Discography - Week 28

There is clearly a dark cloud hanging over us at the moment, and I'm just talking about the dreadful day oppressing us in Vermont - or the play that I'm in that I've grown to hate with every fiber of my being.  Obviously, it's this horrible election - I would argue clearly the most distressing and depressing and soul enervating one in American history.  If you go back and check out the choices for the last few weeks you can see a definite trend: either escapism to ease the pain or heartfelt reflections on an America which has seemingly come undone.

Dave Wallace

The Ramones, I Wanna Be Sedated

Really, this could be any one of a couple of dozen different Ramones songs.  Their discography is incredibly deep and surprisingly underappreciated.  One of the most important groups in rock history.  I couldn't figure which Ramones song to pick, so I went with an obvious, but still awesome, choice.  It really isn't necessary to say anymore, so I'll keep this short and sweet, just like a Ramone song.

Gary Beatrice

Velvet Underground, Sweet Jane and Bruce Springsteen, Born to Run

I am a registered republican and I've voted for the republican candidate for president for 32 years even when I've had to hold my nose (I'm looking at you George W.). I am not voting for Donald Trump.

I agree with everything Miranda said about his sexual assault on women and the way in which he and his supporters have tried to spin it as just the use of dirty words. But I'd made up my mind before that. It's also not because he is clearly not pro-small business like I am. It's also not because he has no domestic or foreign policy besides a few catchy but meaningless slogans. It's not because he is an awful human being, although all of these are contributing factors.

I am not voting for Trump because he is full of hatred and bigotry, because instead of being the inclusive person that the Republican Party and candidate needs to be, he embodies all of the stereotypes that the worst elements of the party need to abandon. Hopefully his disastrous campaign causes the party to reform around economic stability, reduced regulation, and a more inclusive and liberal social agenda.

Here are my two favorite songs. I hope you enjoy them and they take your mind off of the election.

Nate Bell

So here is what I would have picked for my song, but it clearly would not have fit the tone for this week. 

Sean Rowe, Shine My Diamond Ring

Miranda set me the nearly impossible task a couple years back of making her a mix cd of songs and artists she had not heard before. It's not like one of the labours of Hercules, but it's not far off.

I spent some dead time following links down the rabbit hole and found Sean Rowe. I don't like all his stuff, but I found 2 very nice tracks. He's billed as new folk, but these 2 are pure new blues.

This selection I like for the great blues sensibilities, with the time honored theme of a man trying to find redemption. The lyrics are nicely poetic, but I love this song just for this line:

I lay down every night, at my best I’m alright, way down in the light there’s a dark room calling my name.

Miranda Tavares

I had thought I'd take another week off because A) Cleveland is in the World Series and B) I feel like I have been tending toward dark. But, A) It is an hour before 8:08 p.m. and I have completed my woefully small list of goals for the day,  and B) Looks like I'll fit right it. 

Tracy Chapman, Fast Car

As a kid I loved this song. I liked the idea of riding in a fast car and feeling liked I belonged. I paid little attention to the verses, despite knowing all of the words and singing along. The music is simple yet rich, and it resonates. It is a great song, musically - catchy and moving at the same time. You don't have to study it to enjoy it. 

As I got older and paid more attention to the lyrics, it bothered me a bit. I certainly could understand feeling stuck, and I had seen people who could not scrape ten dollars together no matter how hard they tried. I have a father who lives in the pipe, that's the way it is, and his body is too old for working, and while I have never seriously considered dropping out of my life to care for him, I know others who would think differently. The verses all rang true. However, I took issue with the  ultimatum in the chorus: "We either leave tonight or live and die this way." 

Life is rarely as dramatic as art. In movies and novels and songs there is often a distinct turning point, a discernible moment when a person comes to a fork in the road, one way leading toward selfishness, destruction, evil, sadness, hopelessness, etc., and one way leading toward happiness, or at least contentment. But in life those moments rarely happen. We are often faced with a multitude of choices, and the black/white/good/bad nature of them is often murky. Also, the paths join and diverge at multiple points, and the paths are not one way, so we have the ability to correct any wrong turns. Choosing the correct path at a given moment may make things easier than attempting to choose it further on down the road, but we have the ability to fix our mistakes. We may choose not to fix them, we may decide fixing them is too much work for too little pay off, but we do have that choice. Most decisions in life are not now or never. 

As I got even older, I was, thankfully, able to quit being so damn smug. Perhaps the decision that Chapman's describing in the song is not truly now or never, but it certainly feels that way to her. And choices are an individual kind of thing. It doesn't matter if there are two paths to choose from if you can only see one. It doesn't matter if the paths rejoin at some point down the road if you can't see the future. An individual's reality is based on her perception, and if she is not permitted to see her options, if she is blinded by her family, culture, media, society, physical location, the existence of extra road blocks due to poverty, gender, skin color, age, those options simply do not exist in her mind. 

Reality is a tricky thing. It's not the same for everyone. But part of living in a society is helping shine a light on those realities that are darker than yours. If someone believes they have no options, or only two options, and I can see six or seven available paths for them to follow, it is my duty to help them realize their choices. If a desirable path has a roadblock, it is my duty to help them realize the roadblock is not as big as it seems. If I can help move the roadblock, I should. This is why I am happy to pay taxes, to vote for levys, to donate to charity - I don't want someone to make a poor choice and wind up miserable simply because they could not see the other paths before them. 

I am now in that boat. I see only two paths, and one is swampy and brambly and threatens quick sand, and the other leads off a cliff. I wish someone would light my way. Show me the options, show me the other choices.  Otherwise I fear I may get a fast car and keep on driving. 

Dave Kelley

"Lost but not forgotten, in the dark heart of a dream."

Bruce Springsteen, Adam Raised a Cain

I was going to go in a totally different direction this week, but wound up following my thoughts instead.  I work in Juvenile Court where we see all too many young people live down to the expectations and examples that the adults in their lives set for them.  ( See also "He Didn't Get Enough Love" by Lucinda Williams)  A seminar I attended earlier in the week on the development of the adolescent brain and the horrible adverse impact that trauma has on young children and their future has dominated my thoughts over the last few days.  Today I attended a retreat for the various service providers that participate in our mental health docket.  Afterwards, over a few beers I listened to the therapists explore these issues further.  Many of our kids are so damaged by their upbringing that their futures are very compromised.  Often they will repeat these negative behaviors when they have children of their own.  Apart from my work in Juvenile Court, I see so many adults who are still trying to please a parent who cannot be pleased.  Sometimes they are trying to please a parent who is no longer even alive.  I believe that even inside the oldest most mature adults there lives a five year old child seeking the love and approval of their parents.

"In the Bible, Cain slew Abel

and East of Eden buddy he was cast

You're born into this life paying

for the sins of somebody else's past."

"Because you inherit the winds

you inherit the flames

Adam rised a Cain"

Needless to say, this song is a powerhouse.  The video I am asking G to link was from a live run through of the songs from "Darkness on the Edge of Town" filmed for the anniversary rerelease of the album.  It was filmed without an audience.  The band is totally focused on just playing and bring the passion and excellence that is achieved when great musicians play with each other for over three decades.    

Gary Scudder

The Soft Boys, I Wanna Destroy You

To be fair, I came to this song by way of the Uncle Tupelo cover, which is also fantastic.  Truthfully, I don't know if I could add anything better than the lyrics themselves:

I wanna destroy you . . .

I feel it coming on again
Just like it did before
They feed your pride with boredom
And they lead you on to war

The way you treat each other
Really makes me feel ill
Cause if you want to fight
Then you're just dying to get killed

I wanna destroy you . . .

A pox upon the media
And everything you read
They tell you your opinions
And they're very good indeed

I wanna destroy you
And when I have destroyed you
I'll come picking at your bones
And you won't have a single atom left
To call your own

I wanna destroy you . . .

As much as we want to make this whole disaster solely about Trump and his alt-right racist thugs, the whole election cycle speaks to a deeper, holistic problem that cuts right to the core of a very dark American heart.  It's not just Trump, it's also the tens of millions of people who have abrogated their responsibilities as citizens in a functioning democracy to take the process seriously.  It's about a media who are corporate whores and will give anyone a stage if they are entertaining, and in the process validate them without any sense of providing context or analysis.  It's about the Democratic Party being pathetic and cowardly and, beyond failing to provide a more compelling vision, also not particularly caring about the very people who should be at the heart of their movement.  It's about education, me included, in not doing a better job teaching our students to think, and thus in the process leaving them better prepared to tackle complex problems such as racism and misogyny and intolerance across the board.  And it's about all of us accepting this freak show instead of standing up and either changing it or destroying it.