Back in the halcyon days of 2000, I wrote this article for Insound, about the upcoming election, saying that the best thing that could happen, from a musical standpoint, was for George Bush to be elected president. Little did I know that this would happen instead. A Beastie Boys war protest song. The Beastie Boys have officially turned to corner to a total joke. Reading the lyrics, I thought it might be possible that they wouldn't sound so bad when taken in context with the music. Boy, was I wrong. "Now don’t get us wrong ‘cause we love America/ But that’s no reason to get hysterica." Word...Somehow I just never imagined the Beastie Boys rapping about the need for health care. Hey, I'm all for health care. Lord knows I need it. I just can't imagine how you can sing about health care with a straight face. But, as a sign that they haven't totally lost it, they did obscure a lot of the vocals behind the beats. It reminds me so much of the Bloom County strip where Bill the Cat tells Opus and Hodge Podge that their band needs to be more political with their lyrics, and how Opus learns "...what bands like U2 already learned long ago: Nothing rhymes with 'Nicaragua.'" Berke Breathed surely deserves his Pulitzer Prize.Anyway, like a sleepy kid who keeps telling his mother "five more minutes!" winter is staying until the very last moment. We were teased the last day or so with temps in the high 40's, but it's far too late to be fooled by such a thing. A good amount of snow is in the forecast for tonight. Snowstorms in March certainly aren't unprecedented, but this winter has been so rough I really can't take anymore. And mysterious foot and neck ailments make my body feel old and creeky, particularly in the cold cold weather. I need warm sunlight.
I've been considering buying several CDs lately, but I just can't seem to get into music anymore enough to actually spend money on it. I only really listen to the same music I've been listening to for months. There's nothing exciting me the way an old Pavement or Smashing Pumpkins record used to. I've liked what I've heard from the new Stephen Malkmus record, but I doubt I'll buy it. I also considered buying the Zwan album, but that seems doubtful as well. I can't remember the last album I was really eagerly anticipating, waiting for the release date and buying it the first day it was out. And I'd have to go a lot farther back to find one that I was really waiting for and finding it worth the wait. I think the last cd I was really waiting for was the Silver Jews' last one. God, I can't even remember the name...Bright Flight. Right. And that was a bit of a disappointment. A year and a half ago. Going back over the last few years, almost all the albums I've eagerly anticipated have fallen on the flat side. Weezer, Luna, Built to Spill, Modest Mouse, the Delgados. There hasn't been one that's just knocked my socks off. My reaction lately to all the music I hear is "Eh, it's just music."
Not to say that there's not music I find or found sort of exciting. I just didn't hear about them until they already happened. On the bright side, it's saved me a lot of money. I don't know how many hundreds or thousands of dollars I've spent over the years on CDs that are now collectin dust in my parents' basement. Butt Trumpet? Screeching Weasel? Whale? What the hell was I thinking? Speaking of music gathering dust in my basment, in the last two days I've seen two different people wearing the same Operation Ivy sweatshirt. Will it ever become unfashionable to wear Op Ivy or Dead Kennedys t-shirts or any other punk/ska/hardcore bands that dissolved in the 80's? I think punks need a new uniform. Patches, safety pins, boots, and black t-shirts just aren't that shocking. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Republicanism is the new punk rock. What else in the world right now goes against predominating values and ideals than being a Republican? "What? You're for the war!?" "What? You support a tax cut!?" "What? You're in favor of tort reform?" What could be more shocking to the urban young adult set? The key figured, then: Ashcroft is my Johnny Rotten, and George W and Laura my Sid and Nancy. Rumsfeld and Ridge can be Joey and Dee Dee, and Condoleezza Rice will be my Patti Smith. Then again, you could probably draw a better parallel by saying Ronald and Nancy were Sid and Nancy, George H.W. Bush (I) and Barb could be Mick Jones and Joe Strummer, Thatcher was your Patti Smith/Debbie Harry, and that the current crop of conservatives are your Green Day, Offspring, Rancid, NOFX, etc. But I guess that's getting into too circular an argument, since that first wave of actual punk rock was still around for Ron and Nancy. But I do like the Ron/Nancy as the Sex Pistols and George and Barbara as the Clash comparison. Seems to fit, if you ask me.
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