I thought John Kerry did pretty well in the debate last nite, though the rigid format kept the two candidates from actually engaging in a real "discussion" of the issues. President Bush did make at least one thing clear to me - apparently, being president is a lot of "hard work." How many times did he refer to all the "hard work" he's been doing? Now I see why he spends so much time on vacation in Crawford, TX. He must be all tuckered out.

Indie rock superhero Ted Leo posted some of his thoughts/rants about the presidential debate on his website, and while I don't think Kerry did anywhere as poorly as Leo seems to think he did, I also wasn't watching it with my mind on how an "undecided" voter might view the senator's performance (keep your eyes peeled for dropping f-bombs):

September 30, 2004

I've mellowed a bit since I wrote this during tonight's debate, and since most of the media and polls seem to suggest that Kerry did a good job, I'll respectfully bow just this once to their authority (that's how rough times have gotten), but for the record, here's how I was feeling at approximately 10 PM EST... But before you read it, understand that I got so pissed because I feel like Kerry doesn't have to convince ME. So, presumably, he doesn't have to convince the rest of the half of the country who didn't vote for Bush last time, and who still by and large HATE that muther f**ker with a passion! He's got to convince the swing voters, and trust me -- they DO exist -- I just had a conversation with a sincere one today, and he's got to try to even win some of the peeps who went the other way last time. It is in this context that I was getting so upset...

Is help on the way?

I've been watching this debate for a little over an hour now, and I have to ask -- did Senator Kerry or any of his people prepare for this at all??? Doesn't he understand by now that you have to spell certain things out? George Bush is f**king killing him on the consistency issue! Was Saddam a grave threat, or is Iraq in relation to Afghanistan like Mexico in relation to Japan (circa 1941)? You and I and the Senator might understand that when he says he wouldn't start a pre-emptive war that didn't pass the "global test," he's thinking ahead a few steps to INCLUDE the safety of our "homeland" (to use the current slightly uncomfortably Nazi, but popular, term) among the "obvious" effects of having passed the "global test," but NEWS FLASH -- it ain't that obvious!! Rhetorically, forensically, you HAVE TO MAKE THE POINT!! No one is going to remember that Bush said the insurgents in Iraq are fighting "vociferously" (I mean, not actually being on the ground over there, I can't actually vouch for whether or not they're attacking with loud vocal accompanyment, but...). Whether or not Bush was lying, distorting, or whatever -- he made his f**king points, and in my opinion, Kerry did not make his effectively enough. Senator Kerry, we hardly knew ye. PLEASE -- I don't know what the f**k power we have to effect some change in John Kerry in the next month, but if you think someone in his operation is going to listen to you, BY ALL THAT IS GOOD AND HOLY, PLEASE e-mail your suggestions to this man and his campaign because I believe we need him to win, and I don't believe we are winning. George Bush was EFFECTIVE in all his smugness, whether he was accurate or not. John Kerry didn't respond effectively to the constant reminders that he voted to authorize the president to go to war then started saying that it was the wrong war at the wrong time, and he didn't have an effective answer to Bush's challenges about how he would "win" the war now that we're in it. It's time for Senator Kerry to meet him in the trenches and stand the f**k up for himself -- defend his votes, defend his position, and yes, his apparent flip-flops! He's got to step up and beat this beady-eyed little fucker on his own terms. That beady-eyed f**ker somehow managed to be just smug enough to hammer his points home, but not smug enough to come off as the little bitch he usually seems to be. I dunno... I f**king hope I'm wrong -- exactly half of the people I'm watching this with think I am, so a-f**king-men -- they'll sleep better than I will tonight. But sue me for being a North East Liberal Elitist Prig, but I'm really pessimistic about how this is playing in "Middle America." To be totally honest, I'm not sure how it's playing with me. Don't get me wrong -- you can count on me to to vote against Bush and to not vote for Nader this time 'round, but John Kerry -- EARN IT, man -- you deserve it -- f**king ACT LIKE IT!!

Yowza. Ted's new cd Shake The Sheets, which not suprisingly contains plenty of political material, will be in a store near you come October 19.

BTW: Speaking of undecided voters, did anyone catch The Daily Show's Samantha Bee frustratedly (yet in good humor) cursing out a group of "undecideds" on last nite's live post-debate coverage? Hi-freakin-larious.

someday everything will come our way

MP3 The Glands - "I Can See My House From Here"
Earlier this week, Blair over at Music For Robots posted a couple of great tracks from The Glands, an Athens GA indie rock outfit that I stumbled upon a couple years back. I bought their self-titled album (2000) sort of by chance & it ended up being a very worthwhile purchase. This track, along with the two up at MFR, are from that disc, which I hope they will eventually follow-up on. I've heard that the group is still together, but I don't really have much more information on them. Anyone? Anyone?

MP3 RANA - "Livin' Was Easy" (live @ CBGB 11.30.02)
I actually found my way to The Glands by way of my favorite Jersey rockers RANA, whose blistering cover of this lead-off track from The Glands LP is a sometimes staple of their live events. This version was recorded during a wild two nite stand at CBGB's NYC in late November 2002, and both shows are available (along with lots of other live material) for purchase through Rockslide. Guitarist Scott Metzger just tears up the outro section, stretching it beyond the comfy confines of the original Glands tune.

In semi-RANA-related stuff, keyboardist/vocalist Matt "Durant" Trowbridge has been tweaking the whole music blog concept to serve his own creative devices. His site itsmatt has been up for over a month now, and he's been including mp3's along with his semi-daily personal postings. The music files are demos Matt has recorded himself using Apple's easy-to-use Garageband software, and while the tracks don't exactly sound the best, it's certainly an interesting artistic venture. As Matt stated in yesterday's comments: "Hey, they can't all be winners. I'm hopin for maybe one or two."

I'd like to give one last shout out before the weekend to my friend Angela, whose entertainment-themed blog The Brain Drain has been all abuzz now that the new fall television season in under way, giving Angie plenty to write about. Stop by & catch up with her daily voyages around the TV dial, and try not to let her Buffy obsession discourage you.

I'm going back to fending off this nasty cold. Cough. Cough.

This entry was posted by mr gilbert at 10/01/2004 01:15:00 AM.