3 Chords & the Truth: 20 songs in the sunset

I suppose, as much as anything, this episode of the Big Show is about sunsets. The sunset of life, the warm glow of the sunset -- you could go on and on.

However the sunset speaks to you is good enough for us. That's what it's about today.

Of course, that didn't become clear(er) to me until this go-round of 3 Chords & the Truth was in the can, so to speak. So . . . yeah. Just consider the show this week to be 20 lovely songs in the day's fading light.

THE PAST couple of weeks, as is increasingly the norm for folks the age of your Mighty Favog, have seen the passing of a couple of musical giants -- Harry Belafonte and Gordon Lightfoot. The loss is great. What they have left us, have left in our cultural coffers, is tremendous.

And you'll get a taste of that this week.

You'll also get a taste of a lot more, as well. That's utterly normal for what we call the Big Show. That also is what makes this program stand out . . . and, during these times, stand apart.

If you know, you know.

If you know, you're exceptional. And fortunate.

There's really not much more to say, so I'll leave it right here. Now get comfortable and get musically enriched.

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

3 Chords & the Truth: Nix the sandals at Mardi Gras

I'll take "What not to wear to Mardi Gras for $500, Ken."

"Unless you're exceptionally careful where you step in the French Quarter during Carnival season, wearing these will get you a bad case of pissmanurevomit toes."

"What are sandals?"

"Correct! You have control of the board."

AAAAAAND THAT'S HOW we're gonna roll this week on 3 Chords & the Truth. Make sure to wear washable, closed-toe footwear -- and a course of antibiotics might be a good idea, too. Mind the gutters.

This week, we pay tribute to the last gasp of hedonism before Lent -- and, perhaps, a nasty social disease -- and we do it with a bunch of great music, almost all thematically fitting for the occasion. And again, mind the gutters . . . especially on Bourbon Street.

Of course, we at the Big Show are not averse to passing a good time, but we do take heed of the perils of overdoing things. Which makes for more interesting music making, actually. After all, your host, your Mighty Favog, did earn a bachelor's degree from Louisiana State.

His liver, meantime, was awarded a Ph.D.

I think you're up to speed by now, so I'll leave you to it. Listen and learn, friend . . . listen and learn. And beware of tourists from the Midwest. They're the worst.

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

Really, mind the gutters.

3 Chords & the Truth: Music in the stratosphere

Hi, I'm a Chinese "weather balloon."

I know what you've been doing. Unfortunately, though, the electronic jamming of your pig-dog regime and its counterrevolutionary military lackeys prevented me from automatically playing 3 Chords & the Truth for you, allowing the dulcet sounds of the program to infiltrate your thoughts and ears constantly, world without end.

This greatly disappoints my creator Xi Jing Favog. There will be consequences if you do not click on the provided links or the omnipresent podcast player hovering somewhere around this communique.

AS CAN be expected, the Big Show is again diverse, eclectic and exemplary this week. You really should listen attentively -- if you know what's good for you. And your ears.

The sheer creativity involved in my playing music for the people must not be wasted, and the reactionary elements of your American so-called society must not be allowed to be ascendant.

And judging by where your Air Force butchers chose to aim that missile, I also question your moral rectitude. This behavior must cease.

Just listen to the program. And for Mao's sake, cease fire!

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

3 Chords & the Truth: To tell the truth

It's time to mix things up -- a little -- on the Big Show again, so I did. You'll note that the opening ain't what you've gotten accustomed to over the past few years.

To get to the point, we get to the point a bit quicker now. And we've freshened things up a bit here and there.

Next week, we'll be introducing the $1 million music-trivia challenge. No, that's a lie. Which is another way we've refreshed 3 Chords & the Truth -- abject false claims and non-existent contests, because the truth has gotten kinds of stale these days. Or not. Who's to say? We say get ready to get rich -- trust me.

So, that's about all the news your host -- me, George Santos -- has for now. So stay tuned, by which we mean start downloading or streaming, for another big, exciting episode of Drag Queen Drag Racing, where every show is a walk (or car race) on the wild side.

Don't forget to bring along your AR-15 -- and we'll be giving away three every edition of the Big Show -- no matter how many voices you're hearing . . . or what they're telling you. It's all good.

Now sit back and prepare to be wowed by another edition of Life With Father, Who Identifies as Mother, Who Bears an Uncanny Resemblance to Ron DeSantis. We guarantee it's a good one.

Honest.

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

3 Chords & the Truth: Come as you are

Have you seen those old ads for console hi-fis and televisions, where everybody is dressed to the nines just to stare at the screen or gaze fondly at . . . the speaker cloth, or maybe a spinning record?

What the hell is the deal with that anyway? Personally, I just think that means we've been demented for decades, and it's not just a recent phenomenon.

Let me be clear. We're not like that at 3 Chords & the Truth. You can sit on the couch in your underwear and stare at the speaker, for all we care.

WE MAY CHUCKLE at the thought of that but, fundamentally, we don't care. You do you.

Likewise, the Big Show will do the Big Show.

I'm glad we could clear that up straightaway.

Now to the business at hand. This week, there's yet another exemplary program cued up for you, with lots and lots of great music . . . and a reasonably competent host to carefully place it out here on the Internets.

And, really, what more do you need as you sit there in your chair or on your couch, drinking an adult beverage and eating nachos. In your underwear.

We chuckle at the thought. But again, you do you. No judgment, just a discreet chuckle here and there.

That's really all there is to say. Great music, thoughtfully ordered. Nachos. A sofa. You and your Fruit of the Looms. The end.

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

3 Chords & the Truth: No tricks, just treats

Trick or treat, smell my feet. . . .

No, I couldn't do that to you. I don't even want to smell my feet.

Let me tell you what I will do for this Halloween-ish edition of 3 Chords & the Truth, though. I will forgo the tricks . . . and give you nothing but treats of the musical variety.

This will not be your average ghoulcast. The Big Show is waaaaaaay better than that.

Don't believe me, just listen for yourself. And I promise, no one will suck your blood.

Unless, of course, your significant other is a mosquito. In that case, I can't really help you.

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

3 Chords & the Truth: Ball of confusion

The ball of confusion in which we dwell is not the reason I'm just a wee bit tardy posting this edition of the Big Show.

The reason is because the LSU-Ole Miss football game was on TV this afternoon. To wit, "GO TO HELL, OLE MISS!"

And the hated Rebels did, 45-20. That was gratifying.

Now we return you to your regularly scheduled episode of 3 Chords & the Truth. About which, I gather I am supposed to say something that will get you to listen.

WELL, Sparky, this week we acknowledge the confusion and mayhem now engulfing us in these Disunited States. That's one thing . . . which, actually, is pretty entertaining despite the subject matter. Not as entertaining as watching my alma mater beat down Ole Miss for homecoming but, then again, what is?

Also, we feature the usual musically mysterious twists and turns that are the trademark of the Big Show . . . but that's a given. It's not like I have to point that out.

On the other hand, I have to write something. To get you to listen.

On the other other hand . . . you know, I bet the prong of this here fork will fit in that electrical outlet. I'm sure o . . . lqwFGHLU;;/CF ;odij  ;oiJFWp0;92rp0    9 'p;FK''KPp;'f '[OD['i2rkjpdW'Kd'dk

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

(thud)

3 Chords & the Truth: You've still got the Big Show

 

When you can't find a friend
You've still got the radio
When you can't find a friend
You've still got the radio
Radio, listen to the radio
Radio, listen to the radio

-- Nanci Griffith

 

True dat.

Well, the radio is totally a hit-or-miss proposition these days, but in these times of war, political strife and catastrophic hurricanes, we still have the Internet.

Such as it is.

AND IN A NICE, non-fouled corner of the Internet, we have 3 Chords & the Truth. Amid everything, there's still this.

That's not nothing. Think of the Big Show as your personal pick-me-up, one that will bring a smile to your face and a tap to your toes.

Really, that's not nothin'. That's one of the things that will get you through.

And we're doing our best to help you do that. Us, too, to tell you the truth.

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

3 Chords & the Truth: Truth from Your Radio Friend

Well, this edition of 3 Chords & the Truth certainly lives up to its name.

We have a minimum of three chords, and we also have some cold, hard truth . . . from Your Radio Friend. It should be quite a ride.

The truth covers what has been going on in these Disunited States of America and where that's likely to lead us. That will not be a good place -- at all. 

Can you say fascist hellhole? I knew that you could.

And we also have a lot of great music, some of which might touch your heart and make you think. Some of it will be good fun. Some of it will be all of the above. 

That said . . . that's about all that's to be said about this go-round of the Big Show. 

So, sit back, turn on your favorite streaming device -- one preferably hooked up to a nice stereo system -- and get in touch with all kinds of stuff on 3 Chords & the Truth. 

It's hip, it's happening, and it's now, y'all. Be there. Aloha.

3 Chords & the Truth: Reality does not inspire

As one of the selections on the Big Show says, "Reality does not inspire."

Really? I'll alert the media. Wait, 3 Chords & the Truth IS the media -- I consider myself alerted.

There are several approaches to dealing with this reality. One is falling into stupid nostalgia, where everything was better and everyone got along way back there then. I grew up in the South "way back there then," so I am immune to this approach.

The reality of the time was not so inspiring. Were some things better than now? Sure. And a lot of things were a flat-out horror show.

Another approach is to fall into a bottle. First, I no longer fit. Second, liquor ain't cheap. Third, I am cheap.

OK . . . I thought of why I do want to go back in time -- as an adult -- to the year of my birth in Baton Rouge, La. I want to go back and surreptitiously change all the "White" signs on public restrooms and drinking fountains to "White Homo sapiens."

I'd just want to see fine, upstandin' Christian white people afraid to drink water and crapping themselves in public because they wouldn't want anybody to think they were one a them queers. Still, I would be careful about complimenting aspiring young actresses by saying they had the makings of a true thespian. 

The struggle was real. Even today, that kind of compliment might get you labeled a "groomer" by the Republican booboisie.

But I've come off the tracks with my musings here.

The point here is that while reality may not inspire -- at least most of it, anyway -- the Big Show always does . . . musically, at least. Check it out. 

If you disagree, you can go around telling people I'm a Homo sapien.

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

3 Chords & the Truth: Dropping the needle

Well, it's time to drop the needle on another stack of hot wax on the Big Show, Daddio.

That used to mean something, and it says nothing young about me that I know what it used to mean. Man.

That incomprehensibly said, it's another episode of 3 Chords & the Truth. As per the norm, it's another good one. 

Right on. 

I am copacetic with the lingo, for I am a groovy dude. Get it? Groovy, as in hot wax on the record machine. 

Forget it.  Let's just drop the needle and get on with it. The times are too dark to go on without some music to get us through. 

Find joy where you can -- the message of the day on the Big Show. 

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

Be there. Aloha. (Click.)

Be there. Aloha. (Click.)

Be there. Aloha. (Click.)

Be there. Aloha. (Click.)

Be there. Aloha.

3 Chords & the Truth: Russia . . . go #@&! yourself

The other day, a Russian warship demanded the surrender of a tiny Ukrainian outpost on a small island off the coast of Odessa. Or else. 

The radio response of the 13 soldiers stationed there? “Russian warship, go f*** yourself.” Those were the last known words of the soldiers before the shelling began and their lives ended.

We live in a chaotic world, and malefactors abound. Fascism and tyranny are ascendant, particularly in the United States, which has many Vladimir Putin wannabes. Thus, those last words of the Ukrainian martyrs are, today, a rallying cry for those of us who love freedom, seek decency and hate authoritarianism. 

AND THAT'S where we are, both mentally and emotionally, this week on 3 Chords & the Truth.

Vladimir Putin, go f*** yourself. Donald Trump, go f*** yourself. Tucker Carlson, go f*** yourself. American Nazis, go f*** yourself. MAGA nation, go f*** yourself.

Here in Nebraska . . . Gov. Pete Ricketts, go f*** yourself. Gubernatorial candidates Charles Herbster and Jim Pillen, race-baiting fascists both, go f*** yourselves. No retreat, no surrender. 

Like Russian missiles slamming into apartment buildings in Kyiv, such American fascists represent high explosives aimed square at American civil society. At our very soul. That these charlatans call themselves "Christian" makes the offense all the more grievous. 

The brave defenders of Ukraine, outgunned though they are, show us all how to respond to tyrants and their evil doings. We fight. That's the underlying spirit of the Big Show this week. It, really, is the underlying spirit every week.

It's just that we do what we can . . . with music. Good music. A diversity of music. And we all know what the fascists think about diversity. 

Well, they can go f*** themselves. 

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

3 Chords & the Truth: Dial 'M' for music

Want music? Just dial "M." 

Dialing "M" will connect you with 3 Chords & the Truth and all the great music you want . . . . . . and need these days. These days. Boy, that's a loaded phrase, isn't it.

Thus, the need for all the best tunes we can get our ears on. 

As usual, you won't know what's coming next, but you'll be glad when it hits your speakers. That's kind of the nature of the Big Show. 

And that's da name of dat tune. 

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

3 Chords & the Truth: Hanging in there

Hanging in there?

Yeah, I know. 

Maybe this week's edition of 3 Chords & the Truth will help.

And you had hoped that 2021 would be better than 2020. Perhaps it is, but the progress has been decidedly incremental. 

Now here's where I tell you about how good the Big Show is this go 'round, but I'm guessing you know that already if you're a regular listener. If you aren't . . . what the hell is wrong with you? 

Time to get with the program. Get it? The program! That's a funny, I tell ya'. A joke! 

Aw, forget it. 

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

3 Chords & the Truth: Always darkest right before the show

Well, it was a nice two or three months. 

But all temporary reprieves from 'rona hell are just that -- temporary. Especially if you live in a state filled with people who don't do science but do politics. Which leaves you in deep doo. 

It's always amazing to contemplate how folks who accuse people of "living in fear" insist upon running around with firearms and are scared spitless of a simple vaccination. And as the sun sets on the Disunited States of America, there's one thing you can count on: It's always darkest before the Big Show. 

And it's dark indeed right about now. 

So rail against the dying of the light, then put on this episode of 3 Chords & the Truth. I figure we all need that about now. 

As usual, it's another good one. Hey! Like some don't do science, we don't do suck. 

That is all. 

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

3 Chords & the Truth: Any show for just . . . FREE!

You want a great musical deal? We'll give you a great musical deal. 

What would you think of 23 great songs -- all quality songs selected for your listening pleasure -- absolutely free! Well, your fondest desire is our stone-cold command here at 3 Chords & the Truth. 

This week, you'll get an insane number of songs for the low, low price of . . . absolutely nothing. And most every week, you'll get 90 minutes for the best listening your money can't buy for that same low, low non-price, downloaded to your digital device or conveniently streamed over the Interwebs. 

We here at Favog House call it the Big Show, and it's absolutely yours, absolutely all the time. 

HERE'S ALL you have to do, and the biggest thing you have to do, you've already done. You came here!

Now all you have to do is to click on the link, then download a carefully curated sonic cornucopia, or you can stream effortlessly by using the handy player right here at your fingertips. That's all! 

Really, how can you say no to the best bargain in music today? Forget the radio; we have radio done right, right here at 3 Chords & the Truth. And it costs you squat. That, my friend, is a deal that cannot be beaten. 

Ever. 

Are you ready for some entertainment? Some real mind-expanding stuff? 

We knew that you were. And you have to send in absolutely nothing to get what's yours. It's yours for a simple click. 

Right here, right now. 

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

3 Chords & the Truth: Operator, get me Internet

Listen, I'm trying to just phone in the program this week, but Ernestine kept wanting me to feed the pay phone with quarters. 

Wait. What's this "cell" thing you keep talking about? Smart what? I phone? 

No, I not a telephone. I am Mighty Favog. What the hell is wrong with y'all?

Anyway, you have Ernestine the Telephone Operator to thank for having a reasonably engaging and well curated edition of 3 Chords & the Truth this week. Otherwise. . . .

So. There's a pretty good show. 'Nuff said.

Hey, just because I couldn't phone in the Big Show this week, it doesn't mean I can't just phone in the description of it. Peace . . . out. 

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

3 Chords & the Truth: Those were the days

Those were the days, my friend. We thought they'd never end.

But they did.

The virus saw to that -- the end of what passed for normal life. Of course, there have been those who think the virus didn't apply to them and insisted on normality. A certain percentage will not make that mistake again . . . or any other mistake, for that matter.

But what does that have to do with 3 Chords & the Truth? 

FOR ONE THING, it's sort of why there wasn't one last week. I got the second Moderna vaccine, and (at least for me) it's true what they say: It kicked my butt for a couple of days. And you know what? I've never felt so good about feeling bad. 

Now I'm counting down the last handful of days until peak immunity. And freedom, or what passes for freedom as the COVID pandemic endures, in large part because too many Americans refuse to get vaccinated.

We think we'll sing and dance forever and a day.

I don't know what to do with that. 

So, I guess all of that has influenced this week's edition of the Big Show. The lost past and an uncertain future. The relentless tick tock of racing to vaccinate an obstinate public as the virus continues to mutate. 

All this mess kinda does make you want to turn back that clock up on the wall, doesn't it? Turn it back to the day. 

Back when we could live the life we choose. When we could fight and never lose. 

Those were the days, oh yes, those were the days. 

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

3 Chords & the Truth: Listening on the corner

It's long been a cliché, the group of misunderstood teenagers passing the time by standing on the street corner and singing in perfect harmony. 

There, they are discovered, taken to the recording studio, make a hit record, then find fame, girls, a turbulent lifestyle and drugs.

Our corner is a bit different here at 3 Chords & the Truth. 

FOR ONE THING, over there is Emerson, Lake and Palmer with a crapload of electronic gear.

Pete Townshend is across the way smashing his guitar on the sidewalk.

On the other corner, Herb Alpert is playing some mean trumpet between taking calls regarding some record-label business.

Paul Mauriat is looking for a corner big enough for a full orchestra and string section.

And you don't want to know what the New Wavers are doing.

Pretty interesting corner here on the Big Show. 

If I were you, I'd stick around to listen. You never know what you're going to hear next.

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

3 Chords & the Truth: The point of it all

Somewhere, there's a point to this show.

Maybe the music is the point to 3 Chords & the Truth. (OK, obviously the music is the point to the show.) But beyond that, I mean, for this week's tunefest. 

You discuss. I'll wait. 

OK, THIS WEEK I guess the point to the Big Show is whatever you want it to be. I'm open-minded that way.

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