Thursday, May 27, 2010

Tower of Power was wrong!?!?

Mediacopp, before he entered the "real" work force, fancied himself a wannabe deejay, stand-up comedian, political satirist, overall media star...oh, sorry about the third person crap; that's always been so annoying (when people refer to themselves in the third person). Of course, maybe that's preferable to the narcissism inherent in first person (I, me, mine, Obama). But I digress...

Alas, I did fancy myself a rock and roll deejay back in the late 60's/early 70's. I remember listening to the old KJOY-1280 AM in Stockton, CA, back in grade school, even while I was delivering my morning newspaper route. Yeah, I know...what's a newspaper route? But, that's another story...

Like many others, I became a fan of the Bay Area's own, Tower of Power. They were one of the perennial rock groups of the 70's, blending R&B, jazz, funk...and they had a kick-ass horn section which, if I'm not mistaken, is still jamming to this very day. More than 60 musicians have been part of the 40+ year history of Tower of Power, including saxophonist Emilio Castillo, current Saturday Night Live musical director, Lenny Pickett, and Stephen "Doc" Kupka. Man, those guys could blow...no, they didn't "blow," they COULD blow...

I was/am a huge fan. As a matter of fact, I traveled to San Francisco, while still in high school, early one morning to be one of the first in line for the band's 1974 album, "Urban Renewal," from whence came their hit single, "Only So Much Oil In The Ground." I can still hear the lyrics, "there is only so much oil in the ground...sooner or later there won't be none around...tell that to your children while you're driving 'round downtown, that there's only so much oil in the ground..."

Well, tell it to the folks on the Louisiana coast, right? Now now, I'm not being cold...it's truly a tragedy...tens of thousands of gallons of oil per day, depending on to whom one's listening, lost and/or sent adrift, only to reach marshy shores. A true disaster. Even IF one is a conspiracy theorist...you know the type...the fact that the "explosion" happened on April 20 (Can you say Columbine? Sure...), that "it" occurred on Earth Day (Algore, can you hear me?), or even the right wingers gleefully pronouncing this "Obama's Katrina." I mean, that's weak...

But, let's talk reality. It's a tragedy. I mean, 11 people lost their lives...and at least 17 others were injured...and for what? So they can "drill" for oil a FRIGGIN' MILE BENEATH THE OCEAN? I mean, get a clue. And NO, I'm not saying we should stop drilling...but please, let's get sensible about it. Stop the madness!!!

Ever hear of slant drilling...what about Anwar? Ain't nuthin' up there...but no...we're such idiots. We're going to "do the right thing," and put a six month moratorium on new drilling or (even) exploration. What??!!?? NO, there will STILL be drilling...even by us...but ESPECIALLY by China, Russia, hell, even Vietnam is drilling in the gulf. Hello??!! It's INTERNATIONAL-friggin' waters. When will we get a clue? And our nation's leaders too...hell, we'd be better off if Tower of Power would just sing, "There's only so many Squib Cakes in the Ground."

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