Rock Star Supernova : Week 6 Elimination

Well it was bound to happen. Just like last year, there had to be a double elimination in order for the total number of episodes to line up in the end. That double whammy was tonight, but before I get into that let's talk about the encore songs - both of them.

Lukas finally popped his cherry and had his first one. I would dare say he sang Creep better this time with a lot more precision and clarity through the head voice portion of the song. It's too bad MSN doesn't make the elimination song available for download. He still has a habit of stumbling around the stage like a drunk epileptic - but oh well, you can't have everything. He sounded nice.

Next up was Magni, who reprised Dolphin's Cry from last night, but instead of doing it acoustically - rocked it out with the House Band. I have to say I think encoring the song differently is first for both seasons. Some people had complained that his performance last night was too close to Ed Kowalzick's (sp) original, but this time out it was definately all Magni. I don't think I've heard him do so much of a song with stress vocals before. What both my wife and I thought was really interesting and impressive was the three of four syllabals of higher notes where Magni switched into to head-voice and almost instantaneously back out of it again to chest voice. That's fucking hard to do. Non-singers probably wouldn't notice, but it's like shifting your car from 5th to 2nd gear and back again without losing any speed. What it makes me wonder though is if Magni did it because he had to do it to hit those notes. If so, I think we may have just found the top of Magni's chest voice range, and it's not that far up there. If so, there's no way that Magni could have sung Creep, because you have to do it in full on chest voice - firewalling the throttle in 5th gear - or it simply doesn't work. Mr. Perfect actually does have his own brand of Krptonite.

Hmm...

Again, it's a real shame this won't be available for download.

I have to say I wasn't surprised by the five people who had to stand (Jill, Zayra, Patrice, Josh and Ryan) in preparation for the announcement of the bottom 3. Some might have been surpised by Ryan, but as I said about his performance yesterday - it was just a little too forced and left-fieldy. Maybe in his normal career the kind of theatrics he displayed on "Paint it black" are more common, but with his very staid wardrobe of dark t-shirts, ripped jeans and wallet chains - it came completely out of nowheres-ville. I didn't think most people would buy it, and they didn't. There's only room for one male freak-z-zoid in this contest, and Lukas is already it.

Jill was picked to sing for survival first and she did an appreciable version of "Respect" - but her claims that she "rocked it out" where nothing more than hype. Of anyone in this contest, she has the best pipes. She been able to handle Janis Joplin and Ann Wilson with ease. The only song she had a hard time with so far was Evanescence in week 2, but otherwise she's actually had a tendency to have more power than is really neccesary for the song - like on the Simple Minds song on week 4. This time she hit it out of the park vocally and as usual commanded the stage, but that wasn't where the problems were.

The first problem was the white-bread wannabe clusterfunk of an arrangement. Look, people - if you want to do funk and do it right the first think you have to do is slow... it....downnnnnn. Funky groves work off the counter-beats, the rythms between the downbeats and if things are too fast it simply doesn't groove and comes off as more punky than funky. If you happen to be a neo-punk outfit like the Chili Peppers that can work, but you have to commit to the punk. You can't half-ass it, and this was not even a quarter assed. More like flat-assed. It wasn't funky and it didn't come anywhere close to rocking. If you want to hear someone rock out an Aretha Franklin song, I'd suggest you listen to "Chain of Fools" by Little Caesar - which will rock your ass off and is also Funky as all get out. Or you could use the example of Bulletboys doing the O'Jay's "For the Love of Money" - and both of these songs are actually a lot like what Supernova is headed toward sounding like. Somewhat updated to be sure, but in that ballpark.

Let me point out that Aretha wasn't the first person to do "Respect", it was written and first performed by Otis Redding and his version is nothing like hers. She added the gospel tinge and the entire "R.E.S.P.E.C.T." with the backing vocals going "Sock it too me". Jill had a great opputunity to do something that was common last year, but almost no one has done so far this time, which is use the elimination song as an opputunity to show what they might sound like doing a Supernova-styled song. They now know what SN sounds like. Taking a cue from L-Ceasar of B-Boys reworking of classic R&B might have helped, but unfortunately Jill cluelessly pissed that chance away.

Next up was Josh, he decided to completely ignore the advice/warning from yesterday about hiding behind his guitar during a performance and decided to do it again, this time on a "Shooting Star" by Bad Company. Correction - Bad song choice. I mentioned yesterday that it's pretty difficult to rock and a guitar and sing, but it's not impossible. You just have to put some effort into it. One thing you can do is use a headphone mic like Britney Spears or Garth Brooks. Yeah, I know "Rocker's don't do that" - to which I have to say some rockers need to grow the F up. If it works, do it. Another option is to simply to dance while you play. I'm not saying do the "funky chicken", but just put don't just bob you head back and forth like Josh did - lean back, sway, swing your arms, spread your legs, stomp your feet - -fucking DO SOMETHING. You may not be able to move far, but you can move.

All this time they've been practically begging Josh to ROCK - damnit just ROCK willya - and he just refuses to do it. It's not like you have to lose "the soul", you don't. Eric Martin of Mr. Big has made that absolutely clear, and sure they may be mostly known for the acoustic ballad "To be with you" - that band used to really fucking ROCK, with Billy Sheehan on Bass, shred-master Paul Gilbert on guitar and Martin, whose career previously had been largely doing R&B and soul.

Third and last was Ryan, with his first appearance in the bottom three - just one week after he received the encore, which only goes to show that what SN digs isn't always what the fans dig. At this point it's not about individual performances, it's about the overall package and Ryan's slack jawed, sallow eyed Bill Joelish New Yorker thang isn't working for a lot of people. He's begun to show that he's a great singer, but he's just plain clumsy on stage. On this performance, which was an awesome reworking of Depeche Modes "Enjoy the Silence' was powerful and mezmerizing. This boy has been on fire since Week 4. He did here exactly what he needed to do - show Supernova how they might look and sound with Ryan leading them. In fact, I had a moment there while watching Ryan where I finally thought - "Holy Crap, this guy could win this thing!"

Yet again, it really sucks that you can't get these songs - because I really want this one - badly.

Unfortunately the only thing holding him back is the fact that he's a klutz, and I've finally figured out exactly how he could fix the problem. A now former friend of mine once dragged me kicking and screaming to see Dream Theater. And I F#&KING GOD D*#N HATE DREAM THEATER. He knew it, I've told him this many times - but I am generally a loyal friend and he had no one else who would go with him - and he really didn't care how I or most other people felt most of the time (Wonder why he's an "ex"? Wonder no more). So I went. Yeah, I was a dumbass. Now sure those guys can really play, and I appreciate guys who can play - but after the first 15-minutes opus it's about as interesting as watching people shove beams of wood into a chipper. I'd seen these guys ten years before and just couldn't take it - I may have paid for the tickets, but back then I walked out.

This time was no different (except that my ex-pal was paying this time - which goes to show just how desperate he was for company - anyones company), I spent most of the performance in the lobby hanging with the vendors, and noticing that most of the band photos had the singer standing waaaayyy in the back, like he was a hired hand or something. (Clue! He basically is and acts like it)

But before I went outside I figured out Dream Theater's biggest problem, their singer James Lebrie has the stage presence of squished gerbal that's just been rescued from Richard Gere's butt. Lebrie has a habit of aimlessly pacing the stage, back and forth - forth and back - while he sings. Even he looks bored, like he can't wait for his obligatory back-stage blowjob to begin. The worse part was made evident when Dream Theater's original singer stepped up for a song, and totally blew La Brie away. There was one simple thing he did that put him light-years beyond Jamie-boy, besides the fact that he doesn't whine when he sings, and that's the fact that when he moved around the stage - he did it in time with the music. In fact, everything he did was either in response to, or to emphasize something going on musically. It's just too bad their previous guy is a) balding and b) pot-bellied while Labrie is well-maned, slim, trim and as interesting to watch as roadkill on the interstate.

Ryan's got Labrie Syndrome(tm) - he stumbles around the stage like he's looking for his car keys or something, and he's always out of time with the song. Even Lukas's drunken stumbling is at least close to the beat -but Ryan literally looks lost, because musically- he is lost.



Still Ryan has got far too much juice after his last two performances - so tonights exiting hamsters were both Josh and Jill. I have to say - they had to go. They're both hopeless, and I don't care what Dave says - they're probably going nowhere after this. They have just peaked and it's all downhill from here.

Don't believe me? Who was the number 9 and 10 performer from Season Two of American Idol? And just remember, American Idol is much more popular than Rock Star. Unfortunately J&J just missed their oppurtunity to sign up for that show - auditions were held the day before they were released tonight, at the freaking Rosebowl. (By comparision The LA Rock Star Auditions had about 220 people - total)

Vyan

Rock Star : Week 6 Performances

Well, this was a week of surprises and not all of them pleasant.

First up was Dilana doing her version of The Who's "Won't get fooled again" with Gilby - and I have to say I was disappointed. Don't get me wrong, Dilana was fine - but in nearly all of her performances so far she's been able to bring a special something to the performance. Something electric and chilling at the same time. This time - fffftt! Sure, she commanded the stage and had some nice interplay with Gilby, but it really didn't work for me. I honestly felt that Dana did a better job last week on The Who's "Baba O'Reilly" than Dilana did on this song. But maybe it wasn't her, maybe it was Gilby himself and his really lame Holiday Inn supporting vocals. Note to Supernova - Keep that man Away from a Microphone during performances.

That one moment just reminded me why Gilby was the number three guitar option in GnR. His one real claim to fame is being Izzy Stradlin's replacement. Sure he's had his own bands before and after that. He's had a solo career, but all in all Gilby is a major weak link in this band. If the band featured Slash or even Dave Navarro we'd been in an entirely different universe, but it doesn't. Gilby is a pedestrian guitar player, period. He's nice and dependable but he's no guitar hero (and no singer).

Kurt Cobain killed the guitar hero. Murdered them with all due malice of forethought (even more than his own suicide) and completely got away with the crime. It's not just Cobains anti-solo stance and his arguement that solos take too much attention away from the rest of the song (like being the lead singer didn't already attract attention) it's the fact that he made guitarists irrelevant. They became just some other guy in the band, they lost all their mystique and personality. You used to be able to recognize a guitarist by his playing in the pre-Cobain years -- but now can anyone but their most hardcore fans even name the guitarists in the top ten bands in the country? Who plays guitar for Linkin Park? What about Evanescence? Maroon 5? Coldplays guitarist is also their singer, so people know him (besides he's married to Goldie Hawn's daughter isn't he?) - but what if someone else played guitar in that band? And the only reason we know who plays guitar for Pink is because - he's on this show!

Gilby's a dinosaur, and not one from the top of the food chain - like T Rex. He's one of little ones that the T-Rex's ate as an appetizer. He's the one thing that makes me not really look forward to the future of Supernova, and this performance just proves it. I mean c'mon - he and the band were actually out of time with each other at the beginning of the song. How bush league is that?

Dave talked a ton of crap about "How could anyone follow Dilana?", especially when she was performing with Gilby -- normally I would agree, but this time Jill on the Tracy Bonham song was a revelation. She not only followed Dilana - she topped her. Without Gilby. Following her performance last week she's found a whole new level. Yes, we know she can scream in key and does it very well - but ever since she got clowned on "Don't You forget about me" she's learned how to harness all that power and focus it to where it's needed. This was by far her best performance to date. The way she handled the stage was perfect, not slutty - just total take command. She even avoided the fashion disasters of previous weeks. I'd say this performance has made Jill Elite except for the damage and deficit she has to overcome from previous weeks. If she'd begun the show with a performance like this one or "Alone" from last week - there would be no stopping her. Chances are though, she'll be off the show after tonight.

Josh's handling of the Interstate Love Song was admirable. He finally showed how his vocals can work in a rock context (not that that should really be a surprise, the underbase of all Rock is R&B). He looked confident and relaxed - even with Tommy playing behind him - but I do agree that picking up a guitar and singing with it can be very physically limiting. Some people who are extremely comfortable with their guitar playing can and will run all over the stage and dash back to the microphone to sing, but that requires a song with enough of a musical intro or interlude for you to have time to get back and forth. Too many of the hamsters who pick up guitars (and hardly seem to freaking PLAY THEM -- grrrr) are content to just stand behind the microphone and strum. Dull as dishwater that is.

Ryan doing "Paint it Black" was - interesting. It seems like he's picked up fashion and theatrical tips from Lukas circa episodes 2 (black racoon eye makeup) and Dilana episode 1 (Dark hood over the head until the song kicks in). Obviously what they've done has worked for them, but does it also work for Ryan? It seems like a desperate ploy to literally cop other performers schtick while they're watching. It's either crazy or crazy like a fox - I'm not sure which. Other than that, his vocals have been stellar since he did the the Live song, but I still have problems with his stage presence. He's doesn't look comfortable or graceful. It's a bit like watching a drunken footballer try to slamdance and missing the floor. The man is just plain clumsy. The SN guys didn't seem to notice any of that - so whatever. It's not likely he'll be in the b3 this week.

Patrice is probably not long for this show. Her vocals always sound so stiff and over managed - way too much vocal training and it shows. She's just plain boring. She had managed to overcome that a couple weeks back, but this time she choose to do what Josh did - hide behind a guitar for her performance of - heck I can't even remember what she did. Fuck it.

Storm on "We are the Champions" was simple, elegant and killer. She had no problem with the vocals that turned JD into a simpering twit begging to switch with Jordis last year. Her stage persence is always killer, she just commands full and erect attention at all times. (yes, that was a single entrendre). Technically she did have some problems with a few of the odd intervals in the song. As a singer I notice she tended to miss the downward slide to the note for the word "are", but it's only a minor quibble. She's never been note perfect, but more than close enough for Rock N Roll. The thing that she did tonight to kick things into another level is she took advantage of her ability to ad lib and harmonize. From listening to her songs I know that she loves to layer her own voice in the studio and that she usually comes up with really killer secondary melodies which she stacks on top of the original line -- well tonight she did that. Where JD used the audience last year to cover up the fact that he couldn't hit the notes on this song - Storm used the audience (and the House Band) to JAM a solo vocal on top of the primary melody. It's what a lead guitarist would do - back in the days when bands actually HAD lead guitarists (ok, ok, enough on that rant). That was smooth.

And the comment at the end about "Spanking the Crap" out of SN on a future heavy rocking song wasn't a threat - it was a promise. And again smooth to steal some of Z sexual teasing away from her. Spank me Mama... spank me. I've been a bad, bad boy.

Z - doing all the young dudes in a Gold Alien Jumpsuit, platform stacks and a Top Hat. If I didn't have it on DVR I wouldn't believe it. I'm going to miss Miss Freak-a-zoid when she's gone. One good thing, wearing those platforms kept her from spazzing out on stage. I suppose she's was trying to do a "70's glam thang" this since this was a Mott the Hoople song (All the Young Dudes), but she completely misinterpreted what the song was about. It's a pissed off tune, and her performances was like seeing Celine in Vegas. It was a nightclub act. Next up - Donny and Marie doing "Major Tom" by David Bowie. Y'know, if Z ever bothered to work on her voice - particularly her diction - as much as she obviously starves and barfs, then does everything she can to show off that boney ass of hers, she might actually be a great singer. Yeah, I know that great singers are dime a dozen, and with AI tryouts this week their stock is falling rapidly, but it's obvious that she does all this that shes covering for her vocal weaknesses - of which there are many. She deserved to get dropped from this competiton weeks ago, I mean - I can't imagine how any of her act works with a band like Supernova. They'd be - fuck - they'd be a glam band! Unlike a lot of people, I don't have a problem with glam bands -- but just look at the shit the guys in Damnocracy gave Sebastian Bach for his spandex jumpsuit? The SN guys dropped Matt like a flaming spud when he did one 80's glam band song - so they can't keep this up forever. Z is obviously good for ratings, but not for Supernova. Either way she's not leaving this week IMO. It'll probably be Patrice.

Magni doing a solo acoustic Live song - Just - FUCKING - KILLED IT. He totally murdered that shit. This is what a signed artists sounds like. This was not amatuer hour, this was not dress-up fun with Z and Ryan - he just sang the crap out of that song. That was a hit single right there. This guy has been around block more than a few times, and the pure quality of his performances are always there. There's no doubting that he could front this band, but the question is the same that faced Miggy last year. Is he too - nice? He's a family man, with responsibilties and obligations. Although Tommy does have kids of his own the SN boys - at least Tommy and Gilby - come from what I used to call Gutter Rock. Music made by people who quite literally had been living in the gutter just a few weeks, or possibly hours before. People that had nothing else going on in their lives and made Rock music because they had to for their own survival and sanity. They lived on the edge, and sometimes fell off of it.

Magni is not that guy. That guy is Lukas. And this performance Lukas may have just sealed the deal with SN. Jason's been on him about his vocals - with good reason - for weeks. As was shown during the Reality show, Dilana thought she could strategize him into undermining himself by suggesting he do the Radiohead song "Creep". Clearly she thought he wouldn't be able to open up his throat and pull it off -- but he did. Just barely. He was shaky during the head-voice portion of the song just before it kicked into full on scream mode. Singing in your head-voice is skill you have to practice. It doesn't happen that much in Rock (unless you're in Coldplay), but he got through it. The irony is that he should have really attacked those last notes the way that Jill does. When I first heard this song Thom York reminded me of Bono when he got to the end of the song - he was screaming his fool head off -- but Lukas didn't. He skirted through the first part of the scream and cut off the ending notes, but managed to include them on the second go round to redeem himself. Again he just barely pulled it off, but he's got so much credit in the bank from the songwriting challenge and other events in the show I'm not sure how anyone else is going to catch up to him. This job is his to lose.

Toby's version of "Burning Down the House" was a bit manic and - well - weird. It's seems like everybody is desperate to create some theatrics in their performance. (Isn't this what Ty was constantly - and falsely - accused of last year?) I don't know, at certain point on this stuff coming from guys who don't do it naturally - like Ryan - just comes off as calculated. They know they've got to compete with Dilana and Storm and Lukas - and Z - so they now they feel they have to do something shocking and crazy to get attention. It's like watching someone try to overdo their makeup at a whore convention - it's a mess. And did this guy not watch any of this show last year? Doesn't he know that Mr.Gimmick from last year pulled the exact same deal with the bull horn? Yes, Dave it's been done - JD did it. (That was after he copied Me, First and the Gimme Gimme's version of "California Dreaming", gave "Hand in my pocket" a Bo Diddley enema and then actually dared to borrow melodies directly from Michael Hutchens for the song writing challenge) Enough already. Do what you do best, not what other people do.

Vyan

In Our Name: My Lai, Haditha and Beyond

his past Sunday the LA Times did a lengthy story on 3000 pages of declassified documents which reveal that the My Lai Massacre of Vietnam was far from an isolated incident.

The records were declassified in 1994, after 20 years as required by law, and moved to the National Archives in College Park, Md., where they went largely unnoticed.

The Times examined most of the files and obtained copies of about 3,000 pages -- about a third of the total -- before government officials removed them from the public shelves, saying they contained personal information that was exempt from the Freedom of Information Act.

In addition to the 320 substantiated incidents, the records contain material related to more than 500 alleged atrocities that Army investigators could not prove or that they discounted.

The appalling thing is that these crimes were committed - In Our Name - under the color and flag of the United States. They occured with the tacit approval of the American People, granted by their ignorance of commonality of these events. But were we truly clueless then - or now?

MaryScott O'Connor posted an excellent diary on this story which displayed with great personal anguish as her own father was killed in Vietnam on the very same day that some of these atrocities occured.

But shouldn't all Americans take this personally?

Our tax dollars paid for this. Our sons and daughters were asked to perform a near impossible task, placed under intolerable conditions - to recall the recent comments of Sen Chuck Hagel it was a "Hopeless, Unwinnable" situation - how could we not expect this kind of result to occur not just once, but hundreds of times?

Abuses were not confined to a few rogue units, a Times review of the files found. They were uncovered in every Army division that operated in Vietnam.

How can we turn a blind eye when history has so clearly begun to repeat itself?

The Article recounts the Story of Pvt James D. Henry as a witness to these events.

Then B Company entered a hamlet to question residents and search for weapons. That's where Henry set down his weapon and lighted a cigarette in the shelter of a hut.

A radio operator sat down next to him, and Henry was listening to the chatter. He heard the leader of the 3rd Platoon ask Reh for instructions on what to do with 19 civilians.

"The lieutenant asked the captain what should be done with them. The captain asked the lieutenant if he remembered the op order (operation order) that came down that morning and he repeated the order which was 'kill anything that moves,' " Henry said in his statement. "I was a little shook ... because I thought the lieutenant might do it."

Henry said he left the hut and walked toward Reh. He saw the captain pick up the phone again, and thought he might rescind the order.

Then soldiers pulled a naked woman of about 19 from a dwelling and brought her to where the other civilians were huddled, Henry said.

"She was thrown to the ground," he said in his statement. "The men around the civilians opened fire and all on automatic or at least it seemed all on automatic. It was over in a few seconds. There was a lot of blood and flesh and stuff flying around....

"I looked around at some of my friends and they all just had blank looks on their faces.... The captain made an announcement to all the company, I forget exactly what it was, but it didn't concern the people who had just been killed. We picked up our stuff and moved on."

Henry didn't forget, however. "Thirty seconds after the shooting stopped," he said, "I knew that I was going to do something about it."

What Henry did after he was discharged was go to the Press. He was later interviewed by Army investigators and eventually became even more vocal.

In 1971, Henry joined more than 100 other veterans at the Winter Soldier Investigation, a forum on war crimes sponsored by Vietnam Veterans Against the War.

The FBI put the three-day gathering at a Detroit hotel under surveillance, records show, and Nixon administration officials worked behind the scenes to discredit the speakers as impostors and fabricators.

Although the administration never publicly identified any fakers, one of the organization's leaders admitted exaggerating his rank and role during the war, and a cloud descended on the entire gathering.

"We tried to get as much publicity as we could, and it just never went anywhere," Henry says. "Nothing ever happened."

One of the other attendents of that forum was Lt. John Kerry - who later recounted the testimony he heard to Congress.

His statements were immediately attacked by Nixon supporters such as John O'Neill, his words were twisted and contorted into a vicious smear of our troops, their patriotism and their honor. He was accused of "aiding the enemy" - a cry which has continued even today as documented by Factcheck.org.

From the ad "Sellout" Produced by the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth in 2004:

John Kerry (from Senate Testimony in 1971): They had personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads...

Joe Ponder: The accusations that John Kerry made against the veterans who served in Vietnam was just devastating.

John Kerry: ...randomly shot at civilians...

Joe Ponder: ...and it hurt me more than any physical wounds I had.

John Kerry: ...cut off limbs, blown up bodies...

Ken Cordier: That was part of the torture, to sign a statement that you had committed war crimes.

John Kerry:...razed villages in a fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan...

Paul Galanti: John Kerry gave the enemy for free, what I and many of my comrades, in the North Vietnamese prison camps, took torture to avoid saying. It demoralized us.

John Kerry: ...crimes committed on a day to day basis...

Ken Cordier: He betrayed us in the past, how could we be loyal to him now?

John Kerry: ...ravaged the countryside of South Vietnam...

Paul Galanti: He dishonored his country, and more importantly, the people he served with. He just sold them out.

Kerry spoke the truth as it was reported by those involved in the Winter Soldier Event, he placed the blame for these events not on the soldiers themselves, but on their superiors "I think clearly the responsibility for what has happened there lies elsewhere. I think it lies with the men who designed free fire zones. I think it lies with the men who encourage body counts", a comment which he repeated on Meet The Press in 1971. "the men who designed the free-fire zone, the men who ordered us, the men who signed off the air raid strike areas".

He held the command structure responsible for giving the orders, and creating the situation which led to clear and obvious War Crimes. HE DID NOT BLAME OR BETRAY OUR TROOPS. Kerry did the honorable thing, he told the truth - while those who oppose the truth and prefer that America continue to use methods like those described at the Winter Soldier event continue to Smear him.

Today with the Supreme Courts clear decision in Hamdan that the Geneva Conventions do apply to those being held in Gitmo -- rather than do their best to avoid the repeat of what Pvt Henry witnessed and Lt. Kerry recounted we have Alberto Gonzales doing his best to make War Crimes Legal. Meanwhile Rep. Duncan Hunter claims were too soft on detainees, and Sen. (and former JAG Officer) Lindsay Graham wants to override the Supreme Courts authority to require that the President abide by the law and the consitution.

All this is being done - In our Name.

The problem here must be made clear - it's not simply that War Crimes and Atrocities occured - the issue is in the willful failure of the Army and Pentagon to properly investigate and address the wrongdoing. A failure which clearly led to further atrocities occuring with impunity. When the brass turns a blind-eye, they might as well be shining a big bright green light. It's not just the crimes, it's the lies.

We've seen this again and again...

The Pentagon lied to us about the true circumstances of Pat Tillman's death by friendly fire.

They lied about the circumstances of Jessica Lynch's rescue.

We've seen it with failure and delay in investigating Haditha where 2 dozen Iraqi Civilians were killed. This investigation languished for months (Although this case has just recently been handed over to prosecutors).

Rep. John Murtha was quick to speak out on Haditha.

Murtha, a vocal opponent of the war in Iraq, said at a news conference Wednesday that sources within the military have told him that an internal investigation will show that "there was no firefight, there was no IED (improvised explosive device) that killed these innocent people. Our troops overreacted because of the pressure on them, and they killed innocent civilians in cold blood."

Military officials say Marine Corp photos taken immediately after the incident show many of the victims were shot at close range, in the head and chest, execution-style. One photo shows a mother and young child bent over on the floor as if in prayer, shot dead, said the officials, who spoke to NBC News on condition of anonymity because the investigation hasn't been completed.

One military official says it appears the civilians were deliberately killed by the Marines, who were outraged at the death of their fellow Marine.

From the Guardian.

In recent weeks, 16 soldiers have been charged with murders in Iraq - more than during the first three years of the war. No Marines have been charged so far in the worst alleged atrocity, the killing of 24 Iraqis at Haditha, but that has been overshadowed by the Mahmudiya episode.

In Mahmudiya, a 14-year-old Iraqi girl was raped, then murdered along with her entire family by U.S. Soldiers. Like Haditha, this investigation has been delayed - and so far remains incomplete.

At Gitmo, Bagram AFB and Abu Ghraib there have been 26 Deaths in Custody which have been ruled "Homocide as the Result of Torture".

We've not yet had a modern day My Lai, where over 500 civilians were brutally gunned down -- but it seems to me that on the path were headed, it's only a matter of time.
Yes, I know that all of this is sickening - it's disheartening. It's numbing.

Is this what America stands for? Is this how we spread Democracy, how Freedom Marches Forward on the backs of the broken bodies and crushed bones of those oppose us? We lie to ourselves with Propoganda about how heroic we are, how are "Cause is Noble" - while (some of) our soldiers commit rape and murder and the higher-ups turn away and play "blame the messenger" with anyone who dares to step forward?

I say - "NO".

It has to stop. We have to bring this to an end - we have to begin not just spouting talking point versions of our ideals - we actually need to live up to them.

If the idea of a Constitution and a Democratic form of government is to have any appeal to the rest of the world - we need to show that this form of government has the ability to defeat Totalitarianism not just overseas - but right here at home. Not through violence, but the the power of ideas. Not through force, but with the promise of genuine hope - instead of the false hope and false promises we now see in Iraq. We fight in the courts - we fight at the ballot box. We have to lead by example, not at the barrel of a gun.

Vyan

Rock Star Supernova : Week 6 Reality

It's really a shame that this portion of the show isn't being put on broadcast tv because it gives quit e a bit of insight into the behind the scenes action. As far as I know Rock Star was the first show to offer it's competition phase and reality phase as seperate sets of episodes.

This week the Rockers received gifts, starting with a set of Gibson electric guitars. Technically these are the second set of guitars they've received - the first was a set of Epiphone acoustic guitars during Week 1 for each of the rockers.

Putting myself in their shoes at the time I was thinking - "Acoustic"? Is this a Rock band or what? I've never been a fan of Epiphone guitars (I usually pronounce it "Epi- phoney" or "E-piffony") Blech. Now the electrics they received this time are much cooler, including some Les Paul's and flying "V"s. Real Guitars. Gibson's never been my thing, I've been more into Yamaha, Musicman and PRS - but if ya handed me a Gibson I wouldn't piss on it. Epiphone? Oh yeah - get ready to unzip , but Gibson's are all right with me.

Yes, I am a guitar snob -- with good reason. Bad guitars make bad music. After 20 years I've gotten to the point that I won't even touch most of what Guitar Center has hanging on the walls. Nearly all of them : Total Shiite.

But a new guitar isn't all they received, Magni had a pair of vistors. His wife and infant son from Iceland. He pretty much lit up like a Christman tree when they arrived.

Not long after that heartwarming moment Gilby arrived on his Harley and notified everyone that they were going to be writing the lyrics and melody for an original Supernova track on their own. Starting today and finishing in 24 hours.

The different performers each handled the challenge and pressure in their own way. Storm went running while listening to the track, Lukas took 15 minutes and knocked it out, Dilana stressed and struggled over getting her lyrics just right - but the one person with the greatest difficulty was Ryan who was still working on his song at 2 a.m.

I'm not sure if it was part of his "game strategy", but Lukas was certainly making life difficult for Ryan by intruding on his songwriting and repeatedly doing his version of the tune while Ryan was still working on his own lyrics. Like Rude, man.

When the time came to perform their version of the new song for the band, Ryan - although he'd struggled - produced a good strong version. Jason noted that his vocals cut right through the music, which is true - and something that he seemed to have a problem accomplishing with the house band. In most of his performances their sound tends to squash him, which is why his solo piano performance last week stood out - we could finally hear him.

Various Suave Porn comments - Jill oversang her version, Storm does everything "big" and was very melodic, Dilana's lyrics were "hookey" and unmemorable. "Good girls and Dirty boys getting together on the hill..." or somesuch. The one person who seemed to "Kill it" in Supernova's words was Lukas. "He really seems to understand where we're going musically".
That's going to give him lots and lots of credits in the SN bank, hopefully he won't spend them all in one place.

We didn't get to hear what most of the other rockers versions where like, and I for one am glad. I'm not sure I could sit through another Zayeeda yip-fest without lots of sparkly objects and lights to hypnotize me into a stupor. Her just standing there singing, is a horror too great to contemplate. Whew.

Next up was song selection which included Radiohead's "Creep" and the Who's "Won't get fooled again" (featuring Gilby on guitar). Dilana took command at this point grabbing the Gilby's song for herself - to surprisingly little opposition. Then making a strategic move by suggesting Creep for Lukas. "If he can't open up his throat and sing this song - he shouldnt' be here".

I'm not sure if I agree with that - this actually isn't a singing contest like American Idol. The best singer doesn't win, which was made abundantly clear last year. JD crashed and burned on hsi most difficult vocal song "We are the Champions", but in the end it makes no difference if the band he's actually trying out for isn't going to be writing songs like that. Supernova certainly isn't planning to do a Radiohead. This is a move that could backfire on Dilana. If Lukas pulls it off - he eliminates his vocal limitations as being an issue. If he doesn't - it still doesn't really matter all that much considering how much the SN boys like the way he sings their songs.

Final visual delight from the Webisode, the House Band kicking the Rockers butts at Basketball. Maybe they should have played against the girls?

Priceless.

Vyan

200,000 Iraqi Troops - 30,000 Insurgents. Do The Math.

During this week's Armed Services Committee hearing Republican Senator Lindsay Graham displayed a rare penchant to actually Do his Job when he asked General Abizaid how many Insurgents there were in Iraq and where they were coming from.

The answer?

• Approx 1000 Al Qaeda Fighters
  
• Sunni Insurgents in the "Low Five Figures"
  
• Approx 10-20,000 Shia Militia members (who may in fact also be members of the Iraqi National Army and have become roving Death Squads
  

Graham then responded by asking why over 200,000 trained Iraqi troops can't seem to get a handle on "just 30,000-40,000" insurgents whom they outnumber by at least 5 to 1?

Why indeed?

With that one question Graham hit the true failure of our policy in Iraq squarely on the head. The problems in that region are not one of manpower or of financing - it's an issue of willpower.

Ultimately it's the Iraqi people who have to paraphrase Sting from the song Russians that they have to "Love their children" more than they hate the enemy - whether that Enemy is the U.S., the Sunni, the Shia or the Kurds.

Several other Senators during the hearing made pointed statments.

Senator McCain, while discussing the recent plan to move 3,500 U.S. troops pointed out that we've been through this game before with Fallujah where we moved our forces in and and soon as they had cleaned the city out, the insurgents returned.

"We're playing a game of whack-a-mole here," McCain complained. "It's very disturbing."

No kidding. We're also not winning that game.

Oddly enough Senator John Warner when questioning Abizaid actually managed to echo a point repeated made by Cindy Sheehan - The Mission has long ago been accomplished.

From The Daily News.

The 2002 resolution authorizing military force, Warner noted, called for U.S. forces to "defend the national security of the United States against the continuing threat posed by Iraq" and to enforce all relevant U.N. resolutions.

"Many of those missions set out and envisioned by the Congress when it gave this authority - namely, the toppling of the Saddam Hussein regime - have been achieved," Warner said.

Abizaid didn't respond directly to Warner's suggestion but said he was hopeful that civil war could still be avoided.

With the death toll rising above 100 people a day in what mostly to be a Sunni/Shia War - that hope seems to be rather in vain.

Besides Sheehan, Senator Warner's suggestion also echoes the efforts of Rep Lynn Woolsey to have the Iraq War Resolution Repealed.

Six weeks after we invaded Iraq, President Bush stood aboard an aircraft carrier before a banner that read "Mission Accomplished," declaring that "major combat operations in Iraq are over." From that moment on, we were no longer fighting a war, but rather participating in an occupation.

With only 90 Days left until the November Election, Republicans are clearly starting to run scared and have begun to shows some weaks signs of recognizing their oversight responsibility - yet, the harshes criticism of the entire hearing was still delivered by a Democrat.

Senator Hillary Clinton - while questioning Donald Rumsfeld from the Washington Post:

Under your leadership, there have been numerous errors in judgment that have led us to where we are in Iraq and Afghanistan. We have a full-fledged insurgency and full-blown sectarian conflict in Iraq.

Now, whether you label it a civil war or not, it certainly has created a situation of extreme violence and the continuing loss of life among our troops and of the Iraqis.

You did not go into Iraq with enough troops to establish law and order.

You disbanded the entire Iraqi army. Now, we're trying to recreate it.

You did not do enough planning for what is called Phase Four and rejected all the planning that had been done previously to maintain stability after the regime was overthrown.

You underestimated the nature and strength of the insurgency, the sectarian violence and the spread of Iranian influence

In a July 22 article in the New York Times, General Abizaid was quoted as saying, "Two months after the new Iraqi government took office, the security gains that we had hoped for had not been achieved."

In Afghanistan, your administration's credibility is also suspect. In December 2002, you said, "The Taliban are gone." In September 2004, President Bush said, "The Taliban no longer is in existence."

However, this February, DIA Director Lieutenant General Maples said that, in 2005, attacks by the Taliban and other anti-coalition forces were up 20 percent from 2004 levels, and these insurgents were a greater threat to the Afghan government's efforts to expand its authority than in any time since 2001.

So, Mr. Secretary, when our constituents ask for evidence that your policy in Iraq and Afghanistan will be successful, you don't leave us with much to talk about. Yes, we hear a lot of happy talk and rosy scenarios, but because of the administration's strategic blunders and, frankly, the record of incompetence in executing, you are presiding over a failed policy.

Given your track record, Secretary Rumsfeld, why should we believe your assurances now?

And the Donald of course had an excellent response.

RUMSFELD: My goodness.

He then went on to question himself and further justify his ongoing failures in the region.

RUMSFELD: First of all, it's true: There is sectarian conflict in Iraq and there is a loss of life.

And it's an unfortunate and tragic thing that that's taking place.

And it is true that there are people who are attempting to prevent that government from being successful. And they are the people who are blowing up buildings and killing innocent men, women and children, and taking off the heads of people on television. And the idea of their prevailing is unacceptable.

Second, you said the number of troops were wrong. I guess history will make a judgment on that. The number of troops that went in and the number of troops that were there every month since and the number of troops that are there today reflected the best judgment of the military commanders on the ground, their superiors, General Pace, General Abizaid, the civilian leadership of the Department of Defense and the president of the United States.

I think it's not correct to assume that they were wrong numbers. And I don't think the evidence suggests that, and it will be interesting to see what history decides.

I think after three years we already have an incling of what history will ultimately decide on this matter, and it doesn't look promising from this angle.

After I originally posted the above on Dkos - one commenter brought up the less than obvious answer - at least not that obvious to someone like Graham.

This not about 30k versus 300k.

It's about insurgency and occupation. This is not a symmetric war where forces meet on the battle field. An insurgency is necessarily an asymmetric guerrilla operation, and the correct response is counterinsurgency, not the GWOT that the US is fighting and losing.

David Galula wrote the bible on asymmetric warfare forty years ago. Bernard Fall's books on Vietnam are essentail reading also. (I did this research when I was a naval officer during the Vietnam years.)

Counterinsurgency Warfare: Theory and Practice

And he's absolutely correct. And we should recognize this type of warfare, we helped perfect it during our own Revolutionary War. General Washington's Continental Army used non-convention tactics and sneak attacks such as crossing the Delaware River during the dead night and winter to attack Heshen troops while they still were in their quarters. They faced a vastly superior and far more experience force, they had no chance in a head-to-head conflict so instead they used guerilla tactics they'd learned from the American Indian. We also pioneered counterinsurgency when we later fought and eventually won the Indian Wars and the west.

We already know how to do this and "Wack a mole" isn't the way.

You take the terroritory inch by inch, house by house, town by town and you hold it. Slowly you drive you opposition out into the open, push them away from resupply routes and resources - you starve them out, bottle them up and smash them. But we haven't committed the neccesary resources or man power needed to do this - 200,0oo Iraqi soldiers (with some percentage actually being loyal to the new Iraqi government) combined with 130,000 U.S. troops really isn't enough. And the odd thing is the lower the number of insurgents - (or more accurately counter-occupationists) - the harder the job is to do thoroughly.

The only way to "win" this war would be to institute a draft - but that shit is not going to happen.

We have to take a step back and realize that we've been played all the way through this situation , when you look at indications that our man in Iraq, Ahman Chalabi. The one who assured us that Saddam had WMD's, has apparently been working with and for the Shia dominated government of Iraq all along. From William Rivers Pitt.

Ahmad Chalabi has been many things to many people over the last several years. Officials in Jordan considered him to be a petty criminal, convicting him of 32 counts of bank fraud and sentencing him in absentia to 22 years in prison.

Chalabi was, for a time, the leader of a manufactured dissident group called the Iraqi National Congress, and received millions of American taxpayer dollars thanks to the passage of the Iraqi Liberation Act. This made him a source for New York Times reporter Judy Miller, who used his false information about Iraqi WMD capabilities to frighten the populace into war.

For Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney and the masterminds of the Iraq invasion, however, Ahmad Chalabi was the anointed one, a statesman-to-be, the man who would replace Saddam Hussein once they figured out a way to attack and overthrow his regime. Chalabi had been chosen for this position as early as 1997, before this whole mess was anything more than a twinkle in the vice president's eye.

Sept. 11 gave them the opening they needed and they went for it - but it didn't turn out how they'd planned once we'd taken over the country.

Chalabi was in the mix, to be sure. He ran for the prime minister's spot and was handily defeated, but resurrected himself long enough to become the oil minister. He was a mover and a shaker, adept at playing both ends against the middle, at one point standing as the avatar of American power and at another fashioning himself as the anti-American savior of Iraqi Shiites.

And then his house got raided, and the whispers began to percolate. Something happened with Iran, something bad, and soon enough it became clear that Chalabi was playing a double game. Rumsfeld's promise to put him in power, and to give him unfettered access to Iraq's vast oil wealth, had not been fulfilled. Chalabi, therefore, switched sides.

The NSA detected that someone was feeding the Iranians information through Baghdad, and the FBI suspected that someone was Chalabi.

"On May 20th," continued Bamford, "shortly after the discovery of the leak, Iraqi police backed by American soldiers raided Chalabi's home and offices in Baghdad. The FBI suspected that Chalabi, a Shiite who had a luxurious villa in Tehran and was close to senior Iranian officials, was actually working as a spy for the Shiite government of Iran. Getting the U.S. to invade Iraq was apparently part of a plan to install a pro-Iranian Shiite government in Baghdad, with Chalabi in charge. The bureau also suspected that Chalabi's intelligence chief had furnished Iran with highly classified information on U.S. troop movements, top-secret communications, plans of the provisional government and other closely guarded material on U.S. operations in Iraq.

The fact is that we've been suckered! Of course we're playing "Wack a Mole" only it's been the wrong freaking mole.

Now we have nearly 100,000 Shia in the streets of Baghdad protesting both us and the actions of Israel in Lebanon. Something tells me there hearts and minds haven't exactly been won over by our actions in the region.

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Tens of thousands of Shiites, some burning U.S. flags and chanting "Death to Israel," thronged a Baghdad slum in support of Hezbollah Friday as protests surged against the Lebanon fighting in several Mideast nations.

Organizers and local police said hundreds of thousands attended the rally, but the U.S. military later estimated the crowd at 14,000. Associated Press reporters at the scene thought attendance was at least in the tens of thousands during the high point of the march.

The rally went off peacefully — a remarkable achievement in a city where bombings and shootings are an everyday occurrence. Sadr City is under the effective control of the cleric's Mahdi Army militia, which maintains its own security network.

Meanwhile in the nation of another one of our "allies".

In Saudi Arabia, hundreds of Shiites, who make up about 12 percent of the predominantly Sunni country's population, have marched over the past three days in al-Qatif municipality in the Gulf coast region.

Under the watchful eyes of anti-riot police during a demonstration Thursday, protesters chanted: "No Sunni, no Shiites, only one Muslim unity" while others waved posters of Nasrallah chanting "Oh Nasrallah, oh beloved one, destroy destroy Tel Aviv."

Isn't that just lovely, they're become one big happy Muslim family - all united against Israel and Us? Wonderful...

And while we talk about how Syria and Iraq are fueling the hostility of Hezbollah. Look at what the Iranian press is saying.

The horrific US and UK supported war waged by Israel against Lebanon under the pretext of self defence for the capture of two soldiers by Hezbollah is setting the stage for a US/Israeli military assault on Iran that would lead to a major conflagration in the Middle East and beyond. Only the antiwar movement and urgent action by a united Iranian community worldwide can stop such an aggression.

Iran has been the key player in this from the beginning, and they've been not just one step ahead -- but several moves ahead of us. It's well past time that we started playing this smart - something this administration seems completely incapable of doing.

Rumsfeld needs to go - now. Not later - now. He's resigned at least twice before, it's well past time that President Bush finally accepted. Seven Generals have called for him to leave, even Joe Leiberman has said it. It's not just the President perogative, it's a matter of what's best for the nation and the world. We can't afford to have an incompetent, demented boob like Rumsfeld in such a key position any longer.

Even without Rummy, this mess isn't going to end with Bush, heaven help whoever comes in after him to clean up the shitstain he's left on the oval office floor - they're going to need it.

Vyan

Rock Star : Week 5 Elimination

Well, that wasn't really a shocker.

The encore this time went to Ryan, who had pretty much killed and skinned it last night during the performance show with "Losing my Religion". I've been calling that song "Losing my Lunch" for years now but Ryan made it go down smooth. During this stripped down performance you could finally hear the quality of his voice, which has been largely covered up by the band so far. I'm not so sure he's going to be able to parley this performance into future elite-ness because I think the next time the house band cranks up they're going to yet again swallow Ryan whole and spit him out. But at least he got this one brief moment in the spotlight before becoming a lunchable again.

The bottom 3 this time weren't surprising. I didn't expect to see Zayra perform this time, her fanbase has grown too strong, even if she did release a petulant "of course" when she briefly had to stand while they listed those people who were briefly among the b3 during the night. For once she was actually wearing an appropriate outfit - no dayglow, no spandex superhero uniform, no bikini wax needed - this time she was sporting black gloves and black eyeshadow.
But no, were didn't get to see her sing and shimmy for survival again - no crazy dancing, and no hiccup vocals this time out.

The main limitation Zayra has, which I really haven't really seen anyone bring up, is the fact that her accent is so strong it actually affects her vocals. It causes her to clip of her words and phrases abruptly and akwardly. It's a real bad habit and I doubt she'll be able to fix it. We've already had the vocal clinic.

Anyway, on to people who actually were in the b3 - first up was Jill who did a fanstastic job on the Heart song "Alone". This is a song that needs a certain amount of vulnerability in the performance, and that's something that Jill hasn't shown yet. It's been all bombast, but she hasn't been able to show the proper amount of taste and sensitivity to the needs of the songs. She's been ALL JILL - ALL THE TIME, or else she's been channeling and emulating someone else - either Tina Turner on Mescaline or Courtney Love on - well, whatever it is that Courtney takes - and for once she wasn't. She was sweet. There are moment in this song where you have to basically bellow - but they're fairly restrained. Jill has proven that she has great pipes, and now she's shown that she actually has some control. Good job. She still has a long - long way to go with her constant excuse making and whining and simply not getting it - but this was a vast improvement.

Patrice did well too, but not as well as she has in her last couple performances. She's still learned how to bring it, but this time her performance of just seemed listless. Maybe she was intimidated by Jill's turnaround, maybe it was just nerves or fatigue - but she backslide a bit back into Boring!Patrice. That's not a good sign girlfriend, and hopefully won't continue - but we're well past the point where individual performances will make or break someone. It's the totatality that matters now - and although Patrice has certainly stepped up since "My Iron Long" she has to maintain it each and everytime to work off the deficit of her first few performances. This one didn't do her much credit.

Speaking of the totality of performances I have to address the Lukas issue. Yes, he probably should have been in the B3 based on how badly he fubar'd "Celebrity Skin", but that simply wasn't going to happen. At least to his credit, he knew it and was willing to admit it. But just like last year - certain people aren't going into the b3 even when they desperately deserve it (like Jordis' version of "Dream on") after a really bad performance. Oh well.

Last up tonight was Dana, whose clearly improved massively and bloomed from a little Country Flower into a Rocker Chick. She's learned how to crutch not on crazy outfits and hair - but on her ability to project the song which is impressive to behold. But it still wasn't enough compared to Jill and Patrice. As the "Suave Porn" guys stated, she just had too far still to go in the few weeks they have left. Whoever wins this gig has to be able to hit the ground running at full speed and keep it up for the next year and half straight. Dana isn't ready yet, but she will be.

We said goodbye to her and it was very bittersweet.

This year there have been both Jill's exit and this one which have shown a ton of class and maturity. Even Tommy pointed it out.

Both of these stand in stark contrast to Ty's exit last year, and his glaring return. Even though I found both Jill and Dana's departure inspiring in their depth and graciousness - I can't neccesarily find any contempt for Ty's tearful and bitter exit last season.

And before anyone gives me any shit about that apparent contradiction - I've already got a ready Rant on Deck!

The truth is that their situations are not the same. Ty went from being a major front-runner and contender with a stage presence that was probably too big for that group (they would have become the TY TAYLOR Band featuring INXS) to be shunned by the audience for speaking the truth. He was absolutely correct to state that there are fewer successful black artists in rock than you can count on one hand. I've checked. Twice.

The reason that it's important is because black people invented Rock N Roll. Everything that people call ROCK originally came from Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Chubby Checker, Fat Domino and Ike Turners original band who recorded the first "Rock N Roll" song Rocket 88 in the early 50's. From All Music.com

In 1951, the Kings of Rhythm traveled to Memphis to record at Sam Phillips' Sun studio. Their original tune "Rocket 88" (actual authorship is still disputed) was recorded with a lead vocal by sax player Jackie Brenston, and as a result was released under the name Jackie Brenston & His Delta Cats, not Ike Turner & His Kings of Rhythm. "Rocket 88" zoomed to the top of the R&B charts and is today regarded by many critics as being quite possibly the first true rock & roll record.

Yes, there were also people right there at the beginning like Buddy Holly and Richie Valens(uela). But the influence of black artists on rock was undeniable. They called it "Race Music". When Elvis dared to perform it it caused riots - not simply because of his turbo charged hips (which he picked up from people like Chuck Berry) but because everybody knew where the music came from. Black people.

Black artist completely dominated Rock until the British artists like the Beatles, the Animals and the Rolling Stones showed up and began to mine the roots of black rock and blues without watering it down the way the White-bread American artists such as Elvis, Ricky Nelson or Pat Boone had. "Tootie Fruitie" is not a Pat Boone song - it's Little Richard. "Twist and Shout" wasn't written by the Beatles - it was written and first recorded by the Isley Brothers.

Gradually rock was stolen from black people - song by song. The executives at the record labels realized they could only sell so many copies of this music with a black face on the cover - but have somebody like Elvis do it and things would go through the roof. Elvis in fact, never wrote a song - ever. He may be the "King of Rock and Roll" but he never would have got there without the help of others - mostly black people.

I can't say that black people didn't help this take place - they capitulated. They could see the direction of the industry, the incredible invasion not just coming from England, but also from American/White artists who previously would have been drawn and quartered (as Elvis nearly was) for doing that Nigger music. (Yes, they called it that - calm down) But once the Beatles did it - it was safe. It was cool. The floodgates were open and black artists were about to be drowned (just like in New Orleans). So they swam for higher ground - they run to the hills - to R&B, to Funk and eventually to Hip-Hop. So the story isn't all bad, that's true, but they left behind part of themselves, part of their heritage - part of their culture. It's something that they'll always be a part of and in many ways - still belongs to them. Rock is about freedom, and nobody was screaming for freedom louder than black people during the '50s and '60s. Rock was their tool, and it's one they could - and should use again.

But now in 2005-2006 you honestly can NOT count more than five successful black artists in rock. There's basicaly Lenny Kravits and um... Lenny Kravitz. According to the RIAA database you have to go back five years and include not just Platinum albums but Gold (500,000 copies) to be able to include a band like Sevendust. You have to go back more than ten years to get to Terrence Trent D'arby who hasn't had a hit record since 1995 (and that one only hit #178 on the Bilboard Top 200). The fifth black rock band - isn't even considered black rock because hardly anyone knows that Tom Morello is black and that's a two-fer with Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave. If you go back almost 20 years you can pick up number six with Living Colour whose first record Vivid was released in 1987, and number seven with Guns N Roses featuring Slash (whose half black like Lenny).

And it's not like there aren't black people out their trying hard to get into Rock. Tom and I were both members of the Black Rock Coalition in the early 90's - before he formed RATM. At the time he was in a band called Lock Up, who were originally signed to Geffen for a multi-album deal. When the first record didn't take off like a rocket and they were accused of being a "Chili Peppers rip off" - which they weren't - Geffen voided the contract and told them - "Sue us - if you can find the money to do it".

During the 90's I saw that story played out repeatedly. It happened to Cree Summer when her original band Subject to Change released their first album and were abruptly dropped due to a "Management change". It happened to former Arrested Development vocalist Dionne Farris who practically had to go to war with her own label over some of the tracks on her debut album which had a more "rock" sound. Eventually she scored a top ten hit with the rock tinged song "I Know" in 1994. They wanted her to be more like Mariah, more like Whitney - more bland, more POP - more "black". She refused and her career has basically gone nowhere since that time.

People forget that Ty has clearly been through the exact same experience as Tom, Cree and Dionne. He was a member of signed band - Dakota Moon - that managed to score a Top 10 hit on the Adult Contemporary Charts and tour with Tina Turner in 1997. But Dakota Moon wasn't just another R&B band - they had Rock Songs too. But somehow only two or three of those songs over the course of several records were ever released, almost like there was a quota or something. It was just like Dionne Farris, and just like Cree Summer who had to essentially abandon rock to make the labels happy and start doing R&B - cuz that's what black folk do now. Hendrix is dead - where's the hit single? Can we play it on Black Radio? What's with this guitar shit?

So when Ty had his eventually melt down - I knew exactly where he was coming from, that was ten years of frustration with record label bullshit erupting all at once, and although he may have shown a lack of class and composure - he said something that needed to be said particuarly on national tv.

This country (and several others really are racist, in many ways and on many levels. It's not always deliberate, it's not always malevolent - but it's there in the way people perceive and preconcieve each other. It's in how they can or can't "See" someone fronting this band or that band. It's in how labels fail to take a chance on a "different" artist, how they fail to take the risk and ultimately fail to see the benefits of that courage - meanwhile the status quo remains.

Dana and Jill have the luxury of being young, attractive, female and yes - white. But it's not going to be easy for them, they'll still have to crawl over broken glass to create real careers for themselves - and no I don't consider singing backup for Pink to be a real career - BEING PINK is a real career.

However neither of them is going to have to fight through the last 40 years of bullshit that someone like Ty has to deal with. Then again, he could always just cave-in and be a good little black boy and "go back to R&B" - or Vegas. He could capitulate like many other black people have had to.

Somehow I doubt he's going to do that. So good luck to him, and good luck to them - they all need it.

Vyan

(P.S. Many of the artists I mention in this rant are included on the T2P radio station, as well as other black rock groups such as RA, King's X, Fishbone, Skindred, Kilswitch Engage, Mother's Finest, 24-7 Spyz, Bad Brains, Skunk Anansie and Urban Dance Squad -- it's not like they aren't out there, if you know where to look for them)

30 Days to change the mind of a Minuteman

Reality TV is generally a wasteland of amped up game shows gone all voyeur on our asses.

Instead of spending 30 minutes each week (or weekday) watching a new set of contestants vying for some extravagant prize (A New Car - A Dinette Set - or maybe a Million Dollars) by answering trivial persuit questions, squeezing through a water willie - we get to watch the same people for 24/7 for 6 months.

Oh Joy.

But there is a reality show that actually has an extra Supersized dose of Reality in it - and that's Morgan Spurlock's 30 Days on FX. If there was ever a show with the potential and power to truly reshape hearts and minds this is the one.

This show takes one person with a particular ideological or political bent, and asks them to live 30 Days in the shoes of someone else they completely disagree with.

In the first season we had a devout Christian spending 30 Days living with and living as a Muslim in middle America. There are no guarantees, no scripting. Anything could happen. The visitor could change their opinion, the family/person they're living with could change, or neither could learn or discover anything they didn't already know or feel.

The season premeir this week featured, as the show usually does, one person with a decidedly Red-State-of-Mind in the midst of Blue Staters. In this case it was a Minuteman - fresh from the Arizona border where he had been doing his best to "protect this nation from invaders who wish to destroy it" -- who voluanteered to live with a family of illegals in Los Angeles for 30 Days.

Frank the Minuteman was himself a Cuban Immigrant, spoke fluent spanish -- but like many Cuban's (including Alberto Gonzales) have become since the Bay of Pigs and Elian Gonzales incidents - he was virilently right-wing. "The Law is the Law. The only right these people have is the right to be deported."

Frank moved into a cramped one bedroom apartment with a family of seven - led by Rigoberto and his wife Patty who had crossed into the U.S. 12 years ago bringing his wife and oldest children. The two youngest were born in the U.S.

During the first portion of the show, there were some predictable debates back and forth - mostly between Frank and Rigoberto's oldest daughter Armida (a 3.8 grade ave High School senior with hopes of attending Priceton) on the issues of immigration, and the relative rights of persons who've violated U.S. immigration laws.

They attended immigration rallies together. Frank :" These people chanting 'U.S.A' don't really mean it. And what's with the Che Guevara t-shirts - doesn't that represent Revolution?" He was pretty far gone. There was even on fairly scary moment when the depth of his anger become evident as Frank pounded on the table to emphasize his point that "Illegal Immigration is a crime".

The various members of the family tried, but they couldn't break through, as Rigoberto told his Armida - in spanish - "He has to make his own decision, you can't change the world". But one thing that Frank did respond to was the caring and commitment that the family had for each other, how generous and giving their were to allow him in their hom and how hard Rigoberto worked as a handyman collecting $20 to $30 at a time doing odd jobs to provide for them.

Not being a man of stone, Frank eventually warmed to them, particular Patty as he helped her pick up cans and plastic for recycling for small change ($2-3 at a time) which she dutifully put away into a can to help buy Christmas presents for the children. (So far she had saved about $30 for the year -- and from what I could tell this was somewhere around May) When Patty spoke of her parents and Rigoberto's brother who were still living in Mexico and not being able to risk seeing them for the last 12 years - his children only remembering their grandparents dimly - Frank understood as an immigrant himself how heart-wrenching that could be, so he voluanteered to take a trip into Mexico to visit their parents.

While there, he had a chance to see first hand the conditions that Rigoberto's brother lived in. Decades of filth caked on the floors - "You can't clean this - it's just packed into the walls and floors". Cockroaches everywhere. He met the grandparents, and then Rigoberto's brother offered to show him where Rigoberto used to live in Mexico.

It was a shack.

Not even that, it had only two brick walls and a curtain for a front door. After 12 years the local plants had grown into the middle of the single room building. It had no running water. No heating. No air conditioning. No toilet. (They went out in the bushes). They ran a hose from down the street for water, and also had a nearby well -- which when Frank saw it had turned into a filthy disgusting mudhole.

It was at this point that Frank finally realized what the consquences of his "Just send them back to Mexico" rhetoric really meant to these people. He realized why Rigoberto's daughter tried so hard in school, why Rigoberto worked so hard doing odd jobs - yet continued to wish for the oppurtunity to start his own business using his mind and his hands. An oppurtunity he will never get without documentation.

He finally got it. Telling him wasn't enough, he had to see it for himself and then he understood. He wouldn't have stayed in Mexico if he had to do so under those conditions and there was simply no work to be had, no chance to make life better for your family - if there was no hope.

It was an amazing turn around. Not that Frank didn't still believe in our immigration laws, he did - he simply felt that some other options need to be explored. The situation isn't so black and white as he'd once thought.

If a man this hardened in his beliefs can learn to change his view, if he can progress and begin to empathise with those he formerly thought of only as freeloaders and criminals - there just might be hope for many of the rest of us yet.

The next Episode of 30 Days is airing tonight, featuring an American who had lost his job to outsourcing an decides to go to India to get it back. Future Episodes will flip the script on the Red/Blue dynamic that has dominated the show so far and place an Athiest in the middle of Christian Church, as well as an Abortion Supporter in the middle of Pro-Life group.

FYI I have no personal or professional affiliation with FX Networks, I just happen to think this show is far more than just a bunch of mindless visual pablum - it accomplishes what I think is the highest aspiration of telecommunications - to speak on issues that matter, are important, and potentially very powerful. Maybe I'm wrong - but you all should at least give it a chance to see for yourself. Besides giving Conservatives a red-hot truth injection, It might even manage to change a few Blue-Stater ideas about the Red States.

The challenges and conflicts we face on many issues, from Religion to Immigration to Terrorism and all challenging - but not insurmountable. If we approach them with empathy and understanding instead of anger - we just might find a way through them. We certainly won't if we don't bother to try.

Vyan

Rock Star : Week 5 Performances

Wow. Oh wow, oh me - oh me - oh my - oh Wow.

Now that was one hell of a Rock show. I can't remember seriously when I've seen a better collection of performances on balance, and that includes the Grammys, the American Music Awards and possibly even Live Aid back in 1985. I shit you not -I was blown away.

This weeks reality clinic where the hamsters got a chance to watch and critique themselves on video - like the rest of us do - was apparently very - very - helpful. Many historians have told us that Nixon lost the 1960 Presidential Election against John Kennedy because he didn't understand television. I think a ton of these guys just figured it out.

First up was Patrice whose suddenly found the 11 spot on the dial ever since last week. Her Chili'd out version of Higher Ground was steller, and she definately showed that she could front a band even with Tommy Lee the attention-whore extra-ordinaire on the drums. I still have a problem with her vocals being a little too stiff and mechanical, but she's definately learned to control the show and the audience - both in the studio and at home. She's no longer one of the people on the bubble and has become Elite, a serious contender in this competition. I'm looking forward to what she does next week.

Josh's perfermance of Sublime's Santeria was ballsy, and showed a good balance of what he can briing to the table when he's outside his comfort zone. Lazt year "Soul man" Ty, would have done with a little venturing into the unknown - just to help people remember how great his initial hard rocking performance of "Cult of Personality" and "Heatbreaker" were. Josh still isn't really in Ty's class as an overall vocalist or showman, but he did far better than I expected him todo with this song. Although he sounded far better than the original vocalist - which isn't really that difficult truth be told - the main difference is that he seemed comfortable on stage and comfortable doing the song, which is a big change from last week where he looked like he was trying to squeeze out a loaf. Uncomfortable to do - uncomfortable to watch.

Magni is a consumate professional, and although I'm not a fan of Coldplay as I consider them the prime example of the pussification of rock, he made the song not just palatable - but even chilling. This guy can't make a wrong move, he brings it every time. My only worry is that he has a very generic sounding voice, it doesn't have a lot of personality and character that makes it truly unique. Let me give you an example - if a Rolling Stones song comes on the radio you know it's rolling stones as soon as you hear Mick's voice. It's unique. It's distinctive. But is Magni's? I don't really think so. However, he did manage to bring puts some balls into a Coldplay song - without overdoing it - and that's a genuine accomplishment.

Ryan - I have to say it - Ryan fucking blew my mind. Oh. My. FUCK - that was cool. This is a guy I considered to be absolutely be The Weakest Link among the men pretty much from day one. But if anyone felt his pulling his ass out of the frying grease last week was a fluke, they just had a rude awakeneing. His solo piano performance of "Losing My Religion" was absolutely stunning. I had visions of him doing that at Wembley Stadium. It was like seeing Paul McCartney do 'Hey Jude" or Phil Collins doing "In the Air Tonight" at Live Aid. Purely magical. When he performed this I realized it wasn't just him, but most of the performances tonight were just on that level. These guys aren't acting like a bunch of contestants trying to win a prize job - they're active like full on professional performers (which most of them are) -- but World Class performers.

Fucking Holy Fuck.

Dilana. dilana. Dilana. DILANA! God Damnit. She just ruled tonight on "Can't get enough" and hardly seemed to be trying. It's one of the first classic rock songs she's done, and she just killed it. Some of her vocals were right into Jill's range -and shows that we haven't seen anything near her full capability yet - but that's a good thing. She clearly knows when to pull her punches and when to go for the knockout. She remains Elite. As an aside, her reaction to her performance last week on the Cindy Lauper song shows a personal honesty that is rare. Jason Newsted thought her standards were "too high", but I disagree - and said so at the time. She sounded like a neutered cave troll on most of that song. Even though it worked, her tone was just plain bad, and once she had a chance to hear it, she knew it - which shows that she has control of her ego and a great ear. She remains a top contender in this.

Anyway our new Weakest Link among the men is now Toby. It's not that there was anthing wrong with his performance of Nirvana's "Penny Royal Tea" wasn't good, it was. It's just that so many people are raising the bar so high, he's just not keeping up IMO. I'm not sure what specifically he needs to do - but he's got to find a way to bump it up a notch, or he's ultimately in trouble.

Zayra - oh zayra - oh lordy. I'm so glad this Puerto Rican girl takes her grooming tips from Brazil. As in Brazillian Wax. Oh God - that outfit. I'm not sure if they keep her on the show because of her performances or to see what crazy shit she's going to wear on stage next. She and Sebastian Bach could share notes on catsuits.

Watching Z is like watching a slow motion train-wreck.
Oh no, it's headed for the Bus! Ow! And now the dining car's doing a 540 -- WHAM - oh man, there goes the school! Crash - BANG! You just can't look away, no matter how horrible it gets.

As for the song - "867-5309 Jenny" someone need to type of a memo to her that it's not punk, it was a New Wave song. Yet again Paul "Eeyore" Merkovitz was predicting a disaster due to her changes during the reality segment and yet again magically a disaster did not occur. Even Rafeal thought she should just once, sing and perform the song the way it was supposed to be sung. But even with all that drama Zayra was actually good - again. Frankly, the one thing I'd like to see her do is ditch the nutty clothes and actually trust her voice and performance itself. I know she's about as likely to do that as Pennsylvania Senator Rick Sanitorium is to making a rational decision in his life -- but one can always hope, right?

She did good - not great, but good - and she's not going anywhere, I know damn well better than to predict her rapid exit from the show. I'm done griping about it. She's great eye-candy, great for ratings - even if she can't sing a lick and is a total spaz - but why quibble about stuff like that?

Another one for the weak category this week - was Jill. It's not that she didn't sing or perform well - she did - it just wasn't appropriate for the song. Jim Kerr's original performance of Keith Forsey's "Don't you forget about me" has a smokey, smoldering angst to it. It wasn't strident. It wasn't hystrionic. Jim's not a hystrionic guy. Zayra has been Z-effying her songs to good effect, she has good ideas and an understand of her assets and limitations - Jill doesn't. She performed this song just like she did the Rolling Stone's song last week - like part of the Tina Turner Review. The thing is that Tina knows how to cool things down once in a while and provide some contrast to her over-the-top-ness. People need a breather every once in a while, and Jill seems either unwilling or unable to provide it.

One big surprise tonight that I didn't expect was how much Lukas sucked. Musically and vocally he was fine. I even think he's managed to find a good balance between his whisper to a growl vocal tendencies -- but what's up with dissing the audience like that? You don't sing the God Damn CHORUS of the song while facing the drummer. During the Reality segment he said there's "No Rules" to this thing -- well, wake up fella - that's a freaking rule. Pay attention to the audience. You are there to entertain them, they are not there to be entertained by staring at your ass. (Ok, well most of them aren't) Oh and by the way - open your eyes when you look at 'em. Jesus Criminy. He's acting almost like he's doing a Jordis (on "Dream On") like he's trying to get thrown into the bottom 3 just so he can go home early. Maybe he's playing some type of "strategy" - I don't know. Either way, I doubt it's going to work. He's got mondo credit so far with the SN guys and a strong fan base so I don't expect that this will hurt him significantly. J.D. managed to screw the pooch on both "Crazy" and 'We are the Champions" but by that time his following was strong and vocal. There's no way that the producers of the show and Supernova's label ( which I suspect is either CBS, Mark Burnett or both) is not paying attention.

During the 80's my wife worked for the band Toto and ran their Offical Newsletter (her ex-roomate Laurie still runs it today), and was actually there in the room when Joe Williams (son of oscar winning Soundtrack composer John Williams) auditioned for the band. He pretty much Blew. Them. Away. with an uncanny ability to mimic pretty much any singer around. They hired him on the spot, but when it came time to record the album the label had other ideas. The band already had a fairly well known sound, and they didn't want to rock the boat - so they insisted that on most of their most likely hit singles that the long standing members of the band like David Paich or Steve Lukather do the lead singing. So what was the new lead singer they just hired supposed to do during those songs - bang a tamborine?

If you think a label and a producer like Burnett are going to invest this kind of time, energy and money into the Supernova project and not have any say what so ever on who they finally pick, or not pay attention to the level and intensity of voting for specific rockers -- your just about ready to buy this brand spanking new bridge I have for sale, which just happens to have a wonderful scenic view of the Hudson River and lower Manhattan at the low - LOW price of just $5.95 a inch. Operators are standing by right now at 1 888 BULL-CRAP!

JD had such massive fan support by the end there was practically no way he was going to lose -- and the same just might be true of Lukas, even if he doesn't want to win anymore.

Update on what's the F was up with Lukas:

Part of an interview from Source|torontoist.com

quote:

---

LR: Well, I think they see that I’m the real deal, brother. Sure there’s television involved, absolutely, but at the end of the day…the other night I did Celebrity Skin (on the episode aired last night, Tuesday August 1) and forgot the lyrics cause I didn’t believe in the song and the performance. I would rather not pretend to a crowd and try and sell something that I don’t believe in. I mean, they’re not stupid and I don’t want to lie to their face. So I basically had my back turned the whole show. And you know I just try to be honest, because whatever fans I do have out there, I wanna give them my all and my best. Last night I was just off my game, you know?

---

Whateva - dude.

Storm flipping the switch and doing "Change" by David Bowie was mesmerizing. Again, like Dilana she makes this seem effortless. I am certain, baring any label interferance, that at the end it's going to be the two of them going head to head. She was just dazzlingly sweet doing that song, and showed such a massive shift from her wild-eyed hyper-energetic performances have been so far. She's been a band leader for a long time, she knows how to run the SHOW - and it shows, in spades.

Lastly we have Dana, who seems to have completely transformed herself. She may have been a student these first four weeks, but I think now she's about ready to give some lessons. She just nailed The Who's "Baba O'Rielly" and sent if flying over the left outfield wall. "Going... Going... GONE!!" All growed up and more than ready to Rock. Dana is officially now a serious contender. Nobody - not even bitch-ass Ryan - is going to be talking shit about her begin an "Pop embarrisment" again.

I suspect we'll see Jill, Z and possibly Toby in the B3 tomorrow - but I'm hoping to see Lukas. He deserves it, and probably needs the wake-up call before it's too late.

And for those of you who haven't figured it out yet and love competely useless trivia, the song that plays during the bumper segment of the Reality Show sounds to me like an instrumental versions of Yngwie Malmsteen's "Heaven Tonight".

Vyan