Operation 365... Blog 229

Operation 365 - Jefferson Jay - Archives - 235 Rob Deez " A Single Tear" 2-7-2009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuu8rcTmQyY

More Rob Deez here, as promised. Again, he is supported by his primary amigo, Josh Damigo. Apparently, according to Rob's twitter, he is on some Arizona nature journey with his friends and got all his weed taken and a 400 dollar ticket from a lady cop in Arizona. I think he was even trying to get more on the the social media site. That Rob Deez is a riot. He has already promised to write a song about this lady copper upon his return. Knowing him, it's already written.

Good luck, Rob, Stay out of trouble. It's not California everywhere. You cross that border and all of a sudden, when though the States are allegedly united, medicine becomes contraband. One state's patient is another state's criminal. You just cross over in pencil0thin imaginary line and all of a sudden, right becomes wrong and wrong becomes right. That's what government is for, naturally, to dictate proper behavior in a a completely inconsistant irrational manner that essentially makes no sense at all. Aren't there people to be killing in far off lands? Or poor Americans starving to death so obscenely rich people can have 8 more boats? America, the greatest nation ever and if you don't agree, get the fuck out! Makes as much sense as Rob's weed ticket.

Operation 365 - Jefferson Jay - Covers - 235 "Pick a Bale of Cotton" - Traditional
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_jb-BssecI

Twas a bit of a tough morning on the covers side of the 365. Nancy Truesdail is holding a housewarming/CD release party for Don Truesdail's second CD, "Enervator," today. I tried to play Don's epic "Dragon Swan Song" a few times, but it only made me realize how much I missed Don and his music and how much I need to practice before I can record that. Somehow I wound up and "Pick A Bale of Cotton."

Maybe the classic scene from Steve Martin's "The Jerk" popped into my my head to provide me with a little levity. When I looked up the tune. I found many folks have covered it including Johnny Cash, Lead Belly, and ABBA. A Detroit suburbans school tried to do it with its choir, but they got in trouble. Folks said it was insensitive, this being a slave song and all. I don't feel at all insensitive playing it, personally. I have studied slavery some and the black folks sang songs to express their discontent in a manner that would not be clearly seen as undermining. Through singing in the fields, enslaved black people communicated and expressed themselves in ways even their overseers could not understand. They used sarcasm. They sang about doing their world as if they loved and it were important to them personally. It wasn't, but those overseers probably sang along thinking everything was grand.

Even the song speeding up to an absurd pace, to me, is a statement of the unrealistic and inhuman expectations placed upon these people. It is refreshing that all these years later, only 150, we can laugh about these awful realities with a black president in the Oval Office and Oprah as the queen of the world. Oh Lordie!

Operation 365 - Jefferson Jay - Originals - 235 "Schneep"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b76ILQssbKA

This is my genius new tune "Schneep" I wrote it (and recorded it ) in 11 seconds. Best 11 second song ever, hands down The chord is D, if you wish to cover it. If don't play guitar, but want to now that you've heard "Schneep," I understand that as well. Play a D chord, (it's easy) and shriek "Schneep," in that wonderful. Congratulations! You can play a song now. Doesn't it feel great?

Shout out to Shannon Cragen, "The Shan," who long ago, invented a word called "neep", which rhymes with "Schneep," but is otherwise entirely separate.