Today’s column is named after a Sheldon Harnick song, as performed by The Kingston Trio. It’s a satirical piece about unrest and violence in the world being solved by the modest proposal of unleashing the atomic bomb on the whole of humanity because “What nature doesn’t do to us, will be done by our fellow man.” This tune was brought to my attention by a comment written by one of my readers — thank you Marcia — and I am happy to say, in nearly every case, I am usually very charmed to hear from the community, especially those with a grasp of irony and a solid foundation in contextual literacy. As for the few who might be lacking discernment in those areas, I trust most of you out there will enjoy some satirical irony on their behalf. Like, for instance — and this is purely hypothetical — the irony of using a letter to the editor to advocate for the selective removal of free speech, the First Amendment, one of our most precious legal protections. Once given up, these things don’t tend to come back. Not historically, anyway, and history really only exists in what can be discerned by which texts and speeches have been permitted to survive, and allowed to thrive and be studied in an open and free society. That process starts at home, where we — for now — have the freedom to engage with a lot of information about the world at large, much of which might challenge our most orthodox ideas. And challenging orthodoxy, whether internal or social, is also, historically, a pretty dangerous notion. Just ask Mr. Harnick, whose merry tune about human conflict and disagreement ends in a mushroom cloud, the ultimate form of violent human erasure, and silencing of all speech, free or otherwise. That’s a funny idea, to quote the late, great Norm Macdonald, “Not funny haha, like a Woody Allen movie, but funny strange, like a Woody Allen marriage.” And if you could distill my political instincts into one salient point, it’s the full-throttle desire to avoid that kind of funny business, at all costs.
Have a lovely week.
Thursday
Here’s another venue that hasn’t gotten much, if any, ink in this column. The Local Cider Bar is hosting a free pajama party at 7 p.m. with music by the DJ crew of Hispanic! At The Disco. Expect a lot of Latin grooves from cumbia to reggaeton and beyond, and, if I might make a suggestion for the sound maestros, consider breaking form a little and playing some theme-appropriate art rock disco glory in the form of Roxy Music’s “Pyjamarama,” a favorite tune of mine with an excellent live version on the Viva! record.
Friday
Speaking of cumbia music and Latin grooves, if you really want to dance your ass down to a nub with some of the finest beat chugging sound blasters in the country, swing over to Humbrews at 9 p.m. for a hefty dose of Makenu, who have set the marker many times over for the county and beyond when it comes to a proper honking dance party. I’ll sweeten the pot by mentioning that premier ska-filled skankers Checkered Past are also up on the bill, so expect your heels to smoke like dragstrip tires by the end of the night ($10).
Saturday
It’s always a good time when Portland’s finest country music rollers and soulful, stardusted cowfolks Jenny Don’t and the Spurs come to town. Extra points a-glowing on the fine stitching and sequins when the group plays the Logger Bar, practically a vacation home by now for this fine act. The 8 p.m. show is early and, while not exactly free, $5 lives in the same neighborhood, so this show gets the Saturday Night Special for this week.
Sunday
More roots-rock Americana on tap tonight at the Old Steeple, where Alabama’s relatively young native son Early James will be performing a set of custom tunes which seem older than the maker. In short, James has tapped into the older goods of the deep, resonant human sounds of our cultural traditions and he has the chops and voice to make magic out of that wellspring. He’s playing an appropriately early show as well, starting at 7:30 p.m., when the crepuscular knife edge slices a line into the dark hours that belong to the faithful departed in the cemetery next door ($21.50).
Monday
In the interest of covering all the spots where the endangered musician’s open mic still exists, despite the cruelly relentless forces of American decline, I would like to note that the Crisp Lounge is hosting a free one tonight. The music starts at 7 p.m., sign-up begins 15 minutes earlier, which is the same amount of time relegated for each musician’s set. Go check it out.
Tuesday-April Fool’s Day
Due to the increasingly absurd seriousness of the world married to an also increasingly evil and clownish state of domestic affairs, plus my previous underestimation of how painfully literal some people take in information in this column and beyond, I have learned not to engage in April Fool’s gags in print anymore. So I am going to be extremely dry and straight here. Singer, songwriter, instrumentalist and film and TV scorer Kris Delmhorst will be playing at the Arcata Playhouse tonight at 7:30 p.m. She is very talented and it’s worth your time, if you can swing the $20 ticket or $18 for Playhouse members to check her out.
Wednesday
Don’t be confused by the title, 1981’s Heavy Metal is not a film about the then-emerging musical genre, but rather a reference to the American Sci-Fi magazine of the same name. The soundtrack reflects this, which despite having offerings by Black Sabbath, is mainly filled with accelerant cartoon dream songs by Devo, Cheap Trick, Don Felder of the Eagles and Steely Dan’s Donald Fagen. More than anything else, it’s really an animated pastiche of vignettes dedicated to the horniness of late ’70s magazine fantasy nerd culture. Which is good enough for anyone looking for a time capsule from the era when books still ruled over computers and tabletop gaming was superior to video games in every respect. One can never truly relive the past but it’s sometimes worth a gander anyway to make a new impression. You can do that tonight at the Arcata Theatre Lounge, where the doors open at 6 p.m., the show starts at 7-ish, and there’s a raffle in between. As before, $6 gets you in, $10 lets you leave with a poster.
Collin Yeo (he/him) has seen the Eternal April Fool hold his coat and snicker.
This article appears in Cal Poly Presents’ Season of Change.