Asymmetric Music

"This isn't the Democratic party of our fathers and grandfathers. This is the party of Woodstock hippies. I was at Woodstock — I built the stage. And when everything fell apart, and people were fighting for peanut-butter sandwiches, it was the National Guard who came in and saved the same people who were protesting them. So when Hillary Clinton a few years ago wanted to build a Woodstock memorial, I said it should be a statue of a National Guardsman feeding a crying hippie."-John Ratzenberger.

Yesterday, I assembled some Rock and Roll songs that trumpeted conservative values. Today, I'm doing my far left* brothers and sisters a favor by compiling a list to encourage them as they seek to change America for the better:

1. Sign of the Times, Donna Fargo.

Podcast

Donna Fargo Winners by Donna Fargo

The Best of Donna Fargo: 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection

In this song, Donna sings of the American dream turning into a "nightmare." 1863? 1933? 1942? No, the year we'd all like to forget, 1986. Apparently, Donna had access to some detailed census data, as she concluded that Jews suffered proportionately. Unemployment was at 50%?

2. Cortez the Killer, Neil Young.

Proving that extremism begs for an opposite, "noble savagery" is an attempt by Europeans to reverse European feelings of superiority over the people whose land they colonized. The problem with those who take the noble savage route, is that, in their desire to make amends, they often lie, distort, or, like Neil Young, just say stupid stuff.

The Cortez in the song is Hernan Cortez, Spanish conquistador. Why sing about Cortez and not, say, other conquests in history like in everywhere else in the world since the beginning of humanity? Because Cortez was white and the Aztecs weren't, I guess.

If you know anything about Aztec civilization, you know how ridiculous this is:

And the women all were beautiful
And the men stood straight and strong
They offered life in sacrifice
So that others could go on.

Hate was just a legend
And war was never known
The people worked together
And they lifted many stones.

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A couple of years ago, John J. Miller from National Review compiled what he thought were the "50 greatest conservative rock songs." It's a thoughtful list, but, quite expectedly, incomplete. Below is my contribution to Miller's fine effort, a Conrock addendum, as it were. I'll just second his introduction and dive right in:

1. This Land is Your Land, Peter, Paul, and Mary.

An ode to manifest destiny, Biblically-based dominion over the earth, property rights, and Intelligent Design. It's the podcast.

Relevant lyrics:

As I went walking that ribbon of highway
I saw above me that endless skyway
I saw below me those golden valleys
This land was made for you and me!

This land is your land, this land is my land,
From California, to the New York island,
From the redwood forest, to the gulf stream waters,
This land was made for you and me.

Peter, Paul and Mary - Carry It On - A Musical Legacy

2. Two Kinds of Seagulls, Tom Chapin.

Another folk-rockish ballad. Not quite Aquinas, but, still, a rather eloquent case for Natural Law.

Relevant lyrics:

There's two kinds of llamas: papas and mamas.
They wear different pajamas and that's why there's llamas.
Most creatures come in pairs. That's the way they mingle.
One kind only would be lonely. It takes two to tingle.

There's two kinds of peoples: he-puls and she-puls.
He-puls like she-puls. She-puls like he-puls.
And that's why there's me-puls, and you-puls,
And peoples.

Mother Earth

3. Jungle, B.B. King

A musical expression of the phenomenon known as "business flight" ("race to the bottom" for liberals) wherein business and people move from high tax states to more business-friendly ones.

Relevant lyrics:

I work hard everyday
From Monday to Friday night
The wages that they pay me
I swear that they're very light
The take out a little for the state
A little more for Uncle Sam
How can I ever catch up
And get myself out of this jam
Yes, I think I'll move to the jungle
Move way out in the woods
Yes, because the way things are here now
Well, I ain't doin' myself no good

The Ultimate Collection

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These Are Special Times

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I had only heard "Simple Gifts" in its instrumental version. I was taken aback by the lovely lyriced version I heard on the Hugh Hewitt show. Intrigued, I investigated and found out that it was by the Armstrong family. I listened to the whole album. Enthralled, I purchased. I find their slightly un-tuned performances charming. Here are the ones that mention our Lord, for Christmas:

"Simple Gifts" is the podcast.

"Lullay, the Son of Mary"

O.-L. Vrouwekathedraal 1577 Antwerp

"Corpus Christi Carol"

"This Old World"

DOMENICO GHIRLANDAIO 1482

The Wheel of the Year -- Thirty Years with the Armstrong Family by Lance Armstrong, Chris Carmichael, Peter Joffre Nye

Crime against humanity.

I love coffee. My first-ever drink from a cup was coffee. I drank cafe on leche every morning (how's that for parenting?)

After eating, I always ask for a coffee to go. It keeps me busy in between texting and browsing the internet while I'm driving (just kidding- very dangerous- don't do it).

Anyways, about half the restaurants don't have the kind of lid that you can keep on as you sip your coffee. I really dislike having to take out my Leatherman to open a slit in the plastic containers designed for soda.

This rule doesn't discriminate, from the most expensive restaurants to the mom and pop meat loaf dives, it's always 50%. Considering that many people probably finish their meal with coffee and a large percentage of them probably like to do as I do, and that coffee lids are available at Sam's Club or Costco for about 40 cents a ton; there's really no excuse not to have them. Please, coffee addicts, forward this post to your favorite restaurant:

Restaurants: Do this for us. Please. It's a small thing that brings many of your customers great joy.

Anyways, I decided to do a search through my massive mp3 collection for coffee songs. Here's what I came up with:

First, always, when possible, is Bach. His Coffee Cantata- BWV 211 is one of his best. I don't know German, but I'd probably laugh if I could understand it, as the lyrics are one of those wonderful Enlightenment topics, the silly peccadilloes of the modern and wealthy (Rape of the Lock by Bach's contemporary, Alexander Pope, is another one). Here, a young girl is addicted to coffee. I like to watch Classical performances, don't you?

The next song is by Otis Redding who alternates with Sam Cooke, Al Green, and maybe one or two others as my favorite Soul singer and is one of my favorite singers of any genre. He lays down his naturally gruff, yet expressive and melismatic voice to the service of "Cigarettes and Coffee." Otis Redding passed away (RIP) before health studies. It's the podcast.

This one was tough. Both the Andrew Sisters and Frank Sinatra sang what is probably the greatest musical indictment of nations relying on one resource for its income, "The Coffee Song." Addendum: First Bach, then Frank.

Probably the greatest R&B compilation is the 15-disc set, The Chess Story. It has the Muddy, Chuck, Bo, and Willie you're all familiar with plus some of the most marvelous music you've never heard, like this song from a Mr. Danny Overbea, "Forty Cups of Coffee."

The Putumayo collections are hit or miss. Many of the songs are middling, if unusual and fresh, but the collections often have one or two songs that make their purchases worthwhile. Such is "Soltarlo" by Claudia Gomez, recompiled by Putumayo on Music from the Coffee Lands.

I'll do Caribbean/Cuban cafe songs tomorrow.

Most of the Veterans Day tributes on youtube have music that I don't like as much as the standards or oldies. The new ones seem a little melodramatic. Vaughn Monroe sings "Old Soldiers Never Die" here. He takes service in stride, as part of a man's nature, not as some extraordinary feat. That's probably because service was more universal back then and people had more of a sense of duty. Countries, too, saw war as part of the human experience, to be avoided, sure, but not unthinkable.

Vaughn Monroe had other male classics in "Sound Off" and the truly great "Ghost Riders in the Sky."

"Sound Off"

"Ghost Riders in the Sky"

A version by Johnny Cash is the podcast.

Like Percy Sledge sings in the podcast, men will give up their money, job, and the respect of their children and the community to surrender to their lust. Mel Gibson, a man I formerly admired for his counter-cultural bravery, is the latest to fall into this trap. He either gave up his most deeply held Catholic beliefs or is seriously lying to himself. Do his kids take him seriously now that he's just another aging star with a hot chick half his age?

Before him, we had Mark Sanford's shameful display, Eliot Spitzer's foray into into the mutual degradation of prostitution, and countless other examples.

How much damage have a few priests caused the institution they dedicated their life to? Why did Michael Jackson risk going to jail for his attachment to boys? Really, could there be a scarier thought for Michael than being in jail. He'd last as long as a carton of Marlboros.

Besides direct harm, there's a harm of omission. Harnessing sexual energy and focusing it on either your spouse or another, productive activity is one of the bases of civilization. It's the reason we have bridges instead of endless hula huts and went to the moon instead of just the hot spring next to the river. Imagine if Eliot Spitzer used his money and time to help people instead of perusing brothel catalogs. Even looking at computer gadgets (almost done and its on to CNET!) is more ennobling than finding looking at some girl on a webcam.

I knew a guy who'd have a collection worth a million bucks now if he spent his time collecting coins instead of porn tapes.

It's one of our challenges as men.**

**I don't recall any famous lady politicians sacrificing their career for a Capitol Hill intern or launching a a thousand ships over some Trojan boy-toy. A few teachers seduce their students, but it's a rare thing. I guess women have their own things to worry about.

This song selection is inspired by this act of heroism:

A 26-year old Greek woman has become an overnight national hero after setting fire to the genitals of a 23-year old drunken Briton who allegedly tried to sexually assault her in a crowded bar.

Here.

Jerry Lee Lewis, along with a couple dozen others is one of the pillars of Rock and Roll. He's a colorful performer (some would say "nuts" with his penchant for pyrotechnics) and a genuinely talented musician and singer, both his style and musicianship being unique and inimitable.

Singing "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" on the Steve Allen Show. I thought the commercials might be interesting.

Besides the scandal surrounding his penchant for young girls, Lewis' downfall resulted from a lack of musical variety. After his piano-pounding steamrollers like "Great Balls of Fire" and "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On," the pickings became slimmer, if not altogether poor (impossible, considering his talent).

Lewis' decline saw his increased reliance on music derivative of his great hits and covers of contemporary Rockers Little Richard ("Good Golly, Miss Molly"), Chuck Berry ("Sweet Little Sixteen" and others), and Ray Charles ("What'd I Say"), all of whom, ironically, suffered from a lack of musical variety to some extent or another.

Later, Jerry Lee Lewis turned to Country. I have a two-disc set which includes much of his country singles. Again, talented, but nothing absolutely necessary as far as I can tell (yes, I like Country). "Another Place, Another Time" is his most famous Country song. It's written by Jerry Chestnut.

From the Corner:

You can not have a broad discussion of sellouts in America without discussing the band Metallica.

While they claim "the only thing they've ever sold out was every seat in every venue they've ever played in" they recorded, released, and filmed a music video of an Irish Drinking Song.

Compare that to their earlier work and it is clear that they sold out like no other

A person who thinks that a band has "sold out" because it ran out of ideas and wanted to keep making money is somebody with a total lack of perspective. At which point was Metallica working for a living wage?

The whole idea of Rockers "selling out" reminds me of how people attacked Gospel singers who replaced "lord" with "baby" to bring their talent to millions more people, like Sam Cooke or Ray Charles. Or, the calling of Rock entertainers "sell outs" can be another mis-placed religious impulse, this time having to do with the concept of doctrinal purity or unblemished intentions.

The music's the thing, guys. Some sincere people make crappy music and some cads rock.

Proviso: Insincerity is "selling out."

I don't like Heavy Metal, but the song below, to which the dude in the email referred, isn't too bad as far as these things go. It's a funny video too.

Not that I don't find Metallica's "death talk" silly and immature.

Being a big music fan, I sometimes associate major events or people in the news with certain songs.

So it happened that as the country briefly became entranced with the phony flight of the Falcon, I wondered what music would accompany such an occasion.

I fired up my Media Center and searched for "Balloon," which took me for a nice ride lasting a couple of hours (the search).

I started with Al Bowlly, a British singer popular in the thirties who sang many Latin-themed songs including "Balloon," based on the Cuban song "Manisero." It's the podcast.

The other balloon song I found in my collection was "Up, Up, and Away" by the Fifth Dimension.

Marilyn McCoo was certainly one of the most attractive singers of the era.

"Hey! Wasn't she on that music-dance show"?

I have a distinct memory of watching Solid Gold 79, although I can't remember exactly what year it was- late seventies or early eighties, I guess. (That program, along with Soul Train is where I learned about the facts of life.) I dug up this video of the Solid Gold Dancers:

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