Friday Random Ten

Wow, what a stupid week huh? Millions of missing emails, a bombing in the safest, most secure part of Bagdhad, Imus got fired. Here's my take on Imus. He's a dick. He's an asshole. CBS and MSNBC were allowing him to do what he did because people tuned in, and those people that tuned in listened to the commercials. When the shit hit the fan and began to spray all over the room the execs in the boardroom were not even phased a little bit. They don't clean that shit up, it all happens at night like fucking magic. They all know that sooner or later the storm would pass, the room would be cleaned and the fan would be moving clean air around the room while the millions who tuned into Imus would keep on listening and keep on buying the stuff. That's the whole point of the operation, a show on radio or TV is nothing but the vehicle that delivers the goods, the commercials. Then, the sponsors started to bail. Big sponsors, heavyweight sponsors. And they were not only bailing on the Imus show, they were bailing on the network, then they were bailing on the parent network. As soon as Imus went from being an asshole that made them shitloads of money to an asshole that was costing them shitloads of money his fate was sealed and so was the tomb. Bye bye Don. There were not any higher principles involved that plain ass bog simple greed. It wasn't a free speech issue. Imus was not exercising anything remotely resembling free speech. He was insanely overpaid to spout his shit. If it was a free speech issue think about this. This was decided by the actions of three or four corporations. They never gave a fuck about what anybody who said anything in support or protest had to say. Three or four corporations just decided again what you get to hear. Feel better now?

p.s. It was reported that the young women of the Rutger's team have been getting hate mail and death threats from the fans of Imus. Deirdre Imus, filling in for Don said that they should send any relevant hate mail to Don. Good for Dierdre! She recognises that hate mail is the fuel to Donny's fire. Anyway, enough ranting from me, let's hit random and take the top ten. . .

If You Want To Get To Heaven - - - Ozark Mountain Daredevils
One of Us - - - Joan Osborne
I'll Take You There - - - Staples Singers (play daddy, play daddy)
Going Down Jordan - - - Harry Belafonte
Every Grain of Sand - - - Emmylou Harris
Easy Evil - - - John Kay
To Live is to Fly - - - Townes Van Zandt
16 Shells From A Thirty-ought - - - Tom Waits
Take Me to the River - - - B. B. King (live bootleg from Vegas)
Mojo Hand - - - Lightnin Hopkins


Bonus Track - -

Baidhin Fheilimi - - - Sinead O'Connor

What's on your list?

R.I.P. Kurt Vonnegut

I have told some of my friends and left comments that say how, when I was in the A Shau Valley of Viet Nam I carried a battered copy of "Cat's Cradle" in my rucksack. When the situation didn't demand silence I would regale my guys with the calypsos of Bokonon.

I found this quote from Mr. Vonnegut at Digby's.

No Matter how corrupt, greedy, and heartless our government, our corporations, our media, and our religious and charitable institutions may become, the music will still be wonderful.

If I should die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:

THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC

litbrit sent me this link to a collection of interviews and essays.

I own every book he ever published. Even the crappy ones. That much survives.

Music will be played here tonight, for Kurt Vonnegut.

3B's

Ted Haggard Is Completely Heterosexual (the musical version)

From singer Roy Zimmerman (who also wrote it)

Big thanks to Deb from Deb's House Concerts

3b's

Be Here, Love Me

Is a documentary about Townes Van Zandt. I was approached by them when they were making it and I declined to participate, be filmed or quoted.

I told them, Townes defied categorization when he was alive, he couldn't explain himself. The only time he was really alive and worthwhile was when he was singing on stage or off by himself writing another song. Toward the end the songs and the singing weren't even that great anymore. If your movie is anything but Townes singing, or talking about singing and writing, then all you are doing is proving how fucking little you know about him. I said they could fucking quote that. They didn't.

This is Townes as I knew him. It's not even my favorite song of his. But it's beautiful. And it's the Townes that I knew, the Townes that I miss every day.

FOR THE SAKE OF THE SONG

Why does she sing her sad songs for me, I'm not the one
To tenderly bring her soft sympathy, I've just begun
To see my way clear and it's plain if I stop I will fall
I can lay down a tear for her pain, just a tear and that's all
What does she want me to do
She says that she knows that moments are rare
I suppose that it's true
Then on she goes to say I don't care and she knows that I do
Maybe she just has to sing for the sake of the song
Who do I think that I am to decide that she's wrong


She'd like to think that I'm cruel but she knows that's a lie for I would be
No more than a tool if I allowed her to cry all over me
My sorrow is real even though I can't change my plans
If she could see how I feel then I know that she'd understand
Does she actually think I'm to blame
Does she really believe that some word of mine
Could relieve all her pain
Can't she see that she grieves just because she's been blindly deceived
By her shame
Maybe she just has to sing for the sake of the song
Who do I think that I am to decide that she's wrong


Nothin's what it seems, maybe she'll start someday to realize
If she abandons her dreams then all the words she can say are only lies
When will she see that to gain is only to lose
All that she offers me are her chains, I got to refuse
It's only to herself that she's lied
She likes to pretend there's something that she should defend with her pride
I don't intend to stand here and be the friend from whom she must hide
Maybe she just has to sing for the sake of the song
Who do I think that I am to decide that she's wrong

Catch the flick on The Sundance Channel if you want to, I can't figure out how they could produce a movie about one of the finer singer songwriters of our generation and not show him playing one complete song. Better than the movie is to grab a few hours of his music, because that's where he dwelled when he was alive, and it's where he still lives.

Random Flickr Bloggin (5900)

Uploaded on September 17, 2005
by Koninho


my experience is that if one is ever presented with the opportunity for a ride in a jeepney it is something best done while very, very, drunk.