I've learned a few things today. I expect that'll surprise some of you, who find me ineducable.
I thought it was Hugh Romney, better known as "Wavy Gravy"--and you should check out the story of the origin of that name, and his whole history--who came up with the slogan "Nobody for President." Turns out it dates from at least 1932, where it appeared in, of all places, a Betty Boop cartoon. There really is nothing new under the sun.
There is also, apparently, a fairly organized (website and everything) and ongoing "Vote for Nobody" campaign, which premise I fully support and endorse. It may seem strange that I'd write about election stuff at this time of year, but, as we all know, there's no longer any such thing as an offseason in politics. The most recent polling I've heard of suggests that the electorate's confidence in Congress is hovering somewhere around 10%. Nine out of ten citizens have no confidence in their elected representatives.
Yet we continue to vote for people to fill these offices. Is it actually that people are okay with their reps, but no one else's-- "my Rep is red hot, your Rep ain't doodley squat" (All apologies to Billy Lee Riley and His Little Green Men)? We've all been told that in order to be good Citizens Of The Republic, in order to make this Grand Experiment keep(?) working, we need to trot ourselves off to vote each time there's an election. Where's that gotten us? Stuck, that's where, on the Tarbaby of partisanship.
What's getting to me about this issue right now is the whole student loan fiasco. Full disclosure: yes, I have two kids who will be affected by the apparently imminent doubling of interest rates. But Jesus, does everything have to be about brinkpersonship (PC Liberal, here), about who'll blink first, about only doing it my way, or not at all? I don't think that even the House wants this raise to happen, it's just that they, and hence we, are totally paralyzed by partisan gridlock.
So why not, next election, vote for Nobody? Would that get their attention? Nah, and Nobody knows why. Remember: Nobody knows you when you're down and out, Nobody hears anything we say, Nobody tells the truth, Nobody knows everything, Nobody makes a better apple pie than Mom, and Nobody expects much of you.
Lots o' "Nobody" songs this week, then, on my show, which will go, nearly, back to its normal time, Tuesday from noon till two. It's probably going to be more like 2:30 since, although I tried to keep the playlist down, to "murder my darlings" (not Faulkner, but Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, of course [!]), I'm going to play everything that made the cut. And here they are, for those of you keeping score at home:
Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out Derek and the Dominoes
Nobody Number One Over the Rhine
Nobody Really Knows Van Morrison
Nobody Loves Me The BoDeans
Nobody Knows the Way I Feel this Morning Aretha Franklin
Nobody Knows the Trouble I Have Seen Mahalia Jackson
Nobody Knows My Name Rickie Lee Jones
Nobody Knows Me Lyle Lovett
Nobody Knows Paul McCartney
Nobody Knows Allman Bros.
Ain't Hurtin' Nobody John Prine
Ain't Nobody's Business Taj Mahal
Nobody Crazy Horse
Nobody Tom Waits
Nobody Nina Simone
Nobody Paul Simon
Nobody The Replacements
Nobody's David Bromberg
Nobody's Fool Ben Sidran
Nobody But Me The Human Beinz
Nobody's Fool/El Tonto De Nadie, Regressa Poco
Nobody But You James Taylor
Nobody Does It Better Carly Simon
Nobody Cares Ray Charles
Nobody Cares John Mayall
I Can't See Nobody Bee Gees
I hope you can join me, at 100.1 FM, wool.fm on the interwebs. And please, support Community Radio by becoming a member! Just go to the website (wool.fm) to find out how. We all gotta pay our dues, y'know.
...or perfect.
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Sunday, June 23, 2013
If My Thought Dreams Could Be Seen...
So, okay, I came of age (and what the hell does that phrase mean, really? I came of lots of ages in the '60s. I'm about to come of the age of 60, which is, ugh, a whole nother topic) during incredibly turbulent times in this country: the Civil Rights movement and the Vietnam War and their concomitant domestic violence and protests; the nascent (again) Women's Movement; Watergate; assassinations, successful and attempted, on various leaders and national figures. Crazy shit was happening every day, it seemed, in the streets and in the back rooms of power: illegal wiretaps, smear campaigns, campaign-headquarter break-ins, residual McCarthyism. Conspiracy theories abounded, because conspiracies abounded; even paranoids have real enemies. I remember conversations with my father about the government and its powers, its lack of transparency (now there's an uncharacteristic, for me, use of understatement), its often unfathomable actions. My father's firmly held, often expressed, and, thus, the de facto "correct" response would be, "Mark, don't you think that the people in power know things we don't, and are acting on that knowledge in our best interests?"
Well, I was sure that the first part of that was true: they sure as hell knew stuff the average citizen didn't. The best interests they were acting on, though, were theirs: consolidating their power, or at least attempting to, fattening their (and their cronies') bank accounts, trying their best to keep the status at least quo, if not quo-ier and quo-ier. Simply because they were in power and privy to secret info, we were taught to believe that they'd always do the right thing.
And now there's much hand-wringing, wailing, tearing-out of hair, gnashing of teeth in the press and among that small segment of the populace that can briefly turn its "attention" from Hoarders or Here Comes Honey Boo-Boo, regarding the revelations that the National Security Agency has been mining data from phones, computers, any electronic means or devices available in order to "keep us safe" ( cf. George Orwell: "War is Peace," "thoughtcrime," "Ministry of Truth"). These actions are happening on such a scale that even Richard M. Nixon (and, let's admit it, though it may shock us: if the Nixon of the '60s were running for President today, he'd likely be labeled the most liberal candidate in the race, for either party. Plus ca change... my ass), were he not currently in Hell, would blanch, and maybe depend on the kindness of strangers (a little Tennessee Williams humor, there). The issue, as it always is with governments or people in power, is: what are they doing with the information they have, and whose interests are they serving? And, even if they are currently serving the greater good, how long will it be until they're not?
The argument that the powers-that-be make is that, through their Herculean efforts (and the cooperation, willing or coerced, of lots of communication networks) we have been kept safe from terrorist attacks and other hideous threats. How can we argue with that? We don't know what any of these events might have been, so we depend on the Ministry of Truth to assure us that their actions have been right and good and even heroic; "Don't you think that the the government has information..."? We take it on faith that it's all for our protection, that "Well, hell, I haven't made any phone calls to or Friended anyone from Iran, so it's all good."
Of course, to be so shocked and outraged that our "private lives" are being compromised, at this late date in the Age of (Electronic) Information is either disingenuous, incredibly ingenuous, or just plain stupid. If you have owned a cellphone, or computer, or GPS, paid taxes, registered a motor vehicle, etc., etc., do you really think you've been able to maintain your anonymity, let alone your autonomy? I heard David Ignatius, associate editor and columnist for The Washington Post, and author of 8 spy novels, speak at Chautauqua a few years ago. This is a guy who knows people from many, many countries' intelligence services, governmental agencies, rubs elbows with high muckety-mucks frequently and is, in fact, privy to information the average citizen isn't. He said that he has witnessed, on many occasions, participants in high-level and/or secretive meetings who, upon being asked to turn off their cellphones or electronic devices, are not content to simply do that: they remove the batteries. If you're tuned in, even if you're turned off, someone knows exactly where you are, and may drop in.
Is all of this data mining (and don't you just love that term? I visualize the Happy, Sleepy, Sneezy, Doc and the rest shouldering their tools, singing "Heigh Ho," and heading down into those mines for another day. Wonder what the mortality rate is among data miners versus oh, say, Chinese coal miners?), spying, protection--call it what you will-- okay, is it in our best interests or counter to them? We're gonna find out someday. And I think, even if right now those in power are doing these things for the right reasons, it's a pretty safe bet that they won't always be doing so. There was a young, idealistic Kenya-born Muslim socialist once, who I voted for twice and am sorely disappointed in, who vowed to make government transparent, to do away with most of the evils put in place under BushCheney, and who has in fact made many of them worse. Just what is going on out there?
Anyway, this week's show plays off of all of this: privacy, aloneness, spying, hiding, etc. And remember, it's the song title that really drives its selection: finding songs with lyrics to reflect the theme would be nearly impossible. But, for instance, "If You Don't Know Me By Now?" That's friggin' hilarious, right? It'll all happen on Tuesday from 11AM until sometime, 2 or 3 or so, in the PM, on 100.1 FM or wool.fm. I hope you can join me, and fervently implore you again to renew your memberships or to, finally, become members. We need you. And here comes this week's set list:
"...they'd probably put my head in a guillotine..."
All right, so I've put all of this out there, right on my computer. I'm taking a risk here. If I should suddenly disap
Well, I was sure that the first part of that was true: they sure as hell knew stuff the average citizen didn't. The best interests they were acting on, though, were theirs: consolidating their power, or at least attempting to, fattening their (and their cronies') bank accounts, trying their best to keep the status at least quo, if not quo-ier and quo-ier. Simply because they were in power and privy to secret info, we were taught to believe that they'd always do the right thing.
And now there's much hand-wringing, wailing, tearing-out of hair, gnashing of teeth in the press and among that small segment of the populace that can briefly turn its "attention" from Hoarders or Here Comes Honey Boo-Boo, regarding the revelations that the National Security Agency has been mining data from phones, computers, any electronic means or devices available in order to "keep us safe" ( cf. George Orwell: "War is Peace," "thoughtcrime," "Ministry of Truth"). These actions are happening on such a scale that even Richard M. Nixon (and, let's admit it, though it may shock us: if the Nixon of the '60s were running for President today, he'd likely be labeled the most liberal candidate in the race, for either party. Plus ca change... my ass), were he not currently in Hell, would blanch, and maybe depend on the kindness of strangers (a little Tennessee Williams humor, there). The issue, as it always is with governments or people in power, is: what are they doing with the information they have, and whose interests are they serving? And, even if they are currently serving the greater good, how long will it be until they're not?
The argument that the powers-that-be make is that, through their Herculean efforts (and the cooperation, willing or coerced, of lots of communication networks) we have been kept safe from terrorist attacks and other hideous threats. How can we argue with that? We don't know what any of these events might have been, so we depend on the Ministry of Truth to assure us that their actions have been right and good and even heroic; "Don't you think that the the government has information..."? We take it on faith that it's all for our protection, that "Well, hell, I haven't made any phone calls to or Friended anyone from Iran, so it's all good."
Of course, to be so shocked and outraged that our "private lives" are being compromised, at this late date in the Age of (Electronic) Information is either disingenuous, incredibly ingenuous, or just plain stupid. If you have owned a cellphone, or computer, or GPS, paid taxes, registered a motor vehicle, etc., etc., do you really think you've been able to maintain your anonymity, let alone your autonomy? I heard David Ignatius, associate editor and columnist for The Washington Post, and author of 8 spy novels, speak at Chautauqua a few years ago. This is a guy who knows people from many, many countries' intelligence services, governmental agencies, rubs elbows with high muckety-mucks frequently and is, in fact, privy to information the average citizen isn't. He said that he has witnessed, on many occasions, participants in high-level and/or secretive meetings who, upon being asked to turn off their cellphones or electronic devices, are not content to simply do that: they remove the batteries. If you're tuned in, even if you're turned off, someone knows exactly where you are, and may drop in.
Is all of this data mining (and don't you just love that term? I visualize the Happy, Sleepy, Sneezy, Doc and the rest shouldering their tools, singing "Heigh Ho," and heading down into those mines for another day. Wonder what the mortality rate is among data miners versus oh, say, Chinese coal miners?), spying, protection--call it what you will-- okay, is it in our best interests or counter to them? We're gonna find out someday. And I think, even if right now those in power are doing these things for the right reasons, it's a pretty safe bet that they won't always be doing so. There was a young, idealistic Kenya-born Muslim socialist once, who I voted for twice and am sorely disappointed in, who vowed to make government transparent, to do away with most of the evils put in place under BushCheney, and who has in fact made many of them worse. Just what is going on out there?
Anyway, this week's show plays off of all of this: privacy, aloneness, spying, hiding, etc. And remember, it's the song title that really drives its selection: finding songs with lyrics to reflect the theme would be nearly impossible. But, for instance, "If You Don't Know Me By Now?" That's friggin' hilarious, right? It'll all happen on Tuesday from 11AM until sometime, 2 or 3 or so, in the PM, on 100.1 FM or wool.fm. I hope you can join me, and fervently implore you again to renew your memberships or to, finally, become members. We need you. And here comes this week's set list:
Name Artist
Big Brother Stevie Wonder
Big Brother Mose Allison
Subterranean Homesick Blues Bob Dylan
Private Eyes Hall & Oates
Private Conversation Lyle Lovett
Private Investigations Dire Straits
Private Life The Pretenders
Private Revolution World Party
Private Universe Crowded House
(We Have) No Secrets Carly Simon
It's No Secret Jefferson Airplane
The Secret Handshake of Fate J.D. Souther
Take Me To Your Secret NRBQ
Three Views Of A Secret Jaco Pastorius Big Band
Name Artist The Spy The Doors Roam And Spy Steve Tibbetts Spy Versus Spy Grant Geissman Every Breath You Take The Police I Know John Gorka Eye In the Sky The Alan Parsons Project Just Like Greta Van Morrison Leave Me Alone Lou Reed Light Up Or Leave Me Alone Traffic You Can't Hide NRBQ Take Your Hands Out Of My Pocket (Live) Van Morrison Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey The Beatles Alone Again Or Love "Alone, Alone" Boz Scaggs
Name Artist
Who Are You Tom Waits
Who Are You (Single Edit Version) The Who
America Will Eat You Greg Brown
You Can't Get Away Kenny Burrell
You Don't Know Me Richard Manuel
It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) Bob Dylan
This Is Not America Charlie Haden
Watch Your Step Elvis Costello
Watch Out Fleetwood Mac
Someone To Watch Over Me Willie Nelson
You Better Run The Rascals
Make You Crazy Brett Dennen Feat. Femi Kuti
What Are Their Names David Crosby
If You Don't Know Me By Now Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes
"...they'd probably put my head in a guillotine..."
All right, so I've put all of this out there, right on my computer. I'm taking a risk here. If I should suddenly disap
Sunday, June 16, 2013
It's Been A Long, Long, Long Time
The King, the Living Dead, the Secaucus Seven, the Native, the Prodigal Son, Martin Guerre, the Jedi, and the Grievous Angel all had theirs, and now here's mine. Return, that is.
It's hard to believe that it's been more than 6 months since my last post, since my last show on WOOL, but it has. Work, illnesses (Alice's, not mine), life in general have all conspired to keep me from doing these avocational things which I really like, and which do renew me. So, I'm'a try again to find and make time for these pursuits. As my 60th b'day looms shockingly near, I'm tryna remember that Thomas Hobbes, that happy-go-lucky 16th century philosopher, characterized life, in Leviathan, as "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short." Bet he was a blast at parties, huh? All his other characterizations aside, life is certainly too short to miss any enjoyments. So, for better or worse, I'm back.
Which is one of the two organizing principles around which I'm basing this week's show: "Back" and "Return." And since I've been away for so long, it's gonna be longer than 2 hrs, probably closer to 3. Much of the time will be spent re-familiarizing myself with the equipment and routines at the station and fixing my screw-ups, but, I think, there'll be lots of music, too. Herewith, a playlist, not necessarily in order:
Cheap Day Return Jethro Tull
Dream of the Return Pat Metheny Group
Hello, I've Returned Buffalo Springfield
I Always Return Mark Erelli
I Shall Return Gov't Mule
Joint of No Return John Gorka
The Kiss of No Return John Coltrane
Lover's Return Dolly, Linda, Emmylou
The Return Sally Fingerett
The Return of the Blues Cowboy Joe Strummer
Return of the Grievous Angel Counting Crows
Return of the Grievous Angel Lucinda Williams/David Crosby
Return of the Grievous Angel Gram Parsons
Return of the Mack Mark Morrison
Ritorna-Me Dean Martin
Return to Sender Elvis Presley
Return to Sender Mojave 3
Returning Jennifer Berezan
River Of No Return Marilyn Monroe
The Spirit Returns Rory Block
Back Home Eric Clapton
Back Home Gil Scott-Heron
Back Home Again John Denver
Back Home War
Back In The High Life Warren Zevon
Back In The Saddle Aerosmith
Back In Your Life Jonathan Richman
Back Into Your World Son Volt
I Want You Back (Alive) Graham Parker
It All Comes Back Paul Butterfield/Better Days
Sing Me Back Home Flying Burrito Bros.
I'll Be Back Beatles
Goin' Back Nils Lofgren
Goin' Back Neil Young
Get Back Beatles
Get Way Back Amos Garrett
Ease Back Grant Green
Coming Back Darol Anger/Mike Marshall
Lots of stuff, lots of variety, I think. That's what WOOL is about. Just to remind you, we are a community radio station, all-volunteer, even more dependent than Public Radio on "the kindness of strangers." We are in somewhat dire financial straits, so I'm asking you all, even those who can't or don't make time to actually listen, to support the Arts and community radio. If you go to our website (wool.fm), you'll find out how to join, and how easy it is. For a mere (tax-deductible) $25, you can help support an interesting, interested endeavor, and keep the airwaves a little more free-form--not totally dominated by Clear Channel, nasty talk-radio, and the like. Plus, you'll get, in addition to our enduring thanks, a cool bumper sticker. Please think about joining, and then do it. And if you're somehow connected to a group or organization which would benefit from it, you could become an underwriter, which would be extremely cool and helpful....
Anyway, my show's gonna start this week at 11:30 AM on Tuesday, June 18, and go till around 3 PM. I hope you can join me for some or all, at 100.1 FM, or streamed live at wool.fm on the webs. And in case you didn't recognize, the title of this post, and the coda, are from George's lovely song on the "white album", which is actually just called "The Beatles."
"How could I ever have lost you?"
I hope I didn't.
It's hard to believe that it's been more than 6 months since my last post, since my last show on WOOL, but it has. Work, illnesses (Alice's, not mine), life in general have all conspired to keep me from doing these avocational things which I really like, and which do renew me. So, I'm'a try again to find and make time for these pursuits. As my 60th b'day looms shockingly near, I'm tryna remember that Thomas Hobbes, that happy-go-lucky 16th century philosopher, characterized life, in Leviathan, as "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short." Bet he was a blast at parties, huh? All his other characterizations aside, life is certainly too short to miss any enjoyments. So, for better or worse, I'm back.
Which is one of the two organizing principles around which I'm basing this week's show: "Back" and "Return." And since I've been away for so long, it's gonna be longer than 2 hrs, probably closer to 3. Much of the time will be spent re-familiarizing myself with the equipment and routines at the station and fixing my screw-ups, but, I think, there'll be lots of music, too. Herewith, a playlist, not necessarily in order:
Cheap Day Return Jethro Tull
Dream of the Return Pat Metheny Group
Hello, I've Returned Buffalo Springfield
I Always Return Mark Erelli
I Shall Return Gov't Mule
Joint of No Return John Gorka
The Kiss of No Return John Coltrane
Lover's Return Dolly, Linda, Emmylou
The Return Sally Fingerett
The Return of the Blues Cowboy Joe Strummer
Return of the Grievous Angel Counting Crows
Return of the Grievous Angel Lucinda Williams/David Crosby
Return of the Grievous Angel Gram Parsons
Return of the Mack Mark Morrison
Ritorna-Me Dean Martin
Return to Sender Elvis Presley
Return to Sender Mojave 3
Returning Jennifer Berezan
River Of No Return Marilyn Monroe
The Spirit Returns Rory Block
Back Home Eric Clapton
Back Home Gil Scott-Heron
Back Home Again John Denver
Back Home War
Back In The High Life Warren Zevon
Back In The Saddle Aerosmith
Back In Your Life Jonathan Richman
Back Into Your World Son Volt
I Want You Back (Alive) Graham Parker
It All Comes Back Paul Butterfield/Better Days
Sing Me Back Home Flying Burrito Bros.
I'll Be Back Beatles
Goin' Back Nils Lofgren
Goin' Back Neil Young
Get Back Beatles
Get Way Back Amos Garrett
Ease Back Grant Green
Coming Back Darol Anger/Mike Marshall
Lots of stuff, lots of variety, I think. That's what WOOL is about. Just to remind you, we are a community radio station, all-volunteer, even more dependent than Public Radio on "the kindness of strangers." We are in somewhat dire financial straits, so I'm asking you all, even those who can't or don't make time to actually listen, to support the Arts and community radio. If you go to our website (wool.fm), you'll find out how to join, and how easy it is. For a mere (tax-deductible) $25, you can help support an interesting, interested endeavor, and keep the airwaves a little more free-form--not totally dominated by Clear Channel, nasty talk-radio, and the like. Plus, you'll get, in addition to our enduring thanks, a cool bumper sticker. Please think about joining, and then do it. And if you're somehow connected to a group or organization which would benefit from it, you could become an underwriter, which would be extremely cool and helpful....
Anyway, my show's gonna start this week at 11:30 AM on Tuesday, June 18, and go till around 3 PM. I hope you can join me for some or all, at 100.1 FM, or streamed live at wool.fm on the webs. And in case you didn't recognize, the title of this post, and the coda, are from George's lovely song on the "white album", which is actually just called "The Beatles."
"How could I ever have lost you?"
I hope I didn't.
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