Greatest Song Evah 5/26/23

Take Me Out

Franz Ferdinand’s breakthrough single was a prime example of an impeccably produced record. It starts with a ringing guitar note, and the opening lines set the stage before transitioning to the repeating chorus that makes up the bulk of the song. The difference in tempo between the two main sections could have been a bit jarring, but the instrumental break that connects the two creates a gradual morph that works so well.

It’s a shame that their popularity in the states didn’t last very long; they were and remain a terrific band. Although not part of the scene, their debut came out just as the garage rock revival was starting to fade, and they were easily lumped in with those groups. By the time their follow up was released, guitar rock’s prominence in the states was at a low point. Perhaps if their timing had been a little better, their American success could have lasted a little longer, but it wasn’t meant to be. But for these 4 minutes, they perfectly nailed it.

Tina

Live Aid, 1985. As the Philadelphia portion of the concert nears its climax, Mick Jagger has performed a couple of songs from his first solo album. Then he stands at the mic and shouts “Where’s Tina!” Tina Turner proceeds to strut on stage as they perform State of Shock & It’s Only Rock & Roll. To call their duet erotically charged is a massive understatement. They practically f***ed on stage in front of a worldwide audience of millions. I’m pretty sure that plenty of viewers got pregnant through osmosis simply by watching that.

That 5 minutes was just one example of how mesmerizing a performer Tina Turner was. Blessed with an amazing voice that blended southern grit and church training, she was a force like no other. When you combine her distinctly gravely voice with a commanding stage presence and those spectacular legs, she was indisputably one of the goddamn sexiest women ever to walk the planet. Just look at how she worked the microphone.

It seems too easy to describe her as iconic, but it’s accurate. The image of her doing the classic arms raised twirl as Proud Mary suddenly turns nice and rough is seared into everyone’s memory. Every performer that danced on stage while wearing stilettos owes her a debt of gratitude.

Her mid-1980s comeback was a spectacular success and so well-earned. The first part of her bio in which she went from being little Anna Mae Bullock from Nutbush, Tennessee to R&B superstar Tina Turner is a classic rags to riches story. She took it a step further, with the well-known story of her finally leaving her abusive husband with only the clothes on her back and a gas card and some loose change in her pocket. For years she took every gig she could get, no matter how beneath her it may have been. There were a lot of Vegas shows, but also gigs at every small market hotel that would have her. She was a familiar TV presence during those years, appearing on seemingly every variety show no matter how silly. As a result, her name and face were always out there, and she had accumulated so much good will that even she was (gasp!) over 40, radio was ready to embrace her and MTV soon followed.

Among her many accolades is that she is one of only 3 women to have been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame twice. To be honest, her induction as a solo artist may have been a bit of a reach. As good as Private Dancer was, I felt too much of her solo career was filled with overly slick pop. Counterpoint - she’s Tina F***ing Turner, and she deserves every award thrown her way. Hell, organizations should create new awards simply to hand them to her, and she deserved as many honors as possible that were not tethered to her abuser.

I intentionally am avoiding speaking about her first husband. It’s true that he was a talented bandleader, as well as a key figure in the development of early rock & roll, but he was also an abusive monster, so an appropriate way to honor her passing is to leave him out of her story. It’s good to know that she found the happiness she deserved late in life, and was able to enjoy a happy retirement in Switzerland with her second husband. Her public appearances occurred less frequently in the last decade or so. She made a memorable appearance duetting with Beyoncé at the Grammys about a dozen or so years ago. Beyoncé is arguably the most striking direct descendant of Tina Turner, so that performance felt like a fitting passing of the torch.

As her health declined, she retreated even further away from the spotlight. I’m pretty sure her intention was to make the 2021 HBO documentary on her life her farewell to the public eye, but her subsequent HOF induction as a solo act ultimately served as a fitting curtain call. She certainly was not going to leave Switzerland in the midst of a pandemic for the event, but she did send a thank you video. Rest in power, Tina. You never, never did anything nice… and easy.

There’s Nothing Like Indy

The 107th running of the Indy 500 comes on Sunday. As I’ve previously mentioned, it’s still an important enough event that the winner will make the rounds of all the morning shows and the result will be one of the lead stories on news reports, even those that ignore Indy Car racing the rest of the year. And attendance is expected to be around 300,000. But by the following week the majority of the country will turn their collective attention elsewhere. It’s a big deal for one weekend, but crickets the rest of the year.

Which is a shame, because it is one of my favorite annual sporting events, even in years when the race itself is relatively dull. I can’t get enough of the spectacle, even some of the cornier elements going back to the participation of Jim Nabors and Florence Henderson when they were still alive. The excitement from the massive crowd can be felt as the engines fire. It expands even further throughout the parade laps, as the tempo steadily increases as the green flag approaches. The roar of the crowd drowning out 33 cars at full rev is something special. And the race is a true test of champions, the stress of running 200 laps full throttle while maneuvering the tight turns separates the champions from the rest of the field. There have been very few fluke winners over the course of the race’s history.

One late note following qualifying. Stefan Wilson suffered an injury during practice this week that will keep him out of the race, so a deal was arranged for Graham Rahal to take over for him. Drivers, start your engines and let’s be careful out there.

The Dystopia Never Ends

One of the most recent book banning was the removal of Amanda Gorman’s inaugural poem from a Florida school, and the actual complaint that led to its removal is something else.

Where to start - with the fact that she somehow believes Oprah wrote the poem? Oprah Winfrey wrote the forward for the published version of the poem, but reading comprehension does not appear to be a strength of the complainant. How about the incoherent phrasing in the complaint? The dismissive “I don’t need it?” A mind truly is a terrible thing to waste.

The Washington Post has reported that a grand total of 11 people have filed more than 1000 complaints. 11 people essentially making decisions that affect thousands of students. And it has come out that the mother who filed the Gorman complaint has ties to the Proud Boys along with a lot of antisemitism in her history - in the past she had promoted the notorious Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Remember, a central characterization of fascism has always been book banning.

On a related note, Target has been the most recent corporation to show a sad lack of backbone. They have removed some Pride Month related merchandise from their stores after receiving threats. I don’t know what the proper response is. Yes, it’s crucial to protect the safety of store employees. But it’s also true that there is no satisfying those that are making threats. The more times these groups are appeased, the more times they will find a new source of grievance. Somebody somewhere has to make a stand.

There’s a reason why the “first they came” poem is so powerful. It’s human nature to believe “it doesn’t affect me, not my problem.” But it’s vital to show solidarity with the oppressed, you could just as easily be next. The constant barrage against LGBTQ visibility is frightening, and no one should kid themselves into thinking it’s not their concern. It’s delusional to think the backlash will only be limited to one community. I hate to overuse the comparisons to Nazi Germany, but the parallels are unavoidable. The dog whistles and euphemisms have been packed away; vocal antisemitism and homophobia is increasingly out in the open, and I’m calling out the GOP on this. It goes back to the sad embrace of the term “deplorable.” Why are no party leaders telling the MTG/Boebert wing to put a sock in it? And whatever happened to empathy?

Scheduling Note

I won’t be sending out a Monday newsletter next week, so you’ll need to find your beach reading elsewhere. Instead I’ll send it out on Tuesday and the remainder of the week will be on the normal schedule. Enjoy the long weekend everybody!