The Blow - Pardon Me

Khaela Maricich, AKA: The Blow, dropped her greatest work to date with 2007's Paper Television. It is a titanic record that I just can not get over. I take a couple weeks off from it, and another song calls me back. Right now it's "Pardon Me". This is the music I always wanted to invent. Thanks to Khaela and her erstwhile collaborator Jonah, I don't have to imagine it anymore.

This is Khaela doing "Pardon Me" live in Houston.

Fleetwood Mac - Sarah (1979)

Perhaps my favorite Mac tune. Very underrated.

TWS Radio Backs The Candidacy Of Bob Barr

A conservative with a sense of
decency would vote for Bob Barr

If you wonder how the The Walrus Speaks supports Bob Barr, here is what the Station Agent said just the other day.

"How do you want to support Barr? The way I do it is word of mouth. Every belligerent person I meet that wouldn't vote for Obama no matter what, I say four words to them, "Bob Barr Dot Com."

Notice the Station Agent and I are not supporting Barr for President, we support Barack Obama. We are simply assisting Barr's campaign staff in getting the word out to Republicans and other conservatives who are dissatisfied with Bush, and don't want another four years of that. Barr has the right and duty to run for President if he thinks he can do a good job, and we all have to support the civil rights of Republicans and other conservatives to vote for Barr. The Republican establishment does not want people to know about Barr, so anything they don't want we do and vice versa--because they realize that it would be mostly conservatives voting for him.

I feel there must be some conservatives that visit the The Walrus Speaks and who do not want to vote for Obama, and the Station Agent and I are appealing to you folks, for love of country, to vote for Barr. This way you are expressing your honest grievances against liberals by not voting for Obama, at the same time you are sending a clear message to the Republican party that you will tolerate no more of their insane policies. As Americans, we all have the duty to stand against McCain, whether Democrat, Republican, Independent, or whatever--at the very least because McCain is more or less a W clone.

Before closing let me point out that if conservatives do not vote at all, that is good, but voting for Barr sends a stronger message to the party of great Presidents like Lincoln and Eisenhower. Of course, voting for Obama sends an even stronger message, but Barr will do. This election is not about simply Democrats vs. Republicans, it is about America.

I'm Hector Diego, and I approve of this message.

Jenny Lewis, Rise Up With Fists

Modest Mouse, Little Hotel

Tool, Schism

The Strokes, Juicebox

The Who, I Can See For Miles

This song is among the most frequently and deservedly played on "Classic Rock" stations--unlike "Judy In The Sky With Glasses" and its ilk.

Beatles LP Countdown, Boys

Here's Ringo singing the fifth song from the first Beatles album, Please Please Me. Ringo was a good singer and it is a pity we didn't hear him more. He was also an innovative drummer.

His critics don't know jack (I suspect they are people who prefer the Stones to the Beatles).

Beatles Band Talent Winners, Fusion Presents

Best (center) was an ordinary musician and Sutcliff (far right) was no musician at all. After the dross was removed, the three stood together and then the fourth was added. This is the earliest known photo of the five Beatles. Harrison was 17.

I have no idea who Fusion Presents is, the performers or some other concern. Anyway, if you are a Beatles person or someone who is perhaps not as emotionally involved with the Beatles as a Boomer is likely to be, but you still know that the Beatles are special (to say the least), listen to this music for the spiritual side of the Beatles.

The Beatles gave enormous gifts to humanity. Just hear these folks harmonizing. I'm talking about ordinary folks. The Beatles gave people a good time, made them smile. They gave far, far more to us than we gave to them. We made them rich and famous, but considering how many people bought their records no individual gave very much by comparison. The Beatles, on the other hand, are the band that keeps on giving.

The Beatles made ordinary people harmonize. To me that's spiritual.

I give you Fusion Presents, winner of this month's TWS talent contest. Sometimes talent is about spirit more than anything else.

Why Fidelity Assembles Beatles Covers

In 1969 Paul would have been 28 if he was alive

This selection of Beatles covers by a dude who calls himself Why Fidelity sounds like a radio show. It's about half an hour's worth of everything from muzak to jazz to novelty, and concludes with a number about the Paul is dead craze.

Interest in the Beatles was and is so great that the British license plate LMW 28IF for the white Volkswagen on the cover of Abbey Road has become the most famous license plate in history. It would be interesting to know how much the owner was offered for the car, or even simply the license plate.

The picture above is not on the section of Abbey Road that appears on the album cover, and this means that the kid quite likely did not see the Beatles crossing the street, he simply memorized the number and when he saw it somewhere else in London he had to get down and stare reverentially at it--he took darshan, as Hindus would say.

In his intriguing book The Politics of Ecstasy Timothy Leary declares that the Beatles were avataras of God. That could very well be because in Hinduism there is such a thing as saktyavesa avataras--humans so empowered by divinity to do great things that in a sense, they are incarnations of divinity.

The kid took darshan of a Volkswagen!

Elliot Smith, For No One

It looks like there is an image of a Visnu avatara (nothing to do with computers) on Elliot Smith's shirt.

Let's play all of Smith's Beatles covers.

Rilo Kiley - I Love L.A. (Stomp Version)

Jenny and her cohorts inject a little tap and stomp action into this sweet ballad about their hometown.

Lily Allen, Cheryl Tweedy

Let's See, Why Wouldn't Obama Tell The Media Certain Things...

News of the record federal deficit for 2008, has produced a spate of articles, like this one from The Washington Post that point out that the promises being made by both campaigns will continue to ring up massive deficits in the years to come.

"This is going to make it extraordinarily difficult for whoever's going to become president," said Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.). "I don't care who the president is -- when they come in and meet with their secretary of the Treasury, the Federal Reserve chairman, their top economists, it will be a sobering moment."

Neither of these campaigns are oblivious to the realities of the situation. Therefore, each campaign must have an approach they intend to use once their candidate is in the White House that they are not willing to tell the voters about now. In McCain's case I would say that his plan is to continue not giving a flying crap about budget deficits. Worked for Reagan.

But there's no way Barack Obama is seriously considering this approach. He has to have a target in mind where a great deal of spending cuts can from. It's obvious that defense spending is out of control. Could it be that Obama has a plan for the defense budget that he's unwilling to get into? Obviously, I'm purely speculating but I believe that he does. Since I don't think he's going to make the mistake Bill Clinton made when he allowed bases to close, the question becomes how do you keep a huge standing army and manage to cut defense spending?

He needs to gut the intelligence community and reassign their legitimate purposes to the military. He could also save a fortune by ending almost all military contracts--because we all know how efficient those were--and, again, farm those duties back to the soldiers. Finally, Obama could initiate a review of which big ticket items we actually need. If we stop buying weapons we won't use anyway because of Obama's focus on diplomacy we won't spend as much money. Curtailing research and development on weapons systems we're not likely to develop, like missile shields, would help out quite a bit as well.

Of course, outlining these positions would lead to an unending 24-hour news-chorus of "weak on defense!" (as opposed to the seven or eight hours of it that we get now).

The Who - 515

Appears that the two surviving members of The Who hate each other's living guts and are only performing select gems from their catalog live these days because they're being paid approximately $100 million to do it. That's sad. Of course the source is a bit dubious, but if it is true, isn't it better to just call it a day? I guess not.

On the upside, at least Ringo's kid, who is The Who's current drummer, is getting a sweet payday out of this.

Here's "515"

Deep Purple, Smoke On The Water

1972.

Pearl Jam, Tremor Christ

Elliot Smith, Son Of Sam

What we need is more artists like Elliot Smith. Unfortunately, I don't think we are going to get them.

Procul Harem, Lighter Shade Of Pale

At one time this was John Lennon's favorite song.

Eric Burdon, House Of The Rising Sun

Not the radio version, but still great.

Janes Addiction, Classic Girl

Kinks, All Day And All Of The Night

Oliver Stone's New Film, W.

That's right, Oliver Stone has made a film about George W. Bush, to be released in late October.

Suzanne Vega, In Liverpool

Morning in Sefton Park, Liverpool, England

This one was requested by our good friend Derek, a very intelligent dude from...well I don't know where he's from. In cyberspace, we are all from the same place.

You can request something too.

Let It Be Naked (Fly On The Wall) Part One

If you are a Beatles person you must hear this.

Creedence Clearwater, Bad Moon Rising

Someone asked John Fogerty why he sang like an African-American. Fogerty replied that when he opened his mouth to sing, that's what came out.

Janis Joplin, Piece Of My Heart

Sly And The Family Stone, Everyday People

The Doors, The Soft Parade

When I was back there in seminary school...



I couldn't resist adding a live version. Morrison kills me.

Beach Boys, God Only Knows

This song is dedicated to Jay Allbritton--the Station Agent--and his beautiful lady.

Beatles LP Countdown

"Chains", written by Carole King and Gary Goffin, is the fourth song from the Beatles first British album, Please Please Me. It was released as Meet The Beatles in America by Capitalist Records (don't even get me started on the way they misrepresented the Beatles and ripped off customers).

Stay tuned for all of the Beatles songs from all of their albums.

That's www.thewalrusspeaks.blogspot.com on your cyber radio dial.

Suzanne Vega, My Name Is Luka

The Smithereens, I Want To Hold Your Hand

Not bad.

Slow Down, Save Money

I have been driving 55 now for a few months, and only in the past few weeks have I noticed anyone else doing the same. What will it take for people to realize how much money they could be saving just by leaving the house a bit earlier and driving slower?

Many people have argued with me against driving slower, but I consider it a no-brainer. Am I missing something here, or are they? It seems that driving slower and using less fuel would also make the price of gas go down because of less demand.

Senator John Warner (R-VA) — elected in 1978 — recently expressed interest in the idea of a national speed limit to conserve gasoline. Warner, who is not running for re-election this year, wrote to U.S. Secretary of Energy Sam Bodman, asking "at what speed is the typical vehicle traveling on America's highways today most fuel efficient?" Read more.

Ringo On Rowan And Martin's Laugh-In

This was state of the art comedy in those days, so don't laugh. NO...laugh.

1970.

Capt. Joan Darrah On Don't Ask, Don't Tell

Captain Joan Darrah, United States Navy, retired early because she realized that if she had been killed when the Pentagon was attacked on 9/11, her lesbian partner of many years would be the last to know--because of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Captain Darrah was standing at the bus stop when the airliner slammed into the building. The area where she was working inside just a few minutes earlier had been demolished.

I think Don't Ask, Don't Tell has served as a useful transition period in homophobic America, but now it is time to put this hatred aside and honor gays and lesbians who have honorably served their country.

Indian Mujahedeen Claims Bomb Blasts

Blast scene in Bangalore, Karnataka, India

Indian Mujahadeen, an Islamic group, has claimed responsibility for yesterday's bomb blasts in Bangalore, the Silicon Valley of India. Read more.

Stevie Nicks, Landslide

The Calling, Wherever You Will Go

What's The Real Difference, McCain?

So McCain is smarter than Bush, so what? Intelligent people can be dumb too. McCain thinks the old ways are good, and that is dumb. He doesn't know what he doesn't know, he barely gets online, he doesn't do email. Why not? What is he afraid of?

Perhaps he is afraid that if he expands his horizons he won't understand it--he doesn't want to get out of his comfort zone. I'm afraid many of his supporters are in the same boat, unless they are cynical.

Do we need another four years of the Bush Administration?

October Project, Always

Mary Fahl of October Project

Within Temptation, Pale

Within Temptation is from the Netherlands.

Grateful Dead, Morning Dew

It's those damned hippies again, with their infernal peace symbols. How naive.

The Dark Side

Jane Mayer's book The Dark Side shows the Bush Administration for what it is. Perhaps old Numb Nuts is not as stupid as he appears. He was smart enough to get Dickhead Cheney to do his dirty work.

Read more.

Jimi Hendrix, Mannish Boy

Violent Femmes, To The Kill

Velvet Underground, There She Goes Again

A proto-punk band?

Dead Milkmen, Punk Rock Girl

Obama Leaves Note For God In Israel

Barack Obama visited the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem just recently and left this note to God, as Jews have done for thousands of years. Obama, by the way, is not Jewish, nor is he a Muslim. It doesn't really matter to me what the man's religion is, and his note to God was certainly universal. After all, when we finally come face to face with our Maker, what else could we say?

Lord,

Protect my family and me. Forgive me my sins and help me guard against pride and despair.

Give me the wisdom to do what is right and just.

And make me an instrument of your will.

George Harrison, Hear Me Lord

Harrison chose to have these men by his side when he left this world. I wonder why.

Rilo Kiley, I Love L.A.

Sway on, palm trees.

The Satvatove Experience

Joni Mitchell, California

Californians are snobs. California is an addiction. Those who have lived in California have probably left it only because they couldn't afford to live there. If you don't understand this it's because you have never lived there.

Your average Safeway in California is better than the best specialty produce or health food stores anywhere else. California grows one fourth of the world's fresh fruits and vegetables.

America imitates California, never the other way around--unfortunately, it does not imitate it enough. Even Republican Governors of California are more advanced in their thinking than other Governors (Reagan is the exception), and as if all the above is not enough, California has San Francisco. It has U.C. Berkeley...and although I hate to say it, it has Stanford. I dream of California at night, and during the day too.

The smog is bad and so is the traffic, and it is absurd that 9/10ths of its population lives within 50 miles of the ocean. Other than that, California rules. Even conservatives there care about the environment. And it has the heaviest concentration of vegetarians in the Western Hemisphere.

I'm a California snob and I always will be, can't help it. If God is kind I might live there again. What a homecoming that will be, to Mother California.

Carole King, Child Of Mine

This is a sentimental piece by Brill Building composer Carole King. King wrote many of the hits of the 1960's and most of us didn't even know it.

Artwork by the American Impressionist, Mary Cassatt.

Carly Simon, Nobody Does It Better

Belle And Sebastian, Here Comes The Sun

How did I miss this? Probably because today's music scene is so dense. And if you are a geezer like me, it's way too dense to get the good stuff. I just stumbled upon Belle and Sebastian.

From Scotland.

Stones, Beggars Banquet Part Two

Ani DiFranco, Both Hands

Beatles LP Countdown, Anna

This is the Beatles as they are gaining speed, right before they take off.