Hello all!! Some topical news broke at some point yesterday evening that there's going to be another effort to repeal and replace Obamacare. This blog entry is being written in a manner upon which I have limited information, so far, about the latest attempt from Congressional GOP members to remove it. I caught a headline on-line from a news service but didn't read the details of the article yet. The last time Obamacare was in the national headlines, in a big way, happened to be when the Supreme Court, in a most bizarre word parsing decision, upheld Obamacare as Constitutional by way of the Commerce Clause...even though the premise of the bill that became law had nothing to do with interstate commerce. Obama's lawyers framed the law as a "tax" and therefore it was Constitutional even though nowhere in the law does it say it's a tax increase.
In case you're new to this blog entry I encourage you to read the information located off to the right hand side underneath my photo. Although this is a blog page centered around the music, life, and career of Ray Stevens it's written from this fan's point of view and the information and opinions expressed shouldn't be interpreted as official representation of Ray, his family, friends, or his business associates.
Ray sang about Obamacare...he sang a lot about Obamacare and the Obama Administration between the years of 2009 and 2014. Now that we have Obama's Vice President running for President in 2020 I think it only fair to remind people why Biden will be wrong for the United States and how it would be an Obama third term. Front and center is Obamacare! If Biden gets in Obamacare will continue to get interwoven into the fabric of the medical community that it'll become even more complex to simply erase it's existence. If Biden gets in you can also say goodbye to America as we know it and I'm not exaggerating...I'm looking at what I see going on now.
"If You Like Your Plan" is one of several Obamacare songs from Ray Stevens. This particular song debuted in September 2014 on YouTube. The actual date was September 22, 2014 and as of this writing it's gotten 466,264 unique views. The song's title is based on a catchphrase attached to the Obama Administration when Obamacare was being drafted in the Congress. The song features vocal snippets and images of Obama at the beginning of the video touting that people had the choice of keeping their current healthcare plan and their family doctor and that Obamacare wouldn't play any role in shaping existing healthcare plans or premiums in the private sector...which were lies then and are lies still today.
Recalling the Obama/Biden-era of corruption is important because Joe Biden was
involved every step of the way. Think long and hard if you're seriously
thinking of voting for Biden in November...his vision for America is
just as destructive as both Obama and the radical Marxists who've been
taking to the streets for over a month. Let it sink in. Biden hasn't
spoken out against anything that's been taking place...he speaks out
against Trump, which he's obligated to do as an opponent, but he hasn't given any long form discussion about what
his Administration would look like nor has he been asked any questions that require decisive answers. Biden can't say certain things, publicly, for
fear of losing a segment of society that the Democrats are pandering to
this election cycle and so if pressed to answer tough questions (about police reform; racial issues; COVID-19; healthcare; the military) he'll more than likely not give a concise answer
and will likely dance around the question with a vague answer. Trump's opinions are perfectly clear and he defends his positions on a wide variety of issues...and he says how he feels. Contrast that to Biden...whose opinions and feelings aren't necessarily clear and he often doesn't state how he truly feels about anything except on rare moments when he reveals pieces of his true personality (which are quickly explained away by his staffers). His opinions are poll tested and so he says what a research consultant group thinks people want to hear. Trump is honest and speaks from the heart...you can visibly see it...while Biden is a charade and speaks words...and you can visibly see that, too.
Showing posts with label If You Like Your Plan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label If You Like Your Plan. Show all posts
June 26, 2020
May 9, 2020
Ray Stevens: His Political Comedy Videography...
Hello once more!! I frequent social media sites a lot and within the last several days I've been seeing a lot of video sharing of a certain Ray Stevens music video from 2012 called "Grandpa Voted Democrat". This is one of numerous political comedy videos released by Ray Stevens during what I refer to as his 'political phase' for lack of a better description. It started out of the blue in the final months of 2009 when a video single titled "We The People" hit YouTube and from there it took off like a rocket, as the saying goes. Ray found himself performing in a number of high profile political rallies and events throughout 2010...even appearing on several cable news television programs and talk radio programs.
He found himself back in Branson, Missouri performing a series of concerts at The Welk Theater on the strength of the political music videos. The concerts were broken in two halves in which the first half was a traditional concert filled with Ray's numerous serious and novelty recordings while the second half was strictly a political show where he performed a number of songs that gained their popularity through YouTube.
This videography lists the politically themed music videos, their release date, and unique view count rounded to the nearest hundred thousand or million depending on the level of unique views. In case you were wondering the letter 'K' stands for thousand and the letter 'M' stands for million. As an example: 2010's "Caribou Barbie", a music video about Sarah Palin, has received an estimated 648,000 unique views. 2014's "If You Like Your Plan" has received an estimated 454,000. I'm not posting exact numbers. I've highlighted in bold the music videos that have gotten more than a million unique views and italicized those with more than two million.
1. We The People; 12/11/2009 5.6 M
2. Caribou Barbie; 3/11/2010 648 K
3. Throw the Bums Out; 3/22/2010 1.3 M
4. Come to the U.S.A.; 5/13/2010 10 M
5. The Global Warming Song; 6/29/2010 1.2 M
6. God Save Arizona; 8/4/2010 1.1 M
7. Obama Budget Plan; 4/25/2011 5.2 M
8. Mr. President - Mr. President; 9/27/2011 3.5 M
9. Obama Nation; 7/23/2012 1.4 M
10. Grandpa Voted Democrat; 11/3/2012 2.2 M
11. If You Like Your Plan; 9/22/2014 454 K
12. Nero Fiddled; 10/10/2014 62 K
13. You Didn't Build That; 5/19/2015 401 K
As you can see by looking at the list of Ray Stevens YouTube political comedy music videos almost all of them have well over 100,000 unique views and several more have over 1,000,000. The only politically themed music video to not reach 100,000 or more is 2014's "Nero Fiddled". It's a moving and powerful music video. I'm sure some may have thought it too dramatic or heavy handed and that may have played a role in it's on-line performance...but it's hard to really tell because Ray emerged with "Dear America" a couple of years later. That recording wasn't politically based but it was just as powerful as "Nero Fiddled" and "God Save Arizona". "Dear America", by the way, sits with a little over 363,000 unique views as of this writing. It hit YouTube on September 6, 2016...a couple of months before the Presidential election of Donald Trump. I didn't include it in the list of political music videos because it's a patriotic song. A lot of people want to blend patriotism with their political beliefs but in my opinion those are two separate things.
Anyway, as you can see, I decided to embed "Nero Fiddled" in this blog entry. Ray appears with his back to the camera...and that may have been another reason this particular video clip didn't break loose like the others did.
Now, then, in a much more lighter mood...here's the video clip that's found new life on social media...2012's "Grandpa Voted Democrat"...
He found himself back in Branson, Missouri performing a series of concerts at The Welk Theater on the strength of the political music videos. The concerts were broken in two halves in which the first half was a traditional concert filled with Ray's numerous serious and novelty recordings while the second half was strictly a political show where he performed a number of songs that gained their popularity through YouTube.
This videography lists the politically themed music videos, their release date, and unique view count rounded to the nearest hundred thousand or million depending on the level of unique views. In case you were wondering the letter 'K' stands for thousand and the letter 'M' stands for million. As an example: 2010's "Caribou Barbie", a music video about Sarah Palin, has received an estimated 648,000 unique views. 2014's "If You Like Your Plan" has received an estimated 454,000. I'm not posting exact numbers. I've highlighted in bold the music videos that have gotten more than a million unique views and italicized those with more than two million.
1. We The People; 12/11/2009 5.6 M
2. Caribou Barbie; 3/11/2010 648 K
3. Throw the Bums Out; 3/22/2010 1.3 M
4. Come to the U.S.A.; 5/13/2010 10 M
5. The Global Warming Song; 6/29/2010 1.2 M
6. God Save Arizona; 8/4/2010 1.1 M
7. Obama Budget Plan; 4/25/2011 5.2 M
8. Mr. President - Mr. President; 9/27/2011 3.5 M
9. Obama Nation; 7/23/2012 1.4 M
10. Grandpa Voted Democrat; 11/3/2012 2.2 M
11. If You Like Your Plan; 9/22/2014 454 K
12. Nero Fiddled; 10/10/2014 62 K
13. You Didn't Build That; 5/19/2015 401 K
As you can see by looking at the list of Ray Stevens YouTube political comedy music videos almost all of them have well over 100,000 unique views and several more have over 1,000,000. The only politically themed music video to not reach 100,000 or more is 2014's "Nero Fiddled". It's a moving and powerful music video. I'm sure some may have thought it too dramatic or heavy handed and that may have played a role in it's on-line performance...but it's hard to really tell because Ray emerged with "Dear America" a couple of years later. That recording wasn't politically based but it was just as powerful as "Nero Fiddled" and "God Save Arizona". "Dear America", by the way, sits with a little over 363,000 unique views as of this writing. It hit YouTube on September 6, 2016...a couple of months before the Presidential election of Donald Trump. I didn't include it in the list of political music videos because it's a patriotic song. A lot of people want to blend patriotism with their political beliefs but in my opinion those are two separate things.
Anyway, as you can see, I decided to embed "Nero Fiddled" in this blog entry. Ray appears with his back to the camera...and that may have been another reason this particular video clip didn't break loose like the others did.
Now, then, in a much more lighter mood...here's the video clip that's found new life on social media...2012's "Grandpa Voted Democrat"...
September 3, 2015
Ray Stevens: Video Singles...
There's been a pair of video singles tied to the current Ray Stevens CD, Here We Go Again. The first happened to be "Taylor Swift is Stalkin' Me" and the second, "You Didn't Build That".
The video's are extreme opposites of each other...the first one deals
with the delusions of a man believing Taylor is stalking him because he
sees her everywhere that he happens to be. Ray performed the song several times in the spring of 2015 during some of his appearances...one such being a guest appearance on the Grand Ole Opry...it happened to be the first time he performed it in concert. Those that had no idea who Ray Stevens happened to be didn't know what to make of the video.
A lot of those confused and at a loss being young kids and teenagers (primarily Taylor's fan base) that more or less had been alerted to the video due to it containing Taylor's name in the title. Some of the more humorless didn't care for the song's festive tempo and levity taking place at a fictional mental institution. It's gotten more than 300,000 views, regardless.
The second video single returned Ray to the political comedy field after an extended hiatus of new material for that genre of entertainment. Prior to the release of "You Didn't Build That" a couple of months ago his last political comedy video arrived a year ago this month in the form of "If You Like Your Plan" (September 22, 2014). It's been seen by more than 120,000 people. "You Didn't Build That" has been seen by close to 50,000 people so far.
I stress that this isn't the heat of a political season, yet, and even though Obama can't run for a third term he nevertheless is going to play a major part in the 2016 election cycle by virtue of his policies being attached to whichever Democrat gets the nomination. If it's Joe Biden expect to see a lot of issues that defined the Obama-Biden Administration to be fair game during the campaign trail in 2016.
Even though Ray's foray into political entertainment came as a surprise and a shock to most people late in 2009 nearly all of the political music videos from him that have appeared on YouTube feature a comical presentation to keep the mood lighthearted even though, if you listen carefully, the lyrics are pointed and actually, serious, but masked behind a comical presentation on video. "You Didn't Build That", his current video single, takes a phrase from one of Obama's speeches and it's turned into a song about Obama's twisted attitude about American business.
Not all of Ray's political videos have been visually comical, though. A couple are deeply serious. In the latter category there's "God Save Arizona" (August 4, 2010) and last year's "Nero Fiddled" (October 10, 2014). The 2010 video's focus happened to be the enormous problem of illegal immigration along the Arizona-Mexico border...more specifically the lawsuit that former Attorney General, Eric Holder, issued against the State of Arizona as a result of their enforcement of their immigration laws.
The 2014 video focuses in on Obama's consistent misplaced priorities and his lack of strong leadership in face of real threats...like the real threat of global terrorism. It's a strong message criticizing Obama's Presidency. "If You Like Your Plan" and "Nero Fiddled", at the moment, are available only as video singles on YouTube.
Share these among your on-line friends if you hadn't done so already... "You Didn't Build That", "Nero Fiddled", and "If You Like Your Plan"...
A lot of those confused and at a loss being young kids and teenagers (primarily Taylor's fan base) that more or less had been alerted to the video due to it containing Taylor's name in the title. Some of the more humorless didn't care for the song's festive tempo and levity taking place at a fictional mental institution. It's gotten more than 300,000 views, regardless.
The second video single returned Ray to the political comedy field after an extended hiatus of new material for that genre of entertainment. Prior to the release of "You Didn't Build That" a couple of months ago his last political comedy video arrived a year ago this month in the form of "If You Like Your Plan" (September 22, 2014). It's been seen by more than 120,000 people. "You Didn't Build That" has been seen by close to 50,000 people so far.
I stress that this isn't the heat of a political season, yet, and even though Obama can't run for a third term he nevertheless is going to play a major part in the 2016 election cycle by virtue of his policies being attached to whichever Democrat gets the nomination. If it's Joe Biden expect to see a lot of issues that defined the Obama-Biden Administration to be fair game during the campaign trail in 2016.
Even though Ray's foray into political entertainment came as a surprise and a shock to most people late in 2009 nearly all of the political music videos from him that have appeared on YouTube feature a comical presentation to keep the mood lighthearted even though, if you listen carefully, the lyrics are pointed and actually, serious, but masked behind a comical presentation on video. "You Didn't Build That", his current video single, takes a phrase from one of Obama's speeches and it's turned into a song about Obama's twisted attitude about American business.
Not all of Ray's political videos have been visually comical, though. A couple are deeply serious. In the latter category there's "God Save Arizona" (August 4, 2010) and last year's "Nero Fiddled" (October 10, 2014). The 2010 video's focus happened to be the enormous problem of illegal immigration along the Arizona-Mexico border...more specifically the lawsuit that former Attorney General, Eric Holder, issued against the State of Arizona as a result of their enforcement of their immigration laws.
The 2014 video focuses in on Obama's consistent misplaced priorities and his lack of strong leadership in face of real threats...like the real threat of global terrorism. It's a strong message criticizing Obama's Presidency. "If You Like Your Plan" and "Nero Fiddled", at the moment, are available only as video singles on YouTube.
Share these among your on-line friends if you hadn't done so already... "You Didn't Build That", "Nero Fiddled", and "If You Like Your Plan"...
August 22, 2015
Ray Stevens in Boomer Magazine...
As I often do I'm frequently on the lookout for anything about Ray Stevens I can find. Doing a routine on-line search Friday afternoon I came across a site called Boomer Magazine. The link I accessed took me to an article/interview that must have taken place at some point in April or late March...there is no date indicated on the website. The reason I say that is because the author refers to his current project as a "just released CD" and so that could mean the article originated anywhere from late March into April. I don't know anything about the publication that the article appears in and so I don't know the circulation procedure. A little further research led me to learn that the article also appears in hard-copy form in the issue dated April-May 2015 of Boomer Magazine. By mentioning I had no idea about the circulation procedure of the publication I happen to be referring to the magazine's actual month of release. Did the April-May issue hit the market in the month of April or did it arrive in May...or did it arrive in June but feature articles compiled during the months of April and May?
You can access the on-line copy of the article by clicking HERE.
As I looked through some of my blog entries from earlier this year I came across one I wrote in April about a certain music video from Ray Stevens called "If You Like Your Plan". The video debuted almost a year ago to the day on September 22, 2014. In the April 2015 blog entry I highlighted the fact that the video happened to be approaching 90,000 unique views. The totals I reported in the April 5, 2015 blog entry were 88,225. Today, a little over four months later, the video's sitting at 118,017. This is a pickup of 29,472 audience captures and those come from video sharing because there's been zero publicity for the video's existence by Ray on any high profile news or entertainment program.
The reason for the lack of heavy publicity for the video is because a couple of other releases in 2014 (a memoir and a gospel CD) took major precedence. In fact the memoir, titled Ray Stevens' Nashville, sold out in paperback form on Amazon in less than 6 months.
If you visit it's AMAZON PAGE it still has the paperback unavailable. The hardcover and of course, the Kindle e-book version, are available for purchase. I purchased my copy the moment I heard of it's availability and I posted a review of it in April 2014.
The gospel CD, in the meantime, arrived right around this time last year. The actual day of release happened to be August 19, 2014. Titled The Ray Stevens Gospel Collection, Volume One it became heavily promoted on southern Gospel music outlets and Ray appeared on several Gospel flavored music programs both locally and nationally. Given that it's been one whole year since VOLUME ONE'S release...isn't it about time for the long-awaited Volume 2...hopefully the second Volume comes along by calendar's end!!
Time's running out to place your order for Ray's Such a Night DVD. The sale ends on September 1st and here's the PRODUCT PAGE. The price of the DVD is ordinarily $24.95 but the sale, which begun at the start of August, has the DVD marked down to $12.50. The concert comes from one of his sold-out performances in Branson, Missouri at The Welk Theatre in 2010 and it's the first half of his concert. The second half, politically oriented and released on DVD as Patriots and Politics, is also on DVD but it isn't on sale. The price has always been less than $20.00...currently sitting at $16.95.
I happened to be too busy yesterday to put much effort/concentration into a blog entry but I came across a Facebook posting by a user named Where Have All The Pop Stars Gone? featuring a post about Ray Stevens. I'm familiar with their FACEBOOK PAGE and I reply to posts that contain a Ray Stevens mention of some kind. One of their posts yesterday pointed out that on August 21, 1961 Ray's single "Jeremiah Peabody's Polyunsaturated Quick Dissolving Fast Acting Pleasant Tasting Green and Purple Pills" made it's debut on Billboard's pop music chart and eventually peaked just inside the Top-40. The song became his first nationally recognized hit recording (a series of singles from Ray dating back to 1957 made local/regional impact prior to Jeremiah Peabody hitting nationally in 1961). Even though it's his first Top-40 pop hit it's not exactly his breakthrough hit...that didn't come until 1962...but here's one of the vinyl single releases of his 1961 recording...
You can access the on-line copy of the article by clicking HERE.
As I looked through some of my blog entries from earlier this year I came across one I wrote in April about a certain music video from Ray Stevens called "If You Like Your Plan". The video debuted almost a year ago to the day on September 22, 2014. In the April 2015 blog entry I highlighted the fact that the video happened to be approaching 90,000 unique views. The totals I reported in the April 5, 2015 blog entry were 88,225. Today, a little over four months later, the video's sitting at 118,017. This is a pickup of 29,472 audience captures and those come from video sharing because there's been zero publicity for the video's existence by Ray on any high profile news or entertainment program.
The reason for the lack of heavy publicity for the video is because a couple of other releases in 2014 (a memoir and a gospel CD) took major precedence. In fact the memoir, titled Ray Stevens' Nashville, sold out in paperback form on Amazon in less than 6 months.
If you visit it's AMAZON PAGE it still has the paperback unavailable. The hardcover and of course, the Kindle e-book version, are available for purchase. I purchased my copy the moment I heard of it's availability and I posted a review of it in April 2014.
The gospel CD, in the meantime, arrived right around this time last year. The actual day of release happened to be August 19, 2014. Titled The Ray Stevens Gospel Collection, Volume One it became heavily promoted on southern Gospel music outlets and Ray appeared on several Gospel flavored music programs both locally and nationally. Given that it's been one whole year since VOLUME ONE'S release...isn't it about time for the long-awaited Volume 2...hopefully the second Volume comes along by calendar's end!!
Time's running out to place your order for Ray's Such a Night DVD. The sale ends on September 1st and here's the PRODUCT PAGE. The price of the DVD is ordinarily $24.95 but the sale, which begun at the start of August, has the DVD marked down to $12.50. The concert comes from one of his sold-out performances in Branson, Missouri at The Welk Theatre in 2010 and it's the first half of his concert. The second half, politically oriented and released on DVD as Patriots and Politics, is also on DVD but it isn't on sale. The price has always been less than $20.00...currently sitting at $16.95.
I happened to be too busy yesterday to put much effort/concentration into a blog entry but I came across a Facebook posting by a user named Where Have All The Pop Stars Gone? featuring a post about Ray Stevens. I'm familiar with their FACEBOOK PAGE and I reply to posts that contain a Ray Stevens mention of some kind. One of their posts yesterday pointed out that on August 21, 1961 Ray's single "Jeremiah Peabody's Polyunsaturated Quick Dissolving Fast Acting Pleasant Tasting Green and Purple Pills" made it's debut on Billboard's pop music chart and eventually peaked just inside the Top-40. The song became his first nationally recognized hit recording (a series of singles from Ray dating back to 1957 made local/regional impact prior to Jeremiah Peabody hitting nationally in 1961). Even though it's his first Top-40 pop hit it's not exactly his breakthrough hit...that didn't come until 1962...but here's one of the vinyl single releases of his 1961 recording...
June 29, 2015
Ray Stevens: You Didn't Build That...
Hello once more...and once again it's time to take a look at the results of the most recent YouTube offerings from Ray Stevens (specifically his previous series of music video releases).
Less than a year ago on September 24, 2014 Ray issued the music video "If You Like Your Plan". The song's title is based upon a catchphrase bandied around on campaign trails by Obama and those that support ObamaCare. The video offers a visual hook during the performance (obviously!) and so it's one of those songs that hold the distinction of debuting in video form prior to it's release as on CD/Mp3. To date that particular music video has received 104,932 unique views.
The simple truth is everyone that has healthcare has seen changes in their plans due to ObamaCare.
Beginning in January of this year my healthcare plan suddenly implemented a deductible. I'd had this plan for a number of years (through my employer) and had never, ever had to meet any kind of deductible until this year. Somebody somewhere decided my plan is part of a "high end medical plan" and therefore it requires a deductible now. I've not met that deductible and it's mathematically impossible to meet it during a 12 month calendar period.
It's no surprise that since 2009 Ray's become much more visible as a music video artist...and his YouTube channel is home to a variety of video clips of current, previous, and classic productions including clips from his 1970 summer television program!!
A video that's been lost amidst the other releases is "Nero Fiddled". It's a strong social commentary ballad that perhaps is a bit too strong for some to digest but it's nonetheless a gripping performance. It hit YouTube a little more than a month after "If You Like Your Plan".
Nero emerged on October 10, 2014 and so far it's gotten 38,836 unique views. One of the unusual aspects of the video is Ray appearing with his back to the camera at various moments throughout the video. At the beginning of the video he's seen playing the fiddle in suit and tie (presumably as Obama) and at various moments there's footage of Ray in ancient Rome attire (back to the camera) as Nero.The idea of Ray appearing with his back to the camera is apparently a reference to the idea of Nero/Obama turning their back to tragedy...
Shifting from political but still remaining in the topical category is Ray's previous music video...the novelty song titled "Taylor Swift is Stalking Me". This video's gotten more than 200,000 unique views since it's debut on February 24th. The most recent total as of this writing is 242,157. The song was Ray's first release off of his current CD, Here We Go Again!.
Ray's current video hit, "You Didn't Build That", is the second release from his current CD. This particular video hasn't reached it's full potential yet...sitting at the moment with 32,765 unique views. It's only been available on YouTube since May 19th and given the lack of a major political story in the national headlines (at the moment) the video hasn't gotten that boost that I feel it'll receive at some point. Unlike audio recordings that need boosts from radio airplay to reach a mass audience an on-line music video needs a boost from video sharing on social media outlets to reach a mass audience. If there's coverage on television or through talk radio (for politically driven songs) then that's an added bonus...but by and large on-line music videos live and die through social media and video sharing.
The song centers around Obama's social belief that human beings owe the Government their time, respect, and worship for all that the Government provides "to the people". Those that build roads, bridges, buildings, etc. should be thankful to the Government because if not for the Government "the people" couldn't get loans, tax breaks, assistance, or anything else. In the mindset of Obama a person doesn't do anything on their own and the Federal and State Government is the glue that holds a society together.
I just explained socialism in less than a paragraph...and Ray Stevens further demonstrates the socialism that exists under the surface in Obama's policies. I recommend all of you that are reading this to share this video with your friends if you hadn't done so already...
Less than a year ago on September 24, 2014 Ray issued the music video "If You Like Your Plan". The song's title is based upon a catchphrase bandied around on campaign trails by Obama and those that support ObamaCare. The video offers a visual hook during the performance (obviously!) and so it's one of those songs that hold the distinction of debuting in video form prior to it's release as on CD/Mp3. To date that particular music video has received 104,932 unique views.
The simple truth is everyone that has healthcare has seen changes in their plans due to ObamaCare.
Beginning in January of this year my healthcare plan suddenly implemented a deductible. I'd had this plan for a number of years (through my employer) and had never, ever had to meet any kind of deductible until this year. Somebody somewhere decided my plan is part of a "high end medical plan" and therefore it requires a deductible now. I've not met that deductible and it's mathematically impossible to meet it during a 12 month calendar period.
It's no surprise that since 2009 Ray's become much more visible as a music video artist...and his YouTube channel is home to a variety of video clips of current, previous, and classic productions including clips from his 1970 summer television program!!
A video that's been lost amidst the other releases is "Nero Fiddled". It's a strong social commentary ballad that perhaps is a bit too strong for some to digest but it's nonetheless a gripping performance. It hit YouTube a little more than a month after "If You Like Your Plan".
Nero emerged on October 10, 2014 and so far it's gotten 38,836 unique views. One of the unusual aspects of the video is Ray appearing with his back to the camera at various moments throughout the video. At the beginning of the video he's seen playing the fiddle in suit and tie (presumably as Obama) and at various moments there's footage of Ray in ancient Rome attire (back to the camera) as Nero.The idea of Ray appearing with his back to the camera is apparently a reference to the idea of Nero/Obama turning their back to tragedy...
Shifting from political but still remaining in the topical category is Ray's previous music video...the novelty song titled "Taylor Swift is Stalking Me". This video's gotten more than 200,000 unique views since it's debut on February 24th. The most recent total as of this writing is 242,157. The song was Ray's first release off of his current CD, Here We Go Again!.
Ray's current video hit, "You Didn't Build That", is the second release from his current CD. This particular video hasn't reached it's full potential yet...sitting at the moment with 32,765 unique views. It's only been available on YouTube since May 19th and given the lack of a major political story in the national headlines (at the moment) the video hasn't gotten that boost that I feel it'll receive at some point. Unlike audio recordings that need boosts from radio airplay to reach a mass audience an on-line music video needs a boost from video sharing on social media outlets to reach a mass audience. If there's coverage on television or through talk radio (for politically driven songs) then that's an added bonus...but by and large on-line music videos live and die through social media and video sharing.
The song centers around Obama's social belief that human beings owe the Government their time, respect, and worship for all that the Government provides "to the people". Those that build roads, bridges, buildings, etc. should be thankful to the Government because if not for the Government "the people" couldn't get loans, tax breaks, assistance, or anything else. In the mindset of Obama a person doesn't do anything on their own and the Federal and State Government is the glue that holds a society together.
I just explained socialism in less than a paragraph...and Ray Stevens further demonstrates the socialism that exists under the surface in Obama's policies. I recommend all of you that are reading this to share this video with your friends if you hadn't done so already...
April 5, 2015
Ray Stevens: If You Like Your Plan nearing 90,000 views...
Yes, oh yes, it's me once more! It may seem like an eternity but it's only been half a year (!) since I've blogged much about a certain music video from Ray Stevens titled "If You Like Your Plan".
On a personal note my healthcare provider, starting in January 2015, had implemented an out of pocket deductible. In years past I never had to meet any kind of out of pocket deductible in order for my insurance to pay on my prescriptions. However, thanks to Obamacare, I now have to meet a deductible (for individual coverage) and it's already set at a specific amount. It's in the $1,500 range! Some may wonder what my complaint is...it looks like a cheap deductible on the surface, yes?
My prescriptions are through mail-order and they're of the 90-day supply and so I only have to re-fill three to four times a year because each re-fill lasts roughly 3 months. Since there's 12 months in a calendar year and because they've added an out of pocket deductible to my plan I'd pay, in total, a little more than $600 a year...that isn't nowhere near the deductible amount, right?
So, in my situation, I'd be paying for my prescriptions out of pocket all the time because I'd never meet the health insurance's deductible in a calendar year.
Thank you Obama...my healthcare plan changed and I had no say in it whatsoever!!
In one of my last blog entries containing a mention of the music video (from October 2014) it had vaulted past the 30,000 unique view total. The video has continued to find audiences over the last 5 and a half months and currently it's been seen by 88,225 people. This is, of course, a pick-up of more than 50,000 unique views over the course of half a year...
A couple of things to keep in mind is that it had been Ray's first politically-driven comedy music video in more than half a year and so a lot of momentum had cooled down considerably.
"If You Like Your Plan" came from out of nowhere on September 22, 2014...but I find it a timely message...
His previous politically driven music video had been the tale of how "Grandpa Voted Democrat" on November 3, 2012 and so it had been closer to 2 full years between the release of that music video and "If You Like Your Plan" in September 2014.
"Grandpa Voted Democrat", still being discovered, has gotten 602,543 unique views so far.
One of the things that I continue to believe is the reason for "If You Like Your Plan" not reaching the 100,000 level is the lack of strong social media publicity...the video came from out of nowhere but it had been nearly 2 years since the last political comedy video. So, yes, in terms of the internet and the immediacy factor the hiatus of nearly 2 years is an eternity.
He followed "If You Like Your Plan" with another music video, the amazing "Nero Fiddled", a video in which Ray appears with his back to the camera the entire time...sawing away on the fiddle as Rome burns. Photos of political figures in Congress and in entertainment and images of war-torn areas all over the globe appear throughout.
The song's lyrics are amazing, too, and it's a slice of heavy commentary criticizing the policy of the Obama Administration when it comes to the ay in which they prioritize certain issues. The main focus of the song is the criticism of Obama reacting in a lax manner during a time of urgency, for example, or reacting too quickly to a situation before thinking things through. The phrase "Rome burns" is used strictly as a metaphor and it's being used to compare rioting and other chaotic events that had taken place during Obama's time in the Oval Office.
The video's arrival on YouTube, less than a month after "If You Like Your Plan", could have cut into the publicity that the bouncy "If You Like Your Plan" may have enjoyed but in hindsight "Nero Fiddled" didn't exactly capture a large audience (compared to Ray's other music video releases). It debuted on YouTube on October 10, 2014. It had only been something like a week and a half from the release of "If You Like Your Plan" in late September of 2014 before "Nero Fiddled" premiered.
By the latter half of 2014 Ray had moved on to promoting his gospel CD, titled Ray Stevens Gospel Collection, Volume One; and his memoir, Ray Stevens' Nashville. He promoted these projects heavily and so "Nero Fiddled" didn't get much coverage and "If You Like Your Plan" faded a bit as a result of the heavier attention being focused on those 2 projects.
To date neither song has appeared on any CD...yet! For the time being they're music video exclusives.
Ray may have another political CD on the horizon...but that's just my guess. On his current CD, Here We Go Again!, there's an Obama song on it called "You Didn't Build That". Oh how I'd love to see it transformed into a music video if only for added publicity of the CD! You can purchase the Mp3 single at Amazon by clicking HERE. It's track 9 on the 12 song CD.
For those that read this particular blog entry and don't feel like searching for "Nero Fiddled" or have never even heard of the song/music video until today then click the video embed and watch it...or listen to it...one or the other...
The video's gotten 34,285 unique views and that indicates, to me, that it may be a bit too strong for some but it's an awesome song and video in my opinion. It may have been too strong for social media publicity, too, because very little became of the video's existence after it's initial splash of unique views on debut day. The video begins with a disclaimer and believe it or not the inclusion of a disclaimer actually got some people in a frenzy early on.
I'd seen commentary (long since scrubbed and therefore no longer visible) that blasted Ray for even putting out a video requiring a Viewer Discretion disclaimer. Let me say that the people that have those kinds of comments, in my opinion, have no appreciation for Ray's creativeness or his multiple talents since they want him to limit his output to certain kinds of songs and to never offer anything different...but I'm a different kind of fan.
On this fan created blog page I celebrate all sides of Ray Stevens' career...I don't limit myself to maybe less than a handful of his recordings and ignore everything else he's recorded. So many others do that, though. I've always argued that if you only spotlight a couple of his songs over and over and over the general audience is going to assume that he's only had a couple of hit recordings...but he's placed more than 40 recordings on the charts but yet to focus on 3 or 4 of those 40+ hits does a huge disservice, I think.
His talent goes far beyond camel noises, affected voices, and Tarzan yells and I'm dedicated to making sure that the people that read my blog entries are made well aware of Ray's talents and his variety of music styles and perhaps learn a lot about Ray that they didn't know before coming across my blog page. Although I love his comical talents I also equally enjoy his non-comical recordings, too.
On a personal note my healthcare provider, starting in January 2015, had implemented an out of pocket deductible. In years past I never had to meet any kind of out of pocket deductible in order for my insurance to pay on my prescriptions. However, thanks to Obamacare, I now have to meet a deductible (for individual coverage) and it's already set at a specific amount. It's in the $1,500 range! Some may wonder what my complaint is...it looks like a cheap deductible on the surface, yes?
My prescriptions are through mail-order and they're of the 90-day supply and so I only have to re-fill three to four times a year because each re-fill lasts roughly 3 months. Since there's 12 months in a calendar year and because they've added an out of pocket deductible to my plan I'd pay, in total, a little more than $600 a year...that isn't nowhere near the deductible amount, right?
So, in my situation, I'd be paying for my prescriptions out of pocket all the time because I'd never meet the health insurance's deductible in a calendar year.
Thank you Obama...my healthcare plan changed and I had no say in it whatsoever!!
In one of my last blog entries containing a mention of the music video (from October 2014) it had vaulted past the 30,000 unique view total. The video has continued to find audiences over the last 5 and a half months and currently it's been seen by 88,225 people. This is, of course, a pick-up of more than 50,000 unique views over the course of half a year...
A couple of things to keep in mind is that it had been Ray's first politically-driven comedy music video in more than half a year and so a lot of momentum had cooled down considerably.
"If You Like Your Plan" came from out of nowhere on September 22, 2014...but I find it a timely message...
His previous politically driven music video had been the tale of how "Grandpa Voted Democrat" on November 3, 2012 and so it had been closer to 2 full years between the release of that music video and "If You Like Your Plan" in September 2014.
"Grandpa Voted Democrat", still being discovered, has gotten 602,543 unique views so far.
One of the things that I continue to believe is the reason for "If You Like Your Plan" not reaching the 100,000 level is the lack of strong social media publicity...the video came from out of nowhere but it had been nearly 2 years since the last political comedy video. So, yes, in terms of the internet and the immediacy factor the hiatus of nearly 2 years is an eternity.
He followed "If You Like Your Plan" with another music video, the amazing "Nero Fiddled", a video in which Ray appears with his back to the camera the entire time...sawing away on the fiddle as Rome burns. Photos of political figures in Congress and in entertainment and images of war-torn areas all over the globe appear throughout.
The song's lyrics are amazing, too, and it's a slice of heavy commentary criticizing the policy of the Obama Administration when it comes to the ay in which they prioritize certain issues. The main focus of the song is the criticism of Obama reacting in a lax manner during a time of urgency, for example, or reacting too quickly to a situation before thinking things through. The phrase "Rome burns" is used strictly as a metaphor and it's being used to compare rioting and other chaotic events that had taken place during Obama's time in the Oval Office.
The video's arrival on YouTube, less than a month after "If You Like Your Plan", could have cut into the publicity that the bouncy "If You Like Your Plan" may have enjoyed but in hindsight "Nero Fiddled" didn't exactly capture a large audience (compared to Ray's other music video releases). It debuted on YouTube on October 10, 2014. It had only been something like a week and a half from the release of "If You Like Your Plan" in late September of 2014 before "Nero Fiddled" premiered.
By the latter half of 2014 Ray had moved on to promoting his gospel CD, titled Ray Stevens Gospel Collection, Volume One; and his memoir, Ray Stevens' Nashville. He promoted these projects heavily and so "Nero Fiddled" didn't get much coverage and "If You Like Your Plan" faded a bit as a result of the heavier attention being focused on those 2 projects.
To date neither song has appeared on any CD...yet! For the time being they're music video exclusives.
Ray may have another political CD on the horizon...but that's just my guess. On his current CD, Here We Go Again!, there's an Obama song on it called "You Didn't Build That". Oh how I'd love to see it transformed into a music video if only for added publicity of the CD! You can purchase the Mp3 single at Amazon by clicking HERE. It's track 9 on the 12 song CD.
For those that read this particular blog entry and don't feel like searching for "Nero Fiddled" or have never even heard of the song/music video until today then click the video embed and watch it...or listen to it...one or the other...
The video's gotten 34,285 unique views and that indicates, to me, that it may be a bit too strong for some but it's an awesome song and video in my opinion. It may have been too strong for social media publicity, too, because very little became of the video's existence after it's initial splash of unique views on debut day. The video begins with a disclaimer and believe it or not the inclusion of a disclaimer actually got some people in a frenzy early on.
I'd seen commentary (long since scrubbed and therefore no longer visible) that blasted Ray for even putting out a video requiring a Viewer Discretion disclaimer. Let me say that the people that have those kinds of comments, in my opinion, have no appreciation for Ray's creativeness or his multiple talents since they want him to limit his output to certain kinds of songs and to never offer anything different...but I'm a different kind of fan.
On this fan created blog page I celebrate all sides of Ray Stevens' career...I don't limit myself to maybe less than a handful of his recordings and ignore everything else he's recorded. So many others do that, though. I've always argued that if you only spotlight a couple of his songs over and over and over the general audience is going to assume that he's only had a couple of hit recordings...but he's placed more than 40 recordings on the charts but yet to focus on 3 or 4 of those 40+ hits does a huge disservice, I think.
His talent goes far beyond camel noises, affected voices, and Tarzan yells and I'm dedicated to making sure that the people that read my blog entries are made well aware of Ray's talents and his variety of music styles and perhaps learn a lot about Ray that they didn't know before coming across my blog page. Although I love his comical talents I also equally enjoy his non-comical recordings, too.
October 23, 2014
Ray Stevens: If You Like Your Plan surpasses 30,000 unique views...
Hello all...although the Ray Stevens music video "If You Like Your Plan" obtained more than 30,000 unique views a couple of days ago I wanted to highlight this in the title of a blog entry and so there you have it. In one of my other blog posts I mentioned that the video had gotten 30,572 views...it's now sitting at 31,809 for a pick-up of 1,237. As I've mentioned several times since the video's debut a month ago on September 22, the subject matter of Obamacare is going to forever be a topic throughout the rest of Obama's time in the White House (through late January 2017!). Obamacare may not be issue #1 or issue #2 on a national level (therefore getting less coverage than before) but it'll forever be an issue of the Obama Administration and so the music video is going to remain timely as the months and years go by.
On the heels of "If You Like Your Plan" there's the ballad "Nero Fiddled". It just keeps getting better the more and more you listen to it. I thought the song was great on first listen but some people need to hear a song several times before it really connects with them. This particular video has gotten 16,760 views since it's October 10th debut. It's arguably the more popular of the 2 YouTube videos at the moment if you consider that in the same time span that seen "If You Like Your Plan" pick up 1,237 additional unique views, "Nero Fiddled" picked up 2,062.
Be on the lookout for an appearance by Ray Stevens on Geraldo's Fox News Channel program in late November. Ray posted on his Facebook page that he taped the interview and it's set to air in late November 2014. Judging by the post, which features a picture of Ray and Geraldo, Ray is going to talk about...Elvis!?! Perhaps that's just a joke...but time will tell. I asked why the interview is taped so long in advance...there's not been a reply as of yet. Of course, as you know, Fox News Channel (like the other 24/7 cable news channels) reports 'breaking news' a lot of the time...and it's unlikely any pre-taped interviews make the national airwaves if it doesn't relate to the current day's news cycle and so, with that in mind, I'm not going to hype up a future Geraldo appearance that much but I wanted to at least make mention of it. The more closer we get to late November and the more that it looks like the appearance is to definitely take place the more I'll post reminders about it.
Have you all heard about the most recent voter fraud?? This time, apparently, voter machines in Illinois have given votes for Republican candidates to Democrats...it's a murky story that I've only read a little bit about but as soon as I seen the headline on a social media site I instantly thought of this modern-day Ray Stevens classic with over half a million unique views (522,789)...
"Grandpa Voted Democrat"...enjoy...
On the heels of "If You Like Your Plan" there's the ballad "Nero Fiddled". It just keeps getting better the more and more you listen to it. I thought the song was great on first listen but some people need to hear a song several times before it really connects with them. This particular video has gotten 16,760 views since it's October 10th debut. It's arguably the more popular of the 2 YouTube videos at the moment if you consider that in the same time span that seen "If You Like Your Plan" pick up 1,237 additional unique views, "Nero Fiddled" picked up 2,062.
Be on the lookout for an appearance by Ray Stevens on Geraldo's Fox News Channel program in late November. Ray posted on his Facebook page that he taped the interview and it's set to air in late November 2014. Judging by the post, which features a picture of Ray and Geraldo, Ray is going to talk about...Elvis!?! Perhaps that's just a joke...but time will tell. I asked why the interview is taped so long in advance...there's not been a reply as of yet. Of course, as you know, Fox News Channel (like the other 24/7 cable news channels) reports 'breaking news' a lot of the time...and it's unlikely any pre-taped interviews make the national airwaves if it doesn't relate to the current day's news cycle and so, with that in mind, I'm not going to hype up a future Geraldo appearance that much but I wanted to at least make mention of it. The more closer we get to late November and the more that it looks like the appearance is to definitely take place the more I'll post reminders about it.
Have you all heard about the most recent voter fraud?? This time, apparently, voter machines in Illinois have given votes for Republican candidates to Democrats...it's a murky story that I've only read a little bit about but as soon as I seen the headline on a social media site I instantly thought of this modern-day Ray Stevens classic with over half a million unique views (522,789)...
"Grandpa Voted Democrat"...enjoy...
October 19, 2014
Ray Stevens Gospel Collection, Part 6...
Hello Ray Stevens fans!! It's 6am on a Sunday morning as I begin this latest fan-created blog entry. I started the day doing a search on social media sites of any articles pertaining to Ray Stevens. I came across a link to a site named Hallels.com and there's a new publicity piece for Volume One of the Ray Stevens Gospel Collection.
If that site's name sounds familiar you must have a sharp memory. The site featured a much earlier promo piece (posted August 8th) for the gospel collection CD. The August 8th promo and the one posted today are by the same author. I posted a link to the earlier article back in August.
You can see the latest promo piece for the gospel collection HERE.
Once there be on the lookout for a link to that August 8th publicity article. It can be found at the end of the article before you get to the comments area. The August posting contains a track list for the CD, too. The CD's been available since August 19th and it can be purchased HERE. If you purchase digital music/Mp3's there's a link to the Mp3 format on the CD's product page.
YouTube corner...the two concurrent music videos from Ray Stevens have the following unique views as of 6:42am Eastern time...
1. If You Like Your Plan: 30,572 (uploaded September 22, 2014; view HERE).
2. Nero Fiddled: 14,702 (uploaded October 10, 2014; view HERE).
And so...after searching several social media sites and Google for Ray Stevens happenings, I did an eBay search...and on page 1 at the moment there's an item being offered of a rare magazine publicity ad. The promo ad originated 45 years ago...right around this time of the year...back in 1969. No, no...for those that might be thinking "Gitarzan", it isn't the promo ad for that single (that hit came earlier in 1969). In the latter part of 1969 Ray had returned to his more serious side again and Monument Records began publicizing the latest single release, "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down". The eBay listing for the magazine promo ad for that single can be seen HERE. There have been thumbnail images of this ad that have surfaced in several CD compilation projects over the years.
I used to think Ray had a beard in that photo whenever I'd see the small, thumbnail replica. The reason being is the copy of the photo that appears in the fold-out cover of a 1998 compilation CD is so small and the lighting on the picture not so great that, to my eyes, it looked as if he had a beard. I've long since seen a bigger image of the promo ad and seen for myself he's clean shaven. Those interested in seeing/purchasing the promo ad can click the above link.
If that site's name sounds familiar you must have a sharp memory. The site featured a much earlier promo piece (posted August 8th) for the gospel collection CD. The August 8th promo and the one posted today are by the same author. I posted a link to the earlier article back in August.
You can see the latest promo piece for the gospel collection HERE.
Once there be on the lookout for a link to that August 8th publicity article. It can be found at the end of the article before you get to the comments area. The August posting contains a track list for the CD, too. The CD's been available since August 19th and it can be purchased HERE. If you purchase digital music/Mp3's there's a link to the Mp3 format on the CD's product page.
YouTube corner...the two concurrent music videos from Ray Stevens have the following unique views as of 6:42am Eastern time...
1. If You Like Your Plan: 30,572 (uploaded September 22, 2014; view HERE).
2. Nero Fiddled: 14,702 (uploaded October 10, 2014; view HERE).
And so...after searching several social media sites and Google for Ray Stevens happenings, I did an eBay search...and on page 1 at the moment there's an item being offered of a rare magazine publicity ad. The promo ad originated 45 years ago...right around this time of the year...back in 1969. No, no...for those that might be thinking "Gitarzan", it isn't the promo ad for that single (that hit came earlier in 1969). In the latter part of 1969 Ray had returned to his more serious side again and Monument Records began publicizing the latest single release, "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down". The eBay listing for the magazine promo ad for that single can be seen HERE. There have been thumbnail images of this ad that have surfaced in several CD compilation projects over the years.
I used to think Ray had a beard in that photo whenever I'd see the small, thumbnail replica. The reason being is the copy of the photo that appears in the fold-out cover of a 1998 compilation CD is so small and the lighting on the picture not so great that, to my eyes, it looked as if he had a beard. I've long since seen a bigger image of the promo ad and seen for myself he's clean shaven. Those interested in seeing/purchasing the promo ad can click the above link.
October 16, 2014
Ray Stevens: Nero Fiddled, blog entry 2...
Hello all...it's been almost a week since my previous blog entry. I've had a busy work week as to the reason I haven't had the time to put together a blog post since the 10th of October.
The main subject at hand..."Nero Fiddled"! That's one of two current music videos from Ray Stevens being discovered on YouTube at the moment. The video's gotten more than 10,000 unique views over the course of the last six days. The total as of this writing is 12,863. Back on October 10th during the video's first hours of availability I reported that it had amassed 68 unique views.
The fact that the video's been seen by more than 12,000 is a good sign...but there's not been any publicity of it's existence (beyond my blog posts and the Facebook post on Ray's official page over there).
On my YouTube home page it lists the 'most recent uploads' from my subscriptions...curiously it lists 2 uploads of Rayality TV (episodes 24 and 25) as the 'most recent uploads' from Ray. Those videos happened to have been uploaded several weeks ago and therefore are NOT the most recent video uploads from Ray's channel...there's no reference to "Nero Fiddled" (uploaded on October 10th) or "If You Like Your Plan" (uploaded September 22) as being Ray's most recent video uploads. Something else I noticed is there's no video embed of either clip on Ray's official website.
It used to be you could visit Ray's website and whatever the latest YouTube video from Ray happened to be it could be watched on his website on the home page.
The home page of Ray's official website, as of this writing, contains links to purchase his Nashville memoir and his Gospel Collection CD. There's a link to Ray's "If You Like Your Plan" video (the link posted in a promo piece back on September 22) but it's not an embed video. It may not seem like much but if there's an embedded video located on a website, as opposed to a video's link, chances are pretty high the video's going to be seen a lot more simply due to the fact that the video box is visible on the page and all a person has to do is click the play button.
This is only my opinion but I happen to feel that an even bigger audience for either of Ray's current music videos can be obtained by simply embedding either of those videos on the official website. There's a lot of people that visit Ray's official site that never even think to visit his YouTube channel to see whatever latest music video from him there might be.
Speaking of "If You Like Your Plan", it's gotten 29,822 unique views since it's late September arrival. It could break the 30,000 plateau tomorrow!
A couple of days ago Ray taped his segments of an upcoming television program, The Music City Show. This program airs on RFD-TV. I used to have that channel. It's part of a premium bundle of channels offered by my cable provider but the monthly cable bill had become too costly and so the added expense of having those channels on the line-up required the decision to remove that particular bundle of channels (and the added expense). I'm hoping clips of his upcoming television performance appear on-line at some point...if they do I'll make mention of it. I had read about his participation and it's going to focus on the music from his Gospel Collection CD. You can purchase the gospel CD HERE. The CD's been a success but there's been no indication of a possible follow-up. The songs have already been recorded...in some of his interviews he's mentioned that he recorded 24 songs for the project. 12 are on Volume One and the second 12 are to be available on a possible Volume Two.
As a reminder...less than a month from today on November 13th Ray Stevens is to co-host the 20th annual Inspirational Country Music Awards. His co-host is Megan Alexander (from Inside Edition). As you could guess, Ray is to perform some songs from his gospel music CD.
Since everything is subject to change I hadn't written much about an upcoming event that Ray is to take part in. On December 7th Ray is to appear at The Ryman Auditorium in a special series called Sam's Place-Music for the Spirit. The series is hosted by gospel performer Steven Curtis Chapman. Ray is one of 2 guests that night and you can read more about it HERE.
The main subject at hand..."Nero Fiddled"! That's one of two current music videos from Ray Stevens being discovered on YouTube at the moment. The video's gotten more than 10,000 unique views over the course of the last six days. The total as of this writing is 12,863. Back on October 10th during the video's first hours of availability I reported that it had amassed 68 unique views.
The fact that the video's been seen by more than 12,000 is a good sign...but there's not been any publicity of it's existence (beyond my blog posts and the Facebook post on Ray's official page over there).
On my YouTube home page it lists the 'most recent uploads' from my subscriptions...curiously it lists 2 uploads of Rayality TV (episodes 24 and 25) as the 'most recent uploads' from Ray. Those videos happened to have been uploaded several weeks ago and therefore are NOT the most recent video uploads from Ray's channel...there's no reference to "Nero Fiddled" (uploaded on October 10th) or "If You Like Your Plan" (uploaded September 22) as being Ray's most recent video uploads. Something else I noticed is there's no video embed of either clip on Ray's official website.
It used to be you could visit Ray's website and whatever the latest YouTube video from Ray happened to be it could be watched on his website on the home page.
The home page of Ray's official website, as of this writing, contains links to purchase his Nashville memoir and his Gospel Collection CD. There's a link to Ray's "If You Like Your Plan" video (the link posted in a promo piece back on September 22) but it's not an embed video. It may not seem like much but if there's an embedded video located on a website, as opposed to a video's link, chances are pretty high the video's going to be seen a lot more simply due to the fact that the video box is visible on the page and all a person has to do is click the play button.
This is only my opinion but I happen to feel that an even bigger audience for either of Ray's current music videos can be obtained by simply embedding either of those videos on the official website. There's a lot of people that visit Ray's official site that never even think to visit his YouTube channel to see whatever latest music video from him there might be.
Speaking of "If You Like Your Plan", it's gotten 29,822 unique views since it's late September arrival. It could break the 30,000 plateau tomorrow!
A couple of days ago Ray taped his segments of an upcoming television program, The Music City Show. This program airs on RFD-TV. I used to have that channel. It's part of a premium bundle of channels offered by my cable provider but the monthly cable bill had become too costly and so the added expense of having those channels on the line-up required the decision to remove that particular bundle of channels (and the added expense). I'm hoping clips of his upcoming television performance appear on-line at some point...if they do I'll make mention of it. I had read about his participation and it's going to focus on the music from his Gospel Collection CD. You can purchase the gospel CD HERE. The CD's been a success but there's been no indication of a possible follow-up. The songs have already been recorded...in some of his interviews he's mentioned that he recorded 24 songs for the project. 12 are on Volume One and the second 12 are to be available on a possible Volume Two.
As a reminder...less than a month from today on November 13th Ray Stevens is to co-host the 20th annual Inspirational Country Music Awards. His co-host is Megan Alexander (from Inside Edition). As you could guess, Ray is to perform some songs from his gospel music CD.
Since everything is subject to change I hadn't written much about an upcoming event that Ray is to take part in. On December 7th Ray is to appear at The Ryman Auditorium in a special series called Sam's Place-Music for the Spirit. The series is hosted by gospel performer Steven Curtis Chapman. Ray is one of 2 guests that night and you can read more about it HERE.
September 29, 2014
Ray Stevens: If You Like Your Plan...blog post 4
Hello once more...the latest video from Ray Stevens, "If You Like Your Plan", has indeed vaulted past the 20,000 mark. In a pick-up of 4,359 unique views, this brings the overall total, so far, to 21,149. Later this evening the video will technically mark it's 1st week on-line. It debuted, out of the blue, last Monday (September 22) in the late afternoon hours. I'll take a look at the numbers later this afternoon/evening and see if they're above the 25,000 mark (and if they're nearing 30,000). This is just my opinion but I feel this should be the week that Ray begins to physically promote the song...whether it be appearing on any number of Fox News programs or calling in to a radio program...and potentially reach more audiences that don't usually frequent YouTube on a daily basis. That's just my opinion, though. I'm sure they'll promote the song beyond it's YouTube appearance but I'm usually restless and on the edge of the seat during the lead up to whatever forthcoming publicity/marketing campaign there happens to be (if any!).
Given that nearly 25,000 have seen the video on YouTube I'm sure some of differing opinions have seen the clip. In fact, 386 "like" the video and 10 "dislike" the video...so there have been dissenting results and there have been some dissenting opinions in the comments section, too. You'll see my commentary over on the video's page, too. I usually offer commentary during the first couple of days of any brand new Ray Stevens video clip...I sometimes make further commentary if I see posts that cause me to give a reaction of some kind. Usually, though, in a matter of days the liberals discover whatever the latest Ray Stevens video might be and they take over the comment section and it often turns into personal name calling and bickering back and fourth. Once the comment section dissolves into that sort of thing I stop making an effort to read the comments.
Did anyone notice the visual reference to a previous video from Ray? There's a scene in the latest music video that has Ray in reporter attire...looking as he did in one of the scenes from "Mr. President-Mr. President". That particular scene in "If You Like Your Plan" comes complete with a brief music riff referencing the Mr. President song. I thought it a neat touch.
Also, perhaps completely coincidental, "Mr. President-Mr. President", hit YouTube in September...of 2011 (the exact date happened to be the 27th). The 2011 video clip has 1.5 million unique views along with 7,132 "likes" and 381 "dislikes".
In the meantime...have you visited Ray's website lately? He's added imagery publicizing his Nashville memoir and his current Gospel Collection, Volume One CD. I've included four links in this blog post. Even though the current excitement amongst Ray Stevens fans is largely due to the "If You Like Your Plan" music video, let's don't forget about the memoir and the gospel CD. The gospel CD is a little more than 1 month old (released on August 19th). You can my customer review of the CD HERE. A link to Ray's site can be found in the following paragraph...
The format of the memoir that's being offered at the site is the hardback. The paperback version sold out on Amazon several weeks ago...some of the Marketplace customers are offering the paperback version for more than $100.00!! There's still the Kindle on-line version of the memoir and the hardback (although Amazon states that there are only 5 copies of the hardback in stock!). A link to Ray's site is HERE.
You can see the latest Ray Stevens music video, "If You Like Your Plan", HERE. I've embedded it 3 consecutive times and so I decided to share a link to it this time around. In a future blog post I'll likely embed the video again. The fourth link I'm sharing is to my customer review of Ray's Nashville memoir. You can read my commentary HERE.
Given that nearly 25,000 have seen the video on YouTube I'm sure some of differing opinions have seen the clip. In fact, 386 "like" the video and 10 "dislike" the video...so there have been dissenting results and there have been some dissenting opinions in the comments section, too. You'll see my commentary over on the video's page, too. I usually offer commentary during the first couple of days of any brand new Ray Stevens video clip...I sometimes make further commentary if I see posts that cause me to give a reaction of some kind. Usually, though, in a matter of days the liberals discover whatever the latest Ray Stevens video might be and they take over the comment section and it often turns into personal name calling and bickering back and fourth. Once the comment section dissolves into that sort of thing I stop making an effort to read the comments.
Did anyone notice the visual reference to a previous video from Ray? There's a scene in the latest music video that has Ray in reporter attire...looking as he did in one of the scenes from "Mr. President-Mr. President". That particular scene in "If You Like Your Plan" comes complete with a brief music riff referencing the Mr. President song. I thought it a neat touch.
Also, perhaps completely coincidental, "Mr. President-Mr. President", hit YouTube in September...of 2011 (the exact date happened to be the 27th). The 2011 video clip has 1.5 million unique views along with 7,132 "likes" and 381 "dislikes".
In the meantime...have you visited Ray's website lately? He's added imagery publicizing his Nashville memoir and his current Gospel Collection, Volume One CD. I've included four links in this blog post. Even though the current excitement amongst Ray Stevens fans is largely due to the "If You Like Your Plan" music video, let's don't forget about the memoir and the gospel CD. The gospel CD is a little more than 1 month old (released on August 19th). You can my customer review of the CD HERE. A link to Ray's site can be found in the following paragraph...
The format of the memoir that's being offered at the site is the hardback. The paperback version sold out on Amazon several weeks ago...some of the Marketplace customers are offering the paperback version for more than $100.00!! There's still the Kindle on-line version of the memoir and the hardback (although Amazon states that there are only 5 copies of the hardback in stock!). A link to Ray's site is HERE.
You can see the latest Ray Stevens music video, "If You Like Your Plan", HERE. I've embedded it 3 consecutive times and so I decided to share a link to it this time around. In a future blog post I'll likely embed the video again. The fourth link I'm sharing is to my customer review of Ray's Nashville memoir. You can read my commentary HERE.
September 27, 2014
Ray Stevens: If You Like Your Plan nearing 20,000 unique views...
Hello fans of Ray Stevens!! It's a very early Saturday morning here and I decided to give a couple days time before posting my follow-up blog. In my previous blog post I speculated that the latest Ray Stevens video on YouTube, "If You Like Your Plan", which at that point in time was approaching 10,000 unique views, would more than likely reach 10,000 by day's end at the pace it happened to be on. At the time of the blog the music video had obtained 7,298 unique views in less than 2 days time. I just arrived from YouTube's site and at the moment the totals for "If You Like Your Plan" are 16,790!!! This is a pick-up of 9,492 additional views. It's a timely subject because as the months and years go by millions of people are going to see their health care coverage change dramatically...whether they like their health care plan or not. Obama, several years ago, standing up there at some podium insisting that people that currently have health care coverage and like their plan have nothing to worry about..."period!". Furthermore, according to Obama, this 'Affordable Care Act' (Obama Care) is strictly meant for people that have no health coverage whatsoever.
It was a pack of lies then and a pack of lies today...and never forget the deceit and legal trickery and maneuvering on the part of Congressional and Senate Democrats (the President and Vice President included) to make sure this monstrosity became Federal law. Something that the American population truly wants shouldn't have to be rammed through Congress on a party-line vote and under cover of the night (but I'm being rhetorical there!). They don't care about a person's health coverage or health care...their motivation was purely cynical and political. The Democrats simply wanted to deliver a blow to Capitalism and they accomplished it through deception. "If You Like Your Plan" you can keep your plan (period!)...repeated over and over by Obama...had long been hogwash.
The video's message is so great and timely...it's the third straight time I've embedded it in a blog post. I usually don't do that kind of thing anymore...but once in awhile I do.
Once more, the viral video hit from Ray Stevens... "If You Like Your Plan"...
Anything else going on in the world of Ray Stevens?? The news broke on Friday (September 26) that Ray is to co-host an upcoming gospel ceremony in November. You can read all about it HERE. The page gives the air date and the broadcast affiliate along with other details. I'm sure I don't receive the channel/network that will air the program but I'll look for more information nevertheless in mid November. The event's full title is the Inspirational Country Music Faith, Family and Country Week and it runs November 9th through the 12th. The awards ceremony takes place on November 12th. You can read my Amazon CD review of the Ray Stevens Gospel Collection, Volume One HERE.
It was a pack of lies then and a pack of lies today...and never forget the deceit and legal trickery and maneuvering on the part of Congressional and Senate Democrats (the President and Vice President included) to make sure this monstrosity became Federal law. Something that the American population truly wants shouldn't have to be rammed through Congress on a party-line vote and under cover of the night (but I'm being rhetorical there!). They don't care about a person's health coverage or health care...their motivation was purely cynical and political. The Democrats simply wanted to deliver a blow to Capitalism and they accomplished it through deception. "If You Like Your Plan" you can keep your plan (period!)...repeated over and over by Obama...had long been hogwash.
The video's message is so great and timely...it's the third straight time I've embedded it in a blog post. I usually don't do that kind of thing anymore...but once in awhile I do.
Once more, the viral video hit from Ray Stevens... "If You Like Your Plan"...
Anything else going on in the world of Ray Stevens?? The news broke on Friday (September 26) that Ray is to co-host an upcoming gospel ceremony in November. You can read all about it HERE. The page gives the air date and the broadcast affiliate along with other details. I'm sure I don't receive the channel/network that will air the program but I'll look for more information nevertheless in mid November. The event's full title is the Inspirational Country Music Faith, Family and Country Week and it runs November 9th through the 12th. The awards ceremony takes place on November 12th. You can read my Amazon CD review of the Ray Stevens Gospel Collection, Volume One HERE.
September 24, 2014
Ray Stevens: If You Like Your Plan nearing 10,000 unique views...
Hello once again! It's been less than 2 days since the debut of the latest Ray Stevens YouTube music video, "If You Like Your Plan". It's nearing 10,000 unique views as of this writing. The totals so far are 7,298 and I happen to believe that the video is going to gain the 2,702 additional views needed to reach the 10,000 plateau in no time at all. It's gotten more than 7,000 unique views in less than 2 days so it's safe to say it'll leap into 10,000 territory and beyond in a matter of hours at the pace it's on.
All over the social network sites the video's being shared...the one that's gotten the most shares is the one that describes the video in this manner: "Ray Stevens Relentlessly Mocks Obama Care..." followed by a link to Ray's video. I happen to, of course, agree with that description even though I couldn't find those exact words to type the other day during my blog post as I was trying to come up with descriptions of my experience seeing the video...but yes, 'relentless' is a good way to describe Ray's visual performance...PERIOD!! (once you see the video you'll understand the reason I used that word!!).
There have been a number of comments about the video on it's YouTube page...a couple by Obama supporters...but the majority of the commentary (so far) are by those in support of Ray's video and the message it delivers.
As more and more liberals discover the video, though, the commentary section may end up becoming a cesspool of name calling, personal attacks, and vulgar language since history shows that's their favorite tactic in replying to ideologies they happen to disagree with but for now none of that immature commentary has taken over the comments area.
Here's the viral video hit from Ray Stevens... "If You Like Your Plan"...
All over the social network sites the video's being shared...the one that's gotten the most shares is the one that describes the video in this manner: "Ray Stevens Relentlessly Mocks Obama Care..." followed by a link to Ray's video. I happen to, of course, agree with that description even though I couldn't find those exact words to type the other day during my blog post as I was trying to come up with descriptions of my experience seeing the video...but yes, 'relentless' is a good way to describe Ray's visual performance...PERIOD!! (once you see the video you'll understand the reason I used that word!!).
There have been a number of comments about the video on it's YouTube page...a couple by Obama supporters...but the majority of the commentary (so far) are by those in support of Ray's video and the message it delivers.
As more and more liberals discover the video, though, the commentary section may end up becoming a cesspool of name calling, personal attacks, and vulgar language since history shows that's their favorite tactic in replying to ideologies they happen to disagree with but for now none of that immature commentary has taken over the comments area.
Here's the viral video hit from Ray Stevens... "If You Like Your Plan"...
September 22, 2014
Ray Stevens: If You Like Your Plan (music video)
Hello to all the fans of Ray Stevens! I hope you all have purchased Ray's Nashville book and his Gospel Collection, Volume One CD. If you haven't I'd suggest you do so. The paperback of Nashville is sold-out on Amazon at the moment. The Kindle, of course, is still available as is a hardback book...it's available at Ray's on-line store. The Gospel Collection, Volume One is a near sell-out on Amazon. As of this writing the CD's product page states that there's only 3 CD's in stock but more on the way.
The main focus of this blog entry is on the most recent offering from Ray Stevens...a brand new music video called "If You Like Your Plan". If you're a political junkie or follow current events you should be familiar with that phrase. It's an infamous phrase uttered by Obama during his national sales pitch for Obama Care (the one size fits all Government run health care system). As the scholars and critics had long since complained...people aren't necessarily going to be keeping their current health care plan...Obama Care's burden on private insurance companies places those organizations in a bind and in order to economically survive they'll have to raise their monthly/yearly rates.
So, yes, a lot of private health insurance companies are dumping a lot of their policy holders into the Federally run Obama Care out of economic necessity rather than by choice. Obama and those that dreamed up this health care monstrosity had always knew this sort of thing would happen (private insurance companies dumping their policy holders into the Government-run health care) and that's the reason a lot of people in 2010 could see this coming years in advance but only the informed paid any attention to the out-cry. A true capitalist could see the dangers of Obama Care...obviously that leaves Obama out.
And so, with that being said, have a look and a laugh at the latest Ray Stevens music video, "If You Like Your Plan". You'll like...LOVE...this video a lot!!!
The main focus of this blog entry is on the most recent offering from Ray Stevens...a brand new music video called "If You Like Your Plan". If you're a political junkie or follow current events you should be familiar with that phrase. It's an infamous phrase uttered by Obama during his national sales pitch for Obama Care (the one size fits all Government run health care system). As the scholars and critics had long since complained...people aren't necessarily going to be keeping their current health care plan...Obama Care's burden on private insurance companies places those organizations in a bind and in order to economically survive they'll have to raise their monthly/yearly rates.
So, yes, a lot of private health insurance companies are dumping a lot of their policy holders into the Federally run Obama Care out of economic necessity rather than by choice. Obama and those that dreamed up this health care monstrosity had always knew this sort of thing would happen (private insurance companies dumping their policy holders into the Government-run health care) and that's the reason a lot of people in 2010 could see this coming years in advance but only the informed paid any attention to the out-cry. A true capitalist could see the dangers of Obama Care...obviously that leaves Obama out.
And so, with that being said, have a look and a laugh at the latest Ray Stevens music video, "If You Like Your Plan". You'll like...LOVE...this video a lot!!!
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