Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CXXX--The Raconteurs: Steady, As She Goes

While there have been quite a few songs since the turn of the century that I've quite enjoyed, I'd be hard pressed to remember one that I enjoyed more than I've enjoyed this week's tune.

And to those who say it sounds like a White Stripes tune (not surprisingly, as Jack White sings lead vocals and plays lead guitar), I counter with...ain't nothin' wrong with that.

The seeds of the Raconteurs were formed in Nashville in 2005 when old friends Jack White and Brendan Benson got together and wrote "Steady, As She Goes."  Later that year they were joined by Jack Lawrence and Patrick Keeler of Detroit band The Greenhornes (not familiar) in the Motor City and between their full-time gigs managed to record an album's worth of tunes.  They followed with a tour (including being an opening act for Nobel Prize laureate, Bob Dylan), and another album in 2008.  They have reunited here and there since, and in 2014 got together and started on another album but it remains uncompleted and it's uncertain whether they will return as a foursome.  Nonetheless, all four continue to make and play music successfully for a living and one supposes it's hard to complain much about that.

Released on their Broken Boy Soldiers LP in 2006, "Steady, As She Goes" would go on to be a minor hit here in the states (#54--with a bullet!--on The Billboard Hot 100), but do considerably better in Canada (#3) and the UK (#4), probably because they're so much cooler than we are.  Both the album and the single would earn the Raconteurs Grammy nominations, and the song ended up on numerous year end best of compilations for 2006.

Starting with an ominous drum count, "Steady, As She Goes" moves into a funky ass bass line which sounds very much borrowed from Joe Jackson's "Is She Really Going Out With Him?" (what the hell--if you're going to borrow, might as well be from a good one), before running headlong into some bitchin' guitar work from Jack White, a staccato scratch of the strings that plays well with the bass.  The chorus moves into power chord heaven with some great backing vocals from Brendan Benson (I don't know a lot of Benson's solo work, but from what I've heard, despite the comparisons to the White Stripes, Benson's influence can definitely be heard in the chorus--for those not in the know, Benson's "What" is well worth a listen).  You may notice I've stayed away from the song's lyrics--that's partly intentional as the song seems to me to be the chiding of an acquaintance who may have married more for stability than love and I'm pretty sure there have been people married for worse reasons, but what the hell do I know.  Anyway, it all adds up to a power pop dream of a song, with guitar, bass, and drums becoming so much more than the sum of their parts, and a catchy as all hell chorus that'll (thankfully) stay with you for days.

Lyric Sheet:  "But no matter what you do, you'll always feel as though you tripped and fell/So steady as she goes...."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

The revolution will be live

And perhaps sooner than they think...

The anger is palpable.

And one has to wonder how much more of it working class folks will take before the shit hits the fan.  To wit (and this is just the tip of the iceberg):

• The Trumpcare bill was released today, and here's a surprise:  Turns out that virtually all of us are going to pay more for healthcare (yes, even us lucky folks who have employer provided healthcare), have much higher deductibles, and it will result in millions of Americans either losing or being priced out of their healthcare...all so we can give tax breaks to the super rich.
• The Trump family is basically using the Presidency to immensely enrich itself further, and is showing no signs that it's willing to so much as lift a finger to help all those poor saps who voted for the rich white guy in hopes that he'd keep their families from starving.  Turns out there's a lot more than just one sucker born every minute.
• In a speech in Iowa this week, Trump said he doesn't want poor people making economic decisions.  Of fucking course he doesn't--if they learned how much the fat orange bastard was fucking them, they'd put his balls in a vise and keep turning the handle until his testes were as flat as their paychecks.
• And how about filling the swamp with rich people who gave millions to his campaign who are using their positions not to help the American people, but to make themselves and their families even wealthier.  Betsy DeVos?  Solely in it to make more money for her family.  Rex Tillerson?  Ditto.  Scott Pruitt?  Ditto--well that and blowing the fossil fuel industry which he seems to enjoy tremendously.  And what's even more pathetic?  For all the talk about running the country like a business, can you imagine a corporation in America who would put so many completely unqualified people in positions of authority?  I mean seriously--it would be like Bank of America taking someone who's a regional head of HR and making that person their CFO.  Even Corporate America isn't that fucking stupid.

I've felt for a long time that eventually income inequality and the continued lowering of the standard of living for the poor, the working class, and the middle class would result in some serious ugliness toward the wealthy, but I never thought I'd live long enough to see it.

Not so sure anymore that I won't be here to enjoy it.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

The demoralization of the story

Cloudy with a chance of meatheads...

Though some nice obituaries (one here, another here, and also here) have been written trying to mitigate the disaster that was Jon Ossoff's loss to Karen Handel in GA-06, it's really hard to see much good coming out of it.  Whether you're a glass half-full (Ossoff outperformed the last Dem in this race by 19+ points) or half-empty (underperformed Hillary Clinton by 3+ points) person a loss is a loss is a loss.  Even worse, this was probably the best chance we had of all the special elections thus far and the race really wasn't even that close.

And that's not even noting that Donald Trump has historical disapproval ratings, which didn't seem to hurt Handel one bit.

It all comes down to God, gays, and guns and republicans are just better at rallying their troops around those talking points.  Realistically, I see very little chance that Dems will take back the House in 2018--with the exception of 2012, we've lost the close races in virtually every competitive race since 2010 and it's not usually even as close as the closing polls show (we might also want to work on the accuracy of our polling).

I see very little chance that Trumpcare won't pass now (and Lord I hope I'm wrong).  We really needed this one to put a little fear in vulnerable republicans and that isn't happening after another stinging defeat for the Democrats.  They're going to push hard to enact the rest of their agenda (more for rich people, more for rich people, and more for rich people) so that short attention span voters will have forgotten how much republicans have fucked them over by the 2018 mid-terms.

Still, as I noted after the election of Donald Trump, we have to keep fighting.  Eventually the worm will turn, and when it does, let's hope Democrats have finally learned to go for the jugular.

'Cause God knows republicans sure have.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Tales from the soulless

We're living in soulless times...

Just when you thought you couldn't feel any more disgust for republicans, along comes Paul Ryan to tell us that we should forgive Donald Trump for his obstruction of justice and sheer incompetence because he's new at this whole being the President gig, and doesn't understand the protocol.

Imagine for just one second that Nancy Pelosi had tried to pass off this bullshit in the first five months that Barack Obama was President.  Can you imagine the republican backlash?  Or that the press would have given her a free pass for pronouncing such idiocy?

It's truly hard to overstate the complete and total contempt for Americans, and by extension, for America itself, that Paul Ryan has in his heart.  As long as his wealthy benefactors are taken care of, the man just doesn't care about us or our country.

Here's hoping that we all live long enough to see him reap the just rewards of his Faustian bargain.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Just keep looking for that black cat

There is no there, there

Not content with decrying the end of civilization as we know it because Democrats are vowing to pass a $15 minimum wage should they win control of the House again in 2018, conservative pinheads America Rising are preparing to spend upwards of $10 million dollars to defeat Elizabeth Warren in her 2018 re-election campaign for the U.S. Senate, as well as hampering her chances at winning the Presidency in 2020.

My word, what an excellent campaign tactic!

First off, Elizabeth Warren is a very popular Senator in a very blue state--the odds of her losing in 2018 are slim and none.  And even if they manage to cut a point or two off her victory margin, it's still going to be a colossal ass kicking for the republican candidate.  And no one will give a shit, regardless.  Second, near as I can tell, Sen. Warren has not shown any more interest in running for President in 2020 than she did in 2016.

So if republicans want to flush $10 million dollars down the toilet for a losing and pointless proposition, by all means, please do so.  And while they're at it, here's hoping they drop $10 million on FDR, Harry Truman, JFK, and LBJ--and any other Democratic boogieman who won't be running to obliterate Donald Trump in 2020.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CXXIX--Herman's Hermits: The End of the World

Contrary to what you might be thinking, this week's tune is not a commentary on the effects of the Trump Presidency....

Though it was originally released in 1963 (more on that later), I didn't come to know "The End of the World" until John Mellencamp released a cover version (to show you the popularity of the song, there are literally hundreds of cover versions--I'm sure that somewhere a group of monks recorded it as a Gregorian chant) on his Trouble No More LP in 2003 (I spent months listening to the song again and again).  Fast forward many, many moons and I was at work one night listening to a sampling of Sixties Folk on Pandora and lo and behold, the song came on and it was decidedly not John Mellencamp singing, so I rushed to the office computer and found it was Herman's Hermits, which started a months long lovefest with Herman's Hermits and their greatest hits (a great sampling of sixties pop).

Herman's Hermits were formed in 1964 in Manchester, England, and had a hell of a run over the next seven years.  Initially they were more popular in the states--from '64 through '67 they had eleven top ten hits in the U.S., including two number ones ("Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter" and "Henry the VIII, I Am") and two Grammy nominations.  By 1967 they were essentially done commercially in the States, though from '67 through '71 they managed to have more top ten hits in Britain than they'd had while they were storming the American airwaves.  In 1971 the bandmates went their separate ways, though Herman's Hermits keep touring.  Due to acrimony among the surviving members (and like that never happens), there are two separate incarnations of the band still touring, one featuring lead singer Peter Noone, and the other featuring the only other surviving member, Barry Whitwam.

Fun Fact:  "The End of the World" was originally a hit in 1963 for country music star Skeeter Davis--she took the song to #2 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100 and the Billboard country charts, #1 on the easy listening chart, and #4 on the rhythm and blues chart, the only time in the history of the Billboard charts that an artist had a song in the top ten on all four charts.  Pretty impressive charting....

With all due respect to Ms. Davis (and John Mellencamp), though, my favorite version is by far and away the Herman's Hermits cover released on their debut album in 1964, the oh so cleverly named Herman's Hermits.  Like last week's FNJ featured tune, "The End of the World" was originally released as a B side (to "Henry the VIII, I Am") by Herman's Hermits, and never had any chart success as a single on its own merits.  The song is as simple as simple gets:  a lovely melody, forlorn vocals, and heartfelt lyrics questioning just why the world goes on despite having lost the love of one's life.  Without hyperbole, I tell you that I'm not sure a perfect pop song has ever been written, but for my taste, this one is about as close as an artist can get.  It's a wonderful look at the sorrow that is a broken heart and a pop gem if ever there was one.

Liner Notes:  "Why do the birds go on singing?/Why do the stars shine above?/Don't they know it's the end of the world?/It ended when I lost your love...."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CXXVIII--Devo: Jocko Homo

It's hard to believe, as over time Saturday Night Live's weekly musical guests have generally become established acts, but back in the day when I was still a young man SNL would often feature unknown artists, or artists that you might have heard of but got zero in the way of mainstream radio play.  And while I heard artists like Rickie Lee Jones and Eddie Money (among others now long forgotten) for the first time on the show, there were none quite like this week's featured artist, Devo.  Appearing on stage in yellow jumpsuits and performing the strangest (yet oddly compelling) cover version of the Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction," Devo, at the time, were not like any band I'd ever heard before.  They finished their night performing this week's tune, which in a way was ever stranger than the Stones' cover, and I rushed out the next day and bought their album.

Formed in Ohio (Kent and Akron) in 1973, Devo had some success in the late seventies and early eighties which, as numerous other bands I've featured this year have done, they managed to parlay into a career of nine albums (eight from 1978-1990, and a latecomer in 2010), and regular tours they still perform to this day.  The band was primarily made up of two sets of brothers--the Mothersbaughs (Mark and Bob), and the Casales (Gerald and Bob).  Alan Myers rounded out the group on drums, and they brought a certain kitsch to pop music.  Lots of synthesizers and singsong vocals were the band's trademarks, which they used to develop their biggest hit, "Whip It," which went to #14 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100, and to be perfectly honest, was never one of my favorite songs (though MTV loved the hell out of the video).  While their first album will always have a special place in my heart, and they had a couple of nice singles through their early years (a cover of "Working in a Coalmine" and "Through Being Cool" that I really liked), they eventually fell off my radar (novelty can only take you so far) and became just another band with a great debut album that faded into my memory.

Fun Fact:  Recommendations from David Bowie and Iggy Pop helped Devo land their first record contract with Warner Brothers.  Nothing like getting rock royalty to recommend you...

Released in 1977 on their Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! LP, "Jocko Homo" is considered Devo's anthem (and rightfully so) but was actually originally released as the B side to their first single, "Mongoloid."  The song is actually a tongue in cheek poke at those who don't believe in evolution (Devo is short for devolution), and the title comes from an anti-evolution tract, wherein it's explained as meaning "Ape-Man."  The "chorus" revolves around Mark Mothersbaugh (who would go on to have quite a bit of success writing theme songs for TV shows and doing soundtrack work for films) shouting "Are we not men?" (which was taken from a line in the movie Island of Lost Souls) and the band members responding, "We are Devo!"  While there is instrumentation in the song, it's a little off kilter yet it helps define the song along with the not so ordinary lyrics.  It's not for everyone--many folks (including my younger brother) are much more fond of their Stones' cover version than this one, but there's always been something for me about the sheer absurdity of "Jocko Homo" that made it an utter delight to hear again and again.

Lyric Sheet:  "They tell us that we lost our tails/Evolving up from little snails/I say it's all just wind in sails..."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee