Song of the Day

It’s been awhile since we’ve had a song of the day. Skye brought up the late, great Senator Paul Wellstone in the comments section and it made me crave a particular song. This track is “Ballad of Paul and Sheila” by Mason Jennings, who is a Minnesotan. The song is a tribute to Paul and Sheila Wellstone and a call for not letting their lifes’ work die. It’s beautiful, sad, yet motivational.

Enjoy knowing a close friend of Paul’s has his seat.

Adam Feser

I haven’t been incredibly excited to write about much that has been going on recently. We all know the oil spill is horrifying and will have huge consequences. The little girl worried about her mother’s lack of papers was at once cute and sad, but that will be reported on too much and exploited. Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE) has never used an ATM card, which is sort of funny, but it isn’t all that interesting. Senate candidate Rand Paul (Ron Paul’s son) said something he probably shouldn’t have (that could be interpreted as private businesses should be able to discriminate) but it probably won’t affect his campaign and he doesn’t support overturning the Civil Rights Act, saying he supports 9/10 of it.

There’s some news in a nutshell, and I feel confident our readers already were aware of each of these stories (which is why I didn’t put a link for each). Though I often write about things everyone is aware of, I normally have something to say or am curious what others think. But this just hasn’t been true for a few days. Though I haven’t been inspired to write by much news, I feel I need to post something, so here are some thoughts.

• First of all, I just want to thank everyone who has participated in the blog over the years (you too, Dr).  I’ve bee thinking about this recently, and I believe we’ve all been participating in the exercise of examining issues from all angles.  We may not always agree or change each others’ minds, but I feel confident we all learn simply based on the conversations we have.  Hopefully this has also fostered more understanding for those with which we disagree.
• David Ortiz is back.  Look out, American League, here come the Red Sox.
• The Celtics are a team possessed.  They look like they’ve shed several years over the last two series.  Look out, Lakers.
• My puppy hates when I write because it involves ignoring her.  Indiana Jones Feser cries for a large part of my writing time.  Hopefully you appreciate these posts more knowing the pain they bring my canine friend.
• Dr and I need to get some primary coverage going, so look for that.
• I should also probably post about the Euro diving.  (Maybe I had more to write about than I thought.  It’s always just a matter of looking harder.)
• Better Off Ted, one of the most amazing shows most people never watched, has officially been canceled.  Do yourself a favor and purchase the first season on DVD and the second when it comes out.
• Has anyone seen Robin Hood, is it worth the 2.5 hours?
• If you want to hear one of the best albums of 2010, I recommend The Wild Hunt by the Tallest Man on Earth.
• If you have any requests for me to write about, feel free to ask.

Just to make this post seem a little meatier, here is a song from The Wild Hunt:

And here is video of Rand Paul on Maddow:

I don’t think he ever actually answers the question, but you can see what he’s driving at. I will say if he wants to address this issue on an academic level, I believe he is mistaken. Saying businesses cannot discriminate is not related to individuals’ First Amendment rights. He may have noticed that the First Amendment is running strong decades after the bill was passed. Stopping a restaurant from denying entrance to black people is not going to infringe on anyone’s right to speech. His argument would rest upon the idea that discrimination equals speech. Discrimination is activity, not speech. You can still have a white power parade, but you cannot commit acts against blacks. But I do appreciate that he wants an intelligent discussion on the issue.

Enjoy the ramblings.

Adam Feser

Glenn Beck is anti-Boss because he believes the Boss is anti-American. He is specifically referring to “Born in the U.S.A.” Beck must have finally listened to the song. (Lyrics.) Video:

I guess the Boss’s love for the working man just doesn’t sit well with Beck, who only loves Americans that think exactly like he does (sad how many there are).

Beck apparently also had unkind words for the great American hero Woody Guthrie, whose song “This Land Is Your Land” was originally polemical in nature. Woody wrote it because he was sick of hearing Irving Berlin’s “God Bless America” on the radio. Woody was writing and singing many of his songs during the Great Depression, so Berlin’s song just didn’t seem realistic.

Oft-omitted lyrics in “This Land Is Your Land”:

In the squares of the city, In the shadow of a steeple;
By the relief office, I’d seen my people.
As they stood there hungry, I stood there asking,
Is this land made for you and me?

As I went walking, I saw a sign there,
And on the sign there, It said “no trespassing.” [In another version, the sign reads "Private Property"]
But on the other side, it didn’t say nothing!
That side was made for you and me.

Original and omitted sarcastic chorus:

“God blessed America for me.”

Woody Songs Beck probably wouldn’t like:

I guess you can’t be an American hero and sing for the suffering because that makes you a Commie. The have-nots don’t need a voice, which is why Beck is more than happy to shill for the haves.

Food for thought: with no Woody Guthrie we would likely have no Bob Dylan, and Robert Allen Zimmerman would have never written the following song and traveled to New York to meet his hero. This is in my top-five Dylan songs:

I’m sure Beck hates John Steinbeck and Upton Sinclair as well.

I also suppose I could have made these the songs of the day since there are so many out there struggling right now that need a voice.

Enjoy some of the best songs America has ever produced and the knowledge that Beck hates them (I do).

Adam Feser

Since Adam does song of the day, I will do a sports rant of the day.  This will ensure that I am posting almost daily.

Storming the court is one of the dumbest thing is sports.  There is a time and a place for fans to storm the court.  Wednesday night was not one of those instances.

#4 Duke Blue Devils traveled to College Park, MA to take on #23 Maryland Terrapins.  It was a hard fought 40 minutes of basketball that saw Duke go down by double-digits and the come storming back.  In the end, Maryland ended up winning the game and immediately the fans stormed the court to celebrate this victory in a regular season game.

Rick Reilly on Storming the Cout

I have a hard time with Maryland storming the court because they are a top 25 team going against another top 25 team going for a tie for the conference lead.  That’s right, I said a tie for the conference lead.

If this would have been for the National Championship, by all means storm the court.

I haven’t posted a song of the day in quite some time. I’ve moved the song of the day over to facebook where it has become a competition with my friend Ryan Thury. I got the impression most people that read the blog didn’t much care whether or not there was a song of the day, so I decided not to post them here (though I think some readers might appreciate certain days, for instance the classic country days).

But this song just sounds too right for today not to post, and I couldn’t rob you of it. The song is “The Shining” by Badly Drawn Boy (Damon Gough). Damon is from England and has been recording since the mid-90s. He gained quite a bit of notoriety because he wrote and performed all of the music for the movie About a Boy. This song is off the album Hour of Bewilderbeast, possibly his best album.

Enjoy the track, and let me know if you do. If so, perhaps I’ll throw up a song of the day every so often.

Adam Feser

For MLK Day:

Enjoy.

Adam Feser

I love lists, and I just realized I haven’t laid out the best albums of 2009. So here we go.

1. Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

This album rocked my world several times over.  There isn’t a slow spot in the entire thing.  Every track feels like a standout.  Even songs that deal with frustration or problems feel upbeat and joyous.  They also put on one of the best shows I have ever seen.

Key track – “1901″ (and every other track)

2. Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion

Animal Collective have become accessible, and it is awesome (though their live show is considerably less accessible).  I recommend this and their Fall Be Kind EP.

Key track – “My Girls”

3. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest

This may be the prettiest album ever.

Key track – “Two Weeks”

4. Bill Callahan – Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle

Bill writes simple, awesome (more…)

Today’s song of the day is “Gotta Get Up” by Harry Nilsson. It is from the album Nilsson Schmilsson. Nilsson is most famous for the songs “Cocunut” and “Everybody’s Talkin.’” “Cocunut” featuring the well-known and oft-used lyrics “Put the lime in the cocunut, and drink ‘em both up.” “Everybody’s Talkin’” is from the famous scene in Midnight Cowboy. I guess I shouldn’t be focusing so much on other songs, because “Gotta Get Up” is awesome. It’s just a great way to get going.

Enjoy Nilsson.

Adam Feser

I just got home from yet another amazing Langhorne Slim concert. In honor of the show, the song of the day is “Diamonds and Gold” by the man himself. His real name is Sean Scolnick and he takes his stage name from his hometown, which is Langhorne, Pennsylvania. He’s been a favorite since the first time I saw him live. He always brings the thunder. On a Monday night in Omaha with a pretty small crowd he played until about close (including a four-song encore) with as much energy as ever. I’d highly recommend any of his albums and definitely recommend seeing him live. This song isn’t his most upbeat, but it just sounded great tonight and is a great reminder to all of us.

Enjoy Langhorne Slim.

Adam Feser

It has been some time since I’ve done a song of the day, and it’s time it came back. Today’s song of the day is “A Perfect Sonnet” by Bright Eyes. It is an earlier song off the Every Day and Every Night EP. It’s from the times when Conor Oberst (the originator of Bright Eyes) was less happy with life – a trait that seemed to help the music. I believe at the time of this EP Conor was the only full-time member of Bright Eyes, though current member Mike Mogus did play on the EP (Nate Walcott did not).

I’ve written about indie superstar Conor Oberst before. He’s from Omaha and started the now-famous Saddle Creek label with his brother after making tapes in his parents’ basement at the age of 14 (or 13). He is also known for his work with Monsters of Folk, his solo stuff (with the Mystic Valley Band), and a few earlier bands. Bright Eyes is what made him famous, and it was around the time this EP was put out that he was starting to get national attention.

Anyway, this is a sad little love song. Though it’s older, I was listening to it today with my girlfriend when we were struck by the feeling that there is another song that sounds a lot like this. She thinks it’s a newer song but I have no idea. If you could figure out another song that sounds like this (I’m guessing in the way he sings the verses), we would be forever grateful.

But yeah, it’s a good song and a reminder of a different time for Conor.

Enjoy mopey Conor.

Adam Feser