3 Chords & the Truth: The art of sound

Welcome to the art of sound, which today especially trumps the insanity of American politics.

Crap. There’s that word again — trump. Or, in our case, Trump.

Donald Trump is the boil on our collective arse that resists all treatment. And now he’s up on federal espionnage and obstruction charges. Cue the flying monkeys hooting, whining and threatening revenge and civil war.

Music is art, but it also can be a balm in these troubled times. 3 Chords & the Truth, overwhelmingly comprised of music, alas, can soothe our collective angst . . . I think. At any rate, it’s all I got, so it had better.

It seems to me that the art of sound resides within the music, but not only that. The art of sound also encompasses how we use the music, how we present the music.

Yes, it’s the Big Show. But I also hope it’s, in some way, art. And I hope it’s something of a balm.

I mean, like I said, it’s all I got.

This week on the program, we’ve got a progression of music going, so to speak. You’re going on a journey — a pleasant one, I trust.

And the farther we go on our musical journey, I’m hopeful the farther it takes us — even if it’s just for a while — from the insanity and ugliness of this present American political dystopia. One does what one can.

This show is what I can do.

Enjoy.

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

3 Chords & the Truth: Hearing ghosts

I'm hearing ghosts. At least it seems that way.

Of course, what you hear in a program like 3 Chords & the Truth depends on the context. The context of these times we live in has me hearing ghosts in the music.

Ghosts of times past. Ghosts of our past selves. Ghosts of those who've passed. Ghosts of normality. Ghosts of a country and world that seem long gone.

Good ghosts, evil ghosts. Ghosts all.

I hear ghosts. Perhaps you will, too.

I'LL TELL YOU now what I'll tell you during this week's edition of the Big Show -- the ghosts I hear in the music, hear in my mind . . . they feel like being at the end of your life and looking back at what was, and you're regretful, wistful. You regret what you -- we -- have come to, You regret the opportunities that were passed by.

You regret the things that were done but shouldn't have been. You wonder what the actual f***.

The ghosts often provoke nostalgia. Nostalgia can be a blessing. It also can be a curse.

Yeah, this week, I'm playing -- and hearing -- ghosts, and it's not even Halloween. They hearken me toward better times and remind me of worse, and the worse remind me of today in these disunited and dysfunctional United States.

And that's the way it is, May 12, 2023. I'm your Mighty Favog, reporting from 79 Wistful Vista.

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

3 Chords & the Truth: What do we do?

It's a stormy, stormy night here in Omaha, by God, Nebraska. Fitting for those of us living in a state that has become a shitstorm.

Pardon my French, but that's the best description I can muster for a place where the MAGA crackpots have taken full control . . . and now are doing what MAGA crackpots do. That would be punching down at The Other and generally waging war on what's left of civil society.

It's especially depressing when one's church is in on the action. Then again, Judas was a disciple, and Peter was a dolt. Things have gotten worse -- at least in these parts -- since.

"But what, Favog," you may ask, "does this have to do with 3 Chords & the Truth?

Excellent question.

And the only answer I have, as humble as it may be, is that the Big Show is a bit of a refuge -- for me and, one hopes, for you, too. That's all I got.

That's all I got.

As for the Nebraska unicameral, all I can say is that try as the booboisie might, the blind can't lead the blind. And it's pretty dark in there.

So, given the above, I'll enjoy the thoroughly enjoyable music as I ponder my options. I suspect you can, too. Actually, I really hope you do -- as usual, it's a hell of a show.

But not a shitshow. We'll leave that to the Republicans.

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

3 Chords & the Truth: What the cluck?

Ask any random podcast listener what is this thing we call 3 Chords & the Truth, and chances are they won’t know, eggsactly . . . er . . . exactly.

But if you weren’t shunned, punched or had the cops called on you when you asked, you could deduce that you were dealing with a good egg.

So, what is this thing we also call the Big Show? It’s . . . uhhhhhhhh . . . it’s . . . uhhhhhhh . . . ummmmmmm . . . it’s eggsactly that. Whatever that is.

I CALL IT postmodern freeform radio on the Internets. I call it that because I just made that label up. Yay, me.

But, really, what the program is, is good. It’s diverse. It’s full of surprises. Eggsactly that. Er . . . exactly that.

This week on 3 Chords & the Truth, we’re gonna get you moving. We’ll have the best in soul, and the best in. . . . Well, why would I spoil the surprise?

Maybe you need to listen and find out what the rest of the good stuff is. In other words, do yourself a favor and be a good egg.

Eggsactly.

Here in the 3C&T studio, your Mighty Favog works hard so as not to have egg on his face. That means your ears will be happy. Eggsactly that.

Do your ears a favor for Thanksgiving. And you’re welcome.

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

3 Chords & the Truth: Chill, being

Ever feel the need to dial it back? To tone it down some? To mellow out, man?

To just chill?

Yeah, me, too. So the Big Show will this week. Yes, it will.

That's not to say it'll be moribund (stick that in your Funk and Wagnall's, pally). It's just going to be outstanding in a non-frenetic manner.

I guess I could say more, but how chill would that be? It wouldn't. It would be stretching . . . straining . . . trying too hard.

Nope. This week, we just let the show come to us. I'd recommend you do the same.

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

3 Chords & the Truth: Going all the way

 

Birds do it. Bees do it. Even educated fleas do it.

 

Let's do it. Let's listen to 3 Chords & the Truth.

What the hell did you think your Mighty Favog was talking about?

After all, the Big Show IS everybody's favorite freeform musical phantasmagoria. Look that up in your Funk and Wagnall's, skipper.

But first, listen to the show. You'll be glad you did.

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

3 Chords & the Truth: Anybody really know what time it is?

Does anybody really know what time it is?

Does anybody really care?

Do we go forward or backward?

This, I do know, however. Any time is the right time for a little 3 Chords & the Truth. Or a lot, for that matter. 

Personally, I'd go with a lot. It's that good.

And that's good enough, because it's the Big Show. It's as simple as that.

Period.

I said period.

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: America on the hoof

You know how your parents told you that if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all? 

Today's subject on 3 Chords & the Truth is American corporate capitalism.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OTHERWISE, we have a lot of great music on the show today -- which is typical for the Big Show. 

I think you'll like it.

That pretty much covers everything, so you can get to listening now.

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

3 Chords & the Truth: The long and shorts of it

Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh . . . yeah.

I've been known to not wear pants -- and for all you know, I'm not wearing pants now -- but you don't need to see that. This is why some of us are in radio. 

Well, this is another edition of 3 Chords & the Truth, and it's as good as usual.

And, as per the norm, the river of sound runs broad and deep. I guess that's one reason why it's called the Big Show. After all, we have more than 30,000 songs to pick from, and the music library grows by the week.

For true. 

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

3 Chords & the Truth: That old feeling

The internet is out. Again. So, I'll be brief here on the cell connection.

This week's edition of 3 Chords & the Truth takes a musical journey spanning almost a century and covering the gamut of style and content. In other words, not that big a departure from what we do every week.

And, boy, is it good. 

WHICH, again, is no departure at all from the usual here on the Big Show.

For example, the program features . . . nah, I'm not going to tell you. That would just completely remove the mystery from your listening experience. 

And, after all, what's the fun if you really and truly know what's coming next? That's our trademark. 

Well, the missus informs me the Internet is back on. Bully for Cox, he says sarcastically. Now, I'd better wrap this up before the damn thing goes out. Again. 

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

3 Chords & the Truth: The lost world

It's a terrible thing to die of spite. 

The virus does not care about your "freedom," which now truly is "just another word for nothing left to lose." 

At least we still have memories of a lost world here on the Big Show. They will have to suffice, to bring us the balm of nostalgia in a world where we seem to prefer death over life . . . and science. Bile over balm. 

Mad promotional skillz for this episode, right? Trust me, this week's music is a lot better than my state of mind here in Plagueland. Crank it up. 

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: Uhhhhhhhhh . . . .

I was working on putting together this week’s episode of the Big Show, last night and it was going just fine, but then something happened.

We had a bit of weather here in Omaha, by God, Nebraska.

By “weather,” I mean all hell broke loose. For about an hour, conditions varied between “strong tropical storm” and Category 1 hurricane. This, mind you, 1,000 miles from the nearest coastline. 

In the Midwest, we call that “a pretty good thunderstorm.” And some fallen limbs, a neighbor’s fallen tree, a blown-off downspout, no cable or Internet and a battered and blacked-out city later, we’re going to see how it goes trying to post 3 Chords & the Truth using the 4G connection from my iPhone.

WELL, at least the apocalypse bunker still has electricity, though there were doubts about that during the storm as the lights flickered and transformers blew up here and there in the night.

That said, it’s a pretty good edition of the Big Show. When everything is surveyed and considered, all you need is love . . . and electricity.

This week, there’s some of this and a bit of that, and it’s all primo stuff, man. If I were you, I’d give it a listen. After all, it took a little doing (and some duct tape and jury rigging) to get it to you.

C’mon. Show a little gratitude. Is what I’m sayin’.

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

3 Chords & the Truth: It's 100% fun

The Big Show is 100 percent fun, once you get used to it.

And, if you ask me, it's nice to get used to not hearing the same 100 songs -- if you're lucky -- over and over and over again on the radio. Then again, some folks just can't handle expanding one's mind . . . or one's horizons. 

Thanks for not being one of those people. Because you're here at 3 Chords & the Truth and not there. And, boy, are you gonna get some variety today.

There's not really anything more to say, is there? So let's get on with the Big Show. 

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

3 Chords & the Truth: Well, I don't know about that

It's a colossal phantasmagoria this week, coming to you live -- recorded to hard drive -- from the www.revolution21.org apocalypse bunker here in Omaha, by God, Nebraska. 

Well, I don't know about that. 

But this episode of 3 Chords & the Truth may be a colossal something. You be the judge.

I mean, there's some wild sh . . . uh, some wild things going on. Mushroom hunting is a tricky thing, and I may have picked the wrong batch. Is what I'm sayin'. 

And, well, I don't know about that. 

It's all this week on the Big Show. 

Teacher, does this have to be 500 words? Because I'm done.

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.