair considering what happened.
eckiezZ
November 9, 2017 @ 10:21 am
love it.
love him.
mkdh
November 9, 2017 @ 10:28 am
I believe the proper word for Trump is demagogue. If you think he’s stupid then you’re already losing. He’s appears to me as a gigantic mirror for all the bullshit we as Americans have endured/ perpetuated for years using the slow death of our institutions for maximum effect. Trying to label all of his supporters with a broad brush like that is the same damn thing as prejudging any group. Not so liberal. Much more fascist in thought.
But about the important stuff….
So is he saying five albums for his solo career, but collaborations don’t count?
If we can’t get back Sunday Valley, can he at least make another record like that?
jtrpdx
November 9, 2017 @ 11:19 am
I heard it as he is just viewing it as a set of 5 themed albums that he already has mapped out in his head. His comment to the effect that “who knows, someday I might make a hard country album again, but it won’t be tomorrow” leads me to believe that he isn’t viewing it as 5 and done. The caveat being, he could be just going along with this 5 album thing as some sort of internal joke / suspense builder to get people thinking and talking about it. Who knows with Sturgill!
mkdh
November 9, 2017 @ 11:27 am
He certainly realizes the power of mystery and suspense, which is part of the reason I’ll always be interested in his music. Let’s hope he finds the reasons to do more!
Someguy
November 9, 2017 @ 8:28 pm
If you think he’s stupid then you’re already losing
Of course he’s stupid. He’s a barking dog, with a Pavlovian response to praise. If “build a wall” gets him claps, then by god we are building a wall. He doesn’t give a shit about the details. He’s Bannons fucking puppet that got off the leash
I would give my left leg for this all to be over and for another Kennedy or Reagan or Roosevelt to unite this country again
mkdh
November 9, 2017 @ 9:34 pm
That sounds like the definition of a demagogue, not an idiot. I’m not defending him, but belittling his power only makes it worse.
Elizabeth
November 9, 2017 @ 10:31 am
That is fantastic that he did this. I’m sure he’ll get strong reactions – negative and positive probably mostly negative. Makes it even better that he decided to do this. You don’t have to agree with him but he is allowed to express any opinion he wants and he is part of a long history of musicians to do so. He has always been someone who does something because it is right for him not because it is the safe thing to do for his career. Right On. Yes, I’m a commie/fascist/liberal/evildoer and I want to steal your babies and take over the world.
Kevin Wortman
November 9, 2017 @ 4:20 pm
Elizabeth, that is a great reason for the rest of us to be armed.
Elizabeth
November 9, 2017 @ 6:39 pm
Totally
alex
November 9, 2017 @ 10:33 am
Well,Im sure such noted F;**ing bigots as Ricky Skaggs and Bobby Osborne will be falling all over themselves to record that album if Sturgill has the nerve to tell them he holds the same contempt for them as he apparently does for his fans.
jtrpdx
November 9, 2017 @ 11:15 am
Or just maybe they are big enough boys to realize that not everyone feels the same way they do (and that is assuming they are trump fans, which I’m not sure of), and some people are even outspoken about it. Big deal. Time to move on.
blockman
November 9, 2017 @ 9:00 pm
Sturgill certainly left his big boy pants at home for that set.
Nadia Lockheart
November 9, 2017 @ 11:01 am
It’s certainly no news to me that he was outspoken as he was last night………………..because much of “A Sailor’s Guide To Earth” harbored themes beyond just fatherhood and birth that you also see Jason Isbell reflect in his music.
For me at least, it has been a no-brainer which end of the ideological spectrum he resides on. So I do admit I find it kind of amusing how taken aback many are not necessarily by amplifying it, but the mere realization he’s at odds with the current zeitgeist.
*
Outside of that, I would LOVE to hear a JD Crowe/Ricky Skaggs collaboration.
Joshua
November 9, 2017 @ 2:59 pm
Skaggs Played in the New South for a bit on the self-titled record from 1975.
the pistolero
November 9, 2017 @ 11:13 am
Don’t agree with Sturgill’s politics, but…meh. I still love the music and will buy it. I hope does get to do the bluegrass album with Skaggs & Crowe, though. I would buy the ever-loving SHIT out of that.
I know it”s be weird to think that the guys from the different scenes don’t keep up with each other, but it’s pretty cool to see guys like Boland and Eady on Sturgill’s radar.
jtrpdx
November 9, 2017 @ 11:20 am
I love that too. Boland and Eady are two of my favorites. Eady opened for Sturgill in TX last month, which is cool.
the pistolero
November 9, 2017 @ 5:12 pm
I bet that was a damn fine show.
kgd
November 9, 2017 @ 11:23 am
Just as badly abused as “fascist” and “racist”.
Everybody I know who voted for Hillary, whom I detest like few others among our ruling class, are serious, sincere people. I love them all and they’re not even close to being communists. Or socialists with a couple of exceptions.
You can’t fix things if you can’t even get the language straight.
Someguy
November 9, 2017 @ 8:31 pm
A lot of us who voted for HRC hate her too, if that’s any consolation
James
November 9, 2017 @ 11:29 am
I fucking hate this man
Splitear
November 9, 2017 @ 12:01 pm
How about you tell us how you really feel…
james
November 9, 2017 @ 3:34 pm
whats that supposed to mean?
bret colsen
November 9, 2017 @ 11:30 am
Since when did artists and their fans have to have the same views?
Oyster Boy
November 9, 2017 @ 3:03 pm
Why do “artists” need to shove their views down the fans throats?
Someguy
November 9, 2017 @ 8:33 pm
What do you think art is?? Happy noise that only makes you bounce your head and tap your toes? There’s plenty of pop on the radio, I’d rather not have more empty calories
Gar
November 9, 2017 @ 11:30 am
I like his music but I will never even consider buying it or even saying I am a fan of him . He’s human filth
KGD
November 9, 2017 @ 11:32 am
I love that he name-checked Jason Eady. Maybe my favorite 2017 discovery.
In a five night span I saw Jason Eady, Sturgill, Dwight Yoakam and Tyler Childers. Just a flat out embarrassment of riches and picking a favorite would be like trying to pick a favorite child. You could make the case that Eady was the best.
Brett Robinson
November 9, 2017 @ 11:41 am
I don’t understand why people need to identify, whether personally or politically, with an artist. It’s like this Us/Them dichotomy that has no place in art. I love how when, during the election, liberal celebrity’s joked about moving abroad if Trump got elected, they were lampooned from the Right as “snowflakes” who couldn’t take any heat from their opposition…. after the Dems just swept through VA, I’m seeing the same “snowflake” behavior from conservatives. Move. Throw away albums that you know you enjoy. Whatever it takes to make the cognitive dissonance go away. You sing along with Sturgill about Reptilian Aliens from another dimension but you can’t bear to hear the man talk about the very real prison-industrial system those Reptilian overlords use to that enslave and profit from locking up mostly people of color. If you think that African-American Culture contains an inherent criminality regardless of circumstance, then you actually are a racist. He’s not CALLING you a bigot…you ARE one.
james
November 9, 2017 @ 3:37 pm
its 100% us vs them. them fucktards want to call us all racists and phobophobes and all this shit. its 1000 % us vs them and if they push things too far, were the ones who stock up on guns for fun
Dane
November 9, 2017 @ 7:32 pm
You sound fun…..and smart
james
November 9, 2017 @ 8:40 pm
lol good one – i actually sincerely mean that, i lost my head for a minute there
Waymore’s Booze
November 9, 2017 @ 7:45 pm
Yes times 1,000. You slay on the steel and in the written word, Brett.
KGD
November 9, 2017 @ 11:50 am
I miss Laur
Tubby
November 9, 2017 @ 11:54 am
Although I can appreciate the fact that the current environment has tempers running high, Trump supporters being “ignorant fucking bigots” might be a bit strong although those that fall under that accusation are probably big Trump supporters. I think the rest either really do not care about others at all or have stuck their fingers in their ears screaming “LA LA LA” because they just can’t admit to being wrong.
That being said, if I refused to listen to or trashed the things I’ve bought because I disagree with an artist or think that they would hate me if they met me I’d have very little to listen to.
More important than the usual political bs, though, what do we need to do to make the bluegrass and highwaymen stuff happen ASAP.
Also, as a different type of artist than musician, I am amazed, impressed and wholeheartedly support the way Sturgill is conducting his career.
Splitear
November 9, 2017 @ 12:00 pm
Hear-Hear! On every point!
Splitear
November 9, 2017 @ 12:03 pm
So far I’ve read more about Sturgill Simpson today than I have Donald Trump, it’s been a good day…
The Word
November 9, 2017 @ 12:38 pm
Sturgill is trying way too hard to virtue signal to his lefty Americana overlords (all the feminist music journalists and NPR soy-boy affiliates who cover the genre). Sadly, the very same bias is seeping into the CMA’s, where anti-Trump diatribes and bizarre diversity initiatives are meant as a big F-you to country music’s true fans.
Is anyone else getting tired of this charade? Sturgill (or Jason Isbell etc.) engage in delusion political provocation (fascism! slavery!), and then play the victim on social media (or in the echo chambers of alt weeklies). I’m sorry, but spewing liberal talk points about “Drumpf” is less an honest political statement than a pathetic solicitation for approval from the media class.
Of course, Sturgill then has the audacity to claim that he’s “shy”. Are you sure? You just spent an evening begging for attention outside of the CMA’s while raging about the second coming of Hitler and the Confederacy — all for a few pats on the head from feminist and soy-boy scum.
jtrpdx
November 9, 2017 @ 1:26 pm
“country music’s true fans”, huh? I wouldn’t exactly call the CMA crowd “fans of country music”. Also, you are way overstating this whole thing. Sturgill doesn’t regularly blast his political opinions out there, so your charade doesn’t really hold water as it relates to him.
The Word
November 9, 2017 @ 2:13 pm
Yes, he does, actually. But let’s pretend he had made no overt political statements before. This recent stunt, with its outrageous hyperbole, is enough to warrant our disgust. Perhaps it impressed his media enablers, but most of us are simply not fooled.
At the very least, I’d appreciate it if they stopped pretending they were engaging in edgy or risky protest. What’s next? Isbell and Margo Price doing a teary-eyed duet about a tranny soldier killed in action (while wearing a niqab?). I can almost see the glowing review on Rollingstone.com.
DJ
November 9, 2017 @ 1:54 pm
LOL, good analysis!
DJ
November 9, 2017 @ 12:38 pm
I don’t like SS music (ever) and I don’t like his pseudo intellectual “deep” (read shallow) opinions.
I didn’t like his music first. I don’t like his opinions second.
I don’t like leftist and I don’t care for nationalists on the right.
I advocate for individual rights as long as they don’t harm another person or property.
I don’t like leftist because they have a tendency to look to the gov’t to fix what it’s already fucked up.
I don’t like nationalist on the right for the same reason. The aisle in DC doesn’t exist policy wise. It’s used as a tool to divide citizens to ensure it retains ill perceived authority granted by mandate which I don’t think our founders had in mind and gave us the Constitution to keep legal liars in check. We’ve failed miserably and are suffering the results.
The people here denouncing Trump are just regurgitating what talking heads (pseudo journalist) spew with their attention grabbing head lines. Trump will do what he’s told, just as Obama did and just as Hillary would have done. The ONLY difference is their personality’s. Ask JFK what happens when you buck the system.
Splitear
November 9, 2017 @ 12:41 pm
This may be the most honest statement that I’ve read all day. We obviously have different tastes, but I respect your honesty.
DJ
November 9, 2017 @ 1:03 pm
Thank you.
Cool Lester Smooth
November 9, 2017 @ 12:48 pm
JFK was as dyed-in-the-wool a neoliberal as it gets, haha.
DJ
November 9, 2017 @ 1:06 pm
He none the less tried to buck the system. He paid the ultimate price and we got what replaced him, LBJ, who is arguably the most racist POTUS in history and implemented the war on poverty to insure/ensure the black vote (though that isn’t what he called it) for 200 years.
Cool Lester Smooth
November 9, 2017 @ 1:32 pm
Hahahaha, Jesus Christ.
If you think there’s ANY argument for LBJ being “the most racist” man to hold the office of president, you know terrifyingly little about the history of the United States.
If nothing else, you should support taxes that will fund public education, lest our schools fail your children as badly as they’ve clearly failed you.
DJ
November 9, 2017 @ 1:58 pm
I did say “arguably” and said why; the war on poverty.
I don’t believe in taking your money to pay for my education, but thanks for the offer.
I didn’t learn a lot from history in school. It was mostly bullshit manifest destiny crap.
I also don’t believe the constitution allows for that.
Whiskey_Pete
November 9, 2017 @ 1:58 pm
You forgot to call him honey or kiddo.
Cool Lester Smooth
November 10, 2017 @ 12:27 pm
Oh, I didn’t “forget to call him” that, sweetheart.
DJ is an adult, with whom I very much disagree, but who is capable of forming opinions through reason, and then defending them.
When I refer to you as “honey” or “kiddo,” it isn’t because you disagree with me.
It’s because I don’t respect you.
Cool Lester Smooth
November 10, 2017 @ 12:35 pm
DJ — Andrew Jackson was a slaveowner who directly violated an order from the Supreme Court of the United States in order to commit a willful act of ethnic cleansing against the Five Civilized Tribes.
The man was also arguably the founder of American Democracy and prevented the Nullification Crisis from breaking out into an earlier Civil War…but any conversation about “Most Racist” American presidents begins and ends with Old Hickory.
jtrpdx
November 9, 2017 @ 1:20 pm
Your words, not his……as it relates to his “deep” opinions. He never called them that.
DJ
November 9, 2017 @ 2:00 pm
No, another poster did. I was using it. But apparently his vision of music includes the need for deep thought, right?!
Don
November 9, 2017 @ 1:34 pm
Nice. Everybody on this thread, and everyone in the rest of the country is arguing about which species of cockroach they want to let live under the refrigerator.
Allen
November 9, 2017 @ 1:03 pm
I’m a conservative Christian and if I got offended by his comments, then I would be offended by EVERYTHING that is put out or said daily in the media. I don’t have a problem with what he said because he’s entitled to his opinion. And last I checked, we will all go home tonight, go to sleep, wake up tomorrow and his comments will have absolutely no affect on our lives. As elementary as it is to say, they are just words and sticks and stones (you shoudl have Tracy Lawrence stuck in your head now) may break my bones but words will never hurt. That’s the problem with this country now days, it doesn’t matter what side of the fence you are on, someone is going to disagree with you and say something you don’t like. Who cares!!! Some of my best friends are completely different from me politically and even musically. Doesn’t change the fact that I would do anything to help my friends in time of need. Look at all the tragedies around the country. I’m originally from Houston, all my family lives there, I live in Ft Worth. When Harvey hit, it hit everyone. It didn’t single out republicans, democrats, fascists, socialist, black, white, Hispanic. It affected everyone. And the best photos I saw were the ones of other races helping each other. Just enjoy the art of the music and take it for what it is, art. If you don’t like it, don’t buy it, don’t listen and change the channel.
I’m more curious about what route he will go on his next album. I hope he comes full circle with a more traditional country album with the fifth one.
DJ
November 9, 2017 @ 1:17 pm
I applaud you for your conviction, but, I would point out: conservative root is conserve, which is to keep as is, which is status quo. Think about that.
It’s been morphed into neocon which is new conservative which means it’s not what it originally was.
Neocons are what ALL politicians are today from both sides and both sides subscribe to neoliberal policy of the 60’s which is easy to find on the internet
What is Neoliberalism?
The main points of neo-liberalism include:
THE RULE OF THE MARKET. Liberating “free” enterprise or private enterprise from any bonds imposed by the government (the state) no matter how much social damage this causes. Greater openness to international trade and investment, as in NAFTA. Reduce wages by de-unionizing workers and eliminating workers’ rights that had been won over many years of struggle. No more price controls. All in all, total freedom of movement for capital, goods and services. To convince us this is good for us, they say “an unregulated market is the best way to increase economic growth, which will ultimately benefit everyone.” It’s like Reagan’s “supply-side” and “trickle-down” economics — but somehow the wealth didn’t trickle down very much.
CUTTING PUBLIC EXPENDITURE FOR SOCIAL SERVICES like education and health care. REDUCING THE SAFETY-NET FOR THE POOR, and even maintenance of roads, bridges, water supply — again in the name of reducing government’s role. Of course, they don’t oppose government subsidies and tax benefits for business.
DEREGULATION. Reduce government regulation of everything that could diminsh profits, including protecting the environmentand safety on the job.
PRIVATIZATION. Sell state-owned enterprises, goods and services to private investors. This includes banks, key industries, railroads, toll highways, electricity, schools, hospitals and even fresh water. Although usually done in the name of greater efficiency, which is often needed, privatization has mainly had the effect of concentrating wealth even more in a few hands and making the public pay even more for its needs.
ELIMINATING THE CONCEPT OF “THE PUBLIC GOOD” or “COMMUNITY” and replacing it with “individual responsibility.” Pressuring the poorest people in a society to find solutions to their lack of health care, education and social security all by themselves — then blaming them, if they fail, as “lazy.”
http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=376
It’s not that I necessarily disagree with the points, (though I would argue the benefits they bring) it’s the manner in which they’re implemented.
Both sides now subscribe to the hegemony and imperialistic policy using the same monetary policy Nixon implemented when he removed us from the gold standard and sold our collective soul to the federal reserve and Saudi Arabia.
Wesley Gray
November 9, 2017 @ 1:09 pm
looking at the volume of comments posted here on an article just posted today…well, i’m not even going to go read them. i dropped down to leave my reply *insert meaningless trolling and political shit-slinging bullshit*. Y’all cut the shit. The guy can believe whatever he wants and fighting about politics on a country music blog is a ridiculous waste of time. Whether you agree with Sturgill here or not does not matter. He has the right to his own opinions just as you all do. (I’m probably at least the 10th person to leave a comment like this here. lol)
DJ
November 9, 2017 @ 1:18 pm
Yes he can, and so can we, since Trigger who owns the site says so.
One man’s shit is another man’s desert. Keep that in mind.
Wesley Gray
November 9, 2017 @ 1:32 pm
10-4! i really don’t have any opinion on the matter, anyway. I didn’t vote in the last election. I haven’t voted ever since Ron Paul retired.
Don
November 9, 2017 @ 1:36 pm
Not making a choice, is a choice! Believe that was in a Rush song back in the day.
Trigger
November 9, 2017 @ 2:32 pm
“If you choose not to decide you still have made a choice.”
Neil Peart is one of the most underrated lyricists in music history.
JB-Chicago
November 9, 2017 @ 3:42 pm
Trigger you nailed it. Neil Peart is one of the greatest lyricists of all time in any genre. Freewill is a great song. They don’t call him The Professor for nothing. Not a bad drummer either…lol
Now about this Simpson fella………….. I don’t love his music like all of you on here but damned if he didn’t impress me with the biggest balls in the world for doing this. I’m going back and listening to everything from the beginning.
Whiskey_Pete
November 9, 2017 @ 1:39 pm
Ron Paul was great.
Whiskey_Pete
November 9, 2017 @ 1:41 pm
*Is* great.
Voted from him too.
Still have his bumper sticker on muh truck.
DJ
November 9, 2017 @ 2:01 pm
Yes
Wesley Gray
November 9, 2017 @ 2:08 pm
good to meet some Ron Paul fans here! i used to campaign for him. Good man. *thumbs up*
Benny Lee
November 9, 2017 @ 3:03 pm
Agree
Hugh
November 9, 2017 @ 8:12 pm
I’ve been flushing my shit down the toilet my whole life, I could have served it up as dessert. That’s gay. Gay used to mean lecherous, idiotic, fucked up, disgusting, the unthinkable. Does that remind you of anything today? I guess you can get used to anything.
Ulysses McCaskill
November 9, 2017 @ 1:59 pm
Might disagree with a couple things he said, but still doesn’t phase me. Don’t care about the political views of my favorite artists. I can respect the man for being honest. Just looking forward to that Bluegrass album! Meanwhile, I’m off to go crank up High Top Mountain.
Chris31
November 9, 2017 @ 2:09 pm
Feel the same way. I have many friends who have view way more liberal than Sturgills. And I’m still friends with them, Not because of their political views but because of the person they are. I will still support Sturgill and his music as long as he decides to put it out.
Wesley Gray
November 9, 2017 @ 2:18 pm
I’m with everything you two both said here.
Hugh
November 9, 2017 @ 8:13 pm
Who’s HIgh Top Mountain?
Ulysses McCaskill
November 10, 2017 @ 12:21 am
It’s one of Sturgill’s albums.
Randy
November 9, 2017 @ 2:34 pm
One of my favorite Hank 3 quotes from an article back in 2011 when his daddy was stirring the political waters by comparing Obama to Hitler:
Williams III declined to share his political views with TMZ, saying, “I’m a musician … not a politician.”
One more reason to love 3 in my book. Where in the world is he????
Gina
November 10, 2017 @ 9:48 am
The last time I saw him was in Austin around 2013 I think. I haven’t heard much about him since.
dave
November 9, 2017 @ 2:40 pm
Go Trump!!! Fuck Sturgill pleanty of great artists to listen to without you!
james
November 9, 2017 @ 3:44 pm
yeeeeeeeehaw!!!
Big Cat
November 10, 2017 @ 4:41 am
Lol
Dane
November 9, 2017 @ 7:36 pm
*plenty
Hugh
November 9, 2017 @ 2:54 pm
I don’t think S.S. could push his crying fans away if his life depended on it. They need a crowd a place to go where they can blend or they would never be let out. They don’t fit in, stand out like sore thumbs. They’ve already stopped crying and their back to being his best friend, they’re family again in their minds. Zoning in front of infomercials would be what’s left of them if they decided to pack their bags and never listen to their friend Stirgil again. Pushing them away is to support Trump followers. Just because political office holder change every 4-8 years. Doesn’t mean citizens change their nature.
Benny Lee
November 9, 2017 @ 3:00 pm
To leave the politics out of it (this time), and even the music itself, I thought this was a strong marketing move by SS.
He upstaged the CMA on their big night.
He’s all over the media.
People who still had never heard of him will find out about him and his music.
Sure, he made polarizing comments, but what spreads faster in the current marketplace? He knew exactly what he was doing here.
KGD
November 9, 2017 @ 3:43 pm
“Just as long as you spell my name right,” amirite?
Hank
November 9, 2017 @ 3:04 pm
Trigger,
I bet you spent the majority of your youth getting dunked in toilets and getting your underwear pulled over your head. Fake wanna be journalist, keyboard warrior, probably living in your parents basement.
Trigger
November 9, 2017 @ 3:14 pm
You forgot the part about being a virgin.
Double J
November 9, 2017 @ 4:09 pm
And a bed wetter too
Trainwreck92
November 9, 2017 @ 5:21 pm
Oh shit, Hank. You sure showed Trigger.
R2D2
November 9, 2017 @ 6:57 pm
Hank is so triggered.
WRS
November 9, 2017 @ 3:43 pm
Surprise surprise a musician is on the left side of the political aisle. I found out long ago if I quit listening to artists because I didn’t agree with them politically I wouldn’t have much to listen to. I care about the political opinions of people in the entertainment industry the same amount as I care about the political opinion of Bigfoot. I listen to musicians for their music if I like it I’ll keep listening if I don’t I will quit.
james
November 9, 2017 @ 3:46 pm
most country singers at least in the mainstream and semimainstream are conservative, thats what i stick to
WRS
November 9, 2017 @ 4:15 pm
That’s cool to each his/her own. There isn’t much in the mainstream of country music that I listen to.
Bill
November 9, 2017 @ 4:03 pm
So it is no longer a matter of just judging a musician based on talent….we now have to factor in political affiliation. Sorry….that’s a slippery slope I don’t care to go down. But your results may vary.
Double J
November 9, 2017 @ 4:25 pm
I’ll give you just one name as to why I will not stop listening to any artist for being a liberal, Willie Nelson.
Lugnut
November 9, 2017 @ 5:00 pm
I disagree politically with Mr. Simpson. I love a good bit of the music he has made. I hate that his politics may infect his music and produce less than he is demonstrably capable of producing.
It would appear that having a reasoned conversation with Mr. Simpson on politics would not be possible. That’s not a problem, as I won’t be having that conversation with him.
Essentially, I excuse artists for their political positions, which are 98% liberal in nature. I like their music too much to pay any attention to there political opinions , which are no more relevant than mine.
I conclude that musical minds do not ever flesh themselves out in the areas of the major and minor issues. You don’t have to listen carefully to see that most just rage with ample levels of profanity, as this is their version of an exclamation point. They just are not informed enough to give their rants any credence.
I have been a lifelong fan of John Fogerty. If I allowed his political views to impact that relationship, I would have missed so much of my favorite music.
Hugh
November 9, 2017 @ 5:22 pm
Liberal or Conservative doesn’t matter, just restrict anyone diagnosed with Personality Disorder from buying guns.
Hugh
November 9, 2017 @ 5:23 pm
They can still shoot with bow and arrows though. It just talkes longer to load.
Hugh
November 9, 2017 @ 5:25 pm
Personality Disorder on Personality Disorder crime is a problem in this country that should be curbed.
Someguy
November 9, 2017 @ 8:39 pm
Longer loading sounds like an improvement
DwnSouthJukin
November 9, 2017 @ 5:30 pm
“Gay people should have the right to be happy, and live their life any way they want to, and get married if they want to without fear of getting dragged down the road behind a pickup truck.”
Imagine the drugs you have to take to believe this is happening in the USA 2017…or 1917 for that matter.
jimsouls
November 9, 2017 @ 6:07 pm
This kind of stuff happens. Anti-gay cowardice is alive and well.
Cameron
November 9, 2017 @ 9:13 pm
Find me one instance. For god sake people are getting sued for not baking a fucking cake. Gays can get married. Trans can piss in whatever bathroom. Girls can join the boy scouts. Get the fuck out of here with the faux oppression bullshit. You really think trump hates gays?!? Prove it.
Trainwreck92
November 10, 2017 @ 10:28 pm
Trump likely doesn’t think about gays one way or another. The only thing Ben-Cheeto Mussolini seems to care about is growing his wealth. The problem is that many of his political appointments (Sessions and Pence come to mind) are staunchly anti-gay. Then, of course there’s the matter of Trump being the first sitting president to speak at the known anti-gay Values Voter Summit.
James
November 10, 2017 @ 12:14 pm
Jajajajaja ik these lunatics actually believe this
Beast Amongst Human Sheep
November 9, 2017 @ 5:52 pm
I am so tired of everyone’s political opinions. Jesus fucking christ. Just keep that bullshit to yourself. Conservatives and liberals can kiss my fucking ass. It’s everyone voicing thier opinions that is making me hateful. Not one single person really gives to shits. It’s just an image.
Hugh
November 9, 2017 @ 8:46 pm
No other beast or insect on the planet cries. Wails in fact. Even after gays have the right to get married, the temperature in the house they did not build is controlled, there is plenty to eat that they did not grow, and no one is pulling their nose hairs out slowly, one at a time. Don’t let Albert get you down Garth. That’s his mating call.
albert
November 9, 2017 @ 5:52 pm
Aha ….NOW I remember why I never thought too much of this guy . His ego is reminiscent of Garth .
Hugh
November 9, 2017 @ 8:49 pm
You’re thinking a lot about him now. Grrrr getting ready wrestle!
jimsouls
November 9, 2017 @ 6:06 pm
The only people who will be angry with his comments are the bigots he called out.
Hugh
November 9, 2017 @ 8:51 pm
Anger is important to casual, gay, group outlaw gatherings. It’s unfortunate that the bigots he called out are the only angry ones.
Phil
November 9, 2017 @ 6:23 pm
This comment section is SO FUCKING DISAPPOINTING
Hugh
November 9, 2017 @ 8:54 pm
I agree. Very disappointing in all caps. No one is angry enough to pop a boner.
Hugh
November 9, 2017 @ 8:59 pm
I should’ve said, “pop a nut”. It would have been more of an undercover boner thing to say. Sorry about that. Don’t get sore.
Waymore’s Booze
November 9, 2017 @ 6:29 pm
if you’re sick and tired of being labeled for your political views, maybe the problem isn’t everyone else. Maybe the problem is you. This applies to both sides.
Also, if you’re hanging your hopes on Mr Jinks being conservative savior for country music, you haven’t been really listening to him either.
DJ
November 10, 2017 @ 9:00 am
I Cast No Stones is hardly a leftist mantra, to wit SS.
The Dirty D
November 9, 2017 @ 6:34 pm
“……..NEWS FLASH!”……….”
I’m guessing none of the self-righteous, easily offended posters in here never bothered to listen to Sunday Valley’s first album. Likely not, since pretty much all of you are not from Central Kentucky. Go listen to Folded Flag. Sturgill’s opinions have been his opinions for many moons. Furthermore, he pretty much knew what many of your responses would sound like about 12 years ago.
Nothing in the 1st paragraph of the 1st question was anything but the truth. Just because you don’t accept it doesn’t make it any less true.
Someguy
November 9, 2017 @ 8:40 pm
Dude where the hell can I find that album? Id love to give it a spin
The Dirty D
November 10, 2017 @ 7:14 am
The album is way out of print. That said, you can listen to Folded Flag on YouTube.
ShadeGrown
November 9, 2017 @ 6:41 pm
What I got from this:
Disappointed he’s only planning on making 2 more albums.
I miss Hank3
Ryan
November 9, 2017 @ 7:26 pm
It’s one thing to listen to someone’s music and to see their politics and meaning through the lyrics. Which I totally understood and appreciated.
But to call your fans “ignorant f’n bigots” that’s a piece of shit who is way to full of himself, and I used to be a “YUGE” fan!
ShadeGrown
November 9, 2017 @ 8:26 pm
Yeah. I didn’t vote for Trump and still don’t see what his supporters do – but I know many people who voted for him and still feel it was the right call, who AREN’T bigots. But if Sturgill makes more good music I’ll listen cause I like good music.
Hugh
November 9, 2017 @ 9:26 pm
And you think the house built itself, supermarkets are stupid and disappointing, running water has always been there, war doesn’t happen, and of course, nobody wants kill you just because you’re American who can marry and be happy.
Wicket
November 10, 2017 @ 7:59 am
He was saying anyone who still supports Trump after Charlottesville, where Trump never condemned white nationalists. They work in the White House for fucks sake. He’s consistently promoting racist policies. Yes you support him you support a bigoted agenda, you act like you didn’t know, that’s fucking ignorant.
blockman
November 9, 2017 @ 8:45 pm
How eloquent and insightful! The arrogant no-fun hipster bit thats been amped up to compensate for and save his indie image in light of his big label success is pretty tired and obvious. I think he needs some xanax and to lighten up. Life must be tough as a major label artist on the festival circuit.
It is/was pretty obvious this is the direction he was heading. Having jumped ship post-Metamodern (Sailor… not my thing musically, conceptually and thematically) his comments regarding new music direction does not excite me and pretty much guarantee I wont buy the upcoming album either. Of course Sturgill is only obliged to make the music he wants and good for him for doing that but im a country music fan. I certainly do not feel abandoned/hurt my his comments or musical direction as it isnt a real shocker and aint like he owes me shit. His attitude has always been shitty in my eyes but liked the music on the first two but now the attitude and music are on the same level so thats that. Lots of other artists out there that dont feel like theyve outgrown or are above a style of music I quite enjoy.
As far as politics go im not American so dont give a damn either way but if Sturgill is music for Democrats and Hellbound Glory is music for Republicans as Trigger has said in a tongue and cheek way then I guess im one of those deplorables 🙂
Good PR stunt though. Seems very manufactured and delibrate to help cast a certain aura around him that makes him endearing to the young, hip and independent. Certainly nothing ‘outlaw’ about it as some have suggested.
Hugh
November 9, 2017 @ 9:11 pm
You’re gonna buy his album. It costs as much as a fancy chocolate bar in a fancy co-op, or a cup of coffee and a multigrain energy muffin. Your weekly crossfit class costs more than his album and your favorite guy in there won’t dig you if disagree. Then he’ll just mention his disappointment and confusion at your decision while they are watching the mead ferment.
blockman
November 9, 2017 @ 9:27 pm
Damn you got me. Will the album be Fair Trade and packaged in 100% biodegradable material so that it will not damage the environment when it inevitably ends up in a landfill when he says more mean things about me?
Hugh
November 9, 2017 @ 9:57 pm
Buy yourself a pair of new sneakers.
Spend a few hours at the Russian Bath House
Sign up for that sushi making class, get some Japanese knives, find sushi grade fish
Plan a casual friends Thanksgiving
Set up a hydroponics closet
Make a short video on Karl Marx
Plan a trip to Quark Ireland, plan to live there for a year, study the fiddle non stop.
Write poetry while you’re there
Do whatever you got to do to get him out of your head. It’s poison playing the fool. You’ll drown in your own tears if you keep going the way you are going. You’ve got to shake this off! I hate to see you go down this fools road. Stay away from Craigslist you’ll just waste more of your time. Write a business plan for a coffee shop.
blockman
November 9, 2017 @ 10:28 pm
Is this from ASGTE?
blockman
November 9, 2017 @ 9:23 pm
Also id have to agree with others thinking he has an ego problem (what happened to everything being love and turtles?). Him saying Cody came along to do the kind of music that people wished he was still doing is a weird claim considering Cody has been putting out solo albums in the country style years before Sturgill went solo and got recognition? Pretty weird claim that these artists are following in his footsteps and not making a path of their own.
His production job on Childres album points toward his ego as well its almost if he tried to follow the exact same formula or checklist as his own Metamodern… LP for Childres record down to song selection/placements etc as if he were a mini-Sturgill protege and not an artist of his own.
Hugh
November 9, 2017 @ 9:39 pm
Give the guy some space. You are way too close to be objective. You’re going to lose your cool. And that’s a big ew for you and for everyone. You won’t be able to breath or concentrate soon. Who do you want to be? Stop trying to make him into your ideal mate. Love everything about yourself. You are the most important person to you.
Jtrpdx
November 9, 2017 @ 9:51 pm
That be some good weed you are smoking blockman.
blockman
November 9, 2017 @ 10:27 pm
It is pretty great actually
Wicket
November 10, 2017 @ 8:03 am
Tyler would never have a record is Sturgill didn’t produce it. Everyone passed. True story, look it up.
Marc
November 9, 2017 @ 8:49 pm
Unless your read his lyrics you may not know what his stance is because that dude is hard to understand.
Jtrpdx
November 9, 2017 @ 9:49 pm
A few words here and there that are hard to completely understand isn’t the issue. It’s certain people’s lack of curiosity for looking into or thinking about the meaning of the music they listen to. In this case it isn’t that surprising, given that we are dealing with fervent trump supporters, who are by definition not the sharpest or most curious bunch.
TheKillerRocksOn
November 9, 2017 @ 9:55 pm
this is likely the most commented on and most devisive story ever on this site..
Aggc
November 9, 2017 @ 10:05 pm
Please review the latest Jeremy Pinnell album. Awesome music and not the slightest bit political.
Art
November 9, 2017 @ 10:20 pm
JUST A THOUGHT…Sturgill appeared super stoned and maybe that’s why some of his answers were maybe not as well spoken/thought out as they could have been?
TheKillerRocksOn
November 9, 2017 @ 10:23 pm
400 plus comments.. I applaud Sturgill for serving up the grenade Trigger pulled the pin on and dumping in the SCM lap…Instead of forming a united front against faux country and rallying against all that is wrong with Nashville, this political slant has us eating our own. Congrats on taking focus away from another week of ‘worse song ever’ and becoming just another political name calling echo chamber. One step forward and ten steps back…
Sam Cody
November 9, 2017 @ 11:03 pm
Holy shit. Is that how y’all assholes talk in real life…assuming you have real lives?
One of you: “You triggering snowflaking snow trigger flake, flake trigger!”
The other of you: “No! YOU are the snow triggered flake snow!”
Y’all about as bright as a bag of fucking hair.
Ulysses McCaskill
November 10, 2017 @ 12:45 am
Repub: “Liberalism is a disease…Shut up libtard”
Liberal: “At least I’m not a White supremacist nazi fascist”
Repub: “Go home Commie”.
The name calling in the political arena is getting really freaking old.
Big Cat
November 10, 2017 @ 4:32 am
Politics are rat poison
Redneck Proud
November 9, 2017 @ 11:55 pm
You want classy country acts listen to Alan Jackson & George straight…………
You want arrogant hipsters who don’t mind abusing their fans listen to sturgill (pissweak liberal…I know better than anyone else) Simpson
Ulysses McCaskill
November 10, 2017 @ 12:43 am
This comment section is basically Breitbart lite.
Jeremy
November 10, 2017 @ 2:27 am
So, like, people took this whole thing pretty serious.
Hugh
November 10, 2017 @ 7:40 am
You got to understand Gay/bi/politics. They didn’t teach it in High School. It all went wrong with Broke Back Mountain. Gay boys were being pressured to dump being best friends with the ladies. It was a sign of weakness that you weren’t able to commit to gay marriage. That’s why I transitioned into a gay man. I didn’t realize it was going to be so hard in the gay world. I thought it was going to be easy. That once I became a man, all the boys would be all over me with love and understanding. It’s not that way at all. You’re either a Libertard Snowflake or a Free Wheeling Outlaw.
What’s nice though are the fashion shopping trips, and I feel safe in my own skin in the bars. I’m free to be seen with them without getting the snarls from the “Commitment Bears”. They’re not that way at all by the way. They just throw you around, blame everything on you and make excuses why they can’t get married and start our happy home. Sorry to break the news to you this way. Welcome to the real world, Honey.
Jeremy
November 10, 2017 @ 3:37 pm
Yeah thanks for the wayyy too much information there hoss. I was just being a smart ass based on all the back and forth that was going on in the comments. I don’t care if you marry a dude or a grizzley bear. I don’t get why everyone today has to be something. It’s like if you are vegan, gay, do CrossFit, or whatever you gotta make sure everyone knows and shove it in people’s faces. Just go out and live your life.
Adam
November 10, 2017 @ 5:55 am
Well, that definitely changed my opinion of Sturgill. He should just stick to music, although it’s doubtful I’ll be listening to it. So he shows up to the arena to protest a non-issue, insult the president (and a lot of fans by extension), and tell the media he’s not currently into making country music? Just another artist who isn’t as smart or wise as he believes he is. Honestly, fuck this unoriginal jackass. I’d rather watch Brad Paisley do Accidental Racist on repeat than listen to Sturgill’s transparent self-agrandizing.
Hugh
November 10, 2017 @ 7:25 am
Honestly? Every homewrecker on this site would have in a heartbeat if he call you out on your feminine passive aggressive bullshit.