Greatest Song Evah 6/9/23

4th Of July

This week’s selection is somewhat uncharacteristic of the classic X sound, but it is very indicative of where they were at that point in their lives. Arguably the premier band of the late 70s/early 80s L.A. punk scene, their distinctive sound was the product of the flawless intermeshing of Exene Cervenka’s and John Doe’s voices along with Billy Zoom’s modern take on classic rockabilly guitar.

By the time this song came out in 1987 they had undergone major personal and professional changes. Cervenka and Doe had gotten divorced, and Zoom had left the band. Additionally, they had expanded their musical palette, having dabbled in country music as part of their side project The Knitters. As a result, they were more than just a great loud & fast punk band. Still great, just different.

I’m not sure if Wild Gift era X would have had the maturity to pull this one off quite as well. Written by Dave Alvin, 4th Of July paints the portrait of a weary couple in the throws of a fading relationship. The tone of the vocals takes an added meaning knowing the singers’ personal history. (Fun fact, at this point Cervenka had gotten remarried - to Viggo Mortenson!) The line “She gives me a cheek, when I want her lips” is so simple yet says so much.

It’s great to know that after all these years they are still plugging away, with Zoom having returned to the band years ago. In 2020 they even released their first new album in more than 25 years, and it was a solid piece of work. Excellent band, outstanding song.

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

Um, yeah, that was something. Metaphor alert!

For a couple of days preceding Orange Tuesday I had heard weather reports mentioning that the unusual morning haze was due to smoke from the Canadian wildfires and that it would dissipate once the sun burns through. So I thought nothing of it when Tuesday morning forecasts warned that the smoke would get more intense that day and went about my business. I started to notice irritated sinuses and itchy eyes later on that day, but my initial instinct was puzzlement. Pollen levels are much lower than they were a month ago, why am I suddenly showing allergy symptoms again?

Then, in the afternoon I first noticed the sky turning an ominous shade, but once again to me it looked like the type of sky one sees as a major thunderstorm approaches. It was odd to me, because it wasn’t humid enough to suggest such a large storm was imminent, and besides, I hadn’t received any weather alerts warning that a thunderstorm was on the horizon. It wasn’t until that tint in the sky lasted for awhile with no storm that it dawned on me and I basically smacked myself in the head. Of course! Wildfire smoke!

I must say, with everyone having a full day to adjust Wednesday felt odd and not just because of the apocalyptic mood set by the sky color. As I was going outside it was a bit jarring to see so many people donning masks again. I had fallen out of the habit of automatically putting a mask in my pocket when I go out, and I quickly regretted not having done so. I’m a fairly healthy guy, yet it was a very uncomfortable couple of days there. I can only imagine how badly people with respiratory problems were doing.

As always, My Dips**t Mayor was on point. As bad as the air quality was on Tuesday, he didn’t hold his initial press briefing until Wednesday. Also, the administration was obviously aware days earlier about the smoke potential; a heads up so that people could have prepared themselves would have been nice. Good job, good effort.

Of course, the usual cast of characters continue to stick their heads in the sand. Wildfires in Canada this large and this early in the year are unusual, and air quality levels this poor in New York are unprecedented, yet the climate change deniers continue to spout nonsense. They’re even taking a page out of the gun control discourse; I’ve heard the line that now is not the time to politicize the issue. I’m surprised we haven’t heard the phrase “thoughts and prayers” yet.

One event does not necessarily mean that a new pattern is inevitable, but it is still worrying to see this take place in early June. I’m very concerned that this could be a preview of what Mother Nature has in store for us this summer. Sadly this is all something that we have brought upon ourselves. Similar to the gun violence problem, we don’t have to live like this, but we chose to. The warnings about extreme climate have been in plain sight for decades, but we allowed the naysayers to dominate the public debate.

And don’t forget the effect this has in the sporting scene as well. The smoke resulted in the postponements of multiple events in the eastern portion of the country, even some held indoors, as the atmosphere was too unhealthy for participants and spectators alike. Years ago, Sports Illustrated ran a cover story warning about the future ramifications of climate change. The cover photo was a photoshopped image of Dontrelle Willis standing on the mound at whatever the name of Miami’s stadium was at the time with water levels above his knees. Miami, of course, as a sea level city is a metro region that is particularly endangered by rising ocean levels. We are starting to see signs of climate predictions coming true. Tomorrow’s Belmont Stakes is in danger of postponement unless the air quality improves. Tennis’s Australian Open has been facing increasingly dangerous temperatures in recent years. Sadly, these stories will continue to become more common.

I Swear I Had Nothing To Do With It

Less than an hour after I hit “publish” on Wednesday’s newsletter, in which I speculated that Chris Licht was a dead executive walking at CNN, word came out that Licht was in fact asked to turn in his badge and gun. Admittedly this is not the most plausible scenario, but I can picture Warner Brothers Discovery head honcho David Zaslav sitting down with his morning bowl of Franken Berry, firing up his laptop and realizing “Oh no! If we lost Herd, we’ve lost the country!”

As justified as Licht’s firing, or whichever corporate euphemism WBD chooses to use, is, he was only the symptom and not the disease. Any programming or editorial decision he made was done with the full backing of his corporate overlords. Whoever eventually takes over for Licht on a full time basis will almost certainly replicate the network’s desire to both sides every issue, whether the issue warrants it or not. The CNN brand has been tarnished, it won’t be easy to repair the damage done. Remember, trust is easy to lose but difficult to regain.

So Many Witches

I don’t want to get ahead of myself; I remember all too well the running John Oliver gag with the oversized “We got him!” button. But a second indictment of The Former Guy is a wonderful sight to see. Dare I believe that after all these years he will finally begin to see the consequences of his actions? After all, the case in Georgia is very much active. The man will be running for President while under indictment in multiple jurisdictions.

Keep this in mind. Despite everything he is still the overwhelming favorite to secure the GOP nomination for President next year. That is stunning, coming from a party that loves to call itself the party of law & order. I suppose not all crimes are created equal. It will never cease to amaze me that knowing everything we know about that man that 63 million people voted for him and that 4 years later 74 million believed he deserved another term. I will never be able to wrap my head around that; nor will I understand how and why an entire party surrendered themselves to him so willingly. There may be a large number of candidates currently in the race for the nomination, but with the exception of Chris Christie and Asa Hutchison they are all carefully tiptoeing around him and refusing to directly criticize him.

Not To Speak Ill Of The Dead But….

It feels fitting that Pat Robertson died during Pride Month. The guy was one of the most hateful bigots in my lifetime - homophobia, antisemitism, general intolerance, he covered all the bases. To so consistently respond to natural disasters not with compassion towards those affected but with “this is God’s revenge” is a special type of evil.

At one point on the 700 Club he prayed for an opening in the Supreme Court. He didn’t explicitly state that he hoped a liberal Justice would die, but it’s what he strongly implied. As an allegedly religious man would do. He was a man who made the world an uglier place, and was a key figure in the unholy alliance (pun intended) that the GOP made with the religious right. Bye Felicia.

We Made It Through Another Week

Those of you who have been following this newsletter since I started it know that it’s a bit of a potpourri. So, let me conduct a brief survey. What have you enjoyed reading? What do you wish to see more of? Less of? I’ve got a couple of ideas in the back of my mind for recurring features but before doing so I want to be sure what my readers have been interested in. So please let me know. Thanks again for reading, and we’ll talk again on Monday.