Two New CDs

I recently took advantage of a 2 for $20 deal at the local record store. I bought Neil Young and Crazy Horse's Rust Never Sleeps (1979), and the Who's Live at Leeds (recorded in 1970).

Rust Never Sleeps has quickly become one of my favourite albums. From the acoustic "My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue)" to the proto-grunge "Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)", the album gives you everything you need from music.

Young uses the first five tracks to assuage the listener with classic folk excellence. "Pocahontas" and "Sail Away" combine with "My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue)" to give the first half of this album the credentials required to be listed among great folk-rock works.

Then comes "Powderfinger", "Welfare Mothers", "Sedan Delivery" and "Hey Hey, My My (Into the Blue)" to jolt the listener out of their lull. These four tracks, highlighted by the first and last, rock with an unabashed distortion that could easly have come from Seattle in the early 1990s.

Live at Leeds is my first Who record. I previously bought their greatest hits package Then and Now! 1964-2004 and was disappointed. The collection features many of the over-produced, over-exposed classics we all know. It was only when a friend lent me his copy of The Who: Live at Kilburn 1977 that I decided to give the band another look.

The DVD showed my why the Who are so highly regarded and it prompted me to buy their classic album Live at Leeds. This album shows the Who in their prime and in their element. Songs that seemed too clean, like "Substitute," "Magic Bus," and "I Can't Explain," come alive on this album. Songs that I always loved, such as "Shakin' All Over" and "My Generation," take on a whole new life. This is how the Who should be heard.

Political Polarity

A few days back my good friend Pat McIver suggested that we combine our efforts into one blog. I was flattered that he thought highly enough of my babblings to invite me to post them alongside his own. So we now have a new URL:

http://www.politicalpolarity.com

From this point forward the vast majority of my posts will be made to that address. I will, however, continue to post apolitical notes here.

The new format will allow our readers to view both sides of the arguments on one site, thereby eliminating the need to follow links between our two sites. I hope you enjoy the new blog!

"Harpocricy 2: Elected Senate Unless an Unelected Senate Helps Me Keep My Job"

Consider the following statement made by Stephen Harper:

"Canadians from Newfoundland and Labrador to British Columbia remain ashamed of Canada`s senior legislative body. They are ashamed the Prime Minister continues the disgraceful, undemocratic appointment of undemocratic Liberals to the undemocratic Senate to pass all too often undemocratic legislation."*

On the other hand, Stephen Harper has no problem with the digraceful, undemocratic appointment of undemocratic Conservatives to the undemocratic Senate...

Perhaps Stephen Harper said it best himself:

"As everyone in this room knows, it has become a right of passage for aspiring leaders and prime ministers to promise Senate reform - on their way to the top. But once they are elected, Senate reform quickly falls to the bottom of the Government's agenda. Nothing ever gets done."**

It seems Harper has learned the lesson learned by every previous Prime Minister: Senate reform doesn't go over well with Senators who like their jobs. Therefore, you might as well just appoint friendly Senators who can help you get things done.

And boy did Harper learn his lesson! He appointed 18 new Senators (Senate breakdown is now 58 Liberal-ish and 38 Conservative-ish, and some others).*** Looking at the Globe and Mail list of new appointees, I can see that at least 12 are Conservatives, at least one is a provincial Liberal (BC), and the other 5 seem to be overtly neutral politically.

I'm not going to be a Liberal without hindsight - I'm not going to decry Harper's partisan Senate appointments. Every Prime Minister in history, including every Liberal PM, has made overtly partisan appointments.

I am, however, going to duly note Harper's hypocricy on this issue. As shown by the above quotes, Harper has, over and over, spoke out against appointing Senators. He has, over and over, made it clear that he would reform the Senate and make Senators elected. But alas, like balanced budgets and fixed election dates, Stephen Harper has broken his promise.

*****
* Hansard (March 7, 1996)
** Speech on Senate Reform before Senate Committee, September 7, 2006
*** The "-ish" is thrown in because, technically, there are no party affiliations in the Senate.