Kid Rock should get down on his hands and knees every night and thank the Supreme Being for Lee Greenwood's song "God Bless the USA"; otherwise, he'd be the hands down winner of worst patriotic pop song ever fucking written with the utterly shitty "Born Free."
Just sayin'.
Peace,
emaycee
Monday, July 4, 2016
Notes from a 4th of July parade
Man, I don't want to read too much into a half-assed local parade on the 4th of July, but Democrats need to do a much better job at the local level (auditor, assessor, state rep, circuit judge) of getting candidates out into the field. Of the twenty or so floats/cars/moving vehicles touting candidates this fall in our local parade today, maybe three or four were for Democratic candidates, the rest were solidly republican. I appreciate the fact that this area is a republican stronghold, but still we ought to give the good guys a little something to cheer about.
On the bright side, it was hard not to notice the Hillary Clinton car cruising by and nary a vehicle devoted to Donald Trump.
You really have to wonder about his chances when a town as republican as I live in won't even acknowledge the fucker.
Peace,
emaycee
On the bright side, it was hard not to notice the Hillary Clinton car cruising by and nary a vehicle devoted to Donald Trump.
You really have to wonder about his chances when a town as republican as I live in won't even acknowledge the fucker.
Peace,
emaycee
Friday, July 1, 2016
Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. LXXIX--Bruce Springsteen: 4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)
Monday is Independence Day, and what says the Fourth of July more than a song about the boardwalk on the Jersey shore?
Plenty of things, actually--hamburgers, hot dogs, fireworks, parades, American flags, watermelon, picnics, apple pie...
Anyhoo, Friday Night Jukebox in keeping with this weekend's American theme is featuring All-American artist Bruce Springsteen for the second time in the last month or so and his song "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)" from his second album, The Wild, the Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle. As we are wont to do sometimes here on Jukebox, we'll dispense with the Springsteen bio--if you don't know plenty about the man already, chances are you're not bothering to read this post anyway. And since it's a holiday weekend (for everyone but those of us who regally fucked up and chose retail as a career), no one wants to read a long ass piece, either.
While not as memorable as the album's other fan favorite, "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)" "Sandy" does have its charms, mostly because, as Springsteen himself has said, the song is very autobiographical, and very much a paean to his home state. Our hero is basically a teenage loser trying to convince the boss' daughter that he's ready to move on from all the disappointments he's had in love and get the hell out of that place--and he wants her to come along. Sadly--and this is just my interpretation--the odds of that happening are about as good as my chances of waking up next to Salma Hayek tomorrow morning. Which is to say: none. Springsteen performs the song in an almost whisper from beginning to end, which can be interpreted as either weariness or fear. It features some nice accordion work from Danny Federici and the instrumentation captures well the spirit of the boardwalk. All in all, unless you're from New Jersey it's probably not in your Springsteen top ten, but's it's definitely in the top five of songs containing the words "4th of July." And if nothing else, it's a reminder that the sorrows of youth do not wound us forever.
Fun fact: The song mentions a fortuneteller named Madame Marie--turns out there really was such a woman on the boardwalk of Springsteen's youth. Oh the places you'll go with Friday Night Jukebox!
Punch line: "...she was always the girl you saw boppin' down the beach with the radio..."
Enjoy:
Peace,
emaycee
Plenty of things, actually--hamburgers, hot dogs, fireworks, parades, American flags, watermelon, picnics, apple pie...
Anyhoo, Friday Night Jukebox in keeping with this weekend's American theme is featuring All-American artist Bruce Springsteen for the second time in the last month or so and his song "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)" from his second album, The Wild, the Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle. As we are wont to do sometimes here on Jukebox, we'll dispense with the Springsteen bio--if you don't know plenty about the man already, chances are you're not bothering to read this post anyway. And since it's a holiday weekend (for everyone but those of us who regally fucked up and chose retail as a career), no one wants to read a long ass piece, either.
While not as memorable as the album's other fan favorite, "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)" "Sandy" does have its charms, mostly because, as Springsteen himself has said, the song is very autobiographical, and very much a paean to his home state. Our hero is basically a teenage loser trying to convince the boss' daughter that he's ready to move on from all the disappointments he's had in love and get the hell out of that place--and he wants her to come along. Sadly--and this is just my interpretation--the odds of that happening are about as good as my chances of waking up next to Salma Hayek tomorrow morning. Which is to say: none. Springsteen performs the song in an almost whisper from beginning to end, which can be interpreted as either weariness or fear. It features some nice accordion work from Danny Federici and the instrumentation captures well the spirit of the boardwalk. All in all, unless you're from New Jersey it's probably not in your Springsteen top ten, but's it's definitely in the top five of songs containing the words "4th of July." And if nothing else, it's a reminder that the sorrows of youth do not wound us forever.
Fun fact: The song mentions a fortuneteller named Madame Marie--turns out there really was such a woman on the boardwalk of Springsteen's youth. Oh the places you'll go with Friday Night Jukebox!
Punch line: "...she was always the girl you saw boppin' down the beach with the radio..."
Enjoy:
Peace,
emaycee
Tuesday, June 28, 2016
Worst. President. Ever.
...was a bumper sticker I recently saw on a beat up old white van, with an Obama logo, right next to a "Trump for President" sticker.
Which got me to thinking:
- More Americans covered with health insurance than at any time in our nation's history
- Stimulus package which saved the U.S. economy
- Saving the auto industry
- Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
- More jobs created than any President in the last fifty years, save fellow Democrat Bill Clinton
- Dow Jones more than doubled since President Obama took office
- Federal deficit cut in half
- Marriage equality is now the law of the land
- Don't ask, don't tell in the ash heap of history
- Iced Osama bin Laden
- Paris climate accord
- Treaty with Iran
- Normalization of relations with Cuba
Peace,
emaycee
Saturday, June 25, 2016
Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. LXXVIII--Tom T. Hall: That's How I Got to Memphis
The things we do for love--with a twang....
Tom T. Hall is one of the great underrated country songwriters--and a true Renaissance man. His career has spanned five decades, and in that time he has released 27 albums, numerous novels, and a number of short stories (his nickname is "The Storyteller"). He's also been known to sing and play the guitar a little, too.
In 1964 Hall moved to Nashville with $46 and a guitar (good luck trying that in this day and age), and within months already had hit singles. His big break came in 1968 when Jeannie C. Riley recorded his song "Harper Valley PTA"--the song would go on to to sell six million copies and Riley became the first woman to ever top both the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot Country Singles Chart. And Tom T. Hall parlayed it into a fifty year career.
While "That's How I Got to Memphis" won't show up on many greatest country songs of all time lists, for my money it's certainly worthy of the top ten. I first heard the song as a cover version by Rosanne Cash (killer rendition, too, featuring her Daddy at the end), and actually discovered Hall's version many years later (Bobby Bare had a #3 hit--with a bullet!--on the country charts with it in 1970). Of all the versions I've heard (there are many covers--the Avett Brothers do a nice one, too), I like Hall's best, for one, because it's the full length song, and for two, because sometimes songwriters have a better feel for their own material than other singers do.
Released on his first album, The Ballad of Forty Dollars, "That's How I Got to Memphis" is a song about love lost and the sometimes crazy ways the heart reacts--like trek to Memphis in search of the woman who broke it . Unlike far too many such singles, "Memphis" never gets too maudlin or sappy--the lyrics are as straightforward as the narrator. It's delivered as a monologue to a friend (or fellow bar patron), all the while with the unstated hope that the friend truly understands the ways of the heart. The music is simple, a nice melancholy background to the vocals of a very sorrowful man. All in all, it's a fine addition to the pantheon of songs devoted to the broken heart--of which there will most likely be an endless supply.
Lyric sheet: "I haven't eaten a bite/Or slept for three days and nights/That's how I got to Memphis..."
Sidenote: My oldest son gave me a whale of a Father's Day Gift, creating a Spotify playlist of all the Friday Night Jukebox featured songs--anyone who may be interested can find it here.
Enjoy:
Peace,
emaycee
Tom T. Hall is one of the great underrated country songwriters--and a true Renaissance man. His career has spanned five decades, and in that time he has released 27 albums, numerous novels, and a number of short stories (his nickname is "The Storyteller"). He's also been known to sing and play the guitar a little, too.
In 1964 Hall moved to Nashville with $46 and a guitar (good luck trying that in this day and age), and within months already had hit singles. His big break came in 1968 when Jeannie C. Riley recorded his song "Harper Valley PTA"--the song would go on to to sell six million copies and Riley became the first woman to ever top both the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot Country Singles Chart. And Tom T. Hall parlayed it into a fifty year career.
While "That's How I Got to Memphis" won't show up on many greatest country songs of all time lists, for my money it's certainly worthy of the top ten. I first heard the song as a cover version by Rosanne Cash (killer rendition, too, featuring her Daddy at the end), and actually discovered Hall's version many years later (Bobby Bare had a #3 hit--with a bullet!--on the country charts with it in 1970). Of all the versions I've heard (there are many covers--the Avett Brothers do a nice one, too), I like Hall's best, for one, because it's the full length song, and for two, because sometimes songwriters have a better feel for their own material than other singers do.
Released on his first album, The Ballad of Forty Dollars, "That's How I Got to Memphis" is a song about love lost and the sometimes crazy ways the heart reacts--like trek to Memphis in search of the woman who broke it . Unlike far too many such singles, "Memphis" never gets too maudlin or sappy--the lyrics are as straightforward as the narrator. It's delivered as a monologue to a friend (or fellow bar patron), all the while with the unstated hope that the friend truly understands the ways of the heart. The music is simple, a nice melancholy background to the vocals of a very sorrowful man. All in all, it's a fine addition to the pantheon of songs devoted to the broken heart--of which there will most likely be an endless supply.
Lyric sheet: "I haven't eaten a bite/Or slept for three days and nights/That's how I got to Memphis..."
Sidenote: My oldest son gave me a whale of a Father's Day Gift, creating a Spotify playlist of all the Friday Night Jukebox featured songs--anyone who may be interested can find it here.
Enjoy:
Peace,
emaycee
Thursday, June 23, 2016
Amateur hour for republicans
Am I the only one who noticed that in addition to having the moral high ground, the John Lewis led sit-in over gun control yesterday in the House of Representatives absolutely schooled republicans in what it means to be part of a political party?
While Democrats were literally fighting to save American lives, republicans led by Paul Ryan were puckering their lips to place them on Wall Street's ass. It was like watching the Avengers do battle with the Three Stooges.
And after yesterday's doings in the House, it should be perfectly obvious to most Americans that the Democratic Party is the most fit to govern.
Peace,
emaycee
While Democrats were literally fighting to save American lives, republicans led by Paul Ryan were puckering their lips to place them on Wall Street's ass. It was like watching the Avengers do battle with the Three Stooges.
And after yesterday's doings in the House, it should be perfectly obvious to most Americans that the Democratic Party is the most fit to govern.
Peace,
emaycee
Tuesday, June 21, 2016
Dumber and Dumbest
Oddsmakers are making Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions the favorite to be Donald Trump's Vice Presidential selection.
The Jeff Sessions.
If the best the republican party can offer this November is pairing a greedy, misogynistic racist with a hilljack dunce from Alabama, we just might have a shot at taking back the House.
Peace,
emaycee
The Jeff Sessions.
If the best the republican party can offer this November is pairing a greedy, misogynistic racist with a hilljack dunce from Alabama, we just might have a shot at taking back the House.
Peace,
emaycee
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