Operation 365... Blog 75

Operation 365 - Jefferson Jay - Archives - 81 Robin Lee 2 - 2-19-2009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVstr6Ohv0s

Here is my dear friend Robin Lee, with the second song from her set at my show on February 19, 2009, "All Of Me." That night she was joined by lead guitar superstar, Jack Davidson and living legend, The Soul Man, on guiro. I think The Soul Man may have been a hair hearty for that duo's dynamics-driven sound. At last Jack felt that way, rumor had it, but I am glad I got them all on stage together this night, cause they are all super legend status for our little world.

Here they covered, the classic tune, "All Of Me," written by Gerald Marks and Seymour Simons in 1931. At least that's what Wikipedia's reading today. This song is awesome. I would like to do it someday and the early 80s movie of the same name with Steve Matin and Lily Tomlin wasn't half bad either. In fact, I liked it a lot. "Edwina, back in bowl."

Robin Lee, you rule. Enough said. I'm glad we got to spend the time we did.

Operation 365 - Jefferson Jay - Covers - 81 "Sweet Home Alabama" by Lynyrd Skynyrd
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYm4FtTJedo

This has gotta be my favorite racist song of all-time. If it wasn't so racist, I probably would have done it sooner in my 365. But it is classic and it has arrived. If you don't know what's racist about it, I will tell you. This song was written as a ringing endorsement of Alabama livin', embodied my governor of Alabama at the time, George Wallace. George Wallace was a proud good ole boy and didn't want no blacks gettin' no equal rights in his Alabama. He was very outspoken about it.

Neil Young, a Canadian, didn't think this was so cool and said so in his tunes "Southern Man" and "Alabama." Well, that Canadian stickin' his nose in other people's business was about all Lynyrd Skynyrd could stand so they responded with this delightful piece of American history, "Sweet Home Alabama."

One of the most nauseating things to come from American popculture in the last several years has tro be when rotund African-American Ruben Studdard won American Ido by singing this song... or something like that. I 've never watched the show. I know he did the tune and I know he won. And I'm pretty sure that was the exact moment when American pop culture fully jumped the shark. Nice job Fox. That being said the tune is catchy and cool at least these guys were expressing their opinions on something mattered, even if they were dead wrong. Gosh, I miss the day when public figures stood for something... Just remember, Jefferson, it's never over. Time on the clock remains. It's going to be OK. Hail Egypt.

I will let Lynyrd Skynyrd, through Wikipedia, to tell their side of the story.

In 1975, Van Zant said: "The lyrics about the governor of Alabama were misunderstood. The general public didn't notice the words 'Boo! Boo! Boo!' after that particular line, and the media picked up only on the reference to the people loving the governor."[3] "The line 'We all did what we could do' is sort of ambiguous," Kooper notes "'We tried to get Wallace out of there' is how I always thought of it."[3] Journalist Al Swenson argues that the song is more complex than it is sometimes given credit for, suggesting that it only looks like an endorsement of Wallace.[3] "Wallace and I have very little in common," Van Zant himself said, "I don't like what he says about colored people."[3]

Colored people? Ouch. Would that have made whites colorless people? I' m so glad racism ended.

Operation 365 - Jefferson Jay - Originals - 81 "Virginia"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXuW869CKj4

A couple things here. This seems to follow naturally from the "Sweet Home Alabama," being one of my favorite racist tunes to this tune, "Virginia," being one of my only tunes that directly addresses the question of race. Virginia is a southern woman, living with the luxuries of the 21st century, hanging on to some good old fashioned 19th century racism.

This song wishes something more for Virginia, wishing she'd replace that angst with appreciation. Dreamers dream and I'm a dreamer. An idealist. Anyway, this isn't the entire song, really. I am dubbing this, a new version, "Virginia." The original one will forever forward be known as "Virginia Extended." There's a good chance I'll never play either of 'em ever again. God bless Operation 365. For better or for worse... sharing. I'll leave you with the rest of the lyrics in the event that you are an extremely curious person.

In South Carolina, the Civil War was called The War of Northern Aggression.
The hatred in your soul is masochism.
The hate you feel for others.
The way you think, how much you drink,
That only hurts you
and reflects on how you feel about yourself

Shout-out to The Flaming Lips and "their "Yoshimi" song. Who knows, maybe "Virginia Extended" will appear when desperation kicks in, around Day 342. Who knows anything?