Open Thread Jan. 29: Eyesore Rankles Sorehead
Bob Weiner is easily New Castle County’s wackiest council member. Remember that time he tried to effect a citizen’s arrest on a guy putting unauthorized advertising on a telephone pole? He’s wacky that way. Now he’s at it again — not physically restraining anyone, thank goodness, but making a big issue over the fact that Wilmington University’s construction site on Concord Pike has an aging barn that Weiner considers an eyesore. More evidence that county council members don’t have enough actual work to do.
I missed this Charles Pierce post about the Russia investigation last week, but it’s still worth a read because it captures the sense pervading Washington that the noose is tightening around the flabby orange presidential neck. Josh Marshall has a useful rundown of where the obstruction of justice investigation stands.
Marcy Wheeler takes a blackjack to the notion that Mueller’s investigation is proceeding along any single track. As she points out, Mueller has 17 prosecutors working on the investigation. Not only do we not know what some of them are working on, we don’t even know who one is yet.
The area in which convictions should be easiest to obtain is the money-laundering front. What people might not understand is that Russia’s “leaders” at the moment are engaged mostly in the business of turning the country’s tax proceeds into their personal profits, so approaching a Russian oligarch with a business deal automatically links you to Russian politicians. More evidence: That bat-faced Russian lawyer who was at the Trump Tower meeting is now central to a corruption case in Switzerland. Remember, not all politicians are in it to get laid. Some are just after the money.
Want to get good and depressed?Take a look at all the Democrats who want the party’s nomination for president in 2020. The only vote I’d give three-quarters of these people is a vote off the island. Andrew Cuomo could swim off the island and the sharks would leave him alone out of professional respect.
Apparently they handed out Grammy awards last night. I enjoy music too much to pay attention to that shit, but lots of people who are paid to churn out content churned out plenty about it. From what I gather, it was too old, too white, too male and too unhip — all attributes that have described the Grammys since they were instituted. But every generation wants a chance to whine about it, like this mook at the Daily Beast. Yeah, woe is all of us because women and hip-hop artists get no respect from industry insiders. Funniest of all, though, is the notion that because Kendrick Lamar raps about the plight of being black in America, he’s performing some political function beyond hoovering dollars out of their pockets. Motherfucker couldn’t carry Chuck D’s microphone.
All the things wrong in this country and these “journalists” want to whine about artists who don’t get enough respect. We are well and truly fucked.
It is hard to imagine the rotten, fetid, worm-eaten corpse that is Trump’s off the books Russian accounts. The person working on that has my respect and admiration.
I watched the Grammy’s. I didn’t watch for the awards. I watched for the performances. I particularly liked Pink, Luis Fonsi, and Daddy Yankee. I don’t understand the bias against Latin music. Well, I don’t want to call it a bias really since there are Latin Grammys (as well as the BMAs and the MOBOs for black music). But Fonsi and DY had the biggest cross over hit ever and should have gotten some recognition for it.
I suppose that the Grammys is really the White Music Awards (WMA) just like the BMA and Latin Grammys for those groups. Maybe music is too broad for one award organization. Country music has 3 or 4 award shows for their crap.
If my math is right…. one per week… country music has 52 awards shows.
“Music” is no longer the preferred product of the recording industry. None of the big musical acts in pop music are actually about the music, which is for the most part pre-recorded; it’s all about the absurd stage shows. Look at Pink. What does hanging off a trapeze have to do with music? But she can’t dance so that’s what she has to do to attract an audience. The stage shows are mostly what the Grammys are about, too. Bread and circuses.
One person from that Democrats in 2020 list who holds the most potential for damage to the party is Gillibrand, who can’t wipe her fingerprints from Franken’s corpse. And it’s not just men who think so. Joy Behar of “The View” got up in her grill about it this morning, and Gillibrand had a lame response.
Between her and Cuomo, I’m adopting a “no New Yorkers” stance toward the White House. There’s a New Yorker in there now.
Ah, the annual Grammy whinefest. Did the voters not get their Annenberg Inclusion Initiative memo (actually cited by that Daily Beast mook)? Grammys unhip? Sure, but few of the people he thinks are hip or deserving of a Grammy qualify either. Mostly rich people who can’t write music or sing (without lots of help) but have the ability to move around on stage. Enjoy them if you want, of course, but if these folks are hip, the word has been so far dumbed down that it’s meaningless. The folks who actually won Grammys aren’t hip either. Nor is U2, who apparently were all over the stage last night. They only used to be. Enjoy all these folks if you want, of course, but they are not hip or even very talented. Then there’s the whole issue of whether being hip even matters. I know you’ve heard this kind of thing before, but that doesn’t make it wrong. Full disclosure: I kind of like Lorde, and Bruno Mars makes me smile.
I don’t like Lorde, but I love me some Bruno Mars. Not hip enough for the Daily Beast mook.
I have never watched the Grammys or for that matter any awards show, like others here I could care less. But then again I’m an old hippie musician that remembers when music really was creative, vital and worth paying attention to. Note I’m not condemning current music in any genre, there’s plenty of good stuff out there. But only if you look hard. The same people that gave you the radio play list and stifled diverse radio are more in control than ever, and it’s why most good music bypasses the big record companies and is marketed over the net, thru word of mouth and of course the ‘merch table at gigs.
Dave: I’m a big fan of Latin music too. But I think there are many Latin performers better and more substantial than the ones you cited. They just don’t sell as many records. Or they’re dead.
Play Stairway to Freebird man
Some historical perspective on Trump’s boast about black unemployment:
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/trumps-black-unemployment-boast
The graph doesn’t go back that far, but the black unemployment rate was really, really low in 1859.
Here’s a quick Wilmington story some of you may appreciate.
Half past noon I leave the office to grab lunch. I head just a few blocks to the Sub City on 7th & King Sts. I get one sandwich for myself and one for my missus since she’s stuck running a clinic today.
I walk two blocks west and drop the lunch off to my wife. I head south on Shipley and pop into Creative Visions Factory to say hi to my friend and artist Michael Kalmbach. He isn’t in.
So there’s always a scene at that spot because CVF does tons of work with the homeless and ex-cons and stuff. Interesting crowd mulling around outside smoking cigarettes, etc… So as I approach the corner on 6th & Shipley I see an older dude all bundled in a black winter coat and wool cap shuffling across the street with a guitar case. I’m always interested in what a musician may be doing. I wonder whether the guy’s headed up to one of the pawn shops.
As I cross Shipley at 7th to walk up to Market I see the guy walk up to the big solid steel door in the back of the building. Then I noticed the guy fooling with his keys to open the door. That’s the back of Bromberg’s place, I realize. This cat must know Bromberg. As I walk past I look at him and he looks and me.
Ha! It’s the legend himself… Mr David Bromberg.
Oh, rapture. The Cleveland Indians are retiring their Chief Wahoo logo after years of complaints about its racist connotations.
So I guess all is now right with the world. Except there’s still a Jeep Cherokee and I haven’t heard Word One about it from any of the people upset about mascot logos.
Cherokee is a specific tribe. I think the problem with Redskins and Chief Wahoo, etc. is that it’s a racist stereotype caricature type of deal. The reason St. Johns is no longer the Redmen and are now the Red Storm.
But a specific tribe, like Seminoles or whatever seems different to me, no?
Like the shyster shylocks are a no go, but the Maccabi Warriors would be alright, I would think.
I’ve never understood why the Cherokees don’t demand royalties from Jeep for the use of the name.
I’m not sure about the individual tribe angle. North Dakota had to give up the Fighting Sioux. Florida State actually has permission from the Seminoles to use the name, because the university has advocated for the tribe for decades. Actual women of the tribe sew the clothes worn by the student who portrays Chief Osceola, who is not a mascot but represents the tribe itself.
You know I knew there was something behind FSU Seminole. Thanks for reminding me.
Ultimately even if it’s not racist it is offensive and in horrible taste. Then again I’m offended by Ole Miss as well. But if they want to glorify their crushing defeat and humiliation at the hands of the United States, so be it.
…most good music bypasses the big record companies and is marketed over the net, thru word of mouth and of course the ‘merch table at gigs.
Don’t forget college (and high school) radio stations.
But how will Cleveland fans know their team is fierce?
Japanese name their cars after flowers and song birds which of course wouldn’t bloom or fly in North America. Kodak was a completely made up name that couldn’t be associated with any thing, clever lad that Eastman. I always thought the Chicago White Sox had Supremacist overtones.
I was informed the link to the WDEL story on Bob Weiner’s barn fixation was broken. It has been restored.
Häagen-Dazs is totally made up folks…. fake news.
The thing about Weiner is that he believes he knows how everyone but Weiner should behave, then seeks to demand that they do so.
When I worked in the General Assembly, Weiner’s wife apparently had some sort of business that Weiner would relentlessly tout. To the point where a bipartisan group of legislators put together a resolution (it wasn’t serious, but it was introduced) barring relentless relentless e-mails from an unidentified figure who everybody knew was Bob Weiner.
That boy ain’t right.