That's the funny thing about Art: It might be ten years old, but it's right on time.
In 1996, Graham Parker released one of the best CDs of his career, "Acid Bubblegum." It didn't get much press and I paid no attention to it a decade ago, but it's been the soundtrack for my life over the past six months after a pal turned me on to it, and I wanted to share it with all my virtual friends at Daily Kos because it's exactly the kind of smart, angry, progressive and INSPIRATIONAL music that people here will probably find a shot in the arm while the Administration is doing its best to keep shooting people in the face.
The album's title is perfect: Cheerful sounding songs with bitter, biting lyrics that spare no worthy targets. War in the Middle East. Downsizing. Spin. Christian hypocrites. Celebrity sell outs. Demographic testing destroying quality entertainment.
It's amazing to me that this album was turned out in the mid-90s and it's completely relevant to what's going on right now. I bought this CD for three bucks on half.com. I'm sure you can find it for a similar price somewhere, too. It's worth every penny at store prices. And you'll have to buy it, because I can guarantee you Clear Channel will never play one of the songs from "Acid Bubblegum."
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TURN IT INTO HATE
The jugheads hit the city from every country round the globe
The ships pulled in, the drinks were free, the ticker tape came out in rolls
I was sitting in a bar, watching this on tv
To me it looked like a failure, but they called it victory
Well if you can sleep at night, go ahead that's great
You're just dreaming anyway if you don't get irate
Come on, turn it into hate; turn it into hate
Send your little boys and girls to go and play in a giant sandbox
Put your movie stars on the cover of "People" for goin' in for a detox
Let your happy-face news readers share a little joke
At the end of the night's transmission
Let's see the world through the eyes
Of some clown who's gonna make all of your decisions
Well if you can sleep at night go ahead that's great
It's all been manufactured like the junk that's on your plate
Come on, Turn it, Turn it into Hate
Some of them lead the marching band, suddenly they're war heroes
Some of them fall in a foreign land, suddenly they're just zeroes
Some of us go back to sleep, some of us learn to fear it
There's a siren blowin' in your heart -- You just don't want to hear it
Well if you can sleep at night go ahead that's all right
I don't wanna start a fight with anyone rich and white
Turn it Into Hate Turn it Into Hate Turn it, Turn It, Turn it into Hate
$$$$
BEANCOUNTER
Civilization
We've come a long way
Out of the mud where chitinous bugs
Eat each other all day
Now we're in the clouds
Working overtime for our pay
Countin' the numbers and being the bugs
That eat each other today
Sitting in an office in a publishing house
Or in a big company working a computer clicking a mouse
Pulling up your file checking your sales
Meeting those quotas and accommodating voters that's the holy grail
'Cause it's a bean counter and if that don't fill you with terror
Bean counter. takin' the human out of the human error
In a glass tower uptown or downtown
She's workin' every hour runnin' through your contract writing your deficit down
She's downsizing everything including her brain
Snackin' on potato chips smackin' her lips lickin' her pencil again
From Wall Street to Hong Kong, China to Chancery Lane
You're being rubber stamped
Your style is being cramped
It all comes out the same
They're not being paid to think. that's not the idea
And they never run out of red ink, get that particularly clear
'Cause it's a bean counter and if that don't fill you with terr or
Bean counter. takin' the human out of the human error
Snackin' on potato chips givin' you a scan
Deleting your account phasing you out in the trash can
Now if you don't meet projections.
If there ain't enough zeroes involved
You'll get stamped "rejected"
And then that problem is solved
'Cause it's a bean counter and if that don't fill you with terror
Bean counter. takin' the human out of the human error
%%%%%
OBSESSED WITH ARETHA
You get a lot of girl singers obsessed with Aretha
You get a lot of little swingers wishin' they could be her
Some of those sisters can rock and roll
All god's children gotta little bit of soul
....But not that much. No no no not that much
You get a lot of fat Christians you want to throw to the lions
Put em in a barrel, roll em off the top of mount zion
Ignorant acceptance is their only aim
With Jesus your life'll be better they claim
....But not that much. No no no not that much
But when you hear Aretha singing on some advertisement
Or with a big fussy band on some rock'n'roll museum concert
She's still got the lungs and the dress and the stole
You might even say the girl's still got soul
....But not that much. No no no not that much
You get a lot of little monkeys swingin' from the treetops
You get a lot of little flunkeys singin' on top of the pops
Some of them appear in the gutter press tellin' you their lives are a mess
....But not that much. No no no not that much
You get a lot of little stringers pullin' out their penknives
Cuttin' up history jugglin' it with lies
Bein' a reporter is a glamorous trade
You don't even have to tell the truth to get paid
Well not that much no no no not that much
Yeah but when you hear aretha singing on some adver tise ment
Or with a big fussy band on some hall of fame concert
She's still got the lungs and the dress and the mink stole
You might even say the girl's still got soul
....But not that much. No no no not that much
= = = =
I can't say enough about this album. It's lifted me up on days when the Machine gets me down. It reminds me that there are still artists who speak truth to power and aren't afraid. I hope at least one Kosperson gets something out of this dairy.