Rhett Miller "Here It Is Christmastime"

Ahh, the delightful Rhett Miller (and The Old 97s too).

He seems to have become a part of Christmas in my family.

Last year, I gave my sister the new Rhett Miller live album.

And the year before, a bunch of us within the family bought tickets to see The Old 97s, for each other, so we could all go together.

Will there be gifts along these same lines this year?  You bet, but I don't want to say who's getting what, what with Christmas still 2 weeks away.

But Rhett himself seems to enjoy the holiday.

Below is a Christmas video he posted last year.

And this week, I downloaded a new, free Christmas song called "Christmas Is Coming" from this site, which you can get too.

Oh, and if you want to give anyone the Gift Of Rhett . . . he's on the solo tour, hitting Johnny D's in Somerville at the end of February.


Here the song on Youtube.

Dr John "Mama Roux"

One of the good things about older artists continuing to make music, is that it does encourage you to go revisit the old stuff.

And not just because the new stuff reminds you of the old stuff, but because the new stuff makes the old stuff relevant.

Such is the case with Dr. John.

The song "Mama Roux" had been in our library for years and year.  We don't have saved playllists that go back that far, but I think it's safe to guess that song had been rotation since the early days of MVY over 30 years ago.

Somewhere, 4 or 5 years ago, in a regular round of reconsidering, we had looked at some of the songs from the 60s and 70s to set aside some of the tracks that sounded particularly dated, including "Mama Roux."

"Dated" is a funny, somewhat problematic term.  Everything that was recorded in the 70s sounds dated today, because it's 40 years old.  But what I'm getting at is that not only is the track old, it now no longer fits easily into the station's playlist.  It sticks out like a sore thumb.

This is a subjective judgement, no doubt.  But I think you'd probably agree that a song like "In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed" fits into the present playlist comfortably, despite its age.  While "Marakesh Express" by Crosby, Stills & Nash feels a little fried at this point.

So "Mama Roux" came out of regular rotation.

Then a funny thing happened.

In 2012, Dr. John made the record "Locked Down" with producer Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys, who specifically wanted to make a new record that recalled the sound of early Dr. John records like "Gris Gris."

After months of playing the new song "Revolution" on MVY---and loving it---I happened to be out somewhere, where they were playing "Gris Gris" and I heard "Mama Roux."  And that style that had sounded so far away when I was hearing the tune a few years ago, now felt like it had renewed resonance.  It made sense again.  It had context, because of the new record.  It fit.

So "Mama Roux" is back in rotation again . . .


Hear the song on Youtube.

AAP has bigger challenges ahead

The AAP is on a roll. But as Arvind Kejriwal would know very well, the path ahead will be harder from now on. This is a track he chose consciously: to fight the system by joining it, and not as his mentor Anna Hazare prefers, to be outside the system. So far so good.

Politicians may not admit, but surely the Aam Aadmi Party’s performance has made them sit up. If it were any party other than the AAP in Delhi, we would have seen power-brokers jumping into the fray, leading to the all-too-familiar scenario of wheeling and dealing, and before long we would have had a government.

There may be a few reasons why the BJP is not staking claim to power. One, with the AAP-inspired vigil, it's difficult to woo allies to cobble the requisite number. Two, President's Rule will lead to a re-election in Delhi, probably along with the Lok Sabha election. BJP might well be hoping that the Modi wave will give it a greater momentum for a decisive mandate.

Kejriwal's hope is that the AAP will be able to repeat the performance at the national level. But the extrapolation may not be so easy as it sounds. The citizen-driven party will have to mobilize state and district-level participation in big numbers to counter the well-entrenched local influences of the established parties, not just the Congress and the BJP, but also the many regional parties. It may not be beyond Kejriwal and his highly motivated team. Their theme of 'clean politics' is one which has a pan-India resonance. If Kejriwal has his eyes on a big number in the Lok Sabha, then the work will have to start right away.

The Delhi election result is a milestone in India's story of democracy. The light at the end of the tunnel is now a shade brighter. Kejriwal and his team need to ensure that the light only burns brighter. Hopefully, we are seeing the beginning of a change. If the right people are elected, the right people will be in power, and there will surely be better governance.

Mini Blog Series ~ Going Rogue

Hello Lovelies!
Today is the second installment in the Going Rogue! Aaron is a character in End of the Line who before the asteroids hit was known in school, had a small group of friends, and if anything did not hang around people like Lauren. After things changed the two stuck together because safety in numbers to survive. Aaron has some time to himself, and you get to know him better in Going Rogue, so I hope you guys are taking advantage of knowing him ;)

Chapter 1 if you missed it HERE

                    Going Rogue

Chapter Two

Aaron

My lungs were burning by the time that I lost the two idiots. Manson was in jail, why couldn't he have gotten real enemies there? Or at least not go for 'an eye for a whole head' exchange. I didn't see any lights searching for me as it was getting dark so I sat on a tree stump and leaned over my knees to catch my breath. I needed water that was way too much running and moving for me not to be drinking. Lifting my head I saw the faint puff in front of me.

Normally winter coming wouldn't phase me any, just meant occasionally throwing on a sweatshirt, but I was literally in the woods with nothing. Things were very serious right now. My eyes searched the area for a river or stream nearby. A person could last longer on no food than without water. I stood up and started to wander about looking for some water. A couple of squirrels scurried past me and up a tree. Watching those little furry animals I wondered if they would taste like chicken. Wasn't always the story, 'it takes like chicken?' No, I'll wait a little longer before thinking about a furry rat.

My foot caught on something and I fell onto my back. Unable to grab onto anything I slide down the hill. My shirt rose up as I felt leaves, sticks, and a couple of rocks scarp across my back. My bottom smacked against a rock stopping me short. Pain shot through me and water started seeping through my shoes. Heat and throbbing radiated through my body as I tried to push myself up. I cursed at the rock that I ran into and pulled my feet out of the stream. If I had stayed with Lauren on the bed I wouldn't have ended in pain and wet. I would be in the apartment with Sean and Paige trying to give them something to do before we killed them from cabin fever. Or I would be with Lauren who would probably be asleep against me for warmth. I closed my eyes for a moment to see those blue eyes.

God damn it!

I kicked the water and got up. I had to stop thinking like that. That was why I left. I wasn't able to separate myself from the current situation and starting to like Lauren. She was suffering as it was without me in her life. I had a man out to kill me and she's still wounded from losing her family.

Scooping some of the water in my hands I tried to keep to the top of the water where there was less dirty. Better than nothing. I brought my cupped hands to my lips I sipped. Well here's to running away. Again…

Bono "Silver And Gold"

One more Weekend Post from "Sun City."

Bono was involved in the "Sun City" song.  And as Little Steven was about to being mastering the final tracks he had, Bono showed up with a newly recorded tune.  One that features Keith Richards and Ron Wood as his bandmates.  It arrived so late in the game, that it didn't even make the track listing, which had already been printed.

"Silver And Gold" would eventually be re-recorded by U2 and make its way to the "Rattle And Hum" record, but this is the original release.


Hear the song on Youtube.

Gil-Scott Heron "Let Me See Your ID"

A Nelson Mandela-related Weekend Post:

"The word causalities comes up a lot . . . Nothing casual about dying."

I wrote yesterday about the "Sun City" song, and how it was one of the first "political message" records I had ever tuned into.  And that it was my first run-in with many artists that I would come to appreciate more deeply in the years to come (including Bonnie Raitt, Lou Reed, Joey Ramone and Little Steven himself).

Van Zandt's original intention was to just make a single.  But as more and more artists came on board, he found himself with more and more material.  Eventually, they stretched things out to a full length release.  Though . . . there was a lot of filler---like 3 remixes of "Sun City."

There were also some really interesting and important pieces.

"Let Me See Your ID" was my first run-in with Gil-Scott Heron.  And it was my first real experience with a sound collage.  Heron's spoken parts to this piece were so clear and direct, that it helped explain the situation in both a contextual and moral way.  The line I quote at the start of this post really struck me, and forced me to start thinking critically about the words we absorb, well, casually.

I think it's worth pointing out, again, that the work on this album is overlooked and under-appreciated as an early example of Rock musicians working with Rappers, and effectively bringing music that was associated with Black and Urban listeners to the White suburbs.

When you heard it for the first time, "Hey, what Peter Wolf is doing, is the same thing these rappers are doing," rap music made sense.

Definitely check out today's song.  But if you have 45 minutes, stream the whole album below.


Hear the song on Youtube.


Hear the full album on Youtube.

RIP Mandela

Nelson Mandela was more than the first Black President of South Africa. He was more than an anti-apartheid leader. What inspired people across the world was his compassion and forgiveness. There aren't many fighters and achievers like Mandela.

His African National Congress was once classified as terrorist organisation. He spent 27 years in prison. Once he walked out he carried no vengence against the people he fought a life-long battle against.

He set up a Truth and Reconiliation Commission. He was not just against senseless minority domination purely on the basis of colour of human skin. He was also against Black domination. The way he accommodated Fredrick De Klerk, the last apartheid era head of state, is a monumental example of his deep understanding of the society for whose liberation he fought.

The sort of societal transformation he brought about is unparalleled in the world. He avoided massive bloodshed that could have ensued. He was so humble and forgiving that he invited the prosecutor who got him jailed, for tea in his presidential palace.

He taught us the value of the age-old saying "Let bygones be bygones". He said we had to move on and the country had no time to waste to achieve its larger goals of elevating the standandard of lives of people.

How many leaders we see around have the vision Mandela had? How many can sacrifice their comforts for the good of the society? Mandela is guiding light for everyone, especially so for leaders who are championing people's causes. We have a lot to learn from his life.

May his soul rest in peace.