Election Year Rag

The late Steve Goodman was a great songwriter, i.e. "(The Train They Call) The City of New Orleans", and here is sample of that in making light of the dark of election day in a jolly ragtime style commentary ("The winner's always someone else, the loser's always us").

Another darkly lined silver cloud in the form a sort of peppy country blues "Election Day", by Blaze Foley & The Beaver Valley Boys (with the under-appreciated Gurf Morlix), Foley being immortalized by Lucinda Williams' woulda, coulda, shoulda ode "Drunken Angel"

"Symphony of Sorrowful Songs" (Symphony No. 3, Op. 36)

via Yahoo.com

Funerals began today for children murdered in the mass slaughter incident at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut.

Henryk Gorecki composed "Symphony of Sorrowful Songs" (Symphony No. 3, Op. 36)

Although the themes are about loss through war, pegged upon the Holocaust, it is a poignant piece for the day:

The first and third movements are written from the perspective of a parent who has lost a child, and the second movement from that of a child separated from a parent.

PREVIOUSLY: "Devil's Right Hand"

"Devil's Right Hand"

via SmokingGun.com

It's a horrible and horrific day at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticutt. Johnny Cash weighs in on the general topic with "Devil's Right Hand."

Not to be forgotten is the Boomtown Rats' masterwork "I Don't Like Mondays," which is specifically about a school shooting.

"James Bond"

The Skatalites The Skatalites – James Bond

Moby – James Bond Theme - Moby's Re-version

Desmond Dekker – 007 (Shanty Town)
<< 007, 007
At ocean eleven
And now rudeboys a go wail
'Cause them out of jail
Rudeboys cannot fail
'Cause them must get bail

Oh, dem a loot, dem a shoot, dem a wail
A shanty town
Dem a loot, dem a shoot, dem a wail
A shanty town

Dem rudeboys get a probation
A shanty town
And rudeboy a bomb up the town
A shanty town>>

"A Gallon of Gas"

via enotes.com

NEWS ITEM: Plenty of oil, except if you're in California owing to our specialized gas mix and 2 refineries and a pipeling shutting down.

The Kink's were prophetic in many ways, presaging alt rock and punk, but this punchy blues tune is especially apt for those of us in California: A Gallon Of Gas. Some lyrics (some others allude to how it's easier to buy drugs than gasoline):

''I've been waitin' for years to buy a brand new Cadillac
But now that I've got one, I want to send it right back
I can't afford the gas for my luxury limousine
But even if I had the dough, no one's got no gasoline

''I love your body work, but you're really no use
How can I drive you when I got no juice?
Because it's stuck in neutral and my engine's got no speed
And the highways are deserted and the air smells unnaturally clean

''It's got power assisted overdrive and carpets on the floor
But it's parked out front just like a dead dinosaur
And I'll be paying off the bank for 45 years or more
It should go 100 miles an hour but it's never moved away from my door

''Who needs a car and a seven forty seven
When you can't buy a gallon of gas
Who needs a highway, an airport or a jet
When you can't get a gallon of gas''

"Fannie Mae"

via AirPlayDirect.com

In the news

U.S. securities regulators accused six former executives at mortgage firms Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac of playing down the risks to investors of the firms' foray into subprime loans. WSJ.com

Elvin Bishop – "Fannie Mae" 

on Spotify.com

"God's Song (Why I Love Mankind)"

In honor of Etta James, who was great at singing great songs; it was announced today that she has terminal leukemia.
   "God's Song (That's Why I Love Mankind)" is a Randy Newman-penned song takes a particularly harsh view of God and the suffering of people, which seems especially potent in light of today's news.

They said "Lord the plague is on the world

Lord no man is free

The temples that we built to you

Have tumbled into the sea

Lord, if you won't take care of us

Won't you please please let us be?"

And the Lord said

And the Lord said

"I burn down your cities--how blind you must be

I take from you your children and you say how blessed are we

You must all be crazy to put your faith in me

That's why I love mankind

You really need me

That's why I love mankind"

And since this blog is preoccupied with Christmas songs, it would be remiss to bypass a mention of her superb "12 Songs of Christmas" with this great but little-heard ballad "This Time Of Year"

both on Spotify.com