MR PRESIDENT - DON'T STAND FOR ACTA

The other day, I was reflecting on how great I, and millions of other people in the United States and around the world, were feeling a year ago, when Barack Obama was elected President Of The United States Of America. I was so elated. So proud. So relieved. It was one of the happiest days of my life.

The celebrations were awesome. Some of the greatest artists on earth campaigned, hard, for the man. Including no less than Bruce Springsteen and Stevie Wonder. Bruce did a gig with Billy Joel (they played as one band, not co-headliners, it was Billy's first political type gig, and John Legend was also there). And of course, huge stars, including Bruce, Stevie, John Legend, and other great artists performed at the various celebrations. It was a historic moment in time, and a great one.

Of course, that wasn't the end, it was the beginning. Getting elected was the easy part. Not too easy, but he was running against a candidate who the Republicans had repeatedly said "no" to, who had choosen a running mate with a popularity cycle akin to that of an indie rock band (everyone loves her! no, she's overrated! no, we hate her, it was all a mistake!). But still, it isn't easy for a black man, or a politically progressive person to get elected, and he pulled it off. Since then, he has had to deal with the most partisan opposition I've seen in my lifetime (sorry, way worse than what the Democrats gave bush), and, as is his habit, he is trying to meet these people halfway. People will criticize him for literally anything. He wants to speak to students on the first day of school. "It's an outrage!" He is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, surprising even him. "It's worthless!" He tries to get the Olympics for Chicago. "We hope he fails!" I mean, come on. Why did he get the Nobel Peace Prize anyway? For not being bush. The award was for America as much as it was for Barack. It was for what he symbolizes.

Barack Obama isn't just a man, although he may wish he was. He represents a lot of things to a lot of people. He represents a hope for the future - bush's followers may have said the same about him, but bush used fear in a way that Barack doesn't, and doesn't need to. I think it is inevitable that Barack (I hope no one is offended by my using his first name) ends up letting some people down. I have a lot of hope for him, I think he will be one of the finest Presidents our country has ever had.

What does this have to do with my blog, other than that it is my blog? Well, as I wrote in my headline, there is this thing called "ACTA" going down - The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. It is, as the writer James Love puts it, a "patriot act for the internet." I'm not a great tech or politics writer, though, so check out what he has to say about ACTA. Is is ironic that a man who has benefitted so heavily from the internet would do something that essentially shuts it down, and would endorse meetings held with a rove-ian level of secrecy. I like to think that this hasn't really reached his radar yet, and when he finds out about it, he won't tolerate it.

MORE BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN GIGS

He isn't just playing the Super Bowl: Bruce Springsteen now has two more shows lined up. Bruce and Billy Joel are co-headlining a fundraiser for the Barack Obama campaign the Hammerstein Ballroom October 16: I wish I had the money to go, but it's an expensive one. I ain't mad: it's a good cause. Find out more here. I'm surprised Billy Joel is doing this: I thought he was kind of anti-celebs telling people who to vote for.

This weekend, Bruce will be performing solo, acoustic and free at a Barack rally. Find out more here. I knew Bruce wouldn't be sitting the election out, and I'm glad he's getting involved.

9/11 MUSIC PART 2: THE CONCERT FOR NEW YORK CITY

On October 20, 2001 - just over a month after 9/11 - VH1 organized The Concert For New York City. I had just started working at VH1, and I gotta say, I was really proud to work there at that moment. I wasn't involved in the concert, but I knew people who did: I watched from home with my girlfriend (now my wife). 

There were a lot of really good sets: David Bowie opened with a really interesting version of Simon & Garfunkel's "America" and then did his own classic"Heroes"; Eric Clapton played with Buddy Guy; Billy Joel played with his band, Elton John played solo and they did a duo thing also; Mick Jagger and Keith Richards performed together, John Mellencamp played and was joined by Kid Rock; James Taylor played, and Paul McCartney headlined. 

But everyone knows what the highlights of the show were: Adam Sandler's set as "Operaman," and, of course, The Who's performance. I listened to both today, actually. Sandler's set shows the healing power of laughter. It must be one of the greatest comedy performances of all time. And The Who. Wow. Since they started reuniting in 1989, they've been approximating their old greatness, and sometimes hitting it. It's not really realistic for anyone to think that they can exceed the heights they achieved when Keith Moon was alive. And yet, on this night, they did. I've seen it rated as one of their best performances ever, and was the only post-Moon performance to be included on that list. 

I remember an exec at VH1 saying that they should have had more "modern" bands, although The Goo Goo Dolls, The Backstreet Boys, Destiny's Child, Five For Fighting and Jay-Z were on the bill (Jay-Z in particular was so lame I was embarrassed for him).  This guy has great instincts and has become even more successful since then. But how wrong he was: adding Sugar Ray and matchbox twenty wouldn't have really worked. The crowd needed larger than life artists and larger than life songs to lift them up and help them mourn. They needed music by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Who, not Smash Mouth. 

BILLY JOEL SAYS GOODBYE TO SHEA

I thought it was surprising when I read that Billy
Joel was playing the final concerts at Shea Stadium, but only because he's a well known Yankees fan (and in fact he played the first rock concerts at Yankee Stadium nearly 20 years ago). But the shows sold out super-quickly. No surpise: Billy is probably as popular as he's ever been, despite not releasing an album in over 15 years. Plus, Shea is an important place for Met fans and New Yorkers. At the first show, Billy was joined by Tony Bennett, John Mellencamp, John Mayer and Don Henley. But the final show featured Roger Daltrey, Steven Tyler and, probably most significantly, Paul McCartney (The Beatles were the first rock band to play Shea). My friend was at the first night, and he reported that it was one of the best concerts he'd ever been to, and I know he's been to many.

Meanwhile, Billy has just released a 30th anniversary edition of The Stranger, perhaps his finest moment. it features the original album, a live concert recorded a few weeks before the album's release, and a live DVD, plus the usual box set liner notes treatment.

ROCK HALL PRESENTERS ANNOUNCED

It's always fun to try and figure out who will be presenting at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's induction ceremony. Often, they try to keep it a secret up until the event, but this year they've announced it.

Billy Joel will be doing the honors for John Mellencamp. I would have thought that they would have gotten one of his Farm Aid homeboys - Neil Young, Willie Nelson or Dave Matthews. Or Bruce Springsteen. But Billy is a good choice, and in fact, I think Mellencamp was asked to do the speech for Billy Joel a few years, but when Ray Charles agreed to do it, John bowed out (as Ray Charles is an obvious huge influence on Billy Joel). Billy and Mellencamp are both artists of the people: regular-seeming guys, with lots of talent and tons of unforgettable songs, who never seemed to get their due respect from critics.

Justin Timberlake will induct Madonna. He's working on her album, and is an ambitious pop artist like Madonna. I was thinking they'd try to get one of her influences, but Justin is a good pick for that. He and his bandmates did a decent speech for Michael Jackson a few years ago. But now Justin has proved he at least has staying power.

Lou Reed will be making the speech for Leonard Cohen. Makes sense to me. Ditto for John Forgerty and The Ventures. Ben Harper will be doing the honors for Little Walter, which I think is great - just that the Hall is acknowledging Ben as an important enough artist for the event. I was thinking it would be Clapton, but I'm glad to see Ben getting some shine. He belongs in the Hall one day.

Tom Hanks will be bringing some star power, as he'll be inducting The Dave Clark 5. Apparently, this makes sense because of a role he played in the film That Thing You Do. That's cool - although I don't see how it isn't Little Steven, who has campaigned on the band's behalf for years. Maybe Bruce has a gig that night though.

NEW BILLY JOEL SONG

Over ten years ago, Billy Joel announced that he wasn't going to write any more songs, he said he was done with it. Earlier this year he released a new song, a love ballad called "All My Life," which he released on iTunes. Now, news comes that he has another new song, but he wrote it and barely appears on the recording. It's called "Christmas In Fallujah," and it is being recorded by a young singer-songwriter named Cass Dillon, who was in his single digits when Billy released his last full length rock album, The River Of Dreams. According to a Billboard interview, Billy felt that the song, about a guy spending the holidays in the Middle East, needed to be sung by a younger voice.

I don't think Billy gets enough credit for his songwriting. He'd be the first to admit that some of his songs are a bit cheesy (I've read interviews where he openly mocks "Just The Way You Are"). But he writes about regular people struggling with the world around them with a near-Springsteenian eye. "The Downeaster 'Alexa,'" "Goodnight Saigon" and "Allentown" are great examples of this. Billy isn't in my top echelon of favorite artists, but I've always been a big fan. I'm looking forward to this song, which hits iTunes tomorrow.

Incidentally, I really respect Billy's deciscion to get off the treadmill. He has nothing more to say, why put out new albums just because he's "supposed" to? He tours, plays the old songs that his fans want to hear, and that's great. I think it's more natural for a guy like him, who has recorded so many great songs, to quit if he can't match the quality of his earlier music. Not everyone can be Springsteen or Petty. That said, I have high hopes for this new song.