The Sellout and Death of Rock 'n' Roll

By Jim ONeill —— Bio and Archives January 27, 2018

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I know it's only rock 'n' roll, but I like it, like it--yes I do! -- The Rolling Stones "It's Only Rock 'n' Roll" TRANSCENDENCE RESTORES HUMOR. Spirit restores humor. Suddenly smiling returns. Too many representatives of too many movements--even many very good movements, such as feminism, environmentalism, meditation, spiritual studies--seem to lack humor altogether. In other words, they lack lightness, they lack a distance from themselves, a distance from the ego and its grim game of forcing others to conform to its contours.... They should all trade two pounds of ego for one ounce of laughter. -- Ken Wilber "One Taste" I am ancient enough to remember when rock 'n' roll stood for FREEDOM. Nowadays all too many rock icons hobnob with the elites and stand for the establishment status quo--political correctness, and lockstep uniformity. They are nothing more than elitist snobs dressed in rock 'n' roll costumes. I don't know if they are corrupt, willfully blind, or simply stupid.

And you think you're so clever and classless and free
But you're still # peasants as far as I can see
...There's room at the top they're telling you still
But first you must learn how to smile as you kill
If you want to be like the folks on the hill--John Lennon "Working Class Hero John Lennon had the "folks on the hill's" number, and rightfully held them in contempt. Modern-day rock icons are more likely to kiss the rings and butts of the folks on the hill. Pathetic. So, who are "the folks on the hill?" They are the glitterati, the globalists, the elites--uber rich Democrat and RINO donors. They are the ones trying to force one-world-government down We the People's throats. They are the ones strangling free speech and telling us how to think, speak, and act. They are the ones who despise the middle-class and wish to destroy it. They are the ones who intend to lord it over We the People once we have been properly cowed and brainwashed into servile compliance. They own rock 'n' roll...well, except for Ted Nugent -- he's awake...and there's Kid Rock (who I wouldn't let date my daughter, but like from a distance). There are exceptions, but by and large rock 'n' roll has sold out, hugely. The biggest disappointment for me is Bruce Springsteen, whose music I loved for decades. I saw him and the "E Street Band" play at the small venue of "Alexander Hall" at Princeton University in 1974 (just before he became BIG). That remains to this day the greatest kick-butt rock concert I have ever been to--and I've been to a number of them.

Springsteen, "The Boss," seemed to have his finger on the pulse of Main Street America, and told its stories with melodic fire and lyrical passion.

Now Main Street's whitewashed windows and vacant stores
Seems like there ain't nobody wants to come down here no more
They're closing down the textile mill across the railroad tracks
Foreman says these jobs are going boys and they ain't coming back To your hometown -- Bruce Springsteen "My Hometown"

Sad, right? Springsteen sang of a broken American dream that "ain't coming back." But if the destruction of America's middle-class economy was a bad thing, then its reemergence and revitalization must be a good thing, right?

Now, yesterday you saw with Apple - $350 billion investment. Now they're also giving thousands of dollars to their employees. That's happening all over the country, and I'm really happy. People are really doing well. They're doing better than they have in years. -- President Donald J. Trump, Coraopolis, PA 1/18/18

I for one am not holding my breath waiting for Springsteen to praise President Trump for anything. Such praise doesn't fit the current liberal narrative, and liberals know that they had better walk the party line or risk being shunned by their fellow sheeple. I am not making Springsteen out as some sort of monster...he's just a disappointment to me is all. And he has plenty of company. I recall Sir Paul McCartney telling Obama that after eight years of Bush it was nice to have someone in the White House who knew what a library is. Ha ha. And U2--what the hell is wrong with those lads? They have swallowed the globalist fairy tale, hook, line, and sinker. You'd think they would know better--growing up street savvy and being world traveled and all. Ah well, my mom (who loved everything Irish) used to say that there is nothing as thick as a thick Irishman.