I hope that something better comes along

SCENE: Evening in a bar. Our HERO walks into the the bar, pausing by the piano as the bar’s PIANIST plays an opening riff. The PIANIST looks up and greets our HERO as he plays lightly on the keyboard.

PIANIST: Evenin’! You look like you could use a drink.

OUR HERO: Yeah. I’d like a grasshopper, please.

PIANIST: [Calling to the bartender] Hey, can we have a grasshopper for the frog?

OUR HERO: Uh, that…that’s Kermit, Kermit the Frog.

PIANIST: Oh! Rowlf, Rowlf the Dog, here. Pleased ta meet’cha!

[ROWLF plays a fancy glissando on the piano]

ROWLF: I’m no Heifetz, but I get by.

[ROWLF continues to play lightly, as KERMIT looks out the window]

ROWLF: Lemme guess — broken heart, right?

KERMIT: Huh. Does it show?

ROWLF: Listen — when you’ve been tickling the ivories as long as I have, you’ve seen a broken heart for every drop of rain; a shattered dream for every falling star.

KERMIT: Exactly. She just walked out on me.

ROWLF: Eh, typical. That’s why I live alone.

KERMIT: You do, huh?

ROWLF: You bet. Finish work, I go home, read a book, have a couple of beers, take myself for a walk and go to bed.

KERMIT: Nice and simple.

ROWLF: Stay away from women — that’s my motto.

KERMIT: But I can’t!

ROWLF: Neither can I. That’s my trouble.

ROWLF: You can’t life with ’em, you can’t live without ’em.
There’s something irresistable-ish about ’em.
We grin and bear it ’cause the nights are long —
I hope that somethin’ better comes along.

KERMIT: I see what you mean.
It’s no good complainin’, and pointless to holler.

ROWLF: If she’s a beauty she’ll get under your collar.

KERMIT: She made a monkey out of old King Kong.

BOTH: I hope that something better comes along.

ROWLF: Ah, but what could be better, than a saucy Irish Setter,
When puppy love comes on strong?
Or a collie that’s classy…
A laddie needs a lassie…
A lover and wife gives you a new leash on life!

KERMIT: Uh — uh, was that a new leash on life?

ROWLF: Oh yeah. Uh, sorry about that. Two, three, four…

KERMIT: I don’t mean to scare ya, my friend, but I bet’cha,
come Father’s Day the litter bug’s gonna get’cha.

ROWLF: The urge is righteous but the face is wrong!

BOTH: I hope that something better comes along.

KERMIT: Still, it’s fun when they’re fetchin’,
and agree to see an etching,
that you keep at your lilly pad.
There is no solution, it’s part of evolution…

ROWLF: The pitter-patter of soles, the little feet of tadpoles!

KERMIT: Uh, Rowlf, tadpoles don’t have feet!

ROWLF: Oh. Sorry about that. Two, three, four…

KERMIT: There’s no limitation to mixin’ and matchin’.

ROWLF: Some get an itchin’ for a critter they’ve been scratchin’.
A skunk was badgered, the results were strong!
I hope that somethin’ better,

BOTH: I hope that somethin’ better,
I hope that somethin’ better comes along!

ROWLF: Beep-bop-biddy-biddy, doom-bom-diddy-diddy, dom-bum-um-ummm…

[KERMIT walks off]

ROWLF: It’s not often you see a guy that green…had the blues that bad.

Protest music links

Continuing in the protest music theme I’ve been trying to keep up with lately, today brings us a MetaFilter discussion started by a post opining that, well, to be honest — most modern protest songs suck.

Honestly? While there’s a few gems out there, I can’t say that I entirely disagree. Still, at least people are trying.

More music

Two more anti-war music links:

  • Zach de la Rocha and DJ Spooky: March of Death
  • Meshell Ndegeocello: Forgiveness and Love (Turn down the volume on your speakers first — the ‘music off’ button to kill the site’s background music is a tiny little button in the top right. Click on ‘downloads’ on the grey menu bar towards the top of the window, then you’ll find the download link in an orange box towards the bottom. I try to support artists by driving traffic to their sites, but Flash-based websites make it really tempting just to go ahead and post the direct download link [ahem] even though that’s considered ‘bad form.’ Anyway…)

(Via the NION Music Project)

More protest music links

busn-n-bones

A couple more protest song links, courtesy of Doc Searls:

First off, R.E.M. has released a rough take of a song called “Final Straw“. It’s only available as streaming audio, rather than being downloadable, but at least it’s out there.

Secondly, Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth has created Protest Records, a site focusing on collecting protest .mp3’s that have been released free for download. Nineteen have been posted so far, and it looks like there’s space for quite a few more. There are also a collection of stencil files provided with simple instructions: “Download. Print. Cut. Spray.” So if you start seeing things like the ‘Bush-N-Bones’ around your town, you know where they came from.

More protest songs

Salon has posted links to six protest songs that have been released by the artists to the web as free-for-download .mp3’s:

  • The Beastie Boys “In a World Gone Mad…” (which I posted about earlier)
  • Billy Bragg “The Price of Oil”
  • Chumbawumba “Jacob’s Ladder (Not in My Name)”
  • Ani DiFranco “Self Evident” (which Kirsten quoted in February)
  • John Mellencamp “To Washington”
  • Saul Williams “Not in My Name”

Remixes of the Saul Williams track, along with two other tracks from him (“Bloodletting” and “September 12^th^”) can be found at the Synchronic Records website.

This is cool.

(Via Kirsten)

Beastie Boys: In a World Gone Mad

The Beastie Boys have released an anti-war protest in the form of a rap track, freely avaible to download from their website, called “In a World Gone Mad“. Not their best work, admittedly, but interesting nothenless. While artists like Ani DiFranco have kept the “protest song” alive, the Beastie Boys are the first big group (no offense meant at all to Ani fans!) I can think of to do something like this.

Okay, they’re no Dylan. Still, it’s something.

Lyrics below, courtesy of Blogcritics

In a world gone mad it’s hard to think right
So much violence hate and spite
Murder going on all day and night
Due time we fight the non-violent fight

Mirrors, smokescreens and lies
It?s not the politicians but their actions I despise
You and Saddam should kick it like back in the day
With the cocaine and Courvoisier
But you build more bombs as you get more bold
As your mid-life crisis war unfolds
All you want to do is take control
Now put that axis of evil bullshit on hold
Citizen rule number 2080
Politicians are shady
So people watch your back ’cause I think they smoke crack
I don’t doubt it look at how they act

In a world gone mad it’s hard to think right
So much violence hate and spite
Murder going on all day and night
Due time we fight the non-violent fight

First the ‘War On Terror’ now war on Iraq
We?re reaching a point where we can?t turn back
Let’s lose the guns and let’s lose the bombs
And stop the corporate contributions that their built upon
Well I?ll be sleeping on your speeches ’til I start to snore
‘Cause I won’t carry guns for an oil war
As-Salamu alaikum, wa alaikum assalam
Peace to the Middle East peace to Islam
Now don’t get us wrong ’cause we love America
But that?s no reason to get hysterica
They’re layin’ on the syrup thick
We ain’t waffles we ain’t havin’ it

In a world gone mad it’s hard to think right
So much violence hate and spite
Murder going on all day and night
Due time we fight the non-violent fight

Now how many people must get killed?
For oil families pockets to get filled?
How many oil families get killed?
Not a damn one so what?s the deal?

It’s time to lead the way and de-escalate
Lose the weapons of mass destruction and the hate
Say ooh ah what’s the White House doin’?
Oh no! Say, what in tarnation have they got brewing??!!!!???!!
Well I?m not pro Bush and I’m not pro Saddam
We need these fools to remain calm
George Bush you?re looking like Zoolander
Trying to play tough for the camera
What am I on crazy pills? We?ve got to stop it
Get your hand out my grandma’s pocket
We need health care more than going to war
You think it’s democracy they?re fighting for?

In a world gone mad it’s hard to think right
So much violence hate and spite
Murder going on all day and night
Due time we fight the non-violent fight.