October 30, 2010 archive

Barack Obama, let my people go.

Don’t whine about a Republican election.

Rejoice that you do not have 9 plagues.

Barack Obama, Let My People Go.

You will go down with this ship

I will go down with this ship

I won’t put my hands up, and surrender

There will be no white flag above my door

I’m in love and always will be

(But, what do you love?  Do you love compromise, pragmatism, working with Republicans, and election results where you fearmonger about “personhood amendments” which will never pass, while advocating for the Bennetts of the world who can’t give people health care because corporations won’t let them?)

WHO DO YOU LOVE?

And when we meet, which I’m sure we will,

all that was there, will be there still,

I’ll let it pass, and hold my tongue,

while you will think, that I’ve moved on!

But, I will NEVER MOVE ON, from my human rights, from the life and death of GLBT youth.  NEVER.  I will not put my hands up, and surrender.  There will no white flag above my door.

NOT EVEN FOR YOU.

You worship kabuki.  Nothing you say has any effect on the real world.  And that, is the problem, for your fearmongering.  

You worship fear, while saying they worship fear.  Your fear of fascists, while using their terrorist color list. Fear of Republicans, while failing to prosecute them.  Fear that they are going to make life a living hell.  FOR YOU.

But the GLBT community has lived with this for 100 years.  We have lived with lies.  We have lived with fear.  We have lived, with the very self same people we must vote out of office, according to you, lest the world turn into a fascist dictatorship.

WE HAVE LIVED WITH FASCISTS, THIS ENTIRE TIME.

You weren’t very concerned THEN, were you?  You couldn’t help us to turn back the tide, but now you want to scare us with the consequences.

But we have lived this entire time, with those very self same people, in power, the power, the kabuki, that you engender the vote out of fear.

And every election cycle you do the same thing.

I’ve got a tombstone hand and a graveyard mind,

Just 22 and I don’t mind dyin’,

Snakeskin shoes baby put’em on my feet,

Got the good music and the bo-billy beat,

Yeah WHO DO YOU LOVE,

YEAH WHO DO YOU LOVE?

You hear songs of GLBT teen suicide,

and you evince sympathy

without action

without caring

with only political fear

of the other

with whom we’ve lived, but worse

you try to scare us with

what we’ve lived with

for a hundred generations.

Each and every heart it seems

Is bounded by a world of dreams

Each and every rising sun

Is greeted by a lonely one,

YOU’RE ALREADY FALLING, IT’S CALLING YOU

BACK TO FACE THE MUSIC

AND THE SONG THAT IS COMING THROUGH

YOU’RE ALREADY FALLING

THE ONE THAT IS CALLING IS YOU


Understand

the voice within

And feel a change, already beginning

I know I left too much mess and destruction,

to come back again,

I cause nothing, but trouble,

I understand if you can’t talk to me again

And if you live by the rules of IT’S OVER,

I’m sure that that makes sense

(Something tells me you will be back again, talking to me about how ancient Ralph Nader’s ideological heirs sabotaged you, and how purity trolls cost you.  And how you were wonderful and leading and fearmongering and passing, and how your Republican policies were just shit on, and how because of that, Republicans got elected).

And when we meet,

which I’m sure we will,

All that was there,

WILL BE THERE STILL,

I’ll let it pass,

and hold my tongue,

And you will think,

THAT I’VE MOVED ON

(But, I won’t have).

I WILL GO DOWN WITH THIS SHIP

I WON’T PUT MY HANDS UP, AND SURRENDER

THERE WILL BE NO WHITE FLAG ABOVE MY DOOR

I’M IN LOVE, AND ALWAYS WILL BE

Will you?

But, a deeper question

Do you think you can talk about fascism,

And fear falsely for the gay man who has lived with it his whole life?

To use him, as a political knife?

Do you think you can talk about fascism,

And counter with pragmatism?

Do you think you can fearmonger about fascism,

And deny the people their rights who have lived with it,

out of fear for your own skin?

Do you hear the voice within?

Do you think unity is a game?  A cloak?  A deception?

Make a promise, take a vow, and trust your feelings, it’s easy now

Understand, the voice within

And feel a change, already beginning.

And how many words, have I got to say?

And HOW MANY TIMES WILL IT BE THIS WAY

WITH YOUR ARMS AROUND THE FUTURE

AND YOUR BACK UP AGAINST THE PAST?

Do you hate the right wing?

Do you want to live in sin?

Do you think you’re realistic,

when you cannot win elections?

Can you truly counter fascism

with do-nothing aristocracy?

Are you afraid that Ken Buck is going to succeed at outlawing birth control?

I’m not, but even if I were, I wouldn’t give a shit.

Because you are very sad that hundreds of LGBT youth die every year,

but not enough to be mad at people like Obama.

Maybe when he succeeds, I’ll be there for you, as you weren’t, even a liberal, for me?

Original v. Cover — #49 in a Series

Highwaytohell Pictures, Images and Photos

This week’s selection was written by Clarence (Sonny) Henry and recorded by jazz percussionist Willie Bobo in 1968 on his album “Soul Jazz.”  In 1969, a cover version of the song was recorded by a San Francisco-based group who pioneered a new sound and embarked upon a four-decade-long run which continues to the present day.  

Released as a single in late 1969, this song would mark this band’s first taste of commercial success, rising to a #9 ranking on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.  In addition to playing a memorable solo on the Hammond B-3 in the middle of the song, the organist was also the lead vocalist.  The group leader’s guitar solo would introduce his flamboyant, iconic style to a much broader audience.  

The guitarist and group’s namesake, born in Mexico in 1947, was the son of an accomplished Mariachi violinist, and was a young violin prodigy himself, performing with his father’s band in the streets of Tijuana until he heard blues and rock and roll on the radio.  He switched to the guitar, and as they say, the rest is history.  

Popular Culture 20101029: King Crimson Part I

One of the more influential bands to form in the late 1960s in the United Kingdom was King Crimson.  Unlike The Who, The Beatles, and The Rolling Stones, all of which formed in the early 1960s, King Crimson did not really form until 1968, about the same time that Deep Purple Mark I formed.

Also unlike the bands just mentioned, King Crimson pretty much was “owned” by Robert Fripp, contrary to disclaimers made by him from time to time, especially after their first record.  As a matter of fact, except for Deep Purple, the other bands mentioned had a remarkably stable lineup for years, only death or dissolution of the bands changing things very much.

Rap News vs News World Order: The war on journalism & WikiLeaks

Happy Elvis bin Laden Day!

Yeehaww  Happy Friday!

Incident at 3:15, major speech at 4:15.  Oh, yeah, sure I “buy” that it’s not a “roll out” of something coming out of some marketing think tank days before and erection/election.

In other good news I got a job.  To make that even better the company actually does some defense work.  Now add to that the story I want to scope out about the gross Orwellianisms of working for a temp agency, the exploitive infrastructure being built, no institutionalized into the Gattica non-future of unemployment in the soon to be fully de-industrialized former United States.

Stay Tuned.

Halloween Hash, Take 2



Halloween on Sunday.  Halloween again.  Almost like clockwork, it keeps showing up.

Ick.

As a child I loved Halloween.  We’d go to Mrs. Silver’s house across the street and she would invite us inside and make us fresh caramel apples or popcorn balls.  Lord knows, one can’t do that anymore.

And we would go door to door around the neighborhood and get a real haul of treats.  And somewhere, later, older kids would toilet paper someone’s house or yard, which we would discover on the way to school in the morning.  I never liked the “trick” part.

Razor blades and pins and poison and just plain bad people put a stop to most of the good stuff I remember.  

As I got older, the tricks became worse and the treats were few and far between.

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