Just 'Cos You Got the Power

Motorhead's Lemmy -- he's walking rock and roll. He's Rock and Roll with capital R's. He's cut from the purest cloth there is. Authentic, intelligent, witty and tough as nails -- Lemmy's a true original.

One of Lemmy's favorite lyrical topics is injustice -- which means he'll never run out of material, no matter how long he continues to write songs.

One of my favorite Lemmy lyrics is "Just 'Cos You Got the Power," a relatively obscure track from the Rock n' Roll era. The song was originally released as a B-side on the "Eat the Rich" 12-inch (around 1987, I believe) but it's been digitally resurrected on the Stone Deaf Forever box (highly recommended) and the band have been including it in their live sets in recent years (which makes me incredibly happy). There's a cool live version of it on the No Sleep At All disc, as well...

Anyway, the words to "Just Cos You Got the Power" are more pertinent now than ever, don't ya I think? Check 'em out:

You might be a financial wizard,
With a sack of loot,
All I see is a slimy lizard,
With an expensive suit,
Go on and run your corporation,
Go and kiss some ass,
You might buy half of the nation,
But you can´t buy class

You bastards think it´s funny,
Lyin´ and thieving all your life,
Think all there is is money,
Got your future strapped up tight,
Just ´Cos You Got The Power,
That don´t mean you got the right

You can take my fingers babe,
You can take my eyes,
You can take my past and future,
It won´t make you wise,
You can have me thrown in jail,
You can steal my booze,
You can even read my mail,
Step on my blue suede shoes,

You bastards must be clever,
Got it mapped out in black and white,
But don´t forget you´ll never,
Get a dog to walk upright,
Just ´Cos You Got The Power,
That don´t mean you got the right

Go on out make another deal,
Feed your big fat face,
Go on out and cop a feel,
Get on somebody´s case,
You surely would be satisfied,
If you could have it all,
But time ain´t on your side,
You´re going to the wall

You think that life´s all dollars,
Greed and lust and spite,
But I wasn´t born to follow,
Like to get my sleep at night,
Just ´Cos You Got The Power,
That don´t mean you got the right

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I'd love to read this to Dick Cheney -- THRU A MEGAPHONE -- as he drifts off to sleep at night. Oh, but wait -- he can't possibly sleep, can he?
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So, you're a newcomer to the world of Motorhead?
Here are Andee's Top 5 Places to Start:

1. Overkill (1978); their second album is just chock full of early Motorhead classics including "Damage Case," "Stay Clean," "Metropolis" and the title track, which is simply one of the greatest things ever recorded.

2. 1916 (1991); some of Lem's funniest lyrics ever can be found in "I'm So Bad (Baby I don't Care)" and a surprisingly poignant side of the man is revealed in the war elegy "1916"; inbetween are nothing but high points (including "R.A.M.O.N.E.S," a roaring tribute to the 'bros).

3. No Sleep Til Hammersmith (1981); Motorhead's first live album captures the classic original lineup at their peak, which doesn't mean it's not sloppy. Recorded very loud and well into the red.

4. Bastards (1993); One of the heaviest Motorhead records, which is saying a bit. And it's pretty much wall-to-wall great songs, too. This one doesn't get talked about enough.

5. Inferno (2004); Yes, their latest album kicks ass!! Check out "Smiling Like a Killer" and "Fight" for evidence.

Drink beer and play loud. Motorhead enriches your soul.

Thank God the Pope Died

Wow, the Bushies -- especially Tom DeLay -- must be thanking their lucky stars for the timing of Pope John Paul II's expiration. With the media giving its undivided attention to the Pope's life, his death, his corpse, his mourners and All Things Papal this week, it's almost enough to get everyone's minds off the neocons' disastrous recent attempt to destroy social security, the transparent political opportunism of the their fake Shiavo grandstanding (which NOBODY bought) and the continued unraveling of majority leader Tom DeLay.

But I'm exaggerating, because the truth is, these things haven't gone unnoticed by Americans. Most of us, even conservatives, saw through Bush's melodramatic, entirely political reaction to the Schiavo situation (which Dubya considered important enough to disrupt his vacation -- and even the Tsunami couldn't do that!). With his popularity waning in the wake of his coldly received Social Security privatization pitch, I'm sure he saw it as an opportunity to rile the right-to-lifers back into his good graces, but alas! -- it backfired.

And then there's DeLay. Trying to keep track of this asshole's scandals makes my head spin. But here are some of the big ones, as identified by MoveOn.org:

*Promised a role in drafting legislation to a corporate donor

*Tried to coerce a Congressman for a vote on Medicare

*Allegedly used corporate money given to his PAC to finance Texas campaigns in violation of state law

*Used Homeland Security resources in a dispute with Democrats in Texas

*Diverted funds from a children's charity for lavish celebrations at the Republican convention

*Threatened retaliation against interest groups that don't support Republicans

*Stacked the House Ethics committee with representatives who have contributed to his legal defense fund

*Accepted trips from corporations and later helped kill legislation they opposed

*Accepted trips from the lobbyist for a foreign government in violation of House rules

*Crippled the effectiveness of the House Ethics Committee by purging members who had rebuked him

*Pushed for a rules change for the House Ethics process that paralyzed the panel

*Sought a rule change that would have no longer "required leaders to step aside temporarily if indicted"

and, this just in:

*Paid family members more than $500,000 out of campaign contributions

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Help get DeLay fired by signing the petition at this link:

http://www.moveonpac.org/delay/?id=5320-3738727-YlF38AQXU7w6RXtxoKHrwQ&t=1
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FOR AN ANDREW SULLIVAN PIECE ON POPE JOHN PAUL II, GO TO THE 'COMMENTS' SECTION

Pop Culture, Part 2

Ok I gotta set the record straight with anyone who perhaps thought that the tone of my last post seemed a little...elitist.

Having said my piece on the abysmal state of the entertainment media these days, let me also point out that I love plenty of relatively empty-calorie entertainment myself, and I enjoy pissing off and alienating the purist, provincial snobs (especially self-serious "musician" types and the dreaded "punker-than-thou" lot) as much as anyone.

For example, as much as I bash Britney, I would never deny how much I love Kylie Minogue. But to me there's a huge difference. One seems genuine and sincere and unapologetic in her disposable-ness, and the other just seems like a big pile of marketing tricks cooked up in a lab somewhere. One is a vibrant person and the other is a paper doll with a stylist. Sure, the Kylie stuff is ultra lightweight, but I think the music is transcendant because it sounds to me like it comes from a real place. And the songs are great too.

Just for the record, here are some other cheerfully un-high-brow things I'm a dead sucker for:

Beavis and Butthead -- yeah, it's the simplest humor in the world but it's so f*cking funny, who cares? One of the best shows ever.

Def Leppard's "Pyromania" -- go ahead, find me a bad song on this record

Nelson DeMille novels -- I've read a bunch of these and they've all been great. Best one is Charm School.

Lucky Charms cereal -- I can eat half a box in one sitting


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Bon appetit!!