Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCLXXVII--The Call: The Walls Came Down

There was a time in the early eighties (tell us about the good old days, Grandpa!) when there were several really good bands going who weren't afraid to make political statements with their music--bands like U2, the Alarm, and this week's band, The Call.  It gave a little bit of hope to those of us who feared the Reagan devolution would haunt us for years...and unfortunately still is.

The Call formed in 1980 in Santa Cruz, California (not too terribly far from where I grew up), and after doing my weekly half-assed research, was pleasantly surprised to find they'd had a little longer and more successful career than I would have thought.  Over the course of their twenty year career, The Call released eight studio albums, five of which charted.  They also released two live albums and four compilations, as well as seven singles.  Their song "Let the Day Begin" was used by Al Gore for his 2000 Presidential campaign, and another song, "I Still Believe" was featured in the movie Lost Boys.  Sadly, their lead singer and bassist Michael Been passed away from a heart attack in 2010.  The remaining members have gotten together for a couple of one off affairs in the last few years and the band released a three LP compilation just last year.

"The Walls Came Down" was released as a single in 1983 from their second albums, Modern Romans.  The single would reach #74 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100, while the album would chart at #84.

From the start, "The Walls Came Down" injects itself in your veins with its jangly guitars and thumping bass...and it doesn't quit for the next three and a half minutes.  Michael Been speaks, sings, and screams with an urgency that conjures the times themselves--while the walls didn't really come down, they fucking should have.  I suspect, but wasn't able to verify, that the song has religious overtones (horns blowing, walls coming down, singing of a congregation) which, much like many a gospel influenced pop tune, only adds to its power.  The song closes with about a minute of the band providing sing-song lyrics that make you feel as if you're gonna grab your sledgehammer and walk right up to that wall and knock it down yourself--and any time a song can provoke you into action, you know it's a rock solid slice of pop music.

Lyric Sheet:  "I don't think there are any Russians/And there ain't no Yanks/Just corporate criminals/Playin' with tanks..."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

The Twelve Dissents of Christmas: The Eighth Day

De-legitimatize, De-legitimatize...

On the eighth day of Christmas:

Anybody else out there just a teensy bit curious why Michigan republicans sued to end the election recount because there was no voter fraud but are now trying to pass three voter suppression bills because of voter fraud?  Anybody out there just a teensy bit doubtful of the Trump campaign's motive in vociferously denouncing all of the recount efforts?  Anybody else wondering exactly what it is the CIA knows about Russian interference in our election that the Trump people are so afraid of the American people knowing about?

In the end, it might just end up being so much bluster (or not) but the questions are real, they're valid, and, as an added bonus, they further serve to de-legitimatize the Trump presidency.  In the end, the questions about where President Obama was born or whether or not he was a Muslim proved to be a whole lot of nothing, but it didn't stop the press from covering it and it didn't stop the Obama administration from having to answer questions about them.  And we should be more than happy to return the favor.

Welcome to our fucking world, republicans!

Never let anyone forget that Trump got slaughtered in the popular vote and that there are all kinds of doubts about the legitimacy of his electoral college "victory."

In the words of The Call, "...I don't think there are any Russians/And there ain't no Yanks/Just corporate criminals/Playin' with tanks...."

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee