3 Chords & the Truth: Not going back

This could be the end of the world as we know it. I don't feel fine.

I am old enough to know what American fascism is like, having grown up in the deepest of the Deep South in the 1960s and '70s. I am old enough to have been threatened, by my parents, with being sent to "the n***er school" when I acted up -- as if that legally were possible then.

Having grown up that way informs who I am. Having spent a lifetime trying to dig myself out of that fascistic black hole -- and if you don't think Jim Crow was fascism, open up a history book, why don't you -- informs who I am even more. It also informs what 3 Chords & the Truth is . . . every damn week.

That doesn't mean the Big Show isn't fun. It is. But, trust me, it's a damn high-wire act.

And here we are, a week and a half out from the most consequential presidential election of my lifetime. And fascism is on the ballot. That's because, as it turns out, a lot of Americans are. . . .

That does not surprise me. I'm a Southerner, after all.

There's not much more I can say about that, so I won't. I'll let the music do the talking from here on.

It's 3 Chords & the Truth, y'all. Be there. Aloha.

3 Chords & the Truth: Life is a cabaret, old chum

What good is sitting alone in your room?

Come hear the music play
The Big Show's a cabaret, old chum

Come to the cabaret

(Boots clicking on the pavement en masse. . . .)

Put down the knitting, the book and the broom
It's time for a holiday
Life is a cabaret, old chum
Come to the cabaret

Come taste the wine
Come hear the band
Come blow your horn, start celebrating
Right this way, 3 Chords & the Truth's waiting

What good's permitting some prophet of doom
To wipe every smile away?

(Voice on the PA speaker at the political rally down the street
rails against scum, vermin, the enemy within. . . . )

The Big Show's a cabaret, old chum
So come to the cabaret. . . .

It's 3 Chords & the Truth, y'all. Be there. While you can. Aloha.

3 Chords & the Truth: A beastly affair

Here's a truth bomb for you: I've kinda been dreading this show, No. 666.

Six hundred sixty-six. 666. Mark of the Beast. That's some seriously bad juju.

When you enter this neighborhood, you don't know what will happen. You do know it will not be good.

While the music on this portentous edition of 3 Chords & the Truth is just as exceptional as ever, it did not take long for the god of hellfire to show his sulfurous self. That's bad.

AS IT TURNS OUT, 6-6-6 is not the only way to spell "mark of the beast." God preserve us.

Listen and learn, my friends. Listen and learn. Do not let this happen to you, especially on Nov. 5.

Like I was telling you, the music this week on the Big Show is great -- really, really great. But I must tell you that you're going to have to endure some things to get there. I would suggest you arm yourself with some garlic, some holy water, a crucifix . . . and perhaps a Kamala Harris yard sign.

Yeah, it's going to be a bumpy ride.

Thou hast been warned. Hold thy soul, and thy family, close to thy heart. The Enemy lurketh, seeking the destruction of souls . . . and nations.

It's 3 Chords & the Truth, y'all. Be there. Aloha.

3 Chords & the Truth: How did we get here?

Dear, there's never anything on the television, just Donald Trump saying crazy things and doing his best Adolf Hitler impersonation.

Let's listen to 3 Chords & the Truth instead.

I am so old, I remember Godwin's Law -- if you resort to calling someone a Nazi on the Internet, you lose the argument. I miss those days. I miss the days when not only weren't there that many Nazis on the Internet, but there wasn't one of the two major candidates for president holding Nuremberg for Dummies rallies from sea to shining sea.

How in the hell did we get here?

Why in the hell do I feel compelled to bring this up on a show -- on 3 Chords & the Truth, where the focus ought to be fun and great music, both without limit or limitations? It's because regardless of how the hell we got here, we got here nevertheless.

In other words, if you like the Big Show, listen while you can. I wish I were kidding. I am not.

The Big Show always and everywhere is greater than the Big Lie, but it is not assured that the Big Lie won't prevail, with all that it portends for the future of this country. How this all turns out is entirely up to you. Vote.

In the meantime, enjoy the music -- it's fabulous -- and the much needed distraction.

It's 3 Chords & the Truth, y'all. Be there. Aloha.