good weather
“tumbling dice” by the Stones. I actually just bought Exile on Main Street just about six months ago, so I don’t have anywhere in particular when I think of it. Charlottesville is what I’ll say a few years from now. but no, I love this song. easy my favorite Rolling Stones tune. which I’m sure people could and would agree with.
the part that gets me, it’s just when the song transitions into that annex near the end, they abandon the song structure and build on a riff in the same key. all the parts come out, add back in every four bars. guitar first. backup singers. base, drums, and then Mick Jagger. and piano, and it’s just, it’s perfect.
right now, I’ve got a video on of “bron-yr-aur stomp” by Zeppelin, live. Josh had this on in Chicago a couple of months ago. and then at the end of a six minute jam with a two-minute guitar solo in the middle of it, Robert Plant stands up and points to the fans and says, with authority, “strider.”
so, did anybody hear? Ralph Nader is running for president.
I saw him speak at a rally in 2000. I was 17 during that election and as such, didn’t vote, and even further, didn’t have a political opinion. really. none at all. I went with Ben because it seemed like an interesting way to spend a weeknight, and fuck, Eddie Vedder was gonna play. which he did. and that was cool. I remember watching him speak, and then saying to Ben, we should really stop at Taco Bell on the way home and get some fuckin’ grub, man.
then, after I had landed firmly to the left of center after about a month of college, I saw him speak again in 2004. with Phil and Douglas H. in front of about 200 people at the Union, and he was half an hour late. when he came in, he didn’t have any security. just an aide or two, plus the event organizers. and he was introduced, and he spoke.
and it didn’t really sound like any political stump speech that I had ever heard before, but it was one. and I remember walking back from the Union to my apartment on Fess. Ave., which was a slice of ancient carpet surrounded by cinderblock walls, through which you could hear the sounds of my exotic dancer neighbor humping next door while I’m not getting laid, and …
and back to Nader. and me and Phil saying, “he’s right. he’s absolutely fucking right, but I’m voting for Kerry.” because that election was too important.
so I voted for Kerry. voted, thinking he’ll be a mediocre executive, but better than Bush. which is a shitty choice to be presented with. two assholes with different-colored ties. sons of influence. American royalty.
ultimately, voting for Ralph Nader is a protest vote. Nader isn’t an idiot. he knows he doesn’t have any chance of winning the election. but even he wouldn’t be so bold to come out and say his campaign is such. so, I think that he expects his supporters to be protest voters. so if you wanna back Nader, then you have to really believe in what you’re protesting. right?
I’m taking that very seriously. I swear to god, I tooled around on Nader’s campaign website tonight at work, and actually thought about applying to work on the campaign. even paid positions. but that’s gonna require, cough, a bit more thought. I’m not sure if I’m ready to dive completely into my sneering fuck-you Nader supporter mode just yet. that’s a full-time job in itself.
