While I prepare another earth shattering music post, here’s a couple of items to check out…

• Supergroup Golden Smog (members of Wilco, Jayhawks, Soul Asylum) returns Tuesday with another record, ‘Another Fine Day’. The first single is called “5-22-02.” It’s quite enjoyable and you can check it out over at So Much Silence.
• I encourage all alpha males to head over to Iowa Hawk to cast your vote for Miss Hoosegow 2006, your choice for the loveliest of the incarcerated females at the Polk County Jail in Des Moines, Iowa (I agree with the majority of voters thus far).

Yeah, I figured it’s time for a shameless plug. Hear me out though… eMusic.

eMusic is an online music store that focuses on independent record labels. I had never signed up for one of these subscription music services (Napster, Rhapsody, etc.), but when I found myself paying a buck per song on iTunes or MSN Music a bunch of times per month, I decided to give eMusic a try (especially given their support of the indy labels).

I signed up for the basic plan, $9.95 per month for 40 downloads. I find that to be a pretty sweet deal. If you’re a regular music blog reader, you like to be exposed to new music. The cool thing for me is it’s exposing me to a bunch of new artists. I just recently started running again, so my new favorite thing is to download a bunch of tunes I’ve never heard off of eMusic, load ’em up on my iPod, and hit the treadmill. Now I actually can look forward to my exercise because I know I’ll be checking out new music in the process. Today I listened to the new Raconteours (awesome), old Fugazi (one of those bands that I’ve never really exposed myself to), the Black Keys, and A.F.I. (great for bursts of energy).

Anyways, enough of my sales pitch, but I’m serious, you’ll love it. You can check them out for free and get 25 free downloads in the process. If you don’t like it (and you will like it, trust me), you can cancel and keep the tunes. Yes, I do get a couple of bucks if you sign up, but this will definitely benefit you more than it will me. Try it out…..

Check out eMusic.

Happy Independence Day to my country, the United States of America. Granted, these aren’t the best of times politically, environmentally, etc., but she will endure. A step in the right direction would be to insert George W., Dick Cheney, Rumsfeld, and the rest of the Washington bozos into the cargo hold of the space shuttle that launches tomorrow from Cape Canaveral. Drop ’em off at the moon. Thanks.

So allow me to queue up a John Phillip Sousa classic march. Composed by Sousa on Christmas Day, 1896, it soon became Sousa’s magnum opus. 110 years later, the march is just as moving and inspiring as ever. Sousa (1854-1932) was a very interesting man: freemason, trapshooter, horseman, and writer. He wasn’t too excited about the emergence of the phonograph (that’s a record player, young ‘uns) in the early 20th century. He submitted the following to a congressional hearing in 1906:

These talking machines are going to ruin the artistic development of music in this country. When I was a boy…in front of every house in the summer evenings, you would find young people together singing the songs of the day or old songs. Today you hear these infernal machines going night and day. We will not have a vocal cord left. The vocal cord will be eliminated by a process of evolution, as was the tail of man when he came from the ape.

An interesting thought. What would he think of the iPod? The Blackberry? The fact that Paris Hilton has a hit single on the Billboard charts? Speaking of the Billboard Charts, here’s the most recent Billboard Hot 100…

I’m at least familiar with 4 out of the 5 (they lost me at Yung Joc). Nelly Furtado and Shakira at the #1 and 2 spots? Approved! (on aesthetic quality alone).

So back to the 4th of July. Crank up the talking box and get in the spirit!

John Williams & the Boston Pops: Stars and Stripes Forever (mp3)

Buy Sousa’s Greatest Hits.

I don’t mention the politics and events of the day too much, but I must say, like most people, the war in Iraq makes me sick to my stomach, and I believe we were misled into it by the war-mongers surrounding our misinformed bozo of a President. Believe me, I want to, as an American, be able to be proud of and stand behind our president, but when it comes to Iraq (and other policies of this administration), he’s lost me.

I see no justification for the deaths, maiming, and permanent psychological damage to the brave troops put in harm’s way. It is sickening, profoundly sad, and completely unnecessary. To those who argue that this stance is “unpatriotic” or not in support of our troops, you’re wrong. How could you support the troops more than wanting them to come home alive from a living nightmare? Lives are being destroyed as our prez “the decider” and his puppetmasters joke it up at the black tie Republican fundraisers. And the Democrats are no better. There should be accountability, and there should be outrage. Meanwhile we Americans drive around in our gas guzzling Hummers and sit glued to our televisions, casting more votes for American Idol than for any presidential election ever. Oblivious.

Ickmusic (Anti) War Mix (mp3)

• My Strange Nation (Susan Werner) – a novelty of sorts, but the lyrics are dead on at points, though she does call ol’ Abe Lincoln gay
• Rich Man’s War (Steve Earle) – raw truth from a true rebel poet
• Bring them Home (If You Love Uncle Sam) (Bruce Springsteen & the Seeger Sessions Band) – ’nuff said
• Oil Well (Carbon/Silicon) – Mick Jones makes his case about the state of current events
• Road to Joy (Bright Eyes) – Conor Oberst’s brilliance: The sun came up with no conclusions / Flowers sleepin’ in their beds / The city cemetary’s hummin’ / I’m wide awake, its mornin’
• No Mother (Old 97’s) – a sad and beautiful dirge

• Silence is a Rhythm Too recently reminded me that the new and final Grandaddy album is due for release on Tuesday, May 9th. Check out an mp3 and video here.
• San Diego Serenade has a fun post about a recent foray into not so great Frank Sinatra songs. Go check it out here.
• To get completely lost in a cool online radio station of old, new, obscure funk, soul, jazz, etc., check out Etherbeat. I recommend their Podcast too.
• New Q-Tip mp3’s are available over at One Soulful Negro.