New poem: TRUMPELSTILTSKIN

Start subdued
Adjust the microphone
Then kick a hole in the floor
Move the microphone a little more
Kick until the hole gets bigger
Keep kicking
Harder
Harder
Harder
Until the hole is large enough
For you to fall through the floor
Dropping towards the Earth's core
As you yell:
I WON'T ACCEPT LOSING!
And
YOU NASTY WOMAN!
Until your voice is no longer heard.

Matt Taibbi's epitaph for the Trump campaign.

Excerpt from Matt Taibbi's ROLLING STONE article "The Fury and Failure of  Donald Trump."

Trump, ironically, was originally a rebel against this process, the first-ever party-crasher to bulldoze his way past the oligarchical triad of donors, party leaders and gatekeeping media. But once he got in, he became the ultimate servant of the horse race, simultaneously creating the most-watched and most regressive election ever.

He was unable to stop being a reality star. Trump from the start had been playing a part, but his acting got worse and worse as time went on, until finally he couldn't keep track: Was he supposed to be a genuine traitor to his class and the savior of the common man, or just be himself, i.e., a bellicose pervert with too much time on his hands? Or were the two things the same thing? He was too dumb to figure it out, and that paralysis played itself out on the Super Bowl of political stages. It was great television. It was also the worst thing that ever happened to our electoral system. 

Trump's shocking rise and spectacular fall have been a singular disaster for U.S. politics. Built up in the press as the American Hitler, he was unmasked in the end as a pathetic little prankster who ruined himself, his family and half of America's two-party political system for what was probably a half-assed ego trip all along, adventure tourism for the idiot rich. 

That such a small man would have such an awesome impact on our nation's history is terrible, but it makes sense if you believe in the essential ridiculousness of the human experience. Trump picked exactly the wrong time to launch his mirror-gazing rampage to nowhere. He ran at a time when Americans on both sides of the aisle were experiencing a deep sense of betrayal by the political class, anger that was finally ready to express itself at the ballot box. 

The only thing that could get in the way of real change – if not now, then surely very soon – was a rebellion so maladroit, ill-conceived and irresponsible that even the severest critics of the system would become zealots for the status quo. 

In the absolute best-case scenario, the one in which he loses, this is what Trump's run accomplished. He ran as an outsider antidote to a corrupt two-party system, and instead will leave that system more entrenched than ever. If he goes on to lose, he will be our Bonaparte, the monster who will continue to terrify us even in exile, reinforcing the authority of kings. 

If you thought lesser-evilism was bad before, wait until the answer to every question you might have about your political leaders becomes, "Would you rather have Trump in office?" 

Trump can't win. Our national experiment can't end because one aging narcissist got bored of sex and food. Not even America deserves that. But that doesn't mean we come out ahead. We're more divided than ever, sicker than ever, dumber than ever. And there's no reason to think it won't be worse the next time. 

Varying reactions to Bob Dylan's Nobel Prize.

Marianne Faithfull quoted via The Guardian:

“I think he’s one of the greatest artists in the world and he’s changed our whole lives with his writing and his poetry.”

And she was scornful of the writers criticising the choice. “I think they’re ridiculous,” she said.

Michael Pollock via Facebook:
I have always liked Dylan, but I don't think he wrote or sang anything really significant after 1965. If I were him, I'd feel rather weird about accepting an award for literature when others, with so much more talent and an exceptional history of literary success, deserve it more. Dylan was a folk singer who stood on the shoulders of Woody Guthrie. In his acceptance speech, Dylan should at least acknowledge this fact. You could almost randomly throw a rock out the window and hit a better writer in the head.

Passing along information re books by rock author Ken Sharp.

Printing this e-mail in its entirety:

Greetings!

Please help me to "Play On"... 

Working on a new album and really excited by our progress but trying to keep it going is a tough haul financially...

Here's how you can help...Come check out my web site, www.ken-sharp.com for a selection of my books and email me at sharpk@aol.com if interested in any of them. These include all three volumes of my sold out "Play On! Power Pop Heroes" volumes, the sold out Cheap Trick book and others.

Many are now officially sold out and but I have a small batch of personal copies and will make them available for what they sold for plus shipping.

I also have a few softback/hardback copies of "Eric Carmen: Marathon Man," a biography I co-penned on Eric, which sells for ridiculous money on ebay; one copy is up for sale at over $900. These are both signed and unsigned by Eric.

All proceeds will go toward offsetting the cost of recording new songs for my album...

I'd be grateful if you'd consider sharing this info with any like minded music fans.

Thanks for all.

Best Regards,

Ken

The 2016 Election Year Playlist.

Old and new songs relevant to this year's slugfest.

1. Winning Ugly--The Rolling Stones
2. It's Money That I Love--Randy Newman
3. Lawyers In Love--Jackson Browne
4. You're No Good--Linda Ronstadt
5. Surrender Under Protest--Drive-By Truckers
6. Magic--Bruce Springsteen
7. American Idiot--Green Day
8. Troubled Times--Green Day
9. Wristband--Paul Simon
10. Weary--Solange

New: ELECTION POEM

I want to be there when it doesn't happen

When the nation steps away from the cliff

And decides that the woman running to be the boss

Is infinitely preferable to the man

Who plays the role of a boss on TV

Where there are retakes and downtime

For him to discuss all the female

Contestants and crewmembers who

Excite him sexually

Please remember,

When marking your ballot,

The pretend boss/hateful candidate on TV

Got out of paying taxes

And won the goldmine

While his former Casino employees

Plus shareholders

Plummeted down the open mine shaft

The Presidency isn't a job for charlatans

And that's why I want to be there

When informed choice prevails

Over infantile notions of Greatness

Today's multiple-choice Donald Trump question.

How does your conservative friend/family member rationalize his/her continuing support of Donald Trump for President?
A. He'll have a lot of smart people helping him
B. I don't agree with everything he says, but he's the best choice
C. The liberal media makes mountains out of molehills
D. I can't not support the Republican Party
E. Stop Hillary!
F. More than one of the above