Quora: The Quality of Popular Music

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Original question: How do the record executives decide what music is in demand? Do they give the public what they are wanting, or just play certain music and then say that it is what people want?

My Answer:

That’s a good question!

I think it would be pure speculation, whether they tried to guess what the public is wanting, or not. Your assertion they play music “then say that it is what people want” makes me chuckle.

I spent 25-years in radio. During my career, radio would make or break a song. It’s still important, and what I’ll tell you here is still valid.

The bottom line is, these three truths: There are great bands out there you’ll never hear about; there are mediocre-in-every-way artists who are pushed by labels and agencies who you’d THINK were the best Continue reading “Quora: The Quality of Popular Music”

I Just Got Unbanned, Then Banned Again

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Once, when I was a young radical who liked to drink and drive (many years-ago), I got arrested in Stonington, CT, by two competent young police officers. I was held overnight and released.

One year later, also in Stonington, CT, and on the same road, and by the same two police officers, I was arrested again, charged with the same thing. It was the kind of score blowing the breath test you can brag about in AA Continue reading “I Just Got Unbanned, Then Banned Again”

And the Blind Shall See!

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I hadn’t been inspired to write, but then I bumped into a video of Russell Brand. He’s an off-color, long-haired eccentric host of blabber, but he makes sense. Brand’s appeal is edgy; he’s the opposite of stiff. A lot of people like him, though he can be brash, because he’s honest.

A lesson we can take to heart as our nation battles for a grip on reality is that it’s important to be able to admit you’re wrong. All of us can’t be right, and at some point all the mindless bickering must stop!

This is Brand talking about meeting Tucker Carlson. Continue reading “And the Blind Shall See!”

What Is Christo-Fascism? Are Progressives Picking The Wrong Fight?

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With the newly-invented term “Christo-fascist” progressives are poised to reveal themselves to American citizens with a clear and powerful insult to the majority’s core beliefs.

Christo-fascist!

Say it out loud! It will be clear to every Christian who hears this phrase that the person who uttered it is insane, or a brainless follower looking to create conflict. Christo-fascist! I never thought I’d see an attempt to be trendy defy and destroy logic for the benefit of insult, while using the English language with no regard for the meaning of words. Continue reading “What Is Christo-Fascism? Are Progressives Picking The Wrong Fight?”

The Black Plume of Trust

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Do you trust the Government?  Trust worldwide is suffering, as the US Biden administration has made transparency non-existent, while we watch mysterious balloons being shot down and the so-called President is AWOL on the subject. While we hear the FBI found sensitive documents after they allowed Biden’s personal lawyer to search and conclude there weren’t any.

While we evacuate our homes under fear of death while a black plume of smoke rises from the Ohio/Pennsylvania border, Continue reading “The Black Plume of Trust”

How the Internet Twists Reality

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Who are your friends?

It’s a question that should be asked again, now the Internet is underway and mankind has morphed around its powers, twisting bodies into huddled, comfortable little blobs that love to interconnect by cyberchat. Who are we connecting with?

Now we don’t, though, just align with people on the Internet, we align with groups, causes. And even though a world of information is immediately available, we don’t need more than a meme to make important choices. Continue reading “How the Internet Twists Reality”

A Sunday Night with Kari Lake

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One-time Governor candidate Kari Lake roused supporters and discussed her election, during a “Save Arizona” rally Sunday night at the Orange Tree Golf Club in Scottsdale.

Wearing a red dress and sans podium, Lake spoke before a full house of several hundred supporters with just a microphone. The evening felt intimate, sometimes awkward, and far from rowdy, though Lake isn’t shy to speak her mind. At times it felt like the former news reporter is over her head, pressing issues that have been fumbled by the best, but willfully and fearlessly like there’s no tomorrow.

I am not backing down, not one damn inch!  We have amazing attorneys. One is an army veteran and one is a former Navy Seal! Those guys have a steel spine and they’re not afraid of anything and they’re patriots, and I thank God for them every day.” Continue reading “A Sunday Night with Kari Lake”

Turning Laziness into Blame for Vaccine Jabs, While Mastering Ignorance

A new article published by a website for women takes gaslighting to a new level, adding layer upon layer of blame while sounding like they’re spewing holy water upon those lucky enough to be reading.

The article, “They knew: why didn’t the unvaccinated do more to warn us?” appears today on the site iqfy.com, with no author or date. It’s a hugely controversial take on vaccines and health, aiming blame at the unvaccinated for “not warning us.” The comment section, when I viewed the article, Jan. 25, 2022 at 12:20 AM, went on forever, until admins turned off commenting completely.

Comments criticizing them for not listening.

What follows is a reprint of the article, and the comments.

Because the Internet is forever.

This article’s history points to someone named Alessandro Siani from the University of Portsmouth as its possible author. The site, while filled with lots of important-sounding words, is all fluffy pieces, Continue reading “Turning Laziness into Blame for Vaccine Jabs, While Mastering Ignorance”

The Intermediate Guitar Rut

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Mastering an art takes dedication. What kind of magic can help?

We’ve all experienced having a rush of excitement, then giving up. When you find this happening repeatedly, maybe you should try attacking the sport from a different angle! The world is filled with intermediates in a rut.

My title, “The Intermediate Guitar Rut,” is inspired by Lito Tejada-Flores, author of a book on snow skiing “Breakthrough on Skis,” Continue reading “The Intermediate Guitar Rut”

It’s Beginning To Look a Lot Like Genocide

I didn’t make this video, and don’t have much to say about it. It’s a funny video that focuses on a deadly issue. Comedy about illness.

That may sound bad, but it’s not.

As social creatures, humans listen gladly to jokes, and often derive meaning from them. It can be a way to really send home a message. This video, “It’s Beginning To Look a Lot Like Genocide,” is the modern version of a radio hit from the 60’s, the “I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die Rag,” which protested the war in Vietnam with lines like “Be the first one on the block to have your boy come home in a box!” Continue reading “It’s Beginning To Look a Lot Like Genocide”