In a 2006 essay in The Nation by the late, great Alexander Cockburn called “The Triumph of Crackpot Realism,” Cockburn gazes at the normalized, violent insanity wrought by Washington D.C. on the Middle East and quotes the work of the American sociologist C. Wright Mills:
“In crackpot realism, a high-flying moral rhetoric is joined with an opportunist crawling among a great scatter of unfocused fears and demands. The expectation of war solves many problems of the crackpot realists … instead of the unknown fear, the anxiety without end, some men of the higher circles prefer the simplification of known catastrophe …. They know of no solutions to the paradoxes of the Middle East and Europe, the Far East and Africa, except the landing of Marines … they prefer the bright, clear problems of war — as they used to be. For they still believe that ‘winning’ means something, although they never tell us what.”
Sixty-six years after Mills wrote those words, and 18 years after Cockburn wrote about the triumph of their methods, we are once again, or perhaps have been forever since, deep in the fantasy land of the crackpot, where the accepted, pragmatic solution that the “adults in the room” all agree on is loonier than the Mad Hatter, and far more blood-thirsty than the Queen of Hearts. You can hear Vera Lynn echoing “We’ll Meet Again” somewhere in the background in a haunted voice, as we are greeted by a spectral Lollipop Guild, loaded with missiles and bombs instead of candy.
I’m not writing this from a position of despair, but rather, one of solidarity with everyone out there — and I suspect there are many, many of you — who are looking at the policies of our leaders and feeling as though this is all a giant fever dream of mass psychosis. You are not alone, you are not wrong in your instincts, and most importantly, you are not a crackpot. Have a beautiful week, all you fine people.
Thursday
Well, the E-40 show at the Van Duzer Theatre looks to be sold out, but that’s of little matter, as there is an absolute scorcher happening down at the Miniplex at 6 p.m. Set the controls to the violent center of creation, as psychedelic drone rangers Carlton Melton are back in town, and bringing the atom-splitting, world creating energy we all love with flesh-melting devotion. It’s an early gig to accommodate karaoke at 9 p.m., so don’t dawdle, and make sure to check out the groovy and bold as love beauty of local trio Mercury Suckers. And after all is said and done, have a gander at the full moon, the Hunter’s Moon ($10).
Friday
I am hot and cold about the NPR Tiny Desk Concerts. Some I really enjoy, where the artist(s) appreciate the medium and don’t overindulge to squash the intimacy of the form. Others just seem like annoying showboating. But my brother loves them, and I defer to his judgment, particularly when it comes to soul and hip hop. The Philharmonik is the stage name of Christian Gates, who along with a cadre of oil drum-tight musicians, created the winning entry for this year’s Tiny Desk Concert. I guess I didn’t realize it was a competition, but he certainly deserves the attention, leaning on the soul end of songwriting in a fine way as he is. You can check out his tunes live tonight at 8 p.m. at the Arcata Theatre Lounge, where he will be joined by Loe Gino ($25).
Saturday
Lots of business is going down this Saturday night, so I thought I’d mix things up a bit and recommend a show outside of my normal route and field of interest. Bloody Kisses is a burlesque performance presented by Duchess Burlesque and inspired by the words of that creepy, born again and dead now vampire slinger Anne Rice. There is a VIP component which includes drinks, food and chit chat with the performers that starts at 5:30 p.m. and will run you $50. To those of you more interested in the main event, tickets are $20 and the cemetery-side festivities go underway two hours later. At the Old Steeple. Don’t get bitten.
Sunday
Tonight is a very good night for those of you out there who appreciate improvisation music done right by two champions of the punk to cosmic soul train and a next-gen, more modern acolyte of the form. I am speaking about Mike Watt, founding bassist of pioneering punk act the Minutemen, guitarist Joe Baiza of similarly influential group Saccharine Trust, and drummer Chris Corsano, who is no slouch himself and, though the youngest, an utter beast on the skins, as his work with Bjork and others has proven. The trio will be doing two sets of non-repeating, improvisational punk jazz madness at the Miniplex starting at 8 p.m., and you would be silly to miss this one, considering the door price is a mere $20.
Monday
Another quiet night, if you feel like making it a little less so, put on some Tony Bennett, who returned his voice to the heavens last year. It’s always a good night for that voice and the man seemed like a real stand-up fella, too.
Tuesday
Fifty years deep into its career, the Parisian mask-based theater troupe Mummenschanz is burrowing into the great cavern of the Van Duzer Theatre tonight to share its wordless, minimal storytelling brilliance for those of you yearning for a break from the dreary world of linguistic drama. Expect stretched proportions and delicate to overwrought motion used to tell tales unable to be spoken and only exhibited by the body electric. Like most of these university gigs, it’s an early show, 7 p.m., and the cost will run you from $25-$40, depending on your seating preference.
Wednesday
Having lived many years ago in British Columbia, on a teenage solo mission to see things and wander into the wilderness, I have a soft spot for anyone who lived similarly and reflected upon it musically. Such is the duo Ocie Elliott, who, hailing from Victoria on the big island, are a duo who play a gentle folk style that reflects a land where the snows don’t quite crush and you can do a lot of barefoot hiking. The two will be playing at the Arcata Theatre Lounge tonight at 7 p.m., along with Chris Staples, an American pacific northwest singer songwriter on a similar mission. Tickets will run you $38, which I suspect rounds up to $40 with fees, but I could be mistaken.
Collin Yeo (he/him) would like to remind the government of Israel that the term “Women and children first” is actually a reference to life-saving measures, not lethal targeting. He lives in Arcata.
This article appears in Ballot Measure Soup – A look at all those local revenue proposals coming before voters.