It’s Over: Idiots Are Taking Over

NoFX: Idiots Are Taking Over
[purchase]

Here we go again.

Back in 2000, more Americans turned out to vote for a qualified, competent, intelligent, thoughtful Democrat who was maybe not the most exciting candidate, but the Electoral College chose an unqualified, intellectually incurious, right wing clown who liked to spend time away from the White House.

Sound familiar?   It's like déjà vu all over again.

That time, things worked out quite well, what with 9/11, the Patriot Act, Guantanamo, two foolish wars, lies about weapons of mass destruction, government sponsored torture, ISIS, the botched Katrina response, alienation of our allies, no health care plan, a continued refusal to credit science and facts, ballooning deficits, increasing income and wealth inequality and the closest thing to a great depression since the Great Depression.  Just for starters.

In 2003, even before much of the Bush debacle had even happened, sneaky smart punk band NoFX released their album The War on Errorism, which, in part, is a scathing attack on the still relatively new Bush administration. It included “Idiots Are Taking Over,” a song whose lyrics, only slightly over the top, unfortunately ring true again. For example:

It's not the right time to be sober 
Now the idiots have taken over 
Spreading like a social cancer, is there an answer?
*          *         * 
The benevolent and wise are being thwarted, ostracized, what a bummer 
The world keeps getting dumber 
Insensitivity is standard and faith is being fancied over reason
*          *         * 
What are we left with? 
A nation of god-fearing pregnant nationalists 
Who feel it's their duty to populate the homeland 
Pass on traditions 
How to get ahead religions 
And prosperity via simpleton culture 

It took us eight years to get rid of that awful crew, although the obstructionist Republicans in Congress worked hard to thwart progress.

And now, we have come full circle. Let’s hope that it isn’t over, and that through smart actions, both in and out of Washington, it doesn’t take that long to reverse things this time.

Carole King Covers: Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?

Me First & The Gimme Gimmes: Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?
[purchase]

You could argue that one of the ways to tell if a song is really well-written is to see whether it holds up when performed in different styles. Some songs would seem to only be effective in a particular style—for example, the Sex Pistols’ great “God Save The Queen” only works as an angry blast of punk, and not, for example, as a folk tune. Although you might be surprised at how good King Crimson’s prog-rock archetype “21st Century Schizoid Man” sounds in Delta blues style.

“Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” seems to sound great no matter how it is played. Written by King and Gerry Goffin when she was still in her teens, the song was first released by The Shirelles in 1960, in classic girl group style, with tight harmony vocals and lush orchestration. Although apparently banned by some radio stations because of the sexual nature of the lyrics (!), it nevertheless reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

I’m not going to give you a long tour through the many, many covers of this great song, except to point out that it works in Swedish. And when King recorded the song for the great Tapestry album, she did it in a slower, piano-driven, contemplative style with Joni Mitchell and James Taylor contributing background vocals.  It was both an artistic and commercial success, getting played regularly on FM radio.

It is sort of a gimmick to take classic rock songs of this, and other, eras, speed them up, and turn them into punk songs. Few artists are as committed to this niche that honors the songs, but with sufficient ironic detachment to retain their punk cred, than Me First and The Gimme Gimmes. A “supergroup” of sorts, with members that include Fat Mike of NOFX, Chris Shiflett of Foo Fighters, and Spike Slawson of Swingin’ Utters and Re-Volts, they have released a bunch of albums, EPs and singles, including their 2001 album, Blow In The Wind, which focuses on pop hits of the 1960s. Their version of “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” is, appropriately, loud, fast and surprisingly catchy, like The Shirelles’ version, but still retains some of the melancholy of King’s.