Trump sycophant and serial liar Kellyanne Conway went on some really gullible news shows this morning to press the latest bullshit from the Trump administration: that this weekend's murders of eleven people in a Pittsburgh synagogue was caused by the anti-religiousness of late night comedians.
Au contraite, mon frere--I'm pretty sure that if the man accused of killing eleven people because of their faith had been influenced by comedians he would have bopped them over the head with a rubber chicken or thrown a pie in their faces.
And our nation would be a much safer, though a bit sillier, place because of it.
There is a subset of Democratic supporters who are convinced that sharing their hand wringing and the rending of their garments over recent polls that show the midterm elections tightening will drive more people to the polls in fear...but I'm not as convinced as they are. As often as not, it ends up being a self-fulfilling prophecy, and the negativity ends up dragging us down.
Fuck the media--they're not interested in interpreting polls, they're interested in selling newspapers and getting people to watch their news shows. And right now they're cherry picking poll results so they can do just that--they want me to be reading their newspapers over the next two weeks and being up at 11:30 pm watching Rachel Maddow on November 6th worrying over whether or not we'll win back control of the House.
Let me remind you that the last two midterm elections that resulted in waves--2006 and 2010--the media was telling us that the election was tightening in the days before the the actual votes got counted...and both of them ended up being much bigger waves than the polls were showing.
Am I confident we will win? God, no. But I'll wager that the odds we win a solid majority in the House (and I wouldn't rule out the Senate--no one thought we'd take it in 2006 and a few upsets led the way to just that) are much better than that the republicans will retain a slight majority.
There's enough of us who believe our 242 year experiment is worth continuing, and not nearly enough of us who want to turn it over to fascism.
It's easy with the daily onslaught of bad news that's the hallmark of the Trump administration to not see the good that will result as more Americans wake up to the fact that the republican party is not taking the country in a direction a vast majority of Americans favor. One such piece of good news is that Americans are finally waking up to the reality that the Supreme Court is a wholly owned subsidiary of the wealthy--a recent poll showed that more than 75% of Americans no longer had trust in the Supreme Court, and thanks to its barrage of decisions against the best interest of average Americans and in favor of corporate America, its prestige will continue to sink even lower.
Think about that--while many Americans have had their doubts about both houses of Congress and politicians, the Supreme Court has usually remained above the fray. The ramifications of a solid majority of Americans no longer having faith in the institution are endless--somewhere down the line, as is done in many states, can it be possible that the Justices will be elected with term limits? Never underestimate the anger of the powerless.
It is also becoming clearer to many Democrats that the way to advance our agenda is through the state courts, most of which, through being duly elected, can and will be held accountable for their decisions.
Yes, it may take years and we will lose a number of battles along the way, but the prize is to win the war and with changing demographics and the utter madness of today's republican party, that prize is looking much more likely.
Not that we needed it, but today's events--bombs sent to President and Mrs. Obama, Bill and Hillary Clinton, CNN, and Eric Holder--plus yesterdays attempts on George Soros should embolden all of us on the left to do all we can to end the GOP's stranglehold on our government. Make no mistake: this week's acts show the true colors of today's republican party. They've been fomenting this shit for decades now and it was only a matter of time before one of their own became unhinged.
If the FBI is able to find the culprit behind this act of domestic terrorism, despite all of the GOP's bullshit lies today, he or she will be a right wing nut job. Period.
We have less than two weeks until the vote of our lives. So vote like your life depends on it--because it very well may.
If you're familiar with Boz Scaggs, you'll know he has a distinctive vocal style--so much so, that when I was still a young man I spent months trying to imitate it (with some, but not much, success). A couple of weeks back when I realized a Scaggs' tune was coming soon here on FNJ, I thought, "Wouldn't it be fun to see if I can imitate Scaggs' vocals again?"...and promptly coughed up my larynx....
Boz Scaggs learned to play the guitar at the age of 12, and shortly thereafter began a friendship with Steve Miller that would result in the two of them playing music together for a number of years. Scaggs went to college at the University of Wisconsin (where he continued to play with Miller) before bouncing around London and Sweden on his own for a couple of years before releasing his first album in 1965 (dud). He would then relocate to my city by the Bay, where he became the lead vocalist for the Steve Miller Band's first two LP's. Scaggs went solo again in 1968 and released his second album which contains the seminal (and long, at over twelve minutes) song, "Loan Me a Dime." Scaggs continued to release albums steadily and then in 1976 released Silk Degrees, which would go on to sell over 5 million copies and make Scaggs an international star. Scaggs success would continue through the early eighties before the inevitable tapering off that afflicts so many artists set in. In all, Scaggs has released 19 studio LPs (the latest just this year), had two top ten LPs, a top ten single (the incredible "Lowdown"), won a Grammy Award, and co-owns a club in San Francisco as well as owning a vineyard. His son, Austin, is a music critic for Rolling Stone. Not a bad little career at all.
Fun Fact: A classmate of Scaggs at a prep school in Texas began calling him "Bosley" which over time was shortened to "Boz" and thus created his distinctive moniker.
Fun Fact #2: I was quite the Scaggs fan back in the day and wanted to name my oldest son "Boz" in tribute to Mr. Scaggs. Fortunately, my first wife was the brains in the outfit and nixed that idea forthwith...
"Lido Shuffle" was released in 1977 on the aforementioned Silk Degrees LP. It would eventually reach #11 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100 (it would hit #2 in Australia and #5 in Canada--so many cool kids in Australia and Canada, eh...). On a completely unrelated note, I scored a copy of Silk Degrees for a buck a few months back and spent two solid months listening to it on my drives to and from work--had forgotten what a fine piece of work it was.
I think what stands out for me about "Lido Shuffle" is how different it is from most of what Scaggs has released through the years. He's known for smooth pop songs (with elements of jazz and R & B) and lush ballads, but this one is as close to a balls out rocker as he's done. And he manages to do it with little or no guitar (the credits list three guitarists but I'll be damned if I can hear them). It's driven by a rock solid bass line and some pulsating drumming. There's a nice organ solo about midway through that features emaycee fave hand claps...and did I mention it's a song about a small time hood looking for one last big score before he calls it a career? Throughout, Scaggs vocals (as ever) provide the juice to make it electric. All in all, it's a rock tune from the 70's that, like so many others from that decade, stands the test of time.
Lyric Sheet: "He'll be making like a bee line/Headin' for the borderline/Goin' for broke/Sayin' one more hit ought to do it/This joint ain't nothin' to it..."
Donald Trump's best buddy, Vladimir Putin, gave his annual foreign policy speech this past Thursday, and in it he gloated that America's world dominance was declining due to too many mistakes.
Like electing Donald Trump?
On a related note, Putin also bragged about Russia's hypersonic missile system (which CNBC claims we have no defense against) being only months away from actuality...and a mere two days later, Trump vowed in a speech in Nevada to pull out of the INF treaty (it limits the range of missiles, much like Russia's noted above) opening up the arms race again just as Putin's missile system comes to fruition.
Putin must be a hell of a fiddle player--because he's playing Trump like a maestro.
In a last ditch effort to save their pathetic asses, republicans are running on the platform that only they stand between ordinary Americans and a Paid Angry Mob of Liberals (read blacks, Latinos, Muslims, and women)...which would be merely pitiful if it weren't for a recent study that showed almost two-thirds of the terrorist attacks in America are committed by right wing extremists.
Over the last generation, the biggest threat to Americans has been the republican party--from their fealty to the NRA to their union busting to their racism to their misogyny to their war on the poor to their fellating of the rich to their collusion with Russia, there is no group that has done more damage to Americans than the republican party and the pawns who have cast their votes for them.
Frankly, considering everything they have done to us, they should be relieved we're merely screaming in the streets instead of going absolutely medieval on their asses.
This week's tune, once again, brought to you by the letter "R"...
Patti Rothberg has been playing music since she was three, joined her first band (a Rod Stewart cover band--not a bad start) at age 15, and released her first album at the ripe old age of 24. While Rothberg immediately struck me as a poor man's Liz Phair (nothing wrong with that and it sure beats the hell out of being a poor man's Britney Spears), she's still managed to work a 22 year (and still going) career out of her debut effort. Rothberg had a modicum of success with a cover version of Carl Douglas' "Kung Fu Fighting" for the Beverly Hills Ninja soundtrack, and her debut album sold close to a half million copies worldwide. Rothberg has released six albums in her career (the last in 2016) and fifteen singles. She also is a painter--which is probably a not too bad side career for a musician.
"Inside" was released in 1996 on her first album, Between the 1 and the 9. It did not hit the Billboard Hot 100, though it did hit #25 (with an alternative bullet!) on the Alternative chart. In somewhat of an oddity here on FNJ, neither her album nor her single had a listing in Wikipedia. Usually get at least one of the two....
Fun Fact: Mr. Potato Head makes a cameo appearance in the official video for "Inside...."
I discovered this week's tune late one night in 1996 on VH-1 on one of the many evenings back in those days when sleep escaped me. It was love at first listen--as regular readers (both of you) know, I have a fondness for a) female vocalists, b) catchy pop tunes, and c) the sound of acoustic guitars, all of which "Inside" has. Somewhat akin to--though not as powerful as--Rilo Kiley's "A Better Son/Daughter," "Inside" deals with trying to put up a brave front despite the fact that one knows one isn't quite right in the head. But whereas Jenny Lewis of Rilo Kiley sings with a forced bravado, Rothberg seems to almost border on brusqueness, which may or may not be the difference between being raised in L.A. (Lewis) and New York (Rothberg). In any event, Rothberg managed to create two minutes and twenty-three seconds of a good enough single that some old doofus still remembers it with fondness twenty some odd years down the road....
Lyric Sheet: "I've been thinking about my friends/Saying they'll be with me to the bitter end/I don't know how I get that far/When I don't even know who the hell they are..."
Truth be told, I don't keep up much with the minutiae of pop music these days, so I wouldn't really be able to tell you if Kanye West's best days are behind him (a la fellow Trump supporters Ted Nugent and Kid Rock) or if he's still riding a wave of popularity. Either way, one has to wonder exactly what the fuck, from a career standpoint, he's thinking when he throws his support behind Donald Trump. Does he think old white people (swear to God truth: every time I tell someone near my age that one of my hobbies is music, their response is always something along the lines of 'I like music, too, except for that rap shit') are suddenly going to rush out and download his tunes? Or white nationalists? Exactly how does pissing off 60% of your fan base (roughly the percent of people under age 40--presumably Mr. West's core fans--who disapprove of Trump's job performance) translate into more commercial success?
Besides, I thought the job of plantation toadie had already been taken by Ben Carson....
Curious Aside #1: Mr. West said he voted for Trump because he made him feel like more of a man than Hillary Clinton. While it's not a subject I'm familiar with, if Mr.West needs a man to feel like more of a man, don't they have male gigolos for that sort of thing? Certainly seems like it would do a lot less damage to his career.
Curious Aside #2: I don't know which idiot Kardashian Mr. West married, but I did note in one of the pieces on his visit to the Oval Office that they have three daughters together. Wouldn't you just love to be a fly on the wall when Mrs. West explains to their daughters that they can't run for President because it would make Daddy feel like less of a man?
So...two republican volunteers walk into a Democratic campaign headquarters and pretend they're Communists--and, no it's not the opening line to a joke. It actually happened at the offices of Arizona congressman and incumbent Democrat Tom O'Halleran, as perpetrated by two less than intelligent volunteers for congressional wannabe and pathetic republican, Wendy Rogers (which her campaign denied it was a part of--wink, wink, nudge, nudge). It's not particularly hard to do, but if you enjoy watching republicans being made to look like idiots, click on the link and watch O'Halleran's Finance Director Lindsay Coleman return the $39.68 "donation."
You have to wonder about the quality of the students at the University of Northern Arizona (where the two perpetrators are enrolled), considering that they're working a campaign tactic--"Ooh, scary! Communists!"--that no one has much cared about since, oh, the 90's, and is especially weak kneed considering their Fuhrer, Donald Trump, recently walked out of a meeting in Helsinki with noted communist and Russian President Vladimir Putin with Putin's cum stains splattered all over his tie.
Did I mention that they tried to pass themselves off as a Latino and a Muslim? The horror!
Swear to God, considering the stupidity of their supporters, it's a miracle republicans can even get to the fucking polls to vote.
Truth be told, poets do unrequited love much better than musicians--one supposes because poets spend a lot of time dreaming about love and rock and roll stars actually get out there and make it. But every now and again, as with this week's tune, a song comes along that gives Yeats and his Maud Gonne adoration at least a pinch on the cheek....
While I was doing my half-assed research on Linda Ronstadt this week, it became quickly apparent that--much like Elvis Costello--her music resume was amply long enough to make me wonder just what the fuck I've done with the last nearly sixty years of my life. Ronstadt doesn't show up on anyone's radar much anymore (more on why later), but in the 70's she was literally the queen of rock and roll. She was the first woman to have three consecutive platinum albums (which eventually reached eight in a row), sold out arenas around the world, was on the cover of Rolling Stone six times, Time three times, and Newsweek once. And just to keep it interesting, she was also the girlfriend of California governor Jerry Brown (yes, the same Jerry Brown who's currently governor of California yet again). She proceeded to follow that up in the 80's and 90'd with a Tony nomination for her performance in Gilbert and Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance, released three albums of American standards (eat your heart out Rod Stewart), one of which made me a lifelong fan of George and Ira Gershwin's "Someone to Watch Over Me," released an album of Mexican standards, and made an album with country icons Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris. Over the course of her career, Ronstadt has released over thirty albums, sold over 100 million records, won eleven Grammy Awards, and been elected into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She accomplished all of this while remaining fiercely a woman, in a business that was (and still is) exceedingly male dominated. Sadly, Ronstadt retired in 2011 due to health issues; in 2012 she was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease, and in a cruel twist of fate, she said that she "can no longer sing a note."
Fun Fact: In 1971, Ronstadt's backing band for a few months consisted of Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Randy Meisner, and Bernie Leadon--who together would go on to form a little band called The Eagles....
Released in 1970 on Silk Purse, her second solo album, "Long, Long Time" was the second hit of Ronstadt's career (the first, with her original band, The Stone Poneys, was the also excellent "Different Drum"). It would go on to reach #25 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100, and lead to her first Grammy nomination. It was critically acclaimed, as well, and was the foot in the door that lead to Ronstadt becoming one of the biggest stars of her day.
One of the things that helps in enjoying "Long, Long Time" is if you've ever had an unrequited love (moi? nev...okay, a time or two)--Ronstadt and songwriter Gary White do an excellent job of capturing the pathos and the (sometimes) insanity that goes with realizing that someone has never loved you and is never going to love you and yet still continuing to love that person. The song is sparse--the music is just a plucked guitar and some strings (kind of sappy), the lyrics are relatively simple (and kind of sappy), but what makes the song, and keeps it from being just another overwrought ballad are Ronstadt's vocals, which are nothing short of otherworldly. It's not just the timbre, it's also the inflections she uses that comes close to making the vocals acting as singing (if that makes any sense). In short, every now and again a ballad comes along that's a swift kick to the heart, and "Long, Long Time" is one such song.
Lyric Sheet: "Cause I've done everything I know to try and make you mine/And I think I'm gonna love you for a long, long time..."
While today will probably rank third all-time for me in terms of angst, anger, and disgust with the American political system (after 1) Trump winning the election, and 2) Bush defeating Kerry in 2004) in my heart I know this is just one step back before we take two steps forward. The confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh, perjurer and sexual deviant, is the last gasp of white American men. And watching them stumble over their words, lie profusely, and overall embarrass themselves and our nation with their hubris tells me that I am right.
They are not the future of America. We are.
And if that's not enough, remember the words often quoted by (it's actually from Theodore Parker, a 19th century American clergyman) one of history's greatest Americans:
"The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice..."
Never fucking stop believing we will win in the end.
And it's off to my original hometown of San Francisco for this week's tune--who knew there were so many cool kids in San...wait, I do--I'm a cool kid dork from The Bay Area...
Romeo Void was formed in 1979 at the San Francisco Art Institute by lead singer Deborah Iyall and bassist Frank Zincavage. Their first album, It's a Condition, is considered by some to be a post-punk classic (sadly, another in a long line of greatly reviewed albums I've never heard--so much good music, so little time...), and they were compared favorably to Joy Division (can definitely hear it), and Gang of Four (not familiar enough with to know). They would follow that up with an EP produced by Ric Ocasek, which contained this week's featured tune, and their second full length album, which yielded their only top forty hit, "A Girl in Trouble (Is a Temporary Thing)" (not my cup of tea). They would release one more LP before disbanding in 1985, though they have reunited on occasion through the years. Lead singer Iyall went on to become an art teacher, and still dabbles in the odd musical side project, and most of the other band members have continued their musical adventure in one incarnation or another. At the end of my weekly half-assed research, I came to the conclusion that for having only released 3 and 1/2 albums, they sure have garnered a lot of critical music cred and that's not a bad legacy for such a short-lived band.
Released on their cleverly named EP, Never Say Never, in 1981, "Never Say Never" never charted as a single, so once again this week we have no shout outs for Billboard magazine. Interestingly, the video for the song was an MTV staple after its release, and is a spoof of Jean Luc-Godard's classic film Breathless (he says like he's some movie connoisseur though the only French film he's ever seen is Amelie, and that was like eighty years ago). The song was also released on their second album, Benefactor, presumably as a way to boost sales....
While I presume the song is about a one-sided sexual attraction, Iyall's lyrics (she is considered one of the better lyricists of her era) are a bit obscure, so it's really anybody's guess. The song is driven (much like Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart") by the bass line (and what a bass line it is), though the jangly guitar (one piece called it jagged, but I'll stick with my favorite guitar description) certainly gives the song nuance. The creme de la creme, though, is the saxophone, which for a new wave/post-punk band of the early 80's is something of a novelty--and really sets the song apart from so many others of its era. Not to be forgotten are Iyall's vocals which really kind of round the song out with their bluntness and cavalier disgust, which never really borders on anger. As I listened to it closely for the first time in years, I was struck by how much it presaged the Alternative movement that would hit in the next ten years. It's a song of and before its time, and a gem of a tune from my city by the bay.
Lyric Sheet: "Old couple walks by, as ugly as sin/But he's got her and she's got him..."
Seems that Mitch McConnell has written off the House and is trying to save the Senate by motivating white American males to turn out in Democratic held seats in red states by going all in to confirm sexual offender and perjurer Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Perhaps McConnell should ask Todd "Legitimate Rape Doesn't Result In Pregnancy" Akin (crushed by Claire McCaskill in 2012 in red state Missouri) and Richard "Rape Pregnancies Were Intended by God" Mourdock (beaten easily by Joe Donnelly in red state Indiana in 2012) how defending sexual assault works as a strategy in Senate elections.
Or better yet, we can win the Senate this November and McConnell can crawl back into whatever shithole it was his pathetic ass came out of in Kentucky.
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.
