Have you guys out in cyberspace heard of this guy Donald Trump?  If you haven’t, please count your blessings and continue your idyllic life.  If you have heard of him, you might have heard that he came to Colorado last Friday (July 29th) and gave speeches in Colorado Springs and Denver.

Since I am in Colorado, I happened to hear about three minutes of what I think was the Colorado Springs speech.  It was certainly an eventful three minutes.  First, he said the Colorado Springs Fire Department “doesn’t know what the hell they’re doing” because the Fire Marshal had indicated that he would enforce the Fire Code during Trump’s event.  Apparently, they don’t have fire codes where he comes from.  The comment was even more mean-spirited than it sounds, however, because only a few minutes earlier that same fire department had rescued him form a stuck elevator at a local resort.¹

Then, he said he was no longer going to be “Mr. Nice Guy” and that he was ready to “take off the gloves.”  I am not sure, but apparently he wanted to make sure the material would not muffle his words when he cupped them around his mouth to yell bad names at Hillary Clinton across his imaginary playground.  Oh well, it probably doesn’t require much effort to remove the gloves from those little hands of his.

He mentioned that he had just finished an interview “with the local paper – you know the one I mean.”  Clearly, he could not remember the name of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Colorado Springs Gazette just minutes after he had spoken with its editors.

Next, he mentioned that retired USMC 4-star general John Allen was a “bad” and “failed general” because he would not support Trump.  Now, I have previously said that I do not condemn Trump as a evil draft dodger for his efforts to avoid fighting in the Vietnam War.  However, we must realize, and he should know, that he has no basis on which to judge a person like Gen. Allen who did choose to spend his career and risk his life in service to our country.  Donnie, if you read this, I dare you to step away from your podium and say those things to John Allen’s face, or to anyone who has served under him.

Following that, he criticized two American Muslims, Khzir and Ghazala Khan, whose son, an Army captain and recipient of the Bronze Star and Purple Heart, was killed while serving in Iraq – first, because they did not support him; and also because Ghazala, who was unable to speak through her tears, simply stood beside her husband who spoke critically of Trump.  That action signaled to me that Donald Trump is as ethically and morally bankrupt as the businesses he has run into the ground and walked away from, leaving his creditors, suppliers and subcontractors to suffer the losses.

Finally, he said that Colorado is such an important state in this election that he will be back many times.  “You are going to be sick of seeing me,” he said.  I am not going to stand silently by in face of threats like that.  I stopped watching after hearing that remark and decide to write this to let Deceitful Donnie know that we are already sick of seeing him.  And I speak on behalf of every rational person in the state.  It is not merely coincidental that Bob Seger’s song, “Get Out of Denver” has kept turning up since Friday.

“Get Out of Denver” was the opening track of Seger’s 1974 album, Seven.  That was the first album he released with his Silver Bullet Band.  It had only limited commercial success, never even breaking into the top 200 albums on Billboard’s rankings, but it was well crafted and exuded the energy that the public seemed to appreciate much more on his Night Moves and Live Bullet LPs that came out two years later, in 1976.  “Get Out of Denver” was also included on Live Bullet.

I have not been able to find much information about this song, but I came across an old interview with Bob Seger that indicated it might more accurately be called “Get Out of Aspen.”  It seems that his band had been playing a club in Aspen that had a large cover charge and a two drink minimum.  Because of the cost to see a band that was only moderately popular at the time, the crowd was reduced to a couple of dozen people for the last few nights.  Seger was dissatisfied by the whole experience so he wrote this song – but he thought “Denver” sounded better than “Aspen” in the lyrics.  Of course, nothing in the lyrics matches that story, but I guess the sense of dissatisfaction is there.

He has also said that the song was written in about 15 minutes while his band was opening a series of shows for Bachman Turner Overdrive and was trying to come up with “powerhouse tunes the crowd would remember.”  He said the lyrics didn’t mean that much and he often changed them as he used this song to close his sets.

I like the Aspen story better.  I guess because I did attend a show at a club in
Aspen back in the 1970s.  I saw the New Riders of the Purple Sage at a place that was overpriced, overcrowded, and filled with some of the rudest fans I have ever seen.  I decided never to go back for another show as I “got out of Aspen.”

This has been sort of rambling, and I really don’t like spending too much time dealing with politics, so let me just quit now, and say:  Deceitful Donnie Trump, this one is dedicated to you and your kind:

Continue reading →

On this day in history:

July 20, 1969:  Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin are the first humans to set foot on the the Moon.  This occurred during NASA’s Apollo 11 expedition, and I have previously written a little bit about that.

July 20, 1976:  NASA’s Viking 1 spacecraft makes first soft landing on Mars.

July 20, 1969 (again):  Singer-songwriter Tom Rapp composes the song, “Rocket Man.”

July 20, 2016:  “Rocket Man” chosen as Song of the Week.
_________________________________________

Most people are familiar with Elton John’s song, “Rocket Man (I Think It’s Going To Be a Long, Long Time).”  That is not the song featured here.  This one came first, and apparently influenced the more famous hit by Elton John.  Bernie Taupin, John’s lyricist and co-writer, once responded to the suggestion, by an interviewer for Billboard magazine, that his “Rocket Man” was influenced by David Bowie’s “Space Odditiy” by saying:  “We didn’t steal that one from Bowie.  We stole it from another guy, called Tom Rapp.”

So, who is this guy called Tom Rapp.  If they have heard of him at all, a few people may recall that he was the moving force behind the late-1960s/early 1970’s avant garde psychedelic folk rock band, Pearls Before Swine.  And most remember that band only because its album covers featured allegorical paintings by the likes of Hieronymus Bosch and Pieter Bruegel the Elder.

Pearls Before Swine was formed in Florida in 1965 by Tom Rapp and two of his high school buddies.  Tom had been interested in music since he was given his first guitar at the age of six.  His desire to write songs and perform was kindled when he first heard Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind.”

That may not have been the first time that Dylan had crossed his path.  When Tom was eight years old and living in Minnesota, he had entered a talent contest in Rochester, MN, in which he played a ukelele and finished in third place.  The program listed another contestant who was a couple of years older – a boy named Bobby Zimmerman from Hibbing, who came in fifth.  The contest was won by a little girl in a sequined suit who twirled a baton.

Pearls Before Swine made some interesting music, but never became popular enough to generate even a cult following.  One of the reasons may have been the name.  It seemed a bit smug to insinuate that the band’s musical pearls were being offered to the swine comprising the audience.  That type of smugness was reinforced by songs like “Miss Morse” on their first album in which an obscenity was repeatedly spelled out in Morse code, implicitly saying, “see how clever we are.”¹.

The original band stayed for the first three albums, after which Rapp’s high school friends sought real jobs.  The later albums were the work of Rapp, his first wife and studio musicians.  The fourth album, which was the first that was basically a Tom Rapp solo, was called The Use of Ashes and released in 1970.  The album title was taken from one of his songs called “The Jeweler,” which tells of a man who knew the “use of ashes” as he worked into the night using them to polish old coins.  Although that song was not too popular at the time, it became a minor hit for the group The Mortal Coil some 20 years later.

The Use of Ashes also included “Rocket Man,” which Rapp was inspired to write after watching the first moon landing.  The song is based on a 1951 short story by Ray Bradbury, entitled “The Rocket Man.”  That story, like this song, is written from the point of view of a young boy whose astronaut father is killed by a solar flare.  Since it was the Sun which took the father’s life, the boy and his mother decide never to look upon the Sun again.  A good summary of the story can be read on thebestnotes.com.².

By 1973, Tom Rapp had released three more albums as Pearls Before Swine and two (including a collection of demos, Familiar Songs, released by the record company without his approval or knowledge, which is actually one of the best collections of some of his most impressive songs.)  None of those enjoyed any more commercial success than had the earlier works, so Tom, like his high school buddies, dropped out of the music business.  Like most old rock and rollers, he went on to law school.³.

Rapp’s legal career was mainly focused on civil rights and employment discrimination cases, first in private practice in Philadelphia and then as a county attorney for Charlotte County, Florida.  That latter job was terminated in 2008, but he used his skills to sue the county for age discrimination.  The case was settled, and soon thereafter he retired to have more time to care for his second wife, who was in failing health.

The version of “Rocket Man” here is not the original one from The Use of Ashes.  Instead, it seems to be a remastered version of the one found on Familiar Songs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCFL5dok3fM

Continue reading →

Sometimes the Song of the Week is one that is a bit obscure, one that not everyone may know.  Sometimes it is a popular song from long ago – say, back in the ’60s.  This week is different.  This week’s song was written in 2013, and it has been viewed on YouTube more than 600 MILLION times since then.

So, why was “What Does the Fox Say?” chosen for this honor?  Because it seems that it is currently the favorite song of my grandson, Ryder, who is 2-1/2 years old.  His 8-month old sister, Leila, seems to like it, too (but she doesn’t talk yet).

The song was written as a “teaser” for a Norwegian television show featuring a comedy duo called “Ylvis” (“I kveld med Ylvis  – or, as we English speakers would rather say, “Tonight With Ylvis.”) and posted on YouTube, where it immediately went viral.

It really doesn’t require much explanation.  The song starts by telling us that the “Dog goes ‘woof’/Cat goes ‘meow’/Bird goes ‘tweet’/ And mouse goes ‘squeak.'”  Other animals sounds are noted, leading to the ultimate question which is, “What Does the Fox Say?”.

It sounds like the lyrics were stolen from a children’s book, but the book actually came later.  The book was published in December of 2013, about three months after the song was released.  It was an obvious marketing ploy to take advantage of the viral video, but the book is still in the Top 100 in the children’s poetry category on Amazon, and it is one of Ryder’s favorite stories.

Without any further ado, let us get to the song.  “What Does the Fox Say?”

By the way, I sort of identify with the old guy sitting in the chair and reading to the child during the dance scene on the video.

Also be aware that at the very end of the video we do learn what the fox says, but everyone is too wrapped up in the song to notice.

Continue reading →