Right Here, Right Now
I was alive and I waited, waited
I was alive and I waited for this
This song has been going through my brain all week. Maybe it was when I read about the Kentucky teachers following in the footsteps of those in West Virginia.
It was not supposed to be this way. The Wall fell and democracy was gonna reign, that’s what Jesus Jones’s “Right Here, Right Now” is all about.
The song was promoted by SBK, back when record companies were burgeoning, when new ones were being formed on a regular basis. With a crack promotion staff run by Daniel Glass, SBK made hits of one-offs no one else wanted to touch, like tracks by Technotronic and Vanilla Ice.
And Jesus Jones.
The fruit of a relationship with the U.K.’s Food Records.
And the irony is that “Right Here, Right Now” was not a big hit in the U.K.
But over here?
I remember going to see the band in Ackerman Hall at UCLA. The band lit into this number and heads exploded, the assembled multitude was freaking out like jumping beans, they just had to release that energy.
And SBK was folded into EMI which ultimately disappeared entirely.
As did Jesus Jones.
But it was not smooth sailing.
The internet came along and disrupted the music business.
And then movies and news, even though each of those industries refuses to read the memo.
There’s something happening here and it sure ain’t exactly clear.
Forget that the studios won’t go to day and date, the media missed Trump and now they’re missing what’s coming next. Gun control was supposedly impossible, and it’s not politics as usual.
A centrist Democrat wins in Pennsylvania and the analysis by the usual suspects is the party must run to the center, not understanding that this is how they got into this mess to begin with. Even I winced when Hillary Clinton said her favorite book was the Bible, who can believe in a liar like that? Whereas Bernie Sanders resonated with the heart and soul of the party, those who were not triangulating, those running on emotion, who felt the game was rigged and it’s better to turn over the table than try and fix it.
That’s what Trump ran on and won. He tapped into dissatisfaction.
And the dissatisfaction is rampant. As are the stories. The AP just detailed the failure of the tax cuts in Oklahoma. We’ve been sold a bill of goods, that those who are rich know better, are the job creators. Meanwhile, everybody in entertainment just wants to be rich too, not realizing that their power is in their voice, and that’s much more powerful than money.
So it was Ferguson. Then it was #MeToo. Now Parkland. The entire nation has been turned upside down.
A woman on the radio talked about revolution
When it’s already passed her by
The baby boomer establishment believes it’s still in charge. Feels that the story is fake news, the perils of technology, whereas those truly spearheading the revolt are using the tools of the future to get their message heard.
Bob Dylan didn’t have this to sing about
Dylan was complaining. We need complaints again. In our feel good nation all entertainment must be positive, characters must be likable, but the truth is we need interior resonance, which is how rap succeeded in the first place, by detailing the plight of the streets.
I saw the decade in, when it seemed
The world could change at the blink of an eye
It happens that fast, faster than ever before, that’s the power of the internet, this morning’s news is already passe by tonight.
Right here, right now
There is no other place I want to be
It wasn’t supposed to be this way. The Supreme Court was packed with righties, the Congress was controlled by Republicans, businessmen, the Kochs and Mercers were too influential.
AND THEN THE PEOPLE ROSE UP!
Right here, right now
Watching the world wake up from history
I don’t think we’re gonna get a protest song, one that dominates the culture, that we all can sing. First and foremost, today’s hit music is unsingable. Secondly, the music business is seen as whored-out. Hell, what else are “The Voice” and “Idol,” forget the contestants, what about the judges, the biggest stars in the industry couldn’t say no to more money and more exposure?
Meanwhile, the rank and file, the supposedly powerless, the generation that was all about selfies and self-promotion, united, rose up and got its voice heard. More eloquently than anybody in entertainment. As “stars” trumpet endorsement deals, promote everything from alcohol to luggage, the great unwashed took a page from their playbook and focused on the essence, the voice, the message and the performance.
It ain’t good. They pushed it almost to the wall.
But now we’re pushing back.
It’s better than any movie, any book, any song. You surf the sites, crack the newspaper, and there’s inspiration on every page.
I was alive and I waited, waited
I was alive and I waited for this
Right here, right now
There is no other place I want to be
Right here, right now
WATCHING THE WORLD WAKE UP FROM HISTORY
