While John Mayer gets all AOR waiting for the world to change, I think maybe it already has. Since when do politicians, even Republicans, listen to punk on the road? Last week, the so-called Governor of my so-called state (reddest in the nation), claimed that among his top 10 songs for the road are “Anything by the Ramones” and “Anything by the Sex Pistols.” Uh, couldn’t name any songs? Couldn’t remember any real punk? (Sorry. My spouse will say that Ramones are real punk.) He did list “London Calling” by the Clash. (Only the best known songs, I suppose. He might not want “Know your rights, all three of them” wafting out his window as he drives up to the capitol in the morning.) I was also struck by his choice of “Won’t Get Fooled Again” by The Who. You know, I was thinking exactly those words, but in a bit different context.

While I’m at it, I would like to point out that 72-year old Orrin Hatch is busy listening to church music, upwardly mobile but easy to understand classics of the white, western world, and himself. (Apparently he’s a big star, pulling in $40,000 year from his recordings. Sue me. I didn’t know.)

Hatch’s opponent for the US Senate, Pete Ashdown, wasn’t listed among the local worthy, but surely he would include this lovely jingle. [WARNING! You don’t want this jingle stuck on your mind.] “A new senator for a new century.” Rumor has it that he likes electronica, and I have it on good authority that he was seen recently at Kilby Court.

I just worry when the Republican politicians are courting the red public with the punk pop.

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PoMo is here. That’s Post Month. National Blog Posting Month.

Every year I think I will participate in NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month. It’s only 50,000 words. Not so tough. So far, I have not written past the first week for five years.

Fussy is encouraging those of us who “lack the imagination, stamina, and self-destructive impulses required to write a novel that quickly” to post to our blogs every day in November. It’s only 30 entries. We start blogs to write. This encourages us to write. This is good. Clearly one who abandons a blog for a month at a time needs some external motivation. I accept.

During the month of November, I will post every day. I do not promise to be smart or funny, though I will strive for some kind of relevance.

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When I need to get my blood pumping, there are several ways to go about it. Most predictable is to go to the “Political” section of my music files. I have it shuffling on continuous play right now so I can listen to:

• Michael Franti, “Yell Fire” - I met Michael Franti when he was opening for Billy Bragg in Washington DC about 15 years ago. He was an angry, articulate teenager. Smart ass, smart man. He’s still angry. “They’re telling you to never worry about the future.” He very nearly throat sings in this song. I aspire to throat sing. Mother Jones Magazine chose this as one of its In Tune songs last month. You can listen / download at Anti. “Revolution nevers comes with a warning.”  The thing is, when there IS a fire, you have to yell fire.

• Black Crowes, “Soul Singin’” Rocky Anderson vs. Black Crowes remix from Head On Radio - “Holy shit!” I said when I first heard it. “I know that voice. That’s my minister.” There is Tom Goldsmith from First Unitarian Church introducing Rocky Anderson. (Unitarians = all of the church and none of the religion. I didn’t figure Tom was listening to the Black Crowes regularly, so I sent it to him. “What a kick,” he said. Hip dude.) I was there, and I’ve heard the speech many times since, but listening to this song does it for me. This speech certainly has made Rocky Anderson a popular guy. So what if he has ego. Anyone willing to get into politics really has to have massive ego, even if they disguise it. I think he may be pulling an Obama by spreading his approval around across party lines. I know Utah Democrats aren’t happy about this, but I suspect it’s part of his broader strategy. I’m not saying that works. I am just saying I listen to this speech, and I know I want to hear this man speak up on the national stage.

• Steve Earle, “The Revolution Starts Now” - I need to leave my ancestral condo and walk my 5% Democratic precinct to encourage registered voters to walk down the street to the church to vote. I made a map of my precinct showing where all of the voters are — masses of little red dots for registered Republicans, even more pink dots for the Unaffiliated, an impressive number of black dots for Unknown, four American Constitution Party, and two lonely Greens. Altogether, there are fewer than fifty Democrats. I made a map so I could see them clustered together. When I listen to this song, I think about my precinct. “I was running down the street in the town where I was born. . . .” I want to believe they would make community with those who live among them–with ME. I want to believe that we can work together if the disaster we’ve trained for comes. But, look, I say “them.” I can’t say “us” even though this has been my how since before I reached adolescence. “Revolution starts now, in your own backyard, in your own hometown.” Maybe my experiences with neighbors have deflated my high ideals of local community. “They all brought what they could bring, nobody went without.” A demographer for a national Utah campaign told me, 1) I live in the most reliably Republican-voting district in the Redest state, and 2) wouldn’t I be happier in Sugarhouse? Damn. Probably. I heard a nice Unitarian say he was single-handedly integrating Bountiful. I think of myself doing that in my town. I need my soul singing to be able to do this.

OK. Deep breath. Ask myself what’s so funny about peace, love, and understanding, then go encourage my neighbors to vote.

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Wow. I think I will wake up every morning and listen to this speech about the war in Iraq, set to Flash animation by DJ Paul Edge at We Will Not Be Silenced .com.  Nonviolent resistence is where it’s at.  Thanks to Tom Paine .commonsense for the link.

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Holy fascism!  I thought it would be slightly radical to bring back That’s My Bush to Comedy Centralized.  (OK, not radical, but it would make me want to watch tv.)  As reported on Alternet blog The Mix, a digital channel in Britain will be airing a fictional retrospective film about the 2007 assassination of George Bush.  They say it’s “a sophisticated piece of work.”  Any bets on whether it will air in the US?

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