The Carroll News: First Editorial

So, this isn't my first newspaper editorial - that distinction belongs to a piece I did for the University of Tennessee's Daily Beacon about the importance of maintaining academic freedom (you can check it out at http://dailybeacon.utk.edu/showarticle.php?articleid=16419). But I figured what the heck, let's put it online, see if anyone is interested. My friend Allen Worrell at the The Carroll News (http://www.thecarrollnews.com/index.shtml), a weekly up in Virginia, asked if I might be interested in adding some content and, as anyone who knows me will testify, I never miss the opportunity at the bully pulpit. Now, for you political scientists reading, remember, I wrote this for a newspaper - don't be expecting anything theoretical loaded with -isms and words like "null hypothesis" or "Madisonian." Regardless, enjoy:

As elections again draw near in Virginia, that old question comes up again and again. Why should we vote?

Good question. Here are a few reasons. First, let's go straight for the heartstrings. Since the Revolutionary war, millions of men and women have dedicated their lives to protecting our right to take part in a democracy. As of this week, 1,006,824 had died doing so (according to the Department of Defense). If we respect those men and women, if we have any sense of gratitude, voting is the only answer. Trust me, after you pull that handle, you’ll feel better about yourself.

Secondly, and far more practically, voting is how we decide things in this country. The leaders we elect will decide how much of the money we earn will be taxed. They’ll decide whether to send our family members, our friends, or us to fight in a war. Those same leaders will decide what property rights we do and don’t have. Elected leaders decide how many police and firemen we should have. They’ll chose who can and can’t have guns and decide where to build roads, dams, and power-lines. They’ll decide how much privacy we’re allowed to have and they’ll nominate the judges who will run our courts. These leaders are the people who are make a government that protects us, educates us, and take care of our elderly and orphaned. And occasionally, when we’re lucky, those leaders will let us decide for ourselves what should be done in referendums.

If we chose bad leaders then we get bad decisions and a bad government. If we chose good men and women with bad policies, then again we get bad decisions and a bad government. Put simply, elections matter because they make government do what it does not just to other people, but also to us. If we don’t take part in elections, then we’re giving up our ability to make government better—and our ability to make government help us as individuals.

But let’s not stop there. Let’s not just make our decision based on television advertisements or gut-feelings. Catch up on your news from as many sources as you can—if you have this paper in your hands or you’re reading this editorial on-line, you’re already on your way. Acquaint yourself with the issues, figure out what problems matter to you and which you can let slide. Then do some research, figure out what the candidates are saying on those issues. This newspaper is a great start, but follow it up with information from other sources like magazines, the radio, or a trip to the internet. You’ll be amazed at how much you can find, including the websites of many of the candidates. If you don’t have the net at home, head to the library—I’m sure they’d be more than willing to help you out, especially since your tax dollars are already paying for it. If the candidates haven’t made their stance on an issue or issues that are important to you, write them. If they won’t tell you, write your local paper and put up posters—guilt him or her into telling you. Finally, find out if which candidates live up to their promises and which are just full of hot air—its all public record and pretty easy to find. You deserve to know.

Remember—good government is your responsibility. Government is what we make it through voting. If you don’t vote or if you vote irresponsibly, you’re not just hurting yourself, you’re hurting America, Virginia, and your community.

As a farmer from Charlottesville named Jefferson once said, “If the nation expects to be ignorant and free . . .it expects what never was and never will be.”

Miller High Life

Now, I'm not going to lie and pretend that I have the best taste in beer in the world. Mind you, I like great variety, but I do have a special place in my heart for two very common American beers: Pabst Blue Ribbon and Miller High Life. I won't go into much detail as to the former, except to say that yes, I did once buy a can of PBR in China, and yes, I did bring it back as a present for my friend Tyler G. Kidd, Esq. (who does not, to my knowledge, even drink beer anymore). That's well and good, but lets be honest, enough is being said about PBR that I don't really need to add to the hype. Then there's Miller High Life, the Champagne of Beers. Now, I don't know how apt the nickname is, but its a decent drinking beer, especially for dark smokey bars and watching football on Saturdays in late October. I drink it Lite, though, cause I'm 29 and the ol' metabolism ain't what it used to be. Such is life.
That aside, ol' Miller High Life also has had the benefit recently of two outstanding advertising campaigns, least in my opinion. The first is the "Miller High Life Man" series done by Errol Morris. You can see 'm all on his website (http://www.errolmorris.com/commercials/miller.html) and I can't but say it'd be an hour or two well spent. An ad critic (no, I don't know how you get that job) named Seth Stevenson wasn't a fan, saying "If [the "High Life Man" ads] held any appeal for under-35s, it was only as an ironic homage to a defunct sort of masculinity." I cordially disagree Mr. Stevenson - in fact, I figure if you left the upscale part of virtually any city and headed for the suburb, the country, or the grittier parts of town, you'd probably find millions of people who identified with just the sort of lifestyle these advertisements nod to. Call it the Fight Club syndrome if you want, but blatent American-esque masculinity is still around, right or wrong. But I digress.
Mr. Stevenson did, however, provide us with something useful insights in his article on the Miller High Life "Girl in the Moon." The whole deal is here ( http://slate.msn.com/id/2127699/) on Slate - one of the rare internet publications worth glancing at daily. Check it out and compare the new ad (you can see it in high quality form at http://www.millerhighlife.com) with the old campaign - maybe you'll agree with Mr. Stevenson, maybe you'll hate both productions, or maybe you'll be like me and appreciate the finer elements of both. Just like the smooth, crisp taste of a cold Miller High Life. Ah.

Blue October

There is a song called "Calling You" on the soundtrack of American Wedding. Its refrain, when written, seems cheesy. Consider:

I will keep calling you to see
If you're sleeping or you're dreaming
If you're dreaming, are you dreaming of me?
I can't believe you actually picked me...

Yeah, I know. Nothing fancy, kinda' teen pop sounding. Until you roll it out like smooth cream over the instrumental equivalent of a creek lined entirely with smooth, round, gray stones (the kind you'd find in a Japanese rock garden). This is Blue October.

Mind you - Blue October is not a teen band, they are the real thing, a little experimental, pulling the sounds of up-beat traditional European Music and Jazz into a rock framework. They're also from Texas, and from what I hear pretty big on the regional music scene, but they still don't have the recognition they deserve. I've got some leads for you to check their sound, short of the ol' illegal download, of course. Which is illegal.

Of course there is always the old stand-by, hit Amazon and catch samples there ("Calling You" on the American Wedding soundtrack is only labeled by the song title, mind you, but a couple of other albums are also for sale). You can try the Blue October website (http://www.blueoctoberfan.com/) but you aren't going to find much of utility there - gentlemen, c'mon, throw the fans a bone. Their publishing house, Rainmaker Artists(http://www.rainmakerartists.com/) does has two live tunes by the band, including a live version of "Calling You," which is okay, though this version is radically different than the one I personally fell in love with (i.e. the studio cut). Their live version of "Innerglow" holds up much better - in fact it kicks @$$ like it was a sport. Check them out - you won't regret it.

Thievery Corporation

I'm not going to go into too much detail here - it just flat out wouldn't help. I have heard Thievery Corporation be described alternatively Euro Jazz and Techno with a soul, but I prefer "Acid Jazz." Not that I've ever dropped before, mind you, but damn skippy if I don't think this is exactly what it would be like. I mean, except if you listen to this you don't necessarily loose your job and have British flicks made about you at your very worst. Etc. The website is http://www.thieverycorporation.com/. Its easy to navigate and you'll be blessed with a dearth of samples to give you sense of the game. Be sure to check towards the bottom of the homepage - there is a BBC remix of TC that bloody rocks.


Thievery Corporation: Absolutely the best music to listen to in the thirty minutes before the sun sets. 'Nuff said.

Gran Torino

When I was a kid I saw my Dad use his little air rifle and thought it was pretty much the coolest thing I'd ever come across in my limited time on this Earth. Further more, I knew Dad hated the doves that would come in and run out all the smaller birds from the birdfeeders. So I formulated this plan - I would eliminate the dove problem and use the air rifle. If I was helping out, he couldn't be angry if he found out, right? Well, I waited for my moment - I had a baby-sitter and she was asleep upstairs. I took out the air rifle and managed to get it pumped. It took awhile, because I was only about nine and weaker than sin. Well, once I got it primed I knew I had to make my shot count, so I waited. I waited until I had a solid, perfect bead on a dove, until the wind was dead, until I could control my breathing. And with my very first shot, my very first one, well, I caught a dove in the head. I ran down to see what I'd done and as soon as I saw that poor, limp body, once so pretty and now just . . . dead, well, I almost vomited. Instead, though, I opened the garage, got the trowel, and carried the dove to the very back of the yard. I dug a hole and very, very carefully laid sod down on top, trampling the edges until the scar was completely gone. Then I went to my room and cried until dinner. That is when I really, really understood death, rather than just knowing what it was.

This is how I felt when I left the final show of Gran Torino. Gran Torino was a 9-piece band that wailed their jazz/rock/ska fusion like the Armageddon was coming. You couldn't listen to them on a recording without moving or hear them in public without flipping out. They were awesome. Friggin' amazing. And now, well, they're gone.

But then again, so is Ray Charles, and I still listen to him. Of course the difference is that Ray Charles is available at Target for $9.95, while GT is just a fading memory. If you've never heard them. . . well. . . sorry. Hit Amazon (http://www.amazon.com) and do a search for Gran Torino, you'll come up with three of their albums, One, One and Only, and Two. There are samples of some of their work, short, but enough to get a feel for their style. Once you've heard "Moments With You," well, you'll understand.

Google

Alright Johnny-on-the-Spot. I got some Google tools for you that I think you're gonna' like. First there's Google News (http://news.google.com/). . . it searches over 4500 sites constantly for updates - and allows you to search in the same respect. Secondly, Google Scholar http://scholar.google.com allows you to search virtually every scholarly publication on earth. If you're doing research and don't want to struggle with clumsy library systems or even JSTOR and its kin, this is a great site to start on. Third is Google US Government(http://www.google.com/unclesam). Pretty self-explanatory, this site lets you dig up jonx from, well, government websites. My personal favorite, however, is Google Print (http://print.google.com/) - currently at the root of an enormous debate on the strictures of copyright law, this site allows you to search a massive database of 'real' books for references to whatever you want. Its amazing - you can easily waste an afternoon with open mouth just pouring over results - not to mention the fact that its potential longterm value to research is beyond imagination.

Scott Miller and the Commonwealth

So I was looking through the CDs at a Barnes & Noble around four years ago, looking for something I'd never heard, you know, to jumpstart the ol' neurons. Then I saw an album cover with the seal of the Commonwealth of Virginia on it and the title Thus Always to Tyrants, which is a translation of the state motto, Sic Semper Tyrannis. I was befuddled, so I put down the CD and walked away. Then I came back, picked it up again, then put it down again. This continued for give or take twenty minutes. Finally I picked it up, as well as some other album which I have long since forgotten, checked out, and headed to the car. The music was so damn good, however, that I didn't just go home as I had originally intended, but spent two hours driving around and listening to certain tracks over and over.

If you're interested, Scott Miller is a staple of the music scene of the Smokies in general and Knoxville in particular, but he hails originally from Swoope, VA - don't worry, I had to look it up too. . . its in the Shenandoah, just west of Staunton (pronounced STAN-ton, for all you flatlanders). He's also an alum of William & Mary where he majored in, get this, Russian. Loves Pushkin. Layers upon layers.

The Commonwealth produces a unique sound, Southern Rock that's been forcefed on a diet of Bluegrass and Alt rock, like if George Jones had been writing for Matchbox 20 - oh, and if they hired a church organist who practices hellacious soul in secret (in the dark after the Wednesday night dinner is all cleaned up). Okay, not a good characterization, but you get the picture. For the uninitiated, I've got a key resource. The Commonwealth's website is http://www.thescottmiller.com/; in particular, read Scott Miller's journal and listen to samples in the music section. . . their newer stuff seems a little harder, a bit more straight rock (though jazz and soul influences seem to be growing). Regardless, check'm out. Its worth it for the enormous mule on the front page, if nothing else.

Menomena

So, sometimes you're looking for music on the net, just surfin' a little you know? And sometimes you come across a website so horrifically gaudy and psychodelic that you almost abandon it without a second consideration. Then you think to yourself (if you're me, at least), hell, maybe a slight epipleptic seizure is worth a couple minutes of my time. Then you find the free downloads section and you right-click a couple times. You make for the head, you come back, and then damn skippy if you don't find yourself absolutely giddy. I now call this the Menomena Effect. Their website is http://www.menomena.com, and yes, this band from the Pacific Northwest is a little . . . weird. But if you like, say, Massive Attack, Theivery Corporation, the Chemical Brothers, and so forth, but you're craving a little more of a Starbuck's coffee rock-induced caffeine-high, well, try Menomena.

Ron Dunbar

So I've known Ron going on 10 years now. Once he, Papaw, Neal and I sat up at Neal's Farm after a frat party burning old wet hay in a bonfire till the sun came up just to see how much smoke we could make. No, it doesn't make any sense, try to move past it. That said, Ron is one of the best solo artists I've ever seen live. He's a little rock, a little classic country, a little jazz, and a little bluegrass. In other words, he's like four concerts all wrapped up in one man. Somebody give this man a contract so that I can hear him on the radio and not just in BAJA (a tiny Mexican joint in Damascus, VA where the people are nice and the beer is cold). Check out his website (http://www.rondunbar.com/) where he has some samples available (Start with "Mercy Me"). Trust me. We're in the trust tree.

OKGo

I can't remember exactly when I went to see They Might be Giants, but I do know it was in the Bijou Theater in Knoxville, TN and that I went to the show immediately after teaching. So there I was, drinking Guinness, wearing a sweatervest and waiting to hear the only American rock band I know of that uses an accordion. That is when the opening band came out and completely rocked the house. Seriously. Like, open-mouth rocking. Their name was OKGo and I immediately became a diehard fan. Their website is http://www.okgo.net/. They are high energy, straight solid rock - you'll have a hard time isolating their influences because they are so damn many. If you're a fan of 1970s rock, you'll smile. If you're a fan of 1980s and 1990s MTV jonx, you'll smile till your face hurts. My recommendation, check out their 2002 self-titled album (OKGo) first, then move on to the slightly mellower 2005 release (Oh No). I can't say it more plainly. If you like real rock-and-roll, the kind that is an endangered species these days, OKGo is the answer to your prayers.

Spouse

So, you know when you were in high school and you'd just broken up with that girl (and by broken up I mean were dumped by) and you'd jump in your pick-up and throw in Tom Petty. You'd fast-forward to the slow stuff that wasn't too weird if you only half listened and you'd manage to grin through the whole thing? Yeah. Then you need to listen to Spouse. I was listening to an old episode of This American Life a couple days ago and heard 'em singing a song called "Superman" (a cut from their 2000 album Nozomi - which I just ordered on Amazon, of course). They have that same depressed-happy feeling as Petty, with a serious Indie/alt-rock twist, but whereas Petty is obsessed with Alice in Wonderland, Spouse is obsessed with comics. Their site is http://www.spousemusic.com/ - its worth a looksee. You might also want to check out WormCo's "Jukebox" website (http://www.wormco.com/audio.htm) if you want a free sample. . . in particular check out "Wonder Woman." You know it.