Sunday, June 30, 2024

#VoteBlue2024 #182


 Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee

#SlavaUkraini


 Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee

Letting children go hungry to own the libs--how Christian like


 Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee

I'll fucking never watch CNN ever again


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 

The force is with us


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 

Muy bien!


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 

Saturday, June 29, 2024

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CDXCV--Cat Stevens: If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out

 Not too shabby...only a day late.

A few years back I finally got around to seeing the much recommended and critically acclaimed movie Harold and Maude (here's a surprise--I highly recommend it).  As an added bonus to thoroughly enjoying the movie, it featured a song that I had adored for many years.  And in a (not at all) surprising turn, that viewing, and the ensuing listening, led to said song being included on my list o' tunes to be featured here on Friday Night Jukebox....

I wrote about Cat Stevens (stage name of Yusuf Islam) in Vol. CLXXIII, and as he is a) still with us (thankfully), and b) hasn't done anything of note in the past six years, I'll put a pin in that bio and hang it up right here.

"If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out" was originally written for Harold and Maude in 1971, but a soundtrack for the movie was not released at the time.  It first appeared on his rather furtively titled 1982 compilation Footsteps in the Dark:  Greatest Hits, Vol. 2The song was not released as a single, while the album would reach #165 on the Billboard 200.

Fun Fact:  The soundtrack to Harold and Maude was eventually released in 2007...2500 copies on a small label, vinyl only.  My guess is if you ever see it in a used record shop, buy it.  It's got to be worth a pretty penny.

There's not a lot to this one--it's just Stevens' vocals and his acoustic guitar.  Therein, though, may very well lie the beauty of the song.  There's a joy in not only the simplicity of the lyrics, but also in the simplicity of the tune.  While the song ties in very well with the life view of the character Maude in the movie, it's free to be whoever and whatever you want to be spirit applies to us all, and Stevens expresses it as straightforwardly as high or low, yes or no.  I would be remiss if I didn't note Stevens acoustic guitar playing--it fits so well with the song, with some nice inflections and well-timed picking that keep the song from becoming just so much childlike fodder.  In the end, "If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out" is all about you being you, and embracing all the millions of things that this crazy old world has to offer...and you know that there are....

Lyric Sheet:  "And if you want to be me, be me/And if you want to be you, be you/'Cause there's a million things to do/You know that there are..."

Enjoy:



Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee

#VoteBlue2024 #181


 Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee

The face of hate


 Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee

Fuck the debate--this is why you vote for Biden


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 

Fuck the New York Times


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 

CNN was an embarrassment to journalism


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 

Fucking Satan lies less than Trump


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 

Friday, June 28, 2024

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CDXCIV--Manfred Mann's Earth Band: For You

Alas, it's not on time, but rather a week late...

Funny how sometimes our remembrances are not quite like how it actually happened--which is my weak ass intro for this week's tune.  In the first place, I would have sworn the song was released in the mid to late seventies, but my first actual listen of it came just a few months after I started with Camelot Music.  Secondly, I would have sworn the song was a top forty hit...when, in fact, it didn't even come close.  One supposes the most important remembrance was that it was a song I liked very much....

Every now and again when doing my half-assed research I read about a band, whose history has heretofore been unknown to me, and discover that said history isn't all that interesting.  Such was the case with Manfred Mann's Earth Band (and yes, there is actually a Manfred Mann, who is the group's leader...as one might hope since the band bears his name).  That being said, I don't want to take away from the fact that they were a pretty successful band, starting in London in the mid-sixties when they were just Manfred Mann, segueing into Manfred Mann Chapter Three before settling on Manfred Mann's Earth Band in 1971 (the Earth Band moniker comes from Mann's interest in ecological issues).  Other than a short hiatus in the late eighties lasting until the early nineties, the band has been together (in many different incarnations) since the early sixties and is still touring to this day, though they haven't released an album since 2006.  As the Earth Band, they've released seventeen albums (with one top ten in both the U.K. and the U.S.), three live albums, and thirty-seven singles (with three top tens on the British charts and a #1 here in America).  Maybe a dull history, but most certainly a financially viable one.

Fun Fact:  Manfred Mann has actually had two number one singles--in their early days when they were just plain old Manfred Mann, they had a smash with a wonderful ditty called "Do Wah Diddy Diddy."  Their second--like this week's featured song--was their cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Blinded by the Light" which I discussed in Vol. CDLXXI.

"For You" was the first single from their rather randomly named 1980 album ChanceThe song reached #106 (with a kind of/sort of bullet!) on Billboard's Bubbling Under (the Hot 100) chart, while the album hit #87 on the Billboard 200.  Their compatriots in the U.K. were not impressed--neither single nor LP cracked their charts.

Like their version of "Blinded by the Light," Manfred Mann's Earth Band does a significantly more electrified version than Springsteen's original from his debut album.  Plenty of synthesizers and lots of piano solos...but it works.  They capture both the protagonist's conviction and love's overall hopefulness, in a tale of a man telling a young woman who's recently tried killing herself that he's (more or less) coming to save her. All you really need to know is that Springsteen is arguably my all-time favorite artist, and I was blown away by their version of his song (when hating it would be the more likely outcome).  Kudos, too, for it reminding me of just how much I loved Springsteen's version...and for being the only song I know of to use the word "undaunted" (and what a great word it is) in the lyrics...

Lyric Sheet:  "Wounded deep in battle/I stand stuffed like some soldier undaunted..."

Enjoy:



Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee

#VoteBlue2024 #180


 Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee

Because it can never be said enough


 Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee

Biden = Real solutions


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 

You're goddamn right character matters


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 

Only losers make threats


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 

Trump is fucking bonkers


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 

Boats against the current

Indubitably!


There's no way to sugarcoat it:  last night's debate between President Biden and the Human Shit Stain was a shitshow inside a dumpster fire aboard the fucking Titanic.  I couldn't stomach more than thirty seconds of post-debate punditry last night, but of what little I did see the recurring theme seemed to be that it was a nightmare scenario for the Democratic Party.

So it probably wasn't surprising that when I awoke this morning, after about two and a half hours sleep, there was a knot in my stomach and an overwhelming sense of dread pervading my being.  I tossed and turned for about a half hour before giving up on returning to slumber and heading downstairs to start my day.  

The first thing I was greeted with--which is what I'm greeted with first thing every morning--was our youngest son's cat screaming for his cat treats.  He got them.  I then cleaned up the mess that our youngest son leaves in our family room pretty much every night after Mom and Dad have gone to bed.  Then I put away the clean dishes, which my partner is more than happy to clean but for whatever reason, she refuses to put away.  I then hopped in the shower so I could be at work by five this morning, but a funny thing happened while the water was enlivening me.

I began to compose this post in my head.

The point is that life goes on.  Yes, Biden's performance was beyond disappointing, especially to a man that is so despicable.  And yes, our job to deliver a victory for democracy this November got exponentially harder (if not downright impossible).  But I don't know what else to do other than to keep fighting for the America that is the best it can be and not the one that ends with deportations, and Medicare and Social Security gone, and our voting rights out like the trash, and disgusting shitheels like Marjorie Taylor Greene and Michael Flynn and J.D. Vance with more power and an even larger soapbox from which to wield it.

So I'm going to rise like a lion after slumber in (hopefully) unvanquishable number and continue to publish my four tweets and the picture o' the day to make sure everyone knows that no matter how bad President Biden may seem, the alternative is multitudes worse.

And to know that I gave everything I had to save America from its very own Hitler, Donald Trump.

Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee

Thursday, June 27, 2024

#VoteBlue2024 #179

 


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee

Undoubtedly


 Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee

This is exactly what Joe needs to hammer home tonight


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 

What to expect at tonight's debate


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 


 

Trump's greatest business skill is losing money


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 

Trump is fucking cuckoo for cocoa puffs


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 

Wednesday, June 26, 2024

#VoteBlue2024 #178


 Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee

You may be in a cult...


 Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee

Trump is fucking nuts


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 

When you've lost CEOs...


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 

Anything to own the libs, amirite?


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 

Couldn't agree with this more


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 

Tuesday, June 25, 2024

#VoteBlue2024 #177


 Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee

This is the meaning of right to choose


 Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee

Don't be dumb fucks


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 

Trump's getting worse by the day


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 

Shoving it up Trump's idiot ass


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 

Most definitely


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 

Monday, June 24, 2024

#VoteBlue2024 #176


 Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee

A false idol

Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee

 

Democrats are always better from the economy


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 

Wake up, folks


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 

Their defending Trump has become nothing short of ludicrous


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 

This is the truest snark ever


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 

Sunday, June 23, 2024

#VoteBlue2024 #175


 Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee

They're worshipping hate

Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee

 

There is a correlation between the religious right and idiocy


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 

The Supreme Court is completely broken


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 

The GOP has to pay black people to support them


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 

And this is the MAGA plan for voting rights should they win in November


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 

Saturday, June 22, 2024

#VoteBlue2024 #174


 Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee

Mind-numblingly stupid pretty much nails it


 Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee

Educate, educate, educate


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 

There's a pattern here


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 

Even more Delusional Donald


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 


 

It's always about Donald, and Donald only


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 

Friday, June 21, 2024

#VoteBlue2024 #173


 Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee

Ideology over integrity


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 

A hero versus a zero


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 

This is a distinct possibiliy


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 

Pushing merch to morons


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 

The GOP, ever the party of racists


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 

Thursday, June 20, 2024

#VoteBlue2024 #172


 Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee

G.L.O.A.T.


 Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee

And another unforced error from Trump


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 

The surest sign that one is a racist


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 

Once a pervert, always a pervert


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 

Trump's stupidity, once again, on full display


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 

Wednesday, June 19, 2024

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CDXCIII--Nancy Sinatra: Sugar Town

Though this week's tune originally was released when I was seven, I'd never heard (or don't remember hearing) the song until I saw the film The Kid Detective, which my oldest son had recommended to me (and which I in turn would recommend as well--it's a nice indie movie).  It's played at the beginning of the film (and at the end, as well), and I had literally heard the first line and knew it was love at first listen....

Nancy Sinatra had a bit of a leg up considering her somewhat talented father (tongue planted firmly in cheek), but in the end if you're going to have a lengthy career (which Ms. Sinatra most certainly did) you've got to have some talent.  After dropping out of UCLA in the late fifties, Sinatra made her first appearance singing a duet with her father on a TV special and would have a modicum of success overseas until the mid-sixties.  At that time her father asked singer, songwriter, and producer Lee Hazlewood to help her with her career, and the rest, as they say, is history.  Through the end of the sixties, she would have ten singles reach the top forty, be nominated for two Grammy Awards, and act in eight movies.  While her career slowed after that, she did continue to record and tour, with her last studio album being released in 2013.  For her career, Sinatra released fourteen studio albums (with one peaking at #5). five collaboration albums, and seventy-three singles (two of which hit #1).  She is still actively involved in the remastering of her earlier albums.  For a wonderful closing note, Sinatra is an avid advocate for women's issues and climate change and has made no secret of her (and her father's) dislike for Donald Trump.

Fun Fact:  Sinatra is the first artist featured on Friday Night Jukebox that I follow on Twitter.  Woo-hoo!

"Sugar Town" was released in 1966 from her rather sweetly entitled album, SugarThe single would peak at #5 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100, while the album reached #18 (which some attribute to its provocative cover).

I'm not sure that a pop song can get any better than this for me:  female vocalist, velvety smooth vocals, catchy as all hell melody, some solo trumpet to die for, and, in the end, it just oozes fun.  While the song is a reference to sugar cubes laced with LSD (which I did not know until I did my half-assed research), it could just as soon be an ode to being on top of the world, thinking life is the bee's knees, or to just feelin' groovy.  I can't think of too many songs I've been introduced to in the last few years that I've enjoyed more than this one.  A stellar, glorious, heart caressing addition to the pantheon of pop singles.  Just beautiful.

Lyric Sheet:  "If I had a million dollars or ten/I'd give it you, world, and then/You would go away and let me spend/My life in shoo-shoo-shoo, shoo-shoo-shoo, shoo-shoo, shoo-shoo, shoo-shoo, Sugar Town..."

Enjoy:



Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee

#VoteBlue2024 #171


 Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee

The GOP, that's what kind of shithole party


 Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee

BOOM!


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 

Hit him where it hurts


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 

Fucking losers


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 

No one understands the black community less than Donald Trump


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 

Tuesday, June 18, 2024

#VoteBlue2024 #170


 Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee

Aced it...not!


 Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee

Creating opportunities for ALL Americans


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 

Trump's cognitive decline is a major issue


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 

Just the way the GOP likes it--segregated


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 

As if the GOP court majority is pulling the trigger


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 

Monday, June 17, 2024

#VoteBlue2024 #169


 Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee

Ever the party of hate


 Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee

VP Harris for the Democratic win


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 

Dementia Don strikes again


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 

This is not a fucking game


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 

The SCOTUS majority is no longer about the law, it's about partisanship


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 

Sunday, June 16, 2024

#VoteBlue2024 #168


 Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee

As many times as possible, too


 Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee

When you're the GOP nominee and you've lost CEOs...


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 

Cognitively compromised


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 

Don the Dodo makes a major error


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 

In the end, pro-life is just so much GOP bullshit


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 

Saturday, June 15, 2024

#VoteBlue2024 #167


 Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee

Not hyperbole--it is!


 Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee

Behold! The spineless trump fellators in the wild


Republicans = Trump

Peace,
emaycee
 

They've prostrated their honor to Trump


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 

Not quite the celebration they think it is


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee
 

Yuge difference


Republicans = Nazis

Peace,
emaycee