Yes, they are.
There’s an extremely evil company founded by Erik Prince that hires and trains mercenaries. They were once called “Blackwater,” but then they were so embarrassed by their actions in Iraq that they changed their company name to “Xe” (pronounced “Zee”) as if changing their name would cleanse them of their neverending guilt. Don’t click on this link to the Wikipedia article. Just ignore it. Fuck Blackwater and their minions.
We’re gonna listen to some music with a black water theme. Follow me over the speed bump...
When I first heard of the evil deeds of Blackwater, I immediately thought of a classic Frank Zappa song:
Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention: “Let’s Make the Water Turn Black
I apologize because the video has one picture, so it’s visually boring.
But the words are great:
Now believe me when I tell you that my song is really true.
I want everyone to listen and believe.
It's about some little people from a long time ago,
And all the things the neighbors didn't know.
Early in the morning, Daddy Dinky went to work,
Selling lamps & chairs to San Ber'dino squares.
And I still remember Mama with her apron & her pad
Feeding all the boys at Ed's Cafe!
Whizzing & pasting & pooting through the day
(Ronnie helping Kenny helping burn his poots away!)
And all the while on a shelf in the shed:
Kenny's Little Creatures On Display!
Ronnie saves his noomies on a window in his room
(A marvel to be seen: dysentery green)
While Kenny & his buddies had a game out in the back:
Let's make the water turn black.
We see them after school in a world of their own,
(To some it might seem creepy what they do...)
The neighbors on the right sat & watched them every night,
(I bet you'd do the same if they was you).
Whizzing & pasting & pooting through the day
(Ronnie helping Kenny helping burn his poots away!)
And all the while on a shelf in the shed:
Kenny's Little Creatures On Display!
Ronnie's in the Army now & Kenny's taking pills
Oh, how they yearn to see a bomber burn.
Color flashing, thunder crashing, dynamite machine,
Wait till the fire turns green,
Wait till the fire turns green,
Wait till the fire turns green.
(Spoken: this would be a little bit of TH Heaven. Doo wah doo wah).
Doobie Brothers: “Black Water”
I kinda hate this song by the Doobie Brothers, but here it is:
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The words are something like, “Oh black water oh black water Mississippi River gonna keep on rollin’.” Blah blah blah. Don’t click on it unless you like the Doobie Brothers.
Brian Eno: “Backwater”
Here’s the video:
Great song! The video has only one picture (so it’s not really a video), but the words are fucking great. Click on the video above and follow along with the words below (which are sheer poetry, because Eno is a genius):
Backwater -- We’re sailing at the edges of time.
Back water -- We’re drifting at the waterline.
Oh we’re floating in the coastal waters,
You and me and the porter’s daughters.
Ooh, what to do, not a sausage to do.
And the shorter of the porter’s daughters
Dips her hand in the deadly waters
Ooh, what to do, in a tiny canoe.
Back water -- There were six of us but now we are five.
We’re all talking -- To keep the conversation alive.
There was a Senator from Ecuador
Who talked about a meteor
That crashed on a hill in the south of Peru,
And was found by a conquistador who took it to the emperor
And he passed it on to a Turkish guru.
His daughter -- was slated for becoming divine.
He taught her -- he taught her how to split and define.
But if you study the logistics and heuristics of the mystics,
You will find that their minds rarely move in a line.
So it’s much more realistic to abandon such ballistics
And resign to be trapped on a leaf in a vine.
Backwater -- We’re sailing at the edges of time.
Backwater -- We’re drifting at the waterline.
Oh we’re floating in the coastal waters,
You and me and the porter’s daughters.
Ooh, what to do, not a sausage to do.
And the shorter of the porter’s daughters
Dips her hand in the deadly waters
Ooh, what to do, in a tiny canoe.
What a great song (in my opinion)!
Lewis Black: "Milk and Water"
The first three minutes are about milk. Then Lewis Black starts on bottled water. (Black + Water, OK?).
Skip ahead to about 3:00 and here’s part of what he says:
We care so much about health that during the last 25 years we destroyed water. When I was a child, this was the simplest of all. This was the essence of life. When you were thirsty – that’s the operative word, ladies and gentlemen – the word is and was and has always been “thirsty” – not “hydrate.” They made that fucking word up.
I could go anywhere in my house when I was a child. There were three or four different rooms.I could go in my basement! I could get clean water and drink it. And then go back out and play. Those were great times. But then we decided – every town and every village which had water coming to it and all they had to do was clean it – they said, “We’ll save money. We won’t clean the water so much. And with the money we save, we can buy the water at the supermarket.”
Try to go through this logic with me. Our country had water coming to our homes. Even if we were locked out, we could still get it. Clean water. And we said, “No! Fuck you! I don’t want it to be that goddamn convenient! I wanna drive and drive and drive and look for water, like my ancestors did. So we now buy water from Coke and Pepsi.”
Lewis Black is awesome.
Meat Puppets: “Backwater”
One more song from the 1990s. Wow, it’s so modern! Here’s a song for you youngsters out there who don’t like music from the 60s or 70s or 80s: