Most people I know, if given the choice, would always take a bad R&B song over a bad country one. Not me. To my ears nothing beats the venal pandering and embarrassing sincerity of a shitty Top 40 country song. At the very least, they’re fascinating bellwethers from across the American cultural divide.
Take this gem by James Otto off his album Shake What God Gave Ya(!!!) entitled “Soldiers & Jesus” that celebrates the fact that both of those parties died/die/are dying for us (“one for our lives and one for our souls”). I mean, Jesus preached non-violence and soldiers are… um, soldiers, but why think too hard about it?
Um, actually if anyone wants to think too hard about it meet me in the comments section. I have a lot of liberal ranting and hand-wringing to do.
H/t to Natasha. Thanks for the tip!
I don’t know, didn’t Jesus blast those money-changers and pigeon-dealers right out of the Temple with an AK-47 and rocket-propelled grenades? No? Well, in *my* translation of the N. T. he did!
Jesus is like a lot of things:
1) Pol Pot. (both dead)
2) Dennis Rodman. (both inside Madonna at one point)
3) My old roommate (both enjoyed sandals too much)
4) My childhood dog (both died for sins of world)
5) My basement (nail holes, blood, discarded sandals everywhere)
6) Eliott Spitzer (both hang around with prostitutes)
7) Hannibal Lector (both are remembered by cannibalism)
8) Peter Sarafanowitz in Shaun Of The Dead (both became zombies)
9) Larry King (both two thousand years old)
10) James Blunt (both loved by mystifyingly large numbers of people)
11) that guy from the Big Lebowski.
11) Me (both hung like this)
Bon Scott, John Belushi, Eva Peron (dead at 33)
I also recall the parables Jesus told to his disciples about hunting civilians for sport and torturing people who didn’t receive the gospel. Also I remember the story of how the Jews paid Jesus tens of thousands of pieces of silver to die for them but when he rose from the dead he lost all his military benefits and had to pay out of pocket to get his nail holes patched.
12) Michael Jackson (black, or was he???)
Dammit Bow, I was promised a rant.
“Grandaddy came home, missing a leg or two, covered in ketchup, but he said it was not” – beginning of the song. –
I’ve been waiting for a bad country song to top Darryl Worley’s 2003 hit “Have You Forgotten” (and they tell us not to worry ’bout Bin Laden, have you forgotten?)!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6yLQRF-cEU
Hmmm. You folks should protest and disagree with specific missions and assignments that are given our military. It’s really important to monitor and restrict when and how they are used. But no one here should forget that we do need them, that we wouldn’t be safe without them, and that strangers have volunteered to fight and possibly die so that you’ll be safe in your homes.
Now, if you want to talk about bad country songs, I suggest “Jesus Take The Wheel.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lydBPm2KRaU
A young mother is driving in the winter, hits a patch of ice and starts to spin out. Instead of steering into the skid or trying to regain control of the vehicle, she throws her hands up into the air and yells “Jesus, take the wheel!” This is her solution to the emergency.
Even if we lived through the crash, I would walk home through the snow rather than get back into a car that girl was driving…
It hit #1 on the country charts and has won a serious buttload of awards. I do not approve. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus,_Take_t…
I love James Otto SO much and to me, the precious beautiful sweet hearted teddy bear couldn’t have done a better job writing, singing, and producing this song! (big smile)
God bless you and him always!!!
Holly in East Tennessee