Asymmetric Music

In which Wanda Jackson boasts that she can do what atomic weapons did: That is, cause the deaths of thousands immediately (though not these Jesuit priests from what became known as the "Miracle at Hiroshima") and hundreds of thousands later, painfully, from the effects of radiation. I wouldn't want to mess with her! As far as anti-social behavior, the Country equivalent of Gangster Rap.

Rockin' with Wanda!

Fujiyama Mama

Cool water indeed. Hank Williams exaggerates, however, on equating Obama with the Prince of Darkness. We all know that's Al Franken.

The Ultimate Collection (Dlx Package)

In honor of Obama's latest vehicular victim, Jim Johnson, here are the some "bus songs" I could find on short notice:

Before Obama throws anybody off of one, he has to wait for the bus to arrive. One does that at the bus stop, one of which the Hollies sang so well about.

Hollies - Hollies Greatest Hits

The most famous "bus song," I think, is by the Who who sang about a magic one. Obama's public eloquence and ability to bring together diverse groups of graduate students from humanities departments across the nation has sometimes been called "magical" which makes The Magic Bus particularly appropriate.

Magic Bus

Gladys Knight sings about trains, not buses, in The Midnight Train to Georgia, but since the Amtrak schedule shows no direct route from L.A. to Georgia, one has no other on-land, mass transit option to Georgia than the bus.

Essential Collection

Here's Roger Daltry doing another "bus song" with somebody definitely not of his generation.

The Wheels on the Bus

I remember loving Double Dutch Bus in the eighties. The improvisation in the middle is fascinating.

Double Dutch Bus

The Decemberists opened for Obama in Portland and they have a song about a bus.

Billy Liar

I'll end this modest roundup with country singer Sara Evans singing The Back of the Greyhound Bus.

Restless

Shuffle All; what it plays nobody knows. And the winner is Bobby Bare's Detroit City. It's a "story song" about a man who goes North for work, but misses the South (At least my primary vote counts in the Ohio!), exactly the opposite migration pattern from the eighties- on. "I want to go home" is a great hook.

Bobby Bare Sings Lullabys, Legends and Lies (And More)

This is how I'm doing the random song of the day: I fire up my Media Center (the one from Jriver not Microsoft), place it on "random," and press "play." First one up goes on the blog.

Here it is and it's a good one:

Hey Porter by Johnny Cash. Johnny Cash is the second best country singer in modern history behind Hank Williams Sr. His early songs are the best ones, as is usually the case with any popular music artist.

The Essential Johnny Cash

First California. According to polls, Hillary needs to get a high percentage of single (or angry) California girls to steal a victory from Obama.

We had some New York songs yesterday. I found another one by Sting called Englishman in New York. It sounds just like you'd think Sting singing a song about New York would sound.

Maine had their caucus last week:

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POP / ROCK

Favorite Male Artist:

+ Akon
+ Justin Timberlake winner
+ Timbaland

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I'd never heard bluegrass music beyond what one normally encounters in movies and documentaries so my first listen of "Rank Strangers" was an exciting revelation, one that prompted me to explore, very rewardingly so far, Country music.

The guitar is great, of course, and the singing has a wonderful nasal twang. The stop and start between the opening and the brief guitar solo is understated and effective.

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