‘San Antonio Current’ Beclowns Itself with Charley Crockett Data Center Story

If you need any more validation that some weird social contagion around attempting to take down Charley Crockett has taken hold among a certain population, look no further than this irresponsible, and arguably defaming and libelous new article from San Antonio Current.

Apropos to really nothing except trying to mine clicks and extend the whole fiasco with the Satanic Twin Temple band, they decided to take the 27th sentence from a 30-sentence missive from Charley Crockett, and turn it in to a dedicated article to push the canard that he’s pro data center construction of all things. Oh, and for good measure, they also tried to inject drama into the entirety of country music by acting like data centers were an emerging wedge issue, instead of one that’s drawing nearly universal condemnation.

In an article written by Stephanie Koithan published on Monday, August 3rd titled, “South Texas Country Artist Charley Crockett Disses Celebs Who Stand Against Data Centers,” she asserts, “Alt-country artist Charley Crockett can’t seem to keep his mouth shut. First, he sparked controversy by dropping Satanic doo-wop duo Twin Temple as opener from a series of his shows. Now, he’s going after celebrities who rail against data centers — including some of the biggest names in country music.”

What is the source of this dedicated article by what otherwise is considered a well-respected South Texas publication? It was one sentence from a week old social media post from Crockett. For illustrative purposes, you can see the sentence in question bolded in Crockett’s full post below.

“2 riders were approaching, the wind began to howl”. The last line from what might be the greatest song ever written. A plate I’ve been eating off of since I was 17. I became a disciple of Bob Dylan whether he wanted me or not. I loved Woody Guthrie as a young boy and so I was destined to fall for Bob. I too piled all the burden of a savior on a man I never met because I felt so close to his songs. You might say I worshipped him. Then one day, for reasons I won’t elaborate on here, I hated him. I felt he had betrayed me. He refused to fly my flag. The Outlaw brand in the music business was a marketing gimmick created by new blood record executives in Nashville to repackage Waylon & Willie. I came to identify, not with the brand of these 2 men, but with the road they walked down, as my own road caused me to recognize their struggle to find a place in an unforgiving high stakes system. There’s no reason to imitate these men sonically, without understanding their trials and tribulations. That is, if you intend to lay siege to the citadel. Kris Kristofferson once said something that hit me like a train: “I know a lot of times I’ve read that Mickey Newbury and I changed things here. We didn’t do it. It was them. It was Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan who changed Nashville from just being a country hick place to something important you oughta examine.” Turns out I’ve come to the same conclusion. Maybe it ain’t a coincidence that me and Kristofferson were born one town apart in Deep South Texas. You see Cash and Dylan had all the power in the world an artist could hope to amass at that time in America. They were label mates at Columbia New York and were so popular they could hardly be controlled, though every effort was made to wrangle them boys in. They didn’t have to push the boundaries. It would have been more profitable if they played it safe. Leaders like JFK and MLK were being gunned down in the streets. It’s difficult for me to take a celebrity serious railing against data centers when they’re posting enough selfie videos to house one themselves. Oh and about Dylan, he’s my favorite again. Where do you think I got the idea for Quantro & Cholla?

Talk about an opportunistic pull quote. And even though Crockett said nothing about other country artists, and was clearly talking about social media influencer types, the article goes on to try and twist Crockett’s words to calling out his fellow country artists.

Stephanie Koithan goes on to say, “In an interesting coincidence of timing, Willie Nelson spoke out against data centers the next day — including one being developed in his hometown … It’s unclear which celebrities in particular Crockett was referring to with this jab about data centers. However, as of the date that he posted it, Brad Paisley had already come out against a data center threatening the Nashville Zoo in a selfie video. (Hmm). Since then, Tanya Tucker has also joined the chorus about the danger the big computing centers pose to rural Texas.”

The quite telling “Hmm” is especially damming, while the clickbait article concludes, “Is a rift forming in the country music scene over data centers?”

Charley Crockett responded on Tuesday (8-4),

Wow. So now a newspaper in San Antonio is presenting me as pro data center. What a riot. Funny how they didn’t mention I called out the tech billionaires behind them for buying our elections just a few months ago. I’ve been speaking up against AI since way before it was popular to do so, I just wasn’t really on the map. This is conformity. Public shaming because you think god, or your anti-god is on your side. When I said I’m not on the left or the right, I’m on the road, I’m telling you that we see it all out here. Most people can barely pay their rent. Folks are drowning in depression and these phones have a lot to do with it. I think for myself. Conformity is picking a side and sticking with it even when the flag waivers are dead wrong or show themselves to be selfish and corrupt. Step out of line and they’ll ruin you. You know what would be brave when you stand up against data centers with your platform? Admitting your own participation in it. We’re all addicted to social media. Completely dependent on smart phones. We’re addicted to the instant gratification. That includes me. I got myself off the street by learning how to use one of these things in late 2014. It was a Samsung Android (ha) and I paid my Metro PCS bill every month in cash. Every single thing you do on a phone is backed by data centers. All of it. Root Causes America. Root causes. It’s really starting to look like 1984 out here. I’m against data centers. I don’t like AI. Throw away your phone in America and you don’t exist. I’ve done it. I’ll do it again. Rage against data centers. Keep them as far away from our communities as possible, but wherever they end up they destroy the environment and I wonder if you’ll be satisfied as long as they’re in a poor, brown 3rd world country like everything else we send overseas or across the borderline. This shit reminds me of Vietnam. We didn’t lose that war. Hell I’m wearing a shirt writing this made in Southeast Asia. The only thing we lost was the moral high ground. How many have died in the Middle East since 9/11? Lemme tell you. Millions. Here’s one for you bronco. Vietnam never ended, we just got used to it. Put that in your pipe jack.

As has been said many times with Charley Crockett, he’s not above criticism. Even in his initial, meandering rant where the data center quote was taken from, he says, “The Outlaw brand in the music business was a marketing gimmick created by new blood record executives in Nashville to repackage Waylon & Willie.”

That’s not exactly true. It was Hazel Smith who came up with the term. She worked for Tompall Glaser at the Hillbilly Central renegade recording studio, and is considered the “Mother of Outlaw Music.” Yes, the term was an element of marketing, but not by “new blood record executives.”

Charley Crockett needs a filter, and a full-time publicist. And go ahead and criticize him for being a “cosplay cowboy” all you want. But this San Antonio Current article might be the most egregious mischaracterization of a country artist by a publication currently in print. Did they reach out to Charley Crockett to clarify his position on data centers before publishing the story?

This situation definitely rivals the story published by TMZ about how Morgan Wallen poured a full beer down a woman’s blouse in Nashville in 2023 when no such thing happened, even by TMZ’s own video.

TMZ eventually pulled the libelous article. That’s exactly what San Antonio Current should do too, and apologize for trying to muckracke in the country music community about something all the artists named and involved actually agree with.

It’s become fashion in certain circles to slag Charley Crockett. But articles like the one in San Antonio Current undermine the credibility of all media outlets when they come to such clearly unfounded conclusions.


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