Exactly two years ago today I posted this tongue in cheek ‘Woodstock of all Protest Concerts’ in anticipation of Donald Trump’s inauguration. It was written as a direct shot at the fact ‘Don the Con’ had a clear inability to attract any performers of notoriety. It was intended to be light and to share some good music in advance of what I suspected would be the beginning of a rocky road. As I look back on the post I pretty much nailed it. Every concern has been validated and then some. In short, I cannot fathom why he is not already in jail. His offenses are numerous and clearly mounting. He is also clearly unfit to hold office. Truthfully, he couldn’t be trusted to run the concession stand at the local arena on Saturday morning.
Here is the post (mostly unchanged)
So it seems Donald Trump is having a hard time getting performers of any significance to play his inauguration today. I thought I would put together a lineup of performers that would constitute an interesting, albeit ironic set list. Enjoy!
To kick it off with a bang we have Pink Floyd with Roger Waters singing one song only (we will hear more from them later). In the Flesh Part 2. Gotta have this because it reads like the Trump campaign platform and the video is like an insider’s view of a Trump rally. This passage is eerily prophetic seeing as it was written by Roger Waters almost forty years ago.
“Are there any queers in the theater tonight?
Get them up against the wall!
There’s one in the spotlight, he don’t look right to me,
Get him up against the wall!
That one looks Jewish!
And that one’s a coon!
Who let all of this riff-raff into the room?
There’s one smoking a joint,
And another with spots!
If I had my way,
I’d have all of you shot!”
This leads nicely into the old ’60’s gem by Barry McGuire ‘Eve of Destruction’. As if the title doesn’t say enough, the lyrics are perfect. Just a sample to whet your palette.
“Yeah my blood’s so mad feels like coagulating
I’m sitting here just contemplatin’
I can’t twist the truth it knows no regulation
Handful of senators don’t pass legislation
And marches alone can’t bring integration
When human respect is disintegratin’
This whole crazy world is just too frustratin'”
This line is a close second…
“Hate your next door neighbour but don’t forget to say grace.”
Are you listening Mike Pence? Oh the hypocrisy…Make America Hate Again!
In continuing with my ironic theme we will follow Barry McGuire with Foreigner. The idea of a ‘foreign’ presence for the intolerant Drumpf is just perfect. No particular song. Foreigner is hardly a political band. Well maybe ‘Hot Blooded? They could change the words to ‘Hot Headed’. Donald is hardly known for his calculated response to any type of confrontation. Mostly knee jerk reactions on Twitter with inarticulate broken sentences, improperly capitalized words and inane nonsense. To summarize…the man is a simple minded moron.
Next up; how about Don Henley with a rousing rendition of ‘Dirty Laundry’. We can really emphasize the fact that this current mess can be placed at the feet of the mass media.
“You don’t really need to find out
What’s going on
You don’t really want to know
Just how far it’s gone
Just leave well enough alone
Eat your dirty laundry”
When we rely on news sources like Fox or CNN to tell us what is happening we are truly misinformed. For well over a year I was left scratching my head wondering why these news agencies were giving Trump a free platform to promote his nonsensical rhetoric. The answer is ratings of course. These idiots created a runaway train, monster and by the time they figured it out, it was too late. His platform of lies and deceit has already been demonstrated by his self serving cabinet appointments of billionaire cronies, religious zealots and racist hypocrites. Oh well! As the saying goes. You get the government you deserve. The media owes us much more. The people need to research issues. Please educate yourself. Seek out reliable sources. CNN and Fox and BREITBART (Oh Man!) are not reliable sources. Please! For the sake of humanity.
Moving on from the classic rock scene we are going to go to the more alternative form for a bit. Oh, things are going to get fun here folks. I can picture ol’ Donald doing a little body surfing during this set.
I am going to start off with Smashing Pumpkins. A little ‘1979’. The year is a tribute to the eve of the Reagan administration. This is perfect because the fraud Trump claims to idolize Reagan while many Reagan supporters seem to be distancing themselves from the ‘orange man’. What’s with the orange look anyway? Smashing Pumpkins provides us with some solid imagery and the pumpkin symbolizes Orange Donald’s pouting face. I also love this line…
“Double cross the vacant and the bored
They’re not sure just what we have in store”
After Dumb Donald’s foray into the euphoria of body surfing he will be convinced he is the most popular person ever because that’s just the way narcissists are. So just to bring him down a peg we will follow up the Smashing Pumpkins with The Dead Kennedy’s. Oh yah! let’s get ‘the deplorables’ slam dancing. Maybe they can bring their guns? It is their God given right after all. Just an all-out mosh pit of Wild West shoot ’em up zaniness with The Dead Kennedy’s screaming from the stage…
“While they:
Kill kill kill kill Kill the poor: Tonight”
Sorry poor people, but Trump reeled you in with his vague promises but I’m afraid the self serving 1%er is only out to help himself and his many rich friends. Like the Rheostatics said “It’s a bad time to be poor.”
Hang on all you sweaty party animals. Things are only beginning. We have a big surprise for you now. All the way from Russia…PUSSY RIOT. Oh man! we are going to have to chain the pussy grabbing sleazeball to his pulpit during this performance. Relax Donald…this is just the band’s name. It is not an invitation for you to display your inner or outer misogynist ways. There is no truth to the rumour that Pussy Riot will be travelling with an entourage of Russian Hookers. Sorry Donald but there are no ‘golden showers’ in the forecast for this inauguration party. Maybe some other time? I am sure Putin has something special waiting for you the next time you visit The Kremlin. Just a word of advice. Leave Melania at home. You seem to be good at that anyway so I am sure this will be a pretty straight forward process. Don’t worry. The hotel room is definitely not bugged and there are no hidden cameras. 🙂
“Crap, crap, this godliness
crap!
Crap, crap, this holiness crap!”
Oh man! This ‘punk prayer’ is not going to go over well with the religious right that the manipulative con artist managed to so conveniently align himself with. You better pull Pussy Riot off stage. Keep your hands where we can see them Donald.
Ooops! Somebody in Trump’s camp didn’t do their research. That was definitely not what they were expecting. Probably Don Jr. He isn’t too swift. Anything to please Daddy though.
Time to get things back on track. How about this to conclude our punk set?
Ladies and gentlemen…The DAYGLO ABORTIONS. Gotta love this outward shot at the Republican decision to abolish Planned Parenthood despite the many positive services they provide women in the U.S. The Republican stance in this case is consistent with their overall platform to set America back at least 50 years. How any woman could have supported this guy is beyond me.
This band probably peaked in prominence in the ’80’s when they were brought up on obscenity charges for their lyrical content. One album was called ‘Feed us Your Fetus’ and it depicted Ronald and Nancy Reagan on the cover being served a baked fetus. I am not making this up folks. Google it.
Here is ‘America Eats Her Young’
Oh no! Donald is body surfing again. Somebody get him back to the stage and tell him these guys weren’t invited. They crashed the party. Evidently Donald thinks they are ‘tremendous’.
Pay attention to the words Donald…. Too late. 🙂
“America has often been called the land of opportunity
But you better be careful which one you choose cuz it might come with a penalty
There’s lots of good jobs working in a factory cranking out the land mines
And you better be ready to pull the party line or you’ll end up doing real time
America likes to keep her children stupid. They don’t know how the rest of us live
She wraps them up in a blanket of ignorance waiting to catch the HIV
Beating up their bibles and waving their guns thinking that they’re the only way
But if they’re not careful the rest of the world’s gonna gett’em one of these days
America has her finger on the trigger
America’s got her bullets in the gun
America’s still stringing up n______
America eats her young
The American president’s an angry little man who doesn’t have a thought of his own
He’s the slave of multi-death corporations and the puppet of religion
He’s told what to do by a big machine that doesn’t give a shit about us human beings
And it needs the Middle East for its Armageddon feast because it is the beast”
It could take a while to clean up after that performance. This place is really rockin’ now. The religious right are catatonic which is probably a good thing because for a while at least, they won’t be able to do any more damage.
Let’s bring in Neil Young. Donald loves Neil. Neil is one of his best, best, best friends. They had their picture taken together once. Neil regrets this. Donald thought he would borrow Neil’s song ‘Keep on Rockin’ in the Free World. Neil said no. Donald couldn’t believe it. Neil may have thrown up on his own shoes while simultaneously shaking his head at the simplicity of the ‘Trumpmeister’. Donald wake up! This song is a raging indictment of Republican America. Why would you ever want to use it as a campaign song? My God you are a stupid human being. Dumb as a stump, Trump. Anyway, here you go. Enjoy some scorching, angry Neil Young.
“But there’s a warnin’ sign
On the road ahead
There’s a lot of people sayin’
We’d be better off dead”
Say good bye to ‘Obamacare’. It’s a shame so many Trump supporters don’t feel health care is a right that should be afforded to all citizens. Gotta love the Trump supporters who stated that it doesn’t matter that ‘Obamacare’ was repealed because they are covered by the A.C.A. (Affordable Care Act). Not too swift.
Feel the electricity after that one. Oh man! The place is buzzing. What’s that? We need some southern content. Donald is HUGE in the south. Okay. Here is the Georgia Satellites doing a TREMENDOUS cover of an old Joe South song called ‘The Games People Play’. Again pay close attention to the lyrics. There seems to be a prevailing message. Unfortunately, only the lefty, libtard, progressive Democrats seem to understand though.
“People walking up to you
Singing glory hallelulia
And they’re tryin to sock it to you
In the name of the Lord
They’re gonna teach you how to meditate
Read your horoscope, cheat your faith
And further more to hell with hate
Come on and get on board”
Oh yah! Gotta love southern rock. Now it’s time for a little acoustic stuff. Here is a song that was written fifty years ago. John Prine thought the message would last for about six months but it is still a staple of his live performances to this very day. It seems us dumb humans don’t learn from history and consequently we are doomed to repeat it. Great song though. Join in and sing along. Maybe hold hands. Get to know each other.
“But your flag decal won’t get you into Heaven anymore
They’re already overcrowded from your dirty little war
Now Jesus don’t like killin’, no matter what the reason’s for
And your flag decal won’t get you into Heaven anymore”
I’ve got some bad news for you America. You are not God’s chosen people. God does not bless you. At least he doesn’t bless you any more than any other country. Some might even suggest there is no God at all. Sit down Jeffrey Sessions! Just relax. Enjoy the concert.
It’s going to get good now folks. We’ve got another living legend. Mr. Buddy Guy. I love this man. I love this song. Pay attention folks. Some words to live by. Especially following a campaign that feasted on the idea that anybody who is ‘different’ is somehow a threat. Of course, this type of propaganda isn’t exclusive to Drumpf. Heil Hitler! That didn’t go so well. Pay attention people.
“I’ve been around a while
I know wrong from right
And since a long time ago
Things been always black and white
Just like you can’t judge a book by the cover
We all gotta be careful
How we treat one anotherSkin Deep
Skin Deep
Underneath we’re all the same
Skin Deep
Skin Deep
Underneath we’re all the same
We’re all of the same”
This leads nicely into a song with a similar message by Coleman Wild. Beautiful!
“Where you’re from, it doesn’t matter.
What you wear, it doesn’t matter
The way you move, it doesn’t matter
It doesn’t matter how you cut your hair
It’s what’s inside that counts.
It’s what’s inside that counts”
Hang on everyone. The show is almost over. Now it’s time to bring back Pink Floyd. Remember them? They got this whole thing started. It seems Donald, the intolerant genius thinks Mexicans are all rapists and murderers so we need to ‘build a wall’ along the Mexican border to keep the ‘bad hombres’ out. Nice one Donald. Feed the intolerance. Build a platform on the premise that visible minorities are inherently bad and should be mistrusted and hated. That’s what we need to make America great again. You are such a disgusting human being. To think you are the leader of what many believe is the most powerful country in the world is appalling. Welcome to the ‘divided States of America’. Here is a thought Drumpf. True leaders unite. Try it.
In the meantime while Pink Floyd is playing the roadies are going to build a wall…around YOU!
“All in all, it was all just bricks in the wall…”
That’s some powerful stuff.
To close out our show we have the iconic songwriting duo Simon and Garfunkel performing the classic homage to the country they love…America. Enjoy!
The people came to see a President sworn in for the country they love. They all came to look for America….
“They’ve all come to look for America
All come to look for America
All come to look for America”
Unfortunately, I don’t think they are going to find it here. Perhaps they will find the seedy, dark underbelly? Hopefully they will find America over the next four years. I doubt it will occur under the leadership of Divisive Donald the fraudulent, self serving, misogynistic, racist, liar. It’s up to the ‘people’. Hopefully the majority will figure it out in time.
“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”
Hopefully by 2020; if not before…?
We’ve all come to look for America. I hope to find it again soon.
To accompany you on your way home and in order for us to sustain the message please listen to The USA Singers and their phenomenal protest album, fittingly called ‘The Orange Album’. It is a brilliant combination of musicianship, political commentary and idiosyncratic humour that takes dead aim at the current abomination that resides in the Whitehouse. Check it out. You won’t be disappointed. Join the #Resistance.
So there you have it. The perfect Donald Trump inauguration concert. It sure beats Lee Greenwood, Toby Keith and some B list American Idol singer. Don’t forget The Rockette’s (at least the ones who checked their soul at the door) and The Morman Tabernacle Choir? Seriously? There are better musical lineups at the open mic night at your local bar. It speaks to how little people think of the man soon to be their ‘leader’.
Security provided by a few motorcycle gangs. Sounds more like Altamont.
Deplorable!
Ted Tocks Covers 