Starting the Revolution: September 2006

Friday, September 22, 2006

Fun With YouTube.

Friday, September 15, 2006

Albums of the Year Continued.....

In my continuing look at this year’s best albums I have included my hero's super group and a diminutive angry Brit. As always, The Prez wholeheartedly rejects the existence of country music...

Tool: 10,000 days- Dark and heavy with an epic quality. Not as quality as "AEnema", but everything that a music fan wants. I still get a listen to this almost every day. Plus, their coming to Hartford in October!

Audioslave: Revelations-The sound of brand new riffs by guitar genius/hero for social justice Tom Morello almost makes me tweak out like a little kid watching those Japanese cartoons. The man may be the last vestige of pure greatness we ever see come from the radical left before its ideas are co-opted by the major parties to solve the crisis the major parties have created. That said, this band is very much an enigma to me. Every album they put out is fantastic, a guarantee because each member of the band is absolutely insanely talented. But I get tired of Cornell’s voice after a while. And he sings on these albums….alot. This ensures that every Audioslave album will be bittersweet in that the overwhelming byproduct leaves you wanting an ultra radical Rage Against the Machine reunion album. However, Audioslave does fill the massive void for no-nonsense music that destroys 99.5% percent of the music being created today. There is a unique synthesis to this album that gives you a sense of the true Audioslave sound. Sure , I would love the longer and heavier intense Rage–esque riffs of past Audioslave songs like “Cochise”, but the grandure of songs like “Moth” and “Wide Awake” get the job done. Plus, cranking “Original Fire” on a Friday evening in downtown Hartford rules.

Thom Yorke: The Eraser-I put off buying this album for many reasons. The first being that the live versions of the songs off this album that are on You Tube are much better then the studio recordings. The second reason, of course, is that I am anxiously awaiting a new Radiohead album. The live clips of the new stuff the band has put together is sweet. The last reason was that I am not a huge fan of the ultra computer generated sounds, but Yorke is a manical musical genius whose gloomy perspective on the world mimics my own. Thus, I eventually end up loving it no matter what, even if it periodically turns me into a self loathing little bitch. The high points on the album “Harrowdown Hill” and “Cymbol Rush” are epic. It is a good appitizer the main coarse of a new Radiohead album early next year.

Neil Young: Living with War-An angry Young goes electric while saying everything most Americans only tell their friends and family. It makes you proud to one day be a Canadian.
"Lets Impeach the President" gets better with every listen, even if is campy on some level for modern revolutionaires like myself.

Pearl Jam- Pearl Jam-Not the return to basics it was marketed as, but good stuff nonetheless. Despite its fall on the list, it has grown on me over the coarse of the year. Put on the song “Gone” and drive. You may end up lost in some Podunk northwestern Connecticut town, but it will be worth it.

*** For all of you Progressive/Spanish Jazz/Psychedelic Punk/Space Rock Fusion aficionados, I chose not to purchase the new Mars Volta album this week. I am sure I will eventually, but the idea of buying an album that I will have to listen for weeks and weeks before I come close to understanding it is just too daunting a task right now.

Until next time kids, Strength and Honor......

Monday, September 04, 2006

Jesus Rode a Donkey

There is nothing worse then a sanctimonious piece of shit. This might be confusing to hear for some of you who know me only as a sexier version of Napoleon. This is why my new response to an old question posed to me this holiday weekend caused such an uproar.

The question was, “If you could have dinner with any three people, from any time in human history, who would it be, why would you pick them, and what would you eat?”

I have answered this question in the past, with each response I can remember representing the dominant phase of my evolution as a human. Gone are the days of Vanilla Ice, Wade Boggs, and Jerry Rice. So to, are the responses of a 20 year old Prez, (Halle Berry, Jenna Jameson, Tray Parker, and Britney Spears, Video Ho’s 1 and 4). As I approach the completion my first quarter century of life on earth this time around, I figured it would be best to think it through.

Changing Philosophy at the Brickyard?
Now, most of my friend’s responses were fast with little thought given. Still included in their responses were various athletes, porn stars, and other entertainers. Unique to a few responses was President Bush. This interested me, as most of the lads have historically been apolitical. Even more interesting, was the seemingly positive nature of his inclusion. Now I could see inviting him only to have an open season on berating his ineptitude, but not to talk about interns, hunting or farming.

Thus, my first response was meant to counter their oblivious nature to the idea of truth, justice, and freedom. My first response was Edward R. Murrow. After having to explain who he was, they got it.

On the flip side my second choice was Julius Caesar. On this I agree with my friends, the tyrant’s view of the world always makes for unique dinner conversation. So I figure, why not chose one of the best known in recorded history, if only to see how far we have come in the past 2,050 years. The democratic tyrants are just as evil, but do they ever hunt down their enemies themselves any more? No. At least Caesar himself went after Pompey and led the charge on horseback. Plus, I just saw the first season of HBO’s “Rome”. (It was good. Combining blood, sex, soap opera drama, and history is always sweet). Thus, my infatuation with the relationship between history, power, and mans lust for war was complete.

But it went to the next level.

My final selection caused the aforementioned uproar. The cynics were outraged and the heavens shook. Now, maybe it was just Tropical Storm Ernesto, but my selection of Jesus produced laughter, horror, and disbelief, so much so my drink flew off he table.

Bring on the Uproar
Why? To see him eat ribs? To prove that he exists? To ensure wine at the table? No tits at the table at all? No presidents? Just to ask him what he thinks of Mel Gibson Wacko Douche? To see him get high?
Why?
To talk to him about Ned Lamont, the war, the environment, and Aaron McGruder of course. According to a song I heard in High School, one simplified, educated middle class, white liberal view of the man we call Jesus was that in modern terms he was a long haired Socialist Jew. A Howard Zinn at the time of antiquity. And according to which book of the New Testament you read, he is either a symbol of peace or vengeance. No doubt in my mind he would be aghast at what has taken place in the past 2,000 years in his name. I could say the same for every other symbol of god that has been used on earth. I don’t think he would be angry with me that I don’t think he was the son of god. There were several prophets during the rule of the Romans in Palestine/Judea during the first century that sought similar ends, and suffered a similar fate.

“Your a DEMOCRAT, whose doesn’t attend mass, why would you want to meet JESUS?”

I said my friends were a-political, but they are totally susceptible to the media driven neo-conservative agenda.

I think Jesus would be a progressive Democrat. His mode of transportation not withstanding, he was a poor carpenter. Would he support Unions? Yes. Would he want universal healthcare? Yes. Would he want free education for all people? Yes. Of course, we wouldn’t really know unless we spoke with the man, over a nice dinner of Chicken Parm and linguine with frosty chocolate milkshakes.

The Christian Left exists, .................yes, they live in America.....I swear it.......and while they to are also scary, at least their priorities are not money and power. They seem to extole the philanthropic virtues of the message attributed to Jesus, Just ask Ramon Estavez…or Martin Sheen. So when the Conservatives use fear to pimp Jesus and God as vengeful to line their own pockets and the ballot boxes, while telling us all that they both would disapprove of Steven and Bob from next door getting married, tell them that as a poltical party and poltical idiology they do not have a covenant with god.
Whoever she is….

Karl Rove needs “His 3 million Evangelicals” to all vote in order to avoid conservative defeats this fall. Here's to hoping that they seek the path of righteousness and freedom, and avoid their normal path of manipulation, degradation, and discrimination.

Now I’ll get off my pedestal, because those who are sanctimonious make me sick….

-Also, thanks to a couple of fellow former residents of the Towers dorms who survived UConn with me, Doug E and The Moose, my readership has gone international. Unfortunately, it goes to one of the seediest places on earth, Souteast Asia, home to whores, pirates, terrorism, and The Island. Sounds like an awesome time to me! Guys, enjoy your travels and try not to end up with VD, or in one of those Indonesian jails.

As always ....Strength and Honor......

Labels: Conservatives, Democracy, Freedom, Jesus, Liberalism, Religion, Republicans

Starting the Revolution

Friday, September 22, 2006

Fun With YouTube.

Friday, September 15, 2006

Albums of the Year Continued.....

Monday, September 04, 2006

Jesus Rode a Donkey

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