One through five

5. Acid Tongue - Jenny Lewis

Oh, Jenny Lewis. Over the past few weeks, I have been trying to figure out whether my opinion of Jenny Lewis' music has perhaps been unfairly influenced with how enamored I am with her. To be totally honest, my love for Jenny probably makes me look at her music in a little more positive light on the whole. But what am I supposed to think about a woman who looks like that, writes songs like she does and also has the voice of a slightly Southern angel? Seriously. That is pretty much the equation for Anthony's perfect wife. Tonight I have attempted to write this entry while actually referencing the song but I do not think it does any justice to just how much I sweat her. This album was nothing all that special on the whole, but "I went to a cobbler to fix a hole in my shoe. He took one look at my face and said 'I can fix that hole in you." What's up double entendre? Enough said. For whatever reason, I am particularly enthralled by "To be lonely is a habit, like smoking or taking drugs. And I quit them both, but man was it rough." My love for Jenny has further blossomed this year and I can only hope she decides to play Richmond again sometime in 2009!

4. A Ghost to Most - Drive-By Truckers

The Truckers are extremely high on my list of bands that I rediscovered in 2008. I had listened to them years ago and saw Jason Isbell (former member) last October. But for whatever reason, they seemed much more important this year than in years past. Maybe it is because I am living in the (fake) South. Regardless, A Ghost to Most is a spectacular track. Both musically and lyrically, it captures a mood perfectly. I had a hard time deciding between this song and Three Dimes Down. In the end, it was really the pedal steel that put A Ghost to Most over the top. It is entirely possible that this song intrigues me because I do not totally understand it. "And beside you're a ghost to most before they notice that you ever had a hair or a hide." I am pretty sure that it implies that people just are not paying attention to someone, but I still cannot totally wrap my mind around the whole ghost idea. Most of the time, when you think of a ghost, you think of something that haunts you. So is "The Stroker Ace" Mike Cooley trying to say that you end up haunting someone before they even really pay attention to you or that just you end up dead? I am starting to lean towards the second one, but who knows. It is a great track and really made me go back to examine the Trucker's catalog again and I am pretty glad that happened.

3. Crying - TV on the Radio

Here is where my list really got impossible. These top three songs each were my number one depending on the time of day and my mood. The song has already been discussed once on this blog and I am not sure that I have a whole lot more to add to the analysis. Then again, that was two months ago. Feels like it was 10 minutes ago. Anyway, "Crying" is a spectacular song on a spectacular record. There are few songs that I have heard in the last few years that truly manage to mix multiple genres and seemingly multiple music eras within a single track without coming off as inauthentic. This song somehow blends Prince with early to mid-1980's new age/R&B thrown in with a little modern indie rock. It sounds like it should not work at all. And yet it does. And in rather impressive fashion. Dear Science is something special in its own right. But this single song is really an example of how sometimes there are single songs that can elevate an album to a different level. Without a track like this, the album is a collection of pretty good songs. But "Crying" makes Dear Science an absolute classic. Some people still have not heard TV on the Radio. And some people have, but have not paid close enough attention to them. This song should change that.

2. Strangers - The Dutchess and the Duke

I am not sure why this is not my number 1 song of 2008. Suppose that just speaks to how highly I hold my actual favorite song of the year. But that should take absolutely nothing away from The Dutchess and the Duke. This is another song that I have talked about on here previously. Back in early September, I saw this band at a tiny venue in Charlottesville. It was one of the more interesting concert experiences I have witnessed in the last few years. And I have seen a lot of shows at a lot of different venues. But this song makes me feel like it is the 60's and CD's are non-existent. The fact that the show was in a basement just makes sense. As with a lot of the songs in my top ten, the lyrics of "Strangers" just suck me in. "But after my digging was done. I realized that just because you lose don't mean that I have won". I know I am not the only one who gets that line. The last few lines of the song are really the ones that get me to be totally honest. I have recited these lyrics in this space previously, but I think they deserve another appearance. "Well I've added up all the things you've done and I've taken a good look at the man that I've become. And maybe we're not strangers after all..." In the context of this track, if that does not make you think of some important decision in your life, I do not know what will. If just evokes a lot of introspection for me. Maybe this is just another example of me being too far in my own head. Ha.

1. You Don't Have To (If You Don't Want To) - Gentleman Jesse

Finally. Best track of the year, hands down. The fact remains that in any other year, "Crying" or "Strangers" would be my favorite song. But for some reason, I could not stop listening to this perfect example of pop punk out of Atlanta. The first I heard of Gentleman Jesse was in 2007 as he released a 7" single that pretty much changed my mind about what music had to be. For those of you that really know me, I tend to gravitate towards music that is somewhat complicated. Whether it was intricate music or lyrics that make you question your own existence, that was pretty much the sort of thing I stuck to in the past. With the introduction of Gentleman Jesse, I found a return to something I could enjoy immensely without having to spend any time thinking about it. There is really something to be said for a perfect pop song released in 2008 that sounds like it should have come out in 1963. This song might not even have words outside of the chorus but I cannot help but sing it. While The Dutchess and the Duke evoke feelings of old folk music, Gentleman Jesse is music ripped straight out of that time. Rather than just making you feel like you could be there, this song transports you to that time. I listen to "You Don't Have To" and I am some 18 year old guy in the 1960's waxing my brand new Chevrolet waiting to take out a cheerleader. I cannot find any better way to describe the way I feel when I listen to this song. Everyone needs to listen to this song and realize that good music does not have to be anywhere near the radio or even close to the radar of most indie rock outlets. Just crack a beer and soak it all in.

OneThroughFive



So honestly, writing about the top five in a more objective manner was much more difficult than writing about the six through ten tracks. Maybe it just so happens that I love these fives songs for reasons that are much more difficult to articulate. Or maybe I just do not want to explain myself for loving certain things. But regardless, I hope that at least one of you listens to one of these ten songs and finds something that interests you. More so than not, the music that I enjoy is really a window into how my life is going and these ten songs are no exception. Enjoy.

Ten through six

All right. Here are songs ten through six. Breaking it up means less work for me tonight. There are plenty of honorable mentions for this list, but I don't think they are going to get much time on here.

10. See/Saw - Jay Reatard

This was a seriously late minute addition to the list and I have to say that I kicked off Bon Iver for it. But as I listened to the Bon Iver album one last time, I realized that I like song better. Sorry white guy with an acoustic guitar. You have been traded in for a white guy with an electric guitar and an ear for pop/punk hooks. My lists in past years would be comprised of too many sad bastard tracks and this year is just a totally reverse of that. My pick of this Jay Retard song is proof positive that my tastes are shifting. That and I just like screaming, "SHE CREEPS ME OUT! SHE CREPT ME IN AGAIN!" Most of you will probably find this one annoying, but it makes me want to chug a can of Bud Diesel and play air guitar.

9. Suffering Jukebox - Silver Jews

"You got Tennessee tendencies and chemical dependencies. You make the same old jokes and malaprops on cue." This is the type of line that only works when delivered in David Berman's perfect monotone. Admittedly, this album pretty much fell off the radar for me. The Silver Jews have made better albums in the past, but Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea was pretty solid in its own right. When I started thinking about my favorite songs from the year however, this one track jumped out at me. Oddly enough, this is the only song on my list that does not come from an album I actually own on vinyl. So I suppose that says something about its staying power. Anyway, this song is pretty much classic Jews for those of you that are familiar with them (probably not anyone who reads this). They are one of the few bands that can pull off the subtle dark humor so well within the context of the music. Not sure if that has more to do with Berman and his delivery than the music itself, but it just works. Probably just something about their sarcasm that attracts me. All in all though, I happen to think this has one of the more clever choruses that I have heard in years. "Suffering jukebox, such a sad machine. You're filled up with what other people need. And they never seem to turn you up loud. Gotta a lot of chatterboxes in this crowd." I am not sure I expect anyone else out there to actually like this song. Well, maybe Colin if he ever reads this.

8. Slapped Actress - The Hold Steady

There have been stretches of nights where this was absolutely my number one song for the year. But as I started thinking more rationally (and sobered up), I realized some things. While it is a good song, I think I get a little tricked by The Hold Steady some time. Their songs just tend to be so anthemic and suck you in so quickly that they can be deceiving. If you are a fan of the band, then you are a fan of this song. Not sure how else to really put it. But does that mean it is great by any means? Not really. The opening crunchy guitar line is really the best part of this song in particular. Lyrically, it is more of Craig Finn's usual, self-referential while stealing from pop culture, subject matter. The song is centered around a John Cassevetes film called Opening Night and the singer and his band become the cast of characters. I think what I initially liked about this song is what eventually led me to put it so low on my list. Listening to the song for pure enjoyment without paying attention to the words is great. But for whatever reason any time I listen to what is actually being said, I'm left thinking, "Why the hell can't this guy stop talking about himself?" In the end, it is the blessing and the curse for The Hold Steady as far as I'm concerned. They have a lot of great music, but Craig Finn ends up talking about them way too much. So much for trying to Stay Positive, eh?

7. All I Ever Wanted - Black Keys

Hammond B3 organ. That instrument alone pretty much put this song on my list over another Black Keys song from Attack & Release. To be totally honest, I know some of the words to a bunch of Black Keys songs. For a dude who admits to being all about words, I probably could not care less what they sing about. The wall of noise that envelops you when the organ wails on is just so viscerally impressive that I cannot help but crack a smile. This song encapsulates everything I love about their music: the dirty Delta sound, the rapid changes in dynamics and the fact that you can feel the songs in your chest under the right conditions. This song really deserves being heard out of some big speakers from about five feet away. It might make you a different person. Or it might make you deaf. Either way, you will be changed!

6. Unforgettable Season - Cut/Copy

Over the last few years, this genre has probably gained the most ground as far as my listening habits are concerned. I always had a little bit of what I guess could be called "electropop" or "dance punk" in my rotation, but these last few years have seen an increase in my interest, thanks to bands like Cut/Copy and The Avalanches. I can think of few better spring time albums than this year's In Ghost Colours. Cut/Copy has been a big favorite of mine since I was introduced to them a few years back with Bright Like Neon Love. Their albums just seem to have a feeling that either makes sense for you or does not. If that makes any sense. Ha. In other words, you get them or you do not. As far as I am concerned, they are not the sort of band you can really grow to love. You either like what they are doing or you hate it. Unforgettable Season is really them doing what they do best. The melodies are built so lavishly and in such an intricate manner. The layers of samples become the light blues, greens and yellows in the album cover. I have a really tough time putting this song above my favorite Cut/Copy song, Time Stands Still, but it is a really close second.


And to download the five track above, click on this and follow the instructions:
TenThroughSix

One through five will be up either tomorrow night or Friday night if I'm feeling particularly lazy tomorrow. Enjoy and give me your thoughts, good or bad.

Coming soon...

I have decided that I need to put together a little list of my favorite songs from the year so far. Honestly, being that we are almost halfway through November, I don't think anything is really going to sneak in by the end of this year. So coming in the next couple of nights is going to be my list with some writing about each song. And don't worry, you will be able to download the songs. As I can figure it right now, there is a good chance that all 10 songs will come from albums that I have on vinyl. Maybe that means I have more of an affinity towards those albums? Who knows. Either way, expect something definitely by the end of this week if not sooner.

And this is why I supported the guy

Obama Positions Himself to Quickly Reverse Bush Actions on Environmental, Social Issues

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/08/AR2008110801856.html?hpid=topnews

For those of you who don't want to register to read this article, it is included at the end of this post.

Science, energy and climate change. Three of the biggest reasons that I supported Barack Obama this election. And three of the issues that I think George W. Bush got all sorts of wrong. For anyone who says, "How can he possibly come up with a list of these things to address within four days of being elected?" I will have to tell you that he has had a team working on this very subject for weeks if not months. Now, I'm sure that some will believe that this sort of thing displays a level of arrogance at assuming victory. But I will vehemently counter that argument with the argument that this is someone who displays preparation. Sorry if that term has been absent from the mind of our leading executive in the last eight years, but some people are capable of it.

By Ceci Connolly and R. Jeffrey Smith

Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, November 9, 2008; Page

Transition advisers to President-elect Barack Obama have compiled a list of about 200 Bush administration actions and executive orders that could be swiftly undone to reverse the president on climate change, stem cell research, reproductive rights and other issues, according to congressional Democrats, campaign aides and experts working with the transition team.

A team of four dozen advisers, working for months in virtual solitude, set out to identify regulatory and policy changes Obama could implement soon after his inauguration. The team is now consulting with liberal advocacy groups, Capitol Hill staffers and potential agency chiefs to prioritize those they regard as the most onerous or ideologically offensive, said a top transition official who was not permitted to speak on the record about the inner workings of the transition.

In some instances, Obama would be quickly delivering on promises he made during his two-year campaign, while in others he would be embracing Clinton-era policies upended by President Bush during his eight years in office.

"The kind of regulations they are looking at" are those imposed by Bush for "overtly political" reasons, in pursuit of what Democrats say was a partisan Republican agenda, said Dan Mendelson, a former associate administrator for health in the Clinton administration's Office of Management and Budget. The list of executive orders targeted by Obama's team could well get longer in the coming days, as Bush's appointees are rushing to enact a number of last-minute policies in an effort to extend his legacy.

A spokeswoman said yesterday that no plans for regulatory changes had been finalized. "Before he makes any decisions on potential executive or legislative actions, he will be conferring with congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle, as well as interested groups," Obama transition spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter said. "Any decisions would need to be discussed with his Cabinet nominees, none of whom have been selected yet."

Still, the preelection transition team, comprising mainly lawyers, has positioned the incoming president to move fast on high-priority items without waiting for Congress.

Obama himself has signaled, for example, that he intends to reverse Bush's controversial limit on federal funding of embryonic stem cell research, a decision that scientists say has restrained research into some of the most promising avenues for defeating a wide array of diseases such as Parkinson's. Bush's August 2001 decision pleased religious conservatives who have moral objections to the use of cells from days-old human embryos, which are destroyed in the process.

But Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) said that during Obama's final swing through her state in October, she reminded him that because the restrictions were never included in legislation, Obama "can simply reverse them by executive order." Obama, she said, "was very receptive to that." Opponents of the restrictions have already drafted an executive order he could sign.

The new president is also expected to lift a so-called global gag rule barring international family planning groups that receive U.S. aid from counseling women about the availability of abortion, even in countries where the procedure is legal, said Cecile Richards, spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood Federation of America. When Bill Clinton took office in 1993, he rescinded the Reagan-era regulation, known as the Mexico City Policy, but Bush reimposed it.

"We have been communicating with his transition staff" almost daily, Richards said. "We expect to see a real change."

While Obama said at a news conference last week that his top priority would be to stimulate the economy and create jobs, his advisers say that focus will not delay key shifts in social and regulatory policies, including some -- such as the embrace of new environmental safeguards -- that Obama has said will have long-term, beneficial impacts on the economy.

The president-elect has said, for example, that he intends to quickly reverse the Bush administration's decision last December to deny California the authority to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from automobiles. "Effectively tackling global warming demands bold and innovative solutions, and given the failure of this administration to act, California should be allowed to pioneer," Obama said last January.

California had sought permission from the Environmental Protection Agency to require that greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles be cut by 30 percent between 2009 and 2016, effectively mandating that cars achieve a fuel economy standard of at least 36 miles per gallon within eight years. Seventeen other states had promised to adopt California's rules, representing in total 45 percent of the nation's automobile market. Environmentalists cheered the California initiative because it would stoke innovation that would potentially benefit the entire country.

"An early move by the Obama administration to sign the California waiver would signal the seriousness of intent to reduce the nation's dependence on foreign oil and build a future for the domestic auto market," said Kevin Knobloch, president of the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Before the election, Obama told others that he favors declaring that carbon dioxide emissions are endangering human welfare, following an EPA task force recommendation last December that Bush and his aides shunned in order to protect the utility and auto industries.

Robert Sussman, who was the EPA's deputy administrator during the Clinton administration and is now overseeing EPA transition planning for Obama, wrote a paper last spring strongly recommending such a finding. Others in the campaign have depicted it as an issue on which Obama is keen to show that politics must not interfere with scientific advice.

Some related reforms embraced by Obama's transition advisers would alter procedures for decision-making on climate issues. A book titled "Change for America," being published next week by the Center for American Progress, an influential liberal think tank, will recommend, for example, that Obama rapidly create a National Energy Council to coordinate all policymaking related to global climate change.

The center's influence with Obama is substantial: It was created by former Clinton White House official John D. Podesta, a co-chairman of the transition effort, and much of its staff has been swept into planning for Obama's first 100 days in office.

The National Energy Council would be a counterpart to the White House National Economic Council that Clinton created in a 1993 executive order. "It would make sure all the oars are rowing in the right direction" and ensure that climate change policy "gets lots of attention inside the White House," said Daniel J. Weiss, a former Sierra Club official and senior fellow with the Center for American Progress Action Fund.

The center's new book will also urge Obama to sign an executive order requiring that greenhouse gas emissions be considered whenever the federal government examines the environmental impact of its actions under the existing National Environmental Policy Act. Several key members of Obama's transition team have already embraced the idea.

Other early Obama initiatives may address the need for improved food and drug regulation and chart a new course for immigration enforcement, some Obama advisers say. But they add that only a portion of his early efforts will be aimed at undoing Bush initiatives.

Despite enormous pent-up Democratic frustration, Obama and his team realize they must strike a balance between undoing Bush actions and setting their own course, said Winnie Stachelberg, the center's senior vice president for external affairs.

"It took eight years to get into this mess, and it will take a long time to get out of it," she said. "The next administration needs to look ahead. This transition team and the incoming administration gets that in a big way."

Staff writers Juliet Eilperin, Spencer S. Hsu and Carol D. Leonnig and staff researcher Madonna Lebling contributed to this report.

History in the making

My goodness. This has clearly been one of the best nights in recent memory. John McCain just gave the greatest concession speech that I have ever seen. This election was absolutely dirty. But it is now over. Obama carried VA and I could not be more happy at this very moment. This country is going to face challenging days ahead. I want everyone to realize that. But we will have a President in office who is not afraid to admit that he made a mistake. And that is really all we can ask out of any human beings. Seriously. American really did get it right this time around. Hate all you want. I don't care!!!

Get out and vote

Today will be an historic day. My vote has already been cast. Please go out and do the same, regardless of who choose. Thank you.

Looking forward

On nights like this, I sometimes feel like I lose sight of what I really wanted to do with writing in this space. As soon as this election is over, I will begin to shift my focus onto other topics that I really want to discuss. For instance, you can expect a rather lengthy discussion on the search for meaning. I will most likely post something that I have written in the past on the subject and open it up for comment and criticism. But for the time being, I will ask this question: is the search for meaning a worthwhile pursuit or is it hopeless endeavor?

For my entire thinking life, I have investigated what things mean, sometimes to a fault. Why do like the books that we read or why do we listen to the music that we listen to? Is there really any way to find an explanation for all of these things and do they even deserve a further exploration? My studies of religion over the years teach that there is in fact a universal meaning in things, but for whatever reason, those explanations seem a little too easy. Christian thought seemed too simplistic to me in that it really comes down to accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, so I went searching for a different opinion. I thought I found it in Buddhism, but even their belief in the Four Noble Truths ended up a bit simplistic for my tastes. But then again, maybe I am way too buried in my own head to accept that either one is really the correct view.

Either way, expect these sorts of topics moving forward in a couple of weeks. Once I am freed of my political mind, you will all be bombarded by my philosophical mind. And that may be a good thing or a bad thing depending on how you feel about some dude rambling on about his life. Ha.

The word is on the street that the fire in your heart is out...

Passionate. One word that well describes your boy right here. And that is exactly what you will read here tonight. Forgive my once again unstructed nature, but this is how it comes out sometimes. As always, I welcome any criticism and invite discussion amongst my friends concerning these topics...

Just over a week before this country decides on another President. There are a lot of different thoughts going around right now about the race and how it is tilting in one direction. The polls indicate that Barack Obama is leading in key states at the moment. But the last thing that anyone can do is assume victory.

Anyone who supports Obama must realize that this is the time that really counts. Every time these elections come around and the Democrats seem to be in the lead, people take things for granted. We take for granted that the polls are in our favor. We take for granted that momentum seems to be on our side. But now is the most critical moment of the entire campaign. Supports must continue their efforts. This is not a time to sit back and revel in the fact that the win appears to be within reach. The fight must continue until the very end. If sports have taught me anything over the years, it is that you sprint through the finish line. You do not allow yourself to prematurely celebrate and you always apply pressure until the final seconds have ticked off the clock.

First of all, if you have followed my ramblings, you know that I am not one of those Democrats that believes that the solution to all of our problems lies within the abilities of a politician. Quite the opposite, actually. The cynic in me will not allow me to put blind faith in the hands of one individual. The realization that politics is an impossible game came to me a long time ago. My skepticism concerning our political process was further developed in a time of great struggle. Our country was facing an incredible enemy in global terrorism. And yet we somehow decided to focus our attention on a foe that was uninvolved in our crisis. I will be the first to admit that I was one of those blind supporters. Our intelligence could not possibly be leading us in the incorrect direction, right? There was a reason to go into Iraq. There had to be. Hell, the Democrats voted to give the President the authority to use force in the Middle East despite the fact that we had not captured Osama Bin Laden. As time marched on, I came to find that even the people that supposedly represented me got it all wrong. We are still deeply involved in the Iraq war. What do we have to show for it now?

So if you think that I am being unreasonable in my political discussions here, please let me know. It is simply my opinion that we cannot afford to get this one wrong. Barack Obama is not going to be the medicine to cure all that ails this country. He will not be the vaccine that protects America against future illness. But he does represent a shift in ideology compared to John McCain. Mr. McCain has attempted to show us in the last few weeks that he is not President Bush. I do not believe that he is President Bush. However, if you are of the opinion that Obama's record as the "most liberal Senator" means something, then McCain's support of nine out of ten Bush policies also has to be meaningful. After his re-election in 2004, no one can tell me that President Bush has made the right decision in just about any area of policy. Since that is the case, I am not sure of any way that you can explain away the fact that one candidate in this election has moved with him lock-step in the overwhelming majority of situations. If you disagree with the direction of the country for the last eight years, you owe it to yourself to give someone else a shot. We can talk all day about flip-flopping and pandering. But the fact remains that there is one person running for President that has agreed with George W. Bush and voted as such.

I do not mean to imply that things will be drastically different on November 5 2008. I also do not mean to imply that there will be some sort of intellectual revolution on January 21 2009 if Barack Obama should be so lucky as to be our President at that time. But if the last month or so has shown me anything, it is that I would rather take a chance on hope and, in some cases blind optimism, than someone who seems to be all at once distancing himself from our current administration and proving that he is "Conservative" or Republican enough to get that base to vote for him.

I have read a lot recently on how people seem to think that the policies on one side or the other are simply pie in the sky ideas. Magic is a word that is being thrown out quite frequently. As in, it will take an act of magic for either man to follow through with what they are speaking about now. There has been much written on how both men are promising things that they will be unable to deliver, either short term or long term. As far as I am concerned, it does nothing for ridiculous to call out ridiculous. There is nothing productive in saying that someone's opinions or beliefs are unattainable in a sarcastic or condecending manner. But on the whole, thie discouse does not bother me in the least as long as it is reasonable. I know politics well enough to understand the situation. But does this mean that we should then discredit the enthusiasm that some show for a relative newcomer? Does this mean that we should somehow discredit the first time voters who appear to be voting for a candidate simply because he is more like them than anyone else who has run in the past? Does this mean that we should somehow mock those who are nervous about giving great power to someone who is seemingly untested? As Shakespeare once said, what is past is prologue. History finds a way to repeat itself. The difference is that in these times, we have an opportunity to make history that may someday repeat itself. Regardless of who wins this election, that person will find themselves in an utterly unenviable posiiton. The economy is in shambles. Our standing in the world has been decimated by the choices of the last few administrations. This President will be subjected to unimaginable amounts of scrutiny. And anyone who believes that if one person or the other gets elected that it will be easy sailing, they are fooling themselves.

The fact of the matter remains: at one point in time, I would have no problem with either John McCain or Barack Obama as President. But the difference as it stands this evening is that the John McCain that I could see being President is not the John McCain that we are looking at this very minute. That person is either long gone or hidden under an immense layer of political posturing. Barack Obama is also not the same person that I once wished would be the President. In 2004 when I first saw him speak at the Democratic National Convention and read his book, I saw him as a truly revolutionary figure in politics. Today, he is the Democratic nominee for President. That alone has changed him to a great degree. But I still trust that he is the man who will make the proper decisions for the direction of this country. The President of the United States of America can only do so much in order to directly effect our lives in this world. One of those things is having the judgment and intelligence to surround his or herself with individuals who will positively influence the direction of this nation. Both men involved have had a chance to show me this necessary judgment. Only one has done so. And this is why on November 4 2008, I will walk into that voting booth and proudly cast my vote for Barack Obama as President of the United Sates of America.

Wow. That was probably a bit unnecessary, but whatever. You all can thank Olde English 800 for subjecting you to this diatribe. But it's a little over a week until decision time. Choose how you will. But choose because you legitimately believe in one person or the other. Not because you see the choice as a lesser of two evils and not because you see fault in the ideas or hopes of the supporters of one of these two men. It might not make a difference in our lives. But there will be repercussions and it might be our own kin who have to deal with them. I hope that those of you who are undecided will research both John McCain and Barack Obama and will make nothing but an informed decision. Those of you who are decided already, please vote on November 4 2008 and know that your choice will make a difference somehow. That's enough for me tonight. I hope you are all well. Thanks for listening.

Ryan Adams

On to a totally different subject today...music. Funny how I pretty much only discuss my very liberal politics and music on here. After the election I'll definitely make an attempt to branch out a bit more. Onto Mr. Adams...

Admittedly, my opinion of Ryan Adams over the years has ranged from "Greatest songwriter of our time!" to "What the hell is this guy thinking?". The last few years has pushed me further and further towards the latter. His latest effort, although it isn't a solo album, continues to push him down the path of complete irrelevance as far as I'm concerned. Cardinology completely lacks memorable moments. Well, completely lacks anything memorable for the right reasons, I should say. As with his last album, the only thing that really sticks out is essentially a joke song called "Magick". Following in the footsteps of the epic "Halloweenhead", the song is so ridiculous that you cannot help but sing along. That being said, it is a tune that would not be out of place if it were being performed by a group of teenagers on some MTV show. Or maybe it just reminds me way too much of some cheesy 80's rock song. Either way, you end up liking it because of how outlandish it is. For an artist who used to be the king of the sad bastard country song, this is an interesting path for him to choose.

So the question begs to be asked...how did Ryan Adams come to this? Like I said before, this is not a solo Ryan Adams album. Since Easy Tiger, the Cardinals (his one-time backing band) have become more involved with the writing process. So are they really the ones to blame for this? Honestly, probably not. Because while the music is sometimes actually pretty decent on this album, Ryan's lyrics just lack effort. There is none of the deep meaning that he used to infuse in every track. Looking over his past solo efforts and his work with Whiskeytown, there are legitimately spectacular songs interspersed with some absolute garbage. So the fact that he is now writing terrible songs does not come as a complete surprise. However, the fact remains that he has not written a truly great song in about three years now, if not longer. And that just so happens to coincide with the time when he apparently stopped using heavy drugs. I would hate to say that the guy cannot write anything decent while sober, but it really does seem to be the case here. Or maybe now that he's clean, he just does not have it in him to write anything meaningful. He definitely still has the same wild mood swings that he did while he was plowing through speedballs, so his demeanor has not changed a whole lot. He does seem to be tending towards legitimately crazy, so maybe the lack of drugs has exposed that further.

You will probably read a lot of reviews of his recent work praising it as his most authentic and genuine to date. I do not believe that for a second. He used to write soul-crushing music. The kind of songs where a well placed harmonica could accurately describe the entire theme of an album. His first solo effort was called Heartbreaker, for Christ's sake. To this day, I am convinced that there has not been a better fitting album title in the last ten years. And yet today we are left with a Ryan Adams who is at best a shell of his former self. People used to criticize him for releasing so much material within such a short span of time, but perhaps that is just his way. In 2005, he released three albums and just about two and a half of them were good. Within those three albums, there were some bonafied great material. Since then, he has released two albums with at best a handful of decent songs. Perhaps there is something to be said for throwing a bunch of material out there and seeing what sticks. Or perhaps there is something to be said for lots and lots of drugs.

Lots of catching up to do

So we are less than a month out from the election and I have not commented for a week. I meant to say something earlier in the week but I just did not have the chance. I started writing but got sidetracked and I figured it was probably best that I focused a little more and made one large post. I will talk about the recent debates and the other important issues that I have seen come into focus in the last couple of weeks as well. Be aware that there will be some ranting because I am not very happy with some of the things that we have been seeing. And you all can guess which side I will be on during said rants.

First...the debates. Two weeks ago, we saw the VP debate. I cannot say that it was really anything unexpected. I believe that the word "Maverick" was absolutely beat to death by Sarah Palin and I think that her winking was a bit uncomfortable. I expected a few "Mavericks" to be thrown around here and there, but it sort of surprised me that it turned into an answer to some questions. OK, so surprised isn't really the right word. I knew that Palin probably would not be as prepared as she needed to be, but I guess I anticipated that she would manage to speak a little more extemporaneously. Instead, we got dodged questions (more so than your normal politicians), changed subjects, Mavericks and winking.Winking? Really? As the days tick away this fall, it becomes more and more apparent to me that I do not want a Joe six-pack hockey mom in the second most powerful political position in this country. It has nothing to do with the fact that she is a woman. I believe that Hillary Clinton would make a great President or Vice President. Sarah Palin appeals to a lot of people in this country because of her apparent down to earth nature. However, as Vice President of the United States of America, I do not think that we can afford to elect on how well you can relate to someone as far as I am concerned. Maybe Joe Biden is not the individual in politics today that I would most relate to, but it is apparent that he has a firm grasp on the issues of the day. He can be reckless with his mouth at times, but I have no fear of his decision making. You can knock Obama all you want concerning his experience. I understand the argument. I simply disagree with it. But if you want to criticize one because of his lack of experience, you have to criticize John McCain for picking a VP candidate with such little experience. It is a haphazard choice and scares me somewhat. All in all, the VP debate was really a microcosm for the Palin experience since she was announced as the candidate. She has very specific talking points that she sticks to and she gets exposed any time she has to stray from that. Say all you want about "gotcha media" and liberal journalism, but you have to hold politicians responsible for what comes out of their mouths, regardless of the forum in which they are presented. John McCain's "Is that a pizza place?" defense is an absolute mockery of political discourse.

Moving on to the last Presidential debate...once again, nothing really out of the ordinary. There was a clear advantage for Obama in terms of appearance considering he just tends to look more comfortable and relaxed than McCain these days. Also, McCain wandering around the stage was somewhat confusing. Regardless, there was nothing said by either one that would really change minds either way as far as I am concerned. One interesting bit was McCain's proposal to buy troubled loans. Because for a guy who wants to put a freeze on spending and the expansion of government, that is a rather expensive and expansionist proposition. And apparently it has angered some Republicans. But what can I say? The guy is a Maverick. He is such a Maverick that he will propose something that goes against his own beliefs. And the Republicans try to say that Obama likes to play it both ways? Let's be honest at this point: both candidates continue to posture themselves for electability. At this point, it is clear who is making the more irrational decisions and moves. And that brings me to my next point of discussion.

According to Cindy McCain and the McCain camp, the Obama campaign is the dirtiest campaign in the history of Presidential campaigns. As you all well know, I have been paying close attention to these sorts of things over the last eight years or so. Personally, I believe that John McCain has a very short memory when it comes to dirty politics. Does he forget in 2000 when George W. Bush's campaign effectively ended the McCain candidacy in South Carolina? In that instance, rumors were spread by "unknown" sources that Cindy McCain was a drug addict and that one of their daughters was a black child fathered out of wedlock, amongst other things. Meanwhile, in 2008, the McCain campaign has been running TV ads that question Obama's connection to Bill Ayers. These commercials use Barack Obama and the word "terrorist" in the same sentence. But somehow the Obama campaign is the dirty one. I will not say that there have been some negative ads from the Obama campaign. But to say that they are more negative than the ads from the McCain campaign is a bit intellectually dishonest to me. The McCain commercials concerning Ayers are nothing more than attacks based on fears of many Americans. Is he a Muslim? Does he really hang out with terrorists? Many Americans have already learned about his association with Ayers because it was brought up during the Democratic primaries. So why is it an issue again? Because John McCain appears to be losing this election. Based on many polls that have been released in the last few weeks, he is losing major ground in most of the swing states. I am not one to put a lot of stock in polls, but the timing of these ads is impeccable. Never mind that John McCain said that he was going to bring it up during the last debate and did not say a word about it, but the Republicans have been operating in a very underhanded manner as of the last few weeks. You have Palin rallies where people call Obama a terrorist and some even go as far as saying "Kill him!". Up until a few days ago, the McCain campaign said nothing to address these outbursts. Now that they have, I am curious to see if the Palin strategy is revised. It is clear that she is being used as the attack dog and now McCain is the peacekeeper, so to speak. Can they continue to throw Palin out there to bring up the Ayers connection and hype crowds into a borderline frenzy and then apologize when people say offensive things? Or do they have to tone it down? My guess is that the polls will give us that answer. If the polls continue to move in the direction they are now, we will see one of two things out of the Republicans. The first is a pullback of the Ayers strategy, as I will call it. The second is a straight up nuclear campaign. My hope is that it tends more towards the first one. But who knows. For all I care, let John, Cindy and Sarah continue to talk about Obama's connection to someone who was a terrorist 40 years ago and is now a respected member of America's academic community. Meanwhile, Barack Obama and Joe Biden are out speaking about the stuff that is actually pertinent these days.

I know that was rather unstructured and extremely biased, but that is me. This is not the John McCain that I respected in 2000-early 2008. This is a desperate John McCain that realizes he may have to pull out all the stops to have a chance next month. Personally, I know there are a lot of Republicans who have been questioning his decision making. John would probably use that as another example of how he is a Maverick. However, there is a distinct line between being a Maverick and compromising the things that you once believed in. My hope is that John McCain takes serious stock of the overall climate of this country right now and decides to focus his attention on those things that actually matter. The American people deserve to have the next three weeks with their candidates speaking on how they are going to help the nation get out of this economic crisis and move forward with a responsible energy plan. We do not deserve to see the "guilty by association" game because it just does not matter.

I will try to keep more on top of writing here because this sort of thing really lacks focus and I think I am doing myself a bit of a disservice by trying to talk about everything all at once. Ah well. We have another debate this week so I plan on writing something that night. We will see if I can manage to stick to that. Ha.

So much on my mind...

Been meaning to write a lot more here in recent days, but I do not really know where to start. Nothing serious really going on, just a lot that I want to comment on these days. Work is...work. Ha. It has become somewhat frustrating lately as it has really turned into something kind of mind-numbing. Personally, what I am doing now has just run its course. Luckily, I have finally hit my year anniversary and I can apply to other positions within the company. As of right now, I'm surviving by waiting for my next day off or vacation time. For now, it is the camping trip later in October. I definitely need to get out into somewhere without a computer and a cell phone. Ironic? Maybe!

On to politics...we had the VP debate on Thursday night. I think I have to wait until after the next Presidential debate to write on both of those subjects. The financial crisis is still just sort of sitting out there despite the fact that we had the spectacular bailout plan passed last week. Nothing like tacking on an extra $100 billion to make sure that a plan passes in the House and Senate! Seems pretty damn counter intuitive to add more spending to a bill that is already going to cost the citizens of the country quite a bit. If the bill does not prevent further failures and the taxpayers do not see any profit from the plan in the end, we will see increased distrust and disdain for the government. And in this case, John McCain, Barack Obama and Joe Biden voted for it. So if you blame one, you blame the others. Regardless, I suppose we will see how the markets react in the coming weeks.

As for tonight, I think this is about it for writing. I will comment on the debates and the reactions/fallout from them after the next debate. I will talk to you all soon.

The week in politics

Quite the exciting week as far as politics is concerned. The last two weeks have seen a major economic crisis finally come to the forefront. We have seen more from the Republican VP nominee and the first of the Presidential debates. Now is the time when the majority of undecided voters in this country will begin to make up their minds concerning the election. Personally, I think that there was a lot of activity this week that should help a lot of independents make their decision.

First off, let me make a brief note on this economic crisis. There are way too many factors to pin this on just one thing. Bad loans, so-called "predatory lending", lack of regulations. Whichever cause you want to subscribe to, it is clear that this situation has been building for years. We saw the beginning of it earlier this year with the multitude of home foreclosures. How was that not a bigger signal to those that are truly influential in terms of the economy? All sorts of people dropped the ball here. Am I for a bail out? On the whole, I am not. I think that the majority of companies should not be saved just because they made poor business decisions. However, this situation is really unlike any that we have faced in this country. These institutions have way too much going on within various industries to fail at this point. While I admire those that would rather see them fail than see our government and taxpayers pay for the mistakes, I do believe that those individuals either do not understand what would become of the markets under this failure or do not care. A lot of the people who are against this bailout have enough money that it would make very little difference to them if one of these large banks simply disappeared. So I am eager to see this bailout plan and how certain groups are addresses (mainly the regular taxpayer).

On to the actual politics...this week we saw the beginning of an interview that Katie Couric had with the Republican VP nominee, Sarah Palin. Outside of an interview with Charlie Gibson, Palin has yet to really speak to the media since she has been announced. Plenty will disagree with me, but the interview with Couric reminded me exactly why she has been kept from fielding these sorts of questions. She looks and sounds like someone who has just crammed all night for a test and is getting called on by the professor in front of the class. She sticks to her talking points and when she strays from them, she struggles. At this point, when questioned about their running mate's credentials in terms of economic regulations, a VP should not be able to say, "I'll try to find you some and bring them to you." This is not a take home test. You do not have the luxury of getting back to me about these sorts of things when questioned. If Joe Biden was questioned about something concerning Barack Obama's experience and said, "Let me get back to you." he would get destroyed by the media. And Palin is seeing that she is not being received so favorably in light of this interview. Oddly enough, the part of the interview that frustrated me most had nothing to do with her answers on the economy or foreign policy because I anticipated her talking points on those matters. Her discussion of why she did not have a passport until continues to bother me for some reason. Here is her response to why she did not have a passport until last year:

"I'm not one of those who maybe came from a background of, you know, kids who perhaps graduate college and their parents give them a passport and give them a backpack and say go off and travel the world.

No, I've worked all my life. In fact, I usually had two jobs all my life until I had kids. I was not a part of, I guess, that culture. The way that I have understood the world is through education, through books, through mediums that have provided me a lot of perspective on the world."

Ummm....all right. I can only speak for myself, but I am also not one of "those" who maybe came from a background of, you know, kids who perhaps graduate college and travel the world on their parents dime. I have also worked all of my life. I don't believe there was any point that I had two jobs, but I took student loans out to pay for my college and I worked during many semesters. So extremely convoluted answer aside, I sort of take offense to the fact that she apparently views passports as items that are bestowed upon rich kids when they graduate college. I have traveled the world and I have done so thanks to my own bank account (and American Express), thank you very much. Despite the fact that I learned a whole lot about the world through education, I always felt that I could not understand parts of the world without actually going there. In other words, I think that her answer to this question is an inexcusable cop out. If someone can explain that she meant something else here, I would gladly appreciate the insight. As it is now, I feel as if she is trying to act like having a passport before your 40's is somehow out of the ordinary. That being said, I honestly think that attitude is born out of the fact that she lives in Alaska. I truly believe that Alaskan life is so outside of normal realm that we see in the lower 48 that she might not know any better. That would make more sense to me than trying to understand why she made the comment as if passports are only owned by those who are somehow privileged.

Wow. That was a bit much. But like I said, that is the thing that stood out to me the most. For whatever reason, I think that answer is a shining example of just how out of touch this woman is when it comes to normal American life. Then again, maybe that answer will play with those folks who believe that being closer to Russia somehow gives her foreign policy credentials. Which is another thing I could probably talk about for days, but I will not.

On to the debate that almost did not happen. First of all, I knew that it would happen from the get go. As soon as Obama said that he was going to show up regardless, I knew that the McCain campaign would not give him a free 90 minute campaign commercial simply to prove a point. Personally, I think that Obama was right in saying that sometimes presidents have to multitask. Plain and simple. That and the fact that both of them should have been in Washington working on this long before Thursday. Honestly, you either suspend the campaigns at the point where AIG failed (which was TWO weeks ago at this point) or you do not suspend them at all. Do not act like two days before the debate is scheduled is the right time to really hunker down and get back to Washington because both of you were absent for the preceding week and a half. I feel as if the move was pretty irrational, but that is what some of you will refer to as an example of how he's a "Maverick". That being said, I do not think that either John McCain or Barack Obama said anything in the debate to really set the other one back, as far as I'm concerned. The bigger thing that I noticed from the debate was the demeanor of the two. Obama was directly addressing McCain whereas I do not think that John looked him in the face a single time, not even during their handshakes. I will freely admit that Barack Obama has less foreign policy experience than John McCain. There isn't a single sane person in this country who will tell you otherwise. However, he spoke about foreign policy much more intelligently and rationally. And I think that this will be one of the biggest shifts moving forward. Much has been made about Obama's lack of experience. However, I believe that he showed a lot of people that not only could he hold his own on these discussions, but he could actually speak with enough intelligence to change some minds. I do not put much stock in polling, but all of the polls I have seen concerning this debate speak to how Obama has changed a lot of minds concerning whether he is ready to lead. And in that, I call a victory for him in this debate. I welcome any and all counterpoints to anything that I have said here. PBS was probably the best coverage from last night and even they noted the fact that McCain would not look at Obama. In their eyes, Obama came out looking like the more presidential of the two. In split screen shots, it was very reminiscent of the Kennedy/Nixon debates where one candidate looked relaxed and fresh while the other looked somewhat perturbed. We'll see how this progresses from here.

I am particularly excited about the VP debate in this coming week. Honestly, my opinion of Sarah Palin as a VP pick is further solidified each time she opens her mouth. As I mentioned above, she seems like a student who is desperately trying to impress her professor by regurgitating knowledge. However, much like the student who memorizes only what they think are the important points, she seems unable to give us her own opinion without stumbling. I think that the VP debate will be structured enough that she should be able to hold her own, but if it happens to go off on a tangent or if the moderator is allowed to ask follow up questions that might require some additional critical thought, I think she is going to have some trouble. But I have been wrong before and we shall see.

I know this was long and somewhat unfocused, but I figure that is better than writing nothing at all. Hope everyone is having a nice Saturday evening and I will talk to you soon.

Neglect

I didn't mean to go this long without writing something, but I got kind of sidetracked the last couple of weeks. Vegas was spectacular despite the fact that none of us won any money. It was still a blast, as it always is. Plus, I'll be back in November to avenge my losses...

Anyway, I was a bit under the weather after I returned from Vegas. Not sure if it was a result of lack of sleep and proper nutrition or it was just my body telling me that I should not have left Vegas, but I'm better now. Got my yearly cold out of the way. Last weekend, I saw the Drive-By Truckers and the Avett Brothers here in Charlottesville. The Avett Brothers were really good despite the fact that their opening set lasted nearly an hour and a half. Not sure I have ever seen an opening band play that long. Regardless, their new album is being produced by Rick Rubin and is sure to satisfy all the fans of mildly depressing alt-country music. The Truckers were spectacular as I expected. I have to admit that I liked them more when Jason Isbell was still with them, but they still put on a great show. Probably the strangest thing to me was the constant comments about how good it felt to be back in "The South". I guess Charlottesville is, but I have never really considered it a "Southern" city in any sense of the word. Regardless, I am trying my best to see them again this fall with The Hold Steady, but I am not sure I will be able to pull that off. The closest show is in Raleigh, but it's on a Monday. Little tough to pull that off. Ah well. Maybe I'll just go all out and hit the Nashville/Atlanta combo for Halloween. I get the feeling that my body will hate me if I decide to go down that route...

In terms of new music, Jenny Lewis' latest album, Acid Tongue, came out this week. First of all, I am absolutely in love with this woman. As far as I'm concerned, she could sing about doing her taxes and I would have to listen over and over. This album isn't as good as Rabbit Fur Coat (see album cover above), but there are some great moments. Once again, if this is something you want to hear, let me know and I'll help you out. For the record, I think she is extremely attractive in sort of a non-traditional way, so my love isn't just limited to her angelic voice. Her looks certainly help. Give me a girl with a voice like that who can play guitar and you pretty much have a vision of my ideal woman. What can I say? I am an absolutely sucker for female musicians. I went to see her with her band, Rilo Kiley, in Richmond back in June and I absolutely regret not professing my love. I'm sure I'm not the only one.

I have a lot to say about recent political stuff (the debates, the Sarah Palin-Katie Couric interview, etc) but I am going to make that a separate post because I think it deserves it. Expect that one shortly. For the time being, I am watching Georgia get absolutely dismantled by Alabama. Hopefully I'll write more tonight, but I cannot make any guarantees. They recently released Mega Man 9 on the Wii and my weekend has been somewhat consumed by nostalgic video game playing thus far. Feels like I'm in elementary school again...that is if I drank a bunch of beer when I was 9.

Dear Science

And now for something on a totally different topic...


The new TV on the Radio album is absolutely fantastic. I have not been able to pull myself away from it for the past few days. Technically, it comes out on September 23, but the Internet savvy folks know where to go it. If you do not, drop me a line and I'll help you find the way. Everyone that knows me knows I listen to a whole lot of music. To be totally honest, there is a lot of stuff that I get excited about for a week or two and then lose interest. This is not one of those albums. While I have been a fan of this band for a few years, this is really on another level. A lot of people did not think they would come close to what they achieved on Return to Cookie Mountain, but this one should smash right through any and all expectations.


This is the album that a lot of bands wished they put out this year. It has pop melodies and hooks that Coldplay wishes they could touch. It weaves in and out of various genres effortlessly in a way that makes My Morning Jacket's Evil Urges look rather immature. In some ways, I sort of feel like this is the sort of album that Radiohead could make now if they did not take themselves so seriously. And that is coming from someone who would list Radiohead at the very top of best/most influential bands of the last 20 years. Dear Science tackles upbeat music in the same way that OK Computer made being disillusioned hip.

At first blush, it is difficult to pin this album down. Elsewhere, you will probably read comparisons to Brian Eno-era David Bowie. And those comparisons are certainly applicable. But I hear much more Prince with some "Sexual Healing" Marvin Gaye thrown in. The influences will continue to reveal themselves through repeated listenings, but this is the first album I have heard in a while that sort of confuses me while intriguing me at the same time. With other albums that I have enjoyed this year, you sort of know what to expect from one track to the next. Here, you have no idea what is coming. "Crying" sounds like it was built off of "Nightshift" by The Commodores. The build up and eventual release are eeriely reminiscent of Radiohead's "Let Down" if it was played in 1984 by The Talking Heads. "Stork And Owl" features plucked strings and a backing beat that would not be out of place in an indie rap album. That is, if your typical indie rap album heavily featured a string quartet. "Family Tree" is what "Vida La Vida" would sound like if Chris Martin was not so comfortable making babies with Gweneth Paltrow and fighting for fair trade. And finally, "Lover's Day" is a raunchy shout out to just that...a lover's day. When I first listened to it, I was too in love with the music to listen to the lyrics. Upon paying attention, I was able to realize that there is much more substance to the triumphant music. It is a triumphant sex song, simply put.

The great thing about this album is that it is extremely witty without putting forth a ton of effort. There are a lot of bands out there that I love, but really seem forced when it comes down to it (The Hold Steady, I'm looking right at you!). Somehow, TV on the Radio has managed to create an album with such a lush musical and lyrical landscape while appearing non-chalant. There is nothing really laid back about this album. Do not let it fool you there. It is driving and inspiring. As cheesy as it may sound, I can only wait to hear a few choice tracks while I bask in the neon lights of Las Vegas later this week. I sort of get the impression that I will understand it even more in that environment.

On that note, you may not hear much from me until next week. Not that anyone is really reading this, but I will be in Vegas from Friday until Monday and who knows if I'll feel inspired enough to write something the next two nights...Take care.

Change?

Over the last week, the Republican Party has attempted to assert themselves as the party of change in 2008. Do they really think that America is that stupid? While Congress has been controlled by Democrats for the past two years, the White House and Capitol Hill have been under heavy Republican influence for the majority of the last eight years. But if you listen to Mitt "Mittens" Romney, he would have you believe that we are living under some "liberal" Washington. You know, the "liberal" Supreme Court that gave prisoners in Guantanamo Bay rights? The "liberal" President who got us involved in a war that had absolutely nothing to do with either weapons of mass destruction or 9/11? Man, they really must have fooled us. All along, I thought we were being led by conservatives. Thank goodness we have people like John McCain, Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani to let us know that they are going to take back Washington from...themselves.

Seriously America. Do you find it funny that the Republicans are suddenly the party of change when they've tried to denigrate a candidate because of his promise of change? Do you really think that the last eight years are the result of liberals controlling our policies? To steal a line from Gob Bluth...COME ON! If you are really happy with the last eight years in terms of politics, then you have no reason to vote for Barack Obama. Then again, you are probably profiting off of some policy that was either established by the Bush administration or expanded by it. However, if you feel like the last eight years were not what you were expecting out of a leader, then I think the choice is pretty clear. The burden of proof is on John McCain and Sarah Palin to explain how they are the party that will change Washington. And up until this point, they have done nothing of the sort.

John McCain used to be the kind of politician that I respected. If I had my choice, he probably would've been the President in 2000. I apologize to my fellow Democrats, but it is the truth. However, in the period of just one year, he has succumbed to the Republican base and essentially lost everything that made me respect him as a politician. What was once a viable alternative to George W. Bush is now his spitting image. And why is that? Because the Republican Party did not like him as a candidate until he started following the party line. This "Maverick" has become nothing but a pawn. Sarah Palin is clearly a brilliant pick for the party, but it is apparent that McCain is now ready to do whatever it takes to become the President and that means selling out at any point necessary. Remember how he pledged to keep this a clean race? Yeah. That's no different than the assertion that Obama promised to take public financing and then decided against that. In both cases, you had politicians who realized that it would not be in their best interests to follow through. Yet somehow Obama's situation is more indicative that he is not fit to lead. If you are going to criticize one for not keeping a promise, you must criticize the other. And that is what is not happening in this country right now. You have a Republicn Party that is crying foul that the media is not giving them a fair shake. And yet somehow, they are allowed to blatantly lie about the positions of their opposition without repercussion. Once again...COME ON!

The Republicans are trying to play us again and this time around, they have even less of a hand than they had in 2000 and 2004. Rudy Giuliani mentioned that he was upset at how infrequently the Democrats mentioned 9/11 during their convention. So what? 9/11 was absolutely tragic. Everyone will agree with that. However, this country has many more pressing issues than a terrorist attack that occured almost 7 years ago. For Rudy "I was the mayor of NYC during 9/11" Giuliani to bring that up shows how desperate the Republicans are this year. They are once again trying to prey on the fears of the American public. Why else would he make that comment about the Democrats? His point is that in not constantly talking about 9/11, the Democrats are somehow less capable of protecting our country.

Let us not allow this sort of politics to continue. We are more intelligent than that and we should not be played. This is way more important than Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative and pro-life or pro-choice. This is about where our country has been and where we must go. I can only hope that when that Tuesday in November comes, this country will decide that enough is enough.

Why I love/hate politics

Sarah Palin showed America tonight that she's ready to join the battle. It's just a shame that she did so by continuing the belittlement of someone's experience as a community organizer in an extremely low income neighborhood of Chicago. I am the last person to use the "experience" argument on either side of this year's election. But to use rhetoric to disparage someone who did work within his community is more of the same for the Republicans. Each time an election rolls around, I try to convince myself that they won't use the same ridiculous tactics that they've used in every election I have followed. Instead, they continue to prey on the fears of Americans in trying to convince them that the Democrats either can't keep this country safe or don't even care about doing so.

That being said, the Democrats now have a wealth of ammunition to go at her and John McCain. You want to claim that being a mayor and a governor gives you more executive experience than Barack Obama? Then you have to admit that it also makes her more experienced than John McCain. You want to talk about earmarks and the Bridge to Nowhere? Be ready for the media to dispute every word that you've said on the subject (and they've already begun). You want to talk about taxes in a borderline intellectually dishonest way? Expect the terms "ethics investigation" and "Trooper-Gate" to pop up here and there. Joe Biden is probably foaming at the mouth as we speak waiting to respond to her criticisms and I know that Plouffe and Axelrod will be ready.

My friends, I have no personal issues with Sarah Palin. I disagree completely with some of her policies concerning homosexual marriage and a women's right to choose, but I don't think she is a bad person. Keep her family out of this as I couldn't care less about her 17 year old daughter. However, as I already said, she is a political Hail Mary and she will be defended as such. To use a football analogy, what are you supposed to do when a team throws up a Hail Mary? You knock the ball down. That's all I'm saying. Good night.

"Maybe we're not strangers after all..."

The venue looked sort of like a big unfinished basement. The only difference was that this one had a stage at one end and a bar at the other. In between the bar and the stage, there were numerous bookshelves and fixed chairs interspersed with loose seats. The Gravity Lounge in Charlottesville is the closest thing to my personal approximation of what it was like to be in a coffee shop in Greenwich Village during the heyday of folk music. The Dutchess and the Duke are the kind of band that helped to reinforce that feeling. Walking into the venue a little before 10:30PM, I was under the assumption that the above band was the second band on the lineup. When I found out that was not the case, I was somewhat relieved. While I love music, I am not a huge fan of sitting through some band that I don't know waiting for the band I really want to see. Over the years, I've seen some pretty terrible opening bands so it was nice to avoid that for a change As I settled down in front of the stage with my beer, I wondered why not one else was sitting as close as I was. When the three band members (two actual members and a third from the second band) carried their acoustic guitars out and urged everyone to move up, I started to get an idea of what we were in for that evening.

Since She's the Dutchess, He's the Duke came out in July, it has been in steady rotation for my late night, pre-sleep music. Their sound is a throwback to a time when music was simpler and their recording techniques put that on display. The album sounds like the Dutchess and the Duke were sitting on my couch and I had microphones setup directly in front of them recording whatever came out of their mouths and instruments. The music also sounds familiar without being super derivative or formulaic, which is pretty difficult to pull off these days. This isn't your typical acoustic duo. Two guitars, two voices and a gentleman playing some light percussion. There were no microphones, no pretenses and no frills. They sat on the edge of the stage and played. There were some drinks, some jokes about port wine and even some audience participation. While that portion of the evening was the low point (how do bands always manage to pull the one guy out of the crowd without any semblance of rhythm?), they managed to plow through 11 songs in about 45 minutes. The harmonies came through as pure and the guitar work was crisp and precise. They weren't always totally in tune, but we didn't care. With stripped down instrumentation, the songs came through with even more impact. With a band like this, I would not want it any other way. Plus, I'm a sucker for attractive woman that can either sing or play guitar. Kimberly (The Dutchess) can do both.

Highlights for me were "Strangers" and "I'm Just a Ghost". The former ends with what is one of my favorite lines of recent memory "Well I've added up all the things you've done and I've taken a good look at the man that I've become. And maybe we're not strangers after all..." The latter starts off sounding positively like a ballad. But as the song moves forward, the intensity builds until the release of the group harmonizing on the phrase "I am just a ghost..." over and over. In the intimate, basement-like setting of the Gravity Lounge, it felt almost like a church hymn. And with the end of that song, the show was over.

I spoke with Jesse (The Duke) afterwards as I was buying a copy of their album (I held out because I was hoping they would have vinyl and they did). He is heading back to Seattle after they finish up this little tour in a couple of weeks and going back to school. Hearing things like that out of a band always scares me a little bit because you never know if that means they are done, but he assured me they are planning on writing another album. It would be a serious shame if they did not. A band like this deserves to get more attention, but you always run the risk of them getting too big for certain venues. The trouble with a band like The Dutchess and the Duke is what happens when their crowds get too large for a place like Gravity Lounge. You know how certain bands just don't seem right in particular venues? You wouldn't really want to see these guys in the 9:30 Club without more of a legit backing band and I think they would lose some appeal in that kind of setup. Maybe that's just me wanting them to come back to Charlottesville and play the same place again sometime. Or maybe I just can't stand going to the 9:30 Club anymore. Either way, everyone needs to give The Dutchess and the Duke a shot.

http://www.myspace.com/thedutchessandtheduke
http://hardlyart.com/dutchess_duke.html

Politics as usual?

It always makes me a little nervous to speak about my beliefs and hopes in terms of the political party or team that I support in a given year. Clearly, this is the result of the letdown that we Democrats experienced back in 2004. For a team to lose about Bush and Cheney at that point was inexcusable. But that is exactly what the Dems did. I didn't particularly like John Kerry or John Edwards, but the alternative was just not an option for me. At that point, I was really just getting back into politics on the whole and I didn't really follow the process from the beginning of the campaign season. Regardless, I supported the ticket. In the end, the Republicans painted the two as weak candidates and America apparently decided that it would rather have the known commodity in Bush and Cheney rather than go with two men that were perceived as weak. Flash forward to now and John Edwards' political career is all but finished due to his adultery. John Kerry, on the other hand, is able to be the powerful figure that he should have been in 2004. The Democrats had a convention where they effective displayed their power and put a solid platform on display. I am happy with their criticisms on the Republican Party and John McCain because they came across as being intelligent and forceful without stooping to typical political name-calling. Republicans will disagree with me, I'm sure.

At this point in time, the Republicans have just started their national convention. So let me talk about John McCain and Sarah Palin. Biggest political Hail Mary that I have ever been witness to? Without a doubt. As we are now finding out today, Palin was not thoroughly vetted by the McCain campaign. This is evidenced by the fact that McCain's team has sent some representatives to Alaska to delve a little deeper into her history. So far, there have been some interesting developments. I couldn't care less that her 17 year old daughter is pregnant. However, as more things come out about her in the next few days and weeks, it becomes more and more apparent that the decision to choose her as his VP was very rash on McCain's part. "Transparent" is a word that has been thrown around to describe the choice. I think that about sums it up. While the Republicans out there will tout her "Conservative-ness", it is a clear grasp at securing some of the Hillary Clinton dissidents. And the best that Hillary can do is go out and make it clear that Palin is not the same choice as Hillary. I didn't really agree with how Clinton handled the primary season, but she has shown since that she does have the power to be influential this fall. Depending on what comes out concerning Palin (and the list continues to grow as I type this!), Hillary might not have much work to do. It will be incredibly interesting to see how the Republicans frame the argument concerning the quick pick as we move forward in the process. For the time being, I'll just sit back and enjoy the digging.

There is plenty of time for things to change between now and November 4th. Nothing is guaranteed at this point. But if things continue to play out as they have recently, I do believe that Obama will be the next President of this country. I cannot begin to explain how much the thought of that inspires me. Trust me, I do not have any unrealistic expectations about what he may or may not do as President. As much as I would like to see it, I do not think that he will be able to change Washington as much as it needs to be changed. But I do believe that he will put the country back on track. We have moved so far off course in the last eight years and I just do not see the Republicans changing very much. Picking up a few more seats in the House and Senate will certainly help, so hopefully that pans out as well. This country is in need of a fresh look. Over the past 20 years, American has seen two familes control the political landscape. Regardless of who is elected this fall, that will change. The difference is that one candidate will most likely continue the traditions of the outgoing President while the other one will do his best to break those traditions.

What will we do this time around?

Good night...

Once again, this is the Democrats election to lose. But this year it just feels different. We have to candidates that aren't timid, neutered versions of themselves. I don't have much else to say tonight except for the fact that I am incredibly excited about this pairing. Looking back on Edwards accepting the VP nomination in 2004, tonight could not have been any more different. Of course, the Republicans will come out at their convention next week with their normal snake-like tendencies, but it will not work this year. Good night and god speed. I will return to this subject after the convention is over.

"Maybe you'll be President"

"But know right from wrong..."


Obama/Biden '08


If I've talked to you about politics in the last four years, you know I'm a big fan of Barack Obama. He first got my attention in 2004 as the keynote speaker at the Democratic National Convention. Appearing in stark contrast to John Kerry and John Edwards, Obama spoke with a sense of urgency and passion that would not be matched by either gentleman. Despite the fact that Kerry and Edwards lost to Bush and Cheney, Barack won his campaign and was thrust into the national spotlight. Watching him speak on the night of the election was a bright spot in an otherwise depressing evening. I bought his first book and never looked back in terms of my support. I can remember saying that I hope he runs for President in the future because he seemed like the kind of guy that could garner support from a wide group of people. Little did I know...

To be totally honest, he wasn't my first choice for the Democratic nominee in 2008. My heart was set on former Virginia governor, Mark Warner. I figured that Obama would want to stay in the Senate for a few years and I didn't really know whether or not he could go head to head with Hillary Clinton in the primaries. When Warner announced that he wouldn't be seeking the nomination, I wasn't exactly sure who I was going to support. Once again, I didn't really expect for Barack to make a run, but I said I would support him if he did. Needless to say, he announced his candidacy in early 2007 and I've been actively following the process.

For the first time, I really paid attention to the entire primary season and all of the craziness that goes along with it. It was sometimes very frustrating to see the Democrats seemingly tear themselves apart while John McCain sat back and watched, but I am happy with the result. Now, we just have to get him elected. I'm seriously contemplating a bit of a rant on why I can't even fathom why someone would vote for a Republican this November, but I'm not entirely sure we're ready for that here. There's a good chance I will go for it anyway, so keep your eyes peeled. And expect to be offended if you lean more towards the right...

"Never tell the one you want, that you do..."

"Save it for the deathbed, when you know you kept her wanting you."

So here is my first legit entry. You few who do end up reading this can expect a whole bunch of randomness. My ramblings tend to have quite a range. This space will be filled by discussions on music, politics, ridiculous sneakers, perhaps some religion and just life in general. I anticipate boring some but hopefully getting a few people to check out my words.

This is inspired by a dream I had the other night. And it is going to be a bit more personal than I initially anticipated. Honestly, I figured if I can get something extra personal out here in my first post then I should have a better chance of being able to do that in the future if necessary. No sense in climbing in the pool slowly. Just have to dive in.

Enough introduction. The other night I had a dream about the girl I went to senior prom with back in high school (Hi Katie!). It was not really anything out of ordinary for me as I have strange dreams all the time. Before anyone goes there, it was a very family friendly dream. For whatever reason, my dreams don't trend towards that realm very often. Basically, it just made me think of her and it has been a while since that happened. The last time she came up was around this time last year when I was in Vegas. One of her best friends was in Vegas and I met up with her and she asked if I had talked to Katie recently. At that point I had not and I still haven't. It's been a couple of years since we last spoke, at best. This doesn't really bother me as we had drifted apart over the years since I left college, but the dream the other night brought back a lot of old thoughts.

For one, most people regret attempting to date their high school boyfriend/girlfriend when they get to college. As I moved through my freshman year, I had the opposite regret. I regret not dating her that year. She and I kept quite close when I left, but neither of us ever made that move. At the time, I thought I was better off avoiding a commitment since I was going away to school and I expected to be blown away by the women at UVa. While I was definitely blown away, I didn't really have any meaningful relationships that year. Meanwhile, Katie and I spoke very frequently and we even wrote each other letters! Yes, like through the mail, stamps and envelopes, letters. These days the USPS is relegated to pre-approved credit card offers and Val-Pak coupons as far as I'm concerned. But at the time, it was something I anticipated. Funny how it is really the little things in life that keep you going.

As for Katie and I, we continued to keep in touch but eventually we grew further and further apart. Do I regret not attempting a relationship with her? I suppose I do to a certain extent. Not that I have anything against long distance relationships (it was only two hours away, but I didn't have a car my freshman year) but I doubt that I would have enjoyed making the effort to keep things going all the while getting settled in at college. But it is clearly one of those "You never know" sort of situations. Looking back on the last few years of my life, there's no way that I can say what would have happened had we even talked a little more often after that first year away.

Regardless, I think she is living in North Carolina with her boyfriend and hopefully she's doing well. Funny how something that happens when you sleep can stir emotions that you haven't felt in a long time. This ended up honestly a little more rambling than I anticipated, but oh well. Anyone who reads this is lucky that I didn't continue on my diatribe because I'm sure there is another five to ten pages or so on this subject stashed away in my mind somewhere. Save that for another day...

Testing this out...

Not sure whether this is going to last or what, but I'm going to try writing more frequently these days. If anyone reads this, I hope you enjoy.