Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCXIII--U2: Staring at the Sun

Hard to believe I'm four years into Friday Night Jukebox and I'm just getting to a song by U2, a band almost on a par (and much like, at least thematically) my favorite band of all-time, The Who...which is almost as amazing as the fact that the band has had the same four members since it released its first album in 1980--almost unheard of in rock and roll.

Bono, The Edge (two of the greatest stage names ever), Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullen, Jr. originally formed U2 in 1976 in Dublin, Ireland and like many a great band before them it took a few years for them to become musically proficient enough to actually perform in professional circles.  But once they did...hoo-boy, did they ever create quite the career.  Their list of accomplishments is stunning, having released fourteen albums and 70 singles (in various incarnations) over the last forty years.  They've sold over 170 million records (over fifty million in the U.S.), had 8 #1 albums on the Billboard 200 (and two more in the top ten), and two #1 singles (and four more in the top ten) on the Billboard Hot 100.  They've won more Grammys (22) than any other band, had the largest attendance and money grossing tour in rock and roll history (U2 360 tour), and were elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (rather unsurprisingly) in their first year of eligibility.  All this, and they've still managed to find time for more political, social, and charitable causes than can be counted--outside of Bob Geldof, you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who has devoted more of his time to world causes than Bono.  And to be quite honest, their Wikipedia entry is one of the most interesting I've read in quite some time...

Fun Fact:  A couple of years into their tenure as a band, a family friend of Clayton's suggested six names for the band--and they chose U2 because it was the suggested name they disliked the least.  Not a lot of points on the coolness quotient, but it's certainly an interesting tidbit.

"Staring at the Sun" was released in 1997 on their Pop album.  It would go on to reach #26 on the Billboard Hot 100, and the album would reach #1.  In something of an oddity, though, Pop would be one of U2's worst selling albums, barely cracking the one million mark (and wouldn't that suck--only selling a million copies).

While "Staring at the Sun" is one of my favorite U2 songs, it probably isn't my favorite, but I chose it for a number of reasons.  First, a lot like REM's "Imitation of Life" (FNJ #132), it came at a point in their career when I thought their best singles days were behind them (though the same could be said of "Vertigo" released a few years later) and came as quite a nice surprise.  Second I had the pleasure of seeing U2 on their PopMart tour (a takeoff on Kmart--and how sad of a company is Kmart when one of the greatest bands in the world can't even save them) and they did a wondrous acoustic version of the song with just Bono and the Edge playing acoustic guitars (got to see it with my two oldest children, too, so it gets extra bonus points).  Third, while I would never say the Edge is underrated as a guitarist (#32 on Rolling Stone's list of rock's greatest guitarists), I think he's often forgotten on the list of guitar greats and "Staring at the Sun" showcases some of his best work.  Finally, it's got an anthemic nature to it, almost reminiscent of the Who's "Baba O'Riley" (for those of you saying "WTF!" I distinctly wrote almost) in that it's got that the world is kind of fucked up but we're all feeling in the dark (so to speak) together and we can get there as long as we keep trying (um, Shakespeare I'm not) vibe to it.  At any rate, it's a hell of a tune from the lexicon of a band that's had more than its share of hell of a tunes....

Lyric Sheet:  "There's an insect in your ear if you scratch it won't disappear/It's gonna itch and burn and sting/Do you want to see what the scratching brings..."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Starsucks

No thanks, I'll have a soda...

Many Democrats have had their knickers in a twist since former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz announced he is considering running as an independent for the Presidency in 2020, believing that he will siphon votes from the Democratic candidate and give Donald Trump four more years in office.

Horseshit.

First of all, I can't imagine after the disaster that was the 2016 Presidential election that there are going to be a lot of Democrats willing to piss away their vote yet again to give the worst President in our history a chance at four more years in office.  And as for independent voters who may be disenchanted with their vote for Trump, I can't imagine there are too many of them that are going to think, "You know, what we really need is another billionaire who knows nothing about running government but plenty about fucking over the working man to give himself even more money."

I don't think Schultz will run, but if he does, he's more likely to siphon votes from Trump hating republicans than he is from whoever the Democratic candidate turns out to be.

Because he's just another egotistical rich asshole--and republicans seem to like them a lot more than we Democrats do.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

A change is gonna come

One way or another, we're gonna getcha, getcha

Since Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez floated the idea of a 70% tax rate on those making more than ten million dollars a year, a poll has been released showing that a solid majority of Americans (59%) are in favor of it becoming actual policy.

And this, too, is what Donald Trump hath wrought:  not only are we now discussing Medicare for all (which a majority of Americans now also favors), but we are also discussing significantly increasing the tax rate among the wealthy.

If I had my druthers, I'd druther Trump had never been elected--but he has taken conservatives so far over the top that left wing policies that were once thought out of the mainstream seem fairly tame now.

And the economic dystopia that America has become is coming closer than ever to being dismantled.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCXII--Culture Club: Karma Chameleon

For both of you keeping score at home, this makes three straight weeks without posting on an actual Friday...

I can honestly say that this week's band never had another tune that I remotely liked let alone loved, but when they made featured tune #212, the Gods of Pop threw a thunderbolt with a touch of magic their way and they made the most of it.

Culture Club formed in 1981 in London and head a hell of a run for their first five years. Led by the flamboyant Boy George, the band released four of their six total albums all of which reached the top twenty in their native UK and the top forty here in the States.  They also had ten top ten singles in the UK (two #1's) and seven here in America (one #1).  Sadly the band had some inner turmoil (Boy George and drummer Jon Moss had a tumultuous romantic relationship), and went their separate ways in the mid-eighties.  Boy George through the years has battled addictions to varying drugs and has been arrested for possession a number of times--though he's also found time to start a fashion line, write two autobiographies, continue to write songs, release solo albums, and has become quite a well known DJ.  The band reunited in 1999, released an album that didn't sell, and went back to their lives.  They reunited again in 2011 and have remained together since mostly for touring and the occasional guest appearance, though they did release an album last year.  Overall the band has sold over 150 million records, won a Grammy Award, a couple of Brit Awards (UK's equivalent of our Grammy), and are considered a staple of the eighties new wave movement (with a shout out to MTV).

Fun Fact:  The band's name is a play on the band member's racial, sexual, and religious make-up--it features a gay Irishman, a black Briton, a blonde Briton, and one member of the Jewish persuasion.

"Karma Chameleon" was released in 1983 on their Colour by Numbers album, both of which were the biggest hits of their career.  "Karma Chameleon" went to number one in both the UK (for six weeks) and the US (for three weeks) and eventually sold over five million copies.  The album reached #1 in the UK and stayed at #2 on the Billboard 200 for three weeks behind Michael Jackson's Thriller (there's some luck--having your best selling album on the charts at the same time as the best selling album of all-time) here in America, and sold over sixteen million copies.

There's nothing much fancy about this one--regular readers know that emaycee is a big fan of a) blue-eyed soul, b) harmonicas, and c) catchy pop tunes, all of which are features of "Karma Chameleon."  Ostensibly the song is about staying true to yourself--or rather, the song's protagonist is asking his lover to say true to him/herself.  Boy George' vocals truly carry the day, though there's a nice bass line and some quirky guitar along the way as well.  The chorus is a pop single fan's favorite ice cream--it melts in your mouth and feels good all the way down to the pit of your stomach.  I should also mention that the band chimes in with some really nice backing vocals--a spot here and a spot there that help make the song even better.  "Karma Chameleon" is one of the few songs from the eighties new wave movement that has aged very well and is as hoppin' and boppin' as it was when it first came out thirty-five years ago--another in a long line of great Brit pop.

Lyric Sheet:  "Every day is like survival/You're my lover not my rival..."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

For whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap

Et tu, Catholic Church?

In light of racism shown by its students from Covington Catholic High School (Kentucky--who would have ever guessed?) as they chanted "Go back to the reservation" and threatened Native American Vietnam War Veteran Nathan Phillips while wearing their MAGA hats, the Catholic Conference of Kentucky issued the following:

We condemn the actions of the Covington Catholic High School students toward Nathan Phillips specifically, and Native Americans in general, Jan. 18 after the March for Life, in Washington, D.C.  We extend our deepest apologies to Mr. Phillips. This behavior is opposed to the Church's teachings on the dignity and respect of the human person.

As usual, this is complete and utter horseshit from the Catholic Church.

Under Pope John Paul II, the Catholic Church sold its soul to the republican party in America in return for its anti-abortion and homophobic policies that align perfectly with Catholic Church doctrine.  That the republican party was also the party of racism was conveniently ignored (name one fucking prominent Catholic who has said word one about the party's history of disenfranchising people of color or Trump's blatant racism).  Now that the Church has been once again made to look like the hateful religion that it is, they've suddenly had a come to Jesus moment?

Go fuck yourselves--this is the deal with the devil the Church made and now it can watch even more of its disciples flee and its piety made a mockery of.  It will be richly deserved.

And once again (see also, Rome, Hitler, Mussolini, Sex Abuse) the Catholic Church is on the wrong side of history.

Here's hoping eventually the pimple on the butt of humanity that is the Catholic Church will be popped and the world can begin to heal from the misery it has wrought.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Hey comrade...

Vlad's butt buddy

Think about this:  The FBI opened an investigation into whether the President of the United States was secretly working on behalf of Russia.  The magnitude of it is mind boggling--our chief law enforcement agency did not trust the President of the United States to act in this country's best interest.

Now think about this:  The fact that this wasn't the only point of discussion in our national media since the day the story broke, because, you know, both siderism.

As Nancy Pelosi goes down in our history as an extraordinary heroine for standing up to Trump, so will our national media go down in history for its sheer and utter cowardice in the face of all that Trump has done to disgrace this nation.

And it will be well deserved.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

President Pelosi

Yup--she's a badass...

Like many Democrats, I've had my ups and downs with Nancy Pelosi...but I'm here to tell you that what she's doing right now in standing up to Donald Trump will go down in American history as one of the great acts of political courage.  And she's handling the situation like it's just another day at work. 

It isn't.  She is literally the wall (so to speak) between this country and disaster.

History will not forget it.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee