The Best Black Artists Never Get Recognized In America

Prince Is Channeling Hendrix In England W/ 3rdEyeGirl

Few performers are as determined to give you your money's worth in every song,...

I Wanna Be Rich (So I Can Know What Real Misery Is,...)

I linked to this article in the last post, but after reading it in it's entirety, this quote made me laugh in recognition (first one of the day!) so here it is, as gays attempt to cross the Finish Line before us:

What is the ideology of the LGBT lobby, by the way?  And why does it seem to clash so incessantly with the views of black people, who are -- with the notable exception of Jason Collins, Barack Obama, and Obama's die-hard followers -- unimpressed with the comparison between their lives and the claims of the LGBT lobby? 

People who love the same sex come with many different agendas and experiences.  The peculiar ideology of the LGBT lobby, however, seems fashioned perfectly to inflame the rage and resistance of African-Americans.  First, the ideology is based on biological determinism.  The repeated appeals to the Fourteenth Amendment depend upon the notion that homosexuals are born with their orientation in the same way black people are born with dark skin.  This isn't the most inviting way to start a comparison: "Hi, I'm a guy who loves playing with other men's genitals, and that's just like you being black!"

Yeah, leaving out any suggestion blacks have liked it, just stick to descriptions of getting fucked (sometimes by strangers) and we might - *might* - be able to see where you're coming from. One more thing - it's weird how groups claiming to be oppressed by blacks always fall into this category:

"Economic data is irrefutable: The normative statistics for a homosexual in the USA include a Bachelor's degree: For gay men, the median household income is $83,000/yr. (Gay singles $62,000; gay couples living together $130,000), almost 80% above the median U.S. household income of $46,326, per census data. For lesbians, the median household income is $80,000/yr. (Lesbian singles $52,000; Lesbian couples living together $96,000); 36% of lesbians reported household incomes in excess of $100,000/yr. Compare that to the median income of the non-college educated Black male of $30,539. The data speaks for itself."

 

And that data says Hendrix was right:

"The more money you make,...the more blues you can sing,..."

 

Songs About Killing The Bitch - Part I

I'm going to be dropping a few of these on you over the course of the day, because it's a topic I think is worth addressing:

Whatever happened to songs about killing the bitch?

Or, rather, whatever happened to songs about wanting to kill the bitch? You know, nothing with the kind of seriousness you hear in Hendrix's "Hey, Joe", or the countless male/female threats and beatdowns you can find in Rap ("Wear the wrong color outfit/can get your mouth split") but just a general kind of, almost lighthearted, if-you-fuck-up of a warning song? Did they disappear with the rise of feminism and the metrosexual? I know women have made them, because I did a post on them (I'll find it for you and put a link in a later edition of this series) but what's happened to the men? Or am I missing them?



Of course, I'm not part of the whole Grrrl Power thing, because - let's face it - I can kick the ass of 99% of the girls out there, so the very idea was a joke, everyone pretending women were strong, protected by laws and a culture designed to hem men in to allow women to act like fools at everyone's expense (Oh shit, Rush is discussing the founder of Earth Day killing a woman - figures). There were, and always have been, tough women (Annie Oakley, Calamity Jane, etc.) so all feminist culture did was allow the female versions of male jerks free reign. But did the Grrrl Power thing also destroy the Kill The Bitch song? If you've got a comment, or a suggestion, let me know:

I'll keep the rest of you posted.

Note to Billy Joel: “We Didn’t Start The Fire” But We Keep Pouring Gasoline On It

Context matters, and the San Francisco school district has taken both Jimi Hendrix and the public schools way out of context.

There was a time when teachers would freak at the sound of Jimi Hendrix's "Purple Haze" or "Stone Free." Now the San Francisco school district wants them to get in the spirit.

"Remember the first time you heard Jimi Hendrix?" reads the cover of the district's new 51-page education guide. "Our plan is as transformational now as his music was then!"

The manifesto is aimed at transforming the educational "experiences for every child in each of our schools."

To drive home the point, a portrait of the '60s rocker - looking somewhat pensive, somber and perhaps stoned - graces the cover and every page of the manual.

The book also comes with a Hendrix poster and Hendrix-emblazoned canvas bag, which were handed out to a couple hundred administrators at Superintendent Carlos Garcia's back-to-school confab in September.

Not everyone, however, is in tune with the campaign, given that the songwriter-guitarist died after overdosing on prescription drugs and alcohol at the age of 27.

One school district employee, who asked not to be identified for fear of retaliation - but who described himself as a "liberal hippie educator who experienced the Summer of Love in San Francisco" - said he was disturbed that the Hendrix poster is popping up on school campuses.

"I find the choice of Hendrix as an inspiration to be used in an educational setting rather strange and out of touch," he told us in an e-mail.

Garcia says he is just trying to "revolutionize" San Francisco's schools, in the same way Hendrix's guitar playing transformed music.

As for Hendrix's druggie image?

"Hey," said Garcia. "We're in San Francisco." – San Francisco Chronicle

It’s past time to permanently fence off San Francisco. Fifty feet high, high voltage electrified. Nobody in, nobody out.

Manic Depression

"'We did some Chuck Berry and took it from there. I suppose it worked.'

Jimi Hendrix's drummer Mitch Mitchell was found dead in his hotel room yesterday.

The 61-year-old British musician, who played with the Jimi Hendrix Experience from 1966 until Hendrix's death in 1970, is thought to have died of natural causes in Portland, Oregon.

He was touring in a tribute band on the Experience Hendrix Tour, which performed on Friday in the city.

...Mitchell, from Ealing, London, was the last surviving member of Hendrix's trio, after bassist Noel Redding died in 2003."

-- The Daily Mail

Talking Through That Whole On My Neck

Fine. I'm done. You knew it was going to come to this, didn't you? I named the blog right. Look at the title again.

Or here, let me lay it out for you, nice and simple like:

You're. All. Fucking. Wrong.

I've been dancing around saying that for such a fucking while, even I've wondered what's taken me so long.

You're wrong. All of you. You don't know shit, and what you think you know isn't worth much, because you're not sure.

I'm sure. You can hear it in my voice - even in the voice I write with: I'm sure of everything I'm fucking saying, and what I'm saying most loudly is YOU'RE WRONG.

Let's start with the so-called "big stuff": there is no God. I'm not going to fight with you about it, or try to prove otherwise, because there's no point: there is no God.

Let Richard Dawkins pull together his PowerPoint demonstration for you, making the "atheists" proud in the face of your stupidity. That's not for me. I'm just going to state it as plainly as I can, one more time, and move on:

There-is-no-God.

Wait a minute - I'll go a little further: Constance Cumbey, you're a lawyer, and the fact you waste your time chasing NewAge nonsense to justify "Biblical scripture" is below you, and everyone who hears you. You're no different than that silly woman who "facilitates recovered memories" and claimed John Bolton (the U.S. Ambassador, not the treacly musician) yelled at her 20-something years ago. You all need to stop. Now. Get a life. Get a real one. Jesus doesn't need you anymore.

Oh, and while I'm at it (and before I move on) a quick message to my ex-wife who thinks (giggle) she's a four-eyed god: you almost got me, Bitch. But now I think I've finally got you figured out too - you're crazy.

A lot of people tried to tell me that but, silly me, I cared so much. Well I'm over it now. I'm going back to my music, played loud, and if I get it right, you'll hear it in whatever damned "spa" your already-dead ass is forever trying to "relax" in. That's the way I want it, that's the way it's going to be: noise, noise, noise, for the rest of my days. A real racket.

O.K. - I feel better now. Let's move on:

I've already told you McCain's going to be president, so you might as well drop the Obamamania now, because he ain't gonna do it. He ain't "The One". I'm the one:

I'm black, I'm post-racial, and I don't give a shit.

That's what you're looking for.

There's only one problem: I'm not running. Nope. No way, Jose. Anybody who thinks I'm "presidential timber" don't know shit about wood. I got "the right stuff" but the wrong attitude. Why? Because I'm disappointed in all of you and don't want to do it. Didn't I just have to tell you there's no God? Now who in the fuck wants to lead a bunch of idiots who couldn't figure that one out? Oh yea: John McCain.

I'd let him if I were you.

Music sucks. I'ma do what I can to fix that, but right now it sucks, and you people really should demand better. Go to Dylan's house and complain. Rip up the tombstone on Jimi Hendrix's grave - do something. Because if you have to rely on me to save you, with my attitude, your ass might be waiting a mighty long time.

If I have to wade my ass through another group of musicians, it's only going to be because I want to do something, and, considering the way I feel, I just may change my mind. I definitely won't be doing it for you. I'm 47 years old, and the idea of a 47 year old man - especially this one - trying to make somebody happy, depresses me. So, I don't know, throw money or something. There's a donate button over there: use it. Or be left to your own devices for "happiness." I'm all wrung out.

Art? What's "art" now? Bronze statues of Oprah? I don't think so. That's spectacle, just like those Kate Moss Yoga poses, Banksy getting cute, and whatever Michael Jackson's done to his face. Doesn't qualify.

Nothing does. It's over.

Women? What about women? Just asking that question - putting the word "women" with a question mark next to it - is enough to piss 'em off, so who cares?

Didn't they get the memo? I'm hereby declaring all insane people "insane," so if they've already bought their Sex And The City tickets, then damn it go, GO! Leave me the fuck alone.

I'm working here.