Working in Ottawa today --Word-up Bitches

Good morning folks,

I am off to Ottawa today.

Today I read two shorts in the Globe and Mail, the first explaining that because economic recovery is underway we will see more cheesy pop music.  Please say it isn't so.

The second was about Republican Rapper Brian Bergondy.  No doubt Bergondy wants to rap and grief about the U.N., taxes and health-care reform.

Now I can't really complain if the changing economics results in new art form, but it is always very weird when someone takes an art form and tries to separate it from its roots and culture and then supplant a message that is hoped to be meaningful to the original art form's audience.

When Keith Richards punched out the angry fuzzed out overdrived licks in 'Satisfaction' it underscored the Rolling Stone's general distaste for America and more specifically American advertising and consumerism.  It just would not work if Richard Nixon had used the licks as background music to his 'I am not a crook' speech --well it would be mildly amusing.

Remember when Pat Boone released his rock album?  It was very disturbing to see the usually clean-cut Boone (think white shoes and a matching belt holding up a light blue leisure suit) sporting a few day's beard growth and a black leather jacket on the record cover.  He explained that he was trying to reach the young rock listeners with his messages of church attendance, and drug and sex abstinence --it only annoyed his target audience and made his regular fans think he lost his mind --I never did hear any of the tracks, but imagined 'Jericho Road" to the melody of Black Sabbath's 'Paranoid'.  Too terrible disturbing.

Let's all hope that Bergondy reconsiders, we've all already had to look away from the TV screen when some establishment type hammers out some staccato strung lyrics that he thinks is some west coast south central rap.

Have a good day - word up bitches.

Sent from my BlackBerry wireless handheld -- Envoyé de mon sans fil portatif BlackBerry