This Is Their Metric For Election Results?

I'll be blunt on this - I can't stand American Idol. It's been pointless from day one. It showcases not true talent in the arena of music, but focuses almost exclusively on commercialism and gimmicks that are pushed to people who likely buy things because they think they will seem "important" or because the logo used is flashier. They are attracted by the "prettiest lights" that flash in front of them.

So when I read Jeannie DeAngelis' "article" over at Breitbart's "Big Hollywood" site about how the American Idol finale is a signifier that Obama is in trouble come election night 2012, it was revealed to me that the Modern American Right swallowed whole the notion that gimmicks and special effects are more important to them than substance.

After three endless years of Barack Obama being more popular than Jesus, God and country seem to be making a huge comeback. If this season’s American Idol outcome is any indication of what lies ahead in the next election, Barack Obama may be heading back to the home of Muddy Waters and the Chicago Blues.

Interestingly, on American Idol each week those eliminated, with the exception of a Rod Stewart wannabe from Alabama, returned home to blue states. Even the stunningly talented Pia Toscano, who was thought to be a shoe-in, was sent packing back to the blue shores of Howard Beach, NY.

Besides being entertained by judges J Lo, Steven Tyler and Randy Jackson, this season American Idol has showcased talent from all along the musical spectrum. America was wowed by James Durbin, whose voice embellished raucous heavy metal; Pia was crowned the queen of ballads; Casey Abrams entertained America with a scruffy eccentric brand of stand-up bass showmanship; Haley Reinhard emerged as a polished version of Janis Joplin; and a cuddly promise of Luther was reborn in the endearing Jacob Lusk.

Yet, throughout the competition and despite the huge talent pool, country singers Lauren Alaina and Scotty McCreery endured from week to week. One thing about Lauren and Scotty that stood out was their consistent profession of personal faith and loyalty to a patriotic genre of music that unabashedly celebrates both God and country.

One thing that troubles me is when people talk about "country music". There is no "country music" anymore. So to say that Lauren and Scotty embody that genre is to participate in an action of pure unblushing ignorance. And if you couple that with the actions of the "voters" or American Idol and the real voters in the Presidential Election, you've done more than jump the proverbial shark - you've completely inverted the fabric of space/time and have placed yourself into the race to become one of the dumbest people in the known universe.

If Lauren and Scotty were truly the embodiment of real country music, then they would talk about the suffering of farmers and beaten wives; the plight of families dealing with a father that drinks or a mother that is absent; or sing songs of celebrations of renegades, outlaws, and excess in the South. Neither of these two have the passion of a true country artist like Hank Sr., Johnny Cash, or Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson. And while it is true that these mentioned sang gospel songs, these were out of a sense of belief rather than a desire to posture to gain adoration.

Country music died decades ago and was replaced with a new form of "Top 40" fare that does nothing more than insult those that built the foundations of Country. Take a look at who's on the "Country" charts this week and then take those songs and compare them with the likes of Patsy Cline or Merle Haggard.

But there are those that take up the "appearance" of a Country purist but come off as nothing more than the current gimmicks that were the two finalists of the current American Idol season. Even some that once held the title of a true Country artist have become nothing more than supplicants of Right Wing theology. The name that immediately comes to mind is Hank Willians Jr.

It would be interesting to see the demographics for who voted on the American Idol finale and see how many of these people are even eligible to vote in the 2012 election, are even considering it, and if they are, what candidate they would vote for. I'm guessing that the results wouldn't mesh with DeAngelis' poorly constructed and utterly preposterous thesis.

The Bottom Of The Barrell

Country music, more so than any other genre, is known for it's pro-Republican stance and songs about how government is out to destroy everyone. The only exception that I can think of at present is Alabama's No. 1 hit "Song Of The South" that lauded Roosevelt's New Deal long before Conservatives turned it into an evil Socialist scheme hell-bent on destroying America.

Now comes Ray Stevens. If you've ever heard of him, you'll likely realize that he's country's Weird Al ( my apologizes Al for that ) and one who isn't as likely to make an anti-government protest song. But one thing that country music is also known for is having a massive gathering of opportunists that are willing to latch onto a movement and recast their image in order to maintain any semblance of relevancy.



I guess Obama's in real trouble now, as the country genre has loosed Ray Stevens after him. I'm sure that there's going to be a high-level cabinet meeting this afternoon to learn how to spin this viscous attack.

Incidentally, the fine folks at Fox"Nation" are going crazy over this one. And isn't that indicative of their style of debate, to latch onto kitchy, pseudo-clever, schtick like this and expect people to follow them in lock-step. Aren't these people wanting to be taken seriously?

Gretchen Peters Rocks

Unless you are a follower of who writes country music, you probably have never heard of Gretchen Peters.

However, if you have even a modest portion of country-music knowledge, you've likely heard of Martina McBride.

And if you watch Fox"News" on Sunday night, you have heard the song "Independance Day". It's the song Sean Hannity uses to open his "Hannity's America" program.

The fun part of all this, is that Hannity doesn't know what that song is about. Gretchen Peters made a statement about the song she wrote and how Sean Hannity is complete fool for thinking it means something else:

They are co-opting the song, completely overlooking the context and message, and using it to promote a candidate who would set women's rights back decades

Since Hannity is a part of the party that continually tosses out the word "context", maybe they need to learn what that word means. The song is about domestic abuse.

Considering that the Republican party espouses policies thatcompletely cast women aside or are abusive in their own right, there is a juicy chunk of irony that comes into play when one realizes that Gretchen Peters is donating royalties from this track to the group that draws more ire from the Republican party than just about any other - Planned Parenthood. And, she's doing it in the name of Sarah Palin. Fucking incredible.

But, it's not just Hannity that is using the song, Sarah Palin is even using it at rallys where she is speaking.

Much in the same way that Reagan used "Born In The USA" as a rallying song, Palin and Hannity are just two more in a long line of ignorant Republicans who can't process the obvious.

So, is this going to stop Hannity from using the song?

Only time will tell.

Early Evening Sounds feat Robert Plant and Allison Krauss

For any of you that went to Bonnaroo this year and caught Plant and Krauss' set on Sunday, you saw one of the great performances of the festival.

I'm really hoping that they do another album together.



And here's that same song Sunday afternoon @ Bonnaroo:

The Best Album Of 2007

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, “Raising Sand”








Despite the fact that each and every year, Robert Plant seems to be morphing into this bizarre caricature of an English grandmother, he can still belt out a tune. Couple that ( the singing, not the grandmotherly visage ) with one of the most haunting and original voices in Blue Grass / Country music and you've got a duet that is hard to top. But, one can't set aside the musical genius that is T. Bone Burnett.

There really isn't a true form of 'country' music anymore. It's all overproduce tripe that does nothing but mock the real country artists that created honest, orignal music. Now, all you have to have is a cowboy hat, a belt-buckle, and some inane lyrics about a tractor or going fishing while you're drunk.

( ok, i'm done ranting on that, for now )

"Raising Sand" takes everything that Led Zeppelin did with conjuring a fantastic image with sound and lyrics and blend it with a little bit of true, southern, music ( you know, like Johnny Cash or Waylon Jennings used to play ) and you've got one of the greatest albums of the last 10 years, and certainly a perfect choice for best album of 2007.

I can wait to see these two at Bonnaroo.