I've been traveling a lot on business in the post pandemic world. When I'm in Chicago, Vegas or Philly, I prefer to use taxis as Uber/Lyft are so extractive in the local communities) and nine times out of ten get a driver from Africa, Mexico, Central America or Eastern Europe. I've always enjoyed conversations with taxi drivers as they give an entirely different. apolitical opinion of America.
Almost always they'll tell you how hard they worked to jump all of the hurdles to come here. Sometimes they are the first to come to the US, and immediately start sending money back to bring other family, and sometimes another family member served as the 'beachhead' that helped bring them here. They can be effusive in their praise for what America is, compared to where they came from, and I've always found it refreshing to hear that, since our second (and older) generations, media, Hollywood, Left have forgotten. The people who want to come here, come, not for entitlements, but for opportunities.
Seemingly, our citizens, those without accents, and 3+ generations here, have forgotten what this country is, and how amazing it is. We have decided that positions in this country are without nuance (I was going to say Black and White, but I'm guessing that's a racist phrase now) and that it's more important to ensure that victims never get their feelings hurt, criminals are victims, gender isn't a thing and our country is bad and owes it's citizens, and the rest of the world, reparations.
None of these drivers can understand any of this. They are so grateful to be here, and most of these values arguments are inconsistent with their beliefs, hence the Hispanic/Asian movement to the Republican party. From my conversations, all other immigrants are moving as well.
We truly are in a bad place, and I think it's largely due to a process of indoctrination that's begun at K1-12 and university. It's then supported by Media/Entertainment/Elites. I believe that the 2022 midterms might being transitioning back to people appreciating what this country is, but it's hard to fight an entrenched permanent liberal federal employee system, the media, Entertainment and academia.
Fuck yeah, of course. Thanks for the great memories, but a reminder of another moron in Chicago was a real downer. Might as well have been Copenhagen, Berlin, Jerusalem, all of Eastern Ukraine or any of many other God forsaken places.
There are many things in American left to celebrate. Like saying Fuck Joe Biden and not worry the FBI will be at your door tonight.
Let’s be honest . As flawed as we may be, if the far left woke mob wins, what will happen to the world? Who will stand for liberty ? Europe ? Canada? No way .
We can survive many things but the marriage of wokeness with the msm is a clear and present threat to democracy everywhere
If we let the tragedies prevent us from celebrating was is good and consistent about the founding of this country, we do let the woke mob win. They want nothing more than to dismantle religion, traditions and the past. They want dominion over the words we use, the reality we see and the books we read, and the education of the next generation. We have had plenty of cancellations over the past few years. If we forego our traditions, we feed into their plans for us and America. While we can mourn tragedy, we must also gather and acknowledge our American founding. As for Roe v Wade, it is Congress’ failing that they haven’t enacted common sense European-style abortion laws. Like gay marriage, the polls tell us that most are in favor of common sense laws, so whatever extreme states will do, others will step in to transport those who need or to send pills to those who need. There is a pragmatic way forward and in all honestly, the Supreme Court had overstepped in its interpretation in the 1970s and it isn’t their job to make legislation. Where the people stand up, the laws will follow. The despots in Congress are using this to get re-elected instead of compromising (doing their jobs) and enacting the legislation that will make everyone feel more secure. Don’t be used by them. Don’t lose your love of America and it’s noble project. It’s still - hands down - the greatest country in the world. ❤️
I don’t know how to attach a link here, but please look at Darren Walker’s NY Times op-ed today (pres of the Ford Foundation. Beautiful, and spot on re: where we are right now and where we are heading. Also, keep up your great work, Eve!
Wasn't feeling the 4th at all this year considering a lot of women's & (soon everyone's) rights are being eradicated right in front of our faces & I felt it ahead of time shit like that was going to happen. Time for a big-ass march before that's taken away as well!🥺
On a serious note America is “stuck “ because we have “allowed” the political process to be taken over by extremes in both parties . I say allowed because we have ourselves to blame. Our two party system only works if we the people vote - and I am not talking about the general elections . I am talking the primaries and local elections - from the school board , to local judges and the sherif , change starts at the bottom .
When 80 percent of our districts are either
“Red or blue” , the real action is in the primary . Win the primary and you win the general . Who votes in primaries ? Not a true representation of America - primaries are dominated by those grass root organizers who tend to be more extreme than the general public . The House of Representatives used in no longer the people’s house , it is far more radical /divisive /ideological than America . Why? Because they represent the people who vote in primaries . And remember , extremist do not compromise .
I write this because when I read a story that begins with a immigrant that has lost faith , it makes me sad and concerned for our future. We are here in America (either thru birth or immigration) because someone in our family saw America as a land of opportunity . They viewed life with the idea that the glass is half filled , not half empty. I believe it is still the case . But is we want to survive as a nation, we need to find a common cause , a sense of civic pride or good old fashioned civic (liberal) nationalism . And it starts with local elections , primaries etc . So instead of feeling sorry for ourselves , go out and get involved on the local level
So many feelings today. But to say that to celebrate this country means I don’t need protecting is the way to alienate advocates. I’m a Jewish woman in Los Angeles. My grandparents survived the Holocaust. I am grateful every day. I say the modeh ani everyday. My grandfathers only had education up until 7th and 8th grade. They loved this country. There is much work to do but to say there is nothing to celebrate is quite entitled.
I did read the whole post Eve. That is why I subscribe and support you. I am saying as someone reading and interpreting your post that you sound entitled. If you live on the earth a little bit longer you may change your mind about how great this country is. Yes there have to be changes made and work to be done but at least we have the chance to do it.
I came here with an open mind and an open heart, and a steadfast determination to build something and work extremely hard, and as a result of polarized extreme views in this country I lost everything I built, so no, I'm not entitled.
First thank you for bucking the crowd on Depp Vs Heard. It is not the the simple narrative presented, and I did not like the dogpiling that she endured. Once again, you showed a willingness to go to bat for a friend against popular opinion, and I appreciate that.
Second, when you mentioned the bands that blocked you last post, I remembered that in the 80s bands such as The Smiths, The Fixx, etc., were obsessed with The Bomb. Now that Russia, Iran and North Korea may actually use them, they have longed moved on to something else.
I just mean to console by pointing out that for many musicians aspects of their activism - excluding bona fide time, effort and money many put in poverty stricken and war torn areas - is a socially acceptable shallow pose, particularly for easy identifiable villains such as Israel, global warming, etc. My favorite line on the subject has always been a conservative critic's review of the Sheen-Estevez brothers' movie Men At Work. Reviewing the film he wrote the two lines: "They take a stand on nuclear waste. (They're against it.)"
Now on to the new:
America's rebelliousness you cite has proven to have a transparent dark side. Newcomers always appreciate it but many who have grown up here who don't have the skills to make it are in a very painful place.
Some "woke" use the facade of politics to pick on low hanging fruit. Or destroy hard-working people's property. Others on both left andright turn violent.
And hundreds of thousands are numbing the pain and boredom through self-medication.
Every person and culture's blessing is also their curse.
Rock n' roll has long made me an Anglophile; the politics of the 80's bands I got into - known here as the second British Invasion - may have been shallow but the music was not. In my twenties I fell in love with ironic Britpop ditties: Blur, Pulp, Joe Jackson, Echo And The Bunnymen, The Human League, Stone Roses etc. (I can also get into an Allman Brothers album as much as the next person and of course saw them live.)
And British acting comes from a theater background that makes it easier for me to suspend disbelief than watching some American star take on the establishment for the billionth time. It strikes me as formulaic and juvenile.
Let's also remember that Johnny Depp's defamation suit did not succeed in the UK.
Finally:
In 1999, Ray-Bans were bought by Luxottica, an Italian company that owns 75% of popular eyewear. If you want the real thing, I suggest you peruse on eBay.
My Substack subscriptions have a fair amount of intellectuals who were not born here who respond to the current denigrating of this country by left-wing intellectuals and the mobs who follow them, providing a much-needed perspective as to what life is like elsewhere in the world. Point taken.
And I don’t mean to romanticize Europe with its history of antisemitism, current immigration struggles and for example in the UK, defamation law that had to be tweaked because of something known as libel tourism.
And I know we disagree as to what is to be done about these shootings. I personally I would not allow someone under 25 to own a gun and without extensive training. I think that background checks will not do much as people in their teens and twenties do not have much of a background to check. This guy was a rapper, and much of rap music glorifies revenge and violence. It’s a large haystack in which to find a needle.
The post was made about American culture, albeit on rock ‘n’ roll.
A day later I will reiterate. This is a country where Liam Neeson, Keanu Reeves, Bruce Willis and now even Bob Odenkirk star in endless and tiresome “take the law to your own hands/ cowboy cop that doesn’t play by the rules” formulas. ( I’ve seen a total of one.) A lot of Southern rock is outlaw rock, and Kenny Rogers had a hit song called Coward Of The County. You can guess the message.
Many Substackers that I respect cannot restrain themselves with clichéd praise of “America is back” variety due to the success of Top Gun Maverick, a movie you’d have to pay me a lot of money to see.
It was amusing with the Dirty Harry now it’s become cringe. And it’s combined with a country that is less unified and where people feel a lot more alienated. Not a good combination.
It’s possible to hold two thoughts in your head the same time. There is much to be appreciate about this country, but there is much that is juvenile, narcissistic and self-indulgent, blurring the line between freedom and license.
For the meanwhile, I’m sticking with Prefab Sprout.
The July 4th shooting, like most of the the irrational violence being experienced by Americans today, is the consequential blowback of the pathological malignant narcissism of the rich kid commissariat and the financial totalitarians they serve. The looting and economic destruction of a nation creates social/cultural disintegration and collapse. Manufacturing a psyop to divert attention from, and pretend that extreme poverty and cultural disintegration doesn't damage and derange the human psyche, doesn't change the fact that it does. Extreme poverty, repression and cultural disintegration is the exact scenario that made the German people susceptible to Hitler and fascism. I appreciate the fact that many American Jew's working in media are taking note. LOUDER PLEASE!!
Fascism- (communism as well)- believes in cheap throw away labor and the exploitation of resources for the benefit of those controlling the "state". SCHINDLER'S LIST affirms the reality. American reality: Elected political leaders sent to Washington too moderate and grow the economy took a payoff from the Wall Street/WEF trillionaire elite and allowed them to gut American Industry and destroy the American economy. Having nothing left to loot they've abandoned the pretense of "capitalism" and settled on the idea of a debt driven CCP style feudalism. Hence, the surveillance state, big tech, bureaucratic psyop called"WOKE". It's propagandist P.C. manipulation and obfuscation of the American national dialogue and it's in-your-face willingness to destroy worthy lives, assault the young and butcher the human body is only the surface of the EVIL it represents. The empowered healthy human adult fully engaged in exercising agency and intelligence in daily life, The American Constitutional Republic and the Constitution must be destroyed for the psyop to succeed.
Jimi Hendrix was an honorably discharged member of the 101st Airborne "screaming eagles" His anthem recapture of the STAR SPANGLED BANNER on the stage at Woodstock as a response to the impact of Viet Nam on our lives is a testament to freedom transcending lies and chaos. Rock and roll has always been revolutionary. It emanates from the Soul as a natural antidote to repression and confusion. The men of the post Civil War Mississippi Delta, the post WWII poor boy's of Liverpool, Lynyrd Skynyrd and the drumming pulse of human hearts everywhere SING. The Milli Vanilli style industrial scale castration and subversion of rock and roll and the ascent of its sexless puer aeterus non threatening child forever hero is antithesis and capitulation.
"..like a bird on a wire...like a drunk in a midnight choir..I have tried in my way to be free..." L.Cohen
"...my friends from the prison they ask unto me..how good..how good is life to be free...and I answer them most mysteriously...how free are the birds from the chains of the skyway.." B.Dylan
Best line in this essay: It told me that there were places in America where people lived very hard just so they could get that wild.
I liked that you took the perspective for this essay from your experience with music, but am very sad that it had to end with a mass shooting. You experienced some great music, but you are young and missed the late ‘60’s and ‘70’s. Imagine if you could have spent some time hanging out in Laurel Canyon interviewing the bands of that era. Or gone on a road trip with The Grateful Dead for the summer. The ‘70’s was, in my opinion, the best decade for rock and roll. It’s true, there were a lot of British bands along with American bands back then, but bands like Led Zeppelin thrived not because they were British, but because America embraced their music style and raw power. America put Zeppelin on the map.
But all is not lost, you can still see Dead & Co as they are touring this summer. The scene is the same as in 1970, but now the children of those Dead Head parents (those who should have stopped breathing long ago) have joined in the tradition to keep it very much alive. Bob Weir is 73 and is doing some incredible work with his lead guitarist, John Mayer, who is crushing it.
Music is indeed very important to the fabric of America and we haven’t even touched the surface on Country & Western and it’s influence.
Thanks for the walk down memory lane when America was free as a bird.
I've been traveling a lot on business in the post pandemic world. When I'm in Chicago, Vegas or Philly, I prefer to use taxis as Uber/Lyft are so extractive in the local communities) and nine times out of ten get a driver from Africa, Mexico, Central America or Eastern Europe. I've always enjoyed conversations with taxi drivers as they give an entirely different. apolitical opinion of America.
Almost always they'll tell you how hard they worked to jump all of the hurdles to come here. Sometimes they are the first to come to the US, and immediately start sending money back to bring other family, and sometimes another family member served as the 'beachhead' that helped bring them here. They can be effusive in their praise for what America is, compared to where they came from, and I've always found it refreshing to hear that, since our second (and older) generations, media, Hollywood, Left have forgotten. The people who want to come here, come, not for entitlements, but for opportunities.
Seemingly, our citizens, those without accents, and 3+ generations here, have forgotten what this country is, and how amazing it is. We have decided that positions in this country are without nuance (I was going to say Black and White, but I'm guessing that's a racist phrase now) and that it's more important to ensure that victims never get their feelings hurt, criminals are victims, gender isn't a thing and our country is bad and owes it's citizens, and the rest of the world, reparations.
None of these drivers can understand any of this. They are so grateful to be here, and most of these values arguments are inconsistent with their beliefs, hence the Hispanic/Asian movement to the Republican party. From my conversations, all other immigrants are moving as well.
We truly are in a bad place, and I think it's largely due to a process of indoctrination that's begun at K1-12 and university. It's then supported by Media/Entertainment/Elites. I believe that the 2022 midterms might being transitioning back to people appreciating what this country is, but it's hard to fight an entrenched permanent liberal federal employee system, the media, Entertainment and academia.
For some reason, your lovely post made me think of this Joni Mitchell lyric:
But now old friends are acting strange
They shake their heads, they say I've changed
Well something's lost, but something's gained
In living every day
Fuck yeah, of course. Thanks for the great memories, but a reminder of another moron in Chicago was a real downer. Might as well have been Copenhagen, Berlin, Jerusalem, all of Eastern Ukraine or any of many other God forsaken places.
There are many things in American left to celebrate. Like saying Fuck Joe Biden and not worry the FBI will be at your door tonight.
Let’s be honest . As flawed as we may be, if the far left woke mob wins, what will happen to the world? Who will stand for liberty ? Europe ? Canada? No way .
We can survive many things but the marriage of wokeness with the msm is a clear and present threat to democracy everywhere
I am not a defender of wokeness. Just human decency.
I know . FYI - great interview with Rabbi Hirsch
If we let the tragedies prevent us from celebrating was is good and consistent about the founding of this country, we do let the woke mob win. They want nothing more than to dismantle religion, traditions and the past. They want dominion over the words we use, the reality we see and the books we read, and the education of the next generation. We have had plenty of cancellations over the past few years. If we forego our traditions, we feed into their plans for us and America. While we can mourn tragedy, we must also gather and acknowledge our American founding. As for Roe v Wade, it is Congress’ failing that they haven’t enacted common sense European-style abortion laws. Like gay marriage, the polls tell us that most are in favor of common sense laws, so whatever extreme states will do, others will step in to transport those who need or to send pills to those who need. There is a pragmatic way forward and in all honestly, the Supreme Court had overstepped in its interpretation in the 1970s and it isn’t their job to make legislation. Where the people stand up, the laws will follow. The despots in Congress are using this to get re-elected instead of compromising (doing their jobs) and enacting the legislation that will make everyone feel more secure. Don’t be used by them. Don’t lose your love of America and it’s noble project. It’s still - hands down - the greatest country in the world. ❤️
Btw - you DO need to come back to Florida. As a former New Yorker, I will take Miami every day of the week. Miami is what New York used to be.
Exactly
god, i love this substack
Thank you for putting into words what I am feeling. I have not felt at all like celebrating today.
I don’t know how to attach a link here, but please look at Darren Walker’s NY Times op-ed today (pres of the Ford Foundation. Beautiful, and spot on re: where we are right now and where we are heading. Also, keep up your great work, Eve!
Wasn't feeling the 4th at all this year considering a lot of women's & (soon everyone's) rights are being eradicated right in front of our faces & I felt it ahead of time shit like that was going to happen. Time for a big-ass march before that's taken away as well!🥺
On a serious note America is “stuck “ because we have “allowed” the political process to be taken over by extremes in both parties . I say allowed because we have ourselves to blame. Our two party system only works if we the people vote - and I am not talking about the general elections . I am talking the primaries and local elections - from the school board , to local judges and the sherif , change starts at the bottom .
When 80 percent of our districts are either
“Red or blue” , the real action is in the primary . Win the primary and you win the general . Who votes in primaries ? Not a true representation of America - primaries are dominated by those grass root organizers who tend to be more extreme than the general public . The House of Representatives used in no longer the people’s house , it is far more radical /divisive /ideological than America . Why? Because they represent the people who vote in primaries . And remember , extremist do not compromise .
I write this because when I read a story that begins with a immigrant that has lost faith , it makes me sad and concerned for our future. We are here in America (either thru birth or immigration) because someone in our family saw America as a land of opportunity . They viewed life with the idea that the glass is half filled , not half empty. I believe it is still the case . But is we want to survive as a nation, we need to find a common cause , a sense of civic pride or good old fashioned civic (liberal) nationalism . And it starts with local elections , primaries etc . So instead of feeling sorry for ourselves , go out and get involved on the local level
Forgive the typos .. do not know how to edit . Happy July 4th to everyone
So many feelings today. But to say that to celebrate this country means I don’t need protecting is the way to alienate advocates. I’m a Jewish woman in Los Angeles. My grandparents survived the Holocaust. I am grateful every day. I say the modeh ani everyday. My grandfathers only had education up until 7th and 8th grade. They loved this country. There is much work to do but to say there is nothing to celebrate is quite entitled.
I did not say that. Read my whole post.
I did read the whole post Eve. That is why I subscribe and support you. I am saying as someone reading and interpreting your post that you sound entitled. If you live on the earth a little bit longer you may change your mind about how great this country is. Yes there have to be changes made and work to be done but at least we have the chance to do it.
I came here with an open mind and an open heart, and a steadfast determination to build something and work extremely hard, and as a result of polarized extreme views in this country I lost everything I built, so no, I'm not entitled.
Something old:
First thank you for bucking the crowd on Depp Vs Heard. It is not the the simple narrative presented, and I did not like the dogpiling that she endured. Once again, you showed a willingness to go to bat for a friend against popular opinion, and I appreciate that.
Second, when you mentioned the bands that blocked you last post, I remembered that in the 80s bands such as The Smiths, The Fixx, etc., were obsessed with The Bomb. Now that Russia, Iran and North Korea may actually use them, they have longed moved on to something else.
I just mean to console by pointing out that for many musicians aspects of their activism - excluding bona fide time, effort and money many put in poverty stricken and war torn areas - is a socially acceptable shallow pose, particularly for easy identifiable villains such as Israel, global warming, etc. My favorite line on the subject has always been a conservative critic's review of the Sheen-Estevez brothers' movie Men At Work. Reviewing the film he wrote the two lines: "They take a stand on nuclear waste. (They're against it.)"
Now on to the new:
America's rebelliousness you cite has proven to have a transparent dark side. Newcomers always appreciate it but many who have grown up here who don't have the skills to make it are in a very painful place.
Some "woke" use the facade of politics to pick on low hanging fruit. Or destroy hard-working people's property. Others on both left andright turn violent.
And hundreds of thousands are numbing the pain and boredom through self-medication.
Every person and culture's blessing is also their curse.
Rock n' roll has long made me an Anglophile; the politics of the 80's bands I got into - known here as the second British Invasion - may have been shallow but the music was not. In my twenties I fell in love with ironic Britpop ditties: Blur, Pulp, Joe Jackson, Echo And The Bunnymen, The Human League, Stone Roses etc. (I can also get into an Allman Brothers album as much as the next person and of course saw them live.)
And British acting comes from a theater background that makes it easier for me to suspend disbelief than watching some American star take on the establishment for the billionth time. It strikes me as formulaic and juvenile.
Let's also remember that Johnny Depp's defamation suit did not succeed in the UK.
Finally:
In 1999, Ray-Bans were bought by Luxottica, an Italian company that owns 75% of popular eyewear. If you want the real thing, I suggest you peruse on eBay.
A day later:
My Substack subscriptions have a fair amount of intellectuals who were not born here who respond to the current denigrating of this country by left-wing intellectuals and the mobs who follow them, providing a much-needed perspective as to what life is like elsewhere in the world. Point taken.
And I don’t mean to romanticize Europe with its history of antisemitism, current immigration struggles and for example in the UK, defamation law that had to be tweaked because of something known as libel tourism.
And I know we disagree as to what is to be done about these shootings. I personally I would not allow someone under 25 to own a gun and without extensive training. I think that background checks will not do much as people in their teens and twenties do not have much of a background to check. This guy was a rapper, and much of rap music glorifies revenge and violence. It’s a large haystack in which to find a needle.
The post was made about American culture, albeit on rock ‘n’ roll.
A day later I will reiterate. This is a country where Liam Neeson, Keanu Reeves, Bruce Willis and now even Bob Odenkirk star in endless and tiresome “take the law to your own hands/ cowboy cop that doesn’t play by the rules” formulas. ( I’ve seen a total of one.) A lot of Southern rock is outlaw rock, and Kenny Rogers had a hit song called Coward Of The County. You can guess the message.
Many Substackers that I respect cannot restrain themselves with clichéd praise of “America is back” variety due to the success of Top Gun Maverick, a movie you’d have to pay me a lot of money to see.
It was amusing with the Dirty Harry now it’s become cringe. And it’s combined with a country that is less unified and where people feel a lot more alienated. Not a good combination.
It’s possible to hold two thoughts in your head the same time. There is much to be appreciate about this country, but there is much that is juvenile, narcissistic and self-indulgent, blurring the line between freedom and license.
For the meanwhile, I’m sticking with Prefab Sprout.
It also occurs to me, that the title of this post “ America, Fuck Yeah,” is taken from a movie that mocks the very culture I am critiquing as well.
The July 4th shooting, like most of the the irrational violence being experienced by Americans today, is the consequential blowback of the pathological malignant narcissism of the rich kid commissariat and the financial totalitarians they serve. The looting and economic destruction of a nation creates social/cultural disintegration and collapse. Manufacturing a psyop to divert attention from, and pretend that extreme poverty and cultural disintegration doesn't damage and derange the human psyche, doesn't change the fact that it does. Extreme poverty, repression and cultural disintegration is the exact scenario that made the German people susceptible to Hitler and fascism. I appreciate the fact that many American Jew's working in media are taking note. LOUDER PLEASE!!
Fascism- (communism as well)- believes in cheap throw away labor and the exploitation of resources for the benefit of those controlling the "state". SCHINDLER'S LIST affirms the reality. American reality: Elected political leaders sent to Washington too moderate and grow the economy took a payoff from the Wall Street/WEF trillionaire elite and allowed them to gut American Industry and destroy the American economy. Having nothing left to loot they've abandoned the pretense of "capitalism" and settled on the idea of a debt driven CCP style feudalism. Hence, the surveillance state, big tech, bureaucratic psyop called"WOKE". It's propagandist P.C. manipulation and obfuscation of the American national dialogue and it's in-your-face willingness to destroy worthy lives, assault the young and butcher the human body is only the surface of the EVIL it represents. The empowered healthy human adult fully engaged in exercising agency and intelligence in daily life, The American Constitutional Republic and the Constitution must be destroyed for the psyop to succeed.
Jimi Hendrix was an honorably discharged member of the 101st Airborne "screaming eagles" His anthem recapture of the STAR SPANGLED BANNER on the stage at Woodstock as a response to the impact of Viet Nam on our lives is a testament to freedom transcending lies and chaos. Rock and roll has always been revolutionary. It emanates from the Soul as a natural antidote to repression and confusion. The men of the post Civil War Mississippi Delta, the post WWII poor boy's of Liverpool, Lynyrd Skynyrd and the drumming pulse of human hearts everywhere SING. The Milli Vanilli style industrial scale castration and subversion of rock and roll and the ascent of its sexless puer aeterus non threatening child forever hero is antithesis and capitulation.
"..like a bird on a wire...like a drunk in a midnight choir..I have tried in my way to be free..." L.Cohen
"...my friends from the prison they ask unto me..how good..how good is life to be free...and I answer them most mysteriously...how free are the birds from the chains of the skyway.." B.Dylan
Best line in this essay: It told me that there were places in America where people lived very hard just so they could get that wild.
I liked that you took the perspective for this essay from your experience with music, but am very sad that it had to end with a mass shooting. You experienced some great music, but you are young and missed the late ‘60’s and ‘70’s. Imagine if you could have spent some time hanging out in Laurel Canyon interviewing the bands of that era. Or gone on a road trip with The Grateful Dead for the summer. The ‘70’s was, in my opinion, the best decade for rock and roll. It’s true, there were a lot of British bands along with American bands back then, but bands like Led Zeppelin thrived not because they were British, but because America embraced their music style and raw power. America put Zeppelin on the map.
But all is not lost, you can still see Dead & Co as they are touring this summer. The scene is the same as in 1970, but now the children of those Dead Head parents (those who should have stopped breathing long ago) have joined in the tradition to keep it very much alive. Bob Weir is 73 and is doing some incredible work with his lead guitarist, John Mayer, who is crushing it.
Music is indeed very important to the fabric of America and we haven’t even touched the surface on Country & Western and it’s influence.
Thanks for the walk down memory lane when America was free as a bird.