Elton John's just a couple years older than I am. I met him when we were both in our 20s. It was before he was famous, let alone Sir Elton. And it was before he had come out of the closet. Everyone around him knew-- or thought-- he was gay but he was still trying to cover it up as a part of his career strategy. Empty Sky had been released in the U.K. but no one in the U.S. had ever heard it. (It came out in the U.S. about 6 years later after his career was already taking off in a significant way. I met Elton in London, at the home of a mutual friend, He was just trying to climb the ladder. I was living in Amsterdam at the time and some of my friends liked his debut album and the song "Skyline Pigeon," which didn't do much for me-- although I remember thinking he had some potential. I was more impressed with another unknown I met at the same house and who was also trying to get a career going, David Bowie.
When Your Song came out, he started getting famous, really famous. And then Tiny Dancer came out a couple years later and-- at least in Amsterdam-- he became a household name. He was a star. Hey I met that guy when he was just a kid! Honky Cat and Rocket Man were so massive that I can't even think of my years in Amsterdam without those songs playing in my mind. He was still pretending to be straight though, even getting married to a woman so people wouldn't think (know) he was gay. In 1976 he claimed to be bisexual. And that was big news. And it didn't hurt his career at all. In fact, just the opposite. He and his "wife," Renate Blauel, were divorced in 1988, the year Candle in the Wind was so huge that no one who liked "alternative music" could ever listen to him any more for fear of grooving to the same tune as their grandmother.
Anthony Scaramucci, a crooked bankster and Fox News personality is a Trumpist and a member of the presidential transition team executive committee and a vice chair of the presidential inaugural committee. Scaramucci claims that Trump "will be the first American president in U.S. history that enters the White House with a pro-gay rights stance and that having Elton play at the big inaugural concert on the Mall "shows our commitment to gay rights."
John, who referred to Trump as "a barbarian" during the election and supported Clinton, had his spokesperson tell CNN yesterday that Scaramucci was making it up. "He will NOT be performing at Trump’s Inauguration!" Scaramucci says Elton has been pressured to change his mind but an Elton source says Scaramucci may have dreamed about it but it wasn't ever something that Elton John was going to do.
Yesterday Gaius asked the question How Much Democratic Cooperation Is Collaboration? If you haven't read it yet, please do. At a time when patriots all across our country are working out what resistance is, sooner or later every American-- not just Berniecrats-- is likely to have to figure out what collaboration with the monster is all about for them. Elton John certainly made the right decision. We all must... until this nightmare is over.
Resist! Resist! Resist! Resist! Do not collaborate! Stick together and help each other. Stay hydrated. Stay calm. Remember: most voters did not vote for Trump.
When Your Song came out, he started getting famous, really famous. And then Tiny Dancer came out a couple years later and-- at least in Amsterdam-- he became a household name. He was a star. Hey I met that guy when he was just a kid! Honky Cat and Rocket Man were so massive that I can't even think of my years in Amsterdam without those songs playing in my mind. He was still pretending to be straight though, even getting married to a woman so people wouldn't think (know) he was gay. In 1976 he claimed to be bisexual. And that was big news. And it didn't hurt his career at all. In fact, just the opposite. He and his "wife," Renate Blauel, were divorced in 1988, the year Candle in the Wind was so huge that no one who liked "alternative music" could ever listen to him any more for fear of grooving to the same tune as their grandmother.
Scaramucci smooches a president |
John, who referred to Trump as "a barbarian" during the election and supported Clinton, had his spokesperson tell CNN yesterday that Scaramucci was making it up. "He will NOT be performing at Trump’s Inauguration!" Scaramucci says Elton has been pressured to change his mind but an Elton source says Scaramucci may have dreamed about it but it wasn't ever something that Elton John was going to do.
Yesterday Gaius asked the question How Much Democratic Cooperation Is Collaboration? If you haven't read it yet, please do. At a time when patriots all across our country are working out what resistance is, sooner or later every American-- not just Berniecrats-- is likely to have to figure out what collaboration with the monster is all about for them. Elton John certainly made the right decision. We all must... until this nightmare is over.
Resist! Resist! Resist! Resist! Do not collaborate! Stick together and help each other. Stay hydrated. Stay calm. Remember: most voters did not vote for Trump.
Good for Elton John. It is important to take a stand and NOT collaborate.
ReplyDeleteProtests will be back in vogue very soon. Join the Women's March on January 21, 2017, either in Washington, D.C., or New York City. And maybe more places. Dis that pussy grabber!
We must be prepared for Trump to abuse laws left at his feet which give him incredible and unaccountable power. The "Patriot" Act alone allows Trump to take draconian action against protesters once he decides he's had enough opposition. I can see where he might also apply the Military Commissions Act to ensure that he gets the guilty verdicts against protesters he will demand.
ReplyDeleteI really hate to suggest this, but there will prove to be a need for opposition which extends beyond protesting. It will mean the end of the United States as we have all come to know it, and will introduce the kind of nation which the 1973 Coup against Allende imposed on Chile. It is too late for any other outcome.
A minor point, but the extremely awesome "Captain America punching Hitler" picture is credited to Patrick Farley (words) and my pal Jon Wolter (picture.)
ReplyDelete