the tindog coffeehouse

This old White Heart song from 1992, “Who Owns You”, popped up on my MP3 player this morning on the way to work. Seems strangely relevant today.

I’m being swallowed by America
Losing my soul in America
I can’t keep up in America
‘Cause now they’re selling dreams in America

Livin’ in the malls of America
Deals made behind the walls of America
Try to find my face in America
Now you gotta buy your place in America

Tell me who owns you, baby
Tell me who owns you now
Tell me who holds the key to your captive heart
Tell me who owns you, baby
Tell me, do you even know?
Who is the one who unlocks the dreams of your soul?

Come stand with me in this holy place
Let the mountain breeze run over our face
And cleanse the shame for what we’ve done
‘Cause we’ve been livin’ our lives for only one

Gotta wash the wounds of America
Step out of the tombs of America
We’ve gotta find our faith in America
Love one another in America
Love one another in America
Love one another

Tell me who owns you, baby
Tell me who owns you now
Tell me who holds the key to your captive heart
Tell me who owns you, baby
Tell me, do you even know?
Who is the one who unlocks the dreams of your soul?

Blender Magazine polled John McCain and Barack Obama to find out each of the candidate’s top 10 favorite songs.

McCain prefers ABBA (2 songs on the list, including “Dancing Queen” at #1) and Merle Haggard, while Obama lists Bruce Springsteen, The Fugees, and will.i.am’s “Yes We Can” (a song about Obama himself) among his favorites. Both candidates seemed to agree on Frank Sinatra.

Taking the role of devil’s advocate, it would be easy to take a potshot at McCain here. ABBA? The Platters? Are his political views as old and out of touch as his taste in music?

But then there’s Obama’s list. I don’t know. For some reason, it just doesn’t seem very sincere. U2? Nina Simone? How very hip and cool and trendy. A hundred bucks says that some staffer answered this question for him after doing some market research to see what would appeal most to his base.

In that regard, both candidates’ answers are very telling, wouldn’t you agree?

This reminds me of the question posed to President Bush a while back about what music is on his iPod, and he answered The Beatles, which raised the eyebrows of a lot of folks because at the time none of The Beatles’ music was available on iTunes.

So maybe the question for McCain and Obama should be, how many of those songs on your iPod are actually legal?

(A couple of sidenotes:

1.  Yes, it’s probably a stretch to suggest that McCain owns an iPod since he can barely work a computer. The question was what is their favorite songs, regardless of whether they’re on an MP3 player or 8-track.

2.  For the life of me, I can’t erase the image of John McCain dancing around in a sequined jumpsuit singing “Dancing Queen” at the top of his lungs. Yes, I have a twisted mind sometimes, and yes, I’m sorry I’ve now put that same image in your head.)

Peggy Sue Gerron, the namesake of Buddy Holly’s classic hit “Peggy Sue”, has written her memoirs just in time for the 50th anniversary of the release of the song, and Holly’s widow ain’t happy about it, threatening to sue her to keep the book from being sold. According to Maria Elena Holly, who owns the rights to her late husband’s name, image, and intellectual property, Gerron’s book is unauthorized and threatens to tarnish his reputation.

I grew up in Lubbock, Texas, where Buddy Holly is almost a god, so I can’t say I’m fully impartial here. But seriously, just take one look at Gerron’s website, where you can find “Peggy Sue”-themed ’57 Chevy die-cast models starting at $299.00, and it’s hard to believe that this isn’t just some opportunistic publicity stunt.

Maybe to promote her book, she could go on the next season of The Celebrity Apprentice. Or at least The Surreal Life.