Living For The City, Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder

by Dick Mac

Ray Charles recorded the song for his 1975 "Renaissance" album. The song includes all six verses and for the spoken interlude Charles testifies to the extremes of his abject poverty. Wonder was appreciative of Charles' version and the two recorded the song in duet for television.

From Wikipedia. Read the entire entry.

David Bowie - Panic In Detroit

by Dick Mac

This is one of my all-time favorite rock songs. It is from David Bowie's 1973 Aladdin Sane album.

Panic in Detroit

He looked a lot like Che Guevara,
Drove a diesel van
Kept his gun in quiet seclusion,
Such a humble man
The only survivor
Of the National People's Gang
Panic in Detroit, I asked for an autograph
He wanted to stay home, I wish someone would phone

Panic in Detroit

He laughed at accidental sirens that broke the evening gloom
The police had warned of repercussions
They followed none too soon
A trickle of strangers were all that were left alive

Panic in Detroit, I asked for an autograph
He wanted to stay home, I wish someone would phone

Panic in Detroit

Putting on some clothes I made my way to school
And I found my teacher crouching in his overalls
I screamed and ran to smash my favorite slot machine
And jumped the silent cars that slept at traffic lights

Having scored a trillion dollars,
Made a run back home
Found him slumped across the table.
The gun and me alone
I ran to the window. Looked for a plane or two

Panic in Detroit.
He left me an autograph
"Let me collect dust."
I wish someone would phone

Panic in Detroit

Lance Loud: Dick Cavett Interview, 1973

by Dick Mac

I've been thinking about Lance Loud a lot lately, so this is Lance Loud week at Dick Mac (alive!).

Here, the 21-year-old Lance appears on the Dick Cavett Show, discussing "An American Family," the show about his family. The show, for better or worse, put Lance and the Loud family on the map in the living rooms of America.

Lance discusses the show, his family, his ambitions, his homosexuality, New York City, his stupidity, and he is, as always, a big flirt.




Lance Loud, From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ike & Tina Turner - Nutbush City Limits (1973)

by Dick Mac

This is the end of my week-long tribute to Ike & Tina Turner.

Today's video is the only one of the videos that is an Ike & Tina original. "Nutbush City Limits" was written by Tina, produced by Ike, and the studio recording features the late Marc Bolan, the boyfriend of former Ikette Gloria Jones, on guitar.

You might recognize Bolan's name as the leader of the glam rock group T.Rex, who in the early- and mid-1970s enjoyed success on the US charts. He is known to have played guitar on a number of the band's songs.

Tina was born in Nutbush, Tennessee, and this song was the last charting single for Ike & Tina Turner.

Blog For Choice

Today is the 35th Anniversary of the Roe v Wade decision.

From Wikipedia:

According to the Roe decision, most laws against abortion in the United States violated a constitutional right to privacy under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The decision overturned all state and federal laws outlawing or restricting abortion that were inconsistent with its holdings. Roe v. Wade is one of the most controversial and politically significant cases in U.S. Supreme Court history. Its lesser-known companion case, Doe v. Bolton, was decided at the same time.

The central holding of Roe v. Wade was that abortions are permissible for any reason a woman chooses, up until the "point at which the fetus becomes ‘viable,’ that is, potentially able to live outside the mother's womb, albeit with artificial aid. Viability is usually placed at about seven months (28 weeks) but may occur earlier, even at 24 weeks." The Court also held that abortion after viability must be available when needed to protect a woman's health, which the Court defined broadly in the companion case of Doe v. Bolton. These court rulings affected laws in 46 states.

See Wikipedia entry here.

South Dakota and Mississippi have tried unsuccessfully to ban abortion. In South Dakota, the governor signed a bill banning abortion, but the citizens overturned that ban in a referendum, which shows (yet again) that the majority of Americans support unfettered access to safe and legal abortions. Mississippi's bill failed when the state's senate and house failed to reach a compromise, which shows (yet again) that the majority of elected officials are not really interested in banning a safe medical procedure they know will be replaced with unsafe, illegal procedures.

Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Dakota and South Dakota have since passed laws that will automatically pass into law the moment Roe v. Wade is overturned. These are called trigger laws, and hopefully will be done away with irrespective of the status of Roe v. Wade.

Fortunately, thinking people in California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Nevada and Washington, have passed laws protecting the legality of abortion, irrespective of federal mandate.

It is important to vote Pro-Choice. This means viting for a liberal. I recommend John Edwards or Dennis Kucinich, two politicians whose commitment to supporting abortion rights is solid. If you must vote for a more conservative candidate, please consider the black guy over the white woman, but I don't trust either of them with the future of abortion rights (or anything else). If you're a Republican, then Giuliani is your only real choice for a candidate who supports access to abortion (good luck).

NARAL (the National Abortion Rights Action League, previously known as the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws, before Roe v. Wade was decided) has been doggedly protecting a woman's right to reproductive freedom since 1969. Please consider a donation to NARAL today. Click here.


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