Election Day Playlist - 11-6-18

Election Day Playlist

First they came . . .

First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—
     Because I was not a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—
     Because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
     Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

- Martin Niemoller (1892-1984)

Book Review: Trouble Boys: The True Story of The Replacements by Bob Mehr

The Replacements were Paul Westerberg, Bob Stinson, Tommy Stinson, and Chris Mars. All from Minneapolis. Author Bob Mehr spent 10 years working on the book that tells their entire story. Mehr immerses you in their world, allowing the reader to be a fly on the wall in their wild journey through the Midwest and beyond.

Bob and Tommy Stinson were half-brothers who grew up in a climate of abuse and alcoholism. On the path to juvenile delinquency, they found purpose in music. Paul Westerberg came from a more stable background, finding music to be a salve against the repression of the Midwest. Tommy was only 13 when he started playing bass for the band, his brother Bob was the unpredictable lead guitarist. Westerberg wrote his own material and honed a charismatic stage presence, confrontational, but never boring. Chris Mars was the drummer, always a bit more restrained than his band mates  (except when he sometimes appeared as his crazed alter ego Pappy the Clown).

The Replacements emerged out of punk and their early performance style was anarchic, but their influences were far more varied than most punk bands, something that made it difficult to put them in a box. It's as if the Beatles began their recording career during their Hamburg days. Above all, alcohol fueled their stage presence. Some nights they were brilliant, other nights they could barely stand up.

Always a critical darling, the Replacements never managed to hit the massive popularity that always seemed to be within their reach. While all their albums are excellent their string of records from 1983-1987 included Hootenanny, Let it Be, Tim, and, Pleased to Meet Me all represent the best of 1980s alternative rock. They refused to make videos until the end of their run and had habit of sabotaging themselves at key moments. A 1986 appearance on Saturday Night Live was marred by their drunken backstage behavior, trashing dressing rooms and slurring vocals during their performance. In 1988 they opened for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and failed to connect with stadium size crowds so they began to parody Petty who they found to be a bore (Petty made 250 grand a show, while the Mats made peanuts)

The band prided themselves on being great when they felt like it. If audiences were indifferent, they got confrontational. Melancholy also followed the band, in 1986 they finally fired fired Bob due to his erratic behavior, replacing him with Slim Dunlap who proved a more calming presence. Bob passed away in 1995. The book opens with a heartbreaking account of Bob's funeral, a scene haunting the entire book.

The later albums were more polished with the hopes of producing hits, the closest they came was the perfect power pop of "Achin' to Be." Things came apart slowly as they came to terms with their addictions and moved on. REM was set up as their rival, their more successful counterpart of the 1980s alternative scene. Their devoted fans included Tom Waits (their drunken adventures with Waits are another highlight) and Bob Dylan. They found a kindred soul in Alex Chilton, founding member of the legendary Memphis band Big Star, who served as a mentor of sorts to the Mats. Rumor had it their fellow Minnesotan Prince sometimes sneaked into their shows. Just a rumor. 

Trouble Boys is a hardscrabble tale of Midwest guys who went for it all and almost made it. Beautiful loser tales generate their own unique drama and Mehr tells their tragicomic story in all its glory. In between all the debauchery were genuine moments of humanity, desperation, and existential foolishness. And great music.

Book Review: Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire by Kurt Anderson

Fantasyland provides much needed historical context of how America arrived into the current Twilight Zone/Black Mirror/my alternative facts best your alternative facts moment of history we currently inhabit. Anderson fills the book with well known and not so well known history, while some chapters seemed unnecessary, there's enough steady and entertaining analysis to sustain the full book.

Anderson documents how Americans have been dreamers since the beginning.The first Europeans to settle in Virginia were there for the pipe dream of gold. After decades of finding none they had to settle on a less glamorous life - agriculture. The Puritans threw religion into the mix, radicals who believed their way of life was superior. When the Puritans splintered among themselves, each faction certain they had discovered the truth of the gospel. 

Historically, America's split both ways. The rationalism of the framers left a marked impression, while at the same time magical thinking and paranoia continued to hold sway throughout the 19th Century. Most of the book covers the last thirty years when America took a deep dive into the unreal. Anderson traces the modern descent into craziness to the 1960s.

The counterculture's passion for The Lord of the Rings, New Age, and drug experimentation led to a certain way of thinking, the truth is within you. Facts and evidence don't matter. Meanwhile fundamentalist Christianity experienced a resurgence. Tired of science challenging sacred biblical history and public schools banning prayer, holy rollers took aim at science. A creationist world view makes sense because was say so. A plague of both your houses goes the argument. 

Fantasyland helps explain what happened in 2016 in a tangential way, a year many viewed as an anomaly. Anderson looks at fits of paranoia in the past, the only difference is that William Jennings Bryan or Joseph McCarthy were never elected president. While people rage at the phantoms on the internet, there are millions of people getting things done and keeping things rolling. There's enough room for the crazies and the dreamers, lately it appears a threshold was crossed. Can we go back?

Coming of age in the 90s, conspiracy theories was such a part of the Zeitgeist. While I found them fascinating, less so as I got older, they were to be taken with a grain of salt. Taking them all seriously is a trip down the rabbit hole.  While the media realized stories on Roswell and the Kennedy assassination brought high ratings, they were always done with a note of skepticism. Now, people take these things as the Truth and act on that information (not helped by a certain national leader who traffics in them.) Anderson's optimistic that the pendulum will swing the other way. I hope he's right.

Anderson, Kurt. Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire: A 500 Year History. New York: Random House, 2017. 

In Praise of Libraries, Democracy's Secret Weapon

"I think the health of our civilization, the depth of our awareness about the underpinnings of our culture and our concern for the future can all be tested by how well we support our libraries."

- Carl Sagan

Social media hits us everyday with jeremiads telling us democracy is on the brink of collapse. At times, I'm inclined to agree, there's no doubt democracy is being tested right now, I also think there are encouraging signs democracy will rebound. To quote the good Dr. Bennell from the 1956 film Invasion of the Body Snatchers, "we only know the true worth of something when we are in danger of losing it." 

A month ago Fortune Magazine online ran an article arguing that Amazon should take over all the libraries to save tax payers money, run them like a business. The author, economist Panos Mourdoukoutas, faced an onslaught of irate librarians on Twitter, who eviscerated his proposal. Fortune eventually removed the article. When you piss off librarians, you've really stepped in it.


Libraries are still open. Patrons are free to read Helen Keller, Karl Marx, George Carlin, Phylis Schlafly, or James Baldwin.

Public libraries are one of the last places a citizen can go for free and have access to all sorts of beneficial services. Even the smallest towns in America still have libraries. Privatizing them for profit would be the last frontier for the ultra libertarians I suppose. Just like those "for profit" schools, if everything were just run like a business, all social problems would magically disappear. While Amazon provides amazing services, I have real issues with the company, with stories on how they treat their warehouse employees. Perhaps it's because libraries exemplify socialism that works that really gnaws at the ultra capitalists. Supporting free services through slightly higher taxes keeps libraries going, so just think of how checking out a book is a radical act! Just imagine if the same were true for health care and education.

I guess a paradigm shift still needs to be made on those grave issues. The haves lose their cool at the idea of paying higher taxes towards health care and education for the have nots. Why must the earners and producers support the weak who will never provide for themselves? Consider the Fox News conniption fit over Democratic-Socialist (and soon to be congressional representative) Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's policy ideas on these issues. But I've never heard an affluent person complain about their tax money enabling a poor person to read The Jungle or Oliver Twist - for free!!!!!  

As long as libraries are vibrant, we can take some comfort. The Library of Congress remains one of the great landmarks of Washington DC, especially the display of Jefferson's personal collection of books, one of the most impressive during his time. The exhibit reminds us a democratic culture cultivates books, free thought, and new ideas. A nation of readers will be wise and strong. And maybe, just maybe, libraries point the way to a brighter future.

TV Review: In Search of . . .

On Friday, In Search of . . . returned to television on the History Channel. From 1977-82 Leonard NImoy hosted the classic series that explored supernatural mysteries. Reruns of the show were once staples of A&E. Mitch Pileggi hosted a revivial in 2003. Now the current Mr. Spock, Zachary Quinto, is hosting another reboot on the History Channel.

The first episode stayed with a staple of In Search of . . . - alien visitations. As someone who's consumed their share of 1970s and 1980s pop culture, UFOs were an obsession in those decades, somewhat less so today. Quinto visited with a man who claimed he was abducted and another who said he was exposed to alien chemistry. To understand their stories Quinto tried to simulate an abduction experience by being levitated in the air on cables while experiencing sensory deprivation. In the best segment Quinto paid a visit to SETI headquarters (Search for Extra-Intelligence Life Institute), a government funded group of scientists who seek out alien signals with radio telescopes.

Zachary Quinto did a great job as host, bringing the right mix of skepticism and open mindedness. Unlike Nimoy, Quinto takes a more hands on approach to the subject matter. Nimoy never condescended to this audience and took each topic seriously. Critics of the show could easily claim it legitimized pseudo-science, but on the other subjects like extended life spans and historical mysteries - do spur the imagination. In a time when some pride themselves on questioning science, a show that explores mysteries with a scientific approach is a positive. Creativity is essential to science. 

In Search of . . . airs Friday nights at 9 on the History Channel.

RIP Harlan Ellison (1934-2018)

Harlan Ellison passed away today. A dynamic figure known for his writing in all mediums - Fiction, Criticism, Film, Television, and comic books. Known for his irascible personality, he proudly accepted the charge of being the most contentious man on the planet. He liked to say he was a combination of Jiminy Cricket and Zorro. 

I first remember seeing Ellison making TV appearances in the 1990s on Politically Incorrect and the Syfy Channel. On youtube his interviews from the 1970s with Tom Snyder are a treasure - one of the all time great raconteurs. He ran away from home several times and worked all sorts of manual labor jobs, later earned his writing credentials by starting with the Pulp Magazines, knowing all the legends of that period including L. Ron Hubbard, Isaac Asimov, and many others. Later he went on to Hollywood and wrote for television, including the greatest Star Trek episode of all time "The City on the Edge of Forever."

Ellison mastered the short story form, the stories pack the punch of a Raymond Carver or Flannery O'Connor. Listing them would take too long, "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream" is one of the all time great allegories on God and artificial intelligence; "The Whimper of Whipped Dogs" on urban blight; "Paladin of the Lost Hour" is an unforgettable tale of friendship; "Jeffty is Five" on the loss of childhood innocence. Those just scratch the surface of the stories. Any understanding of modern pop culture must seek out the writings of Ellison.

At the legendary Daisy Club in Los Angeles Ellison played pool with Omar Sharif, Peter Falk, Paul Newman, and Telly Savales. He took part in the March on Selma; gave hundreds of speeches in support of the Equal Rights Amendment; once punched out a writing professor at Ohio State who said he had no talent; did the same to a TV producer; almost came to blows with Frank Sinatra; wrote stories as the public watched at bookstores; traveled with the Rolling Stones; got Carl Sagan out of a scrap; could keep up with Robin Williams; stood up for his beliefs; mentored many writers; and held court at his house The Lost Aztec Temple of Mars.

Harlan will be missed. He took on stupidity, cowardice, prejudice, sexism, racism, bullies, and ignorance. Most important of all - he inspired many to think and be a better human.