The Rock and Roll ReportIn keeping with the political theme for today, The Rock and Roll Report is attempting to do its small part in encouraging the democratic process by prominently featuring a link to the Rock the Vote organization. Click on the link in the upper left corner of this site and it will fast-track you through the process of registering to vote for the U.S. presidential elections this November 2nd. Please do your part. Thanks.
Later.
Editors Note: This post was originally written August 5th in longhand on the porch at the cottage while on vacation overlooking beautiful Christie Lake near Perth, Ontario. A great way to write, guaranteed.
It is somewhat ironic that after just finishing an article on John Lennon’s political activities of the early seventies in the May issue of Mojo magazine that I read in the local paper about the big anti-Bush “Vote for Change” concerts planned for this fall. The irony lies in the fact that as I read about the aborted tour that Lennon was supposed to embark on in the election year of 1972, haunting Richard Nixon from campaign stop to campaign stop, I thought to myself that in this day and age in the United States why hasn’t anybody stepped forward and done something similar for this election? Has rock and roll lost its radical edge I thought? Now I am the first to admit that rock and roll and politics sometimes make strange bedfellows and often times political rock and roll gets real dated real fast but it is nice to see Bruce Springsteen and friends getting up off their collective celebrity asses and doing something constructive. I mean, what the hell can you expect Ben Afleck to bring to the table? No matter what side of the fence you find yourself sitting on (or perhaps you are straddling the middle of the fence or even worse you have no idea what the fence is all about) the current political landscape in the United States is so polarized that it is difficult to actually debate the issues. When Springsteen was asked whether people were tired of celebrities “telling them who to vote for” he simply stated that they are all citizens just trying to do their part to build awareness. After all, healthy debate is the lifeblood of democracy and no mater whether you are Republican or Democrat, Green or Libertarian, understanding what an election is about and participating in the process is important now more than ever. Ya these are a bunch or rich rock stars, so what. Just as they mount their soapbox so can you. Reasoned political debate seems to be dying in North America. Maybe this will breath some life into it. Hope springs eternal.
Later.
If you have always wondered about the great rock and roll musical orgy called the International Pop Overthrow then check out the article Angels, Osmonds & Bosoms from OC Weekly for a glowing review. Fantastic stuff and an absolutely great bargain in this day of Clear Channel excess. Excellent.
Later.
I am a bit late with this one because of my holidays but if you happen to be in Venice Italy right now or are planning on going within the next few days you might want to check out the Venice Airport Festival. This “Independant Rock Festival” is taking place right now, having started August 6th and continuing on to the 14th at Forte Bazzera. Cool bands, great DJs and Venice. Now that definitely sounds like an amazing rock and roll experience!
Later.
Well The Rock and Roll Report is back in business. After a week at the cottage soaking up some rays (and a bit of rain) with my family, fishing, swimming and eating BBQ I am ready to rock and roll again. On my week off the closest I got to rock and roll were the two issues of Magnet magazine and the May issue of Mojo that I dragged down to the beach every day. I ended up mostly reading instead a cheesy murder-mystery called “The Rock Critic Murders” that I found in the marina library which passed the time quite nicely. I probably should have brought some music with me since I have about an iPod’s worth of rock and roll to listen to but since I don’t have an iPod, and since my family wouldn’t appreciate me walking around with headphones on the whole week I wisely decided to forego the music. Anyhow it was a nice break. We’ll be sticking to the summer schedule for the remainder of August then go back to five days a week in September. As always, your comments and e-mails are appreciated.
Thanks for reading and let’s get back to that music we like to call rock and roll.
Later.
The Rock and Roll Report is taking its annual “get the hell out of town and go to the country” trip so there will be no Rock and Roll Report this week as I battle both a canoe and a fishing rod out on a secluded lake in Ontario. We’ll be back on August 10th for more rock and roll fun.
Later.
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