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Hacienda Bridge no. 8

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"Hacienda Bridge No. 8" (subtitled "The Political Issue") is an issue of Hardy Fox and Charles Bobuck's Hacienda Bridge newsletter, sent out to mailing list subscribers on January 15th, 2017. This issue discusses the end of the second term of Barack Obama as President of the United States, and the inauguration of Donald Trump.

This newsletter is not archived on Mailchimp - the archived version below has been transposed from a copy kept in the personal archives of a Mysterious Spanish Lady.

The newsletter

Note: Some format changes have been made (image positioning, additional headings, etc.) to create an easily readable version of this newsletter within the restrictions of this wiki. Such changes have been made as infrequently as possible to present the closest possible representation of the text as it originally appeared. Links in the text to other wiki articles are included by The Mysterious Spanish Ladies in order to help facilitate easy navigation and further reading.

Boy Oh Boy, Are We Ever Gonna Miss Having a Human in the White House!

I won't linger
Just gotta say, bye.
Thanks for being the best president ever.

Stronger economy: Dow Jones average doubled, Unemployment dropped by half
A Better Life for Americans: Health care for all, Marriage Equality, Climate Change Protections
Expanded protection of historical and natural areas for future generations

Politics - Art - Humans

I hate the idea that I have to acknowledge politics in this newsletter.  I would love to continue believing that art and music are outside of such tawdry subjects.  However, there is no separation of media and politics.  If you examine the definition of both, they are the result of the opinion and thinking of flawed humans.

The new Trump movement is not just political, it is social, it is cultural.  As such, I find myself wondering which "culture," which "art" Trump would like to "make great again" since he seems to have no vision for the future other than a return to some point in an imagined glorious past when things were "great." 

Was 20 years ago... 1997... great?
Is this the cultural era that Trump loves so much?

hackers
conceptual art
gay rights*
hip hop music 

Maybe 50 years ago... 1967 
Does Trump long for this culture.

civil rights*
pop art
youth revolt
protest & psychedelic music 

100 years ago... 1917?

massive deaths from influenza
DADA
women's rights*
hot jazz 

If we could only believe that Trump 
likes the below photograph because it is ironic.
(unaltered official portrait)
Let Them Eat Cake 
(Muzak lightly playing in background)

Trump art

Not Trump Art

artists: unknown, M. Byran, unknown, Illma Gore

Truthfully, I don't think I see great art here.  As amusing as these images are, they don't really do anything other than amuse.  We can make fun of Trump, it is super easy to do, but half the people in the USA don't really give a shit what we think, so creating art that points out that Trumps is an asshole is not going to make them stop seeing Trump as some kind of a cross between Jesus and a movie star.

The political situation and its impact on the arts is so alarming that it is difficult to refocus attention away from Trump.  So we make him a clown, but we all know that already.  Even people who voted for him know it, but a shocking number of people say that they don't care if he is a buffoon loud-mouth.  Maybe they see all politicians as ridiculous.  Maybe there is some truth to that perspective.

So what should we do? 

First, we remember our values.  We remember the fact that a whole lot of people in this country don't see too much value in art.  Readers of this newsletter might think art, poetry, music, philosophy is important, but there is an equal number of people who see it as a waste of time.  We will remember not to let that fact control our artistic decisions, neither to go with nor against those people.  Either position gives them too much power.

Second.  Anything any of us do will have ZERO impact on Trump and those who follow him.  Make fun of Trump for the pleasure it brings, but make art focused on your personal life experiences. Don't let Trump have your better creative parts unless you can actually change minds with it. Trump will likely self-destruct on his own anyway. 

Third.  What hurts is our sense of powerlessness. And that is not totally unfounded.  But politics is temporary, always temporary.  Don't tie your self-worth will only to art.  Be charitable. Actually help another person.  Do not let that man take your humanity.  That, more than anything, will help us get through this intellectual insult that is the state of politics today.

Be extra kind to people, shake off the Trump oppression even while REMEMBERING that he stands for the worst in humanity.

- Hardy Fox

* We are still trying to get women's rights, civil rights, gay rights

Meanwhile.... COMING IN FEBRUARY

Charles Bobuck is a big chicken.  Chickens make horrible song writers.  Their songs are just a bunch of repetitive clucking.  However, they make a lot of them.  Almost every morning you can hear them singing, having forced a big song lump out of their vaginas, or wherever those things come from.

Bobuck doesn’t have a vagina, but you can still hear him singing every morning over some song lump he left on the carpet, or on the stairs. Fortunately Klanggalerie picks them up so they don’t get stepped on.  Well, some do get stepped on, but it is no matter.  There are always more.

Eggs for Breakfast is a collection of 26 of Bobuck’s song eggs that did not get stepped on.

Where there's a Will

  • The people who should be keeping Trump under control are the Republicans. People who believe in the Constitution, who believe in the rights of citizens.
  • The people who should be making sure women have the equality they deserve are men. People who will fight to protect their mothers, wives, daughers and sisters from the abuses of a few men with poltiical power.
  • The people who should be ending minority abuses are the majority. Well adjusted people who are not threatened by people who are different.
  • The people who should be stopping the use of the Bible as a weapon of hate are Christians. People who understood that the only lesson Jesus taught is love.
  • The people who should be stopping Islamic terrorists are Muslims. People who understand the central teaching of the Quran is peace and tolerance.

- Will Rothers 

A tiny bit of good news. America is not a right-leaning country. 
1. Hillary's policies won HUGE over LOSER Trump. 3 million votes over. 
2. Trump won as a result of Russia undermining the American election. Not a lot there to be 
   proud about for any of us.​ 
3. Trump is entering office with the lowest approval raring in the history of presidents.
Your musical moment from Bobuck

CHRISTIAN MOMENT

Then Jesus said to His disciples, "Again I say, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God."          -Matthew 19:24

Ask Hardy shit

Q.  Has there ever been any discomfort over The Residents presenting potentially racist material like The Third Reich N Roll or Black Barry?

There was no concern for those two examples.  Dick Clark dressed as a Nazi holding a carrot while little Hitlers swing dance around him only makes fun of Hitler, and Hitler should be made fun of as often as possible. 

The History of American Music in 3 E-Z Pieces did have a section, number 2 in the 3 pieces that recognized the importance of African American music in creating the unique music of the USA.  There is no way to skip that influence and there is no way of pretending that slavery didn't happen, as much as it is a distasteful fact.  At no point was anything in the show presented from a belittling perspective, only as a positive influence on music.

You didn't mention the possible infractions against women, gays, the disabled, old people, the trans community or regular white people.  They are all in the art because they are all there in real life.

The USA is a melting pot, and San Francisco is a melting pot within a melting pot.  It would be an oversite to ignore the influences of our diverse cultures when conceiving art. 

Q.   In terms of visuals, which Residents' live show was your favorite?

In visual terms, it would be CUBE E.  The dancers, the lighting, it all came together.  The dancers  kept the energy of the show going full speed.  It really is too bad that there was never a video production to capture that show.  It predated when that was feasible without spending a lot of money.

Another great looking show was Wormwood. 

Q.  If I theorize that Bobuck's 'Plays The Residents' are songs that Bobuck both composed and wrote the lyrics for -  what other songs from the Residents back catalogue is he responsible for?

Flawed thinking.  Bobuck intentionally did not cover songs that he wrote both music and lyrics for, as that would be "Bobuck plays Bobuck."  To be Residents, the songs all had to be a group effort.

When he needed to write an arrangement of a song by The Beatles (Residents Play The Beatles) he could not do a cover of a song by Lennon/McCartney.  The only song he could find that was credited to "The Beatles" was Flying.

Q.  In a book about Pere Ubu, there is mention of The Residents going to their show in 1979.  A project with the band was mentioned.  Was anything ever pursued?  What was the relationship and connection between these bands over the years? 

The Residents had bought the single, 30 Seconds over Tokyo and loved it.  So they went to see Pere Ubu and introduced themselves after the show.  They hit it off on a personal level and exchanged letters for a while, but never got a project off the ground.  I'm certain they would have been compatible had it ever happened.  They lost touch after a while, but ran into singer, David Thomas, many years later at a festival in Germany.

Q. Seeing that your next issue concerns politics, I am wondering what you think of Trump other than as a president.  Certainly I agree he is a horrible choice for that job, but otherwise I tend to find him rather fascinating. 

A modern day liberal is much like an old style Christian.  We are expected to try to accept that we are all (god's or whatever) children.  That is to say, we are supposed to find good in people.

I never watched The Apprentice, so I can't say much about Trump's TV appeal.  I realize he is charismatic, like a PT Barnum from the Barnum and Bailey Circus.  He is a con man, a snake oil salesman.  Is that a terrible thing to be?  I don't know.  Jesus was charismatic.  Charles Manson too.  

My, perhaps, controversial way to judge people is by deciding whether I think I would enjoy having a few beers with them.  By that method, I think Trump would be too self-absorbed for me to find him an interesting drinking companion.  Listening to him praise Putin while knocking Meryl Streep would wear thin quickly.

Klanggalerie

Klanggalerie and RATL have a Renaldo & The Loaf competition going on.

Write a lyric or a poem that you’d like RATL to transform into a song.  Several goodies are to be won. We have signed CDs and you can find your name on a Renaldo & The Loaf release.

Prepare your text as a PDF and send it to klanggalerie@aon.at. We will forward all entries to the band who will choose a winner on February 14th.

Next time on Hacienda Bridge

Next time we meet on Hacienda Bridge, we sit down with a glass of wine and Charles Bobuck to ask him a few questions about what it all means.

A Bobuck interview.

Copyright © 2017 Hacienda Bridge, All rights reserved.

See also

Resources

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