Kansas City Nationals Playlist

Later tonight, some of the young'uns and I will be going to Kansas City, Kansas to participate in the National Speech and Debate Association National Tournament.. I believe it would be impolite if I were to carry around Thomas Frank's What's the Matter with Kansas, so I decided to pick out a little road trip music with Kansas or Kansas City connections.

Eagles guitar player Joe Walsh is a Kansas native. The guitar solo on "Hotel California" is still one of the best I've ever .



Yeah, it's cheap but Kerry Livgren, the lead singer for Kansas is actually from Kansas. Besides, Mother Plainsman prays for peace for her wayward son every night.



Martina McBride is a Kansas native. Although this song is not one of her country classics, most debaters have "Suspicious Minds."


Jennifer Knapp recorded an album entitled Kansas. This is one of my favorite songs from that album.

Friday Morning Musical Interlude: Johnny Cash And Louis Armstrong Together

Because It's Johnny Cash And It's Cool

Something to salve the soul after shoveling sleet and snow.

A Great Reminder That Nothing Is Permanent

Something a little haunting for the night before Halloween:

HT: IO9.com

A Saturday Night Song

I am finding this a perfect Saturday night song; I must be getting old.

Quotation Of The Day: Where Have All The Protest Songs Gone Edition

Stephen M. Walt opines:

It might be because there's no draft, and so anti-war songs don't hit home with a population of young people who don't have to serve if they don't want to. It might be because the digital/internet revolution has carved the listening audience into smaller and smaller niches, so that it's harder for any artist to write something with broad appeal and a political message.  You get political messages inside each genre (i.e., in hip-hop, alt-country, folk, etc.) but nobody commands a platform as large as Dylan, the Beatles, or even Creedence Clearwater did back in the days of AM and FM radio saturation. It could be that other art forms have superseded music; younger people are too busy playing Wii or downloading Jon Stewart reruns to pay any attention to the lyrics of the songs on their iPhones. Maybe it's just simple demographics: the counterculture movement of the 1960s was fueled by the sheer size of the baby boomer bulge. Or perhaps it's because there is no real Left anymore -- which is where the good songs came from-and because the Right thinks Mike Huckabee is cutting edge.

Political Music: Irony And Cognitive Dissonace

Emmarie Huetteman reports that Paul Ryan who reads Ayn Rand also listens to Rage Against The Machine. People who read Rand while listening to Rage put their mental health at risk. Rand tries to make selfishness moral; Rage, to put it mildly, opposes capitalism and greed:

The Grammy-winning Rage Against the Machine, which formed in 1991, has expressed vehement opposition to corporate greed and the American two-party political system, as well as support for the Occupy Wall Street movement, among other issues.

Huetteman reports that Ryan is in the same boat as other Republicans: he may like the band but the band doesn't like him.

Tom Morello, guitarist for the politically outspoken rap-metal band, attacked Mr. Ryan, Mitt Romney’s running mate in a searing editorial for Rolling Stone.

“Paul Ryan’s love of Rage Against the Machine is amusing, because he is the embodiment of the machine that our music has been raging against for two decades,” Mr. Morello said.

Mr. Ryan has said Rage Against the Machine is one of his favorite bands. But like many other politicians, he has discovered that his music isn’t in sync with his politics. Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey is a vocal and loyal fan of Bruce Springsteen, but it’s a one-way relationship. Mr. Springsteen, who supports Democratic policies and politicians, will not meet Mr. Christie, a popular Republican governor

 This 2000 song Testify gives a safe glimpse of Rage's politics:

"Testify"

UGH!

The movie ran through me
The glamour subdue me
The tabloid untie me
I'm empty please fill me
Mister anchor assure me
That Baghdad is burning
Your voice it is so soothing
That cunning mantra of killing
I need you my witness
To dress this up so bloodless
To numb me and purge me now
Of thoughts of blaming you
Yes the car is our wheelchair
My witness your coughing
Oily silence mocks the legless
Ones who travel now in coffins
On the corner
The jury's sleepless
We found your weakness
And it's right outside our door
Now testify

Now testify
It's right outside our door
Now testify
Yes testify
It's right outside our door

With precision you feed me
My witness I'm hungry
Your temple it calms me
So I can carry on
My slaving sweating the skin right off my bones
On a bed of fire I'm choking on the smoke that fills my home
The wrecking ball rushing
Witness your blushing
The pipeline is gushing
While here we lie in tombs
While on the corner
The jury's sleepless
We found your weakness
And it's right outside your door
Now testify
Yeah testify
It's right outside our door
Now testify
Now testify
It's right outside our door

Mass graves for the pump and the price is set
Mass graves for the pump and the price is set
Mass graves for the pump and the price is set
Mass graves for the pump and the price is set

Who controls the past now controls the future
Who controls the present now controls the past
Who controls the past now controls the future
Who controls the present now?

Now testify
Testify
It's right outside our door
Now testify
Testify
It's right outside our door

In the 1960s Larry Norman who was Christian before being Christian was cool asked, "Why Should the Devil Have All The Good Music?" Republicans might want to ask why so few bands want their music associated with Republican causes.

MEDIAite reports:

Notable musicians Jackson Browne, Foo Fighters, John Mellencamp, John Hall, and ABBA (?!?!) all demanded Sen. John McCain quit using their tunes during his 2008 campaign; the Wilson sisters from Heart famously reprimanded Sarah Palin for using “Barracuda” to promote herself that same year. Former Florida Governor Charlie Crist was sued by his doppelgänger David Byrne for using a Talking Heads song in 2010. And, of course, George W. Bush made a fair amount of enemies in Mellencamp, Tom Petty, and Sting.

Republicans are not without hope. MEDIAite suggests Lee Greenwood; Huetteman reminds readers Lynard Skynard.and Kid Rock will play the Republican convention.

HT: Ed Kilgore

I Watch Too Much TV: Beer Advertisement SoundrtackEdition

Beer commercials used to be rather corny and long. I remember ads like this one interrupting a lot of Twins games when I was young enough to think it important that I memorize the entire roster's stats:

Schlitz was famous for a tagline "go for the gusto," but when the ad campaign added music, the result was, as the kids say, an epic fail.

Miller 64 has better lyrics, melody, and tech, but the commercial clearly traces its linage back to the Schlitz ad:

With that commercial history, what the heck is Heineken doing featuring a "retro soul revival sound" in its newest ad?

I admit I like the song; I may buy the album.  That fact leads me to question the wisdom of a beer commercial that makes one more likely to buy the music than the beer.

A Flash Mob That Relaxes

Because everyone needs to relax and remember to act like civilized human beings:



HT: Diane Ravitch

Plains Pops: Totally Random Edition

Random item 1.  Someone in Yankton agrees with me.  I posted about the need for more political parties here.  Kelly Hertz writes this editorial that explains the need for a third party and reminds readers of Theodore Roosevelt's 1912 run.

Random item 2. All debate coaches love it when a headline and extemp question converge.  The headline to this Conor Friedersdorf article is great as both an attention grabbing headline and a thought provoking question:  "Is Sarah Palin a Presidential Candidate or a Narcissist?"

Random item 3. I don't know why, but I always get the following songs confused.  First, The Asteroids Galaxy Tour's "The Golden Age" which is the background song to a Heineken commercial.

Second, Foster the People's "Pumped Up Kicks"

I guess my wife is right; sometimes my brain just doesn't work right.

Random Item 4:  Talking Points Memo points to this link picturing a girl holding a Ron Paul Mosh Pit ticket. I hope a libertarian mosh pit doesn't turn into an IFC cage match.

Random Item 5:  The Great Plains Observer doubts Michele Bachmann's claim that she can implement policies that will reduce gas prices to under $2 per gallon.

This Andrew Pavelyev post on Frum Forum explains how she can accomplish her goal.

I have been quite critical of Michele Bachmann lately, but I will defend her whenever she is attacked unfairly. She has just promised that if elected she would bring the price of gas below $2 per gallon. This promise has been met with widespread derision, and even conservative outlets such as National Review doubt whether she can achieve this.

But I have no doubt: yes, she can!

Bachmann’s economic policies (such as immediate drastic cuts in federal spending) would surely cause a new recession, the recession would also affect Europe, China, India and other major oil consumers. Oil prices would collapse and gas prices would indeed plummet below $2 a gallon (just as they did in late 2008). So if you want cheap gas (and absolutely don’t care about anything else), vote for Bachmann!