“Books are like seeds. They can lie dormant for centuries and then flower in the most unpromising soil.” (Carl Sagan); “Nothing ever dies on the Internet.” (anon.); “This is not your father’s Oldsmobile.” (Madison Ave. [m]adman). My posts amalgamate these three philosophical elements into one novel experience; they champion critical thinking, human dignity / equality, levelheaded / even-handed / liberty-based governance and solid environmental stewardship. C’mon in!
The grandest stars humanity can ever encounter, seldom ap- pear on the big silver screen. To meet them, find time to trek far from modernity’s lumenosity, cacophony and monstrosity. Escape the cityscapes to discover the truly dark skies, where contemplation of life’s big picture-grand scheme comes easily. As songsmiths Carole King and Gerry Goffin so melodiously & insightfully remind, At night the stars put on a show for free!*
Our trekking and tracking thru the vast realm of Sunday titled songs now finds us at Week #120.
On this final, 2020 Sunday, Ms. Carole King will be performing Pleasant Valley Sunday in the recording studio. And seeing how she also performed this same song, on stage, way back on Week #1 (September 16, 2018), we now find our Sunday Song Series right back where we started.
The temporal bookending of these two videos also round trips our journey home; ends everything on a high note, too!
So, why the travel ban / culmination of this Series?
Because YouTube CEO, Ms. Susan Diane Wojcicki, EITHER of her own volition OR due to her heeding her underlings’ astoundingly bad counsel, has opted to roll out her platform’s red carpet to propaganda minister YouTubers, who are hellbent on flagrantly aiding and abetting Donald J. Trump’s Fascist overthrow of America AND his morphing of 74 million Americans into a psychotic and chaotic cult (many of these brainwashed folks seething with violent intent).
Wojcick has also opted to crowbar in offensive ads, some with over ONE HOUR LONG run times; her sponsors oft as greedy, sleazy, corrupt and egomaniacal as Trump, himself. Yep, all these opportunistic bastards need do is show YouTube the money and she’ll grant them carte blanche to say and do whatever they fucking please.
Granted, YouTube’s wretched ways do not affect how the vids appear on this WordPress site, BUT…
Damn it! I’m the one who needs to audition the clips over at YouTube; i.e., where I have no choice but to slog thru all that Trumpian shit.
And, as a man of good conscience, who dearly loves my homeland and deeply loathes the very political sedition and economic opportunism, which both threaten to burn my homeland down to the ground, I have opted to no longer feature that platform’s content on my site.
Hence, my YouTube boycott will begin, effective January 1, 2021.
Granted… long sigh… in the grand scheme, one man of principle turning his back on YouTube, will not harm them in any way. But, at the very least, I’ll feel better just knowing I took a stand.
Will there be any exceptions to my New Year, new policy?
Well, all video companions to my past posts, inclusive of our Sunday Song Series, will remain archived on this site; filed both in chronological order and by category.
I’d consider featuring new videos were they to prove absolutely essential to preserving life and liberty.
That said, I hope you’ve enjoyed our Sunday Song Series and I thank you all for being such wonderful travel companions.
Alas, our journey will NOT be continuing seven days from now…
When our weekly Sunday Song Series debuted last September, we found ourselves listening to Carole King’s performance of Pleasant Valley Sunday.
Now, 25 weeks later, it’s decision time. Considering how there’s a vast and diverse selection of other Sunday titled / themed songs, there’d certainly be little excuse to feature another recording artist merely covering songwriter King’s own masterpiece.
However… this is no little excuse… and the man in question… unquestionably… is no ordinary musician… and his cover has taken on an extra special meaning.
You see…scant days ago… on 02/21/19… composer / multi-instrumentalist / actor Peter Halsten Thorkelson… better known as Peter Tork of the Sixties era rock group, The Monkees… passed away at the age of 77.
As for Tork’s rise to fame, you can choose either an in depth bio or my following thumbnail… maybe even both?
While Beatlemania was sweeping over the entire world, the NBC TV network’s suits…opportunists / capitalists all… clowns and would-be cloners all… were all conniving to shamelessly tap into the Fab Four’s popularity… create a sitcom for the small screen that’d mimic the Liverpool lads’ musicianship and capture their larger than life personae / big screen zaniness. And while the suits manufactured group of music apers could’ve been aptly named… oh… say… the PreFabricated Four, their choice of The Monkees had been quite suitable, too.
The network “gods” only saving grace, here? Their music centric sitcom actually was/is quite entertaining… at times LOL…
But… all humor aside… mega success had taken its toll… so much so that Tork had to opt out… exit the show… buy out the remaining four years of his network contract… take a $160,000 hit (in today’s dollars that’d be $1,154,514)… for the sake of preserving both his musical integrity and peace of mind.
Let’s get an even deeper perspective of Tork… firstly, as he eulogizes his old bandmate Davy Jones…
Secondly, with his lyrically sung hopes for a kinder, gentler, more peaceful world… A Better World…
And… speaking of peace… let’s conclude our online memorial with our RIP wishes to Peter Halsten Thorkelson. You spoke to an entire generation and will continue to do so for all the generations to follow. For our having experienced your wit, wisdom and music the better world you spoke of is ours… will remain so for all who care… for all capable of fully appreciating these precious gifts you’ve bestowed upon us.
And what better further tribute could there possibly be than to watch a vid featuring Tork and his more recent band Shoe Suede Blues… to give a listen to their fine performance / cover of Carole King’s Pleasant Valley Sunday…
Give a listen to a selection from Carole King’s “living room” jam session… her catchy “little tune”… Pleasant Valley Sunday… is jam-packed with big thoughts.
Listening / reading between the lines, we can all get a better sense of what really does (and does not) matter in life.
CommonSenseTom 