The King Is Dead (...Long Live Democracy)

The Supreme Court has taken a big step toward demanding the crown that King George has been parading around in for the last few years. Now he'll have to settle for being just a, ya know, President. Detailed analysis here.

BTW, think I'm being a liberal alarmist jerk? Read this - this Administration has people working round the clock to grab as much power as it can.

Geek Overdrive - Star Wars: Legacy (Dark Horse)

Dark Horse Comics has completed its revamping of their Star Wars comics franchise with the release of Star Wars: Legacy, which takes place about 150 years after Ep. VI. Along with the recent Knights Of The Old Republic (which pre-dates Ep. I by 2,500 years or something) and Rebellion (which is set between Eps. IV and V), Legacy rounds out Dark Horse's current offerings in the Star Wars line.

Legacy #1 is out now and shows a lot of promise, though it appears to favor the endless shades of gray and political machinations of the recent Republic comics. This works a lot better as a serial than it did in the recent films, and the team of John Ostrander and Jan Duursema (who worked on much of the Republic series) bring a lot of creativity and terrific artwork to the mix. Though I've enjoyed KOTOR quite a bit, I much prefer the artwork in Legacy. A special Legacy #0 is also available for 25 cents, and it provides some preview sketchwork with some helpful character summaries.

Legacy #2 will be released on July 12. Mmmmm... nerdy.

Sign O' The Times?

Well, just you think things in RightWingWorld couldn't get any more unhinged, the entire gasbag population launches a coordinated series of screeds aimed at criminally prosecuting the New York Times. The Weekly Standard outdoes itself with this little piece of bizarro-world logic:

"Such leaks cause harm of a more general but no less consequential sort. In waging the war on terrorism, the United States depends heavily on cooperation with allied intelligence agencies. But when our own intelligence services demonstrate that they are unable to keep shared information under wraps, international cooperation grinds to a halt.

This is a matter not of idle conjecture but of demonstrable fact. During the run-up to the Iraq war, the United States was urgently attempting to assess the state of play of Saddam Hussein's program to acquire weapons of mass destruction. One of the key sources suggesting that an ambitious WMD buildup was underway was an Iraqi defector, known by the codename of Curveball, who was talking to German intelligence. But Washington remained in the dark about Curveball's true identity, and the fact that he was a serial fabricator. Why would the Germans not identify Curveball? According to the Silberman-Robb WMD Commission report, they refused "to share crucial information with the United States because of fear of leaks." In other words, some of the blame for our mistaken intelligence about Iraq's WMD program rests with leakers and those in the media who rush to publish the leaks."

There just aren't enough keystrokes - or minutes in my day - to go into this mess, but Glenn Greenwald ably dissects the issue, which ought to put to rest any rational concerns about national security. But then we're not talking about rational concerns, are we?

The Drams - 'Jubilee Dive' (July 25)

Rising from the ashes of the late, great Slobberbone, The Drams are the latest vehicle for the songwriting talents of Brent Best. Reuniting with drummer Tony Harper and guitarist Jess Barr, Best has also recruited a bass player and keyboardist for the new outfit. Their first record Jubilee Dive is due on July 25 from New West Records. I can't tell you precisely what the new sound is like - billed as alt-country-pop, rather than alt-country-rock (but who's splitting hairs?) - but I dig the album cover and title a whole lot. I'm also a warmed-over Slobberbone fan so anything Brent Best does is right up my alley.

I caught these dudes opening for Drive-By Truckers in Austin (you can download a performance clip from the show here - the back of my head is prominently featured throughout), and I can definitely tell you that they've left the Slobberbone material behind. The sound wasn't too great up front, but The Drams sounded pretty damned good from what I could tell. I'm very much looking forward to the album. There ain't a whole lot in the way of big releases this summer, so mark this one on your calendar.

Hopefully, Jubilee Dive will live up to this (hopefully) slightly ironic description from the press release:

"Jam packed with brawny, spirited, hands-in-the-air rockers, stirring anthems and harrowing ventures exploring a culture sapped by hollow heroes and soul-killing, high-tech crapola, The Drams careen out of Texas with Jubilee Dive—a welcome jolt of rockyroll [sic] that is fresh and vital even as it flaunts an effortless command of time-tested rock maneuvers."

(Not sure what "rockyroll" is, but I likes me some in any case.)

New Allison video - "Fairweather"

You can check out Allison Moorer's new video for "Fairweather" here. It ain't gonna win an MTV Video Award or anything, but it's swell to see that even an indie label like Sugar Hill can pony up a few bucks for a cool little video like this.

DailyKos getting smeared?

Caught up in a rather odd and troubling scandal, DailyKos is now on the offensive against The New Republic.

All of this is unfolding against several rounds of mainstream blog-bashing (here and here), following the big YearlyKos convention in Vegas two weeks ago. Personally, I would love nothing more than to see DailyKos discredited - I find very little useful "information" over there and the entire Kos viewpoint has infected the liberal mindset in a profound way (not to mention created one of the ugliest and most disorganized layouts you're likely to find in the blogosphere). I am a pretty die-hard reader of TNR, and say what you will, but the viewpoints over there are many times more diverse than what you'll find at DailyKos (or its right-wing equivalents).

There is such a disdain for the mainstream media at Kos, most regular contributors lose sight of the fact that at they are commenting on actual news stories, not writing them. Many bloggers - Andrew Sullivan comes to mind - have deep roots in the mainstream media (as well as TNR), but many of the "grassroots" (sorry, "netroots") bloggers are starting to annoy the shit out of me (the excellent Glenn Greenwald, a frequent critic of TNR, is one of the few exceptions). Anyway, the Democratic party needs to get over its new romance with the blogosphere. If they think their path back to power is paved with high-speed bandwidth, they'd better think again.

Lou Dobbs is a class act

Congress is not. Dobbs is pretty conservative, but I give him credit for calling it as he sees it:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/06/20/dobbs.june21/index.html

George W. Bush desecrates the flag

Shocking, isn't it?
http://americablog.blogspot.com/2006/06/did-george-bush-deface-american-flags.html

It's okay though - he's The Decider. He'll decide what qualifies as abuse of the flag.

Return of the Grievous Angel

So I've already had a chance to check out the aforementioned Gram Parsons documentary Fallen Angel, released on DVD yesterday. A 2004 production by the BBC, the film is really quite excellent, full of revelations even for a die-hard Gram fan like myself. Placed in context of his friends, and more particularly his family, the famous drunken stunt by Phil Kaufman seems pretty stupid (if you don't know what I'm talking about, you're on your own to find out). Though Kaufman was no doubt motivated by friendship and loyalty, it's quite heartbreaking to hear how much pain and confusion that incident caused his family. Though Gram's passing was quite tragic in itself, the documentary probes the bottomless pit of tragedy that essentially was his immediate family's story and places his brilliant music in an even more revealing light.

In addition to the DVD, yesterday also saw the release of the 3-disc The Complete Reprise Sessions, a perfect and brilliant tribute to Gram's two perfect and brilliant solo recordings for Reprise in 1972 and 1973. Though the 2001 Rhino collection Sacred Hearts & Fallen Angels was a great overview of his work, both solo and with his various bands (The Byrds, The Flying Burrito Brothers), I felt that the solo material was poorly handled.

As an example, I'll cite the inclusion of a "remix" of "The Return of the Grievous Angel," possibly my favorite song of all time. Not only did the mix truncate the guitar solo, it deleted a portion of the soaringly brilliant refrain at the end of the song. Huh? I mean, who's dumb fuckin' idea was that?!? Anyway, the new set makes up for that transgression many times over. First of all, Gram's solo discs GP and Grievous Angel are packaged in their own cardboard sleeves, which approximate the original LP packaging. Included with each of these discs are some interviews and performances, which are pretty cool (though they should have been placed together on a separate disc).

But the great leap forward here is the sound. I mean, finally - FINALLY - these discs receive a mastering job that shows off their true brilliance (they were hastily released to CD on a single combo disc in the early '90's). I can tell you in no uncertain terms that the sound quality FAR exceeds that of even the 2001 compilation. "$1000 Wedding", for example, just sounds stunning. I can hear so much more detail than I had ever noticed. And I tell you this not as some high-end audiophile - in fact, I'm listening to these discs on my iPod and can still hear the difference. I'm just floored and so grateful for Rhino for revisiting these albums again.

Not only that - and that would be plenty - but there is a third disc of alternate takes, that truly live up to that description. The joy of Gram's solo albums is the interplay of his and Emmylou's voices, and now you get to hear all those intricate harmonies re-imagined in alternate versions. "Return of the Grievous Angel #1" is just unbelievable - nearly every line takes a different turn than its previously released predecessor. "Hickory Wind" (weirdly cluttered up with recorded crowd noise on the original version), is cleaned up and slowed down somewhat, revealing yet another gorgeous rendition of the song (Gram's version with The Byrds is still quite definitive). Overall, The Complete Reprise Sessions is a treasure trove that will hopefully become the essential Gram Parsons document for generations to come.

Gram Parsons is one of rock's most tragic live-fast-die-young stories, particularly because his output actually proves his greatness, not just his lost potential (though there is a mountain of that). His two solo records are stone-cold classics of the highest order, and I will be eternally grateful to Rhino for giving them the treatment they so richly deserve. The DVD is an equally satisfying and long-overdue treat.

We ARE better than our enemies

"So why is it that My Lai has become a byword for brutality while Hue is a footnote? Why will Menchaca and Tucker be forgotten while incidents like those under investigation — or the grotesque theater of Abu Ghraib — will persist, fester, be written about, analyzed, become vehicles for critiques of U.S. policy, the military, or the whole of American culture?

By rights these incidents should demonstrate that we are better than our enemies. We are civilized, they are barbarians. What we are fighting for is objectively superior to what they are fighting for. Our struggle is legitimate, theirs is not. There is no room for moral relativism in this war. Certainly those who view torture and beheading as acts of piety have no problem seeing it as a black and white conflict. And when faced with extremism of this sort, we should take it at face value.

Those who say that one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter should be asked how they define freedom. Those who compare terrorist or guerrilla leaders to George Washington or other Founding Fathers should explain when it was exactly that they ordered the killing of innocents as a method, or even as a matter of expediency. And especially when they ever sought to invoke God’s approval for inflicting agonizing deaths on helpless captives."

--James S. Robbins, writing in today's National Review Online

I don't have a problem with much of what Robbins presents here, except that he stops short of explicitly answering his own questions. The answer, quite simply, is: We are better than our enemies. That is why our actions are held to highest standards, while those of terrorists and dictatorships are predictable in their barbarism. That is why the world dwells on our occasional failures, while overlooking the frequent travesties of our enemies.

And as it relates to Iraq, I can't recall anyone comparing the terrorists and insurgents to the Founding Fathers. Always gotta insert that strawman in there, for good measure.

On a related note, it is somewhat reassuring to see crimes by American soldiers being addressed head-on by the military. However, with a third accusation of murder, it leads to several possible not-so-reassuring questions:

• Why are these crimes cropping up all of a sudden (though no evidence of any prior cover-ups has been implied)?
• Why does the chain of command seem to be breaking down in these isolated incidents?
• If these crimes are occuring for the first time - which seems to be the case - why now? Is it indicative of the stress on our soldiers? A coincidence?

What's going on here?

Zarqawi

Here's some compelling "he said/she said" between The Weekly Standard and Glenn Greenwald's Unclaimed Territory regarding Newsweek's claim - largely unreported in the MSM - that the Bush Administration missed its chance to take out Zarqawi back in 2002.

You decide.

We've come a long way...

... from those quaint days of illegal NSA wiretapping. If this article doesn't convince you that our great nation is on a dangerous path to destroying our implicit right to privacy, you are beyond hope.

Gram Parsons Bonanza

Today marks the release of two long-delayed releases that should kick off a modest resurgence in Gram Parsons worship.

First, Rhino is releasing a 3-disc set called The Complete Reprise Sessions, which includes the entire albums GP and Grievous Angel (long available as a single CD set), plus interviews and alternate takes. This follows a retrospective from a few years back called Sacred Hearts & Fallen Angels, which includes non-solo work from The Flying Burrito Brothers and the International Submarine Band. But any true fan should run out and buy this new collection also.

The real treat, however, is Rhino's DVD release of a British documentary called Fallen Angel. Having not seen it, I can't wholeheartedly recommend it. But it does seem to be heavy on interviews from key folks like Emmylou, Peter Buck, James Burton, Phil Kaufman and Keith Richards, and that alone probably makes it worth the money. I'll let you know what I think about the film later this week.

Burning Issue

I can't fucking believe that with all that Congress has (or should have) on its plate, its most significant legislative contribution might be the passage of an inane and utterly un-American Anti-Flag Burning Amendment. How wonderful that an almost two-thirds majority of Senators believes that scoring cheap political points is more important than preserving the essence of the U. S. Constitution.

Shame on Dianne Feinstein and any other politician who defends this action as American. They are traitors to the very intentions of our Founding Fathers. Hooray for USA Today and anyone else willing to stand up and defend freedom of expression.

UPDATE: Add Bob Kerrey to the list of voices urging common sense. And if you'd like to ponder the flag-burning issue and the pledge issue (see my visitor's comments) at the same time, read this interesting historical perspective. Banning flag-burning may seem like a relatively benign - if completely unnecessary - measure, but you might think twice after reading it.

Cool article about Allison Moorer on MSNBC. A couple of nice pics, too (dig the bohemian Greenwich Village look).

Reviews of 'Getting Somewhere'

I'm bored out of my ever-livin' skull. But my pain is your gain because I've compiled some handy links to reviews of Allison Moorer's brand-spanking-new record Getting Somewhere. I know, I know - there's positively no end to the ways my blog enhances your life!

• Harp Magazine
• PopMatters
• USA Today
• Dallas Observer
• Nashville Scene
• Philadelphia Inquirer

Generally very positive, with the occasional dissension (which I've not bothered to list here because good fanboys don't do that sort of thing). Interesting how many of these critics seem to be indifferent about Allison's previous work, despite her generally being labeled a "critic's darling." In any case, I'm glad they like it, and I'm sure you'll love it (because you're smarter than a critic, right?) whenever you get around to ordering your copy.

Oh, and you can hear Allison on Bob Harris' BBC radio show, featuring a solid interview and two acoustic performances. Steve Earle chimes in as well. You can hear the show here.

Have a great weekend. We've got big plans for a 70's-themed film fest, which will include screenings of the new Criterion Edition of Dazed and Confused and the new DVD release of Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls. Far out, man! Our friends Natalie and Joey are coming for a visit, which means our plans also include about five trips to Mai's for every variant of Vietnamese food under the sun.

National Review on Gitmo

Nothing bothers me more about modern political "discourse" like the simplicity - and often stupidity - of arguments about complex issues. This gripe extends to both conservatives and liberals, who way too often favor polarization over pragmatism, leaving the rest of us out of the debate entirely.

The U. S. prison at Guantanamo Bay is just such an issue. The Left (capitalized, just the way National Review seems to like it) has demonized it - sometimes fairly, often unfairly - as a blight on America's reputation abroad. But to hear the National Review tell it, there's just no possible justification for all the whining. As a lead editorial from "The Editors", you'd think they could actually lay out some coherent arguments to back up their assertions. But despite documented complaints (like those from the flaming liberal FBI) they assert:

"Is Guantanamo too awful to tolerate? Scores of politicians, journalists, lawyers, and activists—over 1,000 people—have visited the camp and attested that the detainees are treated well. They are given culturally sensitive diets, freedom to worship, exercise opportunities, and the best available medical care."

No doubt, that is by and large true. It is also likely true that activities most of us would consider torture have taken place from time to time, and the evidence for this comes not from the liberal media but from some of our own government agencies. However, the larger and more pertinent issue surrounding Guantanamo is this: just how long can we justify holding "enemy combatants" without due process, in a "War on Terror" that is likely to last decades? That's a tough question, made tougher by the question of what exactly the alternatives are.

Of course, any kind of sane argument must be reduced to partisanship in the eyes of partisans:

"Many on the Left no doubt feel compassion for the detainees. But the peculiar exhibitionism of their compassion is probably motivated by a simple desire to club the Bush administration, as usual."

Well, guess what, you arrogant gasbags - I actually worry about American principles. Ya know, those pantywaist ideals laid out in documents like the Constitution. I really don't give two shits about "clubbing" the Bush administration, though it could use a good clubbing. No, sometimes it is about something larger than Republican vs. Democrat. It's pretty goddanged pathetic when a group of conservative "thinkers" can't see that. Guantanamo Bay may present a unique and complex challenge to the American people, but God forbid that the fuckwits over at National Review would stop bashing "the Left" long enough to acknowledge it.

Allison Moorer's 'Getting Somewhere' out today!!

June 13 has arrived, which means you can trot your happy ass down to your local record store and pick up Allison Moorer's latest masterstroke Getting Somehwere. The reviews fall into two predictable camps: those who loved The Duel but seriously do not like this record, and those who loved The Duel, love Getting Somewhere and probably just generally love Allison Moorer (hey, me too!).

In the interest of fair and balanced coverage, here is a negative review that is at least thoughtful in its assessment (though, again with the Jewel comparisons?!?). On the other hand, here is the review from PopMatters that I think better appreciates the significance of Allison's latest musical direction (though the 7/10 rating seems low based on the enthusiasm of the review).

What it boils down to for me, however - and this applies to any album by any artist - is does this record make me eager to here the next one? Missteps, sidesteps and outright embarrassments notwithstanding (few of which occur on Getting Somewhere in my estimation), does the record demonstrate the promise of future artistic growth for several albums to come? In that sense, Getting Somewhere is an unqualified success because I can't wait to hear where The Lady takes this new sound next.

You can read my original semi-review of the album here. I can't promise you that it's my last word on the subject.

Deadwood's Last Stand

So the sad news going into Season 3 of HBO's Deadwood was that the show was apparently to be killed after this season, possibly leaving some dangling plot threads (since the season had been wrapped by that point) and certainly leaving some disappointed fans. I think HBO finally decided to take a stand against the lengthy hiatuses of shows like The Sopranos and Deadwood, and the decision to not renew the options on the contracts of cast members pretty much sealed the deal.

Thanks to some letter writing to HBO and the efforts of David Milch and the network, Deadwood will return for two 2-hour movies next year. I have to say that I'll be very sad to see the show take its final bow, but I'm thrilled at the prospect of it going out on a high note (this season is already looking extremely good). Three seasons seems about the perfect running time for a great series like Deadwood, and I'd like to see the show retain its glow of near-perfection (unlike, say, oh I dunno - The Sopranos which was just pretty bad this past season).

Allison Alert - PopMatters Interview

New interview with Allison Moorer over at PopMatters.

Shooting Blanks

If you want to see read some more bizarre rambling parading as coherent conservative thought, head over to Real Clear Politics and check out this wacko editorial by Tony Blankley. In his rant about the media coverage of Haditha (and implicitly the military in general, at least in Tony's mind), Blankley spits out this nugget:

"At journalism conferences, the question is often brought up whether a journalist should see him- or herself as an American first or a journalist first. Often the consensus is that they are journalists first.

I wonder how many of them would report a story if it would mean the death of their own child. And would any of those reporters who would be journalists first in even that appalling instant cheerfully misreport a story in order to cause the death of their child? I suspect virtually none would.

If only they loved their country's young and willing warriors as much as they loved their own children."

And just how many Senators and Congressmen (and Presidents, for that matter) would authorize military action if their own children's lives were on the line? There are valid arguments for and against the Iraq war, and there are legitimate questions to be raised about which stories the media covers and how. But I'm pretty sure I don't want Blankley's standard applied to decisions made by my government or the journalists who monitor it.

Just like so much of the current "conservative thought" (cough - Ann Coulter - cough - stupid whore - cough), Blankley's perspective is warped beyond any reasonable measure. What piece of bad news out of Iraq is fair game to report? None whatsoever by the current standards of conservative pundits. As far as they're concerned, we should all just jam our heads in the ground and let our fearless (albeit hapless) leaders handle it.

No, Haditha should not reflect in any broad way on our military. But it is bad fucking NEWS, and no amount of denial or bluster is going to change that.

Bill Bennett is dumb...

Or didn't we already know that. Here's some further evidence:
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2006/06/07.html#a8614

All In The Family

So DeLay's wife is probably a crook, too. I know, I know - you are shocked beyond belief:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/06/AR2006060601320_pf.html

Hilarious money quote:
"Tom DeLay has never taken an official act that was not based on his strongly held principles."

I guess a desire to make big piles of money could be a strongly held principle.

'The Forgotten Arm' - Not Forgotten

This evening I was listening to Aimee Mann's The Forgotten Arm for the first time in maybe six months or so. Though I ranked it at Number Three on my Top Ten of 2005, I have to say it's really one of only a couple of selections from that list that I really still reach for. Along with the also-underrated Ryan Adams' Cold Roses (#6) and maybe Over The Rhine's Drunkard's Prayer (#4), The Forgotten Arm seems likely to stand the test of time where others have quickly faded.

I can't really put my finger on why I love it so much. I've recommended it to a number of folks, all of whom were pretty indifferent to it. Go figure. It is one of those albums that I think just has to land right in your sweet spot, and for whatever reason, The Forgotten Arm really hits mine. For some reason, Aimee Mann - a singer I'd always regarded as somewhat cold - just sounds suddenly so warm and inviting. Certainly part of the record's charm is how completely off guard it caught me. I've always liked Aimee Mann's work quite a bit, but I never expected to love this album quite this much.

I heartily recommend it, but keep in mind how well that has worked out. I guess maybe Aimee and I are destined to spend many late nights curled up together all by ourselves.

Old Flicks, New DVD's

This is actually a pretty big week for some awesome DVD's of some classic movies. Here's a rundown of what Amazon is sending me this week:

• Dazed & Confused: Criterion Edition
  Yes, the great Richard Linklater's greatest film gets added to the venerable Criterion Collection. The DVD nerds are wetting themselves with excitement (here and here). That's a heckuva good price at Amazon for a Criterion DVD.
• The Searchers: 2-Disc Special Edition
  John Wayne's best film gets a long-deserved update from Warner's. Worth the price just to hear the commentary by Peter Bogdanovich.
• Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid: 2-Disc Collector's Edition
  A good deal of double-dipping going on with this one, but who the hell am I kidding? Like I'm not gonna buy it. One of my all-time favorite flicks.

A new BBC Radio interview with Allison Moorer here.

She performs a really stunning acoustic version of "Where You Are" from the new record and talks pretty openly about a number of personal topics. Good stuff.

Billy Preston, RIP

Dylan, The Beatles, The Stones... Billy Preston played with 'em all. A Houston native who went on to international successes with the pioneers of rock and roll. God rest his soul.

He could most recently heard on I Believe To My Soul - one of my Top 10 albums from 2005 (in case you forgot).

Torture - no give-backs!

If you'd like a window into what passes for "conservative debate" on the issue of torture, take a gander at the talkback over here. Never mind how many homophobic quips make their way into any comments regarding Andrew Sullivan. What's really telling is how any issue (in this case, the decision to remove prohibitions against humiliation from the Army Field Manual) surrounding detainee abuse quickly devolves into how prisoner "humiliation" is nothing more than junior high antics, or how those terrorists should be lucky we don't behead them like they would us (cause ya know, we should measure our behavior by how a TERRORIST would behave).

Gee, how did the United States squeak by all these years without employing junior high humiliation tactics to depose prisoners of war? Thank God for our continuous improvement in the field of interrogation.

Oh, and since we're name-calling (ah, junior high all over again), Ann Coulter is a stupid whore. I just hadn't mentioned that today.

Derbyshire on Ponnuru

National Review columnist John Derbyshire digests Ramesh Ponnuru's book Party of Death. I think Derbyshire is going to get his NR membership card shredded. In any case, it's an intelligent deconstruction of the book and the Right To Life movement.
http://www.newenglishreview.org/custpage.cfm?frm=3190&sec_id=3190

Defending Her Honor!

So here's a particularly nasty, inartful review of Allison Moorer's Getting Somewhere published in this week's Metro Pulse (some Knoxville weekly rag). I don't take much stock in reviews that just dance around what they specifically dislike about the music, but I thought this piece o' shit deserved a hearty fanboy rebuttal. Here's the original "review" by Leslie Wylie:

"The comparison is painful, but here we go: Consider the career trajectory of pop-tartlet Jewel, who you’ll recall, with some strain of memory, was at one time a quiet Alaskan singer-songwriter with a crystalline voice and a penchant for break-my-heart-already lyrics. Then she married a famous cowboy, lost a few pounds, and reinvented herself as your run-of-the-mill MTV slut, devoid of substance and clothing in equal measure.

Now consider Allison Moorer, whose charcoal-infused voice was once a reflection of her dark, Southern Alabama upbringing, during which her father shot her mother before turning the gun on himself, leaving Moorer and her sister, country songstress Shelby Lynn, to fend for themselves. But something happened between Moorer’s 2004 release of The Duel and her newest, Getting Somewhere, and it wasn’t that she found Jesus. Rather, she found and married Steve Earle, dolled up her rough ’n’ tumble girl-next-door looks, and dumbed down her music.

Moorer’s voice, once hard as nails, becomes so airy it’s almost inaudible. She takes the nail file of I’m-so-happy idealism to her once gritty, unkempt songwriting. Maybe it’s denial, and maybe it’s survival, but it sure isn’t honest. Ah, well. At what cost getting where one wants to go."

I usually let bullshit like this slide - after all, I'm prone to nasty inartfulness myself. Let's set aside the ridiculous comparison to Jewel. Whatever "makeover" - sound, image or otherwise - Allison has undergone, it does not compare to Jewel or Liz Phair or whatever commercial sellout move you might choose to ponder. As far as "dolling up" her looks, I don't particularly detect anything pop-tarty about the album's art or publicity (though the comment somewhat indicates that Wylie spent some time poring over the publicity photos). And I'm pretty sure Allison does not eat charcoal - that's just plain mean!

No, the offense here is just the kind of lazy stupidity that passes for music criticism these days. First, we've got the tired reference to Allison's family tragedy, a topic that she has drawn on before but never made the focus of her work. Never mind the fact that the two centerpiece tracks on Getting Somewhere ("New Year's Day" and "How She Does It") deal with the topic somewhat indirectly (and quite beautifully). But apparently there aren't enough songs about dead parents to please this particular critic. I would call Allison's songwriting many, many things, but "gritty" or "unkempt" would not exactly spring to mind. Has this reviewer ever heard The Hardest Part (an elegant countrypolitan record) or Miss Fortune (a Beatle-esque pop record)? Granted, Getting Somewhere is a substantial departure from the darkness of The Duel - one of my favorite records of all time, by the way. Is it a pop record? Sure. Is it some manufactured piece of garbage designed to lure soccer moms at Starbucks? Uh, no.

The implication that Allison has raised her hem lines or lowered her necklines to sell records is pretty shitty (please show me the evidence of this). It's also a fairly sexist implication that marriage to Steve Earle has dumbed down here music (last time I checked the liner notes, Allison used to write all of her music with her former husband). Oh, of course, a woman cannot initiate her own change in musical direction! No, only a man - evil Steve Earle - could have led her down that wanton path. He produced the album so naturally it's his vision, not Allison's.

Geez, even if you think Getting Somewhere is a pile of crap, give her the credit/blame for it. Of course, unless I miss the full meaning of that first paragraph, Wylie used to be a fan of Jewel. And don't get me started on how many things are wrong with that...

So send a message to the terrorists and Leslie Wylie - buy Getting Somewhere on Tuesday, June 13. You can read a real review of the record here.

(P. S. I'm just picking on Leslie Wylie, who writes a lot of good pieces for Metro Pulse. But like my good buddy the Prez sez, I have to fight tyranny over here so you don't have to fight it over there (or something). As Stephen Colbert would say, that's just math.)

Gay Bashin' Bushie

So as the atrocity in Haditha makes the rounds on the cover of the news magazines, what does King George pull out of his hat to distract from his litany of failures? What else - a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage! Oh, is it an election year? Gee, I hadn't noticed.

This would all be very disheartening, except that I take some solace in the belief that Bush is continuing to destroy the last shreds of his strained credibility by launching a cynical, Rovian ploy, obviously destined for failure. Even the "conservative base" seems fairly non-plussed about this latest attempt to score some cheap and easy political points. As if the United States doesn't have more pressing issues on its plate.

Here's an excuse to publish a new photo of Allison Moorer - head over to her newly updated website and check out the Gallery. On Page 2, there's a bunch of new publicity shots.

Don't forget that her new record Getting Somewhere will be released on June 13. You can pre-order an autographed copy over at Sugar Hill's website and at Miles of Music.

The Sounds of Summer

Summer's here and the time is right for dancing in the streets. Here's some tracks to get yer feet kicked up:

• "Work To Do" - Allison Moorer
• "Lubbock of Leave It" - Dixie Chicks
• "World Wide Suicide" - Pearl Jam
• "Red Staggerwing" - Mark Knopfler & Emmylou Harris
• "Turn It Again" - Red Hot Chili Peppers
• "News Blackout" - Tim Easton
• "Different Drum" - Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs
• "Cruel" - Calexico
• "The Man Who..." - Josh Rouse
• "Thin Wild Mercury" - Todd Snider
• "Aftermath USA" - Drive-By Truckers
• "Palestine, Texas" - T-Bone Burnett
• "Better Way" - Ben Harper
• "Break This Time" - Alejandro Escovedo

And don't forget to throw in some classics...

• "Every Picture Tells A Story" - Rod Stewart
• "Shadow In The Way" - Tift Merritt
• "Barrier Reef" - The Old 97's
• "Let It Bleed" - The Rolling Stones
• "I Lost It" - Lucinda Williams

Have a great summer (wake me when it's over).