Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCLXXIII--Beastie Boys: Fight for Your Right

In somewhat of an oddity, I have no recollection of when I first began to like this week's tune.  The only thing I remember is that when Napster (remember Napster?) first arrived on the scene, it was one of the first songs I thought to download.

The Beastie Boys originally formed in 1978 in New York as a four piece punk hardcore band.   After a few years and a few band member changes, they became the Beastie Boys featuring Mike D., MCA, and Ad-Rock (Michael Diamond, Adam Yauch, and Adam Horovitz, respectively), and eventually would become arguably the most successful rap artists in history.  They have sold over 20 million records in the U.S. alone, won three Grammy Awards, and toured the world extensively.  Over the course of their career they have released eight studio albums, four of which have gone to number one on the Billboard 200, and of the other four, the lowest chart position was #15.  They've also released 9 EPs and four compilation albums.  For some odd reason, they have not had much success with singles, only having one that could truly be called a hit and reaching the top ten.  The band is also known for its charitable work, including women's rights, animal rights, and speaking out for Tibet.  The Beastie Boys were elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012.  Sadly, Adam Yauch passed away from cancer that same year, and the Beastie Boys disbanded.

"Fight for Your Right" was released in 1987 from their first big hit, Licensed to Ill.  It would become the biggest single of their career, reaching #7 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100.  The album eventually would sell over ten million copies...and was the first rap album to hit #1.

Fun Fact:  There's a pie fight in the music video for "Fight for Your Right" but most people don't know that because the video was shot on the cheap, the whipped cream on the pies was rancid and everyone couldn't wait for the shoot to end so they could wash the stench off.  Yum!

First off, let me state for the record that I'm about, oh, forty years too old for this tune, but what the hell, most of us men are in a permanent state of arrested development so it's probably not that surprising that I like it.  The song was originally intended as an anti-frat party song...but apparently young college men didn't get the joke and it became what it was not intended to be.  For my money, I love the quirky lyrics, the way the three band members trade off vocals, and the magnificent job the boys did incorporating rock and roll into essentially a rap song (the electric guitar is killer)--all the while not turning what should have been a novelty song into a novelty song.  As I've noted before, sometimes music is just plain old fun...and this week's tune is just plain old fun.

Rap Sheet:  "Your Mom busted in and said what's that noise?/Aw Mom you're just jealous it's the Beas-tee-Boys!"

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump,

emaycee

And that would be a bad thing because?

Looking at you, republicans...

Democrats, in their never ending quest to actually take good care of Americans, proposed to make voting easier in light of COVID-19...and here was Donald Trump's response:  "The things they had in there were crazy.  They had levels of voting that if you ever agreed to it you'd never have a republican elected in this country again." 

Man, if you've got to cheat to win elections...you've already lost.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

The coronavirus miracle

Simply the best

I'll say one thing about the coronavirus--Donald Trump's epic mishandling of the pandemic has actually got me fucking excited about voting for Joe Biden.  No matter the gaffe, no matter the bad Senatorial vote, no matter the lack of a liberal pedigree, Biden will be thousands, nee millions, of times better than Trump.

And that's more than good enough for my vote.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCLXXII--Argent: Hold Your Head Up

Back in the 70's, every Friday night after the The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson there was a musical show called The Midnight Special, which featured the biggest music acts of the day performing their hits live.  From Marvin Gaye to David Bowie to Steely Dan to Ray Charles, the show featured a diverse array of music that was wonderful to a young man like me looking to learn more about the fabulous world of rock and roll.  The show was also my introduction to this week's tune, which I didn't realize until I did my half ass research that its appearance was actually on the show's debut episode.

Argent was formed in 1969 by surprisingly enough, keyboardist Rod Argent in London.  The band had a modicum of success, including a #13 album in their native UK, through 1976 before disbanding.  For their career the band released 7 studio albums, 4 live albums, and 5 compilations.  Argent has reunited three times (2010, 2012, 2013) for short tours and benefit shows.

"Hold Your Head Up" was released as a single in 1972 from their album All Together Now.  The single would be their biggest of their career, reaching #5 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100 and #5 on the U.K. charts.  The album was also their best selling, hitting #23 here in the States and #13 in the U.K.  The single has two versions, a short radio edit version, and the studio version which lasts a little over six minutes.

"Hold Your Head Up," for some odd reason, is the second straight song featured here on Friday Night Jukebox whose message is one of resilience in the face of times of trouble, which is especially necessary now in light of the coronavirus pandemic we're living through now.  The song opens (and I remember, even these many years later, how much I loved it the first time I heard it) with the bass guitar and drums synchronized like a rhythmic heartbeat, before the electric guitar kicks in to drive the beginning of the vocals.  The remainder of the song features some nice keyboard work by Argent and keeps hammering home the song's message of keep on keepin' on.  "Hold Your Head Up" is another in a long line of excellent rock singles to come out of the 1970's, and remains as relevant today as it was when it was originally released.

Liner Notes:  "And if it's bad/Don't let it get you down/You can take it..."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Make no mistake, this is the republican party

How much better can they eat?

News this week that Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina and Sen. Kelly Loeffler of Georgia both put out statements downplaying the seriousness of the coronavirus to their constituents while privately selling off millions in stocks before the market collapsed tells you everything you need to know about the republican party.  Government exists to enrich themselves and their wealthy benefactors, and the American public can rot in hell for all they care.

And Donald Trump is the god they worship.

There have been calls for the pair to resign, but as republicans have no shame they'll just say the little people will have to suck on it.

At least until November...

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Goddamn guarantee it

Republican fealty lies with the 1%

If there is one thing about the coronavirus pandemic that I am absolutely certain of, it's that the republican economic stimulus plan will be nothing more than a sop to corporations and the wealthy and will leave the rest of us to literally starve.

January of 2021 cannot possibly get here soon enough--for all of my worries about Joe Biden, he'll at least make sure we can survive economically until this is over.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCLXXI--Atlanta Rhythm Section: Do It or Die

Thanks to this week's tune, I picked up a copy of Atlanta Rhythm Section's greatest hits at a library sale for a buck.  I'd never been all that crazy about the band other than that particular tune, so imagine my surprise when a couple of weeks later I threw it in the CD player in my car figuring I'd listen to it a time or two and then file it away forever...and ended up spending the next six months listening to it.  I literally could not wait to get into my car every day to listen to it--hell, I still have it in my car just in case I get a hankering for a listen again.

The Atlanta Rhythm Section (ARS) were formed in 1971 from the ashes of the Candymen and the Classics IV as a session band for Studio One in Doraville, Georgia.  I'd be hard pressed to find a band that was more generic--true to being session musicians, there really isn't a band member who stands out as a leader (in fact, twenty four people have at one time or another been a member of ARS).  Their first five releases sold just slightly more than my first five releases (that would be zero copies sold for me), but their sixth and seventh albums became hits, both hitting the top twenty.  Their next would peak at #26...and that would be it for commercial success for ARS, though the band is still touring to this day.  For their career they have released 13 albums, two live albums, and six compilations.  They also released 15 singles, five of which cracked the top twenty.  The band still features a couple of the original members, though sadly six former members have gone to the Great Rock and Roll Concert in the Sky.  I should also mention that on the coolness quotient, the name "Atlanta Rhythm Section" scores quite high in my book...

"Do It or Die" was released as a single in 1979 from their album Underdog.  It was actually a bigger hit than I remember it being, reaching #19 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100.

"Do It or Die" is a nice slice of Southern Rock pop, a reminder (especially relevant in these coronavirus trying times) that even when the dice are coming up craps, one needs to keep on playing to have a chance to win.  Lead singer Ronnie Hammond sings it with the soft confidence of someone who's been through rough times and lived to see the other side.  The rest of the band provides a subtle background with some fine guitar and organ work, as well as backing vocals that are a gentle breeze for Hammond's vocals to float upon.  Yeah, it's a little sappy, but in the end it's a surprisingly good song from a surprisingly good band.

Lyric Sheet:  "Life is a gamble all along/Winners are losers who keep rollin' on/So go on and roll the dice/You only live twice/Do it or die..."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump,

emaycee

Laughter is the best medicine

Feeling a bit stressed by COVID-19?  Then check out this video--well worth three minutes of your life:

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

President Pelosi, once again

Don't even want to know where we'd be without her leadership

Yet again, it is Nancy Pelosi who provides the leadership America needs in a crisis--today the House passed (with large bipartisan support) a bill that provides for paid sick leave, increased unemployment insurance, and more funding for both Medicaid and our healthcare professionals in light of the damage being caused to the economic well being of working class Americans because of the Trump administration's dismal failure in its response to the coronavirus.

And where is Mitch McConnell's republican Senate?  Taking a long weekend while the rest of us worry how we're going to feed our families for the next couple of months. 

Probably spending their vacation time giving hand jobs to billionaires so they can get a few extra bucks for their campaigns to insure that billionaires have more money than anyone needs while America's children go sick and hungry.

There's only one party that cares about ordinary Americans and that's the Democratic Party.  And Nancy Pelosi leadership continues to shine a light on the intelligence, compassion, and backbone of that party.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

President Coronavirus

Coronavirus=Trump's Katrina

It wasn't hard yesterday after Donald Trump said, with regard to COVID-19, "No, I don't take responsibility at all," to conjure remembrances of George W. Bush telling FEMA head Michael Brown "Heck of a job Brownie" when the rest of America knew there were hundreds dead from the incompetence of the Bush Administration in combating the ravages of Hurricane Katrina.

The disaster that is coronavirus and the dead that will come with it are most certainly Trump's and the republican party's fault, and could very well be the moment his Presidency ended--let's hope Americans remember it much like they remembered Herbert Hoover fiddling while the Great Depression's flames flickered at ordinary American's doorsteps, and will vote like they did in 1932, giving Democrats large majorities in the House and Senate, and control of the White House.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

"They exonerated him..."

The republican party platform

A customer I was ringing up yesterday asked me what I thought about what was going on with the Coronavirus, and as she was a black woman, I felt comfortable telling her, "I think this is what happens when you elect an idiot to be your President."  The woman smiled at me and said, "They exonerated him."  Before our short chat was done, she mentioned twice more that "They exonerated him."

Anyone who thinks that a whole hell of a lot of Americans A) won't blame Trump for his administration's disastrous response to the Coronavirus, and B) won't hold republicans responsible for enabling him is absolutely fucking kidding themselves.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Third time's the charm

Not an accidental google search...

Over the course of my political involvement, we've elected three utter idiots to the Presidency:  Ronald Reagan (twice!), George W. Bush (twice!), and Donald Trump.   While one could make a case for Reagan destroying the middle class and Bush involving us in two endless yet unnecessary wars while destroying our economy for sheer stupidity with tragic consequences, it was only a matter of time before electing an idiot caught up with us in a catastrophic manner.

And now, here we are:  our economy is on the verge of collapse and quite possibly thousands of Americans are going to die because of one man's complete incompetence and lack of the good sense that God gave a goat.

Here's hoping that come this November enough Americans realize that electing an idiot isn't good for America, and that said idiots always come from the republican party.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCLXX--Louis Armstrong: What a Wonderful World

This week's tune had a quiet start when first released, but thanks to the movie Good Morning, Vietnam and the reflection that time is wont to bring, has become something of a classic standard.   That it is performed by one of America's truly great and unique talents is just icing on the cake.

Louis Armstrong was born in New Orleans in 1901 and by the time he was eleven had begun his foray into a career of music.  By the end of his teenage years he had joined the vibrant jazz scene in Chicago, before eventually settling in New York.  It would be hard to understate Armstrong's influence on jazz and popular music  (even more so in a single paragraph), but he changed the way the trumpet was played, moved jazz from an ensemble oriented form into one where solo performances were more of a focus, and his inimitable vocal style certainly helped pave the way for the rock and roll voice.  Over the course of his 70 years, Armstrong released 32 solo albums (not sure I could count high enough for all the records he appeared on during his career), and toured the world again and again.  Armstrong won a Grammy in 1964, and has been inducted into the Jazz Hall of Fame, the Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (as an influence), and both the Louisiana Hall of Fame and the Long Island Hall of Fame.  He also appeared in numerous movies and TV shows.  Armstrong passed away in 1971 from a heart attack, leaving behind a legacy that few Americans will ever match. 

Fun Fact:  While doing my half-assed research for this week's post, I read that Armstrong grew up listening to spasm bands...which I had never heard of and are bands around New Orleans that play Dixieland, jug music, and skiffle (among others) and are composed of artists who use instruments made out of household items.  Oh, the things you learn here on Friday Night Jukebox....

"What a Wonderful World" was originally released in 1967 and was later put on an album with the oh, so surprising title of What a Wonderful World.  The single had no success in the U.S. as the head of Armstrong's label did not like the song and refused to publicize it.  It was a huge hit in the U.K., however, hitting #1 and staying there for four weeks (so many cool kids in the U.K.!).  It was released again in the U.S. on the heels of the success of Good Morning, Vietnam in 1988. and reached #32 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100.

It's easy to forget in such ugly times with Donald Trump and his hateful minions that our world is full of much beauty and love, and "What a Wonderful World," while not specifically a slap in the face to Trumpism, is a reminder of...well, what a wonderful world we do live in.  The song is driven by lush strings, and the lyrics feature images that call to mind our better angels.  And the driving force of all of it is Armstrong's performance, in which every syllable he sings exudes the joy and radiance that is all around us--made all the more poignant by the fact that it's sung by a black man living in a nation that hasn't always had his or his people's best interests at heart.  It's a lovely tune sung by a lovely man about our lovely world, and a gentle nudge to take a few seconds to enjoy that loveliness.

Lyric Sheet:  "I hear babies cry/I watch them grow/They'll learn much more/Than I'll ever know/And I think to myself/What a wonderful world..."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

It's beginning to look a lot like Biden...

Unfortunately, not a big fucking deal

Welp, though there's still a ways to go, it's hard to see a scenario where Joe Biden isn't the Democratic nominee to run against Donald Trump for the Presidency in November.

Yawn.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

What might have been

President Warren

Elizabeth Warren called an end to her Presidential bid today, and I can honestly say I haven't been this disappointed in the Presidential nomination process since it became obvious that Ted Kennedy couldn't topple President Jimmy Carter in 1980.  Through the course of my following politics, I've wondered how much better off America would be had Al Gore won in 2000, had John Kerry won in 2004, and most certainly had Hillary Clinton won in 2016, but I will always believe that Elizabeth Warren would have transformed America into the country that so many of us on the left have always believed it could be, and thus her withdrawal is all the more tragic.

I believe history will record our failure to nominate our best candidate as an opportunity lost to fear and will be one that once again ordinary Americans will pay for in poorer health, poorer wages, and above all, in more lost hope.

For me, defeating Donald Trump isn't going to be enough.  We need to begin reversing the downward spiral in economic well being, equal rights, income inequality, and climate change that began with that idiot Ronald Reagan and continues through another idiot, Donald Trump.

Elizabeth Warren had a plan for all of those, and sadly now we will never know how far she could have taken us.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCLXIX--The B-52's: Legal Tender

This week's tune features a band that doesn't always get the credit it deserves (where's the love, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?) for being one of the forerunners of the New Wave movement, but it's not hard to see where bands like Men At Work, A Flock of Seagulls, or Adam and the Ants got at least a little inspiration from....

If you looked up the word quirky in the dictionary, it wouldn't surprise me one bit to see a picture of The B-52's right next to it.  From their "thrift shop aesthetic" look to their off the wall lyrics and songs, the band has set the standard for dork cool.  Formed in 1976 in Athens, Georgia, the B-52s have had a nice run of success over the last (hard to believe) forty-four years, and have remained mostly intact from it's original lineup of Fred Schneider, Kate Pierson, Cindy Wilson, Ricky Wilson, and Keith Strickland.  Through the years, the B-52's have released 7 albums (one of which reached the top ten on the Billboard 200), three live albums, one EP, and five compilations.  They've also had two singles reach #3.  The band has had countless tours and has appeared on numerous soundtracks and even had a guest appearance on The Simpsons.  Sadly, guitarist Ricky Wilson (brother of Cindy) passed away in 1985 of complications from AIDS.  The band also has a long history of supporting causes ranging from LGBTQ issues to animal rights.

Fun Fact #1:  The band is named The B-52's because the beehive hairstyles Pierson and Cindy Wilson wore when they first began resembled the cone of a B-52 jet...which Keith Strickland suggested after he had a dream in which he saw the band performing on stage and someone whispered in his ear that the band was called "The B-52's."

Fun Fact #2:  John Lennon was a big fan of The B-52's and claimed that the song "Rock Lobster" was the reason for his comeback to music and release of his album Double Fantasy.  Which is sort of like Jesus deciding to come back to earth because of the good works emaycee is doing...or not.

"Legal Tender" was released in 1983 from their third album, the impressively titled Whammy!  It would go on to reach #81 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100.

"Legal Tender" is an ode, to of all things, printing counterfeit money.  And who among us when financial times have been tough haven't thought about turning to crime as a way out?  Though most of us quickly realize that we have neither the skills nor the aversion to risk for a life of crime, we can live vicariously through The B-52's.  What I've always liked best about the song is its complete and utter joy, though whether that's from committing the crime or having lots of money I've never figured out.  The song is a showcase for the wonderful vocals of both Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson who exude exuberance, features some catchy as all hell synthesizer work (not usually one of my faves), and just enough tasty guitar from Ricky Wilson to whet the palate.  Overall, one wouldn't normally think of a song about committing a crime to be so goddamn danceable, but this one is and it shows both the beauty and the joy that is The B-52's.

Lyric Sheet:  "Livin' simple and trying to get by/But honey, prices have shot through the sky/So I fixed up the basement..."

Enjoy: 

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee