By Ed Hanratty and Jaime Reap
Sixty years ago this Inauguration Day, President Kennedy entered eternity with a simple query to a new generation inspired by American exceptionalism and her new role as the world’s preeminent superpower in the aftermath of the Second World War. That singular sentence is likely the most oft-repeated line in the history of Inaugural Addresses, and now rests in our oratory pantheon along the lines of “The only thing we have to fear”, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” and “A house divided against itself”.
“And so, my fellow Americans: Ask not what your country…
I Said I Wouldn’t Back A Dem Until The Primaries. Then the Stakes Were Raised...
About a year ago, I made it clear on my Facebook and twitter feeds that I was impressed by the names who were considering a 2020 run at the Democratic nomination for president. I also argued that the bitterness from the two divergent camps in the 2016 primary season was in no small part responsible for the unabashed disaster known as the Presidency of Donald J. Trump.
I was deathly afraid that if people dug in too early on a candidate, similar resentment could eventually…
There’s no point living in an alternate universe. Let’s Move On.
It’s been almost two years since the tragic events of 11/9. More than three since the descent down the midtown escalator that gave way to a racist tirade about Mexican criminality. The days, weeks, months and years that followed both watershed moments have been the most eye-opening experience that I have witnessed in my forty plus years as a natural born American citizen. More than the OJ Simpson trial that put race in America into perspective for an 18-year-old high schooler. More than the Impeachment trial of Bill Clinton that I watched with fascination as a college senior majoring in…
Were we the last generation to experience ‘Paradise By The Dashboard Light’?
Ain’t no doubt about it we were doubly blessed
’Cause we were barely seventeen and we were barely dressed
To the best of my knowledge, there is no Meat Loaf biopic presently in the hopper out in Hollywood, and I personally consider that to be borderline criminal. Something in the mold of “La Bamba”, “The Doors”,“Walk The Line”, “Ray” or “Straight Outta Compton” chronicling the rise, fall and resurrection of Mr. Loaf would be a box-office smash. And let’s face it, doesn’t Oliver Platt strike you as the type of actor who finally breaks through during the later stages of…
With “Loser”, we finally emerged from the Cookie-Cutter Conformity of the 1980s.
In the time of chimpanzees I was a monkey
Butane in my veins so I’m out to cut the junkie
With the plastic eyeballs, spray paint the vegetables
Dog food stalls with the beefcake pantyhose
While it doesn’t feel right to reduce an accomplished musician who’s racked up four Grammy Awards and 16 total nominations over a 20 year career to one breakthrough 1993 single, “Loser” was that much of a game changer for our culture that it can’t be understated.
Going by the book, a decade changes at midnight of January 1 in a year that ends in zero…
An ongoing series detailing what I’ve learned from my 100 favorite musicians about my generation, my country and myself over the last forty years.
The Process
Narrowing down my list of 100 favorite musicians was time consuming, but not as difficult as I anticipated. I scoured my library artist-by-artist and anyone who even remotely warranted consideration was put in a separate column. Once I got to ZZ Top (spoiler alert: They didn’t make the cut) I assigned every entry selected a letter grade from A (No doubt, a pantheon artist or band) to E (Probably not making the cut but see how it shakes out). In all, 173 entries were considered).
The next step was to rank within the grade. All A’s were sorted and the…
At a very young age, the connection between music and memory was established.
“Don’t Wear Sandals” is an ongoing series detailing what I’ve learned from my 100 favorite musicians about my generation, my country and myself over the last forty years. To see the entire list to date, click here.
It’s 95% coincidence that this countdown begins with the man who first taught me — and so many people across the globe — the role that music can play in our psyche, soul and memory. …
How My 100 Favorite Artists Helped Me Find Myself, My Generation and My Country.
I love lists.
It’s an infatuation I’ve had for most of my life. A life that is rapidly closing in on a hallmark number, an age where — as the kids would say — shit gets real. For as long as I can remember, randomly ranking things has been a hobby/obsession of mine. Tends to drive some people nuts, in all honesty. Five best Yankee outfielders of the last 20 years? Eight best beers to enjoy in July? 43 Presidents Better than George W. Bush? 20 best college football helmets? 9 best John Goodman roles? 15 best pizza toppings? …
The “Ultimate Trump Loyalist” and former Top Advisor to the Donald Trump Campaign Roger Stone will no longer appear on CNN after the network was made aware of a recent series of disparaging tweets the Trump ally directed towards CNN political analyst and former Jeb Bush-backer Ana Navarro. Earlier in the campaign season, while still employed by the Trump campaign, Stone referred to her as a “quota hire”. A CNN spokesperson confirmed that Stone would be banned from appearing on the network to Media Matters after the watchdog organization brought the comments to the news organization’s attention…
Read more at: https://tr.im/itEKI
With just over a week before the Iowa Caucuses take place, the New York Times on Sunday described the nomination fight between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders as a “Battle for the Party’s Future”. Whether you are “Ready For Hillary” or you’re “Feeling the Bern”, odds are that your passions run pretty high in favor of your candidate. Quite often in this “Us and Them” society that can mean they run equally high against the other one.
And that can be a fatal mistake.
It can be argued that Senator Sanders and Secretary Clinton offer the greatest dichotomy of policy…
Ed Hanratty
Freelance Journalist, Guest Writer at HuffPost, Middle-aged, music-loving, baseball-watching, beer-guzzling progressive.
