Operation 365... Blog 334

Operation 365 - Jefferson Jay - Archives - 340 Blowski "Manhunt" 12-29-2009
http://youtu.be/CgZuegzRrsI


Today's archive takes us to the end of the musical year 2009, as least as far as my friends and I were concerned. This clip was filmed right near the end of my Open Mic on December 29, 2009. Here Blowski plays his classic tune "Manhunt" with The Soul Man on guiro. Blowski is one of my best pals and he was right at the center of all the awesome things that happened in what we used to call "The Portugalia Era." You can see there are no mics at this show. Portugalia got banned form having them for some reason I never clearly understood. The truth was getting harder and harder to come by in the waning months of this bygone time.

All I know is my shows went on. People had to project and they did, especially The Soul Man. There's no missing the guiro in this here clip. It was the end of a long hard year, the type of year that gets you resolved to do your best to have better years exclusively in the future, as much as humanly posible anyway.

"Manhunt"is one of many songs by Blowski that has a political bent. Blowski and I have been discussing the problems in the world and what needs to be done about them for some time. We are both refreshed and excited about the societal pulse that the Occupy movement has engendered. it's awesome. So here, Blowski sings about how they're looking for one guy, an escaped prisoner for one reason or another, but they could just as easily be looking for you. And it doesn't matter what you did or didn't do.

We all have to overcome obstacle in this life. Be it a year like 2009, aging (The Soul Man is 93), corporate gered, personal relationships, health concerns. The best we can do is pull together, support each other and maintain a longing and level head thorough all the twists and turns. Having friends is a great blessing. The Soul Man and The Ski Man are two of the best ones I've ever had and I infinitely appreciate them for it.

Two days after this was filmed, Blowski got a haircut on the desert on New Year's morning. Blowski's band Acoustic Booze, to which I once belonged is now on indefinite hiatus, but we never know what surprises this world holds for us. Maybe we will reunite some day and top the charts, inspire a revolution or make someone listening closely shed a tear. Maybe seeing this video will inspire Blowski to get back up on his musical horse. The movement needs folks like him, myself, and maybe you, to provide it with a soundtrack. It needs passionate to share art invoking their thoughts, feelings, opinions and ideas. We need to communicate and we need to inspire each other.

Operation 365 - Jefferson Jay - Covers - 340 "Swanee River (Old Folks at Home)" by Stephen Foster
http://youtu.be/MWJIDvGHV1M


Don't know what made "Swanee River (Old Folks at Home)" pop into my head today when cover-tome came. I'm glad it did though. I like these cold classic songs. It seems like this Stephen Foster fellow has written more than his fair share of them. He is like The Beatles of a million years ago. I gave ya a little fast version, then some slow version and another little fast version action after the break, just to keep you moving.

Last night was Halloween Observed here in Ocean Beach, meaning adults got dressed up, went out and got crazy. I went out some too, but I can relate to this number. I Could just as easily stayed home along old Swanee River.

Ahhhhh!!! Damn research. I just learned a lot about this tune. Here it goes. I share.

wikipedia: "Old Folks at Home" (also known as "Swanee River") is a minstrel song written by Stephen Foster in 1851. It was intended to be performed by the New York blackface troupe Christy's Minstrels. E. P. Christy, the troupe's leader, appears on early printings of the sheet music as the song's creator. Christy had paid Foster to be credited, something Foster himself had suggested though later regretted. It has been the official state song of Florida since 1935.[1]

According to legend,[1] Foster had most of the lyrics but was trying to give a name to the river of the opening line and asked his brother to suggest one. The first suggestion was "Yazoo" (in Mississippi), which despite fitting the melody perfectly, Foster rejected. The second suggestion was "Pee Dee" (in South Carolina), to which Foster said, "Oh pshaw! I won't have that." His brother then consulted an atlas and called out "Suwannee!" Foster said "That's it exactly!" He wrote it in immediately (misspelling it "Swanee" to fit the melody).[2] Foster himself never saw the Suwannee or even visited Florida, but the popularity of the song initiated tourism to Florida to see the river.

Controversy

This song is seen by some as racist toward black Americans for its imitation of Black English Vernacular (the song is sung from the perspective of a black man), with its original lyrics referring to "darkies" and "a-longin' for the old plantation."[1] Foster himself supported the North during the American Civil War and sympathized with African-Americans. In 1997, former state representative Willy Logan presented an unsuccessful motion to have the song replaced. For many public performances, words like "lordy," "mama," "darling," "brothers" or "dear ones" are often used in place of "darkies."
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I didn't find any of those lyrics. I did see these racist-ish lyrics posted on this official looking site, http://www.50states.com/songs/florida.htm but I ignored them.

The Operation 365 does not support any hate of any sort, even to those who could arguably deserve. The Operation 365 only advocates love. If "Swanee River" is good enough for Django Reinhardt, it's good enough for the 365.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_piTvK5d5A

Operation 365 - Jefferson Jay - Originals - 340 "We Swoon"
http://youtu.be/NgSutjl9oUg


I'm going down the list of tunes I have to make sure, nothing too important gets left out of the 365. I have hit most of the important ones already, except all the tracks on my upcoming CD, "Gift To Be Alive." I have been saving all of them this whole time for last two weeks of the 365, after the CD is released on 11-11-11. I bet you didn't know I had a plan. Did ya?

"We Swoon" is a tune I wrote just before we opened for Steely Dan in 2006. I was already feeling the inspiration of their sound starting to sink in to my subconscious. I went to the beach at the bay one day to relax and pretty much this whole situation unfolded as I detailed it in the song. A beautiful young lady was modeling, sexy poses in the water for a photog I later found out was her pops. Creepy, huh? I decided to go with the creepy and in as Steely Dan-esque a manner as I could summon, I went for it. Steely Dan is all about pervy tunes about younger women. See: Hey Nineteen and Cousin Dupree, for two. Consider this an homage. What can I tell ya? I love Steely Dan.

If this song wasn't so skeezy, I probably would have posted it earlier in the Operation, but it's cool. I like the music. It's a song, not an autobiography. It is based on a true story. I wound up going over to the parent people and talking to them after, That's how I found out, he was her pop and her name was Holly. I mean, technically, Pops was the one being pervy, if anyone was. I just went to the beach at the bay with my pooch to relax. There's no way I could have anticipated all of this. Hey, it WAS memorable. I remember it.

Timing is a funny thing in this life. I just this past second got some unsavory news about my father's health. Praying for my Pops. Hope he'll be OK. There's some reasons to be hopeful, the doctors say. Life... Wtf. Crazy life.