A year ago

It was about a year ago that I bought the Melissa Etheridge Christmas album, "A New thought for Christmas". I enjoy exploring more recent Christmas music, and I've liked Etheridge for years now. There are many good tracks on the album, but one of the most powerful was definitely "Christmas in America", which contains these lines:

The girls are down at Ruby's
trying to find some Christmas cheer
There's not much to do but drink too much
When every day is unclear

So here I am on Christmas Eve
This silent holy night
And I reach up to the stars for you
and I pray that you're all right

Hey mister, send my baby home
This December, don't wanna be all alone
It's Christmas in America, I need you in my arms
Far away from harm
Mister, send my baby home

I bought this album in late November, when the glow of Obama's victory was still fresh. I'd listen to this song, thinking next year, it will be different! President Obama, well into the flow of his presidency, will have pulled us out of these thankless occupations -- occupations with too little investment to result in nation-building, yet too much to avoid real damage. Obama is going to end the madness. I got to the point where I would heartily sing along, replacing the word "mis-ter" with a rather bunched up "Oba-ma, send my baby home." Because I knew he'd do that for all those with a part of their soul wearing a uniform in Asia.

But no, how wrong I was. Obama is going to double down on the madness, thinking that we can pacify Afghanistan in a way the Russian and British couldn't if we just send more people and money there. Thirty thousand more kids, trained to kill, instead forced to act as community organizers/cops/civil corps in an alien culture. The same crap that we got with Bush -- the same mission creep, the same vague goals, the same implausible exit strategy. It's been batted around to death for a couple weeks now, but in the end this is exactly the move I would have expected McCain, or Bush himself, to make.

Last year in 2008, I'd listen to "Christmas in America", eyes watering, thinking that in 2009 that song would be losing relevance. Instead, it will be every bit as meaningful in 2009...and 2010...and 2011...and...

On the lighter side...

...there's been a lot of heavy stuff out there on the Senate race, health care, and education lately, so I need to ease off the gas.

So today's topic -- what do you see as the catchiest songs in the world? These are songs that burrow into your mind right before you turn off the car or mp3 player, and spool over and over again through your head. Some are pleasures, whereas others just will not go away. It's not just you and me, by the way...there's actual science behind this phenomenon and you can even get some university intervention.

I bring this up because I discovered a recent ditty Robbie Williams last week, a piece of fluff really, that won't go away. I have played it into the ground, and still it plays in my mind. It's called "Do You Mind?" and it's superficial and catchy as heck -- press the play button below if you dare...



There are others that just won't go away, love 'em or hate 'em. Here are some of the earworms to which I'm most vulnerable:

• "You Belong with Me" by Taylor Swift (embarrassing, that one)
• "Shoop" by Salt-n-Pepa
• "Santa Claus is Coming to Town"
• "Theme to 'Indiana Jones'"
• "Sensualité" by Axelle Red
• "Get Off My Cloud" by The Rolling Stones
• "Hey Jude" by The Beatles
• "All That Jazz"
• "Raspberry Beret" by Prince
• "Narhwals" by the Weebl
  

What about you?

Quick notes

• Using stupid nicknames just makes the user look stupid. Anyone who calls her "Ka-Ching" Murray or him "Cadillac" Deval is demanding to be laughed at. Similarly, anyone who calls Tim Cahill not a Democrat just because of a difference of opinion is a risible, as well. Especially since our platform is now so meaningless that Cahill can say pretty much whatever he wants and still fit into our platform.
• I do enjoy watching people try to pretend that Deval Patrick's loss on the tax battle is some sort of victory. He managed to get from a blowout to a tie, which is very admirable. Let's not exaggerate, however. The biggest impact on the Commonwealth is the higher sales tax, which Deval is preparing to take ownership of.
• In any case, "tougher" ethics laws are very nice but beside the point. Unless you take the lawyers seriously, the issue with Wilkerson, Turner, et al isn't the ethics laws. These people knew the laws and felt they could break them with impunity. That is an issue as much about the people as the laws. Write whatever reforms you want, but the surest way to stop ethics violations is th elect ethical people. The almost-as-sure way is serious campaign finance reform, and I don't hear Deval saying anything about that.
  
• I may well be tired of Michael Jackson's music by the end of July.
• Hub Blog sadly lobbies to place Michael Jackson above Prince as a rock immortal. Hardly. Jackson sang, but sadly other people told him what to sing and how to sing it. Prince wrote, played the guitar, sang, orchestrated, produced, and in his spare time acted. They can match up well in terms of musical impact, but Prince is so, so much more talented. Jackson's dancing was largely derivative from James Brown, and Quincy Jones could make me sound like a genius on an album. Prince's music is thoroughly him, not his "team". No contest.
• Marry in Mass comes away with a positive reaction to Menino from an interview. Of course he did well -- loathe as self-defined progressives hate to admit it, Menino is a great mayor. He's no visionary (of course, we're pretending the Big Dig wasn't a massive vision) but an effective manager who has managed to personally meet a self-reported 57% of the people of Boston. I'll keep saying it: the only two prominent Bay State politicians who love their current jobs are Tom Menino and Ted Kennedy.
• In the musical 1776, the New York delegation relates how their state assembly sent them with no instructions because (paraphrasing) "it's a confused place where everybody shouts over each other and not very much gets done." At least on the Senate side, they've somehow managed to go downhill from there.

Shallow weekend thoughts

• Utah Gov. Huntsman is the Mike Huckabee of 2012 -- a lucid, reasonable, friendly Republican. He even goes Huckabee one step further by toning down the hidden fanaticism...he's endorsing civil union for same-sex couples. Oh, and check this radical proposal that Republicans should contribute ideas of their own, rather than reject the President's...wow.
• I hadn't realized that the Mongolian Embassy in Washington, D.C. had contacted "Mayor Anthony A.Williams about the possibility of erecting of a statue of Chinggis Khaan [Genghis Khan] in Washington D.C in honor of his contribution to the world civilization in 2005. As the Embassy of Mongolia is now working to add its national hero’s name in the list of Monuments in Washington D.C., we would welcome your comments on the idea of erecting the statue of Chinggis Khaan..." While I admire the great contributions and leadership of Chinggis Khaan, I will admit that a statue of a 13th century Asian conqueror would be a surprise to come across in D.C.
  
• Ever since Sal DiMasi got cashiered shortly after opposing casino interests, the de facto leader of the Opposition here in the Commonwealth has been Treasurer Tim Cahill. Most of his ideas are not that bright, particularly his keystone concept of warehouse-like slot machine parlors. Megaresorts such as Mohegan Sun put out the ritz to attract the high rollers, the "whales", as well as the middle class looking for spectacle. A warehouse is squarely aimed at gambling addicts who can't afford to play. Not a good idea, no more than the idea that anonymous people around Cahill are rumored by the Globe to be considering an independent bid for governor in 2010, either. All that said...it's nice to have somebody challenging the governor. Heaven knows the Massachusetts Republicans obviously can't do it (called out by the Healey-McCain Herald, no less!) and with DiMasi gone, somebody had to step up. Their eager distortion of that independent bid tidbit, complete with editing out relevant quotes that detract from the persecution complex, is proof enough of blind loyalty. This is a cult of personality that would do Gaius Baltar proud, but cripples our ability to focus on issues rather than slogans.
• Speaking of which, last week's episode of BSG had too much crying, not enough doing. Next week better be, well, better. The whole series ends in two episodes...and with BSG gone, and Leverage off until June, the television turns off for a while over to March Madness, then the NBA Finals, then...
• Gaming out costs by day -- whether it's tax rate restoration or gas tax hikes or anything else, is dishonest in my mind. Almost anything sounds cheap if you divide it by 365. It might sound crazy to donate $200 to me every year to keep this blog going, but keep in mind that's less than a donut per day!
• I'm musing this idea: a basket of 1 stock each from CitiGroup, AIG, Wachovia, and ING would cost $9.27 right now. If I were to purchase some 30 "baskets" right now on the bet that if even one of these companies survives the next 18 months, their stock will restore to a spot where I could sell the whole lot for profit. As the old saying goes, "the time to buy is when there's blood on the streets."
  
• We have way too many stores already, as evidenced by the failures of Circuit City, Steve & Barry's, KB Toys, and Linens'n'Things. So which stores do the fine people of West Bridgewater expect to come into the retail center they just voted to approve?
• Yes, you too can support Roland Burris's 2010 run for Senator! Thus far, the only portions of the website that work are his biography and donation link. Nothing on issues or endorsements.
• It's astounding how many Obama nominees screwed up their taxes. It's also astounding how "didn't adequately itemize minor items and violated byzantine codicils in the tax code" has become "didn't pay their taxes," as if it were volition and not inadequate counseling.
• Question here -- every day or so I'm tooling down the highway when we come up to a construction area with a police officer staring down the hole that's been dug, or sitting in the cruiser with the lights on. Everyone slows down to 65. I've never been sure if said officer has the liberty to leave the construction scene which s/he is being paid to observe and chase off after a speeder. And for those times s/he is outside the vehicle, how would even be possible to generate a speed to write on the driver's ticket? Do we even have to worry about this happening?
• "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz has to be the most cloying, saccharin, desperate stuffing of pretentious cuteness into 3 minutes 20 seconds of banal lyrics and unnoticeable music that's been released in decades. If this is what he turns out after 7 years releasing albums, he should just quit. Ugh.
  

Thoughts on the way back from the video store

-It's getting ridiculous that a late fee from a video store can sometimes end up less than the cost of gas to deliver the DVD on a dedicated trip.

-The movie was The Golden Compass, the subject of this blog's first post. Nicole Kidman is to be credited with a good portrayal of one of the more elegantly conceived characters I've come across. The ending is foolish but necessary from a Hollywood perspective, and falls short of the book's. And Hollywood's decision to remove religion from the story in any significant way -- recasting the Dobsonesque theocracy called the Magisterium as a simple tyranny, and slipping only one oblique mention of God -- rather neuters the story. Still a good story, but not what it truly is -- imagine The Hunt For Red October without the fact that the Soviets and Americans were bitter enemies. I have no idea if they can keep that up for the rest of the story arc without kneecapping the richness of the narrative.

-It's funny that the symbol for Christianity is a painful method of execution, for Judaism a military shield, and for Islam a serene astronomical scene.

-John Meyer has about as much business singing "Free Fallin'" as Osama bin Laden would have singing "Hava Nagila". Combined with Kid Rock's Frankensteinian hybridization of "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Werewolves of London", this is a bad summer for remakes. Not that remakes are all bad, mind you: Billy Idol did a great "Mony, Mony", Celine Dion's English career was launched with her remake of Jennifer Rush's "The Power of Love". But the ultimate remake is so well-known, that few people realize that it is a remake:

Does death make songs better?

Funny thing that two of the best songs ever recorded were released after the deaths of their main singers:

"Me and Bobby McGee" by Janis Joplin

and

"Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay" by Otis Redding

Any other examples come to mind?