Rod Stewart's Trump Video

https://www.instagram.com/p/DT3ddStD9Qr/

This is the most rock and roll thing Rod the Mod has done before his work with Clive Davis on those execrable American Songbook albums turned him into a wanker who'd do anything for a buck, anything to maintain his visibility in the entertainment firmament. Then again, aren't you supposed to get mellower as you get older? Seems like all those acts from the past have lost their backbone and are totally into lifestyle, and they stand for nothing. Who'da thunk it would be Rod who stood up to Trump? Then again, Stewart committed right away to Fire Aid and flew over from the U.K. to do it, he knows the power of Los Angeles and the power of music to make a difference.

So...

I must admit the script has flipped. In the sixties and early seventies the military was the enemy, didn't Graham Nash pen "Military Madness"? But this is not about an unjust war, rather about the men who put their lives on the line, and sometimes lose them. Something that silver spoon Donald Trump has never done. And Rod Stewart calls Donald a draft dodger and castigates him for talking smack about the British military. Funny how the EU crapped its pants when Trump said he wanted Greenland, whereas Stewart is going right for the gut, with gusto! He's not pussyfooting, he's speaking from the heart, and when you do it resonates, unlike the Spotify Top 50 crap that is about as fulfilling as cotton candy.

You can't get anybody with anything to risk to take a stand. Sure, my inbox is inundated with people sans traction writing anti-establishment songs, wanting me to promote them, but it's ultimately a career move, they want to break through, whereas those who already have are silent. Even worse, you get nincompoops like Jason Aldean doubling-down in support of the Orange Man. The tide is turning. Homey don't play that anymore. With ICE out of control, the winds have changed, have woken up the somnambulant public. Knee-jerk MAGA don't look that good anymore. Trump is out of control, unless we blow the whistle on him...

In one fell swoop, this guy has alienated the entire EU and UK. And Canada too. There's no going back...once bitten, twice shy. Twice bitten... Sure, Biden got back on the climate change bandwagon, he played nice with others, he healed the wounds, sewed together the ruptures that Trump created, however Trump has now done irreparable damage to the status and image of America. It's kind of like Billy Squier in that video...it killed his credibility overnight, and whatever credibility the United States still possesses is undercut by Mr. Trump's actions.

Now I'm not saying we're going to have a kumbaya anti-Trump song run up the chart. Those days have sailed. Even the "Wall Street Journal" wrote that we no longer live in a monoculture:

"The Rise and Fall of the American Monoculture - For most of the 20th century, pop culture was the glue that held the U.S. together. But what will it mean now that everything has splintered?"

Free link: https://www.wsj.com/business/media/american-pop-culture-history-ce8672f1?st=2mJmRF&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

Then again, the power of music has been abdicated. If you're of the younger generation you don't expect your musicians to take stands, never mind risky ones. You look to them for fashion advice, where to party, these acts are empty vessels. They don't sing about being born in Gasoline Alley, they've forgotten their roots.

Music still has power. But you've got to exercise it. Rod Stewart has shown the way, and burnished his image in the process. God, this statement almost makes up for all those crappy Clive Davis albums. Because it's not about commerce, how much money you make, but the statement you make. That's what made music blow up. There was an entire culture.

Rod just turned 81 and doesn't give a f*ck. But didn't the rockers of yore not give a f*ck, that was the essence of their career! Standing up to the man. Today musicians are the man!

Stewart makes it clear. Trump was way out of line and needs to apologize. Something that Donald never does. But Stewart may be able to bring Trump to his knees. Because being shamed by a music legend is different from the blowback of the politicos and the media, which is just part of the game, grist for the mill.

So who else is going to put their career on the line? There's a benefit to being first. Adding your name at the end is the action of a Trump. And we don't need newspaper ads, we need statements. And then action. Not only can musicians do benefits, they can wiled their power in many other ways. They can refuse to play not only the Kennedy Center, but all of D.C. And Miami too. Make these people hurt. Make Trump capitulate, because he's completely out of line.

I mean they're protesting in -20 degree weather in Minneapolis, and they're doing it for you. You think you're immune, but you're not.

As we said back in the sixties, it's time to reclaim our nation, to take the power back.

As for all the Trumpers... I want you to defend what Trump said here, I want you to defend the killing of Renee Goode. Keep doing it. You're on the wrong side of history.

As for Trump's sycophants... Do you know what happened after France took back power, squeezed out the Germans during World War II? They killed the collaborators. Yup, that's just what they did, read "The Postcard," never mind reams of history. Being silent is being complacent. All you corporate titans, all you Republicans in Congress who are kissing this man's butt, you think you're gonna get away scot-free. I wouldn't be so sure.

Because money is no competition for art and those who make it. Art can win each and every time, as long as it speaks from the heart, has soul, is unfiltered and true. That's what the public yearns for, truth. And tonight Rod Stewart delivered it.


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