It can be easy in light of the vile words and actions of Donald Trump and his supporters (and other republican candidates), or the never ending strength of the NRA, or another disappointing decision concerning murder by police officers in Cleveland, or another senseless killing by police in Chicago, or the constant stream of hatred directed toward Muslims, or the continued influence of money in our political system, among many, many others to remember that we Liberals had a pretty good year in 2015.
To wit:
We have three solid candidates to offer the American people for the Presidency of the United States in 2016--which is three more than republicans have.
Minimum wage increases were passed from Los Angeles to Rhode Island to New York--with wages as high as $15.00. There's still work to do, but it's a solid start.
A treaty was passed with Iran that in the long run will make the Middle East--and America--safer.
Relations with Cuba were normalized after more than fifty years of poisoned and pointless policy that accomplished absolutely nothing other than securing Cuban-American votes for republicans in Florida.
Marriage equality is the law of the land--let me repeat that: Marriage equality is the law of the land.
Obamacare broke records again this year for sign-ups and the number of Americans without health insurance is at all-time lows.
A climate accord was reached in Paris that, while imperfect, is nonetheless once again a good start for the good guys.
Bernie Sanders--a Democratic Socialist? Who'd have ever thought he'd run such a strong campaign? And, yeah, it's a long shot he'll win, but it's the best shot the left wing of our party has ever had.
Donald Trump said this week that if Hillary Clinton keeps playing the "woman card" that Bill Clinton's sexual peccadilloes should be fair game. This from a man who has been married three times and once said he'd like to date his daughter....
The national media, of course, was quick to chime in that Trump was right--mostly because, one supposes, once the republican nomination is settled this election year is going to be downright humdrum as the Democratic nominee cruises to victory. They're going to need something to prattle on about, and fellatio and flings it is.
I myself am hoping against hope that this is a republican campaign tactic. Frankly, the liberal base of our party has always been lukewarm at best toward the Clintons--until it comes to republicans going full on Miss Priss about Bill Clinton's sex life. Then we rally around them like the Seven Dwarfs rally around Snow White.
If they want to feign moral outrage, they'd better be prepared for the consequences.
Speaking to a group of Iowa voters this week, Marco Rubio laid out his plans for his first day in office as President. From ending Obamacare and undoing the Iran Treaty to rescinding Obama's executive orders, Rubio would be on it.
Leaving aside the fact Rubio doesn't seem to understand that the President isn't given a magic wand to do as he pleases (those pesky legislative and judicial branches!), shouldn't one at least have to win the fucking nomination before one starts telling voters what one's going to do as the Commander-in-Chief? For fuck's sake, the last I checked Rubio was a distantthird--wouldn't one think he'd at least try to win over republicans before wowing the rest of us with his political "acumen?"
Hell, I'll tell my family how I'm going to spend my Powerball jackpot, but I'm not harebrained enough to run around the streets of Clarkston telling everyone....
I've noticed that when news channels play clips of the end of Donald Trump rallies, when he's walking around glad-handing, his organizers play the Stones' "You Can't Always Get What You Want" and it dawned on me that it was the perfect song for the line of bullshit the republicans are pushing.
I mean, many in America just want good paying jobs, but republicans think they need to suck it up so that CEOs can make even more money. Most Americans just want a hand up when financial troubles arise, but republicans think they need a good kick in the fanny to keep them going. Most Americans just want to feel safe, but republicans think they need to be scared shitless. Most African Americans just want the police to stop shooting their family members willy-nilly, but republicans think they need to believe that white folks lives matter,too, even though they're not being gunned down daily by police officers.
See what I mean?
Either that, or I have waaaaayyyy too much time on my hands these days.
Louisiana "Governor" Bobby Jindal this week reinstated a provision requiring food stamp recipients without dependents who are able physically to work 20 hours a week--even though the federal government, which pays for said food stamps, granted Louisiana a waiver from the provision because the job market in Louisiana is currently so bad.
Someday, someone is going to have to explain to me the republican determination to fuck over the poor every chance they get--and why anyone who wasn't rich or a racist would continue to vote for their candidates. As the article states, the move by Jindal will neither save Louisiana any money nor create jobs the recipients need. Further, Jindal's successor, Democrat Bel Edwards, has already vowed to rescind Jindal's order, though it will still cause suffering for several weeks. And denying food to hungry folks is hardly Christian and certainly not something that makes America great.
A spokesman for Jindal said, "The best way to break the cycle of poverty is for individuals to get jobs and get off of government assistance." The sheer and utter ignorance of that statement is beyond being quantifiable. If thinking "Hey, I'm starving--I know, I'll go get a job!" actually worked, fucking nobody in America who was hungry would not have a job.
Fortunately for the good people of Louisiana, Jindal's political career is over. Unfortunately for the rest of us, it just means Jindal will turn to some conservative media outlet and continue to spread his hate, ignorance, and callousness while getting paid a fortune to do so.
And, one supposes, twenty hours of work a week ought to provide his family with innumerable feasts, quite unlike the 31,000 constituents who Jindal has left to starve.
Just days before Christmas, new Kentucky governor Matt Bevin rescinded the executive order of his Democratic predecessor, Steve Beshear, that raised the minimum wage for state workers and contractors, dropping it from $10.10 an hour (a whopping $21,000 a year) to $7.25 (an even paltrier $15,000 a year).
It's hard to imagine anything other than sheer malevolence for a move such as this--who could it possibly serve other than the contractors who can now collect an even bigger share of their contracts with the state of Kentucky while paying their employees a non-living wage. The driving force of America's economy is consumer spending and since these employees will be making less they'll be spending less resulting in fewer jobs created. They'll also be paying less in state taxes and state sales taxes. Hell, there's even a measure of human decency involved--who the hell can have any kind of decent life on fifteen fucking grand a year?
Bevin noted when rescinding the order that he believed the market should set wage rates not the government. Newflash numbnuts: since the Great Recession we've seen what happens when the market has control of wage rates--regular folks are paid starvation wages and rich assholes like you get even richer.
People who believe there are no difference between the two parties are absolutely kidding themselves. I will flat fucking guarantee you that no Democrat would ever cut the minimum wage of of his or her state.
Those who are unfamiliar with this week's tune and are perhaps thinking, based on the title alone, it was chosen for satirical reasons or as an indictment of the crass commercialization of Christmas, will be sorely disappointed. No, it is my favorite Christmas song of all-time because it is one the most goddamned hopeful songs I've ever heard.
And isn't that what Christmas is all about? Hope?
John Prine has been making music since 1971 (when he was discovered by one Kris Kristofferson), and yet I've met exactly one person in my life who was a John Prine fan. While Prine isn't a household name, his songwriting has drawn praise from the likes of Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, and Roger Waters (and much critical acclaim) for its compassion, ability to turn a phrase, and sense of humor. And although he's never had an album chart higher than #55 on the Billboard 200, he did win a Grammy for Best Folk Album for The Missing Years. All of which is to say that Prine is one of those artists, like The Kinks or The Band, who should have had a lot more popular success but nonetheless added immensely to the pop music archives. And any way you slice it, a 45 year career in the music business isn't too darn bad.
A song that starts, "It was Christmas in prison/And the food was real good/We had turkey and pistols/Carved out of wood..." has all the earmarks of a classic, and "Christmas in Prison" lives up to its intro. Released in 1973 on Prine's Sweet Revengealbum, the song is, despite its seasonal nature, a fan favorite at all of his shows. Like many recent Jukebox featured tunes, "Christmas in Prison" is spare in setting--while there is some background instrumentation, it's primarily Prine's guitar playing and vocals, and really, the song doesn't need much more. Prine tells the story, as he sings, of a Christmas in prison (surprisingly enough) wherein the inmate narrator expresses his longing and love for the woman whose "...Heart is as big as this whole goddamn jail." The song never tells us whether the inmate is just serving a long stretch, or is there for the rest of his life, but it doesn't really matter because he can "...Wait awhile eternity/Old Mother Nature's got nothin' on me..." Throughout, Prine never gets sappy or maudlin--he just sings a bittersweet tale of love and loss, filling it with as much hope as one supposes one can find when spending Christmas in prison.
No special words this week, just these lines, among my all-time favorite in song: "The search light in the big yard/Swings round with the gun/And spotlights the snowflakes/Like the dust in the sun...."
There isn't much of a video for this, but it was the only non-live version I could find. Nonetheless, enjoy:
"Many thousands are in want of common necessaries; hundreds of thousands are in want of common comforts, sir."
"Are there no prisons?" Scrooge, in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol Up TV, a Hallmark type broadcasting channel which claims to want to uplift its viewers, decided it would be great fun to put poor children in front of a camera and give them a choice between picking a dream present for themselves or a dream present for their parents--because nothing says Christmas mirth quite like watching poor children squirm.
Who the fuck possibly thought that would be uplifting? And why is it that in America so many people think the poor must prove themselves deserving of the help they get? And why do you suppose they didn't use any wealthy children? Afraid the outcome wouldn't have been so "uplifting?"
To a person, each child chose the gift for their parents--and that's why America is built upon the backs of our poor and our working class.
Because, unlike those who sit in judgement of our needs, we know what sacrifice for the greater good means.
I lived through the eight years that Jennifer Granholm was the (Democratic) Governor of Michigan, and I'd be the first to admit that she struggled throughout her two terms. In fairness, she had to deal with republican obstructionism in both legislative houses and it wasn't her fault the long poorly managed auto industry finally ran itself into a wall, but Granholm tried to please too many people, saw the economic struggles of our state all too often through rose-colored glasses, and let herself get bullied by republicans which gave the appearance of weakness.
While there were plenty of reasons to criticize Granholm's tenure, you may be surprised that the vast majority of invective hurled at Gov. Granholm had nothing to do with her job performance and everything to do with her gender. From my barbershop to e-mails from co-workers, it was amazing how much hatred was directed at her simply because she was a woman. "Jokes," crude remarks, and misogynistic conjectures were all based solely on her sex.
I mention this because yesterday Fox News questioned the timing of Chelsea Clinton's second pregnancy as if the Clintons have nothing better to do at their family get-togethers than to sit around and decide when their daughter and son-in-law should have sex to best help Secretary Clinton's campaign for the Presidency. I know it's the Clintons and thus Fox News has to constantly make up bullshit about Hillary Clinton just to keep their rabid base fed, but I really wonder if such questioning of the timing of a pregnancy would have occurred had any of the male candidates had a daughter or son announce their family was expecting a child.
I sincerely doubt it.
It's going to be a long eight years--they will hate the woman in the White House with the same venom as they hate the black guy in the White House.
During a pause in Saturday's Democratic debate, the three candidates took a bathroom break, and as the women's restroom was farther away, and as it often takes women just a second or two longer than men to use said restroom, Hillary Clinton was a little later than Bernie Sanders and Martin O'Malley to return to her spot at the podium.
Apparently, in the republican party Bizarroworld, this is a legitimate reason to question whether Secretary Clinton has the right qualities to be President of the United States. Donald Trump, who, unlike the rest of us, pees honey, termed it "disgusting."
Let me tell you this: if the republican party is resorting to obsessing over how long it takes Hillary Clinton to go pee, the race for the Presidency in 2016 is already over.
They have absolutely nothing to offer the American people.
South Carolina's senior Senator, Lindsay Graham, called it quits today in his pretty much pointless quest to be the republican nominee for President in 2016. Graham was the only republican candidate who acknowledged climate change, was in favor of immigration reform, and had the courage to call out Donald Trump. He never had a chance.
He also belongs to the John McCain wing of hawkishness on foreign policy, i.e. let's fucking bomb everybody.
While many on the left are lamenting his loss as the one republican candidate who wasn't abhorrent (Pataki and Gilmore could also fall into this category, but no one knows who they are and therefore no one cares one way or the other), the most important takeaway from Graham's withdrawal is that last rites have been given to moderate republicans. Graham never got much above 1% in republican polls, and its hard to imagine any moderate having any degree of success going forward on a national level.
The inmates are now in complete control of the asylum.
Truth be told, I only made it about thirty seconds before the bullshit got too deep and I stopped watching, but that's one Dana Loesch, a talking headcase for Glenn Beck's The BlazeTV network. Long story short: I, emaycee, have blood on my hands for the San Bernardino shootings, not the NRA, because Wayne LaPierre is a white guy and because I let a Muslim woman into this country legally and because said Muslim woman never posted her jihadist intentions on social media, and don't forget I am godless, too, and to conclude, I, emaycee, am a "tragedy dry-humping whore."
For real?
And here all this time I thought I was just a fairly nice guy with a wife, and kids, and a mortgage, who just wanted a safer, saner, and more economically equitable America.
I live about a half hour south of the city of Flint, Michigan which this week had to declare a state of emergency because the number of children in their city with above average levels of lead in their bloodstream has doubled since 2014 when the state of Michigan switched their source of water to the Flint River, from it's original source, the city of Detroit. Flint's mayor, Karen Weaver, is declaring the emergency in the hope of getting federal funding to help with the developmental issues that are sure to rise in Flint's children in the years ahead.
Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, in typical republican fashion, has already begun blaming the victims, as a spokesman released a statement this week saying the water was safe but the problems are arising because of lead in certain citizens' water pipes--without ever explaining what exactly it was that caused the lead in their pipes to suddenly appear in their water after the changeover to the Flint River, but not when the water was coming from Detroit. A lawsuit has been filed alleging that Snyder and his minions knew about the toxicity in the water before the switch but went ahead with it anyway. Considering that Snyder hired a private contractor that served food infested with maggots (among other creatures) to Michigan prisoners, it doesn't come as much of a surprise. An old businessman himself, Snyder knows that in today's Michigan, profits come before people.
In the end, though, one wonders how much longer we as a nation can afford to tolerate republicans' disdain for spending the money necessary to improve our dilapidated infrastructure. It's hard to not believe that this tragedy in Flint could not have been prevented with the proper care of both the Flint River and its water system.
But that's the republicans world--if poisoning our children is the price we pay for tax cuts for millionaires, so be it.
Trying to write a one paragraph synopsis of the career of Frank Sinatra that doesn't just skim the surface is a bit like trying to pour Lake Superior into a coffee cup--ain't happening. So here goes anyway: his discography includes 69 albums and 296 singles. He won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor (From Here to Eternity) and was nominated for a Best Actor award (The Man with the Golden Arm). He won 11 Grammy Awards, was a Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient, and a Kennedy Center honoree. He had an amazing singing voice but often came across as an arrogant prick. He did much work for African-American causes but had ties to the Mafia (it's pretty much agreed he was the inspiration--in more ways than one--for Johnny Fontane in The Godfather). He was a strong supporter of labor unions but was seen by many as being misogynistic. And as if all of that wasn't enough to make an (extremely flawed) icon, he also invented "cool"--take a look at him in his younger days and you'll see exactly what I mean.
All of which also makes him the perfect man to sing "Cycles," the tale of a fallible middle-aged fellow who may be down and out, but is still ever hopeful. Written by one Gayle Caldwell at the ripe old age of 27 (where do these wise beyond their years folks come from? I was pretty much an idiot at 27), it was released in 1968 on his aptly titled Cycles album. It would eventually reach #23 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100, andwhile not as iconic or critically acclaimed of a Sinatra song as say "I've Got You Under My Skin" or "Fly Me to the Moon" or "Come Fly With Me" or "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning" (you'll never know how hard it was to only use four of his singles as examples), it sure should have been.
"Cycles" is sparse to say the least--it's a piano, a touch of a rhythm section, a few light strings, and the biggie, Sinatra's voice. And Sinatra uses it to perfection, telling his tale with weariness but not defeat. Above all else, it's honest--when Sinatra sings, "My gal just up and left last week/Friday I got fired..." his voice breaks ever so gently when he sings the word "I" and it's the heartache of a middle-aged man who's seen enough of life to know that it's one of those woeful times when you're torn between a laugh and a tear knowing full well that anger or despair aren't going to fix it. It's the kind of moment that makes a very good song a great one, and Sinatra is old enough and wise enough to close it out with a gentle wisp of hopefulness when he notes that he'll "keep on trying to sing" though he doesn't quite know how just yet.
Comforting words, indeed: "So I'll keep this smile awhile/And see what tomorrow brings...."
As the man who had Sarah Palin as the GOP nominee in 2012, and was certain it was going to be Jeb! Bush in 2016, I am now going to do what no heinous statement from Donald Trump, or vicious act of one of his followers, has thus far been able to do: kill his campaign.
I am really beginning to believe that Trump can win the republican nomination.
Ted Cruz may be the candidate du jour for the scared GOP establishment, and the current leader in Iowa, but we've seen how republican establishment candidates fare in the general election (see also: McCain, John and Romney, Willard) and how republican campaigns fade into oblivion after winning the Iowa Caucus (see also: Huckabee, Mike and Santorum, Rick). Ben Carson is as crazy as a shit house rat, but he's neither white enough nor angry enough to pacify republicans' main voters: angry, white men. Rubio has shown again and again that he's a lightweight, and if he doesn't like the work that goes into being a U.S. Senator, he's going to like being President of the United States a lot less (it's 24/7/365, Marco--think!). And the rest? Well, if you're polling in the low single digits at this point, you can turn out the lights: the party is over.
The possibility of a brokered convention has been discussed of late, but there hasn't been one since before I was born (1959), and one could easily see the republican base going full on ape shit if it feels its chosen candidate has been screwed out of the nomination.
And that leaves republicans one Donald J. Trump as their Presidential nominee in 2016.
That would be, hands down, in all their variations, the words "politically correct."
It is part and parcel of a two party political system that the two parties will have differing views on policies and how best to ensure the future of the country. But not every disagreement with Democratic policies and leaders is the result of the republicans' claims of "political correctness"--we may be factually correct, we may be morally correct, we may even be humanely correct, but make no mistake about it, in comparison to republican policies and leaders, we are always correct.
"Politically correct" has become as iconic of a republican chimera as cadillac driving welfare queens, lobster eating food stamp recipients, weapons of mass destruction, cantaloupe calved Mexicans, the selling of baby parts, and the imminent enactment of Sharia law.
Well whaddayaknow--conservatives aren't all wrong.
Writing in the American Conservative Daniel Larison takes to task hawks (which, let's face it, means republicans--no Democrat who matters has hopped on their terrorist threat crazy train so far) for over inflating the threat that ISIS poses to America. The plain truth of the matter is that Americans face no more danger from ISIS than they do from right wing extremists--and the idea that ISIS threatens either the United States as a country or our way of life is so ludicrous as to be laughable.
But after today's school closings in Los Angeles (which are looking more and more like a big nothing), how many of tonight's Presidential candidate debaters do you suppose won't use the moment for more fear mongering to drive campaign contributions and rile up their base instead of having the courage to educate their voters that ISIS is no more than a pimple on America's butt?
My guess is it will be the number that ISIS's Arabic ancestors invented: zero.
Speaking about the expected flood of campaign advertising dollars, which he described as “phenomenal,” Moonves said that he is glad to have so many Republicans competing for the nomination.
“The more they spend, the better it is for us and: Go Donald! Keep getting out there!” Moonves said. “And, you know, this is fun, watching this, let them spend money on us, and we love having them in there. We’re looking forward to a very exciting political year in ’16.”
Is there really much wonder as to why there's not a whole hell of a lot of confidence from the American people in our national media? Never mind that the well-being of millions of people depends on this election, CBS is making money on a fucking clown show.
As if Corporate America doesn't make it hard enough for workers to unionize with their threats and firings of union activists, Menards has decided that that isn't enough--it's threatening workers' bosses, store managers, with a 60% pay cut if any segment of their staff votes to unionize while on the store managers' watch. While there seems to be some disagreement as to whether or not it's legal (same link), how many members of a store management's team can afford a cut in pay that large and would stand idly by while their stores associates tried to start a union?
One certainty, though, is the utter disdain Menards, and by extension, Corporate America, has for its workforce--frankly, if you don't have an executive title next to your name or sit on your ass in a boardroom it really doesn't give a fuck if you or your family live or die.
Having a conservative say something that's monumentally stupid isn't all that rare, but Elizabeth Hasselbeck of Fox News may have raised the bar so high this week that she'll never be topped. She used a segment to teachchildren to use martial arts moves to challenge and disarm a shooter. This would be colossally bad advice for adults, but in what passes for wisdom on the right, somehow Hasselbeck, and Fox News, thought it would be a fine Mr. Rogers moment for the kiddies.
My youngest son has been taking Tae Kwon Do for six years now and I can flat fucking guarantee that they never taught any of their students one strike, one punch, or one kick that can be used to stop a bullet. And you want to know why? Because there fucking isn't one!
One supposes that on a future segment Hasselbeck can teach the kids about finding a radioactive spider, and how if they get bit by one, they can shoot webs from their hands to disarm a shooter....
If there is one topic that pop music examines with proficiency, it is love. Granted, at times it can be simplistic and overwrought, but at its best it is realistic and heartfelt. Who among us hasn't heard at least one song dealing with the joy and pain of love that was a lightning bolt/dagger on a personal level? Damned few I'd suppose. Unlike last week's tune, which dealt with a would be gypsy who just can't stay away from his love too long, this week we're dealing with a man whose love "never really was."
Like many folks of a certain age who were introduced to rock and roll in the seventies, I recall the Doobie Brothers with a certain fondness. They had a nice string of catchy singles, I saw them in concert, and when, every now and again these days, the odd song of theirs plays on a store PA while I'm shopping, it'll bring a smile. While they'd never make my top 100 bands of all time, they were certainly a serviceable little band whose music I enjoyed.
Much to my surprise, they were a lot more than that, at least on a popular level. I recall their Grammy's in the early eighties, but I had no idea that over the course of the last 45 years they had accumulated 11 platinum and/or gold albums (their Best Of has sold over 10 million copies), six top ten albums (including one at #1), and five top ten singles on the Billboard Hot 100 (including two #1s, both I'm certain with a bullet). All from a band that before yesterday I could only recall the names of three members (Michael McDonald, Patrick Simmons, and Jeff "Skunk" Baxter).
Released in 1979 on their Minute by Minutealbum, "What a Fool Believes" was written by McDonald and Kenny Loggins (whose work with Loggins and Messina I loved, and who solo work is purity shit) and as noted above, details the story of a man reuniting with an old flame who was never really such. It would eventually reach #1 on the charts and take home the Grammy for song of the year. The song's strengths are in McDonald's vocals (never my favorite blue-eyed soul singer, but he absolutely nails this one) which are unflinchingly honest but never maudlin, and the lyrics, which capture perfectly the ever hopeful nature of the oblivious. See the man with the stars in his eyes, see the woman with the polite smile, watch her walk away, watch him pretend she'll come back--a movie could literally be made of the picture McDonald and Loggins create, The rhythm section is jaunty throughout, but the keyboard work is just heartsore enough to make it all work. Add in some stunning harmony vocals and you have a classic love song that really isn't a love song. Sort of like a love that "never really was...."
Truer words: "But what a fool believes he sees/No wise man has the power to reason away...."
How many times have we heard republicans scream about judicial activism and how activist judges are taking away our freedom? Or bitch about Democratic Presidents not following the Constitution? Remember Kim Davis and religious liberty? Hell, republicans put the "freedom" in freedom fries.
But banning Muslims from coming into the United States? Fuck, yeah, we can do that! Screw that freedom of religion bullshit in the First Amendment!
It appears republicans new rallying cry is "Give me liberty...but screw everybody else!"
"It is the natural outgrowth of the Republican Party's longstanding flirtation with bigotry, its turn away from the civil rights movement, its electoral "Southern strategy," which relied on racism and bigotry to win national elections, its abandonment of affirmative action, its widespread skepticism and disdain for immigrants and immigration. Decades of the GOP walking the line of racist discourse have given Trump permission to espouse and promote outright bigotry." This today from an editorial in The Detroit Free Press which castigated Donald Trump for his call to ban Muslims from entering America. Later they lament Michigan Governor Rick Snyder for being one of umpteen republican governors to refuse to welcome the women and children refugees from Syria, and calls out both of them for giving voice to hatred. It ends with a plea for us to all stand together as Americans. What the Free Press doesn't say, though, is that they endorsed Rick Snyder for our governor, not just once, but twice, knowing full well that everything in this post's lead paragraph is true. The republican party has been run by its radical faction since Reagan's two terms and expecting Snyder to behave any differently than he has in light of the republican party's history since the 1960s is either willful ignorance or the height of stupidy. In its endorsements of Snyder, the Free Press is every bit as guilty as Trump and Snyder in legitimizing hatred. So forgive me if I don't stand with the Free Press--we are reaping what they sowed with their lack of courage in calling out the republican party for its decades old bigotry until today in the interest of some misplaced sense of fairness toward the two parties. Bigotry is bigotry, and no, both parties do not partake in it. Peace, emaycee
On this, the thirty-fifth anniversary of John Lennon's being murdered by four gunshots in the back. an infuriating fact: since his death on December 8, 1980, 1.1 million Americans have been killed by guns.
Imagine--it's easy if you try--how many of them would still be alive if only our political leaders had ever had the moral courage to stand up to the NRA and enact sensible gun laws.
Maybe I've just missed it, but am I the only one who thinks it odd that with all the mass shootings we have in this country, that we've yet to have one surviving spouse or parent or child of a victim say that what we really need to do to combat mass murder is to have more people carry guns?
Do you think there's a reason for that?
Do you suppose someone could give republicans and the NRA a clue?
On Thursday, republicans voted to deny millions of Americans healthcare without any alternative plan to Obamacare, voted to deny funding to Planned Parenthood that allows millions of American women to get mammograms, cancer screenings, and birth control, and voted to allow suspected terrorists, who we don't allow to fly on our airplanes, to buy guns.
As we gear up for the primary season, I keep hearing notions such as that the Presidential contest is little more than a dog and pony show and doesn't mean much or from supporters of Bernie Sanders that they'll stay home if Hillary Clinton wins or from Clinton supporters how they'll never support Sanders.
For those who feel such, take a good look at the paragraph above that begins "On Thursday,,,": then pull your fucking head out of your ass and support the Democratic nominee regardless of your cynicism or favored candidate.
Millions of your fellow Americans well-being is dependent upon it.
Two of the best things about writing Friday Night Jukebox are 1) the smile I get from listening to old favorites (which reminds me of my Dad because he used to do the same thing), and 2) learning new things about bands and songs that I didn't know before.
Needless to say, a big smile this week and a few new tidbits, too. Like that the Allman Brothers Band once opened for the Velvet Underground--great bands, both, but what an unlikely pairing. I didn't know that "Melissa" was virtuoso guitarist Duane Allman's favorite song that his brother Greg wrote, or that his guitar playing did not appear on the song. Or that, despite being considered the fathers of Southern Rock, the band eschewed the term, feeling it pigeonholed them because their music was a lot more than just one genre. I didn't know they'd had a mini-Renaissance in the early 90s and toured regularly until just last year.
Formed in 1969 by, surprisingly enough, the brothers Duane and Greg Allman (among others), the band had a great run until the late 70s despite losing band members Duane Allman and Berry Oakley within a year of each other in motorcycle accidents and suffering a myriad of drug problems (at one point four members of the band were in rehab at the same time). They're known for being one of the few bands to feature two lead guitarists and two drummers. Lots of infighting and continuing substance abuse issues caused them to breakup and reunite numerous times through the years, but in the end they're in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, made Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Artists of All-Time, and are widely considered as one the greatest live bands in the history of rock and roll (their album, Live at the Fillmore East, is considered by many to be the best live album ever).
Released on their Eat a PeachLP, "Melissa" showcases the much underrated vocals of Greg Allman (one of the great practitioners of blue eyed soul, along with Darryl Hall and Van Morrison) as it tells the story of a man who longs to travel the world but keeps returning home to his "sweet Melissa." Duane and Greg Allman were heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and soul singles at the time and it's not hard to see their influence on Greg's singing.The vocals are almost seamless--there are pauses and interjections but each word flows into the next as easily as minutes flow into hours. And ever in the background--other than the acoustic intro--is a guitar line that is as plaintive and in love with Melissa as the gypsy whose name one knows. Every now and again rock and soul merge to create a moment of magic, and "Melissa" is one such moment.
Kind of interesting factoid: I learned to strum the guitar in 4/4 time by playing the acoustic intro to "Melissa" countless thousands of times....
Sometimes, it's the simplicity of the lyrics: "...mmmhmmmm...."
Jeb! Bush touting his "experienced leadership" this week in Iowa:
[Bush] said Americans have previously “bet on someone who was unproven,” two-term Democratic President Barack Obama, which Bush said “didn’t work out.”
Kind of wondering exactly what the definition of "didn't work out" is to Jeb!--does he mean the stimulus package that rescued the economy from his brother's ineptitude and helped ensure we didn't fall into a second Great Depression? Or the bailing out of the now healthy auto industry which saved millions of jobs? Or the job growth that's second only to the Clinton administration in the last fifty years? The near doubling of the stock market? How about millions more Americans who have healthcare insurance? Or maybe that he didn't get us into two wars and ultimately botch both of them? Or that we haven't had a terrorist attack on our soil for the length of his term? The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act? Normalization of relations with Cuba? Gay marriage?
Too bad Jeb!'s older brother "didn't work out"--we'd all be a hell of a lot better off if he had.
How about this: in America, you are seven times more likely to be killed by a right wing extremist than you are by a Muslim terrorist.
Who could have ever guessed? Not Ted Cruz--his lie o' the day today was that most violent criminals are Democrats.
Though it is possible that Cruz considers the murders of innocent bystanders and African-Americans not so much as violence but more so collateral damage in his quest for a white Christians only America.
Ted Cruz said yesterday, while campaigning in Iowa, that the Planned Parenthood shooter in Colorado Springs was a "...transgendered [sic] leftist activist." His campaign later clarified his declaration as Cruz just making the point that there was a lot of information that hadn't been confirmed concerning the shooter.
No. Just fucking no.
This has become a strategic m.o. for the republican party--they put out some completely bogus claim to deflect attention from the fact that their party is completely batshit insane knowing full well that there are plenty of gullible buffoons in their base who will wholeheartedly believe it and blame the "liberal media" bias for the reason the "real" story isn't gaining any credence. It's manipulative, demagogic, and dishonest and we need to call them out on it in the loudest voice possible until they crawl back under the rock from which they came.
The promise that is America cannot be fulfilled when republicans are using sleight of hand to stoke hatred and fear in too many people over problems that really aren't the problems Americans need to be addressing.
A stay-at-home mother of two, an Iraq war vet, and a police officer who was the father of two were the latest victims of domestic terrorism when they were shot to death last Friday at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs. Near as I can tell, none of the three were there in any official capacity other than providing support of one kind or another.
Nonetheless, to the nut jobs on the right, they're little more than collateral damage according to the vitriol (you better have a strong stomach if you open that link ) that passes for commentary among the republican base. Now that it appears the shooter's actions were politically motivated one can only suppose the cheering will grow considerably louder.
Funny, though, how they claim to be pro-life yet have so little concern for the lives of three innocent people, and their families, whose lives are now irrevocably torn asunder,
Pete Seeger. The Weavers. Johnny Cash. Bob Dylan. Bernie Sanders (!--truly awful--listen here). Neil Young. Bruce Springsteen. The Kingston Trio. Peter Paul and Mary. The Seekers. Steve Earle. Judy Collins. Arlo Guthrie. Glen Campbell. Billy Bragg. Tom Morello. My Morning Jacket.
Not to mention there is no one in America over the age of five who can't at least sing the first verse.
It's hard to imagine that a song first recorded 71 years ago could inspire such a varied group of artists as those above to record their own versions through the years, but "This Land Is Your Land" by Woody Guthrie has. Guthrie originally penned the song in 1940 as a response to Irving Berlin's "God Bless America" (which he considered unrealistic), forgot about the song until 1944 (when it was recorded for the first time), and the rest, as they say, is history. The original lyrics had a decidedly more political bent to them, but Guthrie eventually pared them down to the celebration of America's beauty that we all know today.
Guthrie himself was quite the political animal, travelling across America throughout the Great Depression fighting poverty and injustice. He flirted with the Communist Party, was a strong labor union supporter, and railed against forces of inequality not so different than those we face today. Sadly, Guthrie's suffered from the effects of Huntington's disease for the last twenty years of his life and spent the final eleven years in hospitals before his death in 1967. He left behind a legacy of political activism via music and a catalog of songs that define the American experience of the twentieth century. A true American hero.
As for the song itself--what can I really say? It's a buoyant trip across this land we call home, celebrating its beauty and its promise. And with nothing more than a voice and an acoustic guitar.
Fun factoid: Guthrie had a sticker affixed to his guitar which read, "This machine kills fascists." Truer words, my friends, truer words.
It's not that nearly a third of republican voters are supporting a man who--just in the past week--claimed he had super powers to predict terrorist attacks, said that a African- American man who was protesting at a Trump event deserved to have the shit knocked out of him by a bunch of old white farts for exercising his First Amendment rights, insulted a disabled journalist, and saw Muslim celebrations over the carnage caused by the 9/11 attacks that no one in the world could verify, it's the utter insanity of this: when asked if they approved of President Obama pardoning two turkeys, only 11% of republicans approved.
I know that the annual turkey pardoning is little more than your run of the mill inane political theater, but it's a tradition that Presidents--both Democrats and republicans--have carried out for as long as I can remember, and Americans give it little more than a roll of the eyes, or a groan, or a cheer if you're a vegetarian. But republicans right now can't see beyond their hatred for one of the most decent men to hold the office of President in the last hundred years to shrug off the inconsequential.
When you're running blind you eventually run into a tree or a lamppost or a building and knock yourself out--and that mighty blow is going to come with full force for republicans in November of 2016.
I was driving a 1973 Gran Torino to class in 1979 when a song I'd never heard before came on the radio and after listening for a bit I thought, "Holy shit--Dylan's got his mojo back!" After listening a bit more, though, I realized I was wrong--the guitars were a bit too jazzy and the vocals not quite harsh enough--but I was happy when at its end the DJ announced that the song was "Sultans of Swing" by Dire Straits. After my classes had ended for the day I drove straight to the mall and picked up their first album, appropriately titled Dire Straits, at Target for $4.99.
"Sultans of Swing" would go to to reach #4 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100 and would mark the start of one of the most successful bands of the 1980s and 1990s. Dire Straits would go on to sell millions of albums worldwide, have #1 hits ("Money for Nothing"), win Grammy Awards, perform on sold out tours, and songwriter/lead guitarist Mark Knopfler would eventually compose numerous movie soundtracks and become renowned for his guitar virtuosity. And for me, they also mark the end of discovering bands on the radio--it wasn't long after I'd discovered "Sultans of Swing" that I went to work managing a record store, and not much after that MTV came along and changed radio forever. Alas...
I'm not sure that a song about a talented but little heard jazz band would could get airplay in this day and age, but in the late '70s it sure could. Knopfler's deadpan vocals are Dylanesque as he weaves his way through a night at an empty nightclub where the Sultans of Swing (an actual band that Knopfler watched one night) are playing. Lyrically the song is nuanced but not arty, and allows Knopfler to make good use of inflections and pregnant pauses that help to paint a picture of a rainy night in London. And from beginning to end there is a wondrous guitar--two guitar solos!--that reminds us that even though no one's listening to the Sultans of Swing the players don't care as long as they're making their instruments sing together. It's all about the music....
Fun factoid: Not only do Mark Knopfler and I share a first name, but we both also pick our guitar strings with our thumb--he with great grace and elan, and me with utter mediocrity.
In honor of today being World Toilet Day (it's done to call out to the world that over two billion of us do not have sanitary bathrooms) Think Progress ran a piece today highlighting three ways that human poop is being reused. First, we now have a machine that boils poop and then extracts and cleans the water for human use (Bill Gates drank a glass full and said it was yummy, though I have to admit I have my doubts). Second, microbial bugs are being used to extract methane from poop which is in turn being used to generate electrical power (Washington, D.C. and Birmingham, England are already using "poop power"). Third (and probably most sensibly), almost half the poop in the U.S. is now being turned into fertilizer for our crops and soil.
You know, for all the doom and gloom we hear about the future of the planet and of mankind, you have to feel a bit better about us when you hear about such human ingenuity. And I mean this in all sincerity: if we can find uses for our own poop, there is hope for us yet.
The Good--President Obama. While he's had a few missteps over the last nearly seven years, he hasn't had any this week. First, for not knuckling under pressure to send ground troops into Syria, and reminding America that republicans are the only ones who think sending our soldiers into that quagmire is a good idea, and second, for bitch slapping republicans over their decidedly un-American calls to allow only Syrian Christians into America. What wouldn't Jesus do, right?
The Bad--Virtually all republican Governors (unconstitutionally) rejecting the Syrian refugees. Led by Indiana Governor Mike Pence, who this week told two relief agencies to send back two families that had already been approved to relocate in Indianapolis (and then got shown the real meaning of Christian charity by Democratic Gov. Malloy of Connecticut who welcomed one of the families to his state), republicans embarrassed themselves with their bigotry, intolerance, and ignorance. Some surprise there...
The Ugly--The complete and utter lack of courage demonstrated by the republican party in the face of the terrorist attack in Paris. Republicans are absolutely wetting their pants over allowing a few thousand refugees into America, and yet France, who lost 150 of its people in a terrorist attack just a week ago, is agreeing to take in more than 30,000 Syrian refugees. What we Democrats have known for quite some time is coming to fore: the party that's "tough on defense" really isn't so tough after all. Fucking wimps, the lot of them.
One of the more depressing thoughts for Democrats these days has to be that if we do manage to win back the Senate next year, as it stands now, Chuck Schumer would become the majority leader, replacing the ever feisty Harry Reid.
As if being a Wall Street apologist and being one of only four Democrats to oppose the Iran Treaty wasn't bad enough, today Schumer said a pause may be needed in allowing Syrian refugees to enter America. At a moment when he could have chosen to show the moral courage of Democratic Reps. Tammy Duckworth and Keith Ellison, or Democratic Governors Jay Inslee or Dannel Malloy, Schumer chose instead to stand against widows and children and stand with cry baby republicans.
Over the course of the next year, we as Democrats are going to be asked to donate money again and again, donate time again and again, but I'd like to ask if in return Chuck Schumer is the best we can do as our leader in the Senate.
Because I find it really hard to believe that he is.
Politico reports today that the Koch brothers have their own mini CIA, which they're using to spy on and short-circuit Democratic and Liberal groups and their programs. The article notes that there are Liberal organizations that keep track of the Koch brothers--though it fails to point out that such groups do this to look out for the best interests of the American people and the Koch brothers are looking out for the best interests of Charles and David Koch and precious few others.
What I found interesting, though, was, at the end of the article, a Koch operative speaking at a Koch sponsored event saying of Liberals/Democrats, "You know, they're afraid of us. They really are."
Fucking seriously? Disgusted by the Kochs? You bet. Repulsed by the Kochs? Most certainly. Determined to defeat them and their minions? Beyond a shadow of a doubt. But afraid of them?
Speaking in Texas on Saturday, Donald Trump took a shot at gun control and declared that if the victims in the Paris attacks had been armed it would have been "...a much, much different situation."
Yes it would have been--not only would there have been innocent people shot to death by cretinous terrorists, there also would have been innocent people shot to death by inexperienced and panicked goobers firing their guns in utter chaos.
On CNN today, Lindsay Graham, in light of the attacks in Paris, predicted there will be another 9/11 in America but promised that if he were elected President, he would not let it happen.
Horseshit.
While I don't discount the possibility of another terrorism attack on American soil, and ignoring the fact that Graham has as much chance as I do of being our next President and I'm not wasting Americans' time on a one trick pony campaign, unless Graham has Heroes type powers heretofore undisclosed to the rest of us, the Paris attacks clearly show that no one, neither Democrat nor republican, can guarantee there will not be another attack on Americans.
You can take all the precautions you want, flex America's muscle all you want, but as Pope Francis said today this is a "piecemeal third world war" and no amount of planning or might can stop the nonsensical.
For all their bluster (and that's what it is--republicans are little more than fucking fraidy cats who want anybody but themselves to do the dirty and dangerous work) about Friday's attacks in Paris, here are four things they won't tell the American people:
Republicans will demonize the Syrian refugees and call for walls! border security! but the murderous cretins who carried out these attacks are exactly what the refugees are trying to escape.
You can forget those crockofshit tears republicans are shedding for the French--the right absolutely despises France and its people.
There will be more Americans killed in the next five days by guns than were killed in the Paris attacks--and unlike Paris, the American deaths will continue ad infinitum.
Most importantly, this whole mess is republicans fault. From the Bush administration's having its head up its ass on 9/11, to their piss poor operation of the war in Afghanistan, to the ill-advised and ill-conceived Iraq War, to their disastrous torture program, republicans have done more to create utter chaos and stoke hatred than President Obama could in ten lifetimes.
All right--raise your hands if you've ever heard of Todd Rundgren...anyone? Anyone?
Believe it or not, Rundgren has had quite the career--noted as an engineer and producer for acts as diverse as The Band, XTC, Patti Smith, Hall and Oates, Meatloaf, Badfinger, and the New York Dolls (among others); he began making music in 1966 and is still going today, releasing over twenty-five albums, including Something/Anything? (whence came "Hello It's Me") which appears at #173 on Rolling Stone's list of the five hundred greatest albums of all time; more than forty years after their respective releases "Hello It's Me" and "I Saw the Light" are still staples on AOR stations: and his influence on power pop and progressive rock is immeasurable (some consider Rundgren's "Couldn't I Just Tell You" to be the first and/or greatest power pop song ever).
"Hello It's Me," which reached #5 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100 was originally recorded in a much sparser version with Rundgren's first band, Nazz in 1968. Rundgren re-recorded the song for Something/Anything? and our world is a better place for it. The song opens with a jaunty piano (somewhat reminiscent of Carole King) and Rundgren's heartfelt vocals and as it progresses it incorporates a lively organ, a plethora of horns (sax, trumpet, and one you don't hear too often in pop songs, a trombone), and some gospel tinged backing vocals. Toss in some wise beyond their years lyrics about the nuances of a relationship and you have a pop song for the ages. Listening to it as a whole, it's not hard to see why Rundgren's reputation as a producer is well deserved.
Aside: If you're going to listen to one old fart album this year, make it Something/Anything? Hell, it would be worth the time and effort just in reading the libretto (penned by Rundgren himself).
It's hard to figure out what the republicans endgame is in their reactions to the student protests at the University of Missouri--Donald Trump called the students' actions disgusting, Ben Carson said it was political correctness run amok, and Chris Christie claimed it was all President Obama's fault (though one supposes republicans could find a link to blame Obama for the Black Death regardless of the fact that it happened 700 years before his birth). Um...don't republicans pretty much have the racist vote already sewn up?
Good to see, though, here in 2015, that republicans are still fighting the battles of the 1960s (those goshdarned hippies!)--furthering their soon to be relegation to the dustbins of our history.
In a recent interview with The Atlantic, Bill Gates (aka, the richest man in the world) said, "...the private sector is in general inept."
In other words, there is nothing that the government can do that Corporate America can't do a lot worse--and make our lives hellish while they're doing it.
A lot of brave folks walked off their jobs again today in their fight for a $15 minimum wage. While there's still a ways to go, the workers at least have Democrats talking about it and republicans falling all over themselves to explain why it's okay for McDonald's CEO to live high on the hog while his workers can't buy basic necessities (rent, food) even when working 40 hours a week (and good luck to republicans with that one).
But it's not just a fight for minimum wage workers--it's eventually going to be a fight for all of us:
Since 1973 our productivity is up but the median wage, in terms of buying power, has fallen$3000 a year. We're getting a lot more done but we're getting paid less for it...and somebody's getting that money.
Between 2000 and 2015, the percentage of corporate income devoted to workers' wages has declined by almost 7%--which means we all have lost $535 billion in wages over the past fifteen years. Again, somebody's getting that money.
Corporate profits since the Great Recession are up 22%, but there are still 5% less jobs than when it started. Can I get a witness? Somebody is getting that money.
Eventually we're all going to have to stand up to the degradation of our wages or else in the end "somebody" is going to get their desired endgame and the rest of us will all end up looking a whole hell of a lot like the poor bastards in Upton Sinclair's The Jungle.
Peace,
emaycee
The most striking takeaway from last Friday's Democratic Presidential Forum with Rachel Maddow was that of the three remaining candidates--Hillary Clinton, Martin O'Malley, and Bernie Sanders--she interviewed, all three came across as legitimately able to be our next President.
And after watching the circus that has been the republican campaign thus far, that's three more than they have out of their fifteen remaining candidates.
While I realize that great music can come from any old place, I have to admit that when I think of such places, Omaha, Nebraska isn't exactly high on the list. It's possible, sure, but....
Fortunately, geography isn't a litmus test for great music--and as such, this week's featured song comes straight from America's breadbasket, right there in the great state of Nebraska, specifically, the city of Omaha, and one Conor Oberst, the (very) young man behind Bright Eyes.
I don't really remember what I was doing when I was thirteen (though it probably had something to do with baseball and the sinking feeling that I wasn't ever going to be any good at that whole girls thing), but I most certainly wasn't releasing my debut album. Conor Oberst was. And he has been at it ever since, in may different incarnations (Desaparecidos, Monsters of Folk, Mystic Valley Band), and at the age of thirty-five has had as full of a career as many acts pack into several decades. He also has the distinction of being one of the few acts to have singles holding the #1 ("Lua") and #2 ("Take It Easy (Love Nothing)" on the Billboard Hot Singles Sales Chart.
Released on the most excellent I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning album, "Lua" ("Lua" is the Portuguese word for moon--most sensible definition I found) is basically Conor Oberst and his acoustic guitar (the guitar remains perfect lightly strummed background noise throughout). The song belies the youthful age (24) of its songwriter--there's a maturity, especially in its resignation, that one doesn't usually see in someone so young. There is no happy ending in "Lua"--both characters have fucked up lives and their lives are still going to be fucked up tomorrow. There's also an honesty in both its portrayal and its truths (the line "you can count on me to split" is a perfect example) that makes it work despite its rather depressing subjects.
The other strength of the song comes in Oberst's vocals, which are figuratively reminiscent of Kris Kristofferson's in "Help Me Make It Through the Night" (with a much similar subject). His voice is full of sorrow but not defeat (yet), and he expresses it with some really amazing pregnant pauses and quirky inflections. Vocally, Oberst is like an actor putting it all out there in a climactic scene--he's baring it all, and whether he succeeds or fails, he's going to do it magnificently.
Needless to say, Oberst succeeds magnificently.
Truer words and all that: "'Cause what is simple in the moonlight by the morning never is...."
There has been much talk today about what Matt Bevin's surprise win in the Kentucky Governor's race yesterday means for Democrats in 2016. And I'm here to tell you what it means: absolutely nothing.
Like most Democrats, I find our inability to turn out voters in odd years and our lack of success in down ballot elections to be deeply disconcerting (though unlike many in the traditional media, I admit that we are hamstrung by some brutal gerrymandering). But yesterday's results in Kentucky do not mean that Democratic turnout in 2016 will be depressed (after our turnouts in 2008 and 2012 as well as having a very formidable candidate in either Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders 2016 is going to be another good year for the good guys). Basically, Jack Conway ran the same race against Bevins that Alison Lundergan Grimes ran against Mitch McConnell in 2014: he disowned Obama and ran as a DINO. And predictably, he got his ass kicked, just like Lundergan Grimes did.
And just what kind of bozo do you have to be to believe that the results in a republican stronghold in the south are going to give pause to voters in blue and purple states? Because I'm pretty certain that voters in California and Ohio are not going to think, "You know, racism and homophobia work for me!" and vote republican in 2016.
If anything, I think it helps Democrats. For one, it is a bit of a wake up call to take nothing for granted. More importantly, though, I think it gives republicans a false sense of confidence heading into 2016 (witness Bevins telling Kentuckians after his victory that Kentucky had a chance to drive the national narrative in 2016--with all due respect to Kentuckians, an insignificant state like Kentucky will never have the chance to drive the national narrative). Democrats are still the overwhelming favorites to retain the White House, have a better than 50/50 chance to take back the Senate, and though it won't be enough, will also help us to improve down ballot.
The republicans held a debate this week that was supposed to be about the economy and instead of a thoughtful discussion of the issues that really matter to the American people (see also, the Democratic Debate) a shitstorm broke out that devolved into blaming the moderators, blaming the media, blaming the Democrats, blatant lying, and constant whining because such lies were subsequently exposed.
And we shouldn't be the slightest bit surprised.
Considering the republicans record versus Democrats concerning job creation, income inequality, tax cuts for the wealthy, Reaganomics, Supply Side Theory, Trickle Down Theory, Depressions, Recessions, standard of living, minimum wage, and any host of others that affects the working men and women of this country, the last fucking thing republicans want to be talking about is the economy.
When your first have kids, one of the many things you think of is all the things you have to teach them (don't run with scissors, look both ways before crossing the street) as well as the many things you want to teach them (baseball, how to make fart noises with your armpit). But what you don't realize is how much they'll teach you--over the past thirty some odd years I've become quite well-versed in sharks, movies, dinosaurs, space, and a host of other topics that if I'd never had kids I'd still know next to nothing about. And as you might expect, my kids have taught me a thing or two about music, too.
My beautiful daughter had a birthday yesterday, and as such we'll be marking that momentous occasion by celebrating my favorite song by her favorite band through her teen years (and a bit beyond): "Wonderwall" by Oasis. Oasis helped turn her into quite the Anglophile for a few years, and if memory serves, she and a friend of hers stood in line outside a Best Buy until after midnight to be among the first to scoop up a copy of (What's the Story) Morning Glory?, the album from which "Wonderwall" originates.
The love for music is in the genes, I tell you....
Anyhoo, Oasis formed in 1991 and on the backs of the brothers Gallagher (Liam--lead vocals, and Noel--guitar and masterful songwriting) became quite the worldwide phenomenon for a number of years. To say that, in their native England, they were as big as The Beatles (a huge influence on the band) would only be a small bit of hyperbole. To this day, virtually any poll in England would have Oasis easily in the top five bands of all time and their albums Definitely Maybe and (What's the Story) Morning Glory? would appear in any top ten. While not quite that popular here in the States, they did enjoy a great deal of success with three top ten albums. Acrimony between the Gallagher brothers led to the band's demise in 2009, but their legacy in Britpop had long been secured by then.
One of the great underrated talents in music is a talent for understatement, and Oasis imbues "Wonderwall" with understatement from beginning to end. From the acoustic guitar that starts it to the violin that slips its way in to the drums at the first break to the piano that slides in at its closing, the song is full of moments of quiet brilliance that take the song from being merely good to being uncommonly great. And the understatement is the perfect companion for Liam Gallagher's vocals, which in a nutshell, are the song's greatest strength. He delivers them with an almost matter of fact delivery that underlies his soul churning admission. And the serenity of the instrumentation just makes the vocals that much more powerful. As the song fades out you're left with a feeling of quiet hopefulness, and know that you've been under the spell of pure pop genius.
Did you know that a "wonderwall" is a barrier between the mundane and Transcendent Reality? And that a true wonderwall has a slit or crack in it that allows one to see what lies beyond the wonderwall? Me either, but telling someone "...after all, you're my wonderwall" sounds a whole hell of a lot cooler now, doesn't it?
Sometime in the spring of 2007, we set out on a family outing, and as we left I grabbed my copy of Wincing the Night Away by The Shins which had been recommended by my oldest son (nailed it!) and which I really hadn't had a chance to listen to in full. We had about an hour drive and I figured it would be a good chance to familiarize myself with the CD. Possibly because we were driving somewhere for the first time and I had to pay attention to the road, the album didn't make much of an impression on the way there. On the way home though, with the Beautiful Girl enjoying a book and the Beautiful Boy fast asleep, "Sleeping Lessons" came on and after listening I thought to myself, "What the hell was that?" And I listened to it again. And again. And again. That night when I went to bed, I literally couldn't wait until morning so I could hear it yet again.
Recurring theme: Such is the power of music,
The Shins formed in 1996, and are basically the brainchild of James Mercer, the lead vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter extraordinaire. Buoyed by the featuring of "New Slang" (another great Shins' song) in the movie Garden State(never saw it), the band developed a strong following and more importantly strong indie rock cred. The Shins have had a a relatively small output--four albums in 19 years--and a couple of different lineups but nevertheless have had a penchant for diverse music. Mercer has described the band as a "pop project" (bonus points!) and it shows--I've often thought they shared a great amount of musical style with a myriad of '60s pop bands.
"Sleeping Lessons" starts out...well, sleepily. It's a contemplative synthesizer overlaid with plaintive vocals from Mercer, but you can feel that the song is percolating, that something vibrant is coming. Truthfully, if the song had continued as such, it would have been a pretty decent little ditty, but at just a little past the two minute mark you're given a brief warning with a snippet of acoustic guitar picking before the song literally EXPLODES! with crashing drums and steam engine power chords from the electric guitars. Mercer's vocals gain an urgency and edginess that weren't on display before and the explosive music doesn't stop, keeps its I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can bravado and even at the fade out you feel like the song is going to--thankfully!--go on forever. "Sleeping Lessons" is one of those songs that make me realize why I never got into drugs: when I wanted to get high, I always had rock and roll. And "Sleeping Lessons" is an incredible high.
And what's not to love about a song that tells you "...You're not obliged/To swallow anything you despise...."
Since five predominately black churches have been set on fire in north St. Louis in the past month, I was just wondering when Ted Cruz, Mike Huckabee, Marco Rubio, Ben Carson, et al were going to begin the rallies decrying the war on Christianity and threat to religious liberty occurring in St. Louis right now.
Jeb! Bush and his handlers this week are trying to claim that George W. Bush "inherited" 9/11 and the recession that began in March of 2001, and that both were actually Bill Clinton's fault.
Funny how that when it comes to food stamps or welfare or unemployment insurance conservatives are always screaming about how the folks who need them should buck up and take personal responsibility for the errors of their ways, but when it comes to republicans taking responsibility for being asleep at the wheel on 9/11 or having habitually bad policies that lead us into economic ruin (tax cuts! tax cuts!) it's always someone else's fault.
It appears the only thing republicans are truly masters of is shoveling horseshit.
So I'm sitting at Midas this morning, waiting for the nice folks there to finish the oil change on my car, when a local morning news show cuts to its entertainment reporter, and the first question she is asked is about the condition of Lamar Odom.
Now I don't want to imply that any life is more worthy than another, but it dawned on me that in the days since Mr. Odom's trauma somewhere a mother or father simply going back and forth to work was killed by an idiot driving drunk, that somewhere else a child was shot to death because some fool left a loaded gun where another toddler could get to it, and none of it registered more than a blip for a day on local news stations. Meanwhile, because a man could shoot a ball through a hoop--a feat for which he was paid millions--we have been inundated in print, radio, television, and the internet with stories about the condition of Mr. Odom after he put himself in a coma by snorting cocaine while taking erectile dysfunction drugs in a whorehouse. Has it occurred to anyone that Mr. Odom was using illegal drugs, that his use supports drug cartels, and that he was a participant in an act that objectifies, demeans, and exploits women? Why on earth is such a man worthy of such an outpouring of concern in the media?
Sometimes, this country is just a little too fucked up.
The average American gets paid just enough so he doesn't quit his job, and works just hard enough so he doesn't get fired.
"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross." Source unknown
Uncle emaycee Wants You For the Coming Class War! Enlist today....
Capitalism: Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you can exploit his labor, become filthy rich, and keep the poor bastard living paycheck to paycheck for the rest of his life.
