Take A Knee ... Or Not

What a week! It's like the '60s all over again and in a bad way. The "take a knee" NFL protest spilled over a little into Country music this week but with little traction.

A singer sang the Anthem and took a knee and pumped the fist. Social media was ugly with the reaction. Charlie Daniels said he didn't understand what the NFL players were doing.

Hopefully, that will be it. I doubt many artists around here want to go on record saying it's okay to do a protest during the National Anthem. Music Row has gotten pretty liberal leaning but not quite ready to lean that far to the left.

The customers are not on the same page with the millionaires on this issue. Best this whole thing go away fast and return in some other form if needed.

Burning the flag in the '60s never turned out well for the burners. Disrespecting the National Anthem even in the 2000s is not a winning approach.

Hip-Hop Country songs are one thing. Dissing the flag, patriotism, etc. is another.

There is a new audience for the music coming out of Music Row. The major radio groups have subdivided the Country playlist and artists. It's a Top 40 model from the '70s. It's the pod, not any individual station. Group programming and group think.

The bigger question might be what does the audience, the mass audience, think of this? Another disconnect. The big cities are one thing and the rest of the country another. You see it in politics. You see it in concerts.

Radio is everyday becoming a stream. I listened to WOR 710 NYC on iHeartradio while taking a shower today. My iPhone is the only radio in the home I am staying. Earlier I called up WSM to hear what they were doing before I went on the air for a segment. The app came up fast and sounded decent on this iPhone 7S. A little later, KOKE/Austin. The point is I can't believe that streaming has replaced my broadcast listening.

Sold a lot of my DVD, vinyl and CDs recently after a move. Why haul these things around? That hurt! More to go. The times aren't changing ... they have changed.

Not the whole world. It's very elitist to think it has. Outside the major cities, broadband is not great, cell service is worse. Radio still works and money is being made.

We are a divided country. Any way you want to slice it. Broadcasting in this last hurricane. The unspoken truth ... towers blew over, power was lost, stations went off the air during a time of the greatest need. Generators? Backup plans? Not 100%, that's for sure.

But something remains constant as a sunrise. Garth Brooks has something to sell for Black Friday. A new book with five CDs and new photos. No one does it better. Old school selling to old school in a new world. Wanna bet it works?

The late-night hosts are all left -eaners. The morning shows on networks are too. Those with differing views ... where do they go?

Taking a knee, endorsing a candidate, playing at The White House, politics of life in 2017 for a Country music artist.

Haven't really seen anyone jump on the Puerto Rican hurricane disaster. Kenny is out there for the Virgin Islands. Why has everyone's response been so slow?

Operating in 2017 is tricky! You really have to watch where you step. Or where you kneel! It can be hazardous to your career.