IMHO 2021 07 31 with Roxanne McDaniel

In case you missed it on my You Tube Channel... And if you DID, why haven't you SUBSCRIBED yet?! But IF YOU DID... You missed a real treat as I was joined by the amazingly talented Country Music Singer and Songwriter, Roxanne McDaniel!

So come give her songs a listen and catch some of the background behind them as well as her own fascinating personal story!

Katie Benoit: Shattering the Silence

(...ALMOST THERE...)

In this episode, I am joined by my good friend, Katie Benoit, to talke about her new album, Shattering the Silence. This is a remastered, re-release of her 2108 CD with some additional tracks added. The music takes on a journey through Katie's life, memories and experiences going from dark lows to dizzying highs as she sings about love, loss, betrayal and self-acceptance.

More news and what's coming up!

there's been some really great news lately regarding the show... Not only has the (former) Sunday edition of IMHO been mover to Saturday prime-time (8:PM Eastern) but will no be syndicated on two more stations, Dance World Radio, Friday at 9:PM Eastern and Sobel Nation Radio on Sundays at 8:PM Eastern.  Again, I want to thatnk Barbara Sobel for giving me this opportunity, and for all of the wonderful people that have come onto the show to talk with and share the work and some of teh personal stories and experiences.

Last night's show, with Celebrity Chef Stephen Daniello is now up on the Radio Page, and here's a look at what we've got coming up this week:

On Tuesday (9/1) we've got a really funny man, a stand-up comedian with a Politically oriented Liberal leaning Facebook page. I am happy to be joined by Taunt the Elephant!

And then next Saturday (9/5) we'll be joined but Country Music star, Doug Strahm! 

I hope you will be able to join us, and if you can't tune in on Saturday, you will now have two more opportunities to catch that show!

The Podcasts with Amrick Channa and Pamela Raintree, have be uploaded to the Radio page. (BTW.. .Check out the "Awesome People" page for he infamous picture of Amrick that we talked about! ;)

I hope you will be ablt to join us tomorrow night, 8:PM on www.RainbowRadio.FM when I will be hosting the Celebrity Chef of Fire Island, Stephen Daniello!

Song Dedications (Political)

The following song is dedicated to either George Zimmerman or the family of Trayvon Martin, whichever makes more sense to you. (And to the one commenter who I already know is going to tell me that it doesn't make sense either way... Hell with you, you don't get a vote.)




"Oh, but you who philosophize disgrace, and criticize all fears... Take the rag away from your face, for now ain't the time for your fears."

That was 1964, BTW. Shame how relevant it is half a century later. If there is any justice in the world, I will not one day be re-posting this, with the caption clanged to the final chorus.

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The following is dedicated to Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Paul Ryan - particularly the last two verses, to the last two Republicans respectively:




My hero: Harry Chapin, 1975.  Apologies for the poor quality of the audio, but this is a hard one to find.  This and She Is Always Seventeen were an additional tracks on the Live Album that were only on the 8-Track and Vinyl and were never released on the CD of that Album, or any other that I am aware of.

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Here's Seventeen:
(Admittedly it's a bit funky, but it's still damned GOOD.)




This might resonate more with my... *a-hem* older readers, so I guess this one's for them. (I have no memory even of the events that didn't happen before I was born, so... yeah.)

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Finally... One more from Harry...  This is called The Shortest Story.  And though Harry meant it to be about WOLRD hunger, I'm dedicating this to Stuart Varney of Fox "News", who recently asked of the Food Stamps program: "Can we afford this? We've got a trillion dollar deficit every year as far as the eye can see. But we want to reach out and give people food." 

No, Stuart, fuck 'em: Let 'em starve, I guess. Even as hunger and poverty levels are elevated and continue to rise in this country - my country - this guy is more concerned about the deficit, and maintaining unsustainable tax breaks for the wealthy than helping poor people.  But then that's always been the Rigth Wing trope, hasn't it? If you can't profit from a problem, just deny it exsists. Sad that it's no different from the kind of denial, ingoranc eand apathy that Harry fought against for most of his career, when he's been dead since 1981!



BTW... Putting aside any feelings you may have about our domestic issues of hunger and poverty, if you don't find this song and video heart-wrenching, then you simply aren't human.

THE TOP TEN (for Craig D)

OK - Many thanks to Craig D for the (so far) lone response in Davy Jones obit.  And in light of that, I want to take another step away from Politics for a minute and have a little fun with - and conduct a little poll about - music. 

So here's what we're going to do. I'm going to list, in no partcular order, what I BELIEVE the top ten albums of all time are.

RULE #1: If you READ IT? You MUST comment.

RULE #2: Your comments must and may only consist of your own top-ten Albums list. No extensive or disrespectful opining about my choices or anyone elses, and no pissing contests! (And only TEN, limit one per band, and no TIES allowed!)

FAIR WARINING: ANY OTHER COMMENTS WILL BE DELETED! (just this once!)

But I DO want, very much, everyone to participate. I'm interested to see what will come out of it.

So here's mine:

The Beatles -  Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)

The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Are You Experienced? (1967)

Led Zepplin - IV (runes, zofo, etc...) (1971)

Black Sabbath - Paranoid (1971)

Bob Dylan - Blood on the Tracks (1975)

The Eagles - Hotel California (1976)

Pink Floyd - The Wall (1979)

Ozzy Ozbourne - Blizzard of Ozz (1981)

Guns 'n Roses - Appetite for Destruction (1987)

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Blood Sugar Sex Magik (1991)


(OK, so it ended up in chronoligical order. Yours doesn't have to be! LOL)

Music Page

I've added a page to collect some of the songs I've highlighted over the past couple of that I really like and that I feel are of great social importance and carry an important message.  The tab is at the top- right, check it out, let me know what you think!

Hoo boy...

I posted something on Media Matters today that got an overwhelmingly positive response and generated some interesting challenges to it as well.  So I'm going to expand on the thought over here... just not now. (It's late.) LOL.

And between that and some ritualistic abuse of one "BoulderHippy" (truly one of the most brain-dead conservatives you're likely to meet, but one of those 'never gives up' types that makes MMFA so much fun) it seems I've attracted at least one Conservative Troll over here.  Which is cool.  And I can tell, becuase they went a voted "what a load" on every single item that came up in the blog! LOL.  And yet... they left all of the older stuff unscathed.  How lazy is that? If you're going to troll me, at least go back a page or two, right? LOL.  But, I mean, WTF, they even "thumbs-downed" the WWII Veterans tribute song!  I mean... why do they hate Veterans, right? ;)

And, go figure: Not ONE SINGLE COMMENT left in their wake.  But then... I guess that's how I know it's not one of YOU GUYS, becuase if YOU think I'm full of shit, you've never been shy on calling me out on it!  (And I truly wouldn't have it any other way!)

Anyway, like I said, it's late, so I'll get on my soapbox tomorrow.  In the meantime, here's some music that worth a listen.  I'm a huge fan of Pandora and I've been turned on to some GREAT bands through my Flogging Molly Channel: Great Big Sea, Carbon Leaf (who wrote THIS), the Tossers and a band called "DaVinci's Notebook" who are freaking hilarious.

Here's one of thiers.  TELL ME we all haven't been THERE at some point! (I'm there at least once a week!)



(Yeah: Me too!)

If you liked that, and you generally like Irish Drinking Songs, here's Another Irish Drinking Song, also by DaVinci's Notebook:



What's the difference between an Irish Wedding and an Irish Funeral?

One less drunk.

Finally, there was something else that I want to share. This one's not funny at all. But I think it's has some contemporary social relevance in light of the draconian, anti-labor RW Agenda the Republicans are pushing through in places like Wisconsin (as fast as they possibly can, now that they're asses are all facing recalls!) and if you ever want a great pro-labor, anti-corporate bastards song, this one's for you. There's just one prob... I can't find an acceptable (complete) version of it!

This is a REALLY GOOD cover, by a gent name Kenn Gordon:


I like it, but he left off the final verse:

The thirties are a memory for Dad again
He tells me it can never be that bad again
But from Jarrow and from Clyde they come
With silent hearts and muffled drum
We want the cake and not the crumb
We're mad again

Me too, friend. Me too.

A fuckin' hero...

How's that for a title? LOL.

I just got back for the gym.  Weights tonight.  I usually work out to my "Flogging molly" channel on Pandora.  Celtic Folk and Irish Rock is great music to work out to, whether doing cardio or strength training.  For cardio, it has some of the most hard-driving, up-lifting, foot-slamming, hand-clapping beats you could ask for.  Basically? It's impossible to feel fatigue when listening to Irish music.  For weight/strength training?  The bests are fine, but the THEMES are really what get you.  Good Irish music has some of the darkest, angriest, most bitter lyrics, chronicling their centuries of exploitation, suffering, violence and strife.  They laugh at death, while cursing their life, all the while singing about the cruelest injustices, mixed with powerful patriotic poetry and a love for country and fellow man, juxtaposed with the irony that some much of the recent violence against the Irish has been perpetrated... by the Irish.  Anyway... if the beat doesn't get your adrenaline flowing, the fighting words surely will. 

So for now, I'm hooked.

Anyway, tonight I heard a song that I'd never heard before, and it was like: STOP EVERYTHING.  I had to find out what it was, and who it was by.  It's called Luang Prabang (which is a place in Laos) and it's by Dave Van Ronk.  Anything I could say about it was pretty much summed up by some of the top YouTube comments on the version that I've embedded below:

Powerful..

~scrip7ki77y
 
Awesome! Reminds me of some of the darker Irish rebellion chants. Excellent.

~skelotan

my new task is to make sure this song is more well known.

~shaunathan05

Mine too, shaunathan, mine too.  So here goes.  (BTW, I've got a little bit more to say about it, so after you listen, please keep reading.)



Van Ronk himself described this as "An imperialist love song, and a protest against wimpy anti-war songs." And to that? I say, "Fuck, yeah!"

And I am reminded of something in its combination of powerful anti-war sentiment, while at the same calling for one to honor the fallen and broken soldiers - both in the ironic way that we do now, which the song parodies, but simultaneously with all due sincerity as well. Which, let's face it, we don't. Not when we send our boys on pointless boondoggles around the world, whether it's fighting to secure oil reserves, or merely interfering in another country's internal politics. Our near-schizophrenic hypocrisy regarding the principle of self-determination which we once stood for (and still claim to, whenever it's convenient for us) has cost us more blood and treasure than any post World War Two enemy could ever dream to. All we have to fear is fear itself, was right. We really should have listened.

What it reminds me off was a powerful statement made during the height of the Iraq and Afghan War but the former Governor of Michigan, Jennifer Granholm. She ordered that all flags be lowered to half staff every time a soldier from Michigan was killed. Needless to say that for a good year or two, those flags were down at least once a week. And it sent a powerful statement. It reminded up, every time, of the cost of the insane foreign policy pursued by the Cheney/Bush administration, while at the same time, unequivocally honoring our fallen soldiers. It drove the pro-war crowd abso-fucking-lutely NUTS! And yet they couldn't say a damn thing about it, could they! Because they're always the ones accusing LIBERALS of "hating the troops" or whatever. So who among them was going to be stupid enough to suggest that we STOP honor these fallen men?

I loved it. Probably the best thing she did the whole time she was in office.

Anyway, this song kind of reminds me of that. It reminds us that anti-war is hardly anti-military and that the desire for peace is felt the strongest only by the strongest among us.

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BTW... here's a more haunting, melodic version by Patrick Sky.  Full lyrics posted there as well, if you're interested.