Texan Love Song - Elton John

There I was, with my head all full of politics, during an hour drive to watch / play with my niece & nephew today, and this old Elton John song comes on the radio.



And, I was thinkin' how much it reminded me of the Teabag / mob Right, shouting down /shutting down discussion between the American people and those in congress who were elected to represent 'em. (And don't buy into the spin; it isn't that they disagree with the healthcare plan or whatever, but how disagreeable they're acting while doing it. I'm fine with folks expressing disagreement, and even booing "bad" statements, but shouting a speaker down, following him to his car, or not allowing her to answer the question isn't discussion/debate, it's rudeness and thuggery.)

Anyway... except for that "...kids still respected the President's name" part, (an interesting switch, that) it's a pretty accurate portrayal...

Besides, it'd been AGES since I heard the song. I used to listen to dad's copy of this album all the time, and certain songs stayed with me... I loved this one back then--I think it was the irony of it, and the potential violent confrontation--but confess to having lost touch with it over the years... Hearing it today was like being reintroduced to a person you once knew intimately (a one time lover, or your best friend from 7th grade). I had that glow of "Hey... I remember this song, I think..." before the vocal started, and it didn't take me more than a line or two to be singing along (some lines I knew, and some I only thought I knew...), and having all those other memories come flooding back (singing along in dad's music room & elsewhere, the cover art, the song before/after it on the record, and the other songs in the "redneck set" I put together on a mixed tape--a few southern rock tunes, Lonesome Cowboy Burt, and a really obscure "cowboy" song from the early 70's that made fun of homophobia/judging folks you don't know, that I can't recall the name of, anymore). After that came the political stuff, above.

So, there it is... Enjoy the song.

Roundup and Commentary - 3/17/09

Worth Reading:
Perhaps too late for this year, but worth downloading for next year: Last Days of Man On Earth - St Patricks Day Podcast

Comments:
Marriage, the Constitution, and the law...: Take Government out of the Marriage Business: A better reconciliation on Gay Marriage

No one should be taking medical (or any other) benefits from military vets: Screw You, Mr. President! - Old Soldier (or, should the comment there not make the moderation cut: Military service and vet benefits)

Individual people should be too important to fail, unless they really want to...: Sane Political Discourse: Regulation vs Control

New Music: Francesca Valle

This may be a tad premature, as I've only heard three songs from this artist, but in my defense, they were really good songs. Besides, if you're not duking it out over some major (or more often, minor) political point or another (and I'm giving myself a tiny break from that today), what better way to use the internet than to give a boost to an artist in need (and deserving) of more attention?

With a h/t to my political blogging neocon nemesis, Donald Douglas for his offhand mention of a woman in one of his classes, I discovered the music of Francesca Valle.

Being an all out sucker for chick singers with great voices, I was immediately sucked in by the tune Splinter, which automagically starts playing as soon as her site opens. (...currently, anyway--When she's famous & someone stumbles on this early review, who knows what'll be playing on her site?). The song is plaintive & "city-folkish" (those who listen to WFUV Public Radio, either here in NY or via the online stream, should already have a pretty good idea what I mean.) It's not too heavy--though it rocks, building from a quiet little song into something much more emotional & raw--and it's lyrically pretty damned good, too.

Since there were only two songs available, (and I'd already heard one), I figured I'd splurge and spend my big $1.98 on both. If the second song didn't live up to the promise of the first, I hadn't lost much. After a minor glitch in getting my songs (which ended up working out in my favor 8>), I received RubberSoul, and a special bonus track for bein' so patient with the glitch, called Hate. Both more than live up to the promise of Splinter.

RubberSoul is a bit heavier, but still has that adult alternative/city folk feel. I wasn't expecting the harmonica, but it blends nicely and fits with the song.

Hate really catches my attention. It has that building, tension & release quality I like so much in Trey Anastasio's guitar work with Phish, and reminds me alot of another female lead band that had some popularity aways back. (I'm doing everything I can to avoid any of those "this song sounds like ... [name artist here]" lines in this review. Francesca does put me in mind of other bands large & small, but I suspect that she'd rather you'd take her as herself, first... ...or at least make your own damned connections, rather than having mine stuck in your head as you listen.) This song is much heavier, leaving the city folk genre behind. Any good rock station worth it's salt would be proud to have it in rotation...

As you can see from her site, her home turf is the Long Beach, CA area, so those within driving distance of there will prolly see her long before I do. (I checked for her gig the other night... Mapquest said it'd take me 44 hours or so of straight driving to get to the club she was playing. That ain't happenin' any time soon... Nevertheless, I'm on the mailing list, waiting for the announcement of that inevitable east coast tour... 8>)

That's my pitch... If you have the opportunity, I'd check her out...

More info: Francesca Valle on MySpace Music

PS: You know... It occurs to me that I usually write about dead musicians, rather than live ones... Other than my mention of Antigone Rising (now Antigone 4, or Antigone, featuring Shannon McNally... I'm not sure where that stands...), I've mostly done eulogies for artists lost... Feels good to write about an artist & have something (a whole lot, in this case) to look forward to from them, for a change...

Racist Music Just a Download Away on Mainstream Music Sites

See UPDATE, appended.
------------------

FOXNews.com - Racist Music Just a Download Away on Mainstream Music Sites

The relevant quotes:

You're unlikely to find CDs by groups like Skrewdriver and Brutal Attack sold alongside the latest hits from Rihanna and the Jonas Brothers at your local retailer.

But the white-power punk bands' ballads are just a click away online.
...
But there is a market for it — which leads to the question of whether online music retailers should screen what they sell, or if it should be up to the buyer to decide what's suitable.
...
"If you're going to be able to carry that hard-core Marxist stuff, what is the problem with someone saying, 'White pride, worldwide?'" Schoep asked.
...
Nora Flanagan, a spokeswoman for the activist group Turn It Down, which lobbies against objectionable music, said the companies have every right — and a social obligation — to remove the songs from being sold on their sites.
...
"It's absolutely their right to sell it," she said, "but it could be their choice not to — if they wanted to take a stand on it."
...
Chris Kennedy, director of the Cato Institute's Project on Criminal Justice, said the term censorship is "thrown around" too loosely.

"Censorship should only be applied when the government tries to censor someone," he said. "Otherwise, we're just talking about the choices that entrepreneurs and businesses make in a free society. When companies decide they're not going to accept their product, that's not censorship — that's just choices that they make."

First off, the last bit from the gentleman from the Cato Institute, reminds me of what I said back in April, 2007 about Free Speech, Imus, & the Free Market. It isn't censorship or a violation of anyone's free speech rights, unless it is done by a government entity. When a tv or radio station fires a member of their on air talent, or a music outlet chooses not to carry a particular group's music, no one is being censored--even if they do so because they object to something the on air person or musical group said. When the government comes in and arrests the on air talent for something s/he said, or confiscates the group's recordings because of lyrical content, THAT'S censorship.

I think online & brick & mortar music retailers ought to consider screening their offerings for content. I also think that if you believe they've mishandled an artist--either by offering the music when you think they should not, or by removing an artist you think should be available--you need to speak up, and be willing to shop elsewhere if they consistently don't see it your way. I've always been a big fan of shopping your values, and believe that when a lot of individuals are willing to write companies and buy products that in some way reflect the values of the society they want to live in, things can change.

The only thing that worries me is that music retailers will play it safe, and controversial music of any kind will be harder to find. While I agree with retailers removing Neo-Nazi white power music, I'd be quite sad if humorless Christianists were to scare them away from offering Monty Python's The Life of Brian, or the right complained about "commie folk singers" like Pete Seeger or something. Were things to really go bad, we could end up with nothing but a steady diet of the most vanilla pop stars, and if the Victorian era prudes had their way, even they would lose any hint of sexual appeal.

I have high hopes however, that there are enough heathens, Stalinist nihilists, and perverts--but not enough black/white/brown/??? racists [changed from "neo-Nazis" at UPDATE]--to curtail sales of the truly dangerous music being sold, but leave a little spice... But we should watch it, just in case...
--------
UPDATE: While a little odd, my first commenter -anonymous- makes a good point. It isn't only white power music that's racist or otherwise objectionable, even to me. If thug rap or socialist folk or Christian/anti-Christian music offends you, by all means speak up and refuse to do business with those outlets that continue to sell that offensive crap (whatever you determine "that offensive crap" to be).

Memery - Sheila - Tommy Roe

1. Put Your itunes/ipod on Shuffle
2. For each question, press the next button, and the title of that song is your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS
4. Put any comments in (brackets) after the song name
5. Tag those to finish the survey as well
-----------------------------------

1) Describe yourself
Moonlight Sonata - Beethoven

2) What do people feel when they're around you?
Eubie's Classical Rag - Eubie Blake

3) Describe your current relationship?
Zip-a-dee-doo-dah - Aly & AJ

4) Where would you like to be right now?
In the Beginning (Radio Edit) - 2 Souls & Bari Koral

5) How do you feel about love?
I Tawt I Taw Ol' Tanty Cwaus - Mel Blanc (as Tweety Bird)

6) What is your life like?
The Central Scrutinizer - Frank Zappa

7) What would you wish for if you only had one wish?
Silence - Gomez

8) Say something wise
The Other Side Of The World - Dishwalla

9) How would you describe yourself?
Lord, I Used To Know 150 Songs By Heart...And Waterbound - Dirk Powell

10) What do you look for in a girl?
Shriner's Park - Melissa Etheridge

11) How do you feel today?
Stairway to Heaven - Neil Pepper

12) What's your life's purpose?
Zombie - Nellie McKay

13) What is your motto?
Rastaman Chant - Bob Marley, Busta Rhymes & Flipmode Squad

14) What do your friends think of you?
You Vote Does Count Skit - P.Diddy

15) What do you think of your parents?
You Can't Always Get What You Want - Luther Allison

16) What do you think about very often?
The Dick Van Dyke Show Theme - The Dick Van Dyke Show

17) What do you think of your best friend?
Sink, Florida, Sink (Electric) - Against Me!

18) What do you think of the person you like?
Life in a Northern Town - The Dream Academy

19) What is your life story?
Ill Angel - Jeb Loy Nichols

20) What do you want to be when you grow up?
Herbei, Oh Ihr Glaubigen (O Come All Ye Faithful) - Mannheim Steamroller

21) What do you think of when you see the person you like?
Didi Tera Devar Deewana - Lata Mangeshkar & S.P.Balasubhramaniam

22) What will you dance to at your wedding?
Cornflake Girl - Tori Amos

23) What will play at your funeral?
Jamie's Crying - Jajuya

24) Biggest fear?
Odds And Ends - Dionne Warwick

25) Biggest secret?
Frankie and Johnny - Tuts Washington

26) What will you post this as?
Sheila - Tommy Roe
----------------

Used my whole iTunes music section (all 43,274 items) on this... Not that impressed, for the most part. I'm a firm believer that the answers are right there in front of you, most times--just concentrate on a problem, then open a random book to a random page, and your answer will be there, if you read it right--but I'm guessing there wasn't enough concentration for this to work as well as it could have...

Fun, nevertheless... 8>)

iPod Semi-Random 10 - 8/26/07

I'm Cute -
Animaniacs -
Animaniacs Soundtrack

Painted from Memory -
Elvis Costello with Burt Bacharach -
Painted From Memory

Stripper's Holiday -
Sonny Lester & His Orchestra -
Take It Off! Striptease Classics

Back in Black -
Mashuptown.com -
Mashup of the Week Podcast

Coming in From the Cold -
Bob Marley & the Wailers -
Legend [Deluxe Edition] - Disc 2

Stairway To Heaven -
Leonard Teale -
Stairways to Heaven, Stairways to Hell

Heaven Help Us All -
Madeleine Peyroux and William Galison -
Got You On My Mind

Sweetwater, Texas -
Fastball -
All The Pain Money Can Buy

Honky Cat -
Elton John -
Sliding Doors

Where Did Our Love Go? -
Keahiwai -
Satisfied

iPod Semi-Random 10 - 8/19/07

1) Better -
Antigone Rising -
From the Ground Up



Antigone gets a little extra oomph because my wife's known two of 'em (the sisters) since they were all in diapers or so... I've been regailed with tales of houses almost burned down and similar female preteen hi-jinx... Aside that, they're very, very talented...

2) I Walked Away -
Sunfall Festival -
NPR: Open Mic Music Podcast

3) Congress...Your Fired -
Jason Brock -
The PEACEPOD Podcast

4) Whole Of The Moon -
Mandy Moore -
Coverage

5) "To Elsie" or "The pure products of America / go crazy" -
William Carlos Williams (1883-1963) -
In Their Own Voices: A Century of Recorded Poetry (Disc 1)

6) Play That Funky Music -
Wild Cherry -
The Disco Box [Disc 2]

7) Like Castanets - Bishop Allen -
KEXP Song of the Day Podcast

8) I Will Move On Up A Little Higher -
Mahalia Jackson -
Sony Music 100 Years: Soundtrack for a Century - Folk, Gospel & Blues: Will the Circle Be Unbroken (Disc 1)

9) Americano -
Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers -
Paste Magazine Issue #9

10) Llama -
Phish -
Picture of Nectar

IPod Semi-Random 10 - 8/12/07

Last 10 songs/stories/podcasts played on my iPod:

1) Fresh - Kool & The Gang - The Disco Box [Disc 4]

2) Ocean - Joan Armatrading - Lovers Speak

3) Lesson #027 - Let's Speak Italian! Podcast

4) iTunes New Music Tuesday July 31, 2007 - iTunes New Music Tuesday Podcast

5) Lazy Eyes - Chow Nasty - KEXP 90.3 FM Song of the Day Podcast

6) Jesus is Just Alright - Doobie Brothers

7) Drum Boogie - Gene Krupa - The Drum Battle At JATP

8) Blue Moon - Chris Isaak

9) Spiritual High (State of Independence) Part II - Moodfood - Moodfood

10) The Philosophy Of Loss- Indigo Girls - Liberation: War Is Over