With one foot in the grave and one foot on the pedal, I was born a rebel.

  It's 10:30 p.m. and I'm just starting this. I knew I would put it off but I honestly didn't think about doing anything until now. If nothing else, that's an improvement.

 Talked to the Psyche Doc today. We mostly discussed how pissed off I am about the whole marijuana initiative debacle by the Supreme Court. I do wonder if the whole thing - the sessions, not the initiative - has become just two friendly people catching up. I come and go with my mood, and go through the world in a state of bemused irritation marked with wanting to be alone. I've come to accept that the rest of my life will be regularly marked with spots of deep blues and moodiness, and that's just how it is.

 That being said, and he pointed this out, I want everyone else to be as happy as they can be given circumstances. We both decided that's something to ponder on, but it's not a bad thing. The "music therapy" came up, too, though I've never considered relearning harmonica and guitar with occasional shots at the Cajun accordion. Baby Brother pointed out that the why's behind why minor chords are sad and where seventh chords go and whatnot is a "rewiring your brain" sort of thing. So, I guess that's good.

 What else is there? Today's been one of those "not pay attention to the news" days and from what I can tell, it's all "woke is destroying America" and the GOP desperately trying to sweep the Great American Temper Tantrum by Trump cultists. I need to come up with a better phrase for that. A cult presumes an active cult leader, and I really don't think Trump's that involved and directed. Same thing with it being a fascist movement. They do worship Trump as a savior, but guys like Franco and Mussolini put more effort into it than Trump ever did.

 Studying on it, I think the whole Trump phenomenon has more to do with him being a celebrity and a tv personality plus the American inclination towards if not actual authoritarianism, then at least having a Strong Daddy as a leader. Bush Jr. definitely got this and, at least in retrospect, so did Reagan. Trump isn't even as engaged as those guys were, and they were just ranch-standard Republican politicians. They still didn't get the firey love Trump does from his groupies, but I wonder if that's because they actually went through two terms. Both Bush Jr. and Reagan, by the time they finished off the second term, had some of the shine taken away.

 Trump's a unique case in American politics, though. I don't think he expected or even wanted to win, I don't think he ever put any real effort into the job, and he took every criticism as a personal attack driven only by personal jealousy. A rich prick who's never done anything on his own but has always had his ass kissed, that's the "leader of the free world." Bush Jr., at least, had an interest in doing the job, seems like.

 That's it, I guess. Forty-five minutes later and I'm googling Junior Wells stories. So that's that there then.

She walks Bo Diddley and she don't need no crutch.

  I'm kind of tired. I don't know why, except that I'm always tired and feel like I never get enough sleep. So we'll fill up space this evening and then, probably, go back to sleep.

 There's one of those "one of them has to go" things floating around Twitter featuring Dylan, the Stones, the Beach Boys, and the Beatles. Those things are always maddening. I wonder if I'd be as irritated at the ones for anime or '90s kids' shows if I gave a shit about them, but I am not. I'm interested and enjoy music, so this sort of thing gets up my nose.

 I'm not going to bullshit you. I used to be a music critic for years and even longer as an Insufferably Music Snob. I used to get shitty about bands and genres I felt were lesser or overrated or some such nonsense. I was wrong, and I'm really glad I'm not like that anymore and can just enjoy whatever I hear.

 Back when I worked kitchens, I'd bring in music and since I usually worked prep, no one cared what I played. When I was in amongst the rest of the staff, I tried to keep it from being too much - too much bluegrass, country music, classical, etc. - and a decent mix for everyone to enjoy. It's fairly easy. I like soul music. I like R&B. I like rock music. I like jazz. I like hip-hop. I like metal. I like reggae. I can find something from every genre that I'm willing to listen to and wait until I get home before I shut out everyone else.

 I remember in one place when asked just what all I liked, my co-worker answered for me. "Matt likes good music." And that's what it boils down to, like what's good. But what's good? We live in a world, we've always lived in a world, where a significant portion of the music listening population sneered at another significant portion of the music listening population because that latter group was listening to something "popular" or "mainstream".

 When I moved to New Orleans 10 years ago, Lady Gaga was at the height of her initial popularity. This was before she made that movie with Bradley Cooper and still freaked people out by wearing meat dresses and whatnot. Anyhow, most of my rocker/blues/country acquaintances would diss her and her fans, so I decided to check her out and see.

 I won't lie, I didn't care for it. But so what? So what if the kids want to listen to her or K-Pop groups or Selena Gomez or Luke Bryan or whatever. Why should I care? I live in a world where I can give Apple or Amazon or Spotify 10 bucks a month and have access to hundreds of thousands of artists, from the obscure to the friggin' Beatles and Madonna. Or, hell, Beyonce and James Blunt.

 Several years ago, Paul McCartney did some sort of collaboration with Kanye West. Whether they were trolling or not, kids on the internet drove their parents nuts with comments like "Whoever this McCartney guy is, Kanye will make him famous." It was hilarious, but two things about the outrage struck me. One, why should the kids of the 2010s care about a band that hasn't produced anything in over 40 years?

 Secondly, and probably most importantly, instead of taking umbrage why aren't you going to those kids and showing them just why the Beatles are worth listening to? Why are you making them mixtapes or the current iteration of that sort of thing so maybe they can understand why you dig the band so much and why they're so important?

 One thing you see a lot these days on YouTube is young people posting reaction videos to some music they've never heard. As often as not, it's young black kids but I have seen at least one British guitar player reacting to hot licks from classic rock. I've seen them listen to Merle Haggard's "Big City" and Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Freebird" or Muddy Waters' "Mannish Boy." Those two twin brothers reacting to Phil Collins' "Something In The Air Tonight" that went so viral it got some mainstream media attention.

 I'm sure there have been videos of negative reactions but all I see is the kids digging it. Getting off on the part in "Freebird" where the song speeds up for the lengthy jam or they're grooving on that drum breakdown in the Collins song. Or they're just appreciating the message in "Big City," something that was supposed to connect with everyone when Hag recorded it.

 Going back to my kitchen days, I turned a lot of young people of all racial and ethnic backgrounds on to stuff they'd never even think of listening to. Or stuff their folks listened to, helping them understand why it resonates. I don't think I'm special, just in the right place at the right time with the right tunes.

 So that's word count, and I'm going to do something else now. If I have to wrap all his up into a nice, neat bow, it's pretty easy. Don't tell me what you don't like. Don't tell me who you think is overrated or "must go," because I do not care.

 Tell me what you like. Tell me what moves you and makes you dance. Tell me what makes you laugh and what makes you cry. Tell me what you play for the good times and what helps you through the bad times. Tell me about the song you always go to, over and over again, or the album you're obsessed with or the band that's always got your loyalty and love.

 Otherwise, piss off because I don't care.

That's just how it is sometimes.

 Some more random gibberish to keep my hand in. I recommend you read a good book instead.