'Cause I Want to Know...

Sometime back, when I posted George Harrison's "Here Comes the Sun" as part of my "lightening up" series, one of my oppositional commenters, Fauxmaxbaer, remarked:

"I must say I find it a bit ironic to see his songs featured at a site that has the attitude towards war that this one does."

I imagine these reflections originate in the notion that neoconservatives are "bloodthirsty war lovers."

I'm not, but for perspective I wanted to share my blog buddy Pat's comments on his love of Creedence Clearwater Revival, who he says is his #1 group:

The Number 1 group on my all time list is CCR ... this is their Anti-War protest song Fortunate Son .... Hell, I'm pro-war (against Islamic trash anyway), but I like this one anyway ... let's face it some of these guys played to the mindless kiddie liberals even back then ... John Fogerty was/is talented, he is just another tool when it comes to his political views.

Is it that simple? Can we say that artists of the era just got caught up in the time, in the movement, churning out antiwar anthems like "Fortunate Son" like they were just one more throwaway pop hit for the vinyl industry music machine?

There may have been some of that, but of all people, rockers have been the conscience for the country's comfortable classes, and the sirens for our disadvantaged.

John Fogerty wasn't my generation, really. I love some of CCR's music, though, so please enjoy one of my favorites from the band's collection, "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?":

Besides listening to popular radio as a kid, my experiences as a rock-and-roller pretty much date to the late 1970s, when I was in high school - when I went through a dramatic phase of enjoying arena rockers like Boston and Van Halen, and then later to new wave, punk rock, and rockabilly.

I've posted once previously on The Clash, so readers might prepare for some more of that good stuff from the earlier, punky days.

So, what explains it then? How can we can love music that seems at odds with our contemporary ideological and political stands? Well, we were all kids once, and you just don't quit listening to your earlier guitar heroes just because you've learned that the antiwar, environmental, or social idealism is often (if not ultimately) hackneyed, hypocritical, naïve, and misplaced.

The music stays with you ... it's your history, and your lust of life!