I haven’t been blogging much lately, because I just absolutely hate this election cycle. It’s more Republican dominated than any cycle I remember. Obviously, with an incumbent Democrat in 2012, I could understand a bias towards covering Republicans- they were new, and we knew what we were getting with President Obama. But this year, even with no incumbent, you would expect the coverage to be somewhat more balanced in terms of exposure. It isn’t. Not even close:
81:1.
Does that ratio seem out of whack? That’s the ratio of TV airtime that ABC World News Tonight has devoted to Donald Trump’s campaign (81 minutes) versus the amount of TV time World News Tonight has devoted to Bernie Sanders’ campaign this year. And even that one minute for Sanders is misleading because the actual number is closer to 20 seconds.
For the entire year.
That’s the rather stunning revelation from the Tyndall Report, which tracks the various flagship nightly news programs on NBC, CBS and ABC. The Report’s campaign findings cover the network evening newscasts from January 1 through the end of November.
The results confirm two media extremes in play this year, and not just at ABC News. The network newscasts are wildly overplaying Trump, who regularly attracts between 20-30 percent of primary voter support, while at the same time wildly underplaying Sanders, who regularly attracts between 20-30 percent of primary voter support. (Sanders’ supporters have long complained about the candidate’s lack of coverage.)
And when you spend all this time covering the Republicans only, it leaves me in a quandary, because this is basically all you can do whenever whenever one of them bumps up something fucking odious and evil:
And if it’s not that, then it’s this:
It’s just frustrating. How many times can you point out someone is an idiotic evil asshole? And now with Chuck Todd’s pants noticeably tightened at the prospect of a brokered convention, there’s absolutely no chance that it’s going to be anything other than this for the foreseeable future. It sucks.
Mandalay
It certainly is on Balloon Juice. There must be 10 OPs about Republicans for every one about Democrats.
Elizabelle
That’s why I think we should stop all the Republican-heavy posts. I don’t give a f*ck about the latest idiocy out of Ted Cruz’s mouth.
GIVE THE VOTERS A REASON TO CARE ABOUT AND VOTE FOR DEMOCRATS.
Trump has sucked all the air out of the room for Republicans, which is sort of good, but the constant “Look! here’s the latest GOP outrage!” is both titillating and deflating to Democratic-leaning voters. We don’t need to wallow in the mud to know what’s going on.
And mud is the only thing the g-damned US major media complex is serving up. No context.
It’s like all the action is on the GOP side. Because Democrats are sane, and the “mommy party.”
Respect the mommy.
Schlemazel
Yes, it sucks massively but lets play the glad game (which I hate but hang on). Given the insane clown posse that is the GOP field the more publicity they get the more people will hate them.
JPL
The news coverage has been that way for decades.
Elizabelle
I am going to name names. Love Anne Laurie, but she’s the biggest — LOOK! Republicans! poster here.
Has got to stop.
Balloon Juice is a buzzkill. I have very mixed feelings, after my 2 weeks of no internet access. Love the peeps here, sick of the buzzkill topics.
SiubhanDuinne
81:1
I’m no mathematician, but I just can’t make that ratio align with 27% no matter how hard I manipulate the numbers.
Baud
The media won’t even touch the Baud! campaign with a ten foot poll.
I’m a threat to everything they stand for, and they are afraid.
Maeve
I had to search to find out the 2nd clip was from “Billy Madison” – sounds familiar, why haven’t I seen it – oh it has Adam Sandler in it. I hate most movies with Adam Sandler. I like Wedding Singer where he does not offend and it works but I actually love, love “Punch Drunk Love” – the character has many of the things I hate about Adam Sandler but they work for that movie – is ingrained hostility is part of the character.
I don’t watch TV anymore and get my news from blogs etc so I have a distorted idea of what the average person is seeing in this election cycle. Bernie can rightly complain about not having enough coverage but the media would rather cover a car crash. Just hope the average voter won’t think that Cruz or Rubio is a “safe” bet.
Baud
Why is my nym smaller than everyone else’s?
Sad_Dem
The Village media can’t report on Sanders except to dismiss him. The Republicans may lose the next presidential election, but they are still in control of statehouses, Congress, and for the most part who gets hired to report the news on television.
Elizabelle
The Village sucks.
Those people need to give up their cushy jobs and go work for defense contractors — directly — or something.
The mainstream media is an obstacle for 2016, and never forget it.
They’re fluffing Marco Rubio, for dog’s sake. He can’t even show up for his day job. Which is a pretty good one, all things considered.
MSNBC is probably reinforcing GOP talking points, despite what Rachel Maddow and Chris Hayes might intend. They are stupifying, and repetitive.
esc
The Democratic Party isn’t exactly going out of the way to create things to be reported on by having such a restricted, poorly timed debate schedule.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud: They make pills that help with that.
NotMax
Amazing what comes into focus without the booze haze, isn’t it?
BillinGlendaleCA
People like watching train wrecks, car accidents, etc. If it bleeds it leads.
SiubhanDuinne
@Elizabelle:
First, welcome back!!
Second, I have found myself reluctant to comment on almost any thread these days, except for the most flippant and superficial toss-away lines. Partly because some real ugliness has been on display from people I like, and that makes me both sad and angry; and, to the current point, I am already sick to death of American politics, or at least sick of the coverage on everything from my once-beloved NPR to CNN, MSNBC, and the networks. I will still watch the debates (or “debates”), because I’m still a political junkie, but I see absolutely no reason for three or four days’ worth of pre-debate horse race coverage. It’s pointless and stupid.
Again, welcome home. Glad you had a good time!
Baud
@BillinGlendaleCA: I already take all of them. It’s not helping.
scav
Shock Jocks sell — have for a while and have mutated — and it’s not like they really want to pay to keep actual reporters in the news rooms, not when infotainment is more 21st century, cheaper, and fills up more hours, faster.
Amir Khalid
@Baud:
It is smaller above your most recent comment, but only to you(ETA: the commenter, that is). To everyone else, it looks the same size as all the other nyms. I have no idea what purpose this tweak was meant to serve.
Mandalay
@Elizabelle:
Because horse race. And they’re fluffing Christie – who barely avoided the kiddy table – even more.
Christie at 3% is presented as have more chance of getting nominated than Sanders at 37%.
Baud
@SiubhanDuinne: I knew I missed you.
Debbie
What happened to just not posting if you’re not interested? I have no problem skipping football threads.
Elizabelle
In the NYTimes truth-telling fact-checking article from today: Bernie Sanders has the highest “most truthful” score and very good scores for not lying.
So: how many times did his name show up in the story? Twice. Once in the table, once in passing (he’s competing against Hillary Clinton).
Reporter Amy Chozick of the NY Times should be fired. She was pretty much fingered in some disgrace (I forget what — the Joe Biden would run?? — story) but is still riling the troops against Hillary.
She came from Rupert Murdoch’s WSJ. She was an entertainment reporter. She is dog-awful. Can her.
In the NYTimes fact-checking article: All Politicians Lie. Some Lie More Than Others. Trump’s name comes up 8 times. John Kasich is not mentioned. I think he might be the GOP establishment sleeper candidate, but who knows?
Clinton is mentioned 6 times, for both Bill and Hillary.
David Koch
The Baud!inistas are getting tattoos: “#Baud!OrBust”
Baud
@Amir Khalid:
That’s nuts.
BillinGlendaleCA
@David Koch: Heh, shades of that Romney guy in 2012.
Turgidson
And a byproduct of the media’s obsession with the GOP is that it, when it does cover the Dem campaign, it has to try to shove the coverage into the Both Sides Do It Machine – leading to pathetic gossip or scandalmongering about Hillary’s emails or breathless commentary about whether Bernie is scary because he’s a SOCKULIST.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Elizabelle: I saw that chart, Bill came up the most truthful.
Mandalay
@esc:
Well Clinton is hiding under the bed when she isn’t sitting on the fence over the conduct of her former BFF, the vile and toxic Rahm Emanuel, who is currently impersonating a turd swirling down the bowl. And while blacks in Chicago are calling for the Mayor to resign, Bernie is being so damned restrained.
There’s a story about the Democratic Party that nobody is writing about.
amk
@Baud: you lose.
amk
Nice job, alain, the fixer. back button back yet?
SiubhanDuinne
@Baud:
I read pretty much every thread straight through — just not usually in real time. And, as I said above, I don’t comment much these days.
Elizabelle
@Turgidson: MSNBC was doing that, a few weeks back. You never heard Hillary Clinton mentioned without “email scandal” within the next 10 words.
Thanks, MSNBC.
@SiubhanDuinne: Loved the vacay. And seeing BBC World News up against MSNBC, with no internet access? I am off MSNBC. As well-intentioned as some of its night-time anchors are, it is reporting for idiots.
Who cares about the politicians and horse race if you cannot even report on the topics and issues?
Don’t let the MSM and cable suck the life out of you. Get out there and convince people to vote for Democrats.
Lock them in early, because you know the corporate owned media is going to spring fear and terror and scariness on us, in the home stretch. It’s all that they sell.
Baud
@BillinGlendaleCA:
I’ve always found you to be an honest block.
schrodinger's cat
@Elizabelle: I agree, I don’t care which hairball the Republican primary voters barf as their nominee, they are all odious.
Palate cleanser: I just love this celebratory number from Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s upcoming movie about the Maratha Peshwa (Prime Minister) Bajirao. Bajirao is coming home after winning a career defining battle and his wife Kashibai ( Priyanka Chopra) is getting ready to greet him. The exuberant use of morning ragas and Chopra’s outfits (traditional Marathi 9 yard sari) is what makes this a standout for me.
Matt McIrvin
I’m not sure we want coverage at this point. The coverage is of how horrifying the show is. Democratic coverage would be “Democrats in disarray!” and that’s obviously not happening, so no story.
Baud
@SiubhanDuinne: That saddens me. I hope you find your way back at some point.
Elizabelle
@BillinGlendaleCA: Actually not.
The NY Times said Bill Clinton was the most truthful, but his rating was 50 and Bernie Sanders’ was 54.
Interesting, no?
Baud
@Matt McIrvin: Yep.
Debbie
@Matt McIrvin:
Of course , some RWNJs see the lack of coverage of Dems as a plot. “What are they hiding?” “Hillary’s afraid of tough questioning.”
SiubhanDuinne
@Mandalay:
Oh Rahm, oh Rahm Emanuel:
“Resign from office!” hear the people yell.
They mob Chicago’s Miracle Mile,
The Loop, the lakefront — they all think you’re vile.
Resign! Resign! Emanuel
Should leave your office for a prison cell.
Oh Rahm, oh Rahm Emanuel:
You covered up Chicago cops as well.
You covered up and stalled until your
Mayoral reelection was secure.
Resign! Resign! Emanuel
Should leave your office for a prison cell.
Turgidson
@Debbie:
Which is, of course, hilarious coming from the party that thinks the press is out of line when it quotes the candidates’ words back to them. And when they’re saying it about the same Hillary Clinton that just spent 12 hours answering Select Committee gotcha questions.
Mike J
@Elizabelle: It was a crap “study”, done by people who said Obama was lying about the ACA.
Debbie
@SiubhanDuinne:
I’m hearing a demented Christmas carol!
Mandalay
@schrodinger’s cat: O/T: I clicked your link and ended up at erosnow (non-erotic). Are any of their series or English movies worth watching? Do you subscribe?
redshirt
@Elizabelle: This blog doesn’t exist to convert new voters.
Elizabelle
@redshirt: Well, maybe it should stop demoralizing old voters.
Mandalay
@Debbie:
Far from demented. Emanuel’s resignation would be a wonderful Christmas present for the Democratic Party. Our biggest and worst DINO.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Elizabelle: Not really, there was a truth percentage and a not truth percentage, that’s why Bill came out in net more truthful.
scav
@Elizabelle: The ranking must also take into account other factors, not just the blunt addition of the (False, mostly false) v. (True, mostly true) — How else to explain how Martin O’Malley ends up so high (probably because he ranks extremely low on the outright lying). Difference between Clinton.B and Sanders.B might come down to the relative percentage true v. mostly true. Bill seems to have a greater percentage in the true (deep blue) vis a vis Bernie.
ETA (OH, there’s also the Pants on Fire to add to the false side, that’s what O’Malley scores really low on).
ETA.2 That O’Malley score looks really odd, Does he really blather things that defy being true or false that much or is there some bias about what they chose to check him on?
beltane
@SiubhanDuinne: That is a beautiful poem for the holiday season. I feel as though I’m in church.
BillinGlendaleCA
@scav:
And then there’s tRump.
redshirt
@redshirt: I’d rather hear about Republicans then Dems. I’m going to vote D regardless. I don’t need to be convinced. But I do want to know about the latest R atrocity, because I want to spread that info as far and wide as possible.
We must make America aware of the evil that resides within the Republican Party, and the media.
Dems are just typical Pols, the likes of which have always existed.
SiubhanDuinne
@Debbie:
That’s the idea! The whole thing can be sung to the traditional “O come, oh come, Emanuel” tune.
scav
@BillinGlendaleCA: You Fiend. I really think nobody here wants to envision tRump strutting about in Hot Pants.
Elizabelle
Roger Cohen NY Times column today comparing Trump and Weimar Germany.
Cohen’s a bit too much “both sides” re polarization in early paragraphs, but more truthful later on. It’s stunning, how US editors won’t allow a truthful discussion.
We were expecting someone wrapped in Christian symbolism and the flag. We’re getting a narcissist c a s i n o owner, who is refreshing because — white people tell reporters over and over — they are tired of being “politically correct.”
And — demagogue aspects aside — Trump’s in a lower space orbit than the “reasonable” Republicans he’s displacing. At least Trump believes in healthcare and has let slip that Democrats are better for the economy.
Fox News invigorated this monster. It’s out of control.
Never forget, the mainstream journalists will not call Fox News out. Even “trailblazing” Andrea Greenspan.
BillinGlendaleCA
@redshirt: And, if we do hear about Dems in the media, it’s not going to be positive coverage.
schrodinger's cat
@Mandalay: Nope I don’t subscribe. EN has the rights to SJL’s movie distribution, have used it watch songs from his upcoming movie and other movies like Devdas and Ram Leela.
Omnes Omnibus
@redshirt: Lots of people don’t like being subjected to a constant barrage of negative news.
Relax
Less than 24 hours until HAMMER TIME. Mike Murphy has the operatives crouched a the starting line, their engines pumping and thumping, ready to roll.
You’re about to see a negative campaign like none other. And that’s just the “up-and-up” part–the “dirty tricks” division will be even better.
The ghost of Lee Atwater is about to take Donald to school.
BillinGlendaleCA
@scav: I recently invested in the company that manufactures Brain Bleach.
Elizabelle
In moderation.
I mentioned a place of g a m b l in g. Silly me.
redshirt
@Omnes Omnibus: That’s the news. BJ isn’t the news.
Yes, the news is unrelentingly negative. Its why I don’t watch any of it.
Mandalay
@scav:
I think the relatively small sample size for O’Malley (just 17 statements) has something to do with it.
Relax
Little hint on what the dirty tricks will involve: we’re going to be bringing Trump’s family into it, including his children. They have a lot of dirty laundry that’s about to see airtime.
TaMara (BHF)
@SiubhanDuinne: Boy, I’m with you. I read the posts, but rarely the comments lately. The meanness with the upgrade, the personal attacks, it’s just not a happy place to hang out. Which is sad. And there are a LOT of commenters I greatly miss who seem to have left or at least aren’t commenting.
I’ve really censored a lot of negativity in my life, including much of Facebook and MSM. But here, I still enjoy the front pagers.
Debbie
@SiubhanDuinne:
Which I was listening to this afternoon while cleaning. Oh, the endless circles!
BillinGlendaleCA
@Elizabelle: You mean a casino?
redshirt
@Relax: I’m excited for Hammer Time! I hope there’s Brinks Trucks smashing through the polls.
Can’t touch this!
SiubhanDuinne
@beltane:
I love putting new words to old, familiar tunes, but I always end up with fierce earworms. Cannot get Veni Immanuel out of my head now.
Relax
@redshirt:
Tomorrow, baby. The green light will flash, and Murphy will wave the flag saying GO!
The hammer is about to be dropped the fuck down.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Relax: Have you heard of the National Enquirer?
scav
@Mandalay: I was wondering about that. Because that could also factor into the difference between BC and BS.
Relax
@BillinGlendaleCA:
Yup, it brought down the Breck Girl aka John Edwards. Why do you ask?
Trump’s trailer park base eats that shit up.
Elizabelle
Posting again:
Roger Cohen NY Times column today comparing Trump and Weimar Germany.
Cohen’s a bit too much “both sides” re polarization in early paragraphs, but more truthful later on. It’s stunning, how US editors won’t allow a truthful discussion.
We were expecting someone wrapped in Christian symbolism and the flag. We’re getting a narcissist c a s i n __ owner and reality TV star who is refreshing because — white people tell reporters over and over — they are tired of being “politically correct.”
And — demagogue aspects aside — Trump’s in a lower space orbit than the “reasonable” Republicans he’s displacing. At least Trump believes in healthcare and has let slip that Democrats are better for the economy.
Fox News invigorated this monster. It’s out of control.
Never forget, the mainstream journalists will not call Fox News out. Even “trailblazing” Andrea Greenspan.
Baud
@Relax: I really appreciate that you troll us with stories about how one Republican is going to attack another Republican. It’s a nice change of pace from the traditional trash talking.
Villago Delenda Est
The Village Must Be Destroyed. Period. End of Discussion.
No, wait. The Bush Crime Family, too. And all their loathsome minions.
Elizabelle
@BillinGlendaleCA: Yerp.
? Martin
I don’t know. I’m having tremendous pleasure asking my mom whether she’ll vote for Cruz or Trump. She despises both and is trying to decide if her irrational hatred for Hillary is worse.
A Ghost To Most
Baud, you should hire Relax to do your advance work for you. You could rename him Baud2Abide.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Relax: They’ve been covering tRupm’s life for the last 30 years, you will have a hard time coming up with anything that will shock.
Relax
@Baud:
Trump isn’t really a Republican or even a conservative, he’s a European-style authoritarian nationalist. He’s Franco, not Reagan.
Relax
@BillinGlendaleCA:
Oh, trust me, we’ve got Iron Mountains full of material.
Iron fuck Mountains.
(google what an Iron Mountain is!)
Dolly Llama
@Matt McIrvin: Exactly. A corollary to the short attention span of the American public is how quickly they can get sick of something/someone and turn on it instantly. How many people out there are saying “I am sick to death of hearing about Donald Fucking Trump. If I hear one more thing about the bastard, I’m gonna puke.” This only works to the good guys’ advantage in the long run.
SiubhanDuinne
@Debbie:
As I mentioned to @beltane, I have it as an earworm — but it’s a cool tune, so I don’t mind all that much. At least now. Ask me again in six hours and if it’s still with me, i’ll probably be going crazy.
beltane
@SiubhanDuinne: As for earworms, I get that old carol stuck in my head every time I hear or read Rahm Emmanuel’s name.
Baud
@Relax: Why do you say that? I thought all of your candidates pretty much had the same position on most of the key issues.
Steeplejack (tablet)
@Baud:
Uh, it has fewer letters?
Debbie
@Elizabelle:
That’s the best part. They’ve outsmarted themselves and can’t figure a way out of the mess they created.
Villago Delenda Est
@redshirt: I fear we’re going to be disappointed, again. Frankie can’t live up to his hype…never has been able to. Remember when he predicted that Rmoney would win Colorado in ’12, and you could take that to the bank? Only if you wanted the teller to laugh in your face and beckon the Pinkertons to remove you from the premises.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Relax: Heh, I used to work for lawyers; I know Iron Mountain, Iron Moutain is a friend of mine, you’ve got just a molehill.
Relax
@Baud:
Trump is anti-free trade, he’s anti-free market, he is anti-entitlement reform, and he favors “industrial policy” which is basically a kind of soft central-planning. He wants to bring back protective tariffs for crying out loud. And he believes in a “Fortress America” Lindbergh-style foreign policy rather than American playing a leading role in the world as a great moral force.
Villago Delenda Est
@BillinGlendaleCA: SPY had The Donald’s number back in the 90’s. Damn I miss them.
SiubhanDuinne
@TaMara (BHF):
It is odd, because I love a good, intelligent, scrappy argument in real life. But it doesn’t seem to work for me in writing. Most of my FB friends, mercifully, are like-minded enough that I’m happy to keep seeing their posts; the few others I simply block periodically (though I don’t think I have ever actually un friended anyone). FWIW, your own Facebook posts are almost always either thought-provoking or uplifting, and for that I am grateful.
Omnes Omnibus
@BillinGlendaleCA: I think he was talking about the town in the UP of MI.
PurpleGirl
@Elizabelle: Don’t you remember MisterMix or Tim? They also posted that way. I guess they are very busy with their professional work right now and don’t have time to post. DougJ also could post that way — he too is busy with his administrative work at the University. So I wouldn’t put all the blame on Anne Laurie. It’s endemic to BJ.
beltane
@Relax: Please be careful. I’ve heard that Generalissimo Trump’s first order of business will be to exile Jeb’s supporters to a small atoll in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
Steeplejack (tablet)
@NotMax:
That’s an offensive, ill-considered “joke.” You owe Cole an apology.
Baud
@Relax: Fair enough. Do you think those issues will be the key issues Republican voters will care about this time around?
Gin & Tonic
@Relax: You don’t know anything about New York, do you?
redshirt
@SiubhanDuinne: Led Zeppelin – Kashmir is the the greatest eraser of earworms that exists. Just hum the opening.
Elizabelle
@PurpleGirl: Yeah. That’s a fair statement. And I don’t want to pick on Anne Laurie — very fond of her.
But enough with all Republican craziness, all the time. It does not energize. It enervates.
If we don’t talk about our Democratic candidates, and some talking points and little asides we can make, who will?
At some point, take your nose out of the roadkill, and smell the fresher breeze.
Elizabelle
@redshirt: Luv Kashmir.
Have become quite the Zep fan, years later. More into Rolling Stones and New Wave at the time …
raven
@Steeplejack (tablet): Why? It’s true.
J R in WV
@Relax:
ooh, ooh he just used a bad word! Can real Republicans say that word? About each other?
I thought there was an 11th Commandment whereby Republicans had ot speak well of each other?
I don’t mind the truth about the Republicans coming out as big and ugly as it really is.
And if they tell it on each other, that’s great because it saves money for the General election.
Relax and see what’s in the news, folks.
redshirt
@Elizabelle: What’s to discuss? Hillary will win the nomination and then the Presidency and we’ll all be better for it.
SiubhanDuinne
@beltane:
You can have fun by putting the words of one carol to the tune of another (obviously with the same metrical pattern). For instance, sing the words of “Oh Little Town of Bethlehem” to the tune of “Joy to the World!”
Relax
@J R in WV:
Trump isn’t really a Republican. He’s for Trump and only Trump, not the party.
Trump is about to meet his Stalingrad.
TaMara (BHF)
@SiubhanDuinne: Thanks. With a very few exceptions, when the stupidity cannot be ignored, i made a decision a while ago that my posts were meant to entertain or give you feelz, so glad to see that’s working. LOL
SiubhanDuinne
@redshirt:
I am not familiar with that. Will have to YouTube it if 14th-century plainchant becomes too annoying. Thank you.
Steeplejack (tablet)
@raven:
Nobody fucking knows if Cole was in a “haze.”
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Mandalay:
This is rich. Really. Emanuel endorsed her in her run for POTUS in 2007, then scurried away from her when Obama threw his hat into the ring. He served, iirc, as Obama’s chief of staff. Emanuel never worked for Hillary Clinton, though he did work for her husband (I know it’s tough to separate Bill and Hillary because it’s obvious that they’re identical twins who have a certain sort of ESP that makes them think exactly alike, not husband and wife…So I’ll give you a pass on that, because who could have known, right?).
redshirt
@Elizabelle: Same here. I actively disliked Zeppelin in High School because I felt like it was dinosaur music. Now, I recognize it as the best rock ever made.
AC/DC too. My gads, they’re incredible.
schrodinger's cat
@Elizabelle: His relentless Obama bashing gets kinda tiresome. He has been hyperbolic since the Paris attacks talking about WW III etc. I don’t like the framing of the latest problem in Middle East as a clash of civilizations. YMMV.
John Cole
@Elizabelle:
I’m glad she’s doing it. Someone has to.
SiubhanDuinne
@redshirt:
Okay, maybe I should save this for a music thread, but if I wanted to learn something about rock music, where should I start? I am familiar with a few Beatles tunes, and I recognize just enough other references to hold my own in the “pop culture” categories of trivia quizzes, but it is a huge hole in my musical awareness. This is serious question. It has been easier all my life for me to stay deliberately ignorant of the entire genre than to know just a little — but I suspect I’m missing out on a lot of good stuff, and am ready to learn if that’s possible at my advanced* age.
I guess what I want is a kind of Idiot’s Guide to Rock Music for Dummies.
*It’s true. Ask anyone. Ask efgoldman.
Mandalay
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again):
You are obviously ignorant of what has happened since then…
Emanuel on 5/9/14:
Rahm on 8/16/14:
Clinton on 6/11/14
And there are dozens of other gushing and revolting hymns of praise from both of them.
Really? Hillary Clinton and Rahm Emanuel have been giving each other tongue baths in public for years. You are clueless.
Omnes Omnibus
@SiubhanDuinne: Wow, this is a can of worms. There was a PBS history of Rock and Roll series a number of years ago. It started with the beginnings and traced the various threads up through the ’90s. It might be a good place to start.
Mnemosyne (tablet)
@BillinGlendaleCA:
I know, what are they going to shock us with? He’s been married three times? He cheated on his first wife with his second? His kids aren’t very interesting?
John Edwards had a whole narrative built up about how he stood by his terminally ill wife throughout her illness, and then we found out he had a baby with another woman. That’s a scandal. What can Trump do that would be equally shocking given the fact that Trump’s been living his life in the tabloids for 30 years?
To be genuinely shocking, it’s going to have to be like in Bloom County where fans find out that ragin’ rock star Bill the Cat spends his free time doing charity work with nuns. And that ain’t gonna happen with Trump.
SiubhanDuinne
@Omnes Omnibus:
Sounds like a very good suggestion, thanks. I’ll track it down.
Did not mean to open a can of worms!!
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Mandalay:
Clueless? I’m adding no more weight to the words of either than the air with which those words were spoken. You might as well credit Tom Pendergast for all of the actions Harry Truman took as POTUS.
Omnes Omnibus
@SiubhanDuinne: One of the things I liked about the series is that it showed how many of the sub-genres were reacting what the others were doing – either by building on it, rebelling against it, or a little of both.
SiubhanDuinne
@Omnes Omnibus:
IOW, the story of any cultural movement anywhere, any time.
I can do this.
Omnes Omnibus
@SiubhanDuinne:
Yep.
And yep.
Mnemosyne (tablet)
@Omnes Omnibus:
If it was “Rock ‘N Roll: An Unruly History,” it’s up on YouTube.
There was another one around the same time that was like “Connections” for rock music and had stuff like the fact that Blondie started as a reggae band, but I’m not sure if it’s the one above or a different one.
I also loved the opening narration of an episode about girl groups that was, I think, a quote, In the early 1960s, God was a young black girl who could sing.
Steeplejack
@SiubhanDuinne:
That’s a tough question. It strikes me that it’s sort of like: “If I wanted to learn something about fast food, where should I start?” Rock music is not just a genre, it’s a multitude of genres, and, as with fast food, you’re probably going to find that there are things you love and things you hate. There is not “one thing” that is rock music, just like there’s not one that is fast food. (And in “fast food” I’m including casual and “street” food from other cultures, etc.)
Short answer, I would say start with something you like, or that feels accessible. Given your age—not just chronological but cultural—I would say to go on with the Beatles, since you mentioned them in your comment. Maybe listen to Rubber Soul all the way through. Or pick some favorite Beatles songs and then look on YouTube for covers of those songs by other artists. And explore the other songs listed on the YouTube pages for those songs. Just go where your ears take you.
ETA: YouTube is a great resource for finding songs and getting a quick line on what you might or might not like. And playlists—those can be really good too.
Omnes Omnibus
@Mnemosyne (tablet): @SiubhanDuinne: That’s it.
Omnes Omnibus
@SiubhanDuinne: And Steep is also right. The history gives you a framework, but discovering stuff you like and find interesting is what fills out that framework.
Maeve
@SiubhanDuinne:
I was born in 1957 (the same week Elvis Jailhoue Rock was the #1 song). My parents were “hip” – we named our first cat :”John Henry” after the Smothers Brothers version of the song. We had Simon and Garfunkle and the Beatles playing and my Mom loved the Grateful Dead.
So when you ask what is “rock music” it is hard to understand – it comprehends so many decades. Some of which I skipped, musically. Bruce Springsteen was on the cover of both Time and Newsweet. my freshman year in college. Are they rock? I dropped out of pop music in the disco era then dropped in in the 80’s for a bit then dropped out. Never comprehended (actually never listened to) grundge/Nirvana etc
What am I now listening to? A combination of folk/roots/international and stuff I want to play loud and energetic when I’m in the mood (Janis Joplin, Pat Benatar, Queen, Stones,
”
:
NotMax
@Steeplejack
Oh, come on. Based on the gruff tenor of some of his own spittle-flecked posts directed at the audience here, I believe Mr. Cole is astute enough to recognize it was affectionately meant.
debbie
@Steeplejack:
Well, it all started with the blues, so I’d start with that. I think the simplicity and humility of Mississippi John Hurt might be a complement to 14th century plainchant.
Matt McIrvin
@Maeve: Then there are the people who insist on the existence of a sharp demarcation between “rock and roll” and “rock” (which begins somewhere around Jimi Hendrix). I personally think that if you’re going to draw a line there, there are so many equally important lines you could draw within “rock” itself.
chopper
@Relax:
and I’m sure nobody will then bring up jeb!’s junkie daughter. makes sense!
Steeplejack
@NotMax:
I consider myself an “astute” reader of the blog, and it didn’t sound that way to me. It had a punching-down, “laughing at you, not with you” tone. But opinions differ, of course. Carry on.
redshirt
Well, you see, Rock and Roll truly began when the first primate beat a surface rhythmically, joined by another primate….
Soon enough they found a bass player and a rock band was born.
Fair Economist
@SiubhanDuinne: I love the updated “O come Emanuel”! Your own lyrics?
Fair Economist
@Relax:
Bush is going to bring up misbehaviors of Trump’s kids? First I don’t think many people will care, and second, of all people, Jeb wants to go there?
SiubhanDuinne
@Fair Economist:
Yes. Thanks!
ksmiami
@Relax: And for the disaffected white middle class that is dominating this election cycle – THEY WANT THAT! Krugman has expressly stated that aside from the bigotry, Trump’s economic vision is head and shoulders above EVERY OTHER REPUKE CANDIDATE’s. Only the servile Bushes/Cruz’s etc believe that most Americans want to radically strip Social Security and Medicare. And don’t get me started on Rubio who can’t even manage his own cash flow. Every single Republican’s economic plan is a con and a disaster and really, it’s sad how many times we have to live through their failings only to see a Democrat try and clean up after. And by the way, Jeb is a lightweight political talent who can’t even campaign and only did ok because of his name and the corrupt nature of FL politics. He’s a low level bag man – just give it up.
tones
@Elizabelle:
honestly that is all they do anymore – “here is so and so to regurgitate right wing talking points for ten solid minutes” and then , 10 minutes of commercials -literally.
If not for the dvr I seriously could not watch them anymore [Chris and Rachel]