Where’s John Lennon when we need him?<\/p>\n
I was impressed with Kanye.\u00c2\u00a0 Primarily because they bleeped him.\u00c2\u00a0 I’m sure he
knew he was over the line, in the eyes of the pricks who control the media
beholden to the religious right that has got a stranglehold on mainstream
discourse, but he went for it anyway.\u00c2\u00a0 THAT’S the rock and roll spirit.<\/p>\n
Not that he had answers.\u00c2\u00a0 The line in his song said he was a rapper, not a
thinker.\u00c2\u00a0 Shit, somebody speaking the TRUTH?<\/p>\n
What the FUCK do I care what Jennifer Aniston has to say about hurricane
relief?\u00c2\u00a0 Or Julia Roberts?\u00c2\u00a0 Not to mention Jack Nicholson.\u00c2\u00a0 Your credential here,
the reason you’re an expert, the reason you’re getting all this airtime is
because you’re FAMOUS??\u00c2\u00a0 What do these people know about tragedy, about loss.\u00c2\u00a0
We’re supposed to look up to them, derive answers from THEM?\u00c2\u00a0 That’s how fucked
up America is.\u00c2\u00a0 The kid who gets all A’s in school is beaten up, but the
good-looking football player or cheerleader gets a pass.\u00c2\u00a0 You’re a loser if you get
a straight job, are a contributing member of society.\u00c2\u00a0 You’re supposed to be
GLAMOROUS!\u00c2\u00a0 FAMOUS!\u00c2\u00a0 That’s all that matters in America today.<\/p>\n
One of the reasons the music broke through in the tumultuous sixties was the
ATTITUDE!\u00c2\u00a0 That was just as important as the tunes.\u00c2\u00a0 Hell, a decade later,
after the music became too bloated and pretentious, the Ramones broke through
almost SOLELY on attitude.\u00c2\u00a0 It certainly wasn’t their skill.\u00c2\u00a0 And isn’t it funny
that it’s their music that survives today.\u00c2\u00a0 That punk is mainstream.<\/p>\n
I saw no attitude tonight.\u00c2\u00a0 Except maybe for a moment with Chris Rock, and
the aforementioned Kanye.\u00c2\u00a0 I saw millionaires solemnly contributing to the
cause, all the time relishing the EXPOSURE!<\/p>\n
I’d like to tell you that Randy Newman killed.\u00c2\u00a0 I LOVE "Louisiana 1927", I’ve
been playing it all week, but his rendition here was absent any and all
charisma.\u00c2\u00a0 He was so solemnly going through the process that I never got ENERGIZED, I was never REACHED!<\/p>\n
Paul Simon…it’s good that he and Randy were rescued from the scrapheap.\u00c2\u00a0
Trotted out one more time so the younger generation might see them, before their
music is forgotten.\u00c2\u00a0 But really, do I give a fuck what PAUL SIMON thinks
about New Orleans?\u00c2\u00a0 Is that REALLY what I’ve been wondering the past ten days?<\/p>\n
I’d like to tell you some of the performers were bad.\u00c2\u00a0 Their performances
laughable.<\/p>\n
But everybody was professional.\u00c2\u00a0 They delivered.<\/p>\n
But I just didn’t care.<\/p>\n
They’re so famous they need no introduction?\u00c2\u00a0 How many viewers knew that was
Mary J. Blige emoting alongside Bono?<\/p>\n
Maybe if I was fifteen I’d still believe.<\/p>\n
Then again, not in musical stars.\u00c2\u00a0 Maybe Tony Hawk.\u00c2\u00a0 Or a musician from the
past.\u00c2\u00a0 Up until recently, Jimmy Page didn’t play the game, he specialized in
BREAKING THE RULES!<\/p>\n
And what’s up with the Fogerty covers?\u00c2\u00a0 I mean it’s not like John’s dead.\u00c2\u00a0
Furthermore, if you’ve seen him perform recently, you know he KILLS!\u00c2\u00a0 If for
some reason he wouldn’t do it, couldn’t do it, couldn’t the Foos and Garth Brooks
find OTHER SONGS?\u00c2\u00a0 I mean what the fuck were the Foo Fighters doing on this
show ANYWAY?\u00c2\u00a0 Yup, U2, Neil Young and the FOO FIGHTERS?\u00c2\u00a0 Maybe this was an
appeal to youth.\u00c2\u00a0 But, the youth didn’t watch this show.<\/p>\n
Oh, they watched the 9\/11 show.\u00c2\u00a0 The precursor.\u00c2\u00a0 The PROGENITOR!\u00c2\u00a0 But that’s
because everybody was TOO FREAKED TO LEAVE THE HOUSE!\u00c2\u00a0 The show was a bonding experience.\u00c2\u00a0 The reason it worked is the same reason a funeral does.\u00c2\u00a0 It
acknowledges the dead, the tragedy, it’s CATHARTIC!\u00c2\u00a0 This solemn telethon did
NOTHING to assuage my anxiety with regard to the hellhole this country has become.\u00c2\u00a0 Where we’re supposed to kick in money at the urging of two-dimensional stars rather than pay into the coffers of the government JUST FOR THIS
REASON\/POSSIBILITY.\u00c2\u00a0 I mean what if they don’t raise enough money?\u00c2\u00a0 Does that mean the victims go without?\u00c2\u00a0 NOBODY should go without.\u00c2\u00a0 Not without food, water, shelter and health care.\u00c2\u00a0 These should be basic human rights.\u00c2\u00a0 Oh, they are in
Europe, but never forget the United States is the GREATEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD!<\/p>\n
Oh, the good old U.S.A. is mighty fine.\u00c2\u00a0 But it’s not perfect.\u00c2\u00a0 But, if you
question policy, you’re a heathen who must be shouted down.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s like America
has turned into a giant HIGH SCHOOL!\u00c2\u00a0 Run by the cool people.\u00c2\u00a0 And everybody
else is under their thumb, while they drink beer and plot ways to torture us,
the IRRELEVANT!<\/p>\n
I’d have much rather watched a program featuring survivors’ stories.\u00c2\u00a0 Told
straight to the camera.\u00c2\u00a0 Edited by Marty Scorcese.\u00c2\u00a0 A powerhouse documentary.\u00c2\u00a0
THAT would have been interesting.<\/p>\n
But average people are not sexy.\u00c2\u00a0 They wouldn’t have generated ratings.\u00c2\u00a0 And,
you know it’s all about ratings.<\/p>\n
America is a giant scam.\u00c2\u00a0 They tell you to buy the products to make your life
better.\u00c2\u00a0 Yup, after 9\/11 the message was to KEEP SHOPPING!\u00c2\u00a0 They tell you to
believe in leaders.\u00c2\u00a0 Not only elected leaders, but those anointed by the media.<\/p>\n
And then, sometime in adulthood you realize the President is just another
guy, who probably doesn’t know more than you do.\u00c2\u00a0 And those products…you don’t
need them to survive.\u00c2\u00a0 And the stars featured on TV and in "People", they’re
bozos.<\/p>\n
John Lennon knew all this.\u00c2\u00a0 He didn’t buy it.<\/p>\n
He spoke his mind.\u00c2\u00a0 He said the Beatles were bigger than Jesus.\u00c2\u00a0 Fanatics
misinterpreting his point bulldozed the band’s albums.\u00c2\u00a0 But you can’t stop the
truth.\u00c2\u00a0 The Beatles continued to be as big as ever.<\/p>\n
And when the government tried to deport him, Lennon refused to go.\u00c2\u00a0 This
country was built on reasoned dissent, that’s it’s ESSENCE!\u00c2\u00a0 He wasn’t going to
give in.<\/p>\n
Not that he didn’t get worn out.<\/p>\n
It’s hard to be the leader of a generation.\u00c2\u00a0 Especially when you’re fucked up
yourself.\u00c2\u00a0 When you sometimes say stupid things.\u00c2\u00a0 When, deep into something,
you find out you’re wrong, that you really believe the opposite.<\/p>\n
But that’s being human.<\/p>\n
That’s the essence of life, of society.\u00c2\u00a0 And THAT’S what was missing in
tonight’s show.<\/p>\n
Oh, don’t hassle me for railing.\u00c2\u00a0 Who gives a shit about this show.\u00c2\u00a0 Those
who saw it have probably already forgotten it.\u00c2\u00a0 But, the celebrity culture, that
remains.\u00c2\u00a0 THAT’S what bugs me.\u00c2\u00a0 All these uneducated twits DICTATING to me.\u00c2\u00a0
Like they’ve learned something living on this planet that I haven’t.<\/p>\n
Makes me want to retreat.\u00c2\u00a0 Focus on my life.\u00c2\u00a0 Like John Lennon.<\/p>\n
I don’t believe in magic "God" (not that you could even LABEL a song like this today, <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Where’s John Lennon when we need him? I was impressed with Kanye.\u00c2\u00a0 Primarily because they bleeped him.\u00c2\u00a0 I’m sure he knew he was over the line, in the eyes of the pricks who control the media beholden to the religious right that has got a stranglehold on mainstream discourse, but he went for it anyway.\u00c2\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-145","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-life","category-live-shows"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p96vPs-2l","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=145"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=145"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=145"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
I\u00c2\u00a0 don’t believe in I Ching
I don’t believe in Bible
I don’t believe in tarot
I don’t believe in Hitler
I don’t believe in Jesus
I don’t believe in Kennedy
I don’t believe in Buddha
I don’t believe in mantra
I don’t believe in gita
I don’t believe in yoga
I don’t believe in kings
I don’t believe in Elvis
I don’t believe in Zimmerman
I don’t believe in Beatles
I just believe in me
Yoko and me
And that’s reality<\/em><\/p>\n
it would have to be titled "G*d", and radio would refuse to play it,
for fear of religious retaliation)<\/p>\n