A mere year’s commitment by a number of Democrats to funding operations in Afghanistan would be a joke if it weren’t so sad.
Mostly House Dems are making such signals, and not only from liberal quarters, as reported by David M. Herszenhorn in the New York Times.
So why bother? Sure, Afghanistan’s going to be some tough sledding, but upping the ante on fighting only to cut and run is certainly partisan, but also both cowardly and disloyal to the President, the troops and the American people.
Yeats’ “The Second Coming,” was written to describe Europe following World War I. If “the centre cannot hold” again, it will be reprinting widely.
(see “Time to pitch” post from today for background)
Rocker Releases Song to Rally Nation
On the heels of President Barack Obama’s recent warning of “more pain” ahead, rocker Allen Shadow has released the single “We’re America” to help buoy the nation’s spirit during the economic recovery.
“As the president recently reminded us, the challenges ahead are still great,” said Shadow. “Now, more than ever, we need to keep our heads and our spirits up.”
The indie artist’s song was originally inspired by Obama’s speech to Congress in late February. In his address, the president reminded the nation of its long history of innovation and accomplishment, promising the country would “emerge stronger than before.”
In fact, Shadow echoes the presidential pledge in the song’s chorus: “We’re America home of the brave/And we’ll be back again stronger than today.”
“I also channeled Woody Guthrie,” said Shadow. “He helped us remember the best of our land during the hard times of the Great Depression.
While “We’re America” is uplifting, it also bares teeth. The tune claims “the banks are bandits now” and chronicles the irony of congressmen who cried fowl yet gave away trillions with little oversight.
A video of “We’re America” is a slice of Americana itself, peppered with images of vintage cars and classic movies. The video can be seen on Shadow’s YouTube channel: allenville33.
“I think the American people understand what we’re facing and how long things are likely to take,” said Shadow. “Nevertheless, the road ahead could test our resolve as there will likely be further pressures on us as well as continued knocks from other nations.”
Shadow, whose indie debut CD “King Kong Serenade” (Blue City Records) drew critical acclaim in the early 2000s, is offering downloads of the new single free of charge. The artist’s raw, literate style is often compared to early Bruce Springsteen and Tom Waits.
“We’re America” will be included on Shadow’s forthcoming album, “American Alleys,” a street-savvy take on cities from coast to coast, due this winter from Blue City Records.
I get the Susan Boyle thing. It is, after all, a great story: never-been-kissed spinster from working-class Scottish town — from another era really — turns the tables of fortune on its ass before millions on British — now YouTube — TV. I mean, even Disney couldn’t make this stuff up. It’s Cinderella on steroids. It’s Pygmalion on pills. And the media barons have their content fix for the week.
But, despite it’s heartwarming feature – and the woman really appears to be the salt of the earth – the whole win-a-career-in-the-music-biz-overnight deal is quite irksome – annoying, actually– to music-industry veterans.
It comes down to callused hands. What do I mean? Well, in the heartland there’s a swift and certain vetting of suspected interlopers: “show us your hands, son.” Real farmers and ranchers bear the branding of their trade. “American Idol”s don’t.
Don’t get me wrong. “Idol” has actually uncovered some legit talent. Carrie Underwood, for example, is one of the best singers of her generation and is one of my faves.
Yet season after season, it’s irksome to the true laborers in the union of the real American performing artist to see folks believe that merely dreaming about stardom in their bedrooms is what forming a music career is all about, when union members are out there season after season pounding the pavement, the record label corridors, the club stages and the social media byways. The latter is called dues, man. And that’s the way the real music biz works.
I’ve released the video for my song “We’re America.” As posted earlier here, I’ll be making a case study of the song’s release.
About the song: There’s nothing so powerful as self-fulfilling prophesy, and, if we can defer excessive hand-wringing and rally behind the President, we just may pull out of this economic nosedive. That’s the spirit behind “We’re America.”
On the music biz side of this project, the strategy for getting the song out there begins with a pre-release via such social media sites as youtube and myspace as well as blogging.
I’ll cover youtube today, since that’s my primary focus. Why? Because in recent times that may be the primary breeding ground for the social media virus coveted by indie and major label artists alike. Today, “We’re America” breached the 1,000-view mark after a week’s time. Promotion so far has included: 1) very limited notice to my personal network of friends and fans, perhaps a dozen (by design); 2) limited promotion via Google’s AdWords; and 3) posts and direct messaging on related youtube channels.
A brief note here on Google AdWords. I’ve used AdWords for more than six years to: 1) promote my artist Web site and 2) promote a college Web site (another hat I wear — PR director), with decent results for both. Google recently sent me a complimentary apron and other goodies, an honor, I suppose, as a longtime user. That said, I’d rate my level of expertise at intermediate. AdWords is a complex Darwinian system that engenders a love-hate relationship. I’ll say more about its workings another time.
In future posts, I’ll cover more details on strategy and tactics and cite other articles on the indie artist and the viral campaign, including some success stories. All these posts will be listed under my “indie music workshop” category.
I’ll try to keep the reportage concise and relevant. And, of course, I invite readers to join the conversation with useful comments.
Okay, so this is how it works in the dysfunctional world we lead. The spoiled son embarrasses dad on the eve of the patriarch’s visit, knowing that pops’ll spring for the Wii he so wants just to shut him up.
So it is with Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, head of the European Union, who just blasted the U.S. stimulus measures as the “way to hell.”
President Obama, as it happens, is scheduled to arrive in Prague in less than two weeks. And this Topolanek, who, by the way just received a vote of no confidence from his government, will be looking for more than a Wii, perhaps enough to fund a whole high-tech industry. You think?
Thank you EU leaders. Once again, just as we’re all trying to get along so like the world doesn’t crumble around us, you shoot off your hypocritical mouths again. Recall the French arrogance (did I leave off an accent grave somewhere?) post 9/11. We can still take the freedom fries out of the freezer, you know.
Now, here’s the height of irony on two counts:
On March 1, The New York Times reported that top EU governments trashed the idea of ponying up to bailout newer, Eastern members. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is facing elections this fall, rejected it soundly.
In the midst of the AIG bonus scandal — on the Ides of March no less — AIG reported a much larger and equally-controversial giveaway: some $49.5 billion to 22 banks, 16 of which are foreign, many European, including UBS, Deutsche Bank and Société Générale. (Oddly, this story went virtually unnoticed in the fog of the bonus scandal, but for limited coverage in such reliables as The Gray Lady.)
So let’s sum up: a Czech leader, who also happens to head the EU, is gaming Obama and America because his own neighbors, like Germany, whose banks received mucho American cash via the AIG bailout, won’t ante up.
And what’s worse is this plays the hell card as the world’s house of cards teeters on the brink. Nice! (and like Elaine’s boyfriend Jake on Seinfeld, I eschew exclamation points).
We need Woody Guthrie. We need Will Rogers. Maybe the song “We’re America” can help save the economy and even Obama along the way, since I fear the current pandemic over A.I.G. and its bonus-spree could actually bring the President down, maybe not tomorrow, but by the end of his first term. Why? Because this has now become an official history-book style scandal, one that may just be worthy of a few paragraphs in the digital tome of some fifth grader circa 2030. Just watch CNN for an hour, any hour; just wade through today’s New York Times, USA Today; name your poison. Consequently, my quotes of the day:
Maureen Dowd really got her Irish up in today’s column in the NY Times. She gave some sage advice on just what Obama should tell A.I.G.:
We stopped the checks. They’re immoral. If you want Americans’ hard-earned cash as a reward for burning up their jobs, homes and savings, sue me.
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said:
Their (A.I.G.’s) mythology starts with the false premise that these are irreplaceable geniuses.
Yes, I quoted the opportunistic Andy Cuomo (love his dad, though). But maybe what we need now are some tough prosecutor types. How about we recruit the NY AG, Janine Pierro, Nancy Grace and Eliot Spitzer (forget the hooker, we’re talking mercenaries here). How’s that for a goon dream-team. We’ll give ‘em all Louisville sluggers and send them knee-cap hunting over to the London countryside where the A.I.G. execs roam. It’ll only cost us $160 American for the lumber; the chutzbah comes free.
Allen Shadow 
