Tag: ken-stringfellow

Today in Washington, I walked out of the Nat’l Air and Space museum, affected most deeply not by the glories of Yeager, Glenn etc. but by the cold, symmetric simplicity of the V2, and the shredded humanity it created. The sun was igniting the backdrop to the Washington Monument with gold and pink, bouncing off the Capitol dome. Leaves were glorious, ridiculous: food-coloring- red and manila-envelope-yellow, and disintegrating under boots, smelling wonderful. We saw an albino squirrel, and a woman in a sari photographing it with a disposable camera. Bats (on cue for the E’en) managed to zip through solely in one’s peripheral vision. At 6pm it was about 75 degrees.

There was no orchestral upswelling scoring my thoughts in those moments. The amber wave stuff seems finished for now. I have been experiencing fear for the future, while trying to maintain optimism.

Understand that if John Kerry wins on Tuesday (which is what I do hope will happen), all is not well. It’s merely a postponement of a confrontation, or series of confrontations, that still lay ahead—where we will look at ourselves as individuals, as neighbors, and as humans and not be able to shrug. Sept. 11 was horrible, but certainly an opportunity to introspect and macro-spect. One wonders what the next nudge will be (if that was a nudge, what does a push look like?)

I am rambling out of my element. But, I will say, the techniques I have seen employed by the right (even with all the safeguards in place to restrain them) to create meaningless media outlets for opinion-only based news, to give lazy people an easy target to cast their aggressions onto, to equate discourse with defeatism, to bark the victory growl as the explosive din gets louder-these give me pause to consider: the willingness of the people to believe in the most convenient truth. A nation feels victimized after a military defeat, and becomes the nation that builds the V2.

I can’t say that everything begins or ends on Nov. 2. I cast my vote, I hope you all cast yours, and that’s where I’ve left it. But I’m not pulling the protest songs off the in-progress Posies album yet, no matter what the outcome.

On a lighter note: thanks to Dominique, REM/Crew, Angela McCluskey and band, and the rock-steady people gathered in Atlantic City Saturday night for pummeling me with joy on my 36th birthday… even as I went over the top… of my keyboard… and accidentally derailed it from its moorings (I coulda lost it and my right foot). Michael sang Bonne Anniversaire, cake was mashed on my face, and I was absolutely embarrassed and wouldn’t have changed one thing. A thousand apologies to Bob Weber!!!! I’ll see you on the other side of the rest of history.

I’m in Chicago, always a great town for music, playing tomorrow and the next night (25th and 26th October) at the Auditorium Theatre. Indian summer seems to be in effect, and thus if anybody happens to read this…I need a tennis partner here in town–email me via this site’s contact page if you wish to volunteer…

I’m going to throw a couple of new pics on the photo page this week…

The Vote For Change tour came to a successful conclusion in Washington DC, with an all star-ish lineup (my stepdad, age 79, preferred Jurassic 5!) on Oct. 11. Televised on the Sundance Channel, and streamed on Real Networks, I think we can say that, we did what we could with what we had access to (in other words, no thank you very much to the major networks—I mean, I am sure they could have given fair and balanced equal coverage to a pro-Bush concert… yeah right—two skinhead bands and a couple of country western dudes puttin’ boots in an Osama doll’s ass). With Vote for Change and its supporters, substantial risks were taken, and that earns my respect, at the very least. And I think it will have an impact on the upcoming election, we’ll see if it helps tip the egg over the roof. Cluck.

I would also like to add that Bruce Springsteen, his band and crew, were nothing less then people of the highest order, kindness and generosity. It was a blast and and an honor to get to know them and share the stage with the Boss and co.

REM’s headlining tour begins today, highlighted by the fact that BOB WEBER did something for me, personally, today.

Still getting those KS tour dates together… looking good tho’.

The tone of the evening has been uplifting, exuberant, hopeful and fun. Bruce and Michael each say a few words in support of John Kerry specifically and in support of a change in the administration in general in the next election, and urge everyone to register and vote (and yes, I support these views wholeheartedly—the deadline for registration differs from state to state but generally it’s this week). I generally do not speak about politics, but, I have a number of reasons to endorse Sen. Kerry. I believe the current administration’s policies are too often one-dimensional and inflexible. I believe the invasion of Iraq was done with some good intentions but carried off in such a way as to create deep divisions between our allies and ourselves, and certainly without acknowledging all the possible outcomes, many of the worst of which have come to pass. And the massive spending increase and tax cuts combo is, I believe, ultimately hazardous. And so on. It’s in the papers.

I certainly don’t expect my readers and listeners to think like me, act like me, etc. I wouldn’t dislike someone who shares a completely different opinion, like many of my friends and family. My music is for everyone. It’s meant to cross boundaries and communicate across the many existing demarcations that subdivide social groups and push and pull us in different directions and thru various shifts in our identities.

This week: REM’s Around the Sun album will be released by Warner Bros. I can be heard on several of the tracks, playing various keyboards. It’s a lovely and gentle collection songs of hopes, questions, and dreams, relevant to living in these times, and in this country especially.

See you all on the tour! Check the tour page for REM’s dates near you.