Political Anthems
I love Political anthems.
(and capitalizing the 'p' inappropriately in that last sentence.)
Now read that sentence in parenthesis and try not to crack a smile.
I know, I know. What are parenthesis?
And what's a smile really? I don't own crack! Hey, what's your angle here?
Easy now.
Technically if you self identify as a 'political person' or someone who 'engages in politics' any song that you deem political can be.
Don't believe me?
Read any lyrics from a pop, country, rap, rock, funk, (fill in genre I'm to old to know is good and hip), and you can for sure find a lyric that can be attributed to any cause, person, group, or idea that yearning to breathe free. And I'm not being sarcastic even though it's a minor degree burn in my soul.
Sure, the Beatle's Penny Lane lyrics could be talking about an actual 'barber showing photographs' of 'every head he's had the pleasure to know'
OR
Are we in Guantamano Bay and is this 'barber' really a CIA operative butchering suspected terrorist as he's not even the slightest bit fazed in showing, to their horror, the heads of the OTHER terrorists he's butchered?
We make music our own is my point.
Remember the 'Great Communicator?'
Good ole' Ronnie Raegan? R and R as his friends called him. Resuscitate and Revive.
Yeah this communist?
Well he's not the first, but America's favorite grandpa (who loved jelly beans by the way) accidentally (or directly eh?) used Bruce Springsteen's political diatribe "Born in The U.S.A" in 84' for his re-election campaign and it was all Thunder Road from there.
It turns out Bruce's lyrics (or the chorus) had a certain Nationalistic 'rah' rah' to it, but the verses were anything but:
"Down in the shadow of the penitentiary
Out by the gas fires of the refinery
I'm ten years burning down the road
Nowhere to run ain't got nowhere to go"
Out by the gas fires of the refinery
I'm ten years burning down the road
Nowhere to run ain't got nowhere to go"
All my optimism hopes that these lyrics aren't prophetic! (sad laugher?)
Still though,
We make any type of music our own to fit our worldview. So let's get out of the 80's.
Remember House Speaker Paul Ryan?
"Oh wait, he's still the speaker?"
Ooh yes!
Well it turned out that during the 2012 presidential election when he wasn't restricting women's access to their own healthcare, or cutting SNAPS funding as a true Christian would, the sixth member of New Kids on the Block was a 'yuge' Rage Against the Machine fan?
But relax kids!
Everyone can rage!
When House Speaker Ryan listens to 'know your enemy' he just knows that it's those people in urban areas!
It's always fascinated me as a fan of popular music that popularity doesn't necessarily mean 'clarity' for everyone. I include myself in this.
Well it turned out that during the 2012 presidential election when he wasn't restricting women's access to their own healthcare, or cutting SNAPS funding as a true Christian would, the sixth member of New Kids on the Block was a 'yuge' Rage Against the Machine fan?
But relax kids!
Everyone can rage!
When House Speaker Ryan listens to 'know your enemy' he just knows that it's those people in urban areas!
It's always fascinated me as a fan of popular music that popularity doesn't necessarily mean 'clarity' for everyone. I include myself in this.
When news of Flynn resigning took notice this came next as a distraction.
I do love a Political Anthem song and I feel as we enter the, what is it now, fourth official year of this four week presidency, we need more songs basically sounding like the end of the "Shim Sham Shammys" i.e. Da Grammys.
I'm not talking about the academy ignoring the fact that the Bee Gees were more then the Saturday Night Fever Soundtrack, but also helped the careers of both Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake.
I digress.
We need more 'we the people' and less 'beautiful people.' (no offense to Marilyn Manson)
If there's a silver lining in any of this it's that I hope Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence can do a reboot with Dr. Who as they find there's in another dimension and galaxy. Seattle? Cleveland?
It was apparent to me that I was with my parent when in 2004 my mother accompanied me to what was then Gund Arena to watch the Vote For Change tour in Cleveland Ohio. I remember I was with my Mom and my older sister's friend who was a friend of the family in town from Buffalo. It was a cool night to be had of baby boom meets X marks the spot, meet old millennial me? Headlining this bill was an eclectic cast of young and young at heart rockers and rollers with political swag to boot!
I still have my t-shirt of this!
On the bill? And the songs I remembered that clear cool October 2, 2004 night? (hey 6 years before my "I almost died day!")
Pearl Jam (when they played this song I figuratively lost my shit)
and others I'm sure of it!
One of the few concert experiences I remember and no doubt I always believed it but I remember specifically many things during this 'Vote for Change' tour that was nothing new in American sentiment. That artists shouldn't be political. Just like athletes need to please 'just shut the fuck up'.
Bollocks! Never mind these sex deprived pistols!
Michael Stipe took the stage to proclaim to the packed, excited crowd:
"They tell us. Don't talk about these things. Do your job. Well, Hi. My name is Michael I pay taxes in Georgia and this is what we do. And this (pointing to the stage) is our front yard. This is our Yard sign!"
Bam!
They kicked into "It's the End of the World As we Know it" and the place lost its shit. It was reassuring to me that the lead singer from the band that is one of my Dad's favorites would have the bravado to come out as a post punk poet and just declare what we all know: Athens, GA has some pretty cool bands.
It's a Dead Beat Club I would be happy to join.
Maybe I yearn for a 2017 year when even Justin Bieber gets out of his pop conformist fake tough guy crooner turned softie bubble and talk shit about 'agent orange' to quote Busta Rhymes?
"Daddy, daddy, why is he yelling like that?"
"Well sweetie, he's Busta Rhymes, and he's busting his anger although not rhyming about it now ironically given his name."
I'm yearning for a year in which every musician digs deep and understands why they got into art in the first place. Free expression? You like sounds? You like instrumentations? Maybe you like people? Maybe you like people who think, look, act and sound differently then you? Maybe you're not a fascist asshole who shares the same first name with the cute fluffy golden haired feline who journey through America's west with the fawn Pug Otis? Damn you Milo!
I digress.
Look. I bought Kid Rock's albums because (I'm sorry future senator Robert Ritchie from Michigan) I liked his music and his flow.
Does it irk me that he designed shirts for Trump that were very bad and in poor taste?
Yes.
I don't buy his music now.
But I did buy Devil Without A Cause when I was a freshmen in high school and maybe driving to Romeo, Michigan with a good friend to see if we could find him after our excursion to Cedar Point was a bust.
I digress.
But tell me that this isn't a cool song when you're like a thirteen year old boy in the Midwest yearning to breathe free?
MTV was playing videos kind of!
I'm not trying to play the role of 'this is what you will listen to if you believe in 'x.'
First off I don't do x pills,
and
Second (doesn't need to be capitalized again!)
Listen to what you want to listen too.
I was born in the south, in Virginia, and although I like to lovingly roast how backwards the south has been, it's home of the blues. (For better or worse in music and life.)
I come back to a band I listened to time and time again as a small child and young kid on road trips in the back of vans every summer that had the new GM car smell and late night highway excursions to the south and east coast with family. I call it the 90's (and parts of the 00's)
My whole life I never felt connected to anything except family, a few friends, being educated by Jesuits, volunteered politically, and getting shot with a shotgun at random.
It feels good to be connected to good people and good causes out here as we all in some form or another recognize that we've been living at times on a Channel that's really boring.
And this writer is still a fighter of a different kind.
I'm turning the Channel on my worldview lately.
One day I'll find my political anthem, always knowing it was in my thoughts put to work.
This is your patriot on track, Jack. Action Jackson signing out of service.
Deuces!
I digress.
Look. I bought Kid Rock's albums because (I'm sorry future senator Robert Ritchie from Michigan) I liked his music and his flow.
Does it irk me that he designed shirts for Trump that were very bad and in poor taste?
Yes.
I don't buy his music now.
But I did buy Devil Without A Cause when I was a freshmen in high school and maybe driving to Romeo, Michigan with a good friend to see if we could find him after our excursion to Cedar Point was a bust.
I digress.
But tell me that this isn't a cool song when you're like a thirteen year old boy in the Midwest yearning to breathe free?
MTV was playing videos kind of!
I'm not trying to play the role of 'this is what you will listen to if you believe in 'x.'
First off I don't do x pills,
and
Second (doesn't need to be capitalized again!)
Listen to what you want to listen too.
I was born in the south, in Virginia, and although I like to lovingly roast how backwards the south has been, it's home of the blues. (For better or worse in music and life.)
I come back to a band I listened to time and time again as a small child and young kid on road trips in the back of vans every summer that had the new GM car smell and late night highway excursions to the south and east coast with family. I call it the 90's (and parts of the 00's)
My whole life I never felt connected to anything except family, a few friends, being educated by Jesuits, volunteered politically, and getting shot with a shotgun at random.
It feels good to be connected to good people and good causes out here as we all in some form or another recognize that we've been living at times on a Channel that's really boring.
And this writer is still a fighter of a different kind.
I'm turning the Channel on my worldview lately.
One day I'll find my political anthem, always knowing it was in my thoughts put to work.
This is your patriot on track, Jack. Action Jackson signing out of service.
Deuces!
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