I’m going to get out in front of the trend monkeys and dub 2009 “The Year of the Soul-Searing Disappointment.” It’s happening in sports, where the Giants punted the playoffs following the something-less-than-tragic Plaxxident (rim shot!). It’s happening in politics, where the Obama administration has been in charge a whopping 42 days without permanently fixing global poverty (still ragin’) and the polar icecaps (still meltin’). And it’s double-ridiculously-happening in music, where we’ve been treated to subpar records from Springsteen (a jangly misfire) and U2 (a vomit bomb).
So I’m pegging my hopes for emotional and societal rebirth on our pal Freedy Johnston. I’ve been assured that his longer-in-gestation-than-a-volcano album Rain On The City, his first studio outing since 2001’s Right Between The Promises, will be out “soon.” It will feature sublimely hooky melodies and lyrics that cut deep. It will tell a desperate, economically battered nation that it’s OK to feel good about itself again… so long as you don’t steal the record from the Internet, you broke-ass loserdogs.
Ease our disappointment, Freedy. Make us proud again. Make us whole.
Today’s FReedy FRiday entry is the sorta-optimistic Until The Sun Comes Back Again. Buy it here. And together on the count of three: U-S-A! U-S-A!
