Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCXXXIV--Kula Shaker: Tattva

Not sure what it is about Great Britain of late, but this will be the fifth straight FNJ that features a band from across the pond, as they say.  It's also a week late because...life.

Kula Shaker had its beginnings in 1988 and had several incarnations with several different names before finally becoming the band that would have some success in the late nineties.  Led by frontman Cripian Mills (grandfather John Mills and mother Hayley Mills were actors/actresses of some note), the band became known for its psychedelic rock and being heavily influenced by Indian mysticism and spirituality.  They had a good deal of success in their native U.K. from 1995-1999 at which time they split--they reunited in 2004 and have been together ever since for the occasional LP release and golden oldies tours.  Over the course of their career, Kula Shaker released five albums with two going top ten in the U.K., and released 18 singles with five reaching the top ten.  For whatever reason (U.S. pop radio and record labels suck?), the band had virtually no commercial success in America, but that hasn't stopped them from having a 30+ year run of making music for a living.  Beats the hell out of the grocery business!

Fun Fact:  Kula Shaker is named for King Kulashekhara, one of the twelve Alvars (saints) of south India.  The band chose the name because a) Crispian Mills has much interest in Indian culture, and b) invoking the King's name is thought to be auspicious and the band needed a lucky break to get their career going.  I'd say it turned out to be quite auspicious....

"Tattva" was released in 1996 on their album entitled K (that's it--just the letter K).  The single would reach #4 on the U.K. charts (it had some AOR play in the States but nothing else), and the album would reach #1 (it topped out as low as it possibly could have on the Billboard 200, reaching exactly #200).  That a song such as "Tattva" reached #4 is proof positive that there are so many cool kids in the U.K....

We have another first here on FNJ in that the chorus for "Tattva" is in Sanskrit:  "Acintya bheda abheda Tattva," which translate roughly as "Truth, Mystery, difference non-difference, Truth."  Alrighty then....  Needless to say, we're not dealing with your average top 40 love song this week (and it makes singing along to the chorus a bit difficult unless you're fluent in Sanskrit).  Still, the chorus is actually quite catchy and in between the intonations there are some very nice psychedelic rock verses, some solid guitar work, and an overall vibe that can best be described as otherworldly.  Also of note is that a song such as this could easily veer off into Novelty Song territory, but the band manages to keep it from that path with its no nonsense playing and Mills straightforward vocals.  While spiritual enlightenment may not be everybody's cup of tea in a pop song, "Tattva" definitely makes a case for repeated listens and would be a fine addition to the Quirky Song Hall of Fame (if such a Hall existed). 

Lyric Sheet:  "For you will be tomorrow/Like you have been today/If this was never ending'What more can you say?"

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Going, going, gone?

Thankfully, people have the power because journalism is no help at all

While much has been made of Donald Trump's lies (and what a surprise that was) while he was being interviewed by NBC's Chuck Todd on Meet the Press this past weekend, not nearly enough has been made about Todd's facile response to said lies and his simplistic follow-up questions.  Todd's performance was nothing less than embarrassing.

In fairness, I've always thought Chuck Todd was to journalism what raw liver is to a chocolate sundae, but still you'd think a journalist with national presence could manage to do a little better than to cower before an impotent leader and mail his performance in.

Pitiful.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

No more to build on there

The above photo is a picture of Oscar Ramirez, 25, and his twenty-three-month old daughter, Valeria.  They drowned while trying to cross the Rio Grande around Matamoros, Mexico, after being turned away at the U. S. Consulate where they had sought asylum.  Ramirez and his wife had left El Salvador in search of a chance to make enough money to buy a house.

If ever there was a photograph that depicted the cruelty and racism that is Donald Trump, this is it.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Ad nauseous, ad nauseum

It doesn't have to be this bad to be completely unacceptable

From the Nero Fiddled While Rome Burned Files:

While children--children--are being left in cages without adult supervision, sleeping on cold floors, without being able to bathe, and going hungry, the Trump administration is arguing that they shouldn't have to provide the children with soap and toothpaste.  Note that the Geneva convention requires nations to provide such to prisoners of war, who are in actuality captives who were shooting at their captors, but Donald Trump is arguing that we shouldn't have to provide such to children whose parents have come here merely to seek a better  and safer life for themselves and their children.

And republicans want to excoriate Alexandria Occasio-Cortez for calling these prisons for what they are:  CONCENTRATION CAMPS.

With each passing day it seems we are coming this close--holding thumb and index finger a quarter inch apart--to completely coming off the rails as a country where freedom and justice mean so much to so many...and well on our way to becoming a nation where freedom and justice only apply to the white and the wealthy.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Ad nauseous

And our national media, too

The fact that news of another credible sexual assault by Donald Trump was met with a collective yawn by our national media only continues to underscore the complete lack of courage that is endemic to our national media's coverage of Donald Trump.  The man is a pig and a threat to everything this country has ever stood for but the media treats Trump as if he is exemplar of every politician in America.

He is not.

Should this country not survive intact the Trump administration, history will not be kind to our media, nor should it be.  At a time when intestinal fortitude was called for, they chose to shit the bed instead.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Sit down and shut the fuck up

Pretty much says it all for me

Mark Cuban decided he hasn't made enough idiotic remarks in his lifetime so he went on some lame-ass interview program and proclaimed that Elizabeth Warren, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Bernie Sanders would feel much differently about wealth distribution if they had been as successful as he has in the business world, all the while belittling their business acumen.

No, no they wouldn't.  Warren, Ocasio-Cortez, and Sanders have all shown again and again that, unlike Mark Cuban, they actually give a shit about their fellow Americans.  And also unlike Cuban, they built their political careers on fighting for average Americans and were elected for their policies in favor of average Americans (unlike Cuban who, should he decide on a political career, would be elected much like Donald Trump was because he can buy his election).

While Cuban did note that income inequality is a problem and needs to be dealt with, he offered zero in the way of ideas as to how to combat it.  What a surprise from the man whose response to sexual harassment within the Dallas Mavericks (Cuban owns the team) organization was to bury his head in the sand.

Frankly, after sixty years on this planet I've pretty much had it with rich assholes telling me how the world should be...especially when it completely revolves around their greed.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Hey brother, can you spare a dime?

Pretty much what republicans think your labor is worth

Media outlets have made note this week that Congress has now gone the longest it has since Minimum Wage laws were first enacted in 1938 without increasing the Minimum Wage.  I bet to differ--it is not Congress but rather republicans who have proudly kept Americans from earning more for the fruits of their labor.

Because I can goddamn guarantee that had Democrats controlled both houses while Barack Obama was President it would have been raised by now.

How anyone can vote for a candidate who thinks $7.25 an hour is an acceptable wage is beyond me.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Un-fucking-believable

Sadly, the current Presidential Administration is this cartoonish

Every time I have become certain that I can no longer be shocked by the utter buffoonery that is the Donald Trump administration, a new story comes along that proves me wrong.

A story this week from The New York Times that the United States has infiltrated the Russian electrical grid with software that could disable it should the need arise (note that this is nothing new as Russia, China, and other advanced nations have been doing the same with regard to actual and potential enemies), but have not notified Donald Trump for fear that he would either end it or notify Russia of its details.

Why every newspaper and Democratic politician in the United States isn't calling for Trump's immediate removal from office for gross dereliction of duty will be a mystery for the ages.  With each passing day it becomes a certainty that the safest place for Donald Trump to best protect the United States of America is in prison.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCXXXIII--The Beatles: I Will

It's a bit hard to believe that 232 posts into Friday Night Jukebox and I'm just getting to the first tune featuring arguably the greatest band in the history of rock and roll...but that's one of the problems when a band has so many good songs.  Too hard to choose just one.  Which is probably why I went with one of their lesser known songs, but one that has all the pop sensibilities that emaycee so deeply loves....

Yeah, I'm going to recap The Beatles relatively short, often tumultuous, and yet hugely consequential career in a paragraph--name one other band where you can reel off the band members' first names (John, Paul, George, and Ringo) and everyone knows who you're talking about.  So I'll just recite a number of fun facts.  The Beatles have sold over 800 million records and are the all-time best selling music artist in history (this means that approximately one out of every ten people on the entire planet has bought a Beatles record).  Their twenty #1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 is still a record, and they still have more #1 albums in the U.K. (15) than any other artist.  They won seven Grammy Awards and an Academy Award.  They had five albums in the top 14 of Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest LP's of all time (Dylan had two and no other artist managed more than one in the first fourteen), and were listed as one of Time magazine's most influential people of the twentieth century.  Not only was the band inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but through the years each individual member has been selected as well.  Of their thirteen core studio albums (some had different titles and song selections in the U.S.), eleven went to number one in the U.K. and twelve went to number one in the U.S.  Whew...and that's just barely scratching the surface.

"I Will" was released on their album The Beatles (usually called "The White Album" for its stark white cover) in 1968.  It was not released as a single, as none of the songs on the album were released as singles (though many received much airplay on album oriented radio stations).  Surprisingly enough, The White Album was not well-received critically when it was first released, though as time passed more came to consider it as one of their best (it was #10 on the Rolling Stone list noted above).

One minute, forty-six seconds.  That's how long "I Will" lasts, and Paul McCartney is still able to pack a whole lot of punches into such a short piece.  There are few people in pop music who can create a melody better than Paul McCartney once could, and there aren't many who can sing so sweetly, either--and he does both to perfection in this little ditty.  Though I've never been able to figure out if the song is written for a lover or only one hoped for, it's still a nice jaunt down Pop Music Lane.  McCartney has a boucy little guitar jangle, the drums complement both the vocals and the melody exquisitely (and are played  by John Lennon), and Ringo Starr puts the cherry on top with his bongo playing.  You might also hear a hint of bass guitar--guess again!  McCartney actually does that with his voice--a man of too many talents.  It took McCartney 67 takes to get the song the way he wanted it, and his finished product is a piece of pop heaven from one of the greatest bands to ever grace our world.

Lyric Sheet:  "And when at last I find you/Your song will fill the air/Sing it loud so I can hear you/Make it easy to be near you..."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

The best news of the week

History will show he was worse for America than Trump

Seems human wet fart Mitch McConnell and his wife, "Transportation Secretary" Elaine Chao may be in a wee bit of trouble as Ms. Chao has set up a liaison in the department to help steer road projects to their home state of Kentucky and tried to get her family (and therefore their shipping business) involved in a recent trip to China to line the Chao family pockets even further.  An investigation from the House is likely coming.

Couldn't happen to a nicer couple.

And it makes it even more disgusting to watch them be Trump's toadies knowing that Yertle and the Turtle Queen are licking the gravy that is taxpayer dollars from their plates to enrich themselves even more.

Pathetic.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Your life is now

It's time for Madame Speaker to lead

There's a sculpture of a fist in downtown Detroit, and it commemorates Detroit native and all-time great boxer Joe Louis beating Germany's Max Schmeling in their second meeting.  Louis lost their first fight on a twelfth round knockout, and Adolph Hitler and the rest of Nazi Germany used it as a boast of the superiority of the white race...until Louis decimated Schmeling in the rematch with a tremendous first round knockout, and became one of America's first African-American heroes.  It is said that the fist points toward Canada because it is a symbol of America fighting for Democracy outside its borders.

I note this because Donald Trump said this week that he would welcome a foreign adversary's help again in 2020 and would feel no obligation to report such aid to the FBI.  While Trump kinda/sorta walked his statements back later in the week, he had all the sincerity of a man dealing three card monte.  One would suppose that this would be enough for Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to say enough is enough and open impeachment hearings as Trump stated he would be happy to cheat again in order to win another four years in office.  Nope--Pelosi still thinks slow and steady will win the race, except for the fact that all of her and her leadership team's political calculations will fall to rot if Trump happily cheats his way to a second term.

Seventy-five years ago America gave all it had to save Democracy for the world.  It is time for Nancy Pelosi to do the same.

History will not be kind if she does not.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

The tenth circle

America should be ashamed

Thirty-six year old Arizona geographer Scott Warren was arrested eighteen months ago and accused of charges by the U.S. government that could net him twenty years in prison for...giving food and water to immigrants crossing the Sonora desert.  He was charged with felony harboring and one count of conspiracy.

His trial ended with a hung jury this week, with eight jurors voting to acquit and four (keep in mind this is 33% or roughly Trump's deplorable base of support) voting Warren guilty of...giving food and water to people that were hungry and thirsty.  My guess is each of the four who voted him guilty would consider themselves good Christians.  As if.

Warren can still be retried.

It's really hard these days to have a lot of hope for America's future with people such as the four who voted guilty having such an out-sized influence on our body politic, and having their prized idiot, Donald Trump, leading our country.

Still, it's one more reason to campaign like hell against republicans, and another to hope that if there is a hell, there's a special place for such cruel assholes as these to suffer for eternity.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

I am woman, hear me roar

Governor Gretchen making us proud

At an event yesterday commemorating the 100 year anniversary of women winning the right to vote in our elections via the 19th Amendment, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer was asked if she thought "angry women" would decide the 2020 elections.

To which Governor Gretchen responded that she thought "smart women" would decide the 2020 elections.

Smart, indeed.

It is so, so sweet to have a Democrat in the Governor's Mansion here in Michigan...

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

In which I play devil's advocate

His picture is next to "inspirational" in the dictionary

Quinnipiac released a poll yesterday showing virtually every Democrat beating Donald Trump in 2020, which, after watching polls for well over forty years now I take with a grain of salt.  Yes, I'd rather be in our position than theirs, but trust me, unless the economy collapses (in which case Trump is dead meat) it will tighten considerably in the next 17 months.

So I found it interesting that Markos Moulitas from The Daily Kos noted that since all of our candidates can beat Trump, we should feel free to vote for who we think would be the best candidate and not who is most likely to defeat Trump.  Yesterday, Digby posted that while voting for a candidate who can beat Trump is fine, it would be a great "insurance policy" in having a candidate that fires up the base.

While I don't disagree with either of them, I do think it's more than just choosing a candidate we like or an insurance policy--frankly, I believe it's utterly vital that we elect a candidate who will inspire the base because truthfully, Donald Trump or no, while people may very well vote for the Democratic nominee, we also need people to donate to, knock on doors for, volunteer for campaigns, and talk to their undecided friends and colleagues about our candidate and "He/She can beat Donald Trump" isn't nearly as inspiring as a candidate who shares the Democratic vision for America that so many of us aspire to.

And this is why I'll keep beating the drum against Joe Biden.  Because we all knew full well--even if it was a longshot--that Donald Trump could beat Hillary Clinton in 2020 (it's an election for Christ's sake) but still there were plenty of Democrats who stayed home and plenty who voted third party.  I've seen far too many uninspiring Democrats (Jimmy Carter in 1980, Walter Mondale, Michael Dukakis, Al Gore, John Kerry) lead us to defeat and we cannot allow that to happen in 2020.  Donald Trump must be stopped.

Give us a candidate to believe in and we'll show up.  If not, it's going to be a roll of the dice.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCXXXII--Rod Stewart: Every Picture Tells a Story (Album)

It's my birthday week (hit the big six oh this year) so we have our yearly installment of "It's My Birthday So I'll Review an Album If I Want To..."

This year Rod Stewart's album Every Picture Tells a Story is the feature LP.  As these album posts tend to run a wee bit long, we'll dispense with the obligatory stolen from Wikipedia bio, and just note a few facts about the album.  In addition to having one of the truly great album titles and being one of my five favorites LP's of all-time, Every Picture Tells a Story was a number one hit for Stewart both in his native U.K. and here in the U.S. of A.  It finished a surprisingly weak #172 in Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All-Time (I wondered at the time if its relatively low rank--in Rolling Stone's ten year anniversary issue the album showed up on more of their critics' best of lists than just about any other music of their first ten years save the Velvet Underground's "Heroin"--was because in the late 70's Rod the Mod decided he'd rather make money than art), but is generally considered one of the best albums of the 1970's.  Finally, as Stewart was still singing with the Faces at the time, it includes a heaping helping of their musicianship (especially Ronnie Wood on guitar and Ian McLagan on keyboards/piano).

And away we go...

"Every Picture Tells a Story":  Thanks to Micky Waller's explosive drumming this one is literally a detonation of an opening.  The story of the young Stewart traveling around Europe and trying to find himself (and coming to understand that he'd already found himself at home) is easily the best song Stewart ever did and easily one of the ten best rock and roll songs of all-time.  A masterpiece on the insecurities and the beauty of youth.  Favorite line:  "I couldn't quote you no Dickens, Shelley, or Keats/'Cause it's all been said before/Make the best out of the bad just laugh it off/You didn't have to come here anyway..."

"Seems Like a Long Time":  Stewart and a piano (with some fine backing vocals from Madeleine Bell and friends) in this introspective turn on how slowly time churns as we wait for deliverance from both the personal and the worldly.  Gospelesque at times and really showcases what a magnificent voice Stewart has been blessed with.  Favorite line:  "War time is only the other side of peace time/But if you've ever seen how wars are won/You know what it's like to wish peace time would come..."

"That's All Right"/"Amazing Grace":  Song 1:  In which Stewart gets to show off this blues chops in an old blues standard by Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup, and the band gets to show off its chops in several different incarnations (another shout out for Waller).  Mostly just a lot of fun.  Song 2:  All I'll say is that when I was in the grips of depression in the nineties, I awoke one morning to this song on the alarm radio and though I'm not a religious man, it gave me a moment's peace at a time when such moments were few and far between.  Song 1 Favorite line:  "I'll be leaving here tomorrow/Leaving here for sure/You ain't gotta be bothered with me/Hangin' round your door..."  Song 2 Favorite line:  No need--you already know the words.

"Tomorrow Is a Long Time":  Stewart covers an unreleased Dylan tune (Dylan would record it himself some years later for his Greatest Hits II) that sure sounds like it should have come from his Nashville Skyline sessions.  Much like "Seems Like a Long Time" this one tells us the waiting is the hardest part (seems I've heard that before...).  A ballad with lots of strings, a quiet portrait of a man recalling the beauty of his missing lover and his pain of being without her.  Favorite line:  "I can't see my reflection in the mirror/I can't speak the sounds that show no pain/I can't hear the echoes of my footsteps/Or remember the sound of my own name..."

"Maggie May":  The song that made Stewart a star--and rightfully so.  A #1 hit here and in the U.K., it's smart pop for the masses as Stewart spins the tale of a young man in love with an older woman who's making a fool of him, but he just can't leave her even though he knows he should.  Great drumming again from Waller, great guitar from Wood, stunning mandolin work from Lindsay Jackson, and an impassioned performance from Stewart.  Little known fact:  there's an instrumental intro to the song called "Henry" that in some versions is treated as an intro and in others as a separate (though at 32 seconds, very short) song.  Favorite line:  "I suppose I could collect my books and get on back to school/Or steal my Daddy's cue and make a living out of playing pool/ Or find myself a rock and roll band that needs a helpin' hand..."

"Mandolin Wind":  Considered by some (though not me) to be the best song on the album, Stewart weaves the tale of a prairie couple surviving the full force of nature and of the man's love for his wife for standing by him through thick and thin.  Amazingly enough, the song contains some mandolin playing (though who it was remains something of a mystery), and some more nice guitar work from Wood.  An understated vocal performance from Stewart and a compelling narrative.  A great song.  Favorite line:  "When the rain came I thought you'd leave/'Cause I knew how much you loved the sun/But you chose to stay, stay and keep me warm/Through the darkest nights, I've ever known..."

"(I Know) I'm Losing You":  For all intents and purposes, this is a Faces song as the entire band is featured and each gets to showcase their particular instrument...and does so brilliantly.  This is the song that probably took me the longest to appreciate, but it is sheer genius.  It's a cover of a 1966 hit by the Temptations about a man who knows he's losing his lover to another man and he's angry, sad, beaten, and the Faces lay it all on the line in this ominous ode.  When the band begins to hum the tune it never ceases to amaze me how perfect--and audacious--it is.  A band at its peak.  Favorite line:  "When I look into your eyes a reflection of a face I see/Oh Lord I'm losing you/I'm hurt, downhearted, and worried girl/'Cause that face doesn't belong to me..."

"Reason to Believe":  Stewart closes the album with a folk tune written by Tim Hardin.  I've never been able to figure out if the protagonist is singing to a lying lover or to God (maybe one and the same?) but it's a beautiful ballad and unsurprisingly, Stewart's vocals nail it (including a brief a cappella turn).  The song should be featured in hymnals spanning the globe--a heavenly ending to an otherworldly album.  Favorite line:  "If I listened long enough to you/I'd find a way to believe that it's all true/Knowing that you lied straight-faced while I cried/Still I look to find a reason to believe..."

As Youtube has fucked up album videos (to put it mildly), I'll leave you with an album cover and a link to Spotify:

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCXXXI--The Verve: Bittersweet Symphony

Every now and again when I revisit a tune picked for Friday Night Jukebox, I'm surprised to find out a song I thought was great was even better than I originally thought (if that makes any sense).  Such was the case with this week's song as the U.K. is again this week the home of the band that produced it.

The Verve formed in 1990 in Wigan, England and were originally just known as Verve, but eventually they felt it was much cooler to all themselves The Verve, as the word "the" makes all the difference (not serious--it was actually for legal reasons as there is a jazz label called Verve that made a stink about the band having the same name as their music company).  To say that The Verve had a volatile relationship would be an understatement--the band split up three times (1996 for a year, 1999 for eight years, and 2008 without yet recommitting to a reunion) in its relatively brief run.  Over the course of their career, The Verve released four LPs, three EPs, and amazingly after the Eagles and The Clash, only two compilation albums.  They've had two number one albums in the U.K., two #23 albums here in the States, four top ten singles on the U.K. charts (including one #1), and one top fifteen single in America.  Courtesy of this week's tune (and its album), the band also shows up on numerous best alternative'Britpop/90's all-time lists, and are considered one of the better bands to come out of the Britpop movement.  They also won 2 Brit Awards and were nominated for a Grammy Award.  Lead singer Richard Ashcroft has had some solo success in the years when the Verve wasn't a band, and the rest of the band has continued playing music in various incarnations through the years.

(Not So) Fun Fact:  Due to legal complications (which really aren't interesting enough to discuss), the band was forced to give credit for the song to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards as it sampled an orchestral string version of their song "The Last Time."  This likely cost The Verve a hefty sum of money, though Jagger and Richards did sign over the rights back to the band earlier this year.

"Bittersweet Symphony" was the first song and first single released (1997) from their seminal album Urban Hymns.  The song would go on to reach #2 on the British charts and #12 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100.  The album was on of their two #1's in England and one of the two that reached #23 in the United States.

(Actual) Fun Fact #2:  The photographer of the album cover said that it's simplicity was the result of Ashcroft wanting fans to just "listen to the fucking record."

Amazingly enough, "Bittersweet Symphony" is exactly as its title suggests:  a bittersweet symphony.  The melody is 99% driven by orchestral strings--I heard a touch of other instruments, but not enough to really make note of.  The lyrics are 99% driven by Ashcroft's vocals, which are an amalgamation of regret, sorrow, and anger.  The song is a look into the hope borne out of desperation--there's a lot of nuance in "Bittersweet Symphony" as it takes a look inside the human soul, the bitter and the sweet, the hope and the sorrow.  In the end, The Verve took a shot at greatness and didn't miss.  The song isn't merely one of the best of the 90's--it's quite conceivably one of the best of all-time.  A true masterwork.

Lyric Sheet:  "'Cause it's a bittersweet symphony, that's life/Tryna make ends meet/You're a slave to money then you die..."

Enjoy (Note the Official Video is one of the few "Official Videos" worth watching...):

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee