The Pop View

I’ve sort of made my peace with P. J. O’Rourke. In the past, I regarded him as excessively snarky and he’s certainly not in line with my politics, but he’s a clever writer and he was probably right and I was probably wrong about some stuff in the Eighties.

Thanks to Kevin Drum, I read O’Rourke’s new piece on the House of the Future at Disneyland, both the past and present versions. In many ways, it’s a meditation on our interest in looking forward to the future or back at the past. But then he writes this:

And here we are in 2008. Name an avant-garde painter. Nope, dead. Nope, dead. Yep, Julian Schnabel is what I came up with too. But it’s been a quarter of a century since he was pasting busted plates on canvas. He’s making movies now. And movies are famously not any good anymore. Name a great living composer. Say “Andrew Lloyd Webber” and I’ll force you to sit through Cats and Starlight Express back-to-back. Theater is revivals and revivals of revivals and stuff like musicals made out of old Kellogg’s Rice Krispies commercials, with Nathan Lane as “Snap.” More modern poetry is written than read. Modern architecture leaks and the builders left their plumb bobs at home. The most prominent contemporary art form is one that is completely unimaginative (or is supposed to be): the memoir.

He’s suggesting that the big problem with our ability to be futuristic is a failure of imagination. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black! You want to talk about contemporary trends in the arts and you lead off with painting? So, painting isn’t teaming over with innovation and neither is classical music, theater, or poetry. Oh, my stars and garters! You don’t say! These new horseless carriages are frightfully noisy as well, don’t you think?

On top of which, it’s not even true. It reminds me of my little tirade about Joe Queenan’s thoughts on contemporary classical music. It sounds terribly arch and knowing, but it’s actually quite ignorant. There’s no original plays, just revivals? Not true. Not decent contemporary cinema? Not true. Screw Andrew Lloyd Weber, how about hip-hop or at least some decent rock ‘n’ roll?

Anyway, this sort of cranky wrong-headed contrarian backwards-looking whiny revisionist hey-you-kids-get-off-of-my-lawn cavillation just gets my goat.

So, knock it off.

Tags: future, House of the Future, Disneyland, P. J. O’Rourke

I’m kinda rushed on this, because I was out of town for Thanksgiving, but it is December 1 and I wanted to get the annual Christmas music orgy started.

Take a look at this post (or this one) to get the background, but the short version is that I’ve been collecting holiday music for decades and now you get to hear a few selections.

Although, upon further reflection, I guess I don’t have that much for as long as I’ve been at it, but as I’ve said before, I’m the one with this blog, so you’re just going to put up with it.

Right off, I wanted to go off with an extreme selection — a study in contrasts — a pair of versions of a real classic: “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas,” based on the Clement Moore poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas.” It’s been done many times in many ways.

What’s the odder thing about Liberace: That he was a hugely popular classical/pops pianist or that people didn’t assume straight off he was gay? They both seem mind-boggling to me. You might remember in a couple old Looney Tunes shorts (like this one at the 3-minute mark) the catchphrase “I wish my brother George was here.” Or you might know it from the Del tha Funkee Homosapien album. Or you might know it from Liberace himself. Anyway, here’s Liberace with his brother George.

And then, to go in the extreme opposite direction (in more ways than one), here is Henry Rollins taking a whack at the same song. How old am I that I still think of Rollins as the former lead singer for Black Flag? Old, indeed.

Liberace with George Liberace & His Orchestra - ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas — BUY

Henry Rollins - Twas the Night Before Christmas — BUY

Tags: Christmas music, Liberace, Henry Rollins, ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas

In the Eighties, I had several reliable radio choices in L.A. There was KROQ, the new wave/alternative rock station. The was KCRW, the NPR affiliate. And there was KPFK, the Pacifica affiliate.

KROQ was admittedly commercial, even back in its glory days (It has totally sucked for many years). KCRW did present some alternative music choices, such as English acts even KROQ wouldn’t play. On KPFK, I’d hear stuff like Charles Ives and obscure 50’s R&B. It was a good combo.

But even back then, as good as KCRW was, it seemed a little too smooth and safe in its choices. For example, I don’t recall them ever regularly playing punk rock — in L.A, in the Eighties! I don’t think they played much in the way of hip-hop — except perhaps that Coldcut remix of a Eric B. & Rakim that mixed in Yemenite singer Ofra Haza. See, that’s the kind of thing they’d do. Reminiscent of the stuff you hear in Starbucks today.

(NOTE: I forgot about AM radio station KDAY, my source for all things hip-hop back in the day.)

Anyway, there’s always been a music director that would lead the way, and the current guy is stepping down.

• KCRW Music Director Steps Down
• Nic Harcourt Throws In ‘Eclectic’ Towel
• KCRW’s Nic Harcourt steps down

Here’s a 2005 profile of Harcourt: The Star Maker of the Semipopular.

My brother (who still lives in L.A.) sent me a note to remind me that Harcourt’s predecessors — Tom Schnabel and Chris Douridas — also lasted about a decade each. They broke a lot of great acts and they played a lot of great music, but they also created a pretty sterile sound. Edgy, but not too. Adventurous — like that eco tour in Costa Rica.

My recollection is that there was a little more variety in the mid Eighties, with some of the late night and weekend music shows. Maybe that’s misty water-colored memories, but that’s the way I remember it. Those were the days when I’d hear a song on the radio for the first (maybe only) time and have to go run out and buy an copy (maybe expensive import vinyl) at a store like Moby Disc or Poobah’s.

If you can remember any of those old KCRW shows, drop me a line at thepopview@gmail.com.

UPDATE: Mickey Kaus put it like this:

Nic Harcourt, who for a decade has deadened L.A. musical culture (much like the L.A. Times deadened L.A. political culture) with his soul-killing taste for breathy pop and humorless delivery is leaving his influential position as music director for local NPR affiliate KCRW.

Tags: KCRW, Morning Becomes Eclectic, Nic Harcourt, Los Angeles, L.A., radio, KDAY, KPFK

There’s kind of a rule in national politics. Man, you better at least carry your home state. Walter Mondale got creamed by Reagan in ‘84, but he won his home state of Minnesota. In part, Al Gore lost in 2000 because he didn’t win his home state of Tennessee.

So, it’s probably not helpful for John McCain that he’s in a little bit of trouble in his home state of Arizona. I’m not convinced he’ll lose there tomorrow, but I’d be very pleased if he did. Not because of what it would mean for the overall election, although that’d be nice. It’s because of a little bit of history.

Ta-Nehisi Coates reminds me that John McCain and the state of Arizona fought against the establishment of Martin Luther King’s birthday as a holiday. McCain voted against MLK Day and then supported Republican Arizona Governor Meachum’s efforts to keep the holiday out of Arizona. He expressed regret years later, but then he seems to have a record of acting badly and apologizing later.

In ‘91, Public Enemy released a song called “By the Time I Get to Arizona.” It expresses a revenge fantasy against Arizona Governor Fife Symington III for his opposition to celebrating the holiday. While violence is, of course, wrong, one can understand the sentiment. It would certainly add to my satisfaction if Barack Obama won Arizona.

I offer here a teeny bit of remix work, with the addition of a radio PSA from Public Enemy.

Seriously, people are afraid of Barack Obama as a black man? He scares people? Are there white people who don’t know what a real scary black man looks like?

You heard the rumor about Barack being the secret offspring of Malcolm X? No, seriously! It sounds batshit, I know, but it turns out that it is completely batshit insane. But I understand the impulse. It hearkens back to the Sixties, when we had real black activists we could truly be terrified of, that they would break into our houses at night and rape our women and cut our throats. *sigh*

The one point of comparison is that Malcolm X always impressed me with his skill of using intellect as a weapon. He didn’t bomb buildings, he used his words to attack the white power structure. If you listen to his speeches or read The Autobiography of Malcolm X, you’re struck at how he constructs arguments and how he sometimes employs humor.

Keith LeBlanc of the group Tackhead cut a track in ‘83 using bits of Malcolm’s speeches laid over a funky track. It’s not a good representation of Malcolm’s verbal power, but you can dance to it.

So, is Barack Obama Malcolm X reborn? Hardly. But, of course, as a African American male, he is descended from all who have come before. He is the culmination of a line that goes back to the early days of our country. He is the fulfillment of a dream that has been a long time coming.

I’m going to vote for him and hope for his victory because I think he is the best choice to run this country. But I will take extra satisfaction in his victory tomorrow.

I understand the fear of black America. I am not condescending of those who are nervous of what will happen. But I am ready for us all to move on.

I don’t think people who vote for John McCain are secret racists. I don’t think that a potential Obama loss will be due to racism. I really relate to the attitude that Ta-Nehisi Coates has expressed over and over: There are racists; so what? Are black people going to sit and around and let that stuff hold them back or are they going to ignore what they can’t control and just move on with achieving what they want to achieve?

So load these tracks on your MP3 player and head off to the polls tomorrow. Let’s get this done, son.

Public Enemy - By the Time I Get to Arizona (Acca-Double Dub PSA Mix)

Malcolm X - No Sell Out — BUY

Tags: Malcolm X, Barack Obama, Public Enemy

My granddaughter Violet in a pumpkin patch in Maryland. I’m very excited about her first Halloween, since that holiday is very important to me, but I’m going to miss it. As I write this, it’s already Halloween night in Kowloon, China. I’m getting on a plane soon; by the time I land in L.A., it’ll be around 9:00 p.m. on Halloween and she’ll be fast asleep.

Halloween revelers in the Lan Kwai Fong area of Hong Kong. I actually shot this last night (Oct. 30) and there were only a few people wandering around in costume. I understand it gets pretty crazy. Here’s a brief YouTube video of Halloween in Lan Kwai Fong; here’s a longer view of the festivities (Part One & Part Two).

Tags: Halloween, pumpkins, baby pictures, Kowloon, Hong Kong, Lan Kwai Fong

Halloween’s coming up and I’m out of the country. But, I’m with you in spirit, so here are two timely videos for the season.

Shades of Petra Haden, François Macré performs the Michael Jackson classic “Thriller” a capella on 64 tracks.

The crazy story behind the Filipino prisoners re-enacting the music video “Thriller” make this one even crazier and a little chilling.

Tags: Thriller, Michael Jackson, François Macré, Filipino, prisoners

Well, I’m kinda on a political roll… What can I tell you? At least I’m posting, right?

I’ve never said anything about Keith Olbermann and his program Countdown. I was a fan of his old program The Big Show and found him to be a witty and erudite host. So I enjoyed Countdown and found it to be a clever form of a news program and vastly preferable to most of the talking heads chat-fests on cable news.

But as time went by, Keith Olbermann got more and more political, becoming more vocal about his feelings about the Bush administration. Let’s make this clear: As much as critics might like to charge Olbermann as being liberal, he’s really not. He is very vocal in his opposition to conservatives, but his guests always always represent mainstream Washington and journalism. Having Howard Fineman on night after night ain’t liberal.

Even as a fan, I find it pretty tiresome when he gets on his high horse, even if I agree with him. And let’s take a look at a recent example to see what I mean.

Recently the McCain campaign has been using these talking points about real Americans and those who are un-American. I found those remarks to be offensive. So did Keith Oblbermann. So, he did one of his Special Comments.

“High dudgeon,” I believe, is the phrase. The problem is that Olbermann has delivered dozens of these Special Comments. Are we to judge his anger as genuine or contrived? When righteousness becomes a schtick, you turn from Edward R. Murrow to Howard Beale.

Jon Stewart and The Daily Show are also frequently accused of being liberal. Their defense — Stewart’s, specifically — is that they’re a comedy show and their job is to make us laugh. But now and again, you get a real flash of anger. Here’s Jon Stewart, from the same night as Olbermann’s Special Comment and reacting to the same issue. Particularly note the bit that starts about 2:30.

So, Stewart’s point is that to say that American small towns are real, while suggesting that those big cities that were attacked on 9/11 for their symbolic importance aren’t real, is terribly insulting. But he does it through irony and sarcasm.

The bit continues in this section; the episode also included interview footage of an Alaskan stating that 9/11 impacted people like him more than residents of New York City.

I prefer this approach to bombast. I suppose one could argue that ironic detachment is a crutch and dishonest. I guess that’s true. But raw naked emotion is a special elixir and one can’t go to that well very often without appearing an ass.

Tags: Kieth Olbermann, Jon Stewart, Sarah Palin, John McCain, The Daily Show, un-American

Like a lot of you, I’ve been following the political skits on SNL (see previous comments here). And so I was quite interested in Sarah Palin’s appearance this past weekend; it’s not often that the subject of political satire chooses to participate.

Once can think of John McCain’s appearance on SNL back in 2002, but he wasn’t running for president then. Or Ron Nessen’s appearance in in ‘76, when he was White House Press Secretary and the show savaged President Gerald Ford.

Earlier this year, both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton made brief appearances on SNL, but in both cases they were positive portrayals (Unlike the way Peyton Manning mocked his own image.). I was a little concerned when I heard that Sarah Palin was going to show up that it would be self-serving and a glorification of herself. In other words, did her willing participation mean a whitewash?

Having watched her two appearances a few times, and enjoyed them immensely, I have formed an opinion. Excuse my language, but there’s a technical term to describe the way Palin handled this situation: chickenshit.

Here are her appearances: Once in the opener and again in the news segment.

Note that SNL mocks her mercilessly. Governor Palin doesn’t participate, but she’s supposed to get credit for showing up and being a good sport about it. She gets to “Have her cake and eat it too.”

The “Weekend Update” rap song brings up McCain’s age, Palin’s attractiveness, her lack of experience, the Bridge to Nowhere, Joe the Plumber, the Ayers attacks. Her entire aggressive demeanor on the campaign trail is couched in terms of the violent braggadocio of gangsta rap. And the whole time, Palin sits there rocking out, having a good time, seemingly oblivious to the fact that they’re making fun of her right to her face. She’s not overturning the satire. She’s not making fun of herself. She’s just showing up.

[Rule of comedy: If people think you’re dumb and you do a parody that makes you look even dumber, the whole thing flips and you get credit for actually being smart. See Paris Hilton.]

Compare to the time Natalie Portman showed up and also performed in a gangsta rap skit that mocked her image. She made fun of herself (much like Manning) and came out looking smarter for it. No cluelessness there.

UPDATE: See this analysis from Alessandra Stanley. Palin is described as offering an “engaging, relaxed performance on ‘SNL'’ and “bopping and swaying to a satirical rap song.” Stanley argues “The ‘SNL’ skits gave Ms. Palin the last word in every joke.” Only in the sense that she literally speaks last in the skits.

Tags: Sarah Palin, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, SNL

I’ve mentioned many times before of my keen interest in the culture wars (e.g. see here). But something has changed.

For example, in the Fifties, the lines were clear. Rock ‘n’ roll was the devil’s music and a tool of anti-American forces. Patti Page and Perry Como were on the side of goodness and patriotism. Today, country music is the go-to genre for patriotism, but the lyrics are also full of such adult themes as drinking and cheating. This is not a bad thing, but it demonstrates how the lines have blurred.

National politician with a pregnant unmarried teenage daughter — what does it mean? In 2008, it turns out to stand for truly living the pro-life stance. When we learned in ‘92 that Bill Clinton had inhaled, it was a big deal. Now, despite attempts by certain Republicans to make it a big deal, Obama’s well-known past drug use isn’t making waves at all. Libertarian Ron Paul attracted a lot of support from young people for his decriminalization approach to marijuana. Many conservatives have championed literacy and knowledge in the past, but are now celebrating the down-home mispronouncing of nations’ names, instead of the “ostentatiously exotic” actual pronunciation.

So, it’s a little hard today to figure out what issues define each side of the culture wars. At the same time, it’s more tempting than ever to find two opposing sides and then draw a line between them.

For example, a few weeks ago, two movies opened on the same weekend: Religulous and An American Carol. Religulous is the product of the liberal/libertarian Bill Maher and is a satirical attack on religion. An American Carol is the product of Hollywood conservatives and is a satirical attack on Michael Moore. Somewhere I had read somebody comparing their opening box office weekends. I started looking up a few figures and posted about it on Twitter (1, 2, 3, 4).

I had fallen into the trap: One movie represented one side of an argument and one represented the other and they would fight it out in the marketplace and one side would win. I haven’t seen either movie; maybe they both suck. Or maybe one is good and one is bad, but the bad one makes a ton on money and the good one tanks. or whatever.

Michelle Malkin once wrote about giving up Starbucks for Dunkin’ Donuts and, in addition to the obvious price savings, she put a political spin on it. This actually makes a bit of sense, as they are culturally different (as described in this study). But this was a bit of a theme in this election: this notion of elitist Starbucks versus regular guy Dunkin’ Donuts. Friggin’ Starbucks is everywhere; it’s the McDonald’s of coffee; it’s a potent symbol of global corporatization. How can it be elitist? It got even more confusing when Malkin accused Dunkin’ Donuts of supporting Palestinian jihad. Where does a patriot go for coffee now? The Golden Arches, enemy of frivolous lawsuits?

Then there’s eruca sativa, known as arugula or rocket. Senator Barack Obama made a comment last summer about the prices charged for argula. What an elitist! What a dimwit! Iowans are reg’lar folk — they don’t know from Whole Foods or arugula. Well, they don’t have Whole Foods in Iowa, but they got ‘em in Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, and other parts of the Midwest. And it turns out Iowa farmers do grow argula.

Matt Yglesias pointed out that we’ve seen “the rise of a mass gourmet culture.” Stuff like argula and espresso ain’t a cheeseburger and a six-pack, but it’s becoming increasingly mainstream.

Compare this to my post of two years ago, when I quoted from a 2004 profile of two restaurants in New Martinsville, WV. A Bob Evans customers thinks anything beyond salt & pepper is exotic.

Every one of these examples I cite provides two cultural choices. Everybody lines up on one side or the other. One thinks the other side is dumb, fascist or sheep-like. One thinks the other is arrogant, elitist and weird. They’re both right. They’re both wrong.

Film director Frank Capra was a pretty conservative guy, but his movies often espouse liberal values. Arugula might have the image of taking off in the Nineties, but years ago it would be served by conservative Italian American families.

I think there might be more than two sides…

Tags: Religulous, An American Carol, Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts, Barack Obama, arugula, Whole Foods, Bob Evans

You may recall this post from three months ago, which concerned someone unexpectedly performing “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing” to the tune of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” in place of a tradition version of the National Anthem. In light of this more recent news from Virginia (via Matt Yglesias), it’s good to revisit the issue.

Bobby May is part of the McCain-Palin Virginia Leadership Team and Treasurer of the Buchanan County (VA) Republican Party. The L.A. Times describes describes a piece he wrote as a supposed parody of the Obama platform.

A local newspaper columnist, in a spoof of Obama’s platform, wrote in one recent piece that the Democrat would hire the rapper Ludacris to paint the White House black (a reference to a pro-Obama song by Ludacris), and divert more foreign aid to Africa so “the Obama family there can skim enough to allow them to free their goats and live the American Dream.” He joked that Obama would replace the 50 stars on the U.S. flag “with a star and crescent logo,” an Islamic symbol, and that his policy on drugs would be to “raise taxes to pay for Obama’s inner-city political base.”

Oh, and he also said Obama supports the teaching of Mandatory Black Liberation Theology classes in all churches and the appointment of Al Sharpton as Secretary of State.

Of course, one might attempt to counter this story by noting the recent apology from the Dallas Mavericks’ Josh Howard.

Howard was speaking to media members for the first time since his July rant at a charity event. When “The Star-Spangled Banner” was playing, he said that he doesn’t celebrate the song because he’s black. The video eventually made it onto YouTube.

His comments seemed to go something like this:

“The Star-Spangled Banner” is going on. I don’t celebrate this shit. I’m black, God dammit. Obama ‘08. Obama and all that shit.

So, we have comments from Bobby May and Josh Howard. We can take them equally seriously, or we can pass them off as stupidity and ignorance (or at least carelessness).

But the question remains about where one places one’s allegiance regarding self and country. Whites may believe that blacks have a higher allegiance to their race than their country and their fellow non-black countrymen. African Americans may believe that America has never treated them in a way that engenders respect and therefore self-reliance is paramount.

What does seem clear to me is that the notion that Barack Obama has some secret plan to take over the country and let it be run by the Black Panthers (or Al-Qaeda, depending on your thinking) seems nuts to me.

P.S. If the rumors were true, then Obama would hire George Clinton to paint the White House black.

Tags: Barack Obama, Bobby May, Josh Howard, Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing