The Daily Escape:
Salt Marsh, East Galveston Bay, Texas – 2019 photo by patrickbyrd
We canāt let the week end without talking about the Trump/Ukraine phone calls. Wrongoās hot take is that it seems that Trump may have stepped on a rake, and heās hoping that the bruise on his face wonāt leave a permanent mark.
It is also possible that instead, itās the Democrats who found a new rake to step on. Democrats are lazy. They want Trump out of the White House, but they donāt want to do the hard work of beating him in 2020.
And just when it was clear that the Mueller investigation couldnāt deliver for them, we have the Ukraine āfavor to askā story to move the impeachment ball toward the goal. Is it possible that Trump has baited the Dems into this? Heās been amazingly forthcoming.
Despite all the smoke, the investigation must answer three questions:
- Did the President do something that rises to the āhigh crimes and misdemeanorsā standard?
- Was there also a cover up?
- Who managed the cover up?
It remains to be seen what the answers are. Letās hope the truth comes out. That is extremely important, regardless of the final outcome for Trump, or the Democrats.
This week was also the 50th anniversary of the Beatles āAbbey Roadā. Were you around to hear it in 1969? Wrongo sure was. He remembers hearing their āMeet The Beatlesā in 1964. The debates about which is their best album endures, but Wrongo lists āAbbey Roadā and āRubber Soulā as his faves.
Opinions may differ, but āRubber Soulā (1965), āRevolverā (1966), and āSergeant Pepperā (1967) was one heck of a three-album streak. Later, like all streaks, the Beatles lost their mojo, and broke up in 1970.
To many, the Beatles albums are music for Boomers. And some think the generation got stuck there. They believe any music that played after they turned 30 isnāt worth listening to. This says a lot about them. Just look closely at our current politics and politicians if you require an example.
But itās a combined problem: Around 1980, rock radio stations stopped playing new music and put Boomer classics into a heavy rotation. Even Springsteen didnāt get much airtime until āBorn in the USAā in 1984. If you werenāt listening to alternative radio you thought that nothing had changed.
Truthfully, many in each generation appear to be convinced that the worldās best music was recorded sometime between their 13th and 25th birthdays. Most people kind of turn into their parents along the way, criticizing whatever flavor of new music comes along. Meanwhile, after watching PBSās Ken Burnsā āCountry Musicā, Wrongo is more convinced than ever that American pop music is a mostly unbroken chain of evolving and branching genres.
Fall has begun in earnest on the fields of Wrong. Tomatoes are done, the only thing still growing in our little garden is parsley. Today, around 7:00 am, we had a large, healthy coyote trot through the back 40. Weāve been hearing them howling nearby at night for years, but see them infrequently.
Sadly, we have to start our fall cleanup in earnest this weekend. But before we do, itās time to begin our Saturday soothing ritual. Start by going online and buying a few pounds of Panama Elida Estate Catuai Natural ASD coffee ($32/16 oz.) from Branford, CTās own Willoughby’s Coffee & Tea. The roaster says it has flavors of guava, red grape, pineapple, lychee, mango, ripe berries and red wine.
Since there can be no way to stop thinking about whatās going on in DC this weekend, letās gear up for it by listening to something that isnāt on your Spotify or Pandora play lists, or on any of the middle-of-the-road stations you listen to, its Gary Clark Jr.ās song āThis Landā.
From the LA Times:
āProtest and social justice havenāt previously been the central focus of Clarkās songs, with a few notable exceptions on his first two studio releases for Warner Records. Heās been celebrated mainly as a next-generation master of molten blues guitar and a new hope for old ways in the digital era, but his latest album, āThis Land,ā begins with a title song of genuine anger and deep, raging funk.ā
The song is about being angrily profiled in his own home in rural California by a white neighbor, in front of his son and daughter. The neighbor asked Clark to take him to meet the real owner, or he’d call the police.
The song is about what was said to him, how he was treated, and how he felt after being treated that way. Clark didnāt join a hate group. He didnāt say death to all white people. He wrote a protest song about his experience:
The video is a must watch, and the music is a blend of blues rock, reggae, and hip-hop all in one. Those who read the Wrongologist in email can view the video here.