After New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman was rightly crucified for her puff piece on Hope Hicks (rumor has it that Haberman is writing a book about the Trump administration and needs Hicks as a source) and her "existential choice" about complying with a Congressional subpoena (there's nothing existential about a subpoena--you either respond or you break the law), Haberman whined that criticism of her "reporting" was getting personal.
You know what else is personal? Separating parents from their children. Appeasing white nationalism. Racism (especially if you're a person of color). Vilifying the LGBTQ community. Giving huge tax breaks to the wealthy and corporations while wages for working folks continue to stagnate. Authoritarianism. Taking health care away from anyone, but especially those with a pre-existing condition. Denying that climate change exists. Nominating sexual predators for the Supreme Court. Abortion bans.
In the words of Trump's supporters, fuck your feelings. We're trying to save a country here--you can either report the truth or get steamrolled by people working for the common good and not for stroking their own egos.
As regular readers (both of you) know, I am no fan of Joe Biden's candidacy for the Democratic nomination for President, but when the Trump administration this week trotted out lying sack of shit Sarah Huckabee Sanders to tell the American people that Korean despot Kim Jong Un agreed with Donald Trump's assessment that Biden would be a poor national leader, well, it was just a little more than I could stomach.
Kim Jong Un, it is estimated, through executions (100,000), concentration camps (1.5 million), and famine brought about by his administration's draconian economic policies (500,000) has murdered 2.1 million of his people. That the White House spokesperson is citing him to support the President's viewpoint IS NOT FUCKING NORMAL, PEOPLE!
And a big shout out to our national media for reacting to a murderous dictator being used to prop up a flailing Donald Trump as it if were just another day in paradise.
In 1980, WLS-AM out of Chicago began playing a single from an English punk band and upon hearing it I ran to the nearest music store, picked up a copy of their latest LP with a big sticker proclaiming that said single was on it, and took it home for a listen. When I got home I noticed that the track wasn't listed on the back cover, but since the big sticker said it was on the LP, I began methodically listening to each side. Side one...nope. Side two...still nope. Side three...nope, starting to get a wee bit nervous. Side four...down to the last song...and there it was. Little did I know at the time, but the hit single--this week's tune--had been added at the last minute and the cover art had already been completed, so it was added to the last side of the vinyl without a listing.
The Clash (truly one of the greatest band names in the history of rock and roll) formed in London, England in 1976 and like a number of bands featured here on FNJ had a career that is hard to recap in a paragraph. Joe Strummer, Mick Jones, and Paul Simonon began their journey and were joined shortly thereafter by drummer Topper Headon which became the band's classic line-up. Buoyed by the punk movement, The Clash exploded in their native U.K. in 1977 with the release of their debut album. While starting out as a punk band, they eventually branched out embracing not only punk, but rock, ska, jazz, rap, reggae, country and western, and a host of other musical styles. While their career was relatively short, the band appears on numerous best bands of all time lists, and has several albums that are ranked likewise. Exceedingly political, the band made a name for itself as a socially conscious band (at one time they were proclaimed as "the only band that matters"). The Clash released six albums (all six of which were top 20 on the charts in the U.K. including two which reached #2, three made the top thirty thirty in the U.S. with one cracking the top ten), numerous singles (with a top ten in the States, though none so high in the U.K.), and continue the line of bands who have more compilations than studio albums (near as I can tell, including box sets, it's fourteen). They were also known for being an explosive live band. Topper Headon was fired from the band in 1982 for excessive drug use (heroin), and Mick Jones was fired in 1985 for wanting to enjoy a little too much of the good life and by 1986, The Clash were no more. The band members discussed reuniting several times, but Strummer's death in 2002 from congenital heart failure ended any hopes for a reunion. The remaining band members have played together on occasion, mostly for charitable causes through the years. Their legacy, however, will live on.
"Train in Vain" was released in 1980 on The Clash's seminal LP London Calling(one of the best albums ever made, from beginning to end, and on a side note, also one of the best album covers). Surprisingly, the song was not released as a single in their native U.K., but went on to reach #23 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100.
Fun Fact: Though Jones denies it, it's believed the song's title (words which are never sung in the song) refers to how he used to take a train to see his girlfriend who would stand him up repeatedly. He therefore, took the train..in vain.
One of the comments I read while doing my half-assed research for this week's song said that "Train in Vain" sounded the least like The Clash of any song they ever recorded. I'm not so sure about that--much like the Ramones, for a punk band The Clash had excellent pop sensibilities, and those sensibilities really came to the fore in "Train in Vain." Jones sang lead vocals (somewhat of a rarity as he usually only took lead on one song per album) and sings them in such a way as to reflect the protagonists anger and hurt at being betrayed by his lover, without being either vicious or maudlin. Headon's drumming shines throughout, though I forgot how great his lead in to the song was. Jones and Strummer have some great guitar work (the plucking sound from the intro is killer), and the entire band pulls it altogether with their backing vocals. Bonus: we have an emaycee fave--harmonica! It's a nice little solo that somehow manages to capture the spirit of the whole song while it breezes along. I tell you what--I was twenty years old when this song came out and I'll be sixty in a few days, but I'm here to tell you the song sounds even better forty years down the road and I absolutely marveled over the past few days as I listened to it again and again at what a true pop masterpiece it was and still is. A truly great song from a truly great band.
Lyric Sheet: "Now I got a job/But it don't pay/I need new clothes/ I need somewhere to stay/But without all these things I can do/But without your love I won't make it through..."
While Democratic voters are rending their garments trying to figure out who is the best candidate to defeat Donald Trump, maybe in the process we should also take the time to figure out which of our candidates is going to be the best President...because if we recapture the White House whoever takes over will have a mess of immense proportions to clean up and will also have the gargantuan task of rebuilding not only the trust of the American people and our government agencies, but also the trust of the world.
And I can guarantee you if we nominate a candidate who turns out to be a bad or even mediocre President, we're going to be dealing with all of this shit all over again starting in January of 2025.
The republican party--wasting away again in Loseritaville
As Nancy Pelosi has shown at every turn that she is more intelligent and more politically savvy than Donald Trump, right wing groups have taken a video of her appearing at a political conference, slowed it down by 25%, shared it on social media, and are trying to claim it shows Pelosi drunk in order to make the orange shit gibbon appear in a better light.
Seriously? How pathetic are you that your party's leader is so incompetent that you have to make a bad video (even Fox News caught on immediately that it was fake and their staff isn't exactly made up of Ivy League scholars) of a seventy some odd year old woman and try to say she's slurring her words because she had too much to drink in order to make your party's leader look good?
If there's anything that shows the complete and utter impotence of today's right wing, this stunt is it. Here's hoping there's a special place in hell for the lot of them.
I had a hard time coming up with an intro for this week's tune--at first, I thought about noting that I'm 229 songs into Friday Night Jukebox and this is the first Eagles song I've featured even though I've been a fan of theirs since a year or two after I fell in love with rock and roll (and could probably find at least a dozen songs from them that would make a nice post). I also thought about how some songs--and I was reminded of Bob Seger's "Night Moves," probably because the two songs were released within a year or so of each other--musically, instrumentally, vocally, and lyrically come as close to perfection as one could hope for in a pop song. And I thought about mentioning that this week's tune would probably make my all-time top ten.
So I just went with all three.
As with a number of other bands featured here on FNJ, it's a bit hard to fit the Eagles storied career into a synopsis of a paragraph. They formed in 1971 when Glenn Frey and Don Henley met and were kinda/sorta part of Linda Ronstadt's backing band, and were eventually joined by Bernie Leadon and Randy Meisner (Leadon and Meisner would eventually depart, Don Felder would join the band as a fifth member and Joe Walsh replaced Leadon) . The band had a hit album right off the bat, followed it with somewhat of a dud, and then went stratospheric, with their next album cracking the top twenty, and their final four studio LPs reaching #1. The band had a hell of a heyday from 71-80, but success and familiarity eventually bred contempt and they went through an ugly breakup. Against all odds (Henley at one time had said the band would get back together when hell froze over), the band reunited in 1994 for arguably the most successful reunion ever and has been together ever since. The Eagles have sold over 100 million records (all the more impressive when you realize they've only released seven albums in their history), have the number one and the number three best selling albums of all-time, had seven #1 albums and five #1 singles on the Billboard charts, have won six Grammy Awards, and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. Sadly, original member Glenn Frey passed away in 2016 due to a number of health issues, but the band continues apace and is still touring.
Fun Fact: In 1999, the Eagles were honored by the Recording Industry Association of America for having the best selling album (Their Greatest Hits, 1971-1975) of the century. Really kind of makes those weekly best selling music lists pale in comparison....
"Hotel California" was released in 1977 on the oh-so-aptly titled LP, Hotel California. The single would reach #1 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100 and win a Grammy Award for Record of the Year (Single). The album would eventually become the third best selling album of all-time.
To be perfectly honest, I could write a recap paragraph of "Hotel California" based just on the over two minute guitar solo that closes the song (at six and a half minutes, "Hotel California" is a bit longer than your average number one single). The guitar play between Don Felder (who wrote the music) and Joe Walsh is, in my humble opinion, the greatest guitar solo in the history of rock and roll, and fulfills what Jimi Hendrix once claimed about rock and roll: that it was about the filling the holes in the elbows and the knees. Throw in the foreboding lyrics (idea from Glenn Frey, actual words by Don Henley), Henley's knowing vocals, its theme of a journey from innocence to experience (Henley's take on the song), and its melody that has been described as "Mexican Reggae" and you have a glorious journey into the heart of American decadence. In the end, it is a masterpiece of American rock and roll, and a stunning representation of the boundaries of pop music being pushed to their absolute edges.
Lyric Sheet: "And still those voices are calling from far away/Wake you up in the middle of the night/Just to hear them say...Welcome to the Hotel California..."
While Democrats Come to Jesus efforts to better their standing in down ballot elections has been a welcome development, in lieu of Alabama and Missouri's recent bans on abortion it's important to note that having a Democrat in the Executive Office is pretty damn important, too. Thanks to gerrymandering, republicans control the state legislatures in Wisconsin and Michigan, and in both states republicans are racing to enact their very own versions of forcing their state's residents to give birth against their will...and in both states such legislation will be quickly shot down as Democratic Governors Tony Evers and Gretchen Whitmer ain't having it.
It's called Veto Power, Baby...and until we can fix the mess republicans have made of our voting districts, it's going to be vital to keep from returning America to the 1800's.
With former White House attorney Dan McGahn's refusal yesterday to honor the subpoena issued by House Democrats, the time has come to quit fiddle-farting around and begin impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump. It doesn't matter if it's politically expedient, and frankly we don't have time for months of hearings to build the case.
Trump and the republican party are shredding the U.S. Constitution's system of checks and balances between the branches of government, which has served us well for over two hundred years, right before our eyes. It's time to stand up for what's right or be prepared to lie in the muck of What Could Have Been History.
This is no longer a reality show called The Man Who Would Be King--it's an existential fight for our Democracy and the future of our nation.
Another tune introduced to me by my darling daughter...as I sink farther and farther into the "How Many Weeks Can I Fall Behind on Friday Night Jukebox?" abyss...
Catatonia formed in Wales (which may be an FNJ first, but after two hundred and twenty some odd tunes I honestly can't remember if there's another band in here from Wales) in 1992, when lead singer Cerys (definitely the first time FNJ has had a band member with the first name Cerys) Matthews met Mark Roberts and the pair began both a romantic relationship and writing songs together. They had a nice run of success in the U.K. from 1998-2001, accumulating two number one LPs, and six singles that cracked the top twenty on the U.K. Charts (the band had very little commercial success outside of their homeland). Unfortunately, Matthews and Roberts relationship didn't last, Matthews had quite a problem with alcohol, and after she went into rehab in 2001 the band was disbanded and as of yet hasn't gotten back together for the obligatory golden oldies reunion. Fortunately, Matthews did not fall into the Amy Winehouse Chasm and has recovered enough to A) Still be alive, and B) Release several solo albums. Roberts has became a radio personality, and the rest of the band is making music for a living which has always seemed to me to be a pretty good gig. In all, Catatonia released four albums, 18 singles, and like Squeeze last week has more compilation albums (six) than studio albums.
Fun Fact: Though it wasn't true, the band's bio claimed that Roberts and Matthews met while busking, which before I read their Wikipedia entry, I had no idea what it was. Busking is playing music on the streets for the change thrown in a hat or, better yet, a guitar case. Oh the things you learn while researching for Friday Night Jukebox!
"Mulder and Scully" was released as a single in 1998 from Catatonia's album International Velvet. The song would become their highest charting single in the U.K., peaking at #3, and the album was one of their two number ones in the U.K.
A little known yet completely uninteresting fact about emaycee is that he is a huge fan of The X-Files, having seen every episode of the original series, all of both reboot episodes, and both movies. Sadly, "Mulder and Scully" has very little to do with The X-Files...but that doesn't mean it's still not a great pop tune. The song's protagonist is falling in love and experiencing both the exhilaration and terror of it, and believes the dichotomy is a question for Mulder and Scully. In listening to it over the past couple of days, it struck me that a key reason for the song's success is Matthews' vocals, which captures both the joy and pain, as well as being somewhat unique, kind of a cross between Cyndi Lauper and Melissa Etheridge. There's some nice understated slashing guitar work, pulsating drumming, a catchy as all hell melody, and a dreamlike instrumental coda that actually gets better the more I hear it. Catatonia is considered an indie/alternative band, but I think this one certainly owes a nod to eighties new wave. All in all, another one of those little magical moments that bands create that has given me so much joy since I started falling in love with pop music as a dorky fifteen-year-old listening to Top 40 radio.
Lyric Sheet: "Things are getting strange, I'm starting to worry/This could be a case for Mulder and Scully..."
While it's still early, polls are beginning to show that the race for the Democratic Presidential nominee in 2020 is Joe Biden's to lose. Biden for his part is pretending he's Barack Obama (he's not) and proclaiming that if Trump is defeated, he can get republicans to work with Democrats again (maybe in an alternate universe, but not the one in which we live). He's also pushing moderation, which is basically the game plan which helped elect Donald Trump.
Look we have a President in office with unprecedentedly bad approval numbers, literally 57% of Americans claiming they won't vote for Trump (which doesn't mean they'll vote for a Democrat...unless we give them a reason to), and we want to elect a man with the baggage of the Anita Hill hearing, the baggage of being in Big Bank's pockets, suffering from a lifelong case of foot in mouth disease, and one who has already run two disastrous campaigns attempting to win the Democratic nomination?
Fucking seriously?
We have a chance to elect a momentum changing candidate who can do worlds of good for ordinary Americans, running against quite possibly the worse President in our history, and we want to nominate a warm cup of spit when we have several espressos to counteract him?
Thanks but no fucking thanks. We can--and we must--do better.
I'll be the first to admit I'm not a fan of Cory Booker (Corporatist Dem, has advocated for charter schools), and I've thought since there were just rumors that he'd get in the race for the Democratic nomination that he had an exceedingly small chance of getting it (and the numbers so far back it up), but to have him go on ABC News today and say that Elizabeth Warren's ideas for breaking up High Tech monopolies sounds like Donald Trump is so beyond the pale that frankly I just can't let it pass.
In fairness, Booker immediately said he wasn't comparing Warren to Trump...but fuck that, we all know that the media runs with bullshit statements like that without giving the proper context and Booker is fully aware of it. While it's all well and good that most Democratic candidates have pledged not to say bad things about one another and support the eventual nominee (except for our "savior" Joe Biden), let's face it, we have a handful of shitty candidates running for the nomination and there is nothing wrong with pointing out that they are shitty candidates.
Cory Booker is a shitty candidate.
He will do nothing to alleviate the plights of average Americans, will do nothing to stem Corporate America run amok, won't take on Wall Street, won't help our schools, and won't make America better off in the long run. He'll spend his time spit shining the ass of every corporation in America and if we're lucky we'll get free doughnuts on Fridays for his efforts. Thanks, but no fucking thanks.
Elizabeth Warren is an expert on corporate malfeasance and will run circles around Cory Booker in protecting Americans from their con games, as well as insuring a more level playing field for average Americans.
Meanwhile, if Booker is lucky maybe someday he'll get hired by some Can't We All Get Along think tank and he can go on yakety-yakking about how Corporate America isn't the enemy to the three people left in America who actually believe that bullshit.
It's easy, I know, after a little more than two years of one outrageous Trump stunt or remark after one outrageous stunt or remark to roll your eyes and move on. Frankly, it takes me about thirty seconds to get through what used to be one of my favorite blogs, Digby's Hullabaloo, because anymore it's one long "Look at what Donald Trump did!" rant after another and after a while it gets tiresome.
But really, I should be celebrating what Digby is doing because she's one of the many people stepping forward to save our democracy.
Last night at a rally in Florida, Donald Trump asked his deplorable supporters what can be done about immigration, and one of his supporters responded deplorably, shouting "Shoot them!" Which, unsurprisingly, was met with cheers and laughter.
As horrible of a President as George W. Bush was, he never would have let this remark pass. Nor would have his father, or the most damaging President in my lifetime, Ronald Reagan, or weak kneed Gerald Ford, or disgraced Richard Nixon. They would have said that's not America and quickly rebuked the remark.
Not Donald Trump. He basically said how they could get away with this in the Florida Panhandle, but not anywhere else. Then he swayed a bit and moved on with his speech.
Ladies and gentleman, this is not fucking normal. This is not American, nor will it make America great again. It is hate, pure and simple, and by failing to rebut it, Donald Trump tacitly endorsed it.
Think about that: the President of the United States implied it was acceptable to murder immigrants.
We basically have 18 months to rage against the dying of our Democracy and present a better path forward that will garner enough support to end Donald Trump's "Presidency."
In the late 70's/early 80's there were a slew of bands coming out of the British Isles (Police, U2, the Jam, Dire Straits, The Clash, to name a few) who were either debuting their talents or hitting their stride artistically--most of whom I discovered during that time and most of whom I still listen to today. This week's band was another I found during this time period, and while they didn't quite have the commercial success or eventually a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction on their resume, they were still a hell of a band, especially for those of us who love songs with a solid pop music bent.
Squeeze formed in London in 1974 when Chris Difford put an advertisement in a candy shop window for a guitarist for his band that didn't exist, and Glenn Tilbrook was the only one to respond. The pair began writing songs together, soon picked up keyboardist Jools Holland and drummer Paul Gunn, and in 1978 released their first LP. The band quickly became known for its catchy pop tunes (Tilbrook) and whimsical lyrics (Difford). Through the years, Squeeze has released 15 albums, fourteen of which charted in their native U.K. and seven which hit the Billboard charts here in America. The band has gone on hiatus several times through the years, but are together now and released their latest LP in 2017. They've had ten singles hit the top 40 in England (including two which hit #2), but only two here in the States. Oddly enough, the band has released almost as many compilation albums--14--as they have studio albums. I've always felt they were a very underrated outfit, but as regular readers know (both of you) emaycee is a big fan of the top of the pops and Squeeze could write and compose pop tunes with the best of them.
Released in 1981 on their albumEast Side Story(one of the best albums of the 80's and one which stands the test of time and sounds as good today as it did in 1981), "Tempted" would go on to reach #49 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100, and #41 on the U.K. charts. Oddly enough, as "Tempted" is arguably their best and best-known song, it failed to crack the top 40 in any country.
Fun Fact: Squeeze took its name from the Velvet Underground's album entitled, surprisingly enough, Squeeze. The naming was mostly tongue-in-cheek, as Squeeze contained none of the original members from the Velvet Underground, and is widely considered to be an awful recording.
Difford and Tilbrook have been called the heirs to Lennon and McCartney, and while that may be a bit of hyperbole (besides because of their attention to quirky details and anglocentric references they're a lot closer to Ray Davies), but with "Tempted" they come pretty close. Difford zeroes in on the day to day minutiae reminding an unfaithful lover of the woman he cheated on, while Tilbrook provides a foreboding groove that captures his mood. Vocals are provided by Paul Carrack, whom pop music aficionados may know from the one-hit wonder band Ace, which had a #3 hit here in America in 1975 with "How Long," in which Carrack also sang lead. Carrack's vocals steal the show--he does blue-eyed soul very well--though he's given an assist by Tilbrook and East Side Story producer Elvis Costello. The band does some nice "woo-oo-oohs" in the background, Carrack's keyboards are the tune's mainstay, and Paul Gunn's drumming is a lot more prominent--and electric--than I remembered. All in all, it's just another in a (sarcasm alert) long line of songs about cheating bastards who realize their cheating garnered them nothing more than an empty bed. "Tempted" is smart pop for people who like smart music and is a very fine addition to the plethora of tunes that have graced Friday Night Jukebox. Lyric Sheet: "I'm at the car park, the airport/The baggage carousel/The people keep on crowding/I'm wishing I was well..."
Since Donald Trump is claiming he should get an extra two years in office because of the Mueller investigation, which actually proved him guilty of both colluding with Russia and obstructing justice, does this mean that Bill Clinton should get an extra four years in office after the Whitewater investigation proved nothing more than that he had a misguided affair with a White House intern?
Just wondering, because those of us who aren't wealthy could sure use a comeback of the Clinton economy which did a whole hell of a lot more for us regular folk than the "Trump" economy...
First it was Michael Cohen suggesting that should Trump lose in 2020 that he may not go gentle in that good night, and now Nancy Pelosi has made it known that Democrats are making a plan of action should Trump lose a close election and refuse to leave office.
Can we just take a step back and admit how unbelievably fucked up this is? I mean for all the talk about how unhinged the recent republican party has become, it's a party that's been sliding off the rails since probably the 70's (and definitely by the 80's with the Reagan devolution), yet not one of their candidates since that time ever even so much as hinted as to not accepting the voters' will. And our ever incompetent national media seems to think this is just so much bluster...though coming from the man who separated children from their parents and in all likelihood colluded with a known enemy of the United States, you'd think they'd have learned by now.
One thing's for sure--should it come to pass we on the left had better be ready with actions a lot bolder than marching in the streets or we'll risk losing our democracy forever.
Apparently there's a lot of rich folk seeking handouts...
The state of New Jersey under Democratic Governor Phil Murphy has created a task force to study corporate tax breaks...which has found--surprise, surprise!--that corporate tax breaks result in lots of our taxpayer dollars being given to corporations with very little in return for the public good.
In the maelstrom that is the Trump administration, it's easy to lose sight of the fact that not all issues resonate at the national level, and that a lot of good work is being done by Democrats at the state and local levels to make this nation a better place for us all.
It would do us all well to remember come November of 2020 that Donald Trump is not the only corrupt idol that needs to be felled--a lot of victories in local elections can lead to a lot of victories for those of us who don't have both hands stuffed in taxpayer filled cookie jars.
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.
