Sunday, May 27, 2018

I LIKE MY HAIR LIKE MY ROADS

What became of my third night of a three day Memorial Day weekend? I'm not one to bow their head in reverence to fallen soldiers. In some sort of way, all service men and women are answering the call to duty to defend our country. In the end though, they're basically signing up to kill or be killed, and as cynical as that sounds I have the quote from my friend Harold, ten years older than me and a source for many beer drinking insights, who once said that he could not be in the military because he's just as soon turn around and shoot someone he didn't like than someone he didn't even know. It's all bullshit. Yeah baby, peace, love and dope. As misguided and corny as hippies were (and bad dancers to boot), at least they offered a counterpoint.

Whatever. Trying my best to put on a patriotic front, I ended up thinking about what American music was most American, undeniably born here and done better here than elsewhere. Fuck, where to start? Blues, jazz, country and western, surf, rockabilly? I settled on country and western, after revisiting Porter Wagoner's "The Rubber Room", a sure fire Lux and Ivy favorite had they ever ventured near the pedal steel abyss. Really, nothing says good ol' American country and western than a song about being institutionalized, replete with echo that would make King Tubby sit up straight for a minute.

After that it was the George Jones's "The Race Is On" which may be my favorite country and western song ever. (That's him at the top of the post.) It's not high art, but it's perfect. 1964 who the fuck are the Beatles flat top twang. After playing that it became an orgy of my dog died yesterday and my wife left me. I was so damn forlorn, I could only muster the energy to cut and paste four songs.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~
Listen:
Porter Wagoner - Rubber Room mp3 at April Winchell
George Jones - The Race Is On mp3
at David Fullmer
Hank Williams - Your Cheatin' Heart mp3 at Rocky 52
Red Simpson - (Hello) I'm a Truck mp3 at ATumblr (?)

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