The stupid runs deep in the GOP

When you’re too stupid to realize that universal healthcare is about providing healthcare to people for free (other than their taxes), not making doctors work without compensation.

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— Mrs. Betty Bowers (@mrsbettybowers.bsky.social) August 31, 2026 at 2:21 PM

Fuck Donald Trump

Peace,

emaycee

 

600,000 more votes

Michigan Democrats didn’t just turn out, they showed up like there was free weed and a chance to annoy Trump.

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— 𝕊𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕒𝕖 𝔾𝕦𝕣𝕝 (@sundaedivine.lol) August 5, 2026 at 4:01 PM

Fuck Donald Trump

Peace,

emaycee

 

Mike from Florida

El-Sayed: "If all Mike Rogers got is that 'his name is Abdul, and my name is Mike,' you're gonna be surprised how many people are like, 'Yeah, but that's the Abdul who wants to bring down the price of my groceries and make sure I got healthcare. So yeah, I like Abdul over your Mike from Florida.'"

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) August 5, 2026 at 11:16 AM

Fuck Donald Trump

Peace,

emaycee

 

An historic win

Sen. Bernie Sanders calls Abdul El-Sayed's win "one of most extraordinary victories in modern American political history." "He withstood $70M of outside funding. He was outspent 9-to-1," he says. Plus establishment Dems in MI and DC opposed him. "Never heard" of a major candidate overcoming that.

— Jen Bendery (@jbendery.bsky.social) August 5, 2026 at 4:05 PM

Fuck Donald Trump

Peace,

emaycee

 

This is exactly how racist the GOP is

Republican primary voters are so racist that a guy named Tom Smith who DROPPED OUT OF THE RACE is going to defeat Trump’s endorsed candidate because his name is Amir Hassan.

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— Ron Filipkowski (@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social) August 5, 2026 at 12:11 PM

Fuck Donald Trump

Peace,

emaycee

 

Fuck General Motors

GM CEO Mary Barra is introducing Trump at his rally. Something to keep in mind if you're in the market for a vehicle anytime soon.

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) July 27, 2026 at 3:08 PM

Fuck Donald Trump

Peace,

emaycee

 

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. DCI--Del Shannon: Runaway

 Five foot two, eyes of blue, cootchie-cootchie-cootchie coo, has anybody seen...that I'm (eleven days--criminy!) late again....

With this having been a big hit in the sixties, I was familiar with it just from having listened to rock and roll for so many years. However, I really became familiar with it a couple of years back when I found a Del Shannon greatest hits CD for a dollar at--you guessed it!--our local library used book sale.  I played that CD for months on end, as it was chock full of good sixties pop.  And I learned a bit about a rock and roll icon who is oftentimes too easily forgotten....

I wrote about Del Shannon in Vol.  CDLXXVIII, and since his Wikipedia entry has zero new information concerning the man or his career, I'll just let that original bio stand as my tribute to him.

"Runaway" was the first single Shannon ever released from his 1961debut album, the rather invitingly entitled Runaway with Del Shannon.  The single would be far and away the most successful of his career, reaching #1 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100 and staying there for four weeks (as well as topping the charts in five other countries).  The album, as was often the case back in the day, did not chart.  Rolling Stone ranked the song #472 on its 2010 list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All-Time.

Fun Fact:  Shannon re-recorded (with changed lyrics as well) "Runaway" in 1986 for use as the theme song in the television series Crime Story.  As the show was set in the early 1960s, one supposes it was a hell of a good choice....

It would be hard to overstate just how far ahead of its time "Runaway" was--and may also help to explain Shannon's lack of another great musical success in his career (not easy to duplicate greatness personified).  First, the synthesizer, played by Max Crook (who co-wrote the song with Shannon), was done on a Musitron which he just so happened to invent himself.  You can hear the beginnings of rock and roll's future as it screeches its way through the song.  Secondly, Shannon's vocals run the gamut from the grim reality of his rock and roll voice to the sorrow of his falsetto in the chorus (the echoing on "wonder" and "why" are the stuff that classics are made of) and are a lesson in the subtleties of vocal phrasing in rock and roll.  Finally, the song itself, with its eerie quality as it spins the tale of a love gone wrong, the woman who's gone and the one left holding the bag, helped set the stage for what rock and roll could be and often became--a stage for art that's as large as life itself.  "Runaway" is a true wonder, and a shining supernova of rock's early days.  Hyperbolic?  Maybe a bit, but it's still a great song....

Lyric Sheet:  "I'm a-walkin' in the rain/Tears are fallin' and I feel the pain/Wishin' you were here with me/To end this misery..."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump

Peace,

emaycee

My home state rocks!

A protester interrupts by yelling "pedophile" as U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks during an event at the General Motors Milford Proving Ground in Milford, Michigan, U.S., July 27, 2026. REUTERS/Evan Vucci

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— MeidasTouch (@meidastouch.com) July 27, 2026 at 4:00 PM

Fuck Donald Trump

Peace,

emaycee

Let's ask the DOJ...

Is this illegal?

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— The Lincoln Project (@lincolnproject.us) April 29, 2026 at 5:45 PM

Fuck Donald Trump

Peace,

emaycee

 

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. DLXXX--Bay City Rollers: Saturday Night

Deep greens and blues are the colors I choose, won't you let me go down in my dreams, and...I'm (fifteen days--yikes!) late again.... 

[Blogger's Aside:  Imagine my chagrin when I realized yesterday that I'm not two Jukebox posts behind but actually three. Sheee-it!  Going to have to remedy that...

My introduction to this week's tune was when this week's artist debuted it on Saturday Night Live, with Howard Cosell (though I have to admit I did not remember that it was their American debut--just thought they happened to be the musical guest on that week's show).  Howard Cosell (known much more for sports announcing than emceeing entertainment) was attempting to mimic the success of the bygone Ed Sullivan Show (he failed miserably as the show only lasted eighteen episodes), and I can remember him hyping the band as the next Beatles (if you're of a certain age, there was about a twenty year period after the Beatles debuted in America in 1964 where every pop band out of the U.K. was "the next Beatles"--unsurprisingly, none were).  Oddly enough, though I remember liking the song immediately I didn't purchase a copy.  The only version I have is one I downloaded from iTunes many years after the fact--one supposes, though, that it's better late than never....

The Bay City Rollers began in 1964, and the history of their band members is so convoluted and numerous it would take the length of a post (already long enough) at the very least to sort it all out.  Suffice it to say that they're actually Scottish, their heyday was from the mid-seventies to the early eighties, and they sold a ton of records (estimated from 120 million to 300 million...which is quite the disparity).  For their career, the Rollers released thirteen studio albums (with two #1's and a #3 and #4 in the U.K)., two live albums, ten compilations, and thirty-one singles (with ten top ten singles in Great Britain including two #1's, and three top ten songs in the U.S. with one #1).  Sadly, two members of what is called the classic lineup (see heyday above) have passed away.  The band became the Rollers for a spell after petering out and then joined the oldies circuit in numerous incarnations with one of them still touring today.

Fun Fact: The Bay City Rollers were originally the Saxons but wanted a name that sounded more Americanized as they crawled their way up the ladder of success.  The band settled on Rollers but wanted an American name in front of it.  They tossed a dart at a map of the U.S., and it originally landed on Arkansas.  Not fond of that one (and what a wise choice that was--The Arkansas Rollers sounds like a half-assed country and western band), they threw the dart again and it landed near Bay City, Michigan--and a band name was born.

"Saturday Night" was the fourth single from the Rollers 1974 debut album, the rather citcularly entitled Rollin'.  The song did not chart in the U.K., but nearly a year later was released as their first single in America and promptly climbed to #1 (with a bullet!).  It also hit #1 in Canada--so many cools kids in the Great White North!  The album reached #1 in the U.K. but was not released here.  An album called Bay City Rollers (a mishmash of their first three albums) was released in the U.S. to capitalize on the success of the single, and it peaked at #20.

The one trait of this song that I would like to call out is the complete and utter genius of spelling out "Saturday" and following it with a rousing, crowd screaming "night," and then using it several times throughout the song.  Rhythmic, rollicking, catchy as all hell, and easy to remember--the perfect pop music moment.  The rest of the song is a delightful paean to dancing with your baby on a Saturday night (which, truth be told, I know nothing about, but it sounds fun).  Sometimes a great pop song is just a great pop song and "Saturday Night" is every bit a great pop song.  

Lyric Sheet:  "Gonna rock it up, roll it up/Do it all, have a ball/Saturday night, Saturday night..."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump

Peace,

emaycee

Thanks, Donnie!

Remarkable: Trump's deranged threat to block the bridge connecting Detroit to Canada is backfiring, giving Dems a big issue in 2026 races in Michigan, which could help decide control of Congress. Michigan Dems tell me they'll use this against Republicans big time: newrepublic.com/article/2064...

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— Greg Sargent (@gregsargent.bsky.social) February 11, 2026 at 1:56 PM

Fuck Donald Trump

Peace,

emaycee

 

Michigan for the win!

🚨BREAKING: Federal Court DISMISSES DOJ lawsuit to gain access to Michigan’ unredacted statewide voter registration list. Another BIG victory for our clients and voters. Another stunning defeat for Pam Bondi. www.democracydocket.com/cases/michig...

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— Marc Elias (@marcelias.bsky.social) February 10, 2026 at 9:33 AM

Fuck Donald Trump

Peace,

emaycee

 

The truth hurts, Donnie

Trump yells “fuck you” and flips off an auto worker in Michigan who yelled “pedophile protector” www.tmz.com/2026/01/13/t...

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— Phil Lewis (@phillewis.bsky.social) January 13, 2026 at 5:01 PM

Fuck Donald Trump

Peace,

emaycee

 

Friday Night Jukebox, DLVI--Madonna: Crazy for You

 Oh, mercy, mercy me...I'm late again [Blogger's aside: note that although it may be Friday, this week's post was due last Friday...]....

My introduction to this week's tune, excitingly enough, was when the soundtrack it appeared on was released in my Camelot Music days back in 1985, and we opened it for instore play.  Madonna's career had just started, and we had no idea at the time that she would become the phenomenon she has.  If memory serves, the song struck me immediately as being a hell of a pop song, and time has done nothing to change that feeling....

Being perfectly honest, my prep this week was more than half-assed.  Madonna's Wikipedia entry is quite long so I just perused it because a) I'm not going to cover such a successful and varied career in a paragraph, and b) outside of this week's song and two others ("Live to Tell" and "This Used to Be My Playground"--oddly enough, all were featured in movies) and her role in A League of Their Own her career hasn't interested me that much (don't get me wrong--I appreciate how talented she is, I just don't appreciate her talent).  All that being said, what I did peruse leads me to believe very few people have worked harder to make the most of their talent than the Michigan born and bred Madonna.  She lost her mother at the age of five to breast cancer, was a cheerleader and straight A student in high school, won a dance scholarship to the University of Michigan, dropped out to move to New York City without a dime to her name, joined several different bands, trekked from music label to music label to sell her music until she found one, and parlayed all of that into seven Grammy Awards, two Golden Globes, numerous acting roles, numerous financially and critically successful world tours, and an induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in her first year of eligibility (among numerous other accolades).  She is also an exceptional businesswoman (estimated worth of $850 million) and donates of her time and money generously to multiple causes.  Madonna has also done more for the LGBTQ community than any other celebrity I can think of.  For her career, Madonna has released fourteen studio albums (with nine #1's) and ninety-four singles (with twelve number ones).  Needless to say, an American icon.  

Fun Fact:  In my humble opinion, Madonna has the distinction of releasing the second worst cover version ever.  First, hands down, was Club Nouveau's version of Bill Withers' achingly beautiful "Lean on Me" (which somehow won a Grammy, leading me to believe that at one time numerous Grammy voters were tone deaf).  Madonna's second is for her rendition of Don McLean's cultural anthem "American Pie"--in two words, either abysmally awful or brutally bad (could probably come up with a few more alliterative descriptions from the last twenty-four letters of the alphabet if I had the time).

"Crazy for You" was the first single from the soundtrack to the movie Vision Quest.  The single went to number one (Madonna's second at the time), while the album hit #11.

As my regular readers (all three of you) know, emaycee is a big fan of a) pop singles, and b) female vocalists--and "Crazy for You" is two for two, batting a thousand, on those two (which probably isn't an apt metaphor seeing as how it's featured in a movie about a high school wrestler).  Early in her career many people didn't believe Madonna could pull off a torchy love ballad (figuring her to be little more than a pop singer) but pull it off she did, indeed, capturing all the desire and enchantment that love can often bring.  The music is solid--corraling all the nervousness and excitement of a new love, and it's catchy as all hell from beginning to end and makes the most of Madonna's vocals.  The tune also has two of those special moments that make a great song even better.  First is the "ah-oh's" surrounding the chorus, and the second is toward the end of the song when Madonna speaks in an ultra-sultry voice and says "Crazy for you, baby"--both of which I wait for enjoyably with every listen.  No one's going to confuse this week's tune with any of the all-time great rock and roll songs, but for a pop ballad it's as good as it gets, and in the end, a wonderful love song.

Lyric Sheet:  "Trying hard to control my heart/I walk over to where you are/Eye to eye, we need no words at all..."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump

Peace,

emaycee

Sadly, this is only the beginning

Cleveland-Cliffs is laying off over 600 workers at its Dearborn, Michigan steel plant due to a decline in automotive steel demand due to his tariffs. The company cites a weak auto market as the primary reason for the production cuts.

— Anti-Trumpism (@forabettertomorrow.bsky.social) August 19, 2025 at 9:21 PM

Fuck Donald Trump

Peace,

emaycee

 

Political career over in 3, 2, 1...

apnews.com/article/whit...  About that hug ... Whitmer risks backlash from Democrats as she embraces Trump in Michigan I am not from Michigan, but she lost my respect forever...

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— Mynameis... Miro (@zg4ever.bsky.social) April 30, 2025 at 6:27 AM

Fuck Donald Trump

Peace,

emaycee

 

Yes, it is

Watching Arabs in Dearborn slowly awaken to the reality that Trump played them for absolute fools is quite satisfying.

— Adversus Nihilismus (@AdversusN) November 12, 2024

R.I.P. America

Peace,

emaycee

 

Another nail in Trump's Michigan coffin

Trump belittles auto workers, saying they just assemble parts “out of a box” and says children could do their jobs: “We could have our child do it” pic.twitter.com/J3LPRyZnIy

— Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) October 15, 2024

Republicans = Nazis

Peace,

emaycee

 

Pure Michigan

I asked a voter at Harris’ rally in Flint, Michigan what issue was most important to him.

Michigan voter’s response: “Keeping a sociopath out of office.” pic.twitter.com/nrKfdTIgPN

— Dash Dobrofsky (@DashDobrofsky) October 5, 2024

Republicans = Nazis

Peace,

emaycee

 

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. DVIII--The White Stripes: Effect and Cause

Friday, Wednesday...whatever....

This week's tune was the last song on the last studio album this week's band recorded before disbanding.  It was a lovely way to go....

I wrote about the White Stripes in Jukebox, Vol. CXVI (seven--seven!--years ago), and for many years it was the second least viewed music post I ever wrote (not enough cool kids reading emaycee's blog!).  God only knows why it was so low for such a killer band, but over the past couple of years its page views have leapt up to respectable (for a half-assed blog written by an amateur musicologist).  Nothing much to add as the band remains happily defunct, though I would like to note that the White Stripes were nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility (2023) and were not inducted.  To which I can only say:  What.  The.  Fuck?

"Effect and Cause" was not released as a single (should have been!), though not from a lack of trying as the band released four singles from the rather surprisingly named Icky Thump.  The album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, making it the highest charting in America of their career.  However, it debuted at number one in Great Britain (so many cool kids in the U.K. need to be reading emaycee's blog!).

Fun Fact: The album got its title from an exclamation of surprise in Lancashire (a county in northern England where Jack White's second wife is from, who is said to have used the exclamation):  ecky thump.  The band claims to have changed it to icky to make it more appealing to Americans, but there were also copyright concerns as it gained fame from being used in a British TV comedy, The Goodies.

"Effect and Cause" is a testament to how much Jack and Meg White could do with so little.  Featuring nothing more than a metallic acoustic guitar and some snappy drums, Jack gives an inspired vocal performance that is the embodiment of an all-knowing smart ass.  The lyrics are comprised of clever turns of phrase and plays on cliches that stream forth like a rollicking preacher's sermon, as the protagonist commiserates over a lost lover.  Every time I hear this song it calls to mind classic rock from the seventies, and I'm sure that if it had been released in that decade it would have been a staple on every AOR FM station in America.  Alas, it wasn't, and it's left to me to educate pop music fans on its wonder--which, come to think of it, isn't a bad calling at all....

Lyric Sheet:  "Well I ain't saying I'm innocent, in fact the reverse/But if you're headed to the grave, you don't blame the hearse/You're like a little girl yellin' at her brother 'cause you lost his ball..."

Enjoy: 

Republicans = Nazis

Peace,

emaycee