How's This For A Sunday Quote?

"I went looking for Spirit and found alcohol; I went looking for soul, and I bought some stye; I wanted to meet God, but they sold me religion."

-Bono


Thoughts?

Joe, I Guess They Hardly Know Ye

I'm not sure what to think of the Democratic Senate primary in the state of Connecticut. Elected vice president in 2000, incumbant Joe Lieberman is now trailing challenger Ted Lamont in the polls, just three weeks before the election. Lieberman has always scored points as a moderate Democrat, one who's not a Pelosi or a Kennedy or anyone else with a "label". He's appeared such a moderate that he oftens comes across as a conservative with democratic ideals. That hasn't always been bad for him and yet this three-term Senator may just be handed his walking papers. What's interesting is why: the war. Lieberman has stuck to his guns on the issue of remaining in Iraq until "the job is completed", whatever that means. Are people frustrated with the war or are they frustrated with a Democrat being a yes-man to George W. Bush, one who even most conservatives think has failed as chief executive? Is he supposed to be a member of the 'loyal opposition' or one who ideologically challenges everything the GOP attempts to carry out? Interesting situation. I think what may just help lose the election for Joe is his claim to run as an independent if he does not earn the Democratic nod. That itself speaks volumes about the current political climate as well as party affiliation. Who does Joe Lieberman serve and represent in the Senate if he doesn't accept what Democratic voters want? Himself? The president? It sure as heck isn't the soldiers risking their lives as plugging the war won't earn him any more votes as is. Joe, maybe you should have shut your mouth and announced your cowboy candidacy after you lost so you could be seen as a populist and not a self-serving syncophant of the White House. Not to say that Lieberman is a GOP tool but what would he do if elected as an independent? Would he later switch party affiliations? He'd be impeached in Connecticut if he absconded to the GOP. Would he rejoin the Democrats? He would be a pariah as he'd show himself to be one that forced the issue of the war into the mainstream, something that no elected official truly seems to bring into public debate. Ignore the war, save your seat. Touch the third rail of the 2006 election and find yourself fund raising as an independent. Maybe Joe Lieberman and Ralph Reed could start their own party, one that appears to be independent but really has ties to anchors that could possibly kill the chances of the GOP appearing as the party of integrity and vision: Abramoff and Iraq.

Not Just Bush's Fault

Wow, this is actually the second helping of this post as this morning's venture seems to have been lost. The disasterous war in the Middle East (sorry, let me clarify - the NEW one, the one that Israel has probably wanted now for years) is sad to see. The Israeli military is scrupulously pulverizing hundreds of innocent Lebanese civilians while targeting Hezbollah. Hezbollah strategically placed its headquarters on the first floors of apartment and commercial buildings. People are dying, others' lives are being ruined and both sides are perfectly happy not caring. The White House says it's not a war just yet while Newt Gingrich wants to rally the troops by wanting to see the conflicts in the Middle East as World War III. The Bush Administration's complacency and lack of forceful voice or action speaks volumes about the American-made weapons killing people (whom, ironically, are Christian, if you know your Lebanese geography) who have nothing to do with terrorism. God right now is watching more of his children kill themselves in the name of nationalism and yet what will be done in the name of spiritual rebuilding? Ecclesiastes is ultimately a lamentation as the poet for Solomon sees that life consists of as much killing and war as it does peace and rebuilding. I'm not sure which aspect is more focussed upon. To see the photograph on CNN of three Lebanese boys crying in a hospital (all under the age of four) is heart-rending as the chances of them growing up wanting to see Israel exist is probably now shrinking. God help us all.

I actually wanted to briefly discuss Israel but got sidetracked...what I meant to say is that this most recent catastrophe in the Middle East and Bush's disastrous performance at the latest G-8 summit (not to mention the flubbing of both North Korea and Iran) goes to show just how much of a failure the policies of neoconservative thought really are. "Neocons are really liberals who have been mugged" is the conventional wisdom. Bullshit, I say, as neocons' faith in their own belief system at the expense of other sytems shows their naivete and absolute stupidity. Exporting democracy and Christianity with the barrel of a gun failed nine hundred years ago as well as five hundred years ago; what makes the neocons think they can just wiggle their noses and make Middle Easterners democratic capitalists? Skepticism aside, it takes years and generations for ideas to take root in society. Notice that two thousand years ago, how Jews and Romans by the billions were converting to Christianity around 33 A.D.? Nope; it kind of took over three hundred years for the Roman Empire to become officially Christian and it was completed by someone who didn't even live in the region. Russians don't seem too terribly concerned with V. Putin's autocratic ways in Russia. Why not? How much experience with representative democracy with checks and balances have those people had in their thousand-year existence? Five years? I'm not saying that just because the trains run on time that a leader should be able to execute whatever he so chooses but institutions, like societies, are organic. Grafts don't take hold immediately. The Marshall Plan, in its arguable partial successes, took years to carry out and that was probably the most successful export of American modeling and influence in modern times. Also notice what has happened to the chicken hawk neocons who unleashed the failed Iraq War - where are they now? Are they still leading the charge in the free world for region-wide revolution and change or are they back to making money for large western corporations at the expense of the environment and about five billion other people?
I will sleep tight knowing that George Bush remembered his Constitution today by actually following it. He vetoed a bill instead of writing disclaimers or, more often than not, just ignoring the damn piece of paper. He actually followed the system of checks and balances today and vetoed a bill. Unfortunately, this bill would have probably saved the lives of countless millions of people worldwide by allowing scientists to work with stem cells in creating cures for terminal diseases and organ harvesting. I hope that when W. dies, God says, "congrats, George. Are you aware that in my name you actually killed an exponentially larger number of people than you protected? Here's your meal ticket to a much warmer seat. And, by the way, you should have listened to your worldly father by NOT invading Baghdad, dork. Now get out of here".

On a couple of better notes; I found out today that EVERY one of my students passed the U.S. AP test. Yes, I will sleep well tonight.

Just picked up Dylan and The Band's Basement Tapes. Authenticity aside, just how much timeless and incredible music came out of those six men? Also picked up the Hendrix Woodstock and Derek Trucks Band dvds. Drop what you're doing and buy them all. Now.

WTF

Bush massaging the chancellor of Germany. He swears on t.v. (from now on, any time I publically refer to s***, I will say "the Bush word"). He demonstrates an inability to lead both the G* summit and with the conflict in the Middle East Is he complicit with Israeli war policy in the Middle East or does he lack conviction and political power to get both sides to at least limit their violent actions to military targets? Israel's killing of hundreds of innocent civilians in the name of a military objective sounds all-to-Bushlike anyway. He's taking a passive stance on Iran and North Korea though three years ago the cowboy told the nation that he'd put these members of the Axis of Evil in their places.

Careful What You Wish For

If only Ariel Sharon were conscious, he would probably be lapping up the news that a region-wide war has erupted between Israel and its foes Hamas and Hizbollah. Isn't this the war that hard-liners in both Israel and Arab nations wanted? Missile exchanges with Israel and Lebanon; when will the Syrian military activate something? Of course, the Bush Administration must just be beside itself in trying to figure out just what exactly it must do as both sides have been looking at the U.S.-proposed road map that, until now, has lead to nowhere. Neither side is exactly innocent nor fully responsible for this terrible unleashing of events and I'm no Middle East expert to begin espousing theories as to why this war was forseen years ago. I can only imagine the voices in the churches in a couple of days, all saying that this was prophecied, Megiddo fields, end times, U.S. to keep funding Israel blah blah blah. I don't buy any of that, as the end times never came after Cortez unleashed fury on the Aztecs though it was supposed to occur back in 1542 as well. This will probably bring about a resurgence among the hard right in this country to aid Israel like no tomorrow, prompting me again to quote Noam Chomsky's perfect description of Israel being the largest off-shore U.S. military base. For peace's sake, I hope this all ends soon but since all of God's people believe that He hates the other side, they'll be killing each other to prove just how great God is for us.

Today marks the third anniversary of my moving to my home town. I look around the tons of stuff I own and the overwhelming responsibilities of keeping up my house and wonder if I took on too big of a task buying this wonderful home. I absolutely love my home and can't think of another place in Brentwood I'd want to live in. I just hope I do my wife and child(ren) proud by making it all stay nice. Wow, what a crazy three years. Lots of ups and downs but overall the best thing I could have done.

This month marks the beginning of the third annual Beatle-fest. Since having been given a wonderful going-away present by a dear friend in Fresno of the Anthology series on dvd, once a year, I through on all ten-plus hours of this amazing band's story, to refresh myself of the Old and New Testaments of Rock. Like Dylan, I find the Beatles so big, so mystical, that I have not fully delved into their history. I don't know the exactitudes of singles, throwaway recordings, unreleased goodies, lurid tales and the other minutiae that hard-core fans all know. I much prefer the version that maintains the distant and holy story of the Fab Four and their time here on earth. I've been a Beatle fan practically my whole life. I don't know how old I was exactly when my mom played for me her copy of the American release of Meet the Beatles. I always remember being haunted by the closing chorus harmony of I Want to Hold Your Hand. I watched the dumb cartoons religiously, never really liking Ringo because he was so dorky but never trusting John because, if I remember correctly, he was always so moody. My namesake was always the playful and smart one and our nominal affinity was probably what drew me to him. I remember John's death in 1980 and learning the band's impact on rock music and U.S. and British history. Other than Elvis, the Beatles were the one pop music group that literally changed the world and its people's love and devotion to music. Over the years, I've found it interesting how critical and popular taste to their catalogue has evolved. Sgt. Pepper's was always the Holy Grail and it often served as the first book of the New Testament. Was the break over pop versus psychedelia? The 'drug' years? Just how influential was Pet Sounds? However, the last few years have seen people back up a touch and reassess Rubber soul and Revolver. It seems that Revolver has overtaken Pepper's as the pinnacle of the band's career; maybe reflecting current musical taste (as our understanding and assessment of all things is as much of a reflection of us as the subjects we discuss). Concise and yet edgy. Perfectly-hewn pop craft with edgy rock and subtle psychedelic twists. I think the hardest debate among these two albums isn't even the discussion of the Beatles' rock and roll sense. I don't even see the Beatles at their best as rock artists. They're truly pop artists and their musings in rock were seen in several albums. With that, listen again to Sgt. Pepper's and what you'll hear isn't even rock music. Much of it isn't even pop (mid-60s era) music; it's a tribute to the pop music of British and American live performance (something continued, terribly successfully with the white album a year later). Vaudeville, 1800's -era circus music, opera and operetta, martial bands and timeless Indian raga, Pepper's isn't so much the pinnacle of pop music but of British music in the modern era. Of course the album has its shortcomings as all albums do but A Day in the Life's orchestrel crescendo and crash, left to ebb away into the listener's (and then their pets') ears leaves one with the understanding that a masterstatement has just ended. With all of that, I must end by saying that as great as Pepper's really is, The Beatles' best album is and will always be Abbey Road. The New Testament has to close with not only a sign of apocalypse but redemption and immortality. The boys from Liverpool give us just that - 'and in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make'.

Shine On You Crazy Diamond

R.I.P. Syd Barrett, 1946-2006.

What to say? See Emily Play? Interstellar Overdrive? Astonomy Domine? Comments welcome.

60 and Failing Strong

One of my first blogs was about the shared birthday of our current president and the I.Q.-challenged Forrest Gump. Both are symbols of the baby boom. Both seem to be in extremely important historical times and both of them are so stupid they seem like idiot savants. I truly think that they are the same person.

God help us if George W. Bush is the model baby boomer. Indulged and self-indulgent. Scoffing at the Left and hippies and yet embrace their values (not responsbly holding a job as an adult, dope and a hell of a lot of booze). Parental hard work to squander. No recollection of early adult years (at least the military can't find anything). Several unsuccessful business ventures. Family connections to springboard to political office. And what was done on his own merit? A disastrous war and impeachable offenses? For crimony's sake, I hope that someone else can find another model of the baby boom because I weep for the past, not the future.

Bruce is on PBS tonight. Maybe he's the baby boomer we should look at as the model. Then again, maybe we shouldn't.

My former band, Funk Shui, was resurrected last night for our yearly gig in the park. We'll probably fall apart afterwards so I'm probably looking for someone to play with as of now.

Because it's Thursday or maybe just for the hell of it, I pierced my ear this afternoon. With full approval and support of my beautiful wife. I would've chickened out had she not forced me to go. :)

Just finished Becoming Almost Famous. A fast but enjoyable read. Steve, you should read it; you'll love it. I'll dig into his earlier books but I've got Phillip Roth's latest to finish by this weekend.

35 Years Gone Or, Does It Matter?

Jim Morrison, for most people, died on this day in 1971, just a week after the Allman Brothers nailed the closing night of the Fillmore East. In 1995, when, one April Saturday morning in Santa Barbara as my brother and I waited to score Black Crowes tickets for a show at the bowl the next month, I struck up a conversation with a cool, albeit wierd, older guy about music and L.A. culture. Rock legends was the topic and Morrison's name popped up. The guy proceded to tell me that Morrison had helped Quentin Terentino write the screenplay to Pulp Fiction. I thought that the story was WAY too cool to tell the dude he was an absolute fool, but hey, Oswald really acted alone, right? Was the Lizard King truly the mystic icon of the hippie generation or just a drunken baffoon?

For those who enjoy reading rock journalism with an importance of the historical, then check out Becoming Almost Famous. Ben Fong-Torres' latest is a blast. Crazy...

Steve Dutcher, God bless you, please drop me another line with a way for me to contact you!!!

Back from Hawaii and I'm tanned and nowhere well rested. Go to Oahu with a toddler and the term 'vacation' is relative. Great time, though, thanks to my father in law and the most amazing spouse a man could have...

The summer concert season is looking up here, especially at the Concord Pavilion! Los Lonely Boys with Susan T in August, along with Bonnie Raitt and Keb Mo as well as Jon Mayer with Sheryl Crow! Then, of course, a topping of the Black Crowes in October at the Fresno Fair, which is a fantastic, wonderful place to see a show. Don't worry, guys, Hardware's nose will stop bleeding; he'll make the social.

What's the story with Wings? Does anybody out there truly appreciate the band or do we like them because it's Macca's band? I've been listening to the retrospective 'Wingspan' and I'm still not sure whether I enjoy the music or just like it because it's the closest the '70s came to having The Beatles still. Neither John nor George continued with their sound though their music was, imho, more touching and personal than Paul's. Paul just had 'it' that made anything he touched sound like the best knock-off of the Fab Four.

I've been considering making a Fourth of July mixed cd. Here's what would be on it so far:

4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy) - Bruce
Independence Day - Bruce
Born On the Bayou - Creedence
4th of July - U2

anything else, or am I tapped? Maybe my Christmas cd would be easier...

Former Remnants, I'm listening to Linda Ronstadt right now wishing for DeeDee and us to be ripping it up somewhere. Instead, I'm on the verge of a migraine from jetlag and very little sleep. Oh, delirium...

Happy Fourth of July, everyone. 'Tis the day and the occasion to remember that the tree of liberty, according to Tom, should, every generation, be fertilzed with the blood of tyrants and patriots. Hope you enjoyed reading that. This could possibly be the last Independence Day where that statement won't be stricken from our national lexicon by the Bush gestapo. Our founders would be turning circles in their graves, wouldn't they?