For shits and grins (and it'll probably be a lot more shits than grins) here's my fearless forecast for tomorrow night's Iowa Caucus:
Democrats
Hillary Clinton wins a squeaker over Bernie Sanders. O'Malley is out of the race before the week is over.
Republicans
Donald Trump wins a close one over Ted Cruz. Marco Rubio finishes third. Jeb! Bush stays in the race waiting for South Carolina to put the final nail in his coffin. Christie and Kasich have put all their chips in the pot for New Hampshire so they live to fight another week. Fiorina stays in because the big money boys want a woman to stay in the race to bash Hillary because somehow in their small little minds that makes it seem fairer to the rest of America. Carson fights another week because he's delusional. Huckabee, Santorum, Paul, and Gilmore pull the plugs on their comatose campaigns.
Just remember when your preferred candidate does much better than my prediction you know who to thank....
Peace,
emaycee
Sunday, January 31, 2016
Friday, January 29, 2016
Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. LVII--Edwin Starr: War
Good God, y'all....
The first three 45s I ever owned were "Joy to the World" by Three Dog Night, "Power to the People" by John Lennon, and "War" by Edwin Starr. I'd like to tell you I was quite the politically inclined twelve-year-old, but the truth of the matter is that I brought the three of them because so many of the kids in my school thought they were cool, and I wanted to be cool, too. Alas, that dream died a quick death, but the influence on me of "Power to the People" and "War" would be profound.
Written by Motown greats Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong (click on either link--the list of hit songs they wrote is quite impressive), the song was originally recorded by The Temptations. Fans clamored for it to be released as a single, but The Temptations were afraid of alienating their core fans so Edwin Starr stepped up and offered to record it. And when he did, he recorded a song that could arguably be called the greatest protest song ever.
Good God, y'all....
Edwin Starr's career began in the early 1960s (and right here in Detroit, Michigan, home of one Motown records). His first hit was "Agent Double-O-Soul" (and what a cool title that is, and also the epitaph on his gravestone). His biggest hit prior to "War" was "25 Miles" (fans of the movie Adventures in Babysitting may recall it). Released in 1970 on his War and Peace (if you're going to borrow a title, borrow it from the best), the song would go on to reach #1 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100 and stay there for three weeks. Starr would eventually leave the U.S. in 1973 for greener pastures in England where he recorded and toured until his all too early death from a heart attack in 2002. The influence of "War" is still felt far and wide on televison shows, movies, and various other media as the quintessential anti-war song (Springsteen took a cover version of "War" to #8 in 1986, as well), For those counting at home, that's six uses of parentheses in a single paragraph which may be a Friday Night Jukebox record....
The thing that amazes me most about "War" is how much it sounds like, well, war. From the beginning drum roll that leads into an explosion of horns and percussion right before Starr's vocals thunder the words "War, huh yeah/What is it good for?/Absolutely nothing!" all the way to the end where Starr clamors again and again at the injustice of war (and if you listen closely you can hear the drums mimicking marching boots), the song reminds us of the hell that is war. Even when you listen to the music behind Starr's singing of the verses there's a cacophony to it that recalls helicopters and bombs exploding and gunfire and young men screaming in terror. The song is literally an aural music video (if that makes any sense) playing out the horrors of war. And Starr gives a truly great vocal performance with grunts and howls and an urgency that conveys the pain and heartache as well as the all too often utter senselessness of settling our disputes with guns. "...(W)ho wants to die?" he asks at the end, lamenting the age old existential quandary of watching too many young men and women die in battle and wondering what the hell for.
"Good God, y'all" indeed.
Enjoy:
Peace,
emaycee
The first three 45s I ever owned were "Joy to the World" by Three Dog Night, "Power to the People" by John Lennon, and "War" by Edwin Starr. I'd like to tell you I was quite the politically inclined twelve-year-old, but the truth of the matter is that I brought the three of them because so many of the kids in my school thought they were cool, and I wanted to be cool, too. Alas, that dream died a quick death, but the influence on me of "Power to the People" and "War" would be profound.
Written by Motown greats Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong (click on either link--the list of hit songs they wrote is quite impressive), the song was originally recorded by The Temptations. Fans clamored for it to be released as a single, but The Temptations were afraid of alienating their core fans so Edwin Starr stepped up and offered to record it. And when he did, he recorded a song that could arguably be called the greatest protest song ever.
Good God, y'all....
Edwin Starr's career began in the early 1960s (and right here in Detroit, Michigan, home of one Motown records). His first hit was "Agent Double-O-Soul" (and what a cool title that is, and also the epitaph on his gravestone). His biggest hit prior to "War" was "25 Miles" (fans of the movie Adventures in Babysitting may recall it). Released in 1970 on his War and Peace (if you're going to borrow a title, borrow it from the best), the song would go on to reach #1 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100 and stay there for three weeks. Starr would eventually leave the U.S. in 1973 for greener pastures in England where he recorded and toured until his all too early death from a heart attack in 2002. The influence of "War" is still felt far and wide on televison shows, movies, and various other media as the quintessential anti-war song (Springsteen took a cover version of "War" to #8 in 1986, as well), For those counting at home, that's six uses of parentheses in a single paragraph which may be a Friday Night Jukebox record....
The thing that amazes me most about "War" is how much it sounds like, well, war. From the beginning drum roll that leads into an explosion of horns and percussion right before Starr's vocals thunder the words "War, huh yeah/What is it good for?/Absolutely nothing!" all the way to the end where Starr clamors again and again at the injustice of war (and if you listen closely you can hear the drums mimicking marching boots), the song reminds us of the hell that is war. Even when you listen to the music behind Starr's singing of the verses there's a cacophony to it that recalls helicopters and bombs exploding and gunfire and young men screaming in terror. The song is literally an aural music video (if that makes any sense) playing out the horrors of war. And Starr gives a truly great vocal performance with grunts and howls and an urgency that conveys the pain and heartache as well as the all too often utter senselessness of settling our disputes with guns. "...(W)ho wants to die?" he asks at the end, lamenting the age old existential quandary of watching too many young men and women die in battle and wondering what the hell for.
"Good God, y'all" indeed.
Enjoy:
Peace,
emaycee
Thursday, January 28, 2016
Do they have an app for war criminals?
So far this week, George W. Bush administration Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has appeared on Charlie Rose, Stephen Colbert, and The View, ostensibly to hawk his video game app for "Churchill Solitaire," all the while appearing before crowds (except Charlie Rose) who are prompted to cheer at the introduction for a man who played an integral role in lying us into the Iraq War, which, by the way, resulted in the deaths of 4500 Americans and (by the most conservative of estimates) 150,000 Iraqis, the vast majority of whom were civilians.
Not to mention the three trillion dollar sinkhole it became for our budget, which President Obama has gamely been trying to help dig our way out of for almost eight years.
Am I the only one who wonders where our moral compass is when we celebrate a man largely responsible for such carnage? Or wonders how the wheels could have fallen so far off the track?
Is a dollar really worth that much?
Peace,
emaycee
Not to mention the three trillion dollar sinkhole it became for our budget, which President Obama has gamely been trying to help dig our way out of for almost eight years.
Am I the only one who wonders where our moral compass is when we celebrate a man largely responsible for such carnage? Or wonders how the wheels could have fallen so far off the track?
Is a dollar really worth that much?
Peace,
emaycee
Wednesday, January 27, 2016
Hypocrisy, thy name is republicans
There just may be a God after all:
A Texas grand jury has decided not to indict a Houston Planned Parenthood clinic, finding no evidence that the clinic had done anything illegal. They did, however, decide to indict the two bozos who shot the film purportedly showing the clinic talking about profiting from the sale of unborn fetuses for tampering with government evidence, and one of the suspects for the illegal sale and purchase of human body parts.
Despite the fact that the grand jury found no evidence of wrongdoing, republicans, are absolutely apoplectic, continuing with their lies concerning Planned Parenthood and the selling of fetus parts and defending the two newly indicted defendants. Apparently, as long as you're pursuing the republican agenda, lying, cheating, and breaking the law are completely okey dokey.
I must have not gotten the memo--I didn't realize that lying, cheating, and breaking the law had become Christian virtues....
Peace,
emaycee
A Texas grand jury has decided not to indict a Houston Planned Parenthood clinic, finding no evidence that the clinic had done anything illegal. They did, however, decide to indict the two bozos who shot the film purportedly showing the clinic talking about profiting from the sale of unborn fetuses for tampering with government evidence, and one of the suspects for the illegal sale and purchase of human body parts.
Despite the fact that the grand jury found no evidence of wrongdoing, republicans, are absolutely apoplectic, continuing with their lies concerning Planned Parenthood and the selling of fetus parts and defending the two newly indicted defendants. Apparently, as long as you're pursuing the republican agenda, lying, cheating, and breaking the law are completely okey dokey.
I must have not gotten the memo--I didn't realize that lying, cheating, and breaking the law had become Christian virtues....
Peace,
emaycee
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
The schools of America's future, republican version
The above is a picture from a school in Detroit. Yes, those are mushrooms growing through the floor.
You know what scares me most about this picture? The complete and utter lack of caring that it is the result of. And make no mistake, this is what the republican party thinks those students who aren't trust fund babies are worthy of. They have sapped democracy in Michigan with their appointments of Emergency Managers who are only accountable to a governor who is only accountable to the wealthy few that control his puppet strings.
Oh, well, right? I mean as long as we train those kids well enough to be shelf stockers at Wal-Mart, it's all good, isn't it?
Republicans may not give a shit only about Detroit city schools now, but it's only a matter of time before they don't give a shit about your nice middle class schools, either.
Peace,
emaycee
Saturday, January 23, 2016
Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. LVI--The Angels: My Boyfriend's Back
I'm in love with some Jersey girls this week....
A few years back I was working at Kmart doing some bullshit far beneath my God given abilities task when "My Boyfriend's Back" by The Angels come on the piped in music over the PA system and about halfway through the song I thought to myself, "Has this song always been this good?" I moved so that I stood directly underneath one of the speakers so I could have an optimal listening experience, and sure enough, it was that good. Just to make sure, when I went home that night I downloaded it from iTunes and listened to it about ten times in a row, all the while wondering just how far my head had to have been up my fanny for umpteen years to have never noticed how utterly fantastic "My Boyfriend's Back" actually is.
The Angels actually began as The Starlets in 1961, with the sisters Phyllis and Barbara Allbut among others. The group would go through several incarnations in a relatively short period of time and fail to find a producer, after which the Allbut sisters would turn back to their education. Eventually one Gerry Granahan saw their potential and they released the single "Till" with Linda Jansen doing the lead vocals. Jansen would quit in 1962 and was replaced by Peggy Santiglia. Together the three Jersey girls would record "My Boyfriend's Back," with Santiglia on lead vocals, as a demo to be considered by the Shirelles, but--and thank heaven for small miracles--someone saw something in The Angels version and decided to release it as a single. It would go on to reach #1 (most assuredly with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100. The Angels would never again reach such heights, but still perform occasionally to this day.
"My Boyfriend's Back" is basically the story of a young woman telling a rejected suitor who has spread lies about her love life that her boyfriend is back in town and he's going to open a can of whoop ass on him. Released in 1963 on the quite aptly titled My Boyfriend's Back LP, the song features Santiglia on lead vocals, with the Allbut sisters harmonizing after each of her throaty declarations the ever so cool "Hey-la, hey-la, my boyfriend's back" with all the buddy you are so fucked now swagger their hearts can muster. Throw in some subtle drums and electric guitars, replete with some rhythmically magical hand claps (courtesy of the Allbuts), and that alone would be enough to brand "My Boyfriend's Back" as a classic, but--yes, it gets even better--before the song fades out Santimiglia bursts into a buckshot scream crescendo, singing over the Allbut sisters repeated harmonies rat-a-tat-tatting pure euphoria at the rebuffed young man's comeuppance. And at that point "My Boyfriend's Back" shoots into another stratosphere of classic song.
At least it does for me--it is a true case of pop music lightning in a bottle.
O joy! O rapture! words: "If I were you I'd take a permanent vacation, hey-la, hey-la...."
Enjoy:
Peace,
emaycee
A few years back I was working at Kmart doing some bullshit far beneath my God given abilities task when "My Boyfriend's Back" by The Angels come on the piped in music over the PA system and about halfway through the song I thought to myself, "Has this song always been this good?" I moved so that I stood directly underneath one of the speakers so I could have an optimal listening experience, and sure enough, it was that good. Just to make sure, when I went home that night I downloaded it from iTunes and listened to it about ten times in a row, all the while wondering just how far my head had to have been up my fanny for umpteen years to have never noticed how utterly fantastic "My Boyfriend's Back" actually is.
The Angels actually began as The Starlets in 1961, with the sisters Phyllis and Barbara Allbut among others. The group would go through several incarnations in a relatively short period of time and fail to find a producer, after which the Allbut sisters would turn back to their education. Eventually one Gerry Granahan saw their potential and they released the single "Till" with Linda Jansen doing the lead vocals. Jansen would quit in 1962 and was replaced by Peggy Santiglia. Together the three Jersey girls would record "My Boyfriend's Back," with Santiglia on lead vocals, as a demo to be considered by the Shirelles, but--and thank heaven for small miracles--someone saw something in The Angels version and decided to release it as a single. It would go on to reach #1 (most assuredly with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100. The Angels would never again reach such heights, but still perform occasionally to this day.
"My Boyfriend's Back" is basically the story of a young woman telling a rejected suitor who has spread lies about her love life that her boyfriend is back in town and he's going to open a can of whoop ass on him. Released in 1963 on the quite aptly titled My Boyfriend's Back LP, the song features Santiglia on lead vocals, with the Allbut sisters harmonizing after each of her throaty declarations the ever so cool "Hey-la, hey-la, my boyfriend's back" with all the buddy you are so fucked now swagger their hearts can muster. Throw in some subtle drums and electric guitars, replete with some rhythmically magical hand claps (courtesy of the Allbuts), and that alone would be enough to brand "My Boyfriend's Back" as a classic, but--yes, it gets even better--before the song fades out Santimiglia bursts into a buckshot scream crescendo, singing over the Allbut sisters repeated harmonies rat-a-tat-tatting pure euphoria at the rebuffed young man's comeuppance. And at that point "My Boyfriend's Back" shoots into another stratosphere of classic song.
At least it does for me--it is a true case of pop music lightning in a bottle.
O joy! O rapture! words: "If I were you I'd take a permanent vacation, hey-la, hey-la...."
Enjoy:
Peace,
emaycee
Thursday, January 21, 2016
You break it, you buy it
Predictably, republicans in Michigan have begun trying to find someone/anyone to blame for their utter ineptitude in response to the water crisis in Flint. They're trying to blame the Flint City Council (good luck with that--ninety percent of the journalists in Michigan covering the crisis have already refuted it--and the 10% who haven't are republican trolls). They're also attempting to blame the EPA, and while the EPA response was not perfect, the vast majority of the blame belongs to Gov. Snyder and his "team."
What interests me most about this is republicans all too familiar tactic of trying to deflect blame from their failed policies. They're all about personal accountability (especially with regard to America's social safety net) until it comes to themselves. Listen: if you preach and want limited government than fucking own it when your amateur hour worldview fails. And make no mistake, the republican failure in the Flint water crisis is a direct result of their limited government policies.
They wanted to save money and walk away, but it's not so simple when you poison children in the process.
Peace,
emaycee
What interests me most about this is republicans all too familiar tactic of trying to deflect blame from their failed policies. They're all about personal accountability (especially with regard to America's social safety net) until it comes to themselves. Listen: if you preach and want limited government than fucking own it when your amateur hour worldview fails. And make no mistake, the republican failure in the Flint water crisis is a direct result of their limited government policies.
They wanted to save money and walk away, but it's not so simple when you poison children in the process.
Peace,
emaycee
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