I've never been a “glass half-full” kinda guy. Shocking, I know. I'm more of a “half-full or half-empty it better be alcohol in that damn glass because the voices in my head won't STFU” kinda guy. I rant. I rage. It's what I do. If you had known me before I found a creative outlet for the demons that poke my brain with pitchforks on a regular basis, you probably would have just shaken your head and said, “Bless his heart” as we tend to do here in the South when confronted with the mad (I'm well aware that some of you say this now and when I say “some of you” I'm mainly talking about my family and people in my hometown). I'm a chemically-imbalanced miscreant, infected with a large dose of misanthropy that masks itself with a veneer of sarcasm, but who still tries to exercise the empathy muscle, because I'm convinced that empathy is the only thing that will stop the self-destruction that the human race has rushed toward ever since the first caveman knocked his brother over the head with a rock and discovered that that was much easier than negotiation as a means to eat the last mammoth leg. I spend most of my time disappointed with humans, but dammit, I can't quit you and I want us to do better. I want us to evolve to the next level of our existence and it makes me angry enough to bite my tongue in two when I see things like violence and greed and racism and bigotry and willful ignorance holding us back. I exist somewhere between pessimism and nihilism and I still have to turn the channel when the ASPCA abused puppy and kitty commercial comes on because I'm not fond of openly weeping and because seeing animals suffering sets me on a course into the blackest of depression and hatred that ends with holes punched in the dry wall and a hangover that lasts for three days. I got problems. Luckily, I can write passably enough to be somewhat entertaining and I can channel all of the above into a comedy act that, while it ain't for everybody, a few people dig enough to drop a five dollar bill to watch every once once in a while.
What I'm saying is that I'm not known for my “bright side.”
There is one, though. If you live here in Paducah, we have an awesome new mayor and I'm hopeful that our city will continue to grow and be an example to the rest of the world of what a town of our size can accomplish. Change does indeed start at home. The “revolution” is right outside your front door. You want things to get better nationally, do whatever the fuck you can do to make things better locally, wherever that may be. Take all of that sadness and frustration and rage and put it into your neighborhood, local government, charity organizations, and helping those that need it. Be kind to animals. Adopt one from a shelter. Teach your kids empathy. Talk to people who are different. Support local artists and musicians (and comedians).
And if you're white and straight like me...recognize your privilege and open your eyes to the FACT that not everyone in this country has had the same American experience as you. You see, that's where that whole empathy thing comes into play. Stand up, for, and with everyone who is a victim of racism, bigotry, homophobia, and xenophobia. If you see them being attacked, step in and speak out. Let the worst of us know that they won't continue to beat down the best of us. Not on our watch. Not now. Not ever.
"I am made by my times
I am a creation of now
Shaken with the cracks and crevices
I'm not giving up easy
I will not fold
I don't have much
But what I have is gold." - R.E.M.
Friday, November 11, 2016
Monday, September 26, 2016
I'm Done Being Tolerant of the Intolerant
Frances Scott Key said that African-Americans were, “a distinct and inferior race of people, which all experience proves to be the greatest evil that afflicts a community.”
There are people in the United States of America today who share this sentiment.
You know them. I know them. We all know them.
For most of this young country's history, people were raised with the belief that the white color of their skin made them more than or better than. I used the word belief purposely. I'm not talking about opinions or notions. It's a BELIEF. It's a belief that is kept in the same part of their hearts as their belief in God. It's a belief that is accepted as a fact that can't be questioned.
Water is wet.
The sky is blue.
God is in Heaven.
America is the greatest country ever.
Black people are less than.
You see, in their minds, believing that last part doesn't make them racist. “It's just how it is.”
Those of us who don't share that belief need to stop protecting those who do. I'm past the point of give a shit on this issue. I don't care if it's family, friend, coworker, who-the-fuck-ever...if you say or do racist shit, you deserve to be called out on it.
You might want to think twice before you elbow me and give me that conspiratorial wink and proceed to tell me some racist joke and assume that I'll find it as hilarious as you do because I'm white. I just might decide to share that shit with the world.
I'm done being tolerant of the intolerant.
And it has nothing to do with being ashamed of being white. I'm not ashamed of being white. I'm ashamed of how white people have treated anybody who is not white throughout the entire existence of America.
If you think racism is not one of, if not THE biggest problem facing our country, well, you are entitled to that belief and I'm entitled to tell you you're wrong.
There are millions of people in this country who belive African-Americans are inferior to whites and they will protest any efforts to achieve equality.
They simply won't stand for it.
But, let a black man protest and refuse to stand and...well, you know the rest.
Racism isn't over. Our silence when confronted with racism, equals our approval.
I'm going to start flipping the racist's nationalistic bullshit on them.
“Oh, you think white privilege doesn't exist and black folk need to STFU? That's un-American, asshole! You must not love this country as much as the rest of us. Perhaps you need to find another country that will put up with your racist ass. This is America, Jethro! Love all colors or leave it!”
There are people in the United States of America today who share this sentiment.
You know them. I know them. We all know them.
For most of this young country's history, people were raised with the belief that the white color of their skin made them more than or better than. I used the word belief purposely. I'm not talking about opinions or notions. It's a BELIEF. It's a belief that is kept in the same part of their hearts as their belief in God. It's a belief that is accepted as a fact that can't be questioned.
Water is wet.
The sky is blue.
God is in Heaven.
America is the greatest country ever.
Black people are less than.
You see, in their minds, believing that last part doesn't make them racist. “It's just how it is.”
Those of us who don't share that belief need to stop protecting those who do. I'm past the point of give a shit on this issue. I don't care if it's family, friend, coworker, who-the-fuck-ever...if you say or do racist shit, you deserve to be called out on it.
You might want to think twice before you elbow me and give me that conspiratorial wink and proceed to tell me some racist joke and assume that I'll find it as hilarious as you do because I'm white. I just might decide to share that shit with the world.
I'm done being tolerant of the intolerant.
And it has nothing to do with being ashamed of being white. I'm not ashamed of being white. I'm ashamed of how white people have treated anybody who is not white throughout the entire existence of America.
If you think racism is not one of, if not THE biggest problem facing our country, well, you are entitled to that belief and I'm entitled to tell you you're wrong.
There are millions of people in this country who belive African-Americans are inferior to whites and they will protest any efforts to achieve equality.
They simply won't stand for it.
But, let a black man protest and refuse to stand and...well, you know the rest.
Racism isn't over. Our silence when confronted with racism, equals our approval.
I'm going to start flipping the racist's nationalistic bullshit on them.
“Oh, you think white privilege doesn't exist and black folk need to STFU? That's un-American, asshole! You must not love this country as much as the rest of us. Perhaps you need to find another country that will put up with your racist ass. This is America, Jethro! Love all colors or leave it!”
Wednesday, August 3, 2016
YEEHAW! Death Spiral!
Well, it’s
not without entertainment value. This whole death spiral of the Republican
party that we’re witnessing. For most of my life, I’ve been told by
conservatives that THEY are the party of God. THEY are the ones who support
“traditional family values.” THEY are the ones who love the military. THEY are
the REAL Americans and they America better than us liberals and progressives,
because WE were the ones who wanted to DESTROY America. It’s kind of quaint to
type that now. When you chose Donald Trump to be your nominee for President of
the United States and when you continue to put a positive spin on every
outlandish turd that he shits out of his mouth, well, you’ve blown all that
other bullshit to smithereens. I’m talking nuclear annihilation. Trump is like
Slim Pickens in “Dr. Strangelove,” riding a nuclear warhead straight into the
heart of the GOP. He has shit on your religion. He has shit on the
Constitution. He has shit on your leaders. He has shit on women and minorities
and fire departments. He has shit on the military and those who have died
fighting for this country. And you not only let him get away with it, you cheer
it and hold your babies up to him, hoping a little bit of that Trump bullshit
will land on them, too. After all those years of your pious, bible-thumping,
we-are-the-true-patriots Americagasms, it turns out it was really about
worshiping money and the people who have it and wanting someone to make you
feel safe from all those scary brown people. Some of us kinda expected that all
along, but I appreciate the conformation. What do I mean by “worshiping money
and the people who have it?” Trump has money and in this country, if you can
make money, you automatically are a SMART PERSON AND WOULD MAKE A GREAT LEADER.
It totally does not matter if you were born into it and had a one million
dollar head start on everybody else. Oh, and by “brown people,” I mean the
Mexicans you’re so frightened of you want to build a wall to keep them out
because Berlin had the right idea. I also mean Muslims, who have a right to
practice their religion in this country, thanks to the Constitution you claim
to revere so damn much. I’m also talking about that black family that lives in
your neighborhood. The one you always said were some of “the good ones (wink),”
until they put a Black Lives Matter bumper sticker on their car and became the
enemy. That’s always been your thing, though, hasn’t it? Anybody, even your
fellow Americans, who don’t share the exact same shiny-white vision that you
have of this country is THE OTHER. It’s why you dry-hump the 2nd
Amendment and hoard all the weapons you can, because you never know when you
might have to fight your own government to stop tyranny (by the way, it will be
the death of irony when you lock and load and drive off to the battlefield to
fight the mean ol’ gubmint in your pickup truck with all the Blue Lives Matter
and I Support Our Troops bumper stickers on it). Republicans love to remind
Democrats that it was the Dems in the South that started the KKK all those
years ago, as if nothing ever changes or evolves. I’d like to remind
Republicans that they used to be the party of Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt,
and Dwight D. Eisenhower. That grand old party is being brought down by a
two-bit con man who fantasizes about fucking his daughter. Of course, if he
wins, he could bring down the whole damn country.
Tuesday, June 21, 2016
Defeating Tiny Hands McWhite Supremacist
I'm voting for Hillary Clinton. I did
not arrive at this decision lightly. As most of you know, I am a
Sanders supporter. I voted for Bernie because I preferred the
candidate who didn't take any money from the unholy cabal of greed
demons on Wall Street who tanked the world's (again, THE WORLD'S)
economy back in 2008. As Matt Taibbi recently wrote,
“When
I think about the way the Democrats and their friends in the press
keep telling me I owe them my vote, situations like the following
come to mind. We're in another financial crisis. The CEOs of the ten
biggest banks in America, fresh from having wrecked the economy with
the latest harebrained bubble scheme, come to the Oval Office begging
for a bailout. In that moment, to whom is my future Democratic
president going to listen: those bankers or me? It's not going to be
me, that's for sure. Am I an egotist for being annoyed by that? And
how exactly should I take being told on top of that that I still owe
this party my vote, and that I should keep my mouth shut about my
irritation if I don't want to be called a Republican-enabler?”
Bernie
didn't win the primary, though. I'm going to vote for Clinton,
because I want to keep an honest-to-God fucking comic book villain
out of the White House. Plus, those Supreme Court nominees are a
pretty big deal, if things like LGBT rights are important to you and
you believe women's health choices, including abortion, belong to
them and not a group of pasty-white legislators with Baptist haircuts
and an axe to grind with every woman who couldn't be satisfied by
their half-flaccid Vienna sausage dicks. Also, I'm definitely
anti-wall. There's also the fact that I'm legitimately terrified for
my Muslim friends if we elect Orange is the New Fascist. I'm NOT
crazy about how cozy Hillary is with Wall Street (And, yes, the Mule
is just as addicted to and dazzled by money as the Elephant) and the
fact that we'll probably continue bombing the bejesus out of brown
people on the other side of the world (Middle Eastern parents
watching a drone strike blow up their kid probably don't give a shit
if it was sent by a Democrat or a Republican).
So,
there ya go Democratic Party. You got my vote. Surely you won't mind
a little constructive criticism, right? You can't keep running
campaigns based on the “lesser of two evils” platform. Granted,
the evil you're running against this time is pretty goddamn fucking
evil, however, this attitude is becoming more and more frustrating
for voters. Don't be afraid to actually be liberal and progressive.
An example from right here in Kentucky: If you took the campaign ads
from Jack Conway and Alison Lundergan Grimes and showed those to
people above the Mason-Dixon Line, they'd assume they were watching
Republicans. The days of holding a shotgun and saying Jesus to
inspire Democrats to get off their asses and to polls are over. It's
pandering, it's insulting, and it's everything you accuse the other
side of doing. Most importantly, though, it would be a grave error to
alienate and ignore all the millennials who support Bernie. Probably
not a good idea to continue being snide and condescending to them
(and older liberals, like yours truly), as well. The main reason?
Most of the millennials that I know don't give fuck one about the
Democratic Party. They care more about candidates who take therm
seriously and who they can believe in. When they hear calls for
“party unity,” they hear “you're idealism is adorable, but now
it's time to be cynical bastards like the rest of us and choose the
lesser of two evils because this is the system we have, blah, blah,
blah.” Look, I'm old enough to remember when there were only three
channels to choose from on the TV. These kids grew up with 200
fucking coffee flavors to choose from every day of their lives. Good
luck convincing them that only two parties are really the best we can
do as a country. It's going to take more than continually pointing to
the other side and saying “BOO” to inspire them. And I, for one,
admire the hell out of that. I even married one.
Again,
before you feel the need to Demsplain to me about party loyalty, I've
already said I'm voting for your candidate. Just remember, if we
defeat Tiny Hands McWhite Supremacist in November, don't think that
gives you a free pass to coast next time. We'll talk again in four
years.
Wednesday, June 15, 2016
Giant Tubs of Peanut Butter: A Post for My Mammy
Giant tubs
of peanut butter. I’m trying to memorialize my grandmother, Kathy Holloman, (“Kitten”
to some, “Rose” to my Grandad, “Mammy” to her grandkids. She didn’t have a
middle name, so all the pet names made up for that) and all I can think about
are these giant, food-service size tubs of peanut that she and my Grandad would
bring me when I was in college at WKU. I was a theatre major and they never
missed a I play in which I was cast (even a play called “Pvt. Wars” where I had
to show my naked ass on stage. She said I was too skinny). Mammy, being a
grandmother, always worried that I wasn’t eating. Of course, I wasn’t. I was a
college student. I spent my money on cigarettes and beer and the occasional cup
of coffee and slice of pie at Murray’s diner. So, whenever they came to Bowling
Green, they would bring me a giant tub of peanut butter so I “didn’t go hungry.”
To this day, when I need comfort, I will get a jar of peanut butter and eat it
with a spoon. Mammy’s house became a popular destination for some of my college
friends, because food. Dear lord, THE FOOD. An average weekend home from school
would find a couple of pizzas, burgers, BBQ, bacon and eggs, banana pudding,
coconut cake, and any number of sides and all of it prepared because, “I didn’t
know what y’all would be in the mood for.” It’s at this point where things
might get disjointed, because that’s how my mind is right now as I write this.
Mammy’s oldest son, Bobby Holloman, my Dad, died at the age of 24 in 1975. I
was five and my sister, Brandy, was eighteen months old. As a result, we were
very close to Mammy. We would spend just about every weekend with her and
Grandad. We went on a few vacations with them to Mammoth Cave or to spend a few
days in a cottage at Kentucky Lake. One time, we were headed to St. Louis for a
trip and I was torn, because there was a movie playing at the Capitol Cinema in
Princeton that I really wanted to see. We were about 50 or so miles down the
road when I pronounced that this movie was more important to me than St. Louis.
Grandad turned the car around, we drove back to Princeton and went to the
movies that night. I don’t remember what movie it was. It may have been Star
Wars. Mammy played board games with me. She and Grandad taught me how to play
Poker, Rummy, Black Jack, and Rook. When I was older, I lived with them off and
on, when things would get tough. The woman loved Christmas. Nothing made her
happier than a house full of family. I get a lot of my sense of humor from
Grandad and it was honed and practiced on Mammy. There were many head shakes
and eye rolls thrown at me and Grandad over the years. She was old school and
would not leave the house unless her hair was done and she was made up. She
loved to shop. There were times when we would ask how she was feeling and would
tell us she wasn’t feeling that great and we would tell her that’s too bad,
because we were going to go shopping and she would immediately respond with, “Well,
let me get ready.” She lived long enough to see me get married, which was
something I had been assuring her for years would never happen. She loved her
grandkids. As long as she was able, she was at every play, show, recital,
graduation, and court date. That last one was a joke. It’s going to be very
weird on this planet without her on it, too. I lost my maternal grandmother,
Mammaw, about eight months ago. This Christmas will be the first without both
of my grandmothers. Considering that I’m 46, it’s remarkable that I got this
many years with them both. I won the grandma lottery. We buried Mammy
yesterday. She was laid to rest right next to my Dad. Everyone who knew her
will miss her. She was 87. If she had lived just a little bit longer, she and
Grandad would have been married 68 years. He and the rest of us were lucky to
have her for so long.
Monday, June 13, 2016
I'm Done
I’m in a
dark place today and I’m done. I’m writing this for myself and for others who
feel the same way and no one else. I’m done debating gun control. If, by some
miracle, there is ever legislation to support, I will support it, but after
reading comments and reactions to the worst mass shooting in US history, I’ve
decided that debating the issue on social media is pointless. If you should
read this and disagree with anything I’m about to say, please take this as your
invitation to move on. I know I can’t change your mind. Any comments that are
designed to get a rise out of me or start a debate with me or any of my friends
will be deleted. I’m done. You see, I’ve had a revelation and it’s this: You
could take the NRA and all of the people who oppose ANY kind of restrictions on
access to guns of ANY kind and throw them into a pool filled with the blood of
every victim of gun violence in this country and shove their faces in the guts
of the children who have been cut down by bullets fired from assault rifles
that were designed for WAR and they would emerge, still stinking of death and gore,
screaming about GOOD GUYS WITH GUNS or MENTAL HEALTH or PROTECTION FROM THE
GOVERNMENT or, my new personal favorite, CRIMINALS WILL STILL GET THEM ON THE
BLACK MARKET! (Oh really, middle class white person? Please share with me your
vast knowledge of the criminal underworld and its inner workings. What? Do you
think you’re “woke” because you’ve seen all the “Taken” movies?) They would
explain, as they toweled off the blood and brains and chunks of dead flesh, how they are
the true patriots and love this country more than anyone else and it’s the
libtards that are ruining it and how Obama still has a few months left to
snatch up all the guns. The 2nd Amendment and money are the great golden calves that are worshipped in America. Sure, other amendments have been amended due to
changing times and morals, but not that 2nd one. I mean, why do we
even need all those other pussy amendments anyway? Especially when the people for whom the 2nd is the end all-be all are usually the people who
favor some restrictions on speech, voting rights, and really, really wish that
the government would just go ahead and declare Christianity as our national
religion. These are some of the same people who are the first to defend law
enforcement, but will wish death upon police officers who suggest that we need
some kind of gun control, because the cops are tired of knocking on doors with
AR-15’s on the other side. “Sorry you got shot, Officer, but even having a
reasonable conversation about gun control is too much of a burden for me to
bear.” So, I’m done. There can be no reasonable debate where there is no
reason. As I said before, the people who oppose any kind of gun legislation see
themselves as patriots. They see themselves as warriors, fighting a war for
freedom. But, what kind of war is fought by people in air-conditioned houses,
sitting and typing frantically on a laptop, while the victims of their “war”
are innocent citizens who are out on the town just having fun…or at school…or
at church…or at work? That’s not a war. That’s a group of privileged motherfuckers who
would rather risk the lives of their fellow citizens, than change a law that
might inconvenience them. You think the barest minimum of gun control is insane? Fine. I think that's inhuman. I don’t understand it. I can't fathom it. I’m done
debating it.
I am done.
I am done.
Monday, April 25, 2016
Produced, Arranged, Composed, and Performed by Prince
The first
Prince song I remember hearing was “Jack U Off.” I’m sure I had heard “I Wanna
Be Your Lover” before that, but Prince wasn’t on my radar at the time. A friend
of mine in middle school had it on a cassette. “You gotta hear this song about
jacking off!” I was at the age where jacking off loomed large in my life, so I
did indeed need to hear it. I will confess there was a bit of confusion when I
heard the song. He wasn’t singing about jacking himself off. He was jacking someone
else off. Now, at that age (12 maybe), my views and experience with sexuality
were extremely limited. It was all boobs, masturbation and the occasional
French kiss at the movies or middle school dance. When Prince sang, “I’ll Jack
YOU off,” I thought he had to be referring to man, because lady parts didn’t
come equipped with something to jack. It was exciting, thrilling, dirty, and a
bit disturbing. I had to hear more.
I got
more...a lot more...when “1999” was released the following year. It's hard to
explain what a seismic shift that album caused. This was 1982 in the midst of
the Cold War. There was this new cable channel called MTV that showed nothing
but these things called “music videos.” Cursing and foul language were not
commonplace in pop music. If you wanted to hear the word “fuck” you listened to
Richard Pryor comedy albums or watched R-rated movies. Don't get me wrong,
there were tons of pop songs that were about fucking. They just didn't say
“fucking.” Prince came right out and said, “I want 2 fuck u.” That was from
“Let's Pretend We're Married” and me and my friends lost our shit over that
song. Another gem from that song, “...I sincerely wanna fuck the taste out of
ur mouth. Can u relate?” We couldn't relate, of course, but goddamnit we wanted
to.
Apart from
the most brazenly sexual lyrics I had ever heard in my short life, “1999” was a
political statement. It asked the question, “Mommy, why does everybody have a
bomb?” The answer? “I don't know, so shut up and dance.” During those days, we
all lived with the knowledge that the entire world could blow up at any second.
And here was this bad-ass motherfucker, who dressed like he came straight out
of the court of Louis the XIV (and who had previously rocked bikini underwear
and thigh-high boots, but more on that later), telling everybody that the only
way to face the pending apocalypse was to dance and fuck our asses off and if
we didn't know how to do that, just listen to this record and if, by the end,
you still didn't know how, then you're a double drag fool and there ain't no
hope for you. Also, there was a giant dick right there on the album cover.
After
“1999,” I went back and got “Controversy” and “Dirty Mind.” The former has
“Jack U off.” The latter is one of Prince’s best. It’s pop, funk, soul,
R&B, rock and roll, and punk, all in the service of anti-war anthems, songs
about individuality, “When You Were Mine” one of the greatest break-up songs
ever, and sordid tales of giving a bride-to-be head on her wedding day and
incest with your sister that would make a Lannister blush. This was also the
album cover that featured Prince in the aforementioned bikinis, etc. I had a
poster of that iteration of the Purple One on my wall, which, I’m sure, led my
mother to wonder if I may be a little confused sexually. In reality, I was just
a straight white boy who had found a new hero. A hero who was slowly making my
world larger and more interesting.
This is
probably a good time to reveal that previous to Prince, the edgiest thing I had
ever listened to was rock band/comic book heroes/multi-media corporation Kiss.
In my grade school years of the 70’s, I was more apt to be found listening to
the “Grease” soundtrack, the “Star Wars” soundtrack, and, for some ungodly
reason (ahem…white boy), Andy Gibb’s “Shadow Dancing.” I grew up in a small
town in Kentucky and didn’t have access to Creem magazine and had no idea about
the cool music being made in New York City and London. The Ramones and The
Clash would have to wait until my world got a little larger. Prince was one of
the main catalysts for the broadening of my horizons. He became a star at the
same time as I was going through puberty. Trust me when I tell you that going
through all the confusion and terror that comes with puberty was much more
exciting with Prince playing in the background.
In 1984, the
world turned completely purple with the release of the movie and album “Purple
Rain.” The album is one of the best ever made. The movie has its share of
problems, amateurish acting, misogyny, and did I mention misogyny? The musical
performances, however, are some of the most exciting ever captured on celluloid
and it has lots of Morris Day, which is never a bad thing. It was a massive hit
at the time. There’s really not another rock and roll movie like it. It wasn’t
an Elvis movie. It wasn’t “A Hard Day’s Night.” It’s “like father, like son”
dynamic is simplistic (father beats mother, son beats girlfriend), but that
doesn’t mean that there isn’t truth in the narrative and the final performance
of “Purple Rain/I Would Die 4 U/Baby I’m a Star” is just fucking brilliant. It
was a brave choice of subject matter for a rock star’s first film (can you
imagine Michael Jackson doing anything similar?) and it paid off. On a personal
level, as a kid who was prone to (undiagnosed at the time) depression, seeing
my favorite singer in a film where he imagines his own suicide and not only
survives, but triumphs, was damn near a religious experience and one that I
would revisit again and again whenever the thought of killing myself would rear
it’s ugly, selfish head.
“Around the
World in a Day” confused the hell out of everybody when it came out. Mainly,
because most people wanted “Purple Rain II” and not this
baroque-while-simultaneously-psychedelic masterpiece. It’s one of my favorites.
Next up was
“Parade.” It was the soundtrack to the film “Under the Cherry Moon,” which was
written and directed by Prince himself (and about which the less said the
better). “Parade,” the album, is Prince’s “Sgt. Pepper.” No two songs on the album
are alike. Each one a brilliant reminder that the writer/performer is a genius.
Then came an
album that is, start to finish, a two record set that belongs on any list of
the greatest albums ever made and proving, yet again, that if there’s a room
full of bad-ass motherfuckers and Prince is in that room, he would be the
baddest-ass, funkiest motherfucker of them all. I’m talking about “Sign O’ the
Times.” It’s art that you can dance to. It covers multiple genres of music with
Prince singing in multiple voices. I defy anyone to stand or sit still when
“Housequake” is playing. Ever wonder what a children’s album written by Prince
would sound like? Based on “Starfish and Coffee,” it would rival Dr. Seuss. Do
me a favor. Go listen to “The Ballad of Dorothy Parker” right now and come back
to this. Done? Good. That song sounds like nothing that came before or that has
come since. It’s new wave, pop, jazz, and lyrics that read like a tone poem
thrown in a blender that still comes out giving up the funk (and no matter
style of music Prince is indulging in on any given album, he ALWAYS brings the
damn funk). “The Cross” out-Jesuses most Jesus songs. It’s an album that will
leave your head spinning and your ass shaking.
I could go
on about other albums, because there’s something on each one that I love the
shit out of (“Sexy M.F.”, damn…”Pussy Control”, fuck yeah and oh by the way
read the words it’s actually a pro-feminist anthem), but you would get bored
reading that.
It seems like Prince has always been there. His genius was so massive that he didn’t seem human, but something otherworldly that this planet had never seen before. He sang about God and sex in equal measure, sometimes in the same song. It was heady stuff for a kid who was raised in a Baptist church. Whenever I was dealing with all the guilt that comes with teenage sexuality (particularly those of us who were told in church that sex was a sin), there was Prince singing about fucking his way to divinity. Suddenly, Sunday School was boring. Especially with “D.M.S.R.” playing in your head on repeat.
Prince is
the greatest vocalist in the history of popular music. Don’t debate me on this.
You will lose. Any list of the greatest guitarists of all time that doesn’t
have Prince in the top three is bullshit. He could play any instrument he laid
his hands on. There are numerous albums and individual songs that are nothing
but Prince, playing and singing everything. I’m trying to wrap this up and I
don’t know how. I don’t know if I’ve conveyed how important the man was to me.
I was only in the same building with him twice and that was seeing him live. First
in Atlanta with Troy Lambert on the “Lovesexy” tour. Second in Evansville with
Jeff Kolodey. How was Prince live? Only the best live performer I’ve ever seen.
I always hoped I’d get the chance to see him again. That ain’t happening,
though, and it breaks my heart. It breaks my heart because I’ll never get to
see him with my wife. It breaks my heart because it turns out he was human,
after all. It breaks my heart that he died, alone, in an elevator. It breaks my
heart because the world was better with him in it. At the darkest moments of my
life, when I was alone and nobody else was there, when I didn’t know if I
should draw another breath, when I was hurting, he was there on my radio, in my
cassette player, on my turntable, and in my headphones. He was there when I was
happy and life was good. His name was Prince. And he was funky. It was a
privilege to exist with him on this planet at the same time.
“Sometimes
it snows in April
Sometimes I
feel so bad
Sometimes I
wish that life was never ending
But all good
things they say never last…”
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