Comments on: We can rock – can we govern or educate…?

By: Brett

Brett — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 21:40:05 +0000

Surviving in show business is the hardest thing to do, especially in popular music. 99.9 % of all musicians who attempt to go pro fail. To succeed for one year is quite a feat for a musician, but to do so for thirty years, like, say, Bruce Springsteen–that’s the hardest thing to do in the world. Therefore, anyone who can maintain a career in show business a la Bruce Springsteen, Frank Zappa (were he still alive), Neil Young, etc., should run for president or political office.

By: Russ Wellen

Russ Wellen — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 18:43:00 +0000

Yeah, Tipper is the skeleton in Al’s closet.

Thanks, Fikshun, for YouTube Zappa link. “Uncle Meat” ruled.

By: CaptBob

CaptBob — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 17:47:00 +0000

Let’s not forget Gilberto Gil, Brazil’s Minster of Culture and first rate bossa nova artist. Also, I suspect U2’s Bono would have to qualify as “unelected politician” for his work on reducing Third World debt. Steve Van Zandt’s recent efforts to promote a curriculum of history and cultural knowledge using rock and roll should be acknowledged as well.

By: Jim Booth

Jim Booth — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 15:56:07 +0000

Jeff – Zappa is the musician’s musician. He forgot more than most musicians ever know. In the way that Beatles songs have become standards, Frank’s music has influenced so many artists – I hear all that blather about Velvet Underground and I think, “Have you people never listened to Zappa?” I hear him in everyone from Costello to The Strokes. My boys, for example, have a picture of him up in their place – they burn a candle in front of it, for gosh sakes….

fikshun – I agree about Tipper – I, as a fellow Boomer, offer my apologies that such a stupid, easily manipulated cow was born in my generation. PMRC served no one but the Republican repression machine – that Gore took part always besmirches him in my eyes – and I voted for him in 2000 out of desperation to prevent his evil twin Skippy from becoming President…. I failed, perhaps because the only right thing to do was demand somebody better – I keep wanting to think Al changed after 2000 and because of his environmental crusade sort of like Bobby did after JFK was killed. But that’d be asking a lot from a guy who played to right wing sensibilities as he did….

By: fikshun

fikshun — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 01:09:27 +0000

What a different world it would be if Frank were still alive and in politics. YouTube has a great video of an episode of Crossfire with Frank Zappa and Robert Novak from the PMRC era. I’ve probably watched it four or five times over the last year or so.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ISil7IHzxc

It’s just my “child of the ’80s” perspective, but I still think Tipper Gore and her association with the PMRC cost Al the 2000 election. I didn’t vote for Bush, but I couldn’t bring myself to vote for anyone connected with her, either. In retrospect, it seems pretty trivial, but at the time I was thinking “yeah, that’s all we need is to see The Return of the Living PMRC”.

By: jeff

jeff — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 23:36:32 +0000

I remember the the way Zappa stood up to Tipper Gore during those hearings in the 1980’s. He was the most unappreciated artist in rock music, except by fellow musicians.

It’s amazing that I came onto this post just as “Catholic Girls” was playing…..I listen to a lot of Zappa.

Jeff

By: Dr. Slammy

Dr. Slammy — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 22:34:21 +0000

I can’t begin to testify that rock stars can govern. I can only say that I’ve seen the job professional politicians do and I’m willing to take the chance.

By: We can rock - can we govern or educateâ€¦?

We can rock - can we govern or educateâ€¦? — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 22:09:40 +0000

[...] post by Jim Booth This was written by . Posted on Monday, December 3, 2007, at 2:15 pm. Filed under Politics. [...]

By: Russ Wellen

Russ Wellen — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 21:05:15 +0000

What’s amazing is that Garrett was no second-rate rocker turned politician like John Hall, the representative from New York (not to disrespect his work as a congressman), or zero-rated, like the bad Bono (Sonny).

Garrett led one of the greatest rock bands of all time, Midnight Oil, whose long string of top-quality albums stands up to anybody’s from the Beatles to REM.

If he’s half as good with the environment as he and his mates were with music, he can surpass Bob Geldof and the good Bono as a do-gooder.

By: Rho

Rho — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 20:32:22 +0000

One more example of Rockers making a difference is Bono’s project red which just donated $50million to AIDS research.