No post yesterday as I attended an Economic Forecast Conference in Seattle and a colleague was kind enough to drive for the both of us. To use, of the economists panel discussion, a happy saying of my grandmother's: dry as a popcorn fart. I would summarize the whole economic forecast discussion as: 2011 will be incrementally better than 2010, jobs are going to be very slow coming back, where they do at all, we are out of the recession but it won't feel like it to most folks for some time to come. Oh, and there were lots of slides (which were interesting) to support all of this. The Governor talked tough about what the legislature needs to do and how we need to get away from putting bandaids on the status-quo, and how state government simply isn't going to be able to provide all the services it had traditionally provided and the private sector is going to have to step up to the plate in that respect (my aside: we all know how well that happens!). With the exception of one of the economists who used a portion of his time to make the case for tax code change, no talk about revising our tax code to fix the perpetual revenue problem we have in this state. <sigh>
I'm in a Cake mood this morning. I may be dieting, but damn it, I can still have my Cake. Specifically, their most-recent album, Showroom of Compassion. So today's short playlist is drawn entirely from that album:
- Federal Funding
- Got to Move
- Bound Away
- Sick of You
- What's Now is Now
You have to love the droll whimsy in their lyrics, the almost comedic timing of John McRea's lead vocals, and the rich eclectic instrumentation. Maybe you have heard a bit of their song Short Skirt/Long Jacket on a recent iPod commercial. For an example of just how unique their songwriting is, take the tune Federal Funding:
You'll receive the federal funding, you can have a hefty grant
You'll receive the federal funding, you can have a hefty grant
Strategize this presentation, make them see that you're the man
Strategize this presentation, make them see that you're the man
Not the usual song lyric fodder. Or Italian Guy, the lyrics of which consist of a single visual observation:
That Italian guy over there,
the one with the polyester, pin-striped suit,
the one with the gray hair and mustache,
Must be thinking really loud thoughts.
Because he's nodding and squinting,
and nodding and squinting,
and putting down his metal case,
like he's making a point,
and it's very important indeed.
Good stuff, fun stuff, and the right thing for this very wet Friday.
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