Melanie at Woodstock BIRTHDAY OF THE SUN

Melanie Safka | MySpace Music Videos

Jimi Hendrix

Jimi Hendrix

He Headed A Band Called The Experience, Which Also Featured Mitch Mitchell And Noel Redding. The Group Performed Together From 1966 To 1969.

In September, 1970, Hendrix Died Of A Drug Overdose In London, England — A Year After Being Named “Playboy” Magazine Artist Of The Year.

“In Order For Black History To Live, We Must Continue To Breathe Life Into It.” — Hubert Gaddy, Jr.

Hugh Gaddy

Create Your Badge

Not mine; Jimi Hendrix. This was recently voted the best guitar riff ever. Who voted and why I don’t know. A vote seems a bit superfluous to me.

Friday = Geetar Music.

Bonjour mes petits brioches, et comment ca va? My spell-checker is going mad, though it’s interesting to see how many French words can also be something else in English (and therefore not underlined in that plaintive wiggly way.).

How am I? Well, I was feeling frustrated by my lack of progress, but starting to feel that I might be turning a corner, albeit slow and lumbering with many turns and reverses like a juggernaut negotiating a u-bend. There was once, in that loo-paper publication The Daily Sport (now, I think, defunct) a picture of an unfortunate obese woman with the caption “dumps like a truck”. The most unattractive sight in the world – a load of sweaty, overweght males laughing at a picture of an overweight woman.

For some reason yesterday I was thinking of Yosser Hughes. Remember Yosser Hughes? He was the character in Boys from the Black Stuff who went around saying to everyone: “Giz a job – I can do that.’ In the final stages of his malady he gave up and just took to saying “I am Yosser Highes” (If you’re not in the UK, Boys from the Black Stuff was about a bunch of unemployed labourers from Liverpool – and it was seminal TV. Really excellent.)

To Steve’s last night where we discussed his new girlfriend and watched Twelfth Night, the Trevor Nunn film with just-about-everyone-who-was-famous-at-the-time. I wasn’t totally convinced by Ben Kingsley as the fool (not that Ben Kingsley, god bless him, can’t play anyone he damn well pleases, just that the way he played it was a bit odd); nor was I convinced that Nunn was as happy on film as he presumably is on stage. I also found some of the dialogue hard to follow. But this did not make it a bad film. Not at all.

*This, if you didn’t know, is the first line of A la recherche du temps perdu I also went to bed early last night as I am feeling tired at the moment. Maybe it’s the time of year/maybe it’s the time of man/and I don’t know who I am but life is for learning

Ah, Woodstock! Where were you when you first heard that? I suppose, as the conventional wisdom has it, if you can remember, you weren’t there. (Oh, all right – I admit it: I wasn’t there. I was far too young.)

Michael Lang is adorable.

I’m a little late, but I figured I should get this in before the day officially ended.  I hope every one’s Turkey Day went well.  I ended up just sleeping a lot, really.  Which was cool.  And now for BLACK FRIDAY!  The number one shopping day in America.  For the first time ever, I won’t be on the shopping end of things, and will instead be the one dealing with crazy shoppers on the retail battlefield.  Yes.  I have a holiday job.  My sister got it for me.   Which is cool, I guess, but not.  A gift and a curse.  Well, anywho.  Welcome to the start of the 2009 holiday season.  The economy is on its way back up, and hopefully spirits will be high.  Only time shall tell!

Music biographies mesmerized me when I was a kid. Whether it was Glenn Miller or Elvis Presley, it was always the same fascinating formula: talent and tenacity leading to the precipice of success, with the artist always searching for that one elusive element to define his signature sound, to breakthrough. With Miller it was the addition of trombones. The proceedings always put me on the edge of my seat and the breakthroughs set me reeling. I guess it was in my blood.

It persists. Last night I watched two great documentary-style bios on TV, one on Johnny Cash, another on Willie Nelson. Willie, as many of his fans may not realize, was actually a Nashville songwriter, penning such classics as “Crazy,” which Patsy Cline etched into the music lexicon. Despite his pre-eminent status as a writer, Willie couldn’t get arrested as an artist in Music City. His quirky phrasing was way too off beat for the 60’s sound, which was infused with sweet strings and pop arrangements.

At the age of 40, Willie returned home to Texas. Such a move would have meant a life sentence selling insurance had history not intervened. As fate would have it, Woodstock Nation had opened the doors to multiple music movements by the early 70s, and Willie realized that Austin clubs were ready for a new kind of country artist. He enlisted his buddy Waylon Jennings, among others, and set about launching a novel sound to a new audience. His ultimate success turned country music, and the music establishment at large, on its head. Ultimately, he was responsible for redefining music, establishing its “outlaw” class, creating the Austin revolution and worldwide social activism that persists to this day.

Despite his huge outsider success, Nashville rejected this giant yet again. By the 1980s, you couldn’t find a Willie song on mainstream country radio, and forget about a major label deal.

Okay, let’s get right down to the hard part. Cash was just another music god to be tumbled unceremoniously from Olympus. By the 80s, he, too, was cast out like so much trash. His popularity was dwindling, and he was struggling to find an audience and make a living.

So these outlaw outcasts banded together, literally, forming the country supergroup The Highwaymen, along with Waylon and Kris Kristofferson. Talk about a Mount Rushmore of talent. They had taken fate into their own hands and, once again, set out to redefine the music scene, outside the establishment, all on their own.

A Bronx boy, I was still getting my country legs under me, when I hit Nashville in the late 80s. At the time, I couldn’t understand why the likes of Willie and Johnny weren’t getting mainstream air play, why I could eat lunch with Emmylou Harris but couldn’t hear her songs on country radio, why Nanci Griffith was considered a darling in all the clubs, to all the execs, but couldn’t get the chart toppers and eventually carped about it in interviews.

I was just getting introduced to the hard truth of the music industry: bitterness. Griffith was bitter, my friend Artie Traum (from back home in Woodstock) — one of the sweetest guys to ever grace the business — was expressing a degree of bitterness, too, in interviews of the day. I was just learning.

The songwriting trade in Nashville was rough. By year two, I was saying you had to learn to live on a diet of stones. Rejection was the blue-plate special everyday. It took me two years to get my first major song contract and more to get my first staff writing job and my first cut. Everyone who stuck with it had war stories: the song on hold that never happened, the artist cut that got dropped by the label or never got released as a single or didn’t make it above 20 on the charts. But, despite eventual successes and even industry support, I left after a decade to pursue to a career as an artist, packing scars and wisdom, love and hate.

But back to Johnny Cash. One of the greatest artists to “walk the line,” he faced the pure pain of artistry more deeply, more movingly than anyone before him. Late in his career, with the help of producer Rick Rubin, Johnny faced his inner darkness, his demons, his truth, his soul. With such albums as “American Recordings” and “Unchained,” he found a vast and vital new audience, just years before his death. His new material was so raw that family members had a tough time listening. They told him it sounded like he was saying goodbye. He told them he was.

Pure Johnny Cash

In the Cash bio, artists such as Sheryl Crow, John Mellencamp and Vince Gill expressed the true painful tumble that all artists must face. Mellencamp himself recently penned a telling if rambling article on the biz in HuffPost, a blog post that established a wellspring of conversation in the social media sector.

So, this little Bronx boy, who reeled from the Glenn Miller story and cut and broke his teeth on Music Row, finally came to understand bitterness and the role it plays in any music career. No one is exempt. It may be (excuse me) a bitter pill to swallow, but I recommend downing it to develop a good artist-immune system. Another words, one has to learn to deal with it, to embrace it, pain and all, and find a way to move on, carry it on your back, in your suitcase, in your heart, on your skin — the rose tattoo of the music artist.

U2 are looking more and more like aging Irish Porn Stars

PREVIEW: LISTEN to U2’s “No Line on the Horizon”

Just when you thought aging, self-absorbed rock stars couldn’t be more agonizingly full of themselves as displayed in the upcoming TV special of the 25^th Annual Rock Hall of Fame Awards/concerts — U2 strikes again in destroying everything that’s halfway decent about popular Rock music by headlining England’s Glastonbury 2010 Music Festival.

Despite the poor sales of this once-great band’s most recent album No Line on the Horizon, U2 still don’t know when to quit. Since playing on top of buildings in London and causing a carefully orchestrated and televised stir earlier this year didn’t work, perhaps Bono figures that their spanking new songs will resonate with an audience whose only relation to the band is that their parents had Joshua Tree playing in the background during their conception.

In the past few decades Glastonbury has had many classic and relatively younger bands headline at the main, “Pyramid” stage. The honor to perform such a slot is one which hot bands like Radiohead and Coldplay to Arctic Monkeys and Kings of Leon have thrived on. Aged and classic acts have played as well, but not as the focus of attention. Thanks to this usual past setup, it is clear that music festivals are for the young people and their newer music — a tradition that can be traced back to Monterey and Woodstock.

One would imagine that having a stage that looks like an alien weapon from the Halo video games might have suggested Bono and company were joining their outer space brethren after their current tour; however, to many a-one’s dismay they are headed to Glasto-organizer, Michael Eavis’ Worthy Farm. Either way, perhaps this is Bono and The Edge’s final attempt to communicate with aliens through crop-circles — or perhaps just a belated reference to the remake of the crap miniseries V.

– Charlie Weeks

MC300-MS7 York-Sunbury Historical Society Collection
Description (page 121)

If you are interested in any of these files then please contact the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick.

“The documents in this series were kept by two brothers, William Henry Street and John Ambrose Sherman Street, who were born in Burton, Sunbury County, the sons of Hon. Samuel Deny Street and Abigail Freeman.  They were educated at public schools in Burton and Fredericton.

William Henry Street was born April 11, 1793.  After completing his education, he engaged in the mercantile business in Saint John.  He was twice mayor of Saint John (1835-1836 and 1848-1849) and served in the militia.  In the General Election of 1842, he ran for Saint John City and, after protest, was awarded the seat.  He sat until the dissolution of the House in 1846 when he retired from politics.  W.H. Street was married twice: in 1824 to Mary Bruce, and in 1847 to Sarah Boyd Orr.  He died in Saint John on April 4, 1875.

John Ambrose Sherman Street was born September 22, 1795.  He studied in his father’s law office and was admitted to the New Brunswick Bar on February 22, 1817.  He practiced law at Chatham, Northumberland County, and in 1823 married Jane Isabella Hubbard.  He was elected to the Assembly as a Conservative member for Northumberland County at a by-election in 1833.  He sat in the House almost continuously until his defeat in 1856.  He then moved to Fredericton and unsuccessfully ran for York County in 1861 and 1865.  He was made a member of the Executive Council in 1851, and served as Attorney-General until 1854.  He died in 1865.

The Street Records pertain to the legal and business affairs of the brothers.  The material is catalogued alphabetically according to client’s name.  The types of documents found here include: indentures, deeds, declarations, bonds, assignments, correspondence, and leases.  The material dates from 1812 to 1863.  This series measures 9 centimeters.

1 Bedell, George A.; Woodstock, 1855-1862.

2 Betts, David and Levi; Newcastle, 1831.

3 Bowman, William, and Daniel Campbell; Liverpool England, 1845.

4 Chisholm, Patrick; Northesk, 1828.

5 Clarke, Alexander; Nelson Parish, 1828-1831.

6 Clarke, Richard Samuel, High Sheriff, for land of William Matchett to Oliver Stringer; James Vye to John, Alexander and James Fraser; Charles McDonald and Ronald Davidson to James McDonald and William Ravinscroft.  Dennis Cochran, Samuel Porter to James D. Berton; William and Elizabeth Murray; and Thomas and Alexandra Wilson; Northumberland County, 1825-1832.

7 Crookshank, Robert W.; Saint John, 1826-1852.

8 Cunard, Henry; Newcastle, 1836.

9 Davidson, Allan, William, John and Phineas; Newcastle Parish, 1824-1847.

10 Hooper, Nehemiah Story; St. Mary’s Parish, 1851-1857.

11 Jardine, Alexander, Robert Jardine and Barnabas Tilton; Saint John City, 1849.

12 Johnson, John M, High Sheriff, for lands of Patrick Flannigan, and Alexander Clarke; Northumberland County, 1841.

13 Kerr, George, of Newcastle, for lands of John Kerr, John Mayes, and Jane Matthew to John Walker; Jeremiah Newman; Alexander Fraser Jr., George McGuigor, and Joseph Saunders; Andrew and James Grant; William Henry Moore; Northumberland County, 1828-1843.

14 Kirk, James; Saint John City, 1847.

15 Matthew, George; Saint John City, 1812-1850.

16 Mersereau, Jacob; Blackville Parish, 1831-1837.

17 Miller, Edward, High Sheriff, and William Grigor for lands of George A. Munro; York County, 1843.

18 Mitchell, Peter and Barbara, and William and Isabella Masson; Newcastle, 1828.

19 Moore, William Henry, and Patrick Keho and Alexander Fraser Jr.; Parish of Chatham, 1824-1826.

20 McDermott, John; Blackville Parish, 1842.

21 McKay, Donald and Zilpah; 1825.

22 McLaggan, Alexander; Blackville, 1850-1862.

23 New Brunswick and Nova Scotia Land Company for lands of George Barrett; Stanley, 1847.

24 Rankin, Alexander, (William Bedell, W.H. Shore, Francis Ferguson, George and John Monroe); Miramichi, 1833-1855.

25 Spencer, John; Ludlow, 1841.

26 Spahn, Justin; 1856.

27 Small, Otis; Saint John, 1845.

28 Street, Louisa Isabella; William Woodbridge Street; Rev. Charles Frederic Street; John Ambrose Street; and George D. Street; Newcastle, 1845.

29 Sutter, Byron, John Connelly, Allan Lyons, and Alexander Davidson; Miramichi, 1839.

30 Walker, John, James Robertson and Mary Green; Saint John, 1840.

31 Worrall, George William; Saint John, 1847.

32 Young, James, Alexander McLean, Alexander McLaggan, and Neil McLean; Nashwaak, 1852.

33 Miscellaneous items; 1847-1863. 

Let's Give Peace A Chance! A Symbol From The Sixties!

The Beatles in 1964 - The beginning of "Beatlemania."

Yippie led anti-election protestors outside City Hall, San Francisco, CA, Oct. 1968

Peace sign flashing, anti-election protestors in Grant Park during a demonstration against the Democratic National Convention, Chicago, IL, Aug. 1968

Shirtless male drummer & dress-wearing female flutist jamming during Woodstock music festival, Bethel, NY, Aug. 1969

The Jackson Five with their parents, Joseph and Katherine. They signed with Motown in November of 1968

Astronaut Edwin Aldrin saluting American flag after being second man on moon during Apollo II mission, July 1969

Having been born in 1946, I am considered to be a “baby-boomer.” In fact, the baby-boomer generation began with Americans born in 1946.

My father met my mother in 1944 while he was in the Navy, fighting in World War 2, and she was a comptometer operator in San Francisco. He was discharged in 1945, they married and I was born in June of 1946, along with over 3,400,000 other Americans, thereby “starting a boom” in the population that continued through 1964.

In the Spring of 1964, I graduated from St. Dominic High School in O’Fallon, MO, and five years later, in the Spring of 1969, I graduated from Truman State University (aka Northeast Missouri State University).

As you can see, I was in high school and college during the “sixties” – the time when many expressions we currently assume always had meaning, actually came into existence. So, what are some of these expressions that are used when referring to that era?

The following are all expressions that I remember from the sixties. I have each expression in hypertext, in case you would like to read more about them. Also, in parenthesis, is the time in my life when I first heard the expression.

Sex, Drugs and Rock N Roll (in college)

Make Love, Not War (in college)

Flower Power (in college)

Hippies (in college)

Beatlemania (in high school)

Woodstock (Summer after graduation from college)

Motown (in high school)

Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out (in college)

Civil Rights Movement (in high school)

Yippies (in college)

Man Walking On The Moon (Summer after graduation from college)

Along with the expressions mentioned above, there are many pictures and/or symbols that reflect that era – the time when many baby boomers “came of age.”  I hope you will find the pictures, at the beginning of this posting, interesting and enlightening.

Ok, now you can see a little of what this baby boomer encountered during the sixties. Perhaps, I should rephrase the question in the title and write, “What does the beginning baby boomers’ generation have to be thankful for?” Should we be thankful for Beatlemania? Should we be thankful for Woodstock?  Should we be thankful for the civil rights movement? Should we be thankful for a man walking on the moon? Should we be thankful for … I say, YES!

These are all important parts of our history. They helped shape our society into one that is much more diverse and rich in population, culture, art, politics, music, science, etc. We all need to be thankful for our history that helped us learn and grow into a generation that has more education, more privileges and a greater quality of life than any previous generation.

I’m thankful today for my life – truly a gift, which is why it is called the present!

Happy Thanksgiving To All!

He must be related to the pigeons outside of the Popeye’s chicken shop in the Mission.

I like the ping pong table styles, Snoopy. We won’t be needing one as we found a kitchen table and some chairs at Salvation Army. The new spot is now rug-filled and 90% moved in, now we just have to put things away. Looking forward to a mellow Thanksgiving with my sweetie at our new home playing records and being thankful for all the events/people/magic that has led me to this point. I’ll be thinking of you. Hope your T Week is fantastic.

Happy Thanksgivering and safe travels all! xx

Dica do André Fetchir que, mesmo não postando, foi o idealizador desse blog.

Taí um site legal que vale a visita: Whines That Rock.

Mark Beamer, produtor de vinhos e roqueiro, lançou uma proposta diferente: combinar álbuns de rock com vinhos. “Mal posso acreditar que esse é meu trabalho. Eu provo vinhos, ouço música e penso como juntar tudo em uma garrafa de vinhos que capte a verdadeira essência do álbum”, diz ele.

Dentre suas combinações, estão os clássicos Forty Licks (Rolling Stones) com Merlot, The Dark Side of the Moon (Pink Floyd) com Cabernet Sauvignon e um vinho Chardonnay em homenagem ao Woodstock. O interessante é que Beamer explica e justifica as suas combinações.

No The Dark Side Of The Moon Cabernet Sauvignon, por exemplo, Mark diz querer captar a essência densa e atemporal do álbum, combinando com a uva em questão, que representa a atitude do Condado de Mendocino, região de grande cultivo da uva.

O Woodstock Chardonnay também tem a sua peculiaridade: diferentemente dos outros Chardonnay, que são revestidos em carvalho durante a fermentação, esse tipo é a pura expressão da fruta e da terra de onde cresceu, remetendo aos valores de quebra com o passado e de expressão individual que foram tão fortes durante o Woodstock.

O “Rainbow Pack”, pacote que vem com uma garrafa de cada um dos três vinhos-álbuns, sai por US$50,97. Não sou grande entendedor e apreciador de vinhos, mas fiquei curioso para harmonizá-los com as respectivas carnes e discos indicados.

Beware of santas bearing bad news.

If you aren’t one of the 3% of shoppers who are actually done with the Christmas shopaganza, welcome to the club. My friend, you need a strategy. Timing is everything, and what you’re in the market for should determine where you go. Here are some things to consider when drawing up the Black Friday shopping game plan.

Bologna 27 Novembre alle ore 21, Teatro Tivoli Via Massarenti, 418 – 40138  Eleonora Massa presenta “Janis, Joni, Joan”, Janis Joplin, Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, l’inquieta, la raffinata, la pacifista ritratto a forti tinte di una generazione di sogni, di rivoluzione, di libertà.  In questo spettacolo si parla di tre cantanti, tre simboli di un’epoca in un cui la musica smise di essere una colonna sonora per trasformarsi in passioni, rabbie, ideali, desideri. Tutte e tre hanno contribuito a rendere straordinaria-mente memorabile il raduno di Woodstock, Janis e Joan con le loro per-formances e Joni scrivendo il testo dell’omonima canzone. E proprio da Woodstock la narrazione ha inizio, per parlare soprattutto di tre donne e delle loro vite molto diverse: delle loro inquietudini e trasgressioni, delle loro solitudini e fragilità, della loro tenacia e passione, del loro estremo bisogno di essere amate. “Non si può scegliere il modo di morire. O il giorno. Si può soltanto decidere come vivere. (Joan Baez). “Ci sono cose da confessare che arricchiscono il mondo e cose che non devono essere dette” (Joni Mitchell).“Quando sono sul palco faccio l’amore con ventimila persone, poi torno a casa da sola” (Janis Joplin). Prezzo: Intero: 10 Euro Ridotti: 8 Euro (“Janis, Joni, Joan”)

Happy Turkey Day!

If you are headed up here for the long weekend, here are links to get you well-fed and entertained. (br>

 For music lovers Hudson Valley Music has a list of venues including bars and restaurants that have performances this weekend:

 http://www.hvmusic.com/listing/calentry_list.php

 If you want to burn a few calories before pigging out on the big bird, you can join the runners at the Thanksgiving 5K Turkey Trot to benefit the Ferncliff Forest. You can register online or the same day beginning at 7am. Race begins at Northern Dutchess Hospital in Rhinebeck. Go to http://www.Active.com to register.

 If you don’t feel like cooking this year these restaurants are offering Thanksgiving Dinners:

  http://www.mohonk.com/dining/dining_holidaymeals.cfm

($75 per person)

http://www.vintagehudsonvalley.com/vhv_111009.shtml

The above link lists several places in the Hudson Valley that are serving Thanksgiving dinner.

 http://skytop.moonfruit.com/#/thanksgiving-day/4519775316

($20.95)

http://beekmandelamaterinn.com/events.htm

($41.95)

  If you are looking for fun Thanksgiving Eve parties visit http://www.hudsonvalley.metromix.com for ideas. Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!

The 40th Anniversary of Woodstock was enough for the people of San Francisco to join together and play some tunes in the beautiful Golden Gate Park, may the music live on.

The bus wasn’t for another 20 minutes and I was in sweaty clothing in the cold wind.  The Crown Inn offered refuge and I leapt.  Normally, though, I might have looked around the neighbourhood a little longer.

The Crown was not especially well marked on the outside of its stone facade, but was clean and modern inside, and brightly lit.  It also had at least 5 very large flat screen televisions with two to three zombies propped in front of each, showing tension in their necks and foreheads that makes you think the lighting is to spot a drawn weapon or to make sure the CCD cameras get a clear image of the violent act or acts of the night.

Why this intensity? They were watching the World Cup Qualifier between France and Ireland, of course, and even if they didn’t care who won (Ireland held the lead when I was there but the infamous “hand of god” play by Thierry Henry happened a few minutes after I left), I would wager that there many other wagers riding on the game’s outcome.  Not wanting–or caring–to choose sides, I finished my Bitburger (a German beer was a stretch with this crowd, but I was in lager mode at this point) and left for the bus.

I was at the Star Inn to meet up with the Oxford Hash House Harriers.  While waiting for the trail to start, I enjoyed a nice beverage that I didn’t clock the name of and sat near the wood stove and chatted a bit about trail, home- and former-hashes we’ve belonged to or visited, and how, funny, but my accent doesn’t sound like Cambridge (“that’s Ipswich, that is”).

The Oxford Hash traditionally lays dead/prelaid trails, which is always a disappointment to discover but the hare did a very nice job and there are additional benefits at this hash.  First, the trail was A-to-B although B was only a few hundred meters from the start (at the Star Inn).  The circle was run with aplomb by the RA (or GM, I didn’t pay much attention) and there were a variety of songs (although they did repeat the same one a few times with a sort of fill-in-the-blank variation each time).  And, there was proper, hot food served: some delicious vegetable based soup and sausages in rolls…and, surprisingly, very few naughty sausage remarks.

I have started to get used to the less rowdy ways of the British hashers.  They are very different from most of the American hashers I’ve known and the subdued version of the circles here are probably much to everyone’s advantage.  I had a number of rude songs to add to the mix, but I think I’ll save them for when I’ve been there a few more times…no need to shock or offend when they all seem to be on best behaviour as well.

We retired to the pub again and I weaseled a pint of Red Stripe off one of the hashers (Dipstick, I believe), and settled into a long conversation on hashing and also on science with (again, I think this was her name) Home Alone, a biochemist from out around Bicester.  She pointed out that my Red Stripe benefactor was the only one there likely to set a live trail, and I will try to keep my eyes on the schedule after we move out that way and goad him into doing it (perhaps I should volunteer myself, first…).

The crowd dwindled after the first round and I decided I better go on and catch the early bus, too, maybe to stop off on the way to the hotel at another pub closer in.

L’evento musicale più importante degli anni sessanta, ma non solo, è stata la tre giorni di pace, amore e musica di Woodstock. Il più imponente festival rock che si ricordi, il simbolo di una generazione, quella hippy, che ebbe vita breve ma tutto sommato felice. Il momento culminante di quella manifestazione, a parte i figli dei fiori nudi in mezzo al fango, è la straordinaria esibizione di un giovane Joe Cocker, riccioli al vento, basettoni improbabili, che interpreta With a little help from my friends dei Beatles (qualcuno dirà che è stato Jimi Hendrix il momento culminante, qualcun altro gli Who. va beh).
È difficile trovare interpretazioni di brani dei Beatles all’altezza degli originali, per una serie di buoni motivi. Questa versione strapazza l’originale, è forse l’unico caso. Per i Beatles era un episodio nel loro album più importante, un giochino da mettere in bocca a Ringo Starr, Joe Cocker l’ha resa soul e arrabbiata e con quella sua voce abrasiva e quelle movenze da pazzo si è guadagnato un posto nell’Olimpo del Rock, prima di perdersi nell’alcool e in una carriera spesso banale.

or: I’ll trade you civil liberties circa 1980, for the right to beat your wife circa 1920

or: If Glenn Beck were a decade, which one would he be?

For almost a year now, and even further back possibly, I have been fascinated with politics and punditry. I have become a self-proclaimed politico and I follow politics and media pretty closely, as closely as my tenuous hold on sanity will allow. In following politics my liberal mind has always been perplexed by the conservative party line of ‘returning to traditional American values’ and trying to recapture the ‘lost spirit of what it is to be an American’. In recent months it as been the loud ram’s horn call of Glenn Beck, and his ever growing audacity matched only by his ever growing audience, that has caused me to pontificate further on this subject. For the past few weeks this idea of lost values and traditional American fundamentals has led me to research where we might have gone wrong. Is there a specific time and place, a particular era that the GOP and other right-leaning hard-liners would want us to return to? If I can put my finger on the ethos that these guiding principles existed in, can we get back there? I delve in to this quagmire of American history to try and find “Glenn’s America”, so that he and others can stop preaching in general broad strokes and say, “we need to get back to what we believed in 19XX (or 18XX as it may be).”

When examining the general party ideas of what I understand to be the GOP’s fundamental idealogical structure I take my understanding from some 25 years on this planet, though you can’t count the first 16. I think that until you turn 17 and start trying to find yourself and begin to shape your views and identity in preparation for voting and contributing to society you are more of a blank slate in terms of personal free thought; up until this point you do not question a source but only try to fit in to the general parameters of ‘normal’ life as to not rock the boat and interfere with the indoctrination that American public schools instill in our youth. My true views have been shaped in my most recent years and as such I have adopted a view of the world quite different from my parents’, a direct result of informing myself for the first time in my life. In my home growing up as a small boy liberal leaders and democratic ideals warranted venom and crass, lewd criticism. The views I set forth will be of my own creation, independent of those I was raised on, either despite or in spite of them, I cannot tell. A crazy person isn’t crazy if he knows he’s crazy. Indeed.

The GOP seems to feel that gays should not marry, and are sinful. This makes no sense to me as sinful is a religious idea, not a political one; though it seems one position is quite often the result of the other. Gun rights should be protected at all costs to personal safety and public responsibility. Abortion is a no-no, ‘nuff said. They want smaller government, tax cuts, reform to let states decide things, though not gay marriage rights or any of the other items I just mentioned. They are for fiscal responsibility. GOP feels that a free market should regulate itself, again smaller government. They claim to fight for the middle class but public programs and universal anything is bad, that’s more government. They hate the environment as far as I can tell. Campaign finance reform (yeah right), education in America (no child left behind has gone so well after all). Prayer in school is ok, capital punishment and the death penalty are pretty much thumbs up, and the Ten Commandments should be at the steps of a courthouse flying the confederate flag. I am pretty close on this, right? So, basically it is a small government that has an abridged copy of the constitution, a cliff’s notes of the Bill of Rights, and a bible as it’s guiding principles. Hmmm, ok.

So, in American history, where can we find this utopia we strive for every day? This shangri-la we lost so long ago would obviously be the one saving grace for this country of godless sodomites. If we could only return to this point in time then everything would be fine. As far as I can tell it is the GOP that can save us if you believe the rhetoric. The liberals and the liberal media have scattered us across the nation and we are divided along partisan lines and are all doomed unless we jump on the Republican band wagon like some lifeboat after the Titanic sank. This is what self proclaimed “libertarian” Glenn Beck would like you to believe. I will give him credit for criticizing the government as a whole, even in the Bush days, though not in such inflammatory terms, but in reality he is like a Liber-publican. So, let’s take a step, Glenn, in to the way back machine and start a search for the time in American history you would like us to return to, as well as all of the Republican nay-sayers.

I want to start by saying that I am skipping the nineties completely being that he wasn’t happy with Clinton either, and it is far too close to the 21st century and the liberal progress this country has made; there is no way anyone wants to get back to how we were in the nineties, not even me and I loved my teen years in the nineties. And I am going to come back to the eighties later, they were too soon as well, but I will look at them briefly. We are sending our way back machine to a time when I think this country went bat-shit crazy and we were in maybe the most turmoil as a nation than anyone today can recall. I want to start out in the era that good old Glenn was born in, and that many of our current figure heads today, that make our decisions, can remember very ‘fondly’…the sixties.

Well I start here, in this decade of utter unrest by trying to illustrate that this can’t possibly be the America Glenn wants back. This cannot be the period in American history we want to recapture. This was a time that the late Strom Thurman must have hated with more zeal than any other period in history. It is hard to decide where to start. The sixties started out innocent enough, Kennedy beat Nixon and became the President, what followed was the Bay of Pigs incident, rumors about Marilyn, the meager beginning of Vietnam, the cuban missile crisis, then the man is assassinated. Further Vietnam BS, Malcolm X is killed, the Compton Cafeteria Riots in San Fran, then Nixon and all his Vietnam BS and his ‘secret plan to end the war’, the massive inflation crisis, MLK Jr. is killed, Bobby Kennedy is killed, the Stonewall riots of ’69, oh and a little thing who was named Manson did some killing. Great decade.

The sixties were a time of massive riots in the black and gay communities. Civil rights on all fronts tore the fabric of this country apart from women liberation, blacks, gays, even the Chicano revolution in this country. Outside of that was the acid wave of the sixties, a complete change in television, film, art, and especially music. The counterculture as it came to be known galvanized this country after the death of JFK, I think. The nice, homely manners of the 50’s were gone in a big way and now came very free thinkers, revolutionaries, protests exploded, demonstrations, inflation choked the middle class as they tried to compete with the changes in the landscape. The sixties were an ugly, hate-filled time, the emerging civil rights movement after the death of JFK was really the catalyst for it all. There is no way we want to return to the sixties as a country. America was in a violent turmoil and unsure of it’s identity and where the road we were on was going to lead us and people were strung out or scared for their lives, or both. I don’t think Glenn wants that back, so let’s move on.

How about we take a step forward and find Glenn in the seventies as a small boy, maybe these are the innocent and moral times he wants back…but I doubt it. Well in the seventies music really got good including the first ‘rap’ song, movies got weird, TV got lewd, and the country just got fucked up worse. This country started watching shows like All In The Family and the Brady bunch, dealing with some of the issues of the day. Vietnam choked the first few years while a little thing called Watergate slipped by the news press during Nixon’s re-election campaign and then killed him by ’74. It was the most embarrassing and shocking scandal in American political history, which in my opinion was the death of politics. I think that Nixon and his escalation of the doomed Vietnam war and his scandal killed the American political system. Outside of the US revolution was abundant across the world. Woodstock was a shining beacon of what drugs and music and mud can do for young people, a complete change from how we started the decade on the campus of Kent State where the National Guard gunned down peaceful protestors of the war on a college campus; unthinkable today, one would hope. The draft was the height of outrage, an unbelievable moment when Ali fought the draft and Elvis went in. Protest and anti-war sentiment was as widespread in this country as pant legs were flared. The Cold War ramped up a bit and this country got really scared, really fast. Our involvement in a few revolutions and military coupes as well as an assassination or two was a continuation of poor foreign affairs decisions. The middle east started down the road to where we are today with Israel, Egypt, Syria, the Soviet Union, and Afghanistan, all starting to kick each others asses.

The seventies brought women’s rights to the forefront as the sixties had civil rights for minorities eclipsing women’s rights to some extent. Vietnam ended finally, well our involvement, leaving the North to just wait for us to leave and drop Saigon to it’s knees and claim the country unified again. A sad end to a war we should have not been in and an end that was mostly our fault. Oh and lest I forget the massive recession we were in mixed with oil crises a couple of times resulting in rationing and further middle class stresses that included a very high unemployment rate. Then of course there was Jonestown, about 900 dead there. Idi Amin started his tyrannical, violent rule of Uganda as well. Is this the era we should return to? Hatred, war, violence, and tragedy pock marked this era. The seventies hold within their years scandal, racism, and fear-mongering, of the most epic scale one can imagine. There is no way we want to return to the moral or political views of this era. The seventies were the time for change for sure, but it came at great expense on the heels of a decade of radical change and upheaval. The 70’s continued the massive crime rate spikes that the sixties brought and the country still sat on the edge of it’s seat every day as nothing seemed to get better. Surely we don’t want the seventies back.

Ok, the eighties might be better, the days of Reagan and Bush, this might be the most likely time we want to return to. The eighties would be the most formidable years of Beck’s life; the decade of excess. The eighties brought the yuppie, and with it, all the coke, parties, and BMW’s we could handle. We saw great multinational growth and wall street was glamorous, they were kings then, still total scum, but they had better PR people then. Of course Reagan declared a War on Drugs, the Cold War raged to a massive scale. Sure, communism fell apart as did the Berlin Wall, but we saw the further mishandling of the middle east that is the source of our problems and involvement there today, can’t argue with that. Reagan put a major black eye on his presidency with the discovery of the Iran-Contra debacle that Oliver North was the mastermind behind. This country saw massive economic growth against the backdrop of very complicated and protracted battles all over the world including Asia, the middle east, central and south america, and ever Ireland with ‘the troubles’ brewing. (Only badass Irish would call a modern, religious civil war ‘the troubles’, an understatement to say the least)

The eighties, I think were a time of thinking that we could not be beaten, being the short attention span of Americans forgetting the seventies. We were coked out of our minds, living beyond our means, and we were kicking Commie ass. But the eighties, world wide, were complicated, painful growth, some democratic, but on the whole we saw massive famine and destruction abroad as the industrialized countries were making head way. The middle class of nations was being evaporated as the gap between rich and poor nations grew drastically. Domestic issues were tough though, as it seemed we were trying to use our power for good as a people with things like LiveAid and becoming more aware of issues in Africa and other countries, the eighties saw the rise of the religious right. They really got fired up on the gay issue and the discovery of AIDS, ‘the gay plague’. This country grew in many way, a decent decade I guess, I don’t really remember much of it but it seemed like a lot of people were having a lot of fun, safer fun.

Glenn probably liked the eighties, he used to be a liberal and an alcoholic, he draws a fine parallel between the two in a Katie Couric interview you should look up on YouTube, and this might have been his favorite time. Old enough to enjoy and understand it, he probably had a great time. Conservatives in power, strides made internationally, excess and money everywhere. The eighties were a wild party time, a decade that seemed to be a release of the past twenty years of hard work, growing pains, and controversial conflict. The 60’s and 70’s were going to lead inevitably to a time when we finally just cut loose and took a deep breath after so much bloodshed, upheaval, and serious talk. It was the decade we all remembered fondly on VH1. Music was weird, movies were great, TV was filled with classics we all watched, and standup comedians were making it big; the country was having a good laugh, a bump, and some beer. Not too bad.

I discount the nineties entirely so let’s jump back to a more general era I don’t think we can reasonably go back to, the 50’s to the 30’s. This was another era of massive wars, depression, civil rights injustice, bigotry, no women’s liberation, industrialization, organized crime, et al. These were times when blacks were openly hung from gallows, women were expected to be barefoot and pregnant in front of the stove, except when they were making tanks for the troops overseas for next to nothing wages. A time where minorities were rightfully scared at night of police or white boys out for a joyride. The prohibition, crime in the streets, Bonnie and Clyde, the Tommy gun, the B.A.R., saloons, speakeasy’s, and rampant bank robberies and crooked cops on the beat. This was a different time for this country and I don’t think we can agree with many of the ideals that were held to in this time and apply it today, the role of women alone is too much inequality to bare, let alone the rest.

OK, let’s take a big jump to my favorite era, the old west. You know the times, I’m talking post manifest destiny, pre-FBI. A time of no gun laws, showdowns in the streets, legal prostitutes, and riding in to town on a horse. Tombstone, San Francisco, Indian and cowboys. A time where gold was rushing and crazy white drunks ran amok and contracted TB and polio. Yes, when there were still a few Indians around, you had ranchers with thousands of acres, cattle drives, train robberies, and the men of storied legend lived and died by Winchester, Colt, and Smith&Wesson. I like to think I lived in the times with a town sheriff, shitty beer, floozies, and general martial law over most of the country. A time where you could shoot a man in the street in broad daylight in front of 50 people, and they might actually clap and then go about their day. The good times.

I think this might not be far enough back though. When I hear Glenn speak, he talks about the founding father’s principles. The true foundation of the country as he sees it with the men who earned America through blood, sweat, and tears. Jefferson’s America. OK, well let’s first examine the fact that we are talking late 1700’s and early 1800’s. These are pre-electric, pre-phone times. We are talking Boston Tea Party, Paul Revere, plantations, etc. If this is the time Glenn thinks we need to get back to I want to highlight a couple of things. First off, slavery was alive and well…need I say more? Secondly, this country treated women like shit, there were no civil rights, and it was unindustrialized. This country was populated and run by rich, white land owners, and then there was everybody else. I don’t want anyone to romanticize this era. This country was created, founded, and declared on the bodies of millions of natives and the death and suffering of minority races of people removed from their homes and treated worse than dogs in the time period.

America has never been truly righteous. We revolted for selfish reasons, nothing simpler than that. We turned against the imperialism of the Queen and her rule and declared our independence; the worst “dear John” letter ever. Up to that point we had slaughtered, tricked, infected, raped, and pillaged our way to the Mississippi and thought very highly of white skin and could kill a black man for any reason at any time, or sell them, whatever struck our fancy. What I am about to say is going to piss off the right, but if I could meet George Washington I think I would take the opportunity to shake his hand and then slap the wooden teeth out of his head. These were racist white bigots with an knack for the written word and hard on for ‘freedom’ by their definition as it applied to them as an emerging nation of first class citizens at the top of the shit pile. All due respect, but their ideas and principles were fundamentally offensive and their beliefs of equality were for themselves and those they agreed with. How many minorities or women were running around enjoying their freedom of speech or right to bare arms…or even read? I rest my case.

So maybe Glenn does have a time in mind. Maybe he wants the scandalous, violent 70’s, or the civil unrest and inequality of the 60’s. The old west certainly had smaller/non-existent national government, and the 40’s sure were good times to be a gangster, Nixon would have done well, that’s for sure. The eighties surely had the best coke, and some unprecedented growth, outside of post-industrialized America (without all of these pesky labor laws we got). Maybe he wants the great depression era, maybe to live amongst the greatest generation, or rub elbows with white men who raped their slaves on their plantation as a matter of principle and patriotism. The history of America is short, embarrassing, and seemingly without a lesson learned throughout. Glenn, I dare you and your constituents to point out that shining beacon in American history that is so much better than now, ‘cause I must have missed it. All those moments have led up to now, and I’ll be damned if where we are isn’t a hell of a lot better than where we were; you can pry this progress from my cold dead hands, pal.

The WAAM had a fabulous and festive turnout last night for the opening of the annual Holiday Show, as well our other fine exhibits.  Awards were given to selected members (names and honors to come), guests bought great art at good prices, and everyone had a wonderful time.  See the photos on the Pictures page…if you’re a member, you just might find yourself there.  If you missed the opening, the show will be up through the Holidays, so do come peruse our wares.

Visitors come to the WAAM for art and fun

Main Entry: vir·tu·ous
Pronunciation: \ˈvər-chə-wəs, ˈvərch-wəs\
Function: adjective
Date: 14th century
1 : potent, efficacious
2 a : having or exhibiting virtue b : morally excellent : righteous
3 : chaste

Websters’ definition above sounds as though it might be on the edge of extinction. Using words like moral and righteous just don’t seem to fit into the current vernacular. It certainly doesn’t seem to fit with the trends in social or political thought.

When I was growing up (go ahead and groan), the standards of behavior were still rooted very much in the traditions and values of my parents’ generation, reflecting how they had been brought up. There was a genuine respect and reverence for the dignity of the individual, and an acceptance of certain behaviors that showed a recognition of the value of civilized interaction.

Now, at the risk of sounding very much like my parents, I fear for the generations that are the product of my own. As much as I love the romance and creativity of my youth and the era of the 60’s with all of it’s drama and art, consciousness and dialogue, the standards that were broken down are missed.

Add to that the pervasiveness of technology as a replacement for reading and self-awareness and you have not only dysfunction and illiteracy at record rates, you have millions of youth who simply don’t care.

Watching life through the lense or on a big screen has created an insular environment in which nothing is real. I cringe at the reality of my cousins’ death in Vietnam from the gun of a sniper as I listen to a game being played in the next room. The pop of the guns and the tactics to win are all contingent on the skill of the virtual sniper that the gameplayer has become. That’s obscene to me. I object. There is no virtue in this.

How is that a generation or two of American youth don’t know anything about the 19th or 20th century? They find Mark Twain boring, and Jane Austen only palatable for the duration of a 90 minute dramatization of her timeless works. The literature of these types of authors portray a sensibility and sensitivity to us that offer us lessons on observing and respecting people and their situations. In many ways, they speak to the need for compassion and understanding.  When I saw the movie The Count of Monte Cristo (several years ago) I was shocked to observe the interpretation of this classic piece of literature.  There was so little connection to the original that it might as well have been renamed. And, most importantly, the “moral”, so to speak, of the story was lost. Vengeance is not the answer, and you don’t get a reward for your wrath.  No one got the message because it wasn’t included in the film.  So much for learning from the past. 

For all of the advancements that have been made technologically, we have lost the soul of imagination and creativity that comes from reading, and thinking independently. While it’s likely that eye/hand coordination has improved due to video games, where is the soul of the individual and the search for meaning? When do kids gain understanding?   

 Am I wrong? Maybe my assessment is incorrect. But, still, something is missing from a culture that turns it’s back on the contributions of the past.  If virtue and righteousness are consigned to merely religious thought, being viewed only from the distance provided by ridicule and compromise, then how do we teach love, or inclusion?  How do people learn to accept without prejudice, if they haven’t learned themselves what righteousness is, since it is rooted in love? It  appears that the bold new world of the 21st century is going to be brazen, perhaps, but not bold.  Boldness, that which comes from a courageous and inventive generation,  comes from the actions of informed and creative participants.  Life is not encompassed in a controller. You don’t have the option of playing it again when the time runs out or you reset it.  It is necessary to know what came before, and to thoughtfully consider what may yet appear.         

 My parents told me stories of their era, and it helped me to recognize the world around as it changed and forged ahead. I’m sure we rolled our eyes periodically, but somehow it all remained intact, a real entity in my life and those of my friends.  Vietnam was more horrible to us because our parents had fought in the wars that forged history.  We honestly didn’t see a path to anything good, and the loss of life shocked and saddened us deeply. There was a sense of morality among us, recognizing and abhoring the actions of politicians who sat cozily in their offices while sending the youth of America to a blood soaked country, all in the pursuit of …we didn’t know the answer to that.      

 Maybe what I’m missing in this young millineum is passion.  The kind of passion that commits to a cause beyond us, reaching for something so great and wonderful that it will stir a nation or change society.  There is an irony to having participated, in some degree, to that passionate search of the 60’s.  The hunger for change and liberty became transfixed into a license for moral abandon and less liberty to those who were engulfed in the abyss of addiction.    

Perhaps that is part of the history we should recite now.  Because within it, there are answers to how it can be done better.  Creativity, searching and independent inquiry from the perspective of the informed will lead to broader horizons on every level.   

Technology is one type of answer.  But, it will not help us if we are bankrupt in our souls.

Hoje eu começo um novo jeito de escrever aos sábados… continuo postando meus lamúrios desconexos, mas todo sábado eu vou dar uma dica de filme para assistir em 140 toques, a la era do twitter. Como minha noite foi muito boa, eu não tenho do que reclamar hoje, então lá vai só a dica:

Aconteceu em Woodstock:  Esse é o filme que Across the Universe gostaria de ter sido. Ang Lee mostou que também tem senso de humor. Não percam.

Ana Luiza Ponciano escreve aos sábados no Sete Doses