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Re: Political Culture: Still Two Americas

JonCummings — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:52:28 -0000

Thanks for the thesis. Too bad it's mostly a crock. Where was your "Responsible America" during the Bush administration? Cheerleading his multi-trillion-dollar wars of choice and his despicable tax cuts, that's where--at least until it became clear he was flushing America down the toilet, at which point you turned your backs on him and created your bogus vision of "Responsible America."
(A vision which, I imagine, doesn't involve ending hundreds of billions of dollars spent inefficiently on military boondoggles, or hundreds of millions spent on pure lunacy like abstinence-only sex education--and which would never entertain the notion of paying off the huge Iraq War debt or rebuilding New Orleans with help from new, progressive taxes.)

BTW, you sure make it sound like Obama's accomplished a lot in the last 10 months--weren't right-wingers just complaining a few weeks ago that he hadn't done anything at all?

I don't disagree with your prescription for the financial sector, and it is a huge disappointment that Obama isn't heading strongly in that direction. Geithner should be gone--but you probably wouldn't like the guy I would demand take his place (Paul Krugman).

As for the rest of it, though--I think you're an intelligent guy who has some principles attached to your criticisms, but if you want to tell me you're part of a large and growing "responsible America" I can only tell you you're completely delusional. Did you hear about the anti-healthcare rally at the Capitol yesterday, featuring dim-bulbs carrying signs that linked Obama to the Rothschilds (and the supposed Vast Jewish Conspiracy) and comparing the public option to Dachau? You can read all about it here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/ar...

Is this gang of idiotic assholes your supposed "responsible America"? Because, no matter what their attitudes toward taxing and spending, the last thing these fools are is "responsible."

Re: Political Culture: Still Two Americas

JonCummings — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:22:51 -0000

As always, that's DemocratIC to you. And really, what does it matter where on the moderate-to-liberal spectrum she fell. She was a mainstream Northeast Republican--one of about five remaining--and was chosen to run by the Republican Powers That Be in her district. And now that district is Democratic. Congratulations!

Re: Political Culture: Still Two Americas

autodidact — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:03:04 -0000

P.S. Scuzzy in Watertown, NY, was no moderate. We all know this. Repeating the Democrat talking point does not make it true.

Re: Political Culture: Still Two Americas

autodidact — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:56:00 -0000

I think there are indeed two Americas. Responsible America and Irresponsible America. I hope the former is in the majority, but I'm not sure. If so, they cannot be happy. Leaving aside the wisdom of maintaining a war in one Muslim country and guaranteeing peace in a Muslim country next door, leaving aside the philosophical debate about who should control health care, the number one issue is indeed dollar bills flying out the door.

Responsible America thinks that those dollars should be spent in an efficient manner on things that will build up the long-term infrastructure of our nation. Responsible America knows that we cannot consume more than we produce, and that disadvantaging producers means an end to growth. But Federal dollars are not being spent efficiently, and often times they are not spent on projects that will be a long-term benefit. Both of those criticisms apply to the previous years of Republican control, but even more so they apply now. The primary conduit of "dollars flying out the door" is being funneled in direct and indirect ways to a finance industry guilty of massive fraud, and speculative activity that continues to increase the risk of a Black Swan event greater than the one we just experienced.

Mr. Obama must cast off the shackles of his big-money supporters in the banking industry and prosecute or at least remove the people who knew they were granting loans to people who could not pay them back, those who knew they were passing these bad loans off to the securities industry, those who were rating securities AAA that they knew were full of junk, those selling the tranches to suckers and then betting against those very same securities in the derivatives market... and the fraud goes on and on. These are the folks who've been bailed out with the vast majority of the "money flying out the door." (Obama even used those words in a press conference -- loaning money when they knew it could not be paid back. Why has there been no logical follow up question: "What you just described, Mr. President, is fraud. Where are the prosecutions???!!!")

Next, Obama must craft regulations what will create the kind of transparency, oversight, and incentives to greatly discourage such fraud in the future. He must set up a resolution trust as was done in the S&L debacle, to put bankrupt institutions into receivership, pay off depositors, sell off bad assets, and allow the economy to start moving again, free of these burdens of unpayable debt. Otherwise, we will see banks who borrow money from the fed at zero interest, and sock it away in reserves (not lending), or even worse, speculate with it! That's exactly what is happening now.

Obama has surrounded himself with men who advocate the opposite of these responsible actions. And we see the result. Destruction of the currency, ballooning unemployment, new bubbles forming in stocks and commodities, and the banking fraudsters taking home even greater bonuses. (The salary or bonus controls announced by the White House affect only a very few people in the industry, and I guarantee you they will find a way around those regulations. They always do.)

In South Park terms, Obama is acting like Goldman Sachs' bottom bitch, and Congress represents the rest of the ho's. He's creating or attempting to create an Atlas Shrugged-like unholy alliance between major industries like finance and gov't, health care and gov't, manufacturing (autos) and government, and who knows what is next?

Responsible America has had enough. What does that have to do with the election returns? Responsible America is more motivated than ever to vote for whatever will represent a roadblock to the fraud-irresponsibility-industrial complex. In this case, at the state level. Responsible Democrats will be discouraged to vote for those in their own party who are part of the problem. And Responsible Independents are increasingly realizing that Obama is not what they thought they voted for. Just another smooth talker who played them for suckers. (Hence the GOP got 60% of the independent vote in NJ, and McDonnell in Virginia got a whopping 66% of the independents.)

I still don't know if responsibility can win the day. I pray that it will. And I will pray for justice for those who have stolen so much from so many with the help of the "bitches" in both parties.

Please, I urge everyone to listen to Janet Tavakoli's interview on C-SPAN's Q&A program, as she describes the fraud that occurred, and the upside-down response of our government to it. Ms. Tavakoli is a Chicago-based expert on financial derivatives, President of Tavakoli Structured Finance, Incorporated. She can explain much better than I can.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WA20Am0pwtA

I do apologize for the length. There is no simple way to describe the wreckage and theft that is occurring in our economy. 10.2% unemployment (BLS U-6 unemployment figure now 17.5%). How's that workin' out for ya? For the bankers in Too Big To Fail institutions, very well, thank you. :thumbs up sign:

Re: Pop Goes the World: Derek Webb, “Jena & Jimmy”

DavidMedsker — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:06:09 -0000

Truth be told, The Ringing Bell is much closer to Sweet than Finn, and one song has a Difford/Tilbrook feel to it.

Re: Pop Goes the World: Derek Webb, “Jena & Jimmy”

autodidact — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:59:31 -0000

Has not Webb read Exodus 15:3? "The LORD is a man of war..." I guess God's opinion of war kind of depends on the war. Certainly we have not chosen our battles very wisely of late.

I'm intrigued by anyone that can be compared to Neil Finn. Worth investigation.

Eric, Bible-thumping Jesus Freak

Re: CD Review: Frank Sinatra, “Sinatra: New York”

autodidact — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:50:20 -0000

Sinatra's studio albums have not all been treated well on CD. The early Capitol CDs were a bit thin, but when they were remastered ("Entertainer of the Century" series), they were sonically butchered with signal processing. Rhino did a great job with the first Sinatra-Jobim album, though. I'm not sure about the rest of his Reprise catalog. Hopefully this new set has been treated with similar craft.

In the video department, one must lament that the Great Performances special from the late 1990s featuring the best Sinatra studio television performances has not, to my knowledge, been released on DVD. Some great stuff incorporated in that PBS television special is found on a DVD titled Frank Sinatra - A Man And His Music + Ella + Jobim, but it is out of print and very expensive. Thank goodness my library bought a copy.

Re: Unsolicited Career Advice for … Rush

EightE1 — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:20:31 -0000

I'm a big fan of the band, but I admit Geddy's an acquired taste, like Bob Dylan or sardines. That "coyote being castrated" link is particularly egregious, but it comes from a time when such things were expected of "metal" bands.

I dug Snakes and Arrows a great deal, and I hope they continue recording new music. It's a good thing people ignored Uncle Donnie, huh?

Re: Unsolicited Career Advice for … Rush

autodidact — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:18:32 -0000

He's right, you know. And Geddy has lately taken to harmonizing with himself in the overdubs, so now he sounds like a frakking choir of coyotes being castrated. As they say, I hate it when that happens.

No, I love Rush. I really do. Except when Geddy is singing backup vocals for Geddy. Get that nice blond chick from Til Tuesday to sing with them again, I say.

Re: CD Review: U2, “The Unforgettable Fire” (Remastered)

autodidact — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:55:11 -0000

What about the loudness wars? You said, "There’s a newfound clarity to the recordings..." and I do not doubt you. I could say the same thing about some of the Rush remasters. But they also had the dynamics sucked out of them. Not totally, but enough to blunt some of the drama of Neil Peart's drumming and Geddy Lee's popping bass strings.

We almost need to see waveform plots of the old versus new to compare. Analog tape already squashes the musical peaks, and compression was added to some degree in the original mix. Yet the trend has become to squash the dynamics even futher upon remastering. (This was done a little on the Beatles Remasters, and though it is relatively benign, I hate it. The key word being "relatively.")

Eric the Cranky Audiophile

Re: PopDose Contest: Win ‘The Essential “Weird Al” Yankovic’

DwDunphy — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 21:02:07 -0000

A couple of years ago I went to eight big-time concerts. By far, Al's show was the most energetic, fun, well-produced one of that year. Sure, his bent is comedy, but if you ever have a chance to go to his live show, it will probably turn up in your top ten of live music experiences.

Re: PopDose Contest: Win ‘The Essential “Weird Al” Yankovic’

autodidact — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:50:43 -0000

Al's smoldering success is well-earned. I mean, he's never going to sell out a stadium, but he's kept it going and kept the quality level high. You gotta admire the craft and the self-deprecating humor.

Re: Vinyl Review: Mark Knopfler, “Get Lucky”

1_Ted_2 — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 10:27:01 -0000

I just get that "Local Hero" vibe on some of the songs... Your mileage may vary, but give it a shot!

Re: Vinyl Review: Mark Knopfler, “Get Lucky”

autodidact — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:02:48 -0000

You said the magic words: "Local Hero." That encourages me to go and at least give it a try before I buy. I haven't bought a Knopfler album since Golden Heart. (Though I did buy the Knopfler-Harris collaboration.)

Re: Jazz Don’t Hurt: Joni Mitchell, Jazz Musician

autodidact — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:57:34 -0000

I have most of Joni's stuff, but that one didn't click with me. The reviewer's advice is sound. Shadows and Light is the standout, and it is the best representation of that phase of her career (Hissing of Summer Lawns - Hejira - Mingus).

Re: Dw. Dunphy On… Defending Leno

autodidact — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 11:34:48 -0000

I think there's a simple answer or explanation to this. Some TV shows just go on too long -- they don't know when to quit. Leno has been going for umpteen years, and at this point he's going through the motions. Did you know he does 150 stand-up dates a year, in addition to his late-night shows/prime time show? When does he ever find time to drive his antique cars? If Leno took about three or four years off, maybe he'd come back with a fresh angle and be entertaining again.

I thought Smallville was great when it started, but somewhere along season five it started to lose momentum. When John Schneider left the cast, it was like the heart went out of it. But they're still beating the dead horse in season nine.

Maybe it was a merciful thing that Firefly only lasted 14 episodes or so. If it had continued, it might well have descended into freaky plots, unnatural mutations of characters, or other maladies.

By the way, I think cop shows can be done from now until kingdom come, but not if they are all made with the standard Hollywood template. I enjoyed 10 episodes of ABC's The Unusuals earlier this year, and I don't know if it could have been a great show, but it was different, and entertaining to me. Foyle's War is essentially a cop show, is it not? It was fantastic from beginning to end. One thing about British television, they do not force a schedule of 22 episodes per year, letting quality take an upper hand over quantity. This is a big flaw in most American television, and one reason why IMO shows are so prone to burning out or going off the rails.

Re: Do You Hear What I Hear? In Defense of Dylan’s “Christmas in the Heart”

autodidact — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:18:24 -0000

How do I respond to you without sounding like Scrooge? I guess if I drop some food in the local donations for the hungry bin that should take care of the charitable urge. I don't think Bob is pursuing any aspect of his career for the wrong reasons. It's not about him. I'm just talking about the work itself.

Although I am a big fan of Pirsig, I don't see how it makes the case for Dylan. Pirsig's thing was "quality" -- and at first in Zen he wrote about quality as if it was similar to Potter Stewart's take on pornography: We know it when we see it. Remember Porsig's classroom discussions and voting on which pieces of student writing had quality? Pirsig implied that we had an innate sense of quality. (Granted, this was a limited, unscientific experiment, but Pirsig wasn't approaching it from a hard science perspective. This is a practical explanation, not the full metaphysical Monty.) I don't think quality is just "what we like" it is more than that. I recognize quality in opera although I don't like opera. (And yes, I know this is an interpretation of quality that Pirsig would not agree with, but he does sort of use it in the book. In Pirsig's sequel, Lila, it seems to me that he actually redefined Quality, and there we're talking about something entirely different, so I'm leaving this aside because to me Lila was ultimately a failed attempt. Low quality. haha)

I see quality in Dylan's "Things Have Changed." A sprawling, but very unique and interesting song, with a good hook. But "I'm in love with the ugliest girl in the world" or "My wife's home town." I'm afraid those are so bad it's not even funny. Amateur hour. Play those songs for a classroom full of writing students and see what kind of quality marks they get.

Dancing bear circus? Nope, some high quality Cirque du Soleil for me, thanks. It's hard for an attack on Bob's music not to sound like an attack on his fans. I like much of his work, but lately (the last 15 years?) I really am failing to enjoy it, or even understand the apologists for it. Enjoy it, if you can. :)

Re: Do You Hear What I Hear? In Defense of Dylan’s “Christmas in the Heart”

jpkhs — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 09:46:59 -0000

Type your comment here.
Re autodidact (Shall I take notes?)
Yes, Bruce's album, especially "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear", paints a beautiful Christmas portrait, and I also highly recommend it.
No, Dylan's Christmas album cannot touch Bruce's melodious delivery and imaginative arrangements. That said, cannot you extend a hand to Dylan and consider that he performed the selections given the voice he has and assuming he does so with the best of intentions? Ask Feeding America if they consider Dylan's generous in perpetuity royalty donations to be a dancing bear. Yes, that aspect counts; wouldn't you agree?
Dylan's art lives on a neverending, perpetually expanding canvas; it's so much more than a human voice. Perhaps you should read and enjoy some Pirsig, autodidact.
If Dylan is a circus act, perhaps you need to attend. I hear the circus is in town.
Peace.

Re: Do You Hear What I Hear? In Defense of Dylan’s “Christmas in the Heart”

dss — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 18:58:51 -0000

To autodidact... no one says this is the greatest Christmas album ever, so no need to listen to anyone elses effort before deciding if we like this one or not. Or if it deserves praise.

Since Modern Times is one of my favorite albums, I'm much more likely to enjoy this one then you are. But that's just taste, not quality. The fact that it didn't strike a chord with you doesn't mean it isn't a great blues album. Many great blues singers have gravelly voices, it doesn't detract from the message.

Re: Do You Hear What I Hear? In Defense of Dylan’s “Christmas in the Heart”

autodidact — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 11:24:44 -0000

Well no, this is a straw man argument. The alternative is not American Idol vocalists. The alternative is real artists who can actually sing. I would cite Inara George's solo work. Don McLean. James Taylor, who just gets better and better.

I once wrote a review of a Dylan album -- Modern Times, I think it was -- where I described Dylan as the musical equivalent of the proverbial dancing bear. What's amazing about a dancing bear is not that he dances so expertly, but that he dances at all. That's what we've come to with Dylan's voice. That he can sing at all is amazing, but that hardly makes it artistic. Dylan is now a circus act. Wasn't it Randy Newman who questioned if Dylan even HAD a late period? I'm pretty much in that camp. No offense to those who enjoy it. We all have our guilty pleasures. Yes, I confess. I like Norah Jones! [Hangs head]

Bruce Cockburn made a Christmas album once. It is excellent. Track it down. Don't praise this one until you've heard Cockburn's.

Re: Jazz Don’t Hurt: What Is Jazz, Anyway?

autodidact — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:56:55 -0000

Sure, Phish and The Dead are jazz. Bad jazz. It's all jazz. There are only two kinds. Good, and bad.

I kid, I kid. I bought a Greatful Dead album download recently, and enjoyed it, although that particular album was not very jazzy, i.e. not a lot of improvisation.

I would say improvisation is the most crucial element defining jazz, though I would broaden the definition to include uniquely arranging or transforming the original composition through performance in some way. For example, Susannah Hoffs and Matthew Sweet have done two covers albums, and some of their covers come dangerously close to trying to reverently replicate the original recordings. Those kinds of "faithful renditions" are very far away from jazz. But when Shawn Colvin performed the Talking Heads' This Must Be The Place on her album Cover Girl, that was truly a transformation of the song. If not jazz, it was in the spirit of jazz.

Jazz is ripping music apart and putting it back together in a unique and hopefully still musically valid manner.

Re: Basement Songs: Shawn Colvin with Mary Chapin Carpenter, “One Cool Remove”

Malchus — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 11:59:51 -0000

I LOVE that recording of "Say A Little Prayer." It's one of my favorite songs from the past decade.

The name of the Greg Brown tribute album is "Going Driftless." I've never seen it in stores, but I know it's available through Amazon.

Re: Basement Songs: Shawn Colvin with Mary Chapin Carpenter, “One Cool Remove”

autodidact — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 03:05:17 -0000

I love this album! You are right -- she is as good an interpreter as she is a writer.

Also, check out Shawn's contribution on the Greg Brown tribute album. I don't know the title, but she sings Say A Little Prayer on it. Fantastic cover. In a bit of role reversal that song reminds me a bit of when my father was ill one time. But apart from that, I think she out-does Greg Brown's original recording.

Re: Political Culture: Seeing the Best (And Worst) in One Another

autodidact — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 02:49:17 -0000

You all can argue about conservative and liberal positions as you please. I don't want to be identified with the power elites in either group (the people who seem to define what is "conservative" or "liberal" these days), and what's worse, those same power elites do not represent the grass roots of any major segment of American society, as far as I can tell. Quite simply, we are all up a divisive philosophical creek without a representative paddle. That's the biggest problem we face. Politics was awfully nasty at the time of this country's founding. That is survivable. The capture of the government by forces which care not for the will or well-being of a majority or even 2/3 of the people -- that is not survivable, IMO.

Plus, as a Christian, I must declare that Jesus could not identify with what is called liberal or conservative these days. There are many false accusations and false stereotypes being pasted onto both sides, which obviously He would also oppose, in the name of truth. Then again, today his religious views would be called impossibly narrow (there is one path to salvation, and one only) and his moral principles impractically strict and intolerant. (No divorce? Only one sex partner??? America is not ready to swallow that. Nor are the gays who are getting married -- for the time being -- in my state.) Moral sickness is bipartisan and is not restricted to one philosophical orientation. The apostle Paul wrote in one of his letters, "the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so." Unfortunately, that appears to me to be where both camps are right now. But who will stand up for the common man? Even what "liberals" (the leadership labeled as such) are proposing will bring us all to ruin, because it is based on phony promises and bad math. It looks like the "conservatives" would ruin us, too, by a slightly different path.

Re: An Open Letter to Bruce Springsteen

kshane — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 07:39:04 -0000

You're right about paperless tickets, but we're talking about stadiums here. I don't think I would like to be at a venue where 60,000 people have to produced id which has to be checked. Entrance to these venues is already difficult with the security pat downs. I think those are probably a good idea, though the pat downs are so cursory that it doesn't seem like they're achieving anything other than possible deterrence. If you forced ticket holders to produce id, you'd have to arrive at a venue hours early, just as you do at an airport. This would be onerous even in reasonably sized theater.

Yes, the artists can do their part to stop this, and so can the fans. That's the whole point of my letter.