NEWS from the Big O newsletter:
Last week's winner was Andy Swapp. Thanks to everyone who took part.
Last week, Bruce Springsteen's I'm On Fire was performed by Soccer Mommy aka Sophie Allison (BBC Session (for Annie Mac show), Maida Vale Studios, London, UK; August 28, 2018). A longtime Soccer Mommy setlist staple, this song was finally released on a single in October 2018. Her 2016 LP was called For Young Hearts. The American singer-songwriter's 2018 album, Clean, was named by Rolling Stone as one of the year's 50 Best Albums So Far.
You can still listen to some of the other mystery songs here:
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LATEST
TRUMP COULD GO TO JAIL BUT NOT WAR MONGER GEORGE W BUSH
Rolling Stone reported that President Donald Trump could go to jail when his presidency ends and his civilian life restarts (click here). Both Special Counsel Robert Mueller and prosecutors for the Southern District of New York filed memos offering sentence recommendations for Michael Cohen, President Trump's embattled former attorney, the magazine reported. Mueller wrote that Trump told Cohen to reach out to the Russian government in late 2015, and that he pursued a lucrative real estate deal that would have likely required the cooperation of the Kremlin well into the 2016 campaign. The SDNY wrote that Trump directed Cohen to commit felony campaign finance violations prior to the 2016 election. Trump didn't seem to think any of this was that big of a deal. "Totally clears the President," he tweeted shortly after the filings were made. "Thank you!"
Apparently, Trump's detractors have now jumped on "hush money payment of $130,000 given to porn star Stormy Daniels, with whom Trump allegedly had an affair". The payment was made by Cohen through a shell company. A separate payment was made in August to acquire the rights to former Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal's story about her alleged affair with Trump.
Rolling Stone thinks all these are impeachable offences. That if Trump is removed from office, he may face charges with possible jail terms if found guilty.
Now try to focus on the former US President George W Bush who invaded Iraq on the pretext that Saddam Hussein had "weapons of mass destruction". Till today, nothing has been found but hundreds of thousands have died as a result of the invasion. The US continues to be stuck fighting in the Middle East either directly or through proxies.
The National Geographic wrote in 2013 that "Half-a-million Iraqis died in the war" (click here).
And today George W Bush is portrayed as the "good son".
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ANYWAY, ANYHOW, ANYWHERE (All the news this week)
READ FASTER NEIL AND PAY ATTENTION TO THE FINE PRINT
Neil Young is furious with the organizers of the massive concert that he's scheduled to play in London's Hyde Park alongside Bob Dylan on July 12, 2019, reported Rolling Stone. The show was announced nearly two weeks ago and tickets are already on sale, but in a post on his Neil Young Archives website, the rocker says all that was premature. "I had no idea the announcement was coming that day," he writes. "I was still finessing the art for the poster and trying to make sure that all of the details of the show were agreeable to me. Then, suddenly, someone jumped the gun. The tickets were put on sale and the announcement was made, all without my knowledge."
Now, he's also found out that the show is sponsored by Barclays, the "fossil fuel funding entity". "That doesn't work for me," he wrote. "I believe in science. I worry about the climate crisis and am deeply concerned about its massive global ramifications and my beautiful grandchildren's future... There's no doubt about it. It's been a massive fuck up!"
And while he doesn't explicitly threaten to pull out of the show, he does suggest that the current arrangement is untenable. "At the moment, we are trying to rectify the situation and will soon update you on the status of the Hyde Park show," he wrote. "We have been talking about requiring a different sponsor as one option. We are quite confident that nothing like this will ever happen again. We're sorry for this situation - it is - and shall remain an anomaly."
We will be awfully sad when the day comes and Young hangs up his electric guitar. Unless the power is derived from the wind or the water.
Buzzcocks frontman Pete Shelley has died of a suspected heart attack, aged 63. The band's official Twitter account confirmed the news December 6. Shelley died in Estonia where he had been living since 2012 with his Estonian-Canadian wife Greta. Shelley formed Buzzcocks with Howard Devoto in Bolton in 1975. They organised the Sex Pistols' seminal gig at Manchester's Lesser Free Trade Hall in June 1976 and supported them when the Pistols returned to play the same venue a month later. Buzzcocks' self-released debut EP, Spiral Scratch, helped kickstart a DIY revolution. Devoto left the band soon afterwards, with guitarist Shelley stepping forward as frontman. He wrote the majority of the band's indelible punk-pop singles, including "What Do I Get?", "I Don't Mind", "Everybody's Happy Nowadays" and UK No. 12 hit "Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)".
Peter Hook, who played his first gig with Warsaw (soon to become Joy Division) supporting Buzzcocks, called Shelley "a true gent... He helped us so much at the start of our career out of a sheer love for all things punk. Without Pete & the Buzzcocks I would probably still be working at the docks."
Pete Wylie wrote: "He should be remembered forever for the guitar solo in 'Boredom' alone. How utterly sad. And that Starway guitar was the punkrockest thing ever! Night night pretty Pete."
"Pete Shelley wrote perfect three-minute pop songs," wrote The Charlatans' Tim Burgess. "The soundtrack to being a teenager. You'll be missed Pete but you'll be remembered for a long long time for your brilliant music."
R.E.M.'s Mike Mills wrote: "Damn. Pete Shelley gone. The Buzzcocks were and are a favorite of mine, and I was fortunate to be able to hang with Pete a few times and tell him so."
Pearl Jam's Jeff Ament wrote that "playing shows with the Buzzcocks was one of the highlights of my life. I listened to Singles and Tension as much as any records I've owned. Thank you Pete for all the great words and music."
I feel like I should say I was never a fan but any loss of a musician too early is a sadness. I always thought the Buzzcocks were a one hit wonder and didn't really rate Shelley for his writing as a result and couldn't stand Howard Devoto for some reason. I can understand they didn't get on. The things people have said about Shelley though show him to have been a supporter of other bands a man of kindness and curious generosity at a difficult time in music. Rest easy now Pete!
THIS WEEK'S WTF MOMENT
CHRISTMAS SONG BANNED IN THE U.S.A.
The classic Christmas song 'Baby It's Cold Outside' has been banned from an increasing number of US radio stations, after listeners complained that it was inappropriate in the age of #MeToo. Critics say that the 1944 song sees a woman being pressured to stay at a man's home, despite her own suggestions that she should leave.
It was first taken off the air by Star102 FM in Cleveland, Ohio. The ban was at odds with their listeners, who strongly disagreed with the decision in a Facebook poll. Glenn Anderson, a host at the station, says that although the song was written in a different era, the lyrics feel "manipulative and wrong". "The world we live in is extra sensitive now, and people get easily offended, but in a world where #MeToo has finally given women the voice they deserve, the song has no place", he wrote. The line "Say what's in this drink? (No cabs to be had out there)" has proved to be one of the most controversial, with critics claiming that it is a reference to date rape. However, others say it should be understood in the context of the day - which means she wanted to "get down and stay over."
Maybe you have to hear it but the lyrics seem fairly innocuous to me and essentially FUNNY!
LyricsI really can't stay (Baby it's cold outside)I gotta go away (Baby it's cold outside)This evening has been (Been hoping that you'd dropped in)So very nice (I'll hold your hands they're just like ice)My mother will start to worry (Beautiful what's your hurry?)My father will be pacing the floor (Listen to the fireplace roar)So really I'd better scurry (Beautiful please don't hurry)Well maybe just a half a drink more (I'll put some records on while I pour)The neighbors might think (Baby it's bad out there)Say what's in this drink? (No cabs to be had out there)I wish I knew how (Your eyes are like starlight now)To break this spell (I'll take your hat, your hair looks swell) (Why thank you)I ought to say no, no, no sir (Mind if move in closer?)At least I'm gonna say that I tried (What's the sense of hurtin' my pride?)I really can't stay (Baby don't hold out)Baby it's cold outsideAh, you're very pushy you know?I like to think of it as opportunisticI simply must go (Baby it's cold outside)The answer is no (But baby it's cold outside)The welcome has been (How lucky that you dropped in)So nice and warm (Look out the window at that storm)My sister will be suspicious (Gosh your lips look delicious!)My brother will be there at the door (Waves upon a tropical shore)My maiden aunt's mind is vicious (Gosh your lips are delicious!)Well maybe just a cigarette more (Never such a blizzard before) (And I don't even smoke)I've got to get home (Baby you'll freeze out there)Say lend me a coat? (It's up to your knees out there!)You've really been grand, (I feel when I touch your hand)But don't you see? (How can you do this thing to me?)There's bound to be talk tomorrow (Think of my life long sorrow!)At least there will be plenty implied (If you caught pneumonia and died!)I really can't stay (Get over that old out)Baby it's coldBaby it's cold outsideOkay fine, just another drink thenThat took a lot of convincing!
Songwriter: Frank Loesser
And "Give Peace A Chance" might get mistaken for public urination.
UPDATE: Deana Martin, daughter of Dean who had the hit with this Christmas song in 1959, responded to the ban. She said, "I know my dad would be going insane right now... He would say, 'What's the matter with you? Get over it. It's just a fun song.' Because he was so sweet," Deana Martin said on FOX & Friends December 10. "He would never see anything bad in that. He was a great guy, fun guy, nice. And he wouldn't want to do anything offensive; that wasn't Dean Martin."
"There's nothing bad about that song and it just breaks my heart." Watch the video interview here.
THE LAST WORD on 'AMY WINEHOUSE HOLOGRAM'
Blake Fielder-Civil and Amy Winehouse.
"I'm a bit concerned about whether the people going to see it, they'll be aware it's not Amy, there won't be any human element to it. The way I feel. The actual hologram itself. It's no different to watching a video clip or listening to her album. If anyone wants to see Amy on stage that opportunity has been and gone."
- Ex-husband Blake Fielder-Civil on the upcoming Amy Winehouse hologram tour. Blake was interviewed on Piers Morgan's Good Morning Britain where he suggested that the Winehouse family were cashing in on her fame. Blake himself had previously sold his story to the newspapers of life with Amy Winehouse.
SPREAD THE WORD - The BigO Update No. 974
(December 14, 2018)
Started in Oct 1998
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