I Buy Some Dead Kennedys, And The Experience Makes Me Miss The Dead Kennedys More.

Something tells me it wouldn't be as easy to sing about lynching your landlord today as it was in the late 70's. Or to write a tune about killing people on the golf course with poison gas or have a track on your album entitled "I Kill Children." The edge that defines edginess has dulled as the baby boomers have aged. I seem to remember some band called Anti-Flag saying once they thought themselves in physical danger after 9/11. I also remember Anti-Flag as kinda sucking, not nearly worthy enough to carry the Dead Kennedys jock strap. Not to mention the way Rage Against The Machine went into hiding during the era of Bush The Lessor, only popping their heads out briefly to make some money when the coast was clear.

The Kennedys are a message in a bottle from another era, and tonight I wanted to go back, even though that era's memories are some of the foggiest and most distant in my brain.

The person manning the checkout lane at the big-box media retailer was overwhelmed and baffled. It's amazing how complicated Corporate America has made the process of paying for a book, but complicate it they have, to the point where today you need a working familiarity with Windows to be able to do it. The line was backing up at an exponential pace, the teens behind me were sniggering at him, but I waited patiently for my turn at the counter because the cashier seemed like a good soul. He forgot to ask the people in front of me if they wanted to join a Corpra-savings club and he looked flustered. Bet he had some sort of Corpra-savings club quota to meet. His face lit up when he saw my purchase though.

"Oh man. wish these guys would have stayed together. They would have been all over......." Then he stopped.

"Bush." I finished the thought for him. "It's OK. You're talking to a friendly."

"You never know around here"

I gave the clerk a good look. He was the right age. Being his age and being hip to the Kennedys told me something about him. The Kennedys were obscure when they were together. They were also kick-ass good. This guy had been with the program at one time and now.....he had to make sure he was talking to a friendly in order to keep his shit retail job where snot-nosed kids looked down on him and it would be a constant struggle to keep up with the software. I had a vision of him behind the counter sometime in early 80's Berkeley engaged in a vigorous debate with a customer over whether the new Kennedys album was evidence they were now sellouts, then I opened my eyes, took another good look and heard him ask if I was interested in joining the Corpra-savings club.

This is how they've dulled the edge. It's only a small example. A larger one is how they are very close to forcing us to keep the worst performing, most expensive health care system in the western world when the majority of people in this country voted for fundamental change.

You do remember that "change" was a central theme of our President's successful political campaign, yes? I don't seem to remember anything about "The audacity of health insurance co-ops"

I still wanna lynch the landlord. It's a lonely feeling.