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Saturday, August 9, 2014

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 I saw a link this morning to this article at Esquire.com called "10 Protest Songs to Remember Richard Nixon", marking the 40th anniversary of his resignation. It starts out well with an overlooked Stevie Wonder song and the obvious Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young one before going off the rails with Elton John's nostalgia piece for his early career and a love song to George Wallace which happens to mention Watergate in passing. (I'll even admit the James Taylor one isn't half bad).



Two corrections I would have made as editor would be to the Phil Ochs and Frank Zappa selections. The mid-to-late-seventies has never been my favorite Zappa period and Son of Orange County has the bloated sound of that period I dislike. Besides, it's not his best song about Nixon, and that one is included in this week's webcast. As for Phil Ochs, I don't see how any such list of Nixon songs can not include "Here's to the State of Richard Nixon" (especially when your subtitle is "Do look back in anger"). The rewrite of "Three Feet High and Rising" that is listed isn't bad, but it's a bit too jokey for me. And if Neil Young gets two songs, why can't Phil? So, I've taking the opportunity to post it here.

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