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09/15/2004: "Politics and Music – Philly Style"
Politics 
I stopped by Paul's show today to participate in his interview with Chris
Randolph. You can listen to the show here.
Mr. Randolph just won a court battle that will allow him to appear on the
ballot, here in PA's first district, as a congressional candidate. Why all
the legal bullshit? Well, Mr. Randolph is running as an Independent
candidate.
Chris Randolph's stint as Joseph K. in Franz Kafka's The Trial began
when he decided to run for office. The first gauntlet that a candidate must
face is collecting enough signatures to appear on the ballot. Chris wrote
to the good folks at the Bureau of Elections and asked them to send him the
necessary blank petitions, which they did. The problem was that they didn't
send Chris enough petitions to cover all the signatures that he
would need (Democrats and Republicans need to collect 1,000 signatures,
everybody else need 2,400).
In all fairness to the Bureau of Elections, they did offer Chris a reason
for the inadequate supply - they were attempting to "conserve" petitions.
And so, Chris Randolph suffered his first "WTF? moment" of his campaign.
There would be more to follow.
Chris eventually managed to collect over 2,900 signatures which he promptly
took to Harrisburg. Most of them were quickly disqualified. Why? Being
short on forms, Chris had photocopied some blank petitions and stapled them
together. A no-no under PA law.
But why didn't Chris know that this wasn't allowed? Because there's no real
protocol for getting on the PA ballot. Most of the do's and don't are "left
to the discretion of the Board of Elections"
Eventually Chris would win his fight to get on the PA ballot (aided by the
same lawyers who are attempting to get Nader on the ballot), but not until
after he'd paid legal fees and lost valuable campaigning time. By the way,
Chris's story has been pretty much ignored by the media.
Chris seems to be a decent guy and he did a good job of getting his point
across on Paul's show, but - for me - the real highlight of the show was
hearing Paul refer to the man who represents my district in Congress as
"Bob 'Tammany Hall' Brady, a political fat cat with his belly hanging over his belt."
Music
If you picked up a copy of this weeks Philadelphia Weekly, you may've
noticed that I collaborated on the Top 100 Philly Albums of All Time
piece. Since only one of the albums that I recommended ended up on the
list - This Is The Master Brew by the Stickmen - the rest landing in
the Honorable Mention section, I thought I'd reprint my suggestions
for you:
GET OFF MY BACK (Various Artists)
Includes songs by Ruin, FOD, YDI, Autistic Behavior and more! This album,
if played at the right volume, can kill more brain cells than a LSD and
Freon cocktail. It's almost impossible to find this record today because
the Army confiscated nearly all copies.
LUCKY STIFF (Live Not On Evil)
This is a genuinely great record that more people should not only know
about but should actually go out and buy. Excellent songwriting,
performances, and production. Goth with guts…and brains. Bonus points for
having a name that's a palindrome.
PENALTY BOX [single] (Dave "The Hammer" Schultz)
Are you going to tell The Hammer that's he's not included on the list? I
didn't think so. I, for one, like my teeth where they are.
THIS IS THE MASTER BREW [EP] (Stickmen)
Sweet and Sour Jesus on an open-face bun, this is a classic! Possibly the
funkiest gawddamn record ever to come outta Philly. Pete Baker was the
most amazing front man that I ever saw. This record plays inside my head
every second of every day.
THE DAMAGE (Tapping The Vein)
Well, they certainly took their sweet time making it. Good things come to
those who wait.
GOD, WEEN SATAN - THE ONENESS (Ween)
If just one artifact of our culture survives the upcoming Bush Apocalypse,
to be found by future archeologists, I really hope that this is it.
THE DEVIL'S POCKET (The Low Road)
A great record that could've been an excellent record had the producer let
the band be a tad looser. But "Lullabye" comes off perfectly
CONSUMER REVOLT (Cop Shoot Cop)
Jeebus, are these guys pissed off. After listening to this, you'll wish
that more bands were.
TOAD LICKIN (More Fiends)
Allen and Elizabeth Fiend have been making great music together for more
than a few years now. Listen and wonder why they're not household names?
DECONTROL (Decontrol)
Your ears will bleed, your eyeballs will burst, and your brain will liquefy
and pour out your ears. NOT FOR WUSSIES.
TORSION (Torsion)
If you have this CD, stop reading this and put it on right now. If you
don't, then you probably enjoy Darryl Worley.
BUTTERFLY JOE (Butterfly Joe)
Man, I was hoping that this was gonna suck. Imagine my disappointment when
my old writing partner and my former drummer released a truly exceptional
CD (except for "honey jar").
IMPURE (Stendhal)
Yes, wonderfully impure. If you're thinking of making a Horror movie, hire
these guys to do the soundtrack.
DO YOU WANT MORE?!!!??! (The Roots)
Yes, please. And, if it's OK with you, I'd like to be Black , too.
RASSAFRANNA (Electric Love Muffin)
WIDE OPEN (Sideshow Prophets)
ROCK CANDY (The Friggs)
FALL (Season of Mourning)
GO TELL MOTHER (Carnival of Shame)
ANYTHING BY Adam and His Package
