March March

Blurry in the USA

DJ Cummerbund is something of a mashup genius. But this may be my favorite yet, and considering how much I love much of his work, that's saying something.

I will say I'm not entirely sold on his editorial POV here, visually—it's all very powerful, but as a friend said, it's a bit, well, blurry. He seems to be maybe conflating a few things in a way I'm not sure are beneficial or accurate. But at the end of the day, the audio is stellar, and the visuals powerful. And, of course, it's got a good beat and you can headbang to it.

I Don't Like Monday / Jeremy

So Pearl Jam finally released their original cut of 1991's "Jeremy." The outstanding RockTownHall wondered which was better, the song "Jeremy" or its predecessor "I Don't Like Mondays" by the Boomtown Rats, and which video was superior.

I always loved "Mondays"—the song, that is—even (or maybe especially) the version from The Secret Policeman's Ball. And props to Bob Geldof for writing about something so harrowing while it was still so fresh and doing so in a way that's, to my ears, sensitive and doesn't go for the easy out in any way. (And for admitting how inherently problematic it is to have a successful single about something so tragic.)

I do wonder about the song's arrangement: there seems to be a bit of a piss-take about the original recording of "I Don't Like Mondays," which could be like the Rolling Stones adding the choir to the beginning of "You Can't Always Get What You Want" in that it deflates the artist themselves, or it could be an honest attempt at being Artsy, or it could be them backing off the emotional intensity a bit by throwing up an ironical shield. I like it...but I'm not sure it was the best way to go. Although, hey, it gave them their first and only hit, so what the hell do I know?

What's more, the video has a surprisingly lasting power to it, given its relative antiquity.

But I feel it loses the courage of its own convictions in the final third, perhaps due to record label restrictions—that's entirely speculation on my part—as it starts to verge on almost goofy (Geldof does a surprisingly good but entirely inapt Mick Jagger impersonation and the interpretive dance in the background is a resounding failure) where earlier it had felt significantly more earnest.

Meanwhile, being earnest has obviously never been an issue for heart-on-their-sleeves-no-matter-what Pearl Jam. And this finds them absolutely firing on all cylinders—the lyric is outstanding in the way it's simultaneously sparse and yet filled with snippets of details which tell so much. Musically, it's an unimpeachable slab of rock and roll, with its slow build giving a tiny hint of what's to come but not really preparing the listener for the relentless onslaught approaching. I'm unfortunately not a fan of vibrato, which means there's only so much I can love Eddie Vedder's vocals, but here they do nothing but work 100%. And of course, Stone Gossard and Mike McCready are one of the great guitar duos of all time—if they're never going to threaten Duane Allman and Dickie Betts, I'd certainly MUCH rather hear them play than Keef and Woody. (If perhaps not quite as much as Keef and Mick Taylor and not nearly as much as Paul Westerberg and Bob Stinson.) Most of all, Pearl Jam was kicked along by Dave Krusen, who just absolutely rips it up on this song. (Matt Cameron is an excellent drummer and Pearl Jam has said that without him joining they wouldn't have been able to keep going so I'm glad he's a member but to my ears he's by a huge margin their least good fit musically.)

And where the earlier video is surprisingly effective, the latter has the benefit of a decade of advancement in video technology and understanding of the medium and while it can perhaps seem a bit overly emo from this much later vantage point, that's not taking into account how devastating it was at the time. So I'd argue it's leagues better, especially since, unlike the Rats, PJ doesn't back down at the song's climax...and that's putting it mildly. Also, Eddie Vedder looks like an answer to the question no one ever asked: what if they Joker had pinkish skin and was possessed by the devil? Not sure if that's what ol' Ed was going for but, again, damn sam, is it effective. So I'd say the video is a decisive win for Pearl Jam, while the song is a draw.

I lived in San Diego for about a dozen years. And my last year there, I suddenly thought, hey, I wonder where the inspiration for "I Don't Like Mondays" happened. Surprisingly hard to find the exact address—not impossible, but five years ago, surprisingly difficult. And it turns out not only was it about a mile from where I lived, but the street was one I'd pass on at least a weekly basis on my way to the grocery store, meaning I'd driven by it hundreds of times. I haven't been there in three or four years now, I guess, and Google Maps seems to indicate they've finally torn it down and put up nice new houses. Life moves on.

"Baptized in these waters, and in each other's blood."

Required reading, if you ask me:

"You may well ask: "Why direct action? Why sit ins, marches and so forth? Isn't negotiation a better path?" You are quite right in calling for negotiation. Indeed, this is the very purpose of direct action. Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue. It seeks so to dramatize the issue that it can no longer be ignored. My citing the creation of tension as part of the work of the nonviolent resister may sound rather shocking. But I must confess that I am not afraid of the word "tension." I have earnestly opposed violent tension, but there is a type of constructive, nonviolent tension which is necessary for growth. Just as Socrates felt that it was necessary to create a tension in the mind so that individuals could rise from the bondage of myths and half truths to the unfettered realm of creative analysis and objective appraisal, so must we see the need for nonviolent gadflies to create the kind of tension in society that will help men rise from the dark depths of prejudice and racism to the majestic heights of understanding and brotherhood. The purpose of our direct action program is to create a situation so crisis packed that it will inevitably open the door to negotiation." - The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., "Letter from a Birmingham Jail," 1963

And required listening, if you ask me:

41 shots
41 shots
41 shots

41 shots

41 shots, and we'll take that ride
'Cross the bloody river to the other side
41 shots, cut through the night
You're kneeling over his body in the vestibule
Praying for his life

Is it a gun, is it a knife
Is it a wallet, this is your life
It ain't no secret (it ain't no secret)
It ain't no secret (it ain't no secret)
No secret my friend
You can get killed just for living in your American skin

41 shots
41 shots
41 shots
41 shots

41 shots, Lena gets her son ready for school
She says, "On these streets, Charles
You've got to understand the rules
If an officer stops you, promise me you'll always be polite
And that you'll never ever run away
Promise Mama you'll keep your hands in sight"

Is it a gun (is it a gun), is it a knife (is it a knife)
Is it a wallet (is it a wallet), this is your life (this is your life)
It ain't no secret (it ain't no secret)
It ain't no secret (it ain't no secret)
No secret my friend
You can get killed just for living in your American skin

41 shots
41 shots
41 shots
41 shots

Is it a gun (is it a gun), is it a knife (is it a knife)
Is it in your heart (is it in your heart), is it in your eyes (is it in your eyes)
It ain't no secret (it ain't no secret)
It ain't no secret (it ain't no secret)
It ain't no secret (it ain't no secret)

41 shots, and we'll take that ride
'Cross this bloody river to the other side
41 shots, I got my boots caked with this mud
We're baptized in these waters (baptized in these waters)
And in each other's blood (and in each other's blood)

Is it a gun (is it a gun), is it a knife (is it a knife)
Is it a wallet (is it a wallet), this is your life (this is your life)
It ain't no secret (it ain't no secret)
It ain't no secret (it ain't no secret)
No secret my friend
You can get killed just for living in
You can get killed just for living in
You can get killed just for living in your American skin

41 shots
41 shots
41 shots
41 shots


#blacklivesmatter #icantbreathe #nojusticenopeace #justiceforgeorgefloyd