They're just plain wrong, again...

One of the arguments heard even today from the Big 3 automobile companies is that the spectre of - or even the hint of possible - bankruptcy will keep Americans from buying their cars. Rick Wagoner, the CEO of GM, told the U.S. Senate that 80% of Americans would refuse to buy a car from a company that had filed for bankruptcy. A new USA Today/Gallup Poll indicates that this line of argument is simply wrong; flat out wrong.

This poll asked the question: Would the auto companies filing bankruptcy make you less or more willing to buy an American car? Three out of every four respondents, 75%, said it would not affect their decision. A higher number, 82%, said they would consider buying a Detroit-branded car in the future. And 57% of Americans still believe - although we don't - that all three major American auto companies will survive.

So, just because a highly-paid auto executive or a highly-paid spokesperson says something is true doesn't make it so. For some reason, the auto executives continue to discount the option of bankruptcy even if it might be the very medicine their ailing companies need. As was so well-stated by Aaron Bragman, an IHS Global Insight analyst, "It is one of the big contentions the auto industry has made, that people will not buy from a bankrupt company. They have fought bankruptcy tooth and nail."

We're not saying that bankruptcy would or would not fix things, simply that the debate needs to be centered around honest arguments based on factual research, like this latest poll.

Snow Mazes of Norway - a song by Jenny Dalton

SNOW MAZES OF NORWAY by Jenny Dalton

Six points on a snowflake, eight arrows on a compass
My brother with a host family playing drums for the Norwegians
He went walking to explore Trysil, but he got lost in a winter maze
Six points on a snow flake, eight arrows on a compass

Six ways from Sunday falling down
Eight feet of heaven on the ground
Keep him warm, keep him warm
'Cause in the snow mazes of Norway,
he is underground

He brought back some souvenirs
a metal bowl with a Viking ship
a wooden carving and compass
and six points on a snowflake

Six points on a snowflake
Eight memories in a photograph
My brother's going to miss that snow
Now he surfs in San Diego

A Glorious Christmas Album...

As the Beach Boys sang, Christmas comes this time each year, and if there's one thing we need this time of year its Christmas music. In order to meet this obligation, I went out recently and purchased Christmas With the Beach Boys. I had read earlier that this CD is actually a compilation of two Beach Boys vinyl Christmas albums, so my expectations were not high. I fully expected a low-fidelity, monophonic collection. Instead, I found that this 25-track collection contains only one song recorded in mono; the rest are all in fabulous stereo with many of them wonderfully produced and arranged by Dick Reynolds. Reynolds worked with The Four Freshman who had a tremendous influence on the young Brian Wilson.

The collection includes not one but three versions of the huge seasonal hit, Little St. Nick - a plain version, the '63 single version and a unique alternate version that only be described as fun, fun, fun (the story about Santa's sled being, in fact, a cleverly disguised hot-rod song). The Man With All The Toys, the number 3 single of the 1964 Christmas season, is also included. The Man... has a great stereo mix with a very audible bass line.

Another track with a great bass line is the very Elvis-like Merry Christmas Baby. The legend is that one of Elvis' own bass players put down the bouncy bottom on this one. Then there's Christmas Day, the first time Alan Jardine sang a lead vocal on a Beach Boys song. A year later Al was to sing the lead on Help Me, Rhonda. Which goes to show that they should have let him sing lead more often.

Frosty the Snowman is beautifully produced and arranged by Reynolds and sounds like something from a 60s TV special. I could go on and on, track by track, but I'll instead comment on only a few more songs...

Blue Christmas is just Brian singing Elvis' hit in front of an arrangement seemingly made for Sinatra. This one is simply awfully nice. It was a very good Christmas.

Santa Claus is Coming to Town recalls Brian's fondness for Dean Martin. This silly, goofy, arrangement is one that Dean would have loved! Santa's Got An Airplane will appeal to, and make sense for, fans of the Endless Harmony CD/DVD. Winter Song is another example - as if the world needed it - of Brian's genius, a Blood, Sweat and Tears/Chicago-style track.

White Christmas, the old Bing Crosby-staple, is re-invented as a Pet Sounds-style track (Caroline no). I'll Be Home for Christmas features the Beach Boys as The Four Freshman.

Melekalikimaka is a Hawaiian Christmas song, recorded in 1977, that fans of the single Kokomo will love. Finally, Bells of Christmas brings back memories... of a Beach Boys song called Don't Worry, Baby.

The only flaws with this collection are that, first, it ends with Brian explaining it in an interview that should have been placed as track one (as a prelude to the music rather than a conclusion); and, second, that it is over in just 58 minutes and 55 seconds. But, again, the sound is absolutely glorious - such a rarity in these days of harsh CDs - and may leave you thinking that maybe Christmas should come around more than just once each year.

Highly, highly recommended!

Contradictions, contradictions...

One article from today's USA Today (December 16, 2008) notes that people who have reached the age of 70 tend to focus on the positive. According to a Duke Neuroscientist, "Older adults... may be suppressing negative emotions to maintain emotional well-being." This is the good news.

The bad news, also from USA Today and based on a USA Today/Gallup Poll, is that 79% of the American public now sees the current economic situation "as a crisis or major problem." But, surprisingly, more people (11%) now feel their personal financial situation is excellent, the highest number polled since 2001. And fewer Americans were worried in October than they were in September about either maintaining their standard of living or paying their bills. Confusing, no?

Perhaps some of us can take comfort in the points made by Donna Birscoff of New Orleans. She first noted that the country is, indeed, in a financial crisis. "Only a moron would say that we were not." But she then focused on the positive side, "If you own your home and have no debt with an emergency fund - there is not a lot to worry about."

Our cat Munchy owns his own home -- a fiberglass Dog Hauz -- and has a big emergency stash of kibble, so we guess he's got nothing to worry about.

Photo: Joseph/Munchy Archives (Click on the photo to see a larger version. This post was updated on Wednesday, December 17, 2008.)

We're wishing everyone a picture perfect Christmas!

And a USC Trojans victory in the Rose Bowl.

A Retro Review of Paul Simon's Surprise CD/Album

Paul Simon's Surprise CD was released in 2006, and we'll bet that there are a lot of his fans who own Graceland and Bridge Over Troubled Water who don't have it in their collection. So as a public service we're reprinting this review by Martin Bandyke of the Detroit Free Press from two years ago:

Rating - 4 out of 4 stars

What suprises could folk-rocker Simon have left in him at this stage of his career? Well, how about collaborating with experimental rock guru Brian Eno?

The founding member of the arty Roxy Music and producer of classics by U2 and Talking Heads might have little in common with Simon musically, but Eno's open-minded approach might have fired a creative spark in Simon, who delivers his best album since the 1986 masterpiece "Graceland."

Simon's plea for understanding among naysayers and doubters on the stunning "How Can You Live in the Northeast" might be carried by the unusual, Eno-esque backdrop of fuzzy, distorted guitars and clattering drums, but these touches serve the strong images in the lyrics perfectly.

Spritual themes dominate the emotional "Wartime Prayers," "I Don't Believe" and "Once Upon a Time There Was An Ocean," while "Outrageous" and "Sure Don't Feel Like Love" are as funny as they are thought-provoking.

But whether the subject matter is serious or lightweight, it's obvious that Simon was having a fantastic time in Eno's London studio. His vocals are filled with energy, and his lyrics are particularly smart and insightful.

Brad Buchanan reads from Swimming the Mirror...

The poet Brad Buchanan, who wrote Her Song of Hunger about his daughter Nora (posted earlier on this site), will be reading from his collection Swimming the Mirror this coming Friday, December 19th, at La Raza Galeria Posada in Sacramento. The reading starts at 7:30 p.m. at 1024 22nd Street.