Music from over the transom

I never know what is going to show up on my desk, especially when it comes to compact discs. We don’t get a lot around here, and most are pretty awful. But sometimes, a real gem will make its way over via one of the smaller independent labels trudging along the edges of the music industry.

That’s how I learned about Brett Dennen‘s disc, So Much More, and The Hacienda Brothers.

And it’s how I came across the quirky, humorous country-rock hybrid, Antsy McClain and the Trailer Park Troubadours — yes, you heard me, Antsy McClain and the Trailer Park Troubadours and their wonderful new disc, Trailercana.

The disc is a crazy affair, musically flawless, weaving bits of country, roots rock, folk, Texas swing — a real American band, varying tempos, spinning to the edge of control, but never losing it.

And then there are the lyrics, songs about drinking and love, but spun through a comic lens. Consider these song titles:

  • “Living in Aluminum”
  • “I Was Just Flipped Off by a Silver Haired Old Lady With a ‘Honk If You Love Jesus’ Sticker on the Bumper of Her Car”
  • “I Wanna Live in a Billboard”
  • “Cubic Zirconium in the Rough”
  • “I Married Up”
  • “Ron Howard’s Brother”

Crazy stuff, right? And the songs are exactly what you’d expect. Here is a snippet of lyric from “Billboard”:

I wanna live in a billboard.
I wanna be in that happy place.
I wanna live in a billboard.
I’d be a cowboy with a leather face.
And I’ll never have the need for Prozac.
And the hair I’ve lost will up and grow back.
And I’ll be forever young.

Or this, from “Ron Howard’s Brother”:

And people would ask me questions;
How is Andy Griffith in real life?
Is it true what they say about Gomer?
Did you really meet Barney Fife?

I could go on, but won’t. All I’ll say is that the disc officially comes out May 22. The black sticker on the front of the disc may say “Contains no hits whatsoever,” but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t get their turn on the VH1 “V-Spot Top 20.”

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The Blog of South Brunswick
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Email me at grassroots at comcast dot net.

A game short, but nothing short of magical

The South Brunswick Vikings basketball team did something few have done in the history of the school this year — they battled their way to the state championship game, falling nine points short of their ultimate goal.

No shame in it, of course. It was a rather magical run, made possible by a team that took seriously the notion that it was a team — every doing his part, no one dominating the spotlight.

It was the kind of team that reminds me of why I like basketball, a team that moved the ball, shared the ball, played defense and hit the boards.

So congratulations to the South Brunswick High School Vikings basketball squad and thank you for a thrilling ride.

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick
The Cranbury Press Blog

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Email me at grassroots at comcast dot net.

A temporary — but necessary — fix

Assembly Speaker Joe Roberts has been making the case for clean-elections reform (which the Assembly, in its infinite wisdom, tabled on second reading today) and I think we all need to listen.

Clean Elections are investments in democracy. By providing public financing to candidates, special-interest money is taken out of the political process so legislators will not feel beholden to large contributors and their agendas.

Under Clean Elections, qualified candidates who agree to forgo large private contributions and follow strict spending limits receive public financing for their campaigns. This frees candidates from having to chase campaign donations from big-money special interests and lobbyists. It enables candidates ample opportunity to
conduct their campaigns with the interest of their constituents as their top priority.

The legislation, unfortunately, is just a Band-Aid. It’s not nearly comprehensive enough, as The Asbury Park Press, has pointed out — though the Shore-area paper is wrong to call for it’s defeat.

Allowing the flawed program to die off would not lead to a better, fuller experiment in two years, but would signal the end of the experiment, leaving the current system of legalized bribery in place for the foreseeable future. And while pay-to-play bans and other ethics reforms will undoubtedly help some, they only restrict and redirect the flow of money; candidates would still be beholden to the private interests who pay for their campaigns.

The Legislature needs to approve A-100 and then move immediately to improve it — if not for the 2007 election cycle, then for 2009.

To do anything less would be irresponsible.

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick
The Cranbury Press Blog

E-mail me by clicking here.

Email me at grassroots at comcast dot net.