Remember when emo was about infusing passion into music and not just some overblown trendy scene for self-absorbed teenagers? My band, the Decoration, has the song "Progress, Not Perfection" on the latest installment of Deep Elm's longstanding and influential compilation series, Emo Diaries. I guess we're kind of an emo band by association, but a much older, wiser one. Check it out here: http://www.deepelm.com/465/

Here we have Ted Nugent in concert brandishing two semi-automatic assault rifles and calling out Barack Obama to "suck on one of these." Guess what?--the crowd cheers, making me officially ashamed to be an American. I always knew Ted Nugent was an a**hole now we can add hateful ignorant racist to the list. Language NSFW.

http://www.youtube.com/v/vy8RIiTyhMI

Every dollar I make is a buck I owe,
And a forty hour week leaves ten to blow.
But every game in this town is just a nickle and dime,
And when the sun goes down, it feels like the last time.
Down on the main drag we ride, the engine's open.
If there's a fire inside, that's the one thing goin.

I've got the Mustang loaded,
I've got a wrong to right.
I got a little red bullet,
Let's kill Saturday night.
Knock it out of it's misery,
Nail that coffin tight.
High livin', that's history:
Let's kill Saturday night.

Well, the little man's lot is a prince's life:
A prince with the lousy job; a prince with a workin' wife.
Something in the big frame moved, it never was so hard,
To keep a twenty-inch tube and a fenced-in yard.
But give me one night with the moon high and the radio poundin',
An' brother this town is gonna go down a kickin' and shoutin',

I've got the Mustang loaded,
I've got a wrong to right.
I got a little red bullet,
Let's kill Saturday night.
Knock it out of it's misery,
Nail that coffin tight.
High livin', that's history:
Let's kill Saturday night.
Hey.

I got the Mustang loaded,
I've got a wrong to right.
I got a little red bullet,
Let's kill Saturday night.
Knock it out of it's misery,
Nail that coffin tight.
High livin', that's history:
Let's kill Saturday night.

Let's kill Saturday night.

http://www.mp3.com/artist/robbie-fulks/summary/

Be there or be square

First Bono skirts his tax liabilities in his home country Ireland by moving business operations to the Netherlands; now it seems he has failed to make conspicuous consumers see red. According to a report in the Advertising Age, his Project Red (which sells custom red ipods, t-shirt, cell phones, what-have-you, to help the Global Fund to Fight AIDS) has only raised $18 million, while outlaying $100 million in marketing. WTF?

To put it in perspective, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has donated $600 million--all without smug celebrities and global corps. pushing unwanted wares.

I have an idea: instead of spending $7.8 million on ads featuring Christy Turlington doing yoga in some stupid shirt (I'm looking at you, the Gap), why not just donate that money to the Global Fund directly?

I believe their intentions are good, but this type of campaign seems to benefit the corporations more than the cause. Conspicuous consumption is not the path to enlightenment and change, and rockstars should never be our moral beacon (especially Bono).

Use the force, Hammer!

I voted. Did you? As I write this there is only a 7-vote gap between the Shapes and Native Guns, so now is the time to really make that vote count. 

...b*tch!

In San Francisco:
 

Bands with animal names are the "the" bands of the new millenium. Arctic Monkeys, Wolf Whatever, Frog this-or-that--it really has to stop. However, regardless of how annoying this trend is, you can't get mad if the music hits just right. Case in point: my two favorite recent discoveries are Ladyhawk and Catfish Haven--two bands with names so atrocious, I almost ran away screaming. Luckily, I put prejudices aside and found some truly inspired, brand new rock 'n' roll. Yeah.