Worse than it seems

As the Trump campaign becomes the third straight republican Presidential ticket to be hoping against hope that those pesky, all too scientific polls are wrong (and good fucking luck with that strategy), I've been wondering just how many women there are being polled who aren't about to tell a pollster in front of their Donald Trump loving husbands that they aren't about to vote for a potential psychopath and will be voting for Hillary Clinton instead.

Or even just that they really want to see a woman President before they die.

I don't have any empirical evidence to back this up--but I have a hunch that at the end of the election, the voting numbers might be even worse than they already appear to be for Mr. Trump.

Peace,
emaycee

Um, what?

Apparently, the Trump campaign has figured out his polling problems.  It's not a matter of his being an historically shitty candidate, it's that voters are embarrassed to tell pollsters that they're going to vote for him, and on Election Day all these embarrassed voters are going to pull the lever for Trump and give him the victory.  Left unsaid is exactly why anyone would actually vote for a candidate that they were embarrassed by.

But I'm not a republican, so there you go.

Peace,
emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. LXXXVII--The Killers: All These Things That I've Done

One of the thrills of being a big music fan is how you can be going about your life, reading a book or doing a crossword puzzle, and in an otherwise extraordinarily ordinary moment in your life, a song can pop up on the TV, a commercial or a coda to a show, and that song thrusts itself into your consciousness and you immediately think, "Holy shit, I've got to hear that one again..."

Such was the case with "All These Things That I've Done" by The Killers--I don't remember exactly what I was doing but the TV was on in the background, the song was featured in some commercial (couldn't begin to tell you for what), and I spent the next several days singing "I've got soul but I'm not a soldier...."

The Killers formed in 2002 in Las Vegas, Nevada, and among their many claims to fame is that they are the most successful Nevada band ever--but their success isn't just limited to Nevada.  They've sold over 22 million albums worldwide (they enjoy quite a bit of success in the UK), been nominated for 7 Grammy Awards, toured constantly at the world's biggest venues and festivals, and have all around enjoyed a hell of a career over the last fourteen years.   The band's name came from the logo on a bass drum of a fictitious band in a New Order video for "Crystal" (no clue--not very familiar with New Order or their work).  Their music has never been cutting edge or music changing, but like
Bruce Springsteen, they incorporate the best of many musical styles into their very own sound.

Released on their Hot Fuss album (which I have to admit I wasn't familiar with until this past year, but I'm oh so glad I now am--a really fine debut LP) in 2004,  the song surprisingly would only reach #74 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100.  Nonetheless, due to its anthemic nature, it's been covered live by U2, Coldplay, Robbie Williams, Imagine Dragons, and Walk the Moon, among others.  And it's not hard to see why--as someone who grew up listening to songs that would eventually be considered Classic Rock, "All These Things That I've Done" would be right at home on any stage in that era.

As for the song itself, the only thing you really need to know is "I've got soul, but I'm not a soldier."  I have no idea what, if anything, it means, but I'm not sure a cooler line has ever been written in a pop song, and it can literally make me march around the house like I was forty years younger and sing it over and over again.  That's not to take anything away from the rest of the song--it's a sum of its parts and it all comes together as an intrepid whole, but there are moments in some songs where a great song gets shot into another stratosphere and "I've got soul, but I'm not a solider" is one such moment.  Repeated by the gospel choir The Sweet Inspirations in the middle of the song, it is bookended perfectly by the earnest calls for redemption in the stanzas surrounding it.  And "if you can hold on" it's a marvelous five minutes of music.

Lyric sheet: This will be some kind of surprise, but... "I've got soul, but I'm not a soldier...."

Enjoy:

Peace,
emaycee

What's in a name?

Say what you will about the right wing in this country, but they really know how to name their sects.  First they had the Tea Party and its positive connotations with the American Revolution, and now Donald Trump's racist supporters are being referred to as the AltRight.  You can put "Alt" in front of any word (Alt-Country for example) and it immediately makes it sound cooler--if there was such a thing as an Alt-Jock Strap, we'd all be running around wearing them, guaranteed.

We Liberals really need to beat them to the punch--Racist Dickheads or Bigoted Ass Hats is truly a lot closer to the truth and doesn't quite convey the same approving tone.

Peace,
emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. LXXXVI--Patti Smith: Because the Night

We have another Friday Night Jukebox first--Patti Smith is the first featured artist to have written more books (18), than have released albums (11).  She's also a National Book Award winner (for Just Kids,about her friendship with artist Robert Mapplethorpe), to boot.

Patricia Lee Smith was born in 1946 (which means she'll turn 70 this year and is another in a long list of reminders that I'm getting old) in Chicago, and her career has not followed the usual rock and roll trajectory.  She started out as the "Punk Poet Laureate." married Fred "Sonic" Smith (of the MC5 and "Kick Out the Jams, Motherfuckers" fame--another fine music addition from Detroit), had two children, and settled into a semi-retirement of domestic bliss, watched her husband die all too young in 1994, and opened a new chapter both musically and in her writing, and through it all she remained one of the most activist performers ever (AIDS, war protests, anti-Israeli terrorism, political prisoners, women's rights, etc.).  You would be hard pressed to name a woman that has been more influential for female rock and rollers than Patti Smith, other than Joni Mitchell, and to an extent Aretha Franklin and Carole King.  And you'd find it even harder to find anyone (other than the Godfather of Punk, Lou Reed) who was more influential on a music genre than Patti Smith was for the punk, new wave, and alternative movements.  And for this, she's rightfully got a spot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and a special place in the hearts of anybody who likes their music a bit on the esoteric side.

And did I mention that for many years she made her home right here in my adopted home, Detroit, Michigan?

Released on her Easter album in 1978, "Because the Night" would go on to become the biggest hit of Smith's career, reaching #13 (with a bullet!) on The Billboard Hot 100.  The history behind the song is a story in itself--originally recorded (though not finished) by Bruce Springsteen for his Darkness on the Edge of Town LP, Springsteen gave up on the song and his engineer/producer, Jimmy Iovine, who was simultaneously working on Smith's Easter album liked the song and had Smith try it--she rewrote the lyrics (other than the chorus) and the rest was history.  Springsteen has been known to play his and Smith's version live to this day.

And believe you me, musically when you hear the song it is most definitely a Springsteen composition.  Power chords, driving rhythm, laying it all on the line vocals--but in the end the song belongs to Smith, becomes hers.  Her vocals are probably the most confident of any she's ever done, and the Patti Smith Band's playing is tight and solid around her performance.  Springsteen ended up not putting the song on his album because he said it was just another love song--I'm not sure how often Springsteen has been wrong in this world, but he missed this song by a mile.  In Smith's hands it is anything but just another love song--it's a testament to the good and the bad of the hold that love takes on us all, all done while driving 110 mph.

Lyric sheet:  "With love we sleep/With doubt the vicious circle/Turns and burns..."

Enjoy:

Peace,
emaycee

Put a (red) sock in it

Former major league pitcher and political moron Curt Schilling has decided that before he runs for President in 2024 (following, the delusional Mr. Schilling believes, Donald Trump's two terms), that he wants to run against Elizabeth Warren for the U.S. Senate seat from Massachusetts in 2018.

Can't wait--seems we Democrats do very well against failed businessmen who aren't particularly bright and have a history of putting their feet in their mouths when it comes to all things racial, religious, and gender oriented.

Peace,
emaycee

You broke it, you bought it

In a stunning twist, the party of personal responsibility has taken to blaming Liberals for the rise of Donald Trump.  Seems if we weren't so fucking PC, republican voters wouldn't have been so pissed and might not have voted for Trump.

Two words:  Fuck you.

I don't know of a single Liberal who voted for Trump.  I don't know of a single Liberal who campaigned for Trump.  Republicans need to put on their big boy pants and own this disaster.

And don't blame me for your mistake that has been nearly forty years in the making.

Peace,
emaycee