Happy Anniversary Corporate Takeover Of America! Let's Celebrate With Some Music By Jay Brannan

Truthout does just that; they get the truth out every day. Yesterday they sent me a request for some money to help them keep doing it. Their pitch made me think of the state of the music business... how the Industry has fallen into the deepest depths of the fieriest abyss-- a giant, repulsive, soul-killing advertising scheme for... the rest of the giant, repulsive, soul-killing corporatocracy. At least music-- unlike so many other moving parts of our economic superstructure-- doesn't usually kill anyone. And there are, for whatever reason, still independents. Truthout:

A year ago, an activist Supreme Court granted superhuman powers to corporations under the law. Since then, the corporatocracy has grown even stronger and more ubiquitous, winding its tentacles around all spheres of society-- including the media.

The tentacles of the corporatocracy run very deep.

4 years ago you might have had an excuse to have not heard of indie artist Jay Brannan. Or even two years ago. Now he's 29 and you don't. Jay was born into a family of Texas religious fanatics who cast him out when it was discovered he was g-a-y. He moved to the West Coast and then the East Coast, to work as an actor and singer/songwriter and that's where he lives now. He's an independent-- i.e., non-corporate-- YouTube sensation and he supports himself by playing live shows to the people who see him on YouTube or hear him on the rare radio station that hasn't been sucked up by the corporatocracy.



Ever been to the DWT Books and Music shop? We just got Jay's CD, Goddamned in today. You can buy it and spit in the eye of the corporatocracy. That reminds me... Friday was the one year anniversary of the most outrageous act by the Supreme Court since they stole the 2000 presidential election for George Bush. Citizens United v. FEC, left unchallenged, will be the ultimate nail in the coffin of whatever is left of America's experiment with some kind of democracy. But, as People For the American Way reminded me, there are concerned citizens-- real ones, not corporate creations-- protesting the decision that lifted restrictions on corporate influence in elections and to calling for a constitutional amendment to reverse it.

“Poll after poll has shown that Americans—regardless of political affiliation, race, gender, or geography-- want corporations to have less influence in elections, and strongly disagree with the Supreme Court’s precedent-shattering decision to give them more,” said Michael Keegan, President of People For the American Way.

“The Citizens United decision wasn’t just legally dubious. By allowing corporations to spend freely and without accountability, Citizens United helped to make the 2010 elections some of the most expensive, dishonest, and secretive in American history. The American people are fed up with elections where money matters more than ideas, and where the size of your bank account determines the scope of your power. A constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United will be a powerful way for Americans to reclaim our stakes in our democracy.”

And one last YouTube clip; important... albeit not as cute and well put together as Jay: