Palin and Hannity, Quite the Calamity

The Fox News Network has no shortage of poorly educated pundits, and Wednesday night two of its biggest imbeciles showcased their ignorance in grand fashion before a national audience. Granted, that audience was comprised primarily of poorly educated Tea-Baggers, so they probably believed that they were being pontificated to by Rhodes scholars. In reality, Sean Hannity attended two colleges (New York University and Adelphia University) but he never graduated or earned a degree. In comparison, Sarah Palin would appear to be a genius in light of the fact that she attended 5 colleges in 6 years before finally obtaining enough credits to earn a less than impressive bachelor’s degree in journalism. Nevertheless, Sarah Palin and Sean Hannity spoon fed their audience a double dose of dimwittery last Wednesday.

The dimwitted duo’s topic du jour was their opposition to health care reform and the Democrats’ potential use of “self-executing” rules to pass the legislation. Sarah Palin said,

It’s against the will of the people, it’s undemocratic, it’s un-American, this process. I think, Sean, that in our lifetime, this is the most undemocratic, unAmerican step that we’ll have ever seen our Congress take. It’s appalling, it’s — it takes my breath away that they would think that this is OK to do. Is the Constitution not worth the paper it is written on, then?

Sean Hannity of course, agreed that the procedure is unconstitutional and assured the audience of brain dead amoebas that the procedure would be challenged in court.

Unfortunately, neither Palin nor Hannity seem to be aware of the uncontroverted fact that Republicans have used the “self-executing” procedure more than Democrats in the past. The Woodrow Wilson International Center For Scholars reveals,

When Republicans were in the minority, they railed against self-executing rules as being anti-deliberative because they undermined and perverted the work of committees and also prevented the House from having a separate debate and vote on the majority’s preferred changes. When Republicans took power in 1995, they soon lost their aversion to self-executing rules and proceeded to set new records under Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.). There were 38 and 52 self-executing rules in the 104th and 105th Congresses (1995-1998), making up 25 percent and 35 percent of all rules, respectively. Under Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) there were 40, 42 and 30 self-executing rules in the 106th, 107th and 108th Congresses (22 percent, 37 percent and 22 percent, respectively).

Where was the outrage from Palin and Hannity when the Republicans were utilizing the self executing procedure? Either they are being hypocritical now for opposing a procedure that they failed to oppose earlier, or more likely, they have such a lack of knowledge of political history that they were not aware that their party has allegedly trampled upon the Constitution far more often than the Democrats. Anyone surprised?

In honor of the troops, please remember to click on the song link below to familiarize yourselves with the tune and to have more fun singing along with today’s song parody.

Let Em In song link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xe990JYsbNo&feature=related

LET FOX IN

(sung to the Paul McCartney and Wings song “Let ‘Em In”)

Someone’s sniveling on the tube
Somebody’s startin’ to yell
Someone’s sportin’ new boobs
Somebody reeks of hair gel

Do me a favor,
Change the channel and let Fox in
Ooh yeah

Someone’s not “fair and balanced”
Somebody’s missing brain cells
Someone’s psyche is imbalanced
Somebody’s wearing pastels

Do me a favor,
Change the channel and let Fox in
Yeah ,yeah, yeah, let Fox in

Neil Cavuto, O’Reilly
Glenn Beck and Hannity
Huckabee and Sarah Palin
Change the channel and let Fox in
Yeah

(musical interlude)

Neil Cavuto, O’Reilly
Glenn Beck and Hannity
Huckabee and Van Susteren
Change the channel and let Fox in
Oh, yeah

Someone’s talking to Newt Gingrich
Somebody’s starting to shout
Someone called Hillary a bitch
Somebody’s starting to pout

Do me a favor,
Change the channel and let Fox in
Ooh yeah ,yeah, let Fox in, let ‘em in now

Doo doo doo doo da doo doo
Doo doo doo da doo da

Neil Cavuto, O’Reilly
Glenn Beck and Hannity
Huckabee and Sarah Palin
Change the channel and let Fox in
Oh, yeah

Someone’s sniveling on the tube
Somebody’s startin’ to yell
Someone’s sportin’ new boobs
Somebody reeks of hair gel

Do me a favor,
Change the channel and let Fox in
Ooh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

Thursday Night Irish Music Byte

Boston Red Sox St. Patrick's Day Uniforms

Irish music week continues and tonight we return our attention to the Irish Rovers. The Irish Rovers are a Canadian Irish folk group created in 1963 and named after the traditional song “The Irish Rover”. The primary voices heard in the group’s songs were Will Millar (tenor) and Jimmy Ferguson (baritone).

Tonight’s song is the “The Wind That Shakes The Corn”. The lyrics detail how a young Irish Fenian takes up arms against the British when his love is killed by an English bullet. Please enjoy.

Good Grief, Scottie Brown Is A Lot Like Charlie Brown

In retrospect, the best thing that could have happened for the progressive cause might have been the surprising election of Republican nudist Scott Brown in last January’s special election to fill Ted Kennedy’s Massachusetts Senate seat. Scott Brown was an entirely unknown “birther” conspiricist until the Tea-Baggers donned him their poster child for change. Out of state money flooded into Massachusetts and Brown’s momentum begin to mount. He defeated the Democratic Party nominee Martha Coakley (the incumbent Attorney General) but things have gone downhill for Brown, the Republicans and the conservative movement since that high-water mark (perhaps that was a poor analogy since Boston is presently being flooded by massive rain and historically high tides). Nevertheless, consider these facts.

In his very first Senate vote, Brown split with conservative Republicans first by breaking a G.O.P. filibuster and then by joining Democrats in voting for the passage of a jobs bill that was opposed by conservatives. Suddenly, Brown’s status as the “savior of the right” was “stripped” (pun intended) by lunatic right-wing pundits such as Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Mann Coulter and Michelle Malkin. The oft dreamed about Brown/Palin ticket for 2012 was now in question since the mindless, follow their leader “ditto-heads” and “Tea-Baggers” were angered by the nude upstart’s rejection of their marching orders.

Throughout his Senate campaign and immediately upon his election, Brown proudly declared that he “would be the 41st vote, not the 60th” in the conservative battle against the Democrats’ faltering health care reform bill. He claimed that he would be the person most solely responsible for the defeat of any such bill. He said that the American people were against massive health care reform and so was he. Unfortunately for Brown however, it was quickly revealed that while in the Massachusetts State Senate he actually voted in favor of the passage of that state’s universal health care reform bill which was far more “socialist” than the pending national plans and even included a strict “mandate” and government subsidies requiring that all state citizens  purchase health insurance. Oops.

Another thing that happened when Scott Brown “nakedly” (OK, I couldn’t help myself) threw down the gauntlet against health care reform is that the Democrats (no longer with a filibuster proof majority) were forced to grow a backbone so as to galvanize their support and the ultimate passage of legislation. First, President Barack Obama became directly involved by means of factually slapping down most every Republican contrarian talking point at the House Republican Retreat in Baltimore. The event was unscripted (i.e. there could be no teleprompter criticisms) and Obama eloquently articulated every positive feature of health care reform while the assembly of Republicans was unable to mount a credible opposition. Next, Obama exposed the Republicans as the “Party of No Ideas” at his nationally televised Health Care Reform Forum. Truth be told, Obama agreed to consider a few Republican concerns such as limited medical malpractice tort reform and further action against Medicare fraud which portrayed him in the eyes of the viewing audience as a reasonable negotiator. On the other hand, not one Republican offered anything but derailing the entire bill and starting from scratch. No bilateralism there and the American people now know it. Rather than address the substance of the Forum, Scott Brown merely characterized it as a dog and pony show which revealed that he has little grasp of the complex issues involved.

The obstructionist ways of the Republican Party were revealed to the American people at Obama’s Health Care Forum and that gave congressional Democrats the political cover to pass a bill via the reconciliation process which would frustrate any Republican attempt to filibuster. Scott Brown and the Republicans cried foul, but Obama and the Democrats retorted that 16 of the last 22 bills passed by the reconciliation process were done so by the G.O.P. Remember that adage about throwing stones in glass houses? Not to be silenced however, Scott Brown publicly criticized the President and congressional Democrats once again last week when he said they were on a “bitter, destructive and endless drive to pass health care.” He went on to say that the passage of massive health care reform is “against the will” of the American people. Unfortunately, Scott brown must have missed the most recent AP/GfK Poll which revealed that 50% of Americans believe the health care system should be changed “a great deal” and only 4% believe that the system should not be changed. It now appears that a Democratic health care reform bill will pass and it will be supported by the majority of Americans.

Consequently, the election of the clothing challenged Scott Brown had exactly the opposite of its intended effect. Scott Brown did not defeat health care reform. Since his election, the movement has gained momentum in Congress and gained support by the American people. Passage of the legislation is now imminent. Like Charlie Brown,  everything Scott Brown touches seems to backfire on him and also like Charlie Brown, all Scott Brown can say is, “Good Grief!”

Please remember to click on the song link below to familiarize yourselves with the tune and to have more fun singing along with today’s newly penned song parody.

Charlie Brown song link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UnPzp2lmNk

SCOTTIE BROWN

(sung to the Coasters song “Charlie Brown”)

Fe-fe, fi-fi, fo-fo, fum
He’s the senator that will bare his bum

Scottie Brown, Scottie Brown
He’s a clown, that nude Scott Brown
He likes to bare his bod
In those magazines
(That’s why everybody’s always pickin’ on me)

That’s him on his knees
I know that’s him
Yeah, from 7 come 11
Down in the Senate gym

Scottie Brown, Scottie Brown
He’s a clown, that nude Scott Brown
Craig thinks that he’s hot
He hopes to steal a peek
(Why’s everybody always pickin’ on me)

Who’s always nude at the roll call?
Who’s lurking in the men’s room stalls?
Who’s sporting his bat and balls?
Guess who? (who me?) yeah, you!

Who walks through the Senate dumb and slow?
Who calls Mitch McConnell, Daddy-O?

Scottie Brown, Scottie Brown
He’s going down, next time around
His votes can be bought
Just you wait and see
(Why’s everybody always pickin’ on me)

(musical interlude)

He is in the Party that says “No”
With his private parts swinging to and fro

Scottie Brown, Scottie Brown
He’s a clown, that nude Scott Brown
He’s showing a lot
His bum, his wee-wee
(Why’s everybody always pickin’ on me)

St. Patrick’s Night Music Byte

In Ireland, it is a popular legend that the Celtic Catholic cross was introduced by Saint Patrick or possibly Saint Declan during his time converting the pagan Irish, though no examples survive from this early period. It has often been claimed that Patrick combined the symbol of Christianity with the sun cross, to give pagan followers an idea of the importance of the cross by linking it with the idea of the life-giving properties of the sun. In Celtic regions of Ireland and later in Great Britain, many free-standing upright crosses or high crosses were erected by Irish monks, beginning at least as early as the 7th century. Some of these ‘Celtic’ crosses bear inscriptions in runes.

The most famous standing crosses are the Cross of Kells, County Meath, Ireland; Ardboe High Cross, Ardboe, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland; the crosses at Monasterboice, County Louth, Ireland; and the Cross of the Scriptures, Clonmacnoise, Ireland. The Celtic cross is often made of stone. After the 15th century, ringed high crosses ceased to be created in the Celtic lands, other than a few obscure examples.

That being said, let’s move on to tonight’s music byte. Oh Danny Boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling. Anyone who plays Irish music must be ready to field countless requests for this song, particularly around St. Patrick’s Day. There is no doubt about its popularity with those who know little about traditional Irish music, and even with the older generation of Irish-Americans. But newly arrived immigrants from Ireland have frequently never heard of Danny Boy! Where did the song come from? Is it Irish at all?

To begin with, Danny Boy is one of over 100 songs composed to the same tune. The author was an English lawyer, Frederic Edward Weatherly (1848-1929), who was also a songwriter and radio entertainer. In 1910 he wrote the words and music for an unsuccessful song he called Danny Boy. In 1912 his sister-in-law in America sent him a tune called the Londonderry Air, which he had never heard before. He immediately noticed that the melody was perfectly fitted to his Danny Boy lyrics, and published a revised version of the song in 1913. As far as is known, Weatherly never set foot in Ireland.

Danny Boy has been sung by just about everyone at one time or another. Lynnrockets’ favorite version however, is by Deanna Durbin in the 1946 film Because Of Him.

Deanna Durbin (born December 4, 1921) is a Canadian-born, Southern California-raised singer and actress, who appeared in a number of musical films in 1930s and 1940s singing standards as well as operatic arias. Durbin made her first film appearance in 1936 with Judy Garland in Every Sunday, and subsequently signed a contract with Universal Studios. Her success as the ideal teenage daughter in films such as Three Smart Girls (1936) was credited with saving the studio from bankruptcy and in 1938, Durbin was awarded the Academy Juvenile Award. Such was Durbin’s international fame and popularity that diarist Anne Frank pasted her picture to her bedroom wall in the Achterhuis where the Frank family hid during World War II. The picture can still be seen there today, and was pointed out by Frank’s friend Hannah Pick-Goslar in the documentary film Anne Frank Remembered. In 1945 and 1947, Deanna Durbin was the top-salaried woman in the United States. Her fan club ranked as the world’s largest during her active years.

Durbin is perhaps best known for her singing voice, variously described as being light but full, sweet, unaffected and artless. With the technical skill and vocal range of a legitimate lyric soprano, she performed everything from popular standards to operatic arias. Dame Sister Mary Leo in New Zealand was so taken with Durbin’s technique that she trained all her students to sing in this way. Sister Mary Leo produced a large number of famous sopranos including Dames Malvina Major and Kiri Te Kanawa, all of whom were said to sound like her.

Please enjoy Deanna Durbin singing Danny Boy. This version brings a tear to my eye every time that I hear it:

Palin and Bachmann, The Dynamic Duo Of Dimwittery

As we have said so many times in the past, sometimes these stories just write themselves. The two biggest female Republican maroons in the nation will share the stage not once, but twice on the same day. Sarah Palin will host a fundraiser for Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann on April 7th and then later that night the dynamic duo of dimwittery will appear together at a free G.O.P. rally at the Minneapolis Convention Center. This pairing might constitute the best example of female airheadedness since the Doublemint Twins stopped airing television commercials (“Double your pleasure. Double your fun with Doublemint gum”).

For those of you planning to entertain yourselves with a little comedy by attending either or both of these events, you should add to your fun by partaking in the official “Palin/Bachmann Drinking Game” The rules are easy to memorize.  Before leaving home for the show, simply take out a piece of paper and jot down five or six words or phrases that either of the two brain-trusts are likely to utter during their speeches. For example, you might choose “abortion”, “Death Panels”, “Socialist”, “tax cuts”, “Tea Party” and “Ya Betcha”. Next, grab a bottle of your favorite adult beverage (Jameson’s Irish Whiskey for me) and take it with you to the event.

Now here is the fun part. Every time that one of the Republican idiot women utters one of those words or phrases during her speech, you must take a drink from your bottle. In the case of Palin/Bachmann, you should be flummoxed within the first ten minutes and that my friends, is the object of the game. A secondary benefit is that everyone that plays, also wins! The best part of the game however, is that you will be unable to remember anything either one of these light-weights said when you wake up the next morning (or afternoon).

Please remember to click on the song link below to familiarize yourselves with the tune and to have more fun singing along with today’s song parody which describes the Palin/Bachmann friendship.

And a merry St. Patrick’s Day to all of you!

Lynnrockets begins his day!

Two Of Us song link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1Y3PlmwnRM

TWO OF US

(sung to the Beatles song “Two Of Us”)

Two of us dying our hair
Spending someone’s hard earned pay
You and me both conniving
Numbers diving in all recent polls
Our brains out on loan
Just like Fred Flintstone
We are two clones

Two of us freakin’ retards
Signing book sleeves at the mall
Sending Twitter dispatches
Try and catch us as we mount our thrones
We have empty domes
Just watch our mouths foam
We love to drone

We both have short memories
Like a dead end road
There’s nothing in our heads

Two of us spewing misquotes
Stooping so low, having fun
Never reading the papers
Scheming capers on the telephone
From our pricey homes
In the twilight zone
We are two clones

We both have short memories
Like a dead end road
There’s nothing in our heads

Bachmann is casting “No” votes
Palin showboats with her guns
Both of them are just fakers
Trouble makers when they’re not at home
Whereabouts unknown
They’ll reap what they’ve sown
They are two clones

They are just two clones

Yes sir

Tuesday Night Irish Music Byte

Irish Music week continues…

Dropkick Murphys are an American Celtic punk band formed in Quincy, Massachusetts. First playing together in the basement of a friend’s barbershop, they blended traditional folk rock and punk rock known as Celtic punk. Their influences include Stiff Little Fingers, The Pogues, The Clash, Thin Lizzy, The Dubliners, Hot Water Music, and the Swingin’ Utters.

Tonight’s video clip is the Dropkick Murphys playing the traditional Irish ballad  “Black Velvet Band” at a live performance in Boston on St. Patrick’s Day a few year’s back. We have provided the lyrics because we understand how difficult it can be for some of you to understand a Boston/Irish accent while screamed in traditional punk rock fashion. We have also provided a video clip of the more traditional Irish Rovers playing the same song so as not to offend you traditionalists. Please enjoy!

BLACK VELVET BAND

Her eyes, they shone like the diamonds.
You’d think she was queen of the land,
And her hair hung over her shoulders,
Tied up with a black velvet band.

In a neat little town they call Belfast, apprentice to trade I was bound.
And many an hour of sweet happiness I spent in that neat little town.
But bad misfortune came o’er me, and caused me to stray from the land
Far away from my friends and relations. They follow the black velvet band.

Her eyes, they shone like the diamonds.
You’d think she was queen of the land,
And her hair hung over her shoulders,
Tied up with a black velvet band.

Well, I went out strolling one evening, not meaning to go very far,
When I met with a frolicksome damsel. She was selling her trade in the bar.
A watch she took from a customer, and slipped it right into my hand.
Then the law came and put me in prison.
Bad luck to her black velvet band!

Her eyes, they shone like the diamonds.
You’d think she was queen of the land,
And her hair hung over her shoulders,
Tied up with a black velvet band.

Next morning, before judge and jury, for trial I had to appear.
And the judge, he said “my young fellow, the case against you is quite clear.
And seven long years is your sentence. You’re going to Van Diemen’s Land,
Far away from your friends and relations. They follow the black velvet band.”

Her eyes, they shone like the diamonds.
You’d think she was queen of the land,
And her hair hung over her shoulders,
Tied up with a black velvet band.

Now, come all ye jolly young fellows, I’ll have you take warning by me.
And whenever you’re out on the liquor, my lads, beware of the pretty colleens.
For they’ll fill you with whiskey and porter, til you are not able to stand.
And the very next thing that you know, my lads, you’ve landed in Van Diemen’s
Land.

Her eyes, they shone like the diamonds.
You’d think she was queen of the land,
And her hair hung over her shoulders,
Tied up with a black velvet band

Christians Join Glenn Beck Boycott

Glenn Beck pleads for one more chance with Fox execs.

First, nearly all of his American advertisers fled when he called President Obama “a racist” with “a deep seated hatred for white people”. Next, he lost all of the sponsors on his United Kingdom broadcasts. Now, Christians are boycotting Glenn Beck as a consequence of his urging of audience members to leave their churches if they promote “social justice”. The liberal evangelical leader, Jim Wallis of Washington D.C. feels that Beck’s shows are unlistenable and unwatchable and he said,

What he has said attacks the very heart of our Christian faith and Christians should no longer watch his show.

Last week Glenn Beck told his radio audience to search for certain “code words” on the websites of their churches. He told them that if they found such terms as “social justice” and “economic justice” then they should leave their church. The reason to leave he said, was because those words indicate that the church supports socialism or communism or Nazism. More specifically, Glenn Beck said,

I beg you, look for the words ‘social justice’ or ‘economic justice’ on your church Web site. If you find it, run as fast as you can. Social justice and economic justice, they are code words. Now, am I advising people to leave their church? Yes!

Someone over at the Fox network should have advised their resident lunatic that Christians do not take lightly to attacks upon their faith. But would it have made any difference? Probably not. Glenn Beck is merely a cartoonish oaf that seems to lack the ability to think through a subject before vomiting it out of his pie hole. And to carry the analogy a bit further, the network is then left to clean up his mess.

Faith bashing however, may prove to be Glenn Beck’s final insult. With the loss of church goers to go along with the loss of people of color and mainstream sponsors, Beck is left only with an audience of flash in the pan fanatical Tea-Baggers. Methinks the end is near. Perhaps we should thank GOD.

Please remember to click on the song link below to familiarize yourselves with the tune and to have more fun singing along with this newly penned song parody. Please enjoy.

Beth song link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uABnCLr4Pp0

BECK

(sung to the Kiss song “Beth”)

Beck we hear you calling
We can hear you droning now
We don’t care what you’re saying
You are simply background sound

Just a few more hours
And we’ll be all done with you
Boycotts have ratings falling
Oh, Beck what can you do?
Beck what can you do?

Your skull is so damn empty
A receding, balding dome
Soon you’ll be somewhere else
But you’re sure to be alone

The Fox Network powers
Will soon be all done with you
I think I hear them calling
Oh, Beck what can you do?
Beck what can you do?

(musical interlude)

Beck, we know you’re lonely
And you’re really in a plight
‘Cuz your last show will be broadcasting tonight.

Scott Brown, The Newest Republican Clown

Scott Brown (R) MA models his finely tailored birthday suit.

The newest, nudest and creepiest Republican senator has jumped into the spotlight yet again. The clothing challenged, confirmed shoplifter that was recently elected by the voters of Massachusetts has voiced his opposition to health care reform in this week’s G.O.P. radio and internet address. He accused President Barack Obama and Democrats on Saturday of a “bitter, destructive and endless” drive to pass health overhaul legislation. He also said,

Somehow, the greater the public opposition to the health care bill, the more determined they seem to force it on us anyway.

Apparently however, Brown is unaware of the most recent polling results which contradict his position. The most recent AP/GfK poll reveals that 50% of Americans believe the health care system should be changed “a great deal” and only 4% believe that the system should not be changed. Then again, why should Brown allow facts to get in his way? Moreover, Brown is a hypocrite. The Boston Globe reports:

Brown, as a state senator in Massachusetts, voted in favor of the universal-coverage law in that state. The bill he supported in Massachusetts has a number of features in common with the Democrats’ legislation, including a mandate for nearly everyone to be covered.

Are those flip-flops that Brown is sporting beneath his naked body? Every time that I see or read about this guy, I feel the need to take a shower.

Please remember to click on the song link below to familiarize yourselves with the tune and to have more fun singing along with today’s song parody.

Centerfold song link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNhnThb8gEw

SCOTT BROWN IS THE CENTERFOLD

(sung to the J. Geils Band song “Centerfold”)

C’mon !
Does he walk? Does he talk?
Is he G.O.P.?
Scott Brown’s a Men’s Room angel
Larry Craig would share his seat

His buns are white like snowflakes
No underwear to stain
He poses like a sweet angel
Naked but with no brain

This sad guy loves posing in those porno magazines
He’s like a nudist angel and he’s pimping out his teens

(CHORUS)
He must be cold
A naked man if truth be told
That Scott Brown is the centerfold
Scott Brown is the centerfold

He must be cold
A naked man if truth be told
Scott Brown is the centerfold

Nude behind his Senate desk
This girlie man should be in a dress
Can he see that Larry Craig
Is giving him the eye

He is naked but for shoes
Much too indecent for the news
You must wear clothes on TV
They told that Scott Brown guy

Wear diapers like Dave Vitter
They do not cover  much
Or simply wear a negligee
That would be a nice touch

(CHORUS)
He must be cold
A naked man if truth be told
That Scott Brown is the centerfold
Scott Brown is the centerfold

He must be cold
A naked man if truth be told
Scott Brown is the centerfold

(na, na, na, na, na, na…..)

It’s okay we understand
Scott’s nudity should not be banned
But while prancing on the Senate lawn
We wish he would keep his clothes on

Take his truck, Yes he will
He’ll take that truck and drive it
He says the cab has lots of room
For his ass and his private

He says that his bod’s really ripped
He loves it when his clothes are stripped
Oh, no, Scott can’t deny it
Oh yeah, it’s time for him to diet!

(CHORUS)
He must be cold
A naked man if truth be told
That Scott Brown is the centerfold
Scott Brown is the centerfold

He must be cold
A naked man if truth be told
Scott Brown is the centerfold

(REPEAT)

Sunday Night Irish Music Byte

The Saw Doctors at the Melody Tent on Cape Cod, MA

Irish music byte week continues.The Saw Doctors are currently my favorite Irish pop band. They seem to perform in Boston at least three or four times a year so there is plenty of opportunity to see them live in the Bay State.

The Saw Doctors are an Irish folk rock band. Formed in 1986 in Tuam, County Galway, they have achieved eighteen top-thirty singles in Ireland, including three number ones. Their first number one, “I Useta Lover,” topped the Irish charts for nine consecutive weeks in 1990 and still holds the record for the country’s all-time biggest-selling single. Renowned for their barnstorming live performances, the band has a loyal following, especially in Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

The Saw Doctors rose to gain national attention during 1987 and 1988 as they toured in support of popular Irish bands such as the Hothouse Flowers and The Stunning. They also proved to be a major hit when they played at the 1988 Galway Arts Festival. In the spring of 1988, when The Saw Doctors were playing a six-week residency at the Quays Bar in Galway, their energetic live show attracted the attention of the The Waterboys, who were then recording their Fisherman’s Blues album in nearby Spiddal. Pub sessions and budding friendships among the two groups would prove fruitful for the Saw Doctors’ future, and would see eventual crossovers between the two groups. The band’s current bass player, Anthony Thistlethwaite, and former drummer, Fran Breen, have both been members of The Waterboys.

In the fall of 1988, The Saw Doctors filmed a satirical “rockumentary” on a flat-bed truck while driving between Galway and Salthill. A parody of U2′s newly released Rattle and Hum film, in which U2 play Bob Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower” from a flat-bed truck in San Francisco, The Saw Doctors’ Crackle and Buzz had its “world premiere” at the Claddagh Palace Cinema in Galway. The Saw Doctors played live from the cinema’s balcony, caricaturing the short acoustic set U2 played atop the Savoy Cinema on O’Connell Street when Rattle and Hum premiered there on 27 October 1988. Footage from the tongue-in-cheek stunt was featured on RTÉ’s main evening news.

In late 1988 and early 1989, The Saw Doctors accompanied The Waterboys on tours of Ireland and the United Kingdom. In August 1989, The Waterboys’ frontman Mike Scott produced the band’s first single, “N17,” a song about an Irish emigrant longing to be driving on the N17 trunk road that connects Galway with the Saw Doctors’ hometown of Tuam. Although “N17″ did not chart upon its original release, the band’s barnstorming live performances over the next year, particularly their appearance at the inaugural 1990 Féile music festival in Thurles, County Tipperary, cemented their reputation as a formidable live act. The song became known as the band’s anthem.

The band is often compared with American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen due to their frequent invocation of local atmosphere, haunts, and characters, and their penchant for singing about ordinary people’s lives in economically difficult times. Some Saw Doctors songs take autobiographical youthful memories — of an attractive schoolgirl from the local Catholic boarding school (“Presentation Boarder”), of a missed opportunity to score a goal in a gaelic football game (“Broke My Heart”), of driving with a father while he points out local landmarks (“Galway and Mayo”), of first love (“Red Cortina”), of clumsy teenage seduction (“D’ya Wanna Hear My Guitar?”), of dreary Irish summers (“Will it Ever Stop Raining?”), or of farmers’ harvest banter (“Hay Wrap”) — and weave them into wry but often touching portraits of rural Irish life. Other songs, written from more mature, serious perspectives, explore themes such as depression and desperation (“Same Oul’ Town,” “Sing a Powerful Song,” “To Win Just Once”); emigrant longings for home (“N17″, “The Green and Red of Mayo,” “Midnight Express,” “Going Home”); and cravings for adult love, acceptance, and togetherness (“Share the Darkness,” “Clare Island,” “Wake up Sleeping”).

On recent albums Villains and The Cure, the Saw Doctors’ longstanding affection for the landscape and local history of western Ireland led them to criticize the country’s Celtic Tiger economic boom. Commenting on how the many new roads and houses throughout the Irish countryside disrespect land and ancestry, “Out for a Smoke” features the lyrics “The bones of our ancestors / Are buried in the field behind the shed / They could be lying there oblivious / Underneath cement before I’m dead.” Having chronicled an era of economic depression, poverty, and emigration, the Saw Doctors find themselves in the ironic position of being unable to approve of how an economic boom had changed their country’s social and cultural fabric.

The Saw Doctors have a rabid international fan base that has been compared to that of the Grateful Dead. Fueled by those in Ireland as well as those of Irish descent in the US, UK, and elsewhere, this unofficial fan club prides itself on seeing the band live as many times as possible. They meet online in a forum on the band’s website and pursue ongoing global conversations about the band.

Please enjoy the following two video clips of the Saw Doctors but be forewarned, they are addictive.

Sunday Morning Coffee (or Tea) – 29

Just a few noteworthy political meteorites  that have been careening around the galaxy this past week.

BREAKING NEWS: Befuddled bloviator Rush Limbaugh announced on his radio program last week that if the Health Care Reform bill is enacted into law, he will flee the United States and move to Costa Rica in 5 years (when all of the provisions of the bill will kick in). Problem is, Costa Rica has a socialized medical system which covers approximately 95% of its citizens. Would someone please inform Limbaugh of this?

THIS JUST IN: Moonbat crazy Sarah Palin has announced that she will be hosting a fundraiser for moonbat crazy Republican Congresswoman Michele Bachmann. Those two alone will provide enough insanity to fill an asylum.

BREAKING NEWS: Things just got a little worse for Republican Senator John Ensign of Nevada. You might recall that Ensign is the “family values” politician that cheated on his wife with a married staffer and when he was caught, he tried buying off her husband by finding him a job. He also arranged to have his parents pay hush up money to his mistress and her husband. Now some previously undisclosed email messages have emerged which may indicate that Ensign violated federal laws by attempting to steer lobbying work to the embittered husband of his mistress. The FBI and Senate ethics investigators are reviewing the emails to determine whether criminal charges will result therefrom. Maybe the Republican leadership should stop hurling stones at resigning Democratic representative Eric Massa lest they shatter their own glass house. At least Massa had the decency to resign while Ensign refuses to do so.

THIS JUST IN: Another Republican lie regarding health care reform has been debunked this week. The most recent AP/GfK poll reveals that 50% of Americans believe the health care system should be changed “a great deal” and only 4% believe that the system should not be changed. So, the Republicans are lying when they claim that Americans do not want massive change to the health care system. No surprise there.

BREAKING NEWS: This week’s edition of “Despicable Human Beings” features Karl Rove who  told a BBC interviewer that he is “proud” of waterboarding and that it is not torture. Perhaps then Rove might be willing to undergo the procedure by means of standing in for the chicken-hearted Sean Hannity who remains unwilling to take the offer from Keith Olbermann who has agreed to donate $ 10,000.00 to charity for every second that Hannity can withstand the procedure.

THIS JUST IN: This week’s episode of “Republicans Behaving Badly” features Utah House Majority leader Kevin Garn. He resigned from the Legislature, two days after his confession about sitting nude in a hot tub with a teenage girl 25 years ago stunned the conservative state. The 55-year-old Garn acknowledged the indiscretion late Thursday immediately after the Legislature adjourned for the session. He says he paid the woman, Cheryl Maher, $150,000 to keep quiet about the episode when he unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 2002. Maher was 15 and a legal minor when the hot tub incident occurred. The Salt Lake Tribune reports that Garn was 30.

BREAKING NEWS: This week’s episode of “Conservative Pundits Telling The Truth” features David Brooks of the New York Times. In his March 11th column he said that President Barack Obama  “is still the most realistic and reasonable major player in Washington”. See David, that wasn’t so hard now, was it? Just imagine what the likes of Limbaugh and Beck will say about Brooks.

THIS JUST IN: Those crazy, secession happy Texans are at it again. The state that claims to have given us George W. Bush except for the fact that he was born in Connecticut, raised in Maine and secondary schooled in Massachusetts before attending college back in Connecticut has gotten itself all mixed up once again.  The far right leaning evangelical Christian dominated Texas Board of Education voted this week to revise its social studies curriculum by means of refusing to require that “students learn that the Constitution prevents the U.S. government from promoting one religion over all others.” It also voted to remove Thomas Jefferson from the Texas curriculum, “replacing him with religious right icon John Calvin.” So much for the high status of those “founding fathers” that the conservatives so often make reference to. The new Texas state motto: “Texas Education, Don’t Let Facts Influence Our Children”.

Please click on the song link below to familiarize yourselves with the tune and to have more fun singing along with today’s song parody.

California Dreamin’ song link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xN9r0bWe78

CONSERVATIVE DREAMIN’

(sung to the Mamas & The Papas song “California Dreamin’”)

All their shirts are brown
(All their shirts are brown)
And their hair is grey
(And their hair is grey)
Listen to them talk
(Listen to them talk)
As they loudly pray
(As they loudly pray)
Scandal is their norm
(Scandal is their norm)
They have one every day
(They have one every day)
Conservative dreamin’
(Conservative dreamin’)
And politics of hate

Members of John Birch
Some won’t admit they’re gay
But when they get down on their knees
(Get down on their knees)
That’s when they like to play
(When they like to play)
These slimy creatures should be told
(Creatures should be told)
Membership’s gone away
(Members gone away)
Conservative dreamin’
(Conservative dreamin’)
Has led them all astray

(musical interlude)

Glenn Beck is a clown
(Glenn Beck is a clown)
What does Limbaugh weigh?
(What does Limbaugh weigh?)
Palin cannot talk
(Palin cannot talk)
She’s no Tina Fey
(She’s no Tina Fey)
Somebody should tell her
(Somebody should tell her)
To just go away
(To just go away)
Conservative dreamin’
(Conservative dreamin’)
Has become so cliché
(Conservative dreamin’)
Has lost all its cache´
(Conservative dreamin’)
Drives voters all away