Friday Fun Links: A Six Pack

If you ever wondered what a real War on Christmas would look like, Hadrian Belove has raided the Hollywood vaults and spliced together an answer.

If you're more of a "Happy Holidays" kind of guy, go here instead: It's the Kinks at their jazziest, singing their song "Holiday." Bonus: The same clip includes a great take on "Good Golly, Miss Molly."

More Kinks: one of the few anti-union songs in rock history.

More music history: what country stars do in lieu of burning a draft card.

Still more musical fun: Rob Paravonian's Pachelbel rant. (But why did he leave out "Let it Be Me"?)

I promised six links, didn't I? OK…here's Sam and Dave.

It's the last workday before Christmas, we aren't through with Chanukah yet, and it's my mom's birthday. Even if all you're celebrating is a little time away from the job, have fun.

Comments

[Josh]

Oh man do I love the Kinks.

[Number 6]

Well, this is a libertarian board, and I am a nerd, so I'll go ahead and mention that Rush's The Trees is pretty explicitly anti-union.

[vanya_6724]

I wouldn't say the Trees is "explicitly" anti-union. It is explicitly about oaks and maples, and only implicitly about unions - you can read it as a general attack on socialism as well.

Neil Young's "Union Man" certainly qualifies, as long as sarcasm counts as explicitly "anti-union."

[Stevo Darkly]

"Trees" does explicitly say "So the maples formed a union, and demanded equal rights" -- but from that last bit, I'm not sure if "union" there means "a labor union" or something like "a poitical coalition" or something.

[matt]

I think "The Trees" is more of an attack on egalitarianism than unions, although it could very well be both. That's my take anyway.

[Jim Walsh]

More Sam and Dave, please...

[Rick Barton]

vanya_6724:

It is explicitly about oaks and maples...

I think that's incorrect. The use of oaks and maples is a metaphorical device to convey an anti-egalitarian state message.

Why an anti-egalitarian *state* message and not just anti-egalitarian? Cuz of the last line in the song: "All the trees were made equal in the end by hatchet, ax and saw"

It also seems at least indirectly anti-union and as Stevo pointed out, there is that union line in the song.

[Rick Barton]

!The Friday Gratuitous New Wave Link!

It's...

!The Waitresses!

The Waitresses' music is so creative and they sported an appealing verve. Anyone remember em on Square Pegs?

I know that lotsa folks are hep to this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QetOVeS9a_8

But how many of you remember this one?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrbV-RiAbDU

This song is a kind of cultural artifact in that it was relesed in 83' and is a recognition of the flowering of the personal computer/high tech revolution of the time.

I chose the Waitresses again today cuz they did what has gota be the best ever New Wave Christmas song: "Christmas Wrapping" Sorry-can't find a vid for this one (can anyone"). But give it a listen. Bet you'll be glad ya did.

Lastly, I've never heard a singer sing so many songs with the word "cigarettes" in them as Patty Donahue did while she was with the Waitresses. Sadly, Patty fought a losing battle against lung cancer and died, aged 40, on December 9th 1996.

BTW, anyone know where we can snag audio links and post em like we do with the vid links from UTube?

[Stevo Darkly]

------- Begin quoted matter --------
Number 6 | December 22, 2006, 10:46am | #

Well, this is a libertarian board, and I am a nerd, so I'll go ahead and mention that Rush's The Trees is pretty explicitly anti-union.
--------------------------------------
vanya_6724 | December 22, 2006, 11:04am | #

I wouldn't say the Trees is "explicitly" anti-union. It is explicitly about oaks and maples, and only implicitly about unions - you can read it as a general attack on socialism as well.

Neil Young's "Union Man" certainly qualifies, as long as sarcasm counts as explicitly "anti-union."
--------------------------------
Stevo Darkly | December 22, 2006, 11:30am | #

"Trees" does explicitly say "So the maples formed a union, and demanded equal rights" -- but from that last bit, I'm not sure if "union" there means "a labor union" or something like "a poitical coalition" or something.
----------------------------------------
matt | December 22, 2006, 1:50pm | #

I think "The Trees" is more of an attack on egalitarianism than unions, although it could very well be both. That's my take anyway.
Jim Walsh | December 22, 2006, 5:37pm | #
------------ ..... -----------------
vanya_6724:

It is explicitly about oaks and maples...

I think that's incorrect. The use of oaks and maples is a metaphorical device to convey an anti-egalitarian state message.

Why an anti-egalitarian *state* message and not just anti-egalitarian? Cuz of the last line in the song: "All the trees were made equal in the end by hatchet, ax and saw"

It also seems at least indirectly anti-union and as Stevo pointed out, there is that union line in the song.

-------- End quoted matter ------

NERD-VALANCHE!!!!!

[Rick Barton]

Stevo,

Umm...how come you didn't quote my Waitresses bit?

[MeanDean]

"This is a song about the union, friends
How they fucked you over and the way they bend
The rules to suit the special few
And you get pooched every time they do."

- "Stick Together", Frank Zappa, 'Man From Utopia' LP

[Stevo Darkly]

Umm...how come you didn't quote my Waitresses bit?

No offense, but ... Not as nerdy as Rush, let alone as nerdy as a dissection of whether "Trees" is "explicitly" or "implicitly" about socialism, unions or trees.