Pribek

From Fox News…

Well, that was the greatest Christmas gift I ever got. My parents bought an electric guitar from the JCPenney mail-order catalog. They paid $99 for it. I didn’t know they really couldn’t afford it. It took them a year to pay it off, a little bit each month. But that was a life-changing gift for me, and that gift really got me out of my basic shyness, which I’m sure you’ll find hard to believe. But if it weren’t for that electric guitar that my parents sacrificed to give me, I assure you I wouldn’t be on the FOX News Channel, wouldn’t be talking to you, would never have run for anything except run to hide.

There’s a lesson here kids; get an electric guitar and one day you can become Governor, lose weight, run for President, go to work for Uncle Rupe and become the new Paul Harvey.

WooHoo!!!

Music is a powerful tool. It has long been used as a device to promote things and ideas. From propaganda to advertising goods and services, music helps to get a point across because it works on an emotional level. It opens people up emotionally when they hear music that appeals to them; they may even let their guard down a little.

I think that people overestimate the power of music when it’s used to promote. The listener/consumer still has to buy into the message you are promoting; they got to dig your chili. A song isn’t going to put you across, it just opens a little window-at best.

Years ago I played a few gigs that were Amway functions. These were situations where large groups of folks (biggest crowd was 18,000+ at a hockey arena in Hamilton, Ontario), that were involved in Amway, would get together and have a motivational meeting over a period of a few days. They weren’t trying to sell Amway-they were trying to inspire these people, who already bought into the Amway idea to go out and sell Amway. It was part preaching to the choir and part pep rally. We would go out and play a few songs after the audience had been listening to speeches for a few hours and maybe needed to loosen up a little. We played things like “Takin’ Care Of Business” or “Takin’ It To The Streets”, songs that had nothing to with Amway but could maybe, be loosely interpreted that way, and folks could bop around a little.

I call using music in this manner, “Pep Rally Usage”.

I didn’t have a problem with the idea of getting paid to go play at a pep rally that was built around a product or, product line, that I didn’t use, sell or endorse. It was work for hire. On the other hand, there have been many occasions where I have turned down the money to play at a political function. Even though these affairs are very similar in nature to the Amway gig, part preaching to the choir and part pep rally; I never felt comfortable with the idea that my work for hire would be perceived as a political endorsement.

There is a famous series of incidents that happened when Ronald Reagan was running for President. Reagan was using the song “Born In The U.S.A.”, in some way, at political rallies. Bruce Springsteen made it public that he didn’t like the song being used in this way and it was pointed out in the press that Reagan, and/or his people had either, not listened or, not understood the lyrics. It was an opportunity for Springsteen to puff his chest and put forth his own agenda. Reagan went on to win the election.

At the time, I thought the whole thing was kind of silly. Was I expected to believe that people would vote for Reagan because of some song that was played at a rally? Did Bruce Springsteen actually think that the use of his song would be interpreted as a ringing endorsement for Reagan?
No and no. The song was used in a “Pep Rally” sense. Obviously people bought Reagan’s message, dug his chili, with or without the song. Springsteen wasn’t on-stage with Reagan, they were just using the song.

“Using the song”-that’s the key premise here. See, if you write a song and then, you record and release it to the public-it’s going to be fair game. People are going to interpret the meaning of it in their own way. People will use it, in a positive or negative way, to promote their own identity or agenda. If you are uncomfortable with that-don’t release the song. Keep it close and personal.

I’m not talking about commercial licensing here, that’s a whole different situation.

The real truth about the Reagan/Springsteen episode was this; Springsteen didn’t want him to use the song and Reagan stopped using it. The rest of it was hype and both sides benefited from the hype.

The public is smart enough to know that, if they hear a song used at a political rally, it doesn’t mean that the person who wrote the song endorses the candidate. We get that.

Any time, you hear about one of these songwriter/rock stars, getting miffed because a candidate used their song at a pep rally, the hype machine has been engaged. Further, after we’ve all been through the Reagan/Springsteen hype, it just seems pathetic. What a songwriter/rock star should do, if their sensibilities are offended because a candidate uses a song in this way, is; Ask the candidate to stop using it. And, the candidate should stop using it. Simple, no?

From spinner.com…

Mellencamp’s publicist wrote the McCain campaign a letter explaining the rocker’s liberal political stance and asking, “Are you sure you want to use his music to promote Senator McCain’s efforts? Logic says that the facts might prove to be an embarrassment, were they to be circulated widely.”

Johnny Cougar was upset that McCain had used “Our Country” (you know, the truck commercial) and “Pink Houses” during campaign stops. He objects to McCain’s politics. He could have asked McCain to stop using the songs without a publicist issuing a veiled threat of embarrassment from widely “circulating” the “facts”. Facts-McCain stopped using the songs and the story was widely circulated.

Pretty goofy to see an old, chain smoking, corporate toadie, folk singer acting like he wields some cloak and dagger influence over the media and that it carries some relevance.

Not as goofy as our next contestant though.

What follows are excerpts from a letter sent by Tom Scholz (of Boston fame) to candidate Mike Huckabee. A letter that somehow ended up at the desk of the fashion magazine Rolling Stone.

Dear Gov. Huckabee:

It has come to my attention that your campaign’s use of my song More Than a Feeling and my band’s name BOSTON has resulted in a great deal of false information, which it now appears may exist permanently on the Internet.

While I’m flattered that you are fond of my song, I’m shocked that you would use it and the name BOSTON to promote yourself without my consent.

Your campaign’s use of More Than a Feeling, coupled with the representation of one of your supporters as a member “of BOSTON” clearly implies that the band BOSTON, and specifically one of its members, has endorsed your candidacy, neither of which is true.

First, I dig the way Tom always refers to the band with all capital letters. It really hammers the point home. Second, Sholz is referring to former BOSTON guitarist Barry Goodreau who likes to get up and play the song with Huckabee who, by the way, is a bass player.

I wrote and arranged More Than a Feeling, engineered and produced the recording, and actually played all the guitars on that BOSTON hit as well as most of BOSTON’s songs, not the person holding a guitar in your promotion who identified himself as being “of BOSTON.” Your claim that this was “the guy who originally did it” is a bit mystifying since he never played on that recording, nor has he been “of BOSTON” since he left my band over a quarter century ago, after performing with us for only three years.

Reads like a MySpace profile, doesn’t it?

BOSTON has never endorsed a political candidate, and with all due respect, would not start by endorsing a candidate who is the polar opposite of most everything BOSTON stands for. In fact, although I’m impressed you learned my bass guitar part on More Than a Feeling, I am an Obama supporter.

Huh? It took me a bit to untangle this but, I think I’ve got it. The band, BOSTON, has never endorsed a candidate. And, even though Tom Scholz, the individual, is clearly also BOSTON, the band; his support of Obama is as an individual, not as the band BOSTON.

By using my song, and my band’s name BOSTON, you have taken something of mine and used it to promote ideas to which I am opposed. In other words, I think I’ve been ripped off, dude!

Dude!!

In the end, I don’t know exactly what the solution is here. I can’t get upset because these wrinkle rockers are using this stuff as a, more than obvious, way to generate some publicity. At the same time, I don’t really see that they have a real big gripe. John Phillips Sousa, now there’s a guy that might have a legitimate bitch. Back in the day, if you wanted to use an up-tempo song, that was familiar to the crowd, at a pep rally, Sousa was the source. Every snake oil salesman walking was using the Sousa catalogue. Old Huey Long may have had the right idea when he wrote his own song…

Ev’ry man a King, ev’ry man a King
For you can be a millionaire
But there’s something belonging to others
There’s enough for all people to share

Maybe we need some type of “Campaign Music Reform” or, a “Campaign/Pop Music Act”. I don’t know. I know this, whenever I hear one of these geezer rockers getting bent because somebody used one of their songs at a pep rally, it makes me feel a little washed up myself. Maybe the whole batch of the rock and roll generations just got it wrong. If those songs are so damn important and the message is being so horribly distorted maybe, the message wasn’t very clear in the first place.

Are you just feeling super?

From Wikipedia

The Missouri bellwether is a political phenomenon that notes that the state of Missouri has voted for the winner in every U.S. Presidential election beginning in 1904 except in 1956. Missouri is also considered a bellwether of U.S. views on hot-button social issues such as stem cell research, school vouchers, and same-sex marriage. Some economists also consider the state a bellwether for economic trends such as consumer confidence and unemployment.

In ‘56, the state went for neighboring Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson.

I was trying to think last night and I don’t ever remember voting in a primary. I thought it would be best to continue with something that has worked out so well for me. I dislike this whole “Super Tuesday” idea. Come to think of it, I distrust the word “Super”, used in any context. And, “Super” politics is, in my mind, the worst. Super!!!

Even though I have decided not to participate in all of this Superness, I did pass by my normal polling place and turnout appears to be super low. At least in southern, Stone County, which is in the very southwest part of the bellwether state. People in Stone County, like to think that they are independent minded and a little different from the rest of the state. But, I’ve found that people in every county of every state, like to think that they are independent minded and a little different from the rest of the state.

All that aside, I have noticed a couple of interesting developments here in the old bellwether. One, I have talked to quite a few Democrats who say that they kinda like ol’ Mike Huckabee. Two, I know several Republicans that seem fond of Barack Obama.

Now, when people throw out information of this sort, in a casual conversation; what does it mean?
I don’t necessarily think that it means that they will be jumping ship and crossing party lines. But, it could mean that given certain circumstances. I think that it indicates that the “likability” factor is in play around here.

People around here, even the small contingent of Democrats, seem to perceive Huckabee as being like “one of us”. You could picture running in to him while having coffee at Ma’s Place or see him out on the lake bass fishing. So, I think that you may get a little of the Adlai Stevenson syndrome with Huck. If he does well here today, it’s because he’s semi local.

Now, the Obama phenomenon is a little more salient. I think that he also has a likability factor going for him. There is also the “change” thing. People seem to want “change”. They don’t know what to change or how to change it but, they want it. When someone comes along and aggressively markets the idea of “change”, people buy into it.

What is unique about the Obama thing is that I’m hearing Republican’s say things like; “He’s an impressive speaker”, or, “He has a lot of charisma”. Are these implications that bellwether Republicans may cross the party line in a general election?

Now, I will be surprised if Hillary Clinton gets the nod in Missouri. I don’t think she plays here in Stone County. She may have more leverage in K.C. or the Lou but, not around here. So, if Obama does well in Missouri today, that will be significant. That’s what to watch for with this bellwether business today.

Huckabee may actually be taking votes away from McCain in Missouri today, as opposed to the wisdom that, in most areas, his presence is weakening Romney. In other words, if Huck were not on the ballot today, McCain would take Romney handily in Missouri.

Regardless of what you hear on talk radio and from pundits who are not privy to the pulse of fly-over country, Romney isn’t playing here either. Let me put it this way; if the general election came down to Romney vs. Obama, I could see a lot of these Stone County Republicans, that are falling under the Obama ether, jumping ship. I don’t see that if it’s Obama vs. McCain.

These opinions, of course, are entirely formed by my conversations with people in Stone County. No polling data or market surveys.

If you believe in the bellwether phenomenon watch how Obama does today in Missouri.

UPDATE:
Having weathered the hailstorm and tornado, I am leisurely sitting in the Winnebago and playing the resonator guitar. As I pick the blues, I am simultaneously watching live streaming video coverage from CNN.com. They are calling their coverage “Super Duper Tuesday”. Maddening-Sickening.