Carl Scott

Since I’m going to be posting on the Ramones and “Wooly Bully” soon enough, here’s a gesture towards my intellectual sophistication—two interesting literary links, one on V.S. Naipaul’s reputation, and another on J.G. Ballard “predicting” the British . . . . Continue Reading »

I accept the saying that The Who were one of the “thinking man’s rock bands,” but this Songbook entry is more music-focused than idea-focused. Instead of considering the fairly interesting and very zeitgeist-representative lyrical content of these two songs, I’m contrasting them . . . . Continue Reading »

I believe I am, after reading that Pawlenty Studies thread below where Peter says the choice will come down to Bachmann or Romney.  It’s been long enough, Iraq’s as okay as you could hope for, and Obama’s failure to reverse the most-demonized Bush II policies mean that the . . . . Continue Reading »

This last year I’ve been living in upstate New York, and the people have been great. Delightful students at Skidmore College, for one. But now, largely thanks to Lucas Morel , author of one of our better books on Lincoln, I’m returning to what’s become my home away from home, the . . . . Continue Reading »

My “Rock n’ Roll Patriotism” 4th of July post was meant to be fun little confection of you-tube music, a music-lover’s way to show the colors. But Peter got me thinking again . . . so look out! He commented: “How much we can be proud of this is questionable: No blues and . . . . Continue Reading »

Today was a day for patriotism, and Tocqueville describes two kinds. One is the natural love humans develop for the place and polity they were raised in, for its folkways and so forth. The second is a more reflective patriotism that, aided by enlightenment rationality, “grows with the exercise . . . . Continue Reading »

Marilynne Robinson is not Rock, and this is not a song. Rather, it is simply a three-word sentence dropped by the acclaimed novelist last fall, when I heard her speak at Skidmore College. But the following was initially provoked by another writer, Bill Kaufmann. Kaufmann is a hard one to . . . . Continue Reading »

Got Some Truth! Emphasis on the some. Being against Carter in 1980 was an easy step. A number of rockers got the political jitters towards the end of the 70s—Bowie famously suggested, under whatever mix of drugs I know not, that Britain might need a fascist strongman, and even Paul Weller, as . . . . Continue Reading »

Back to war, and the “anti-war” stance. Part of the conclusion of Songbook #6 was that the stance of songs like “Blowin’ in the Wind” and “New Years Day” could easily lead to despair and overindulgence of anger. “Masters of War” certainly is a . . . . Continue Reading »

. . . are becoming mandatory. Compare and contrast . Tempts me to immerse myself in other studies altogether . . . . . Continue Reading »