“Oliver Anthony told Joe Rogan that he chose ‘Oliver’ as his stage name in honor of his deceased grandfather,” explains Austin songwriter Matthew Squires of the man who crashed the world with the toothless ‘protest’ song ‘Rich Men of North Richmond’. “He was nostalgic for a more innocent time,” Squires continues, “when hardworking, God-fearing white men got a little respect (he forgot to mention how that respect was at the expense of everyone else’s, or how it was largely enabled by unions).”
The success of Anthony’s song seemed inexplicable at first, then entirely obvious. It was just what the world needed: another reminder to pull yourself up by your bootstraps and make your bed in order to fight the wild injustice of the world. So enraged was Matthew Squires by the prevalence of this insipid and not-so-sneakily reactionary song that he ripped a hole in the time-space continuum to find another dimension where things went a little different. “Meanwhile, in a parallel universe,” Squires continues, “Anthony Oliver told Roe Jogan his name was inspired by Casey Anthony. He was nostalgic for a more innocent time, when Americans could still unite around our fleeting spectacles of controversy, and weren’t yet confused as to which ones were astroturfed by right wingers.”
The result of this journey into another universe is ‘Poor Men of Southeast Portland’, a song which both mirrors Anthony’s and proves its polar opposite. Gone is the prejudice and the punching down and the populist shit-stirring, replaced instead with simple sincerity and an informed, critical viewpoint.
Love’s a lot like dyin’
Love’s a lot like a Pepsi inside a church
Love’s a lot like flyin’
Love’s a lot like a heaven encased in Earth
Love’s a lot like cryin’
Love’s a lot like the space ‘tween death and birth
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‘Poor Men Southeast of Portland’ is out now and available from the Matthew Squires Bandcamp page.