DWTS and Politics

I truly detest Dancing With the Stars, otherwise known by the acronym DWTS.  It involves dancers who otherwise would be unknown to the public at large, C- or even D-List celebrities and ersatz singers who act as if they're viable singing artists.  The dancing, which was predicated on ballroom dance -- I actually took a class in this in college, of which the less that is said the better -- but oftentimes veers into the theatrical if not the downright tawdry, ranges from the surprisingly impressive to the abjectly awful.

This season the show trotted out the usual also-ran celebrities, very few of whom I could recognize.  Knowing that there are emoluments that go along with being on the show, not to mention the opportunity to raise one's Q score, it's not surprising that these enterprising wannabes jump at the chance to be on the show.  Certainly, some may actually like to dance, and others may just view it as an opportunity to meet a hot and randy dancer, but for me, if I were offered the chance to be on the show, I couldn't say No fast enough.

One of the invited celebrities -- and I do continue to use the term lightly -- was Sean Spicer, the former White House spokesman for President Donald Trump.  Upon the announcement of his invitation, Tom Bergeron, the otherwise unflappable and excellent host of the dancing charade, said I'd hoped this would be a joyful respite from our exhausting political climate and free of inevitably divisive bookings from ANY party affiliations.  Others on the Left, as is their wont, jumped with both feet, posting that Spicer lied for Hitler when he was the White House spokesman.

First of all, I'm not sure people are so spiteful that they would vote for Spicer -- who by any objective measure is not a hoofer -- simply to thumb their noses at Hollywood.  We're not that petty.  But once politics was hypocritically injected into this by Bergeron, and once Leftist lemmings piled on declaring that Spicer -- an American citizen with no known criminal convictions -- had no business being on that show simply because of his political stripe, it was on.

The hypocrisy in this is that DWTS had as a contestant Mark Cuban, an outspoken critic of the President about whom it has been discussed might run for the presidency.  Bergeron made no comments critical of his invitation on the show.  Yet when Spicer was invited, hell froze over.

So what happened next is what I refer to as the Sanjaya Effect.  For those who don't recall, back in its first incarnation, American Idol one season had a singer named Sanjaya Malakar who was dreadful.  For a full review of his experience, check out:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanjaya_Malakar

Anyway, he was voted through continually and, controversially, despite his lack of singing chops.  I don't recall actually why this happened, but I think it had to do with people being fed up with the obvious popularity contest the show had become.  Despite being shredded by the judges, fans continued to save him from elimination.

That's what's happening with Spicer.  Even though he is clearly not a dancer and not one of the best celebrity dancers invited on the show, he's now in the final six or seven remaining.  My wife, along with countless other conservative women, are maxxing out their vote totals to keep Spicer in, just to stick it to the Left.  Even President Trump has tweeted to his supporters to vote for Spicer.

In the end, it matters not who wins this goofy competition.  It really shouldn't matter who's on the show, either.  When Spicer was invited, did Bergeron really think Spicer was going to use the show as a platform to tout the President?  There have been other contestants on the show with questionable backgrounds, but nothing was said about keeping them off the show.  Instead, when someone whose politics the Left doesn't like is put in the public's eye, the Left loses its collective mind.

This is yet again a reminder of the Left's mantra:  Do as we say, not as we do.

(c) 2019 The Truxton Spangler Chronicles

Music

Because of my ungodly commute, I signed up for Sirius XM radio which gives me a greater variety to listen to than traditional FM/AM radio.  I can listen to sports talk radio -- which, in this area, is almost non-existent -- music from the 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's, talk radio...it's just easier to sit in rush hour traffic and have my attention diverted, pleasantly.

While I've been entertained, certain thoughts about music have occurred to me, so I'm going to list them here:

--  It's weird to hear the sweet, soft, lilting tones of Olivia Newton-John on the 70's channel and then turn the dial to the 80's channel and hear her trying to sex up her image.

--  Sirius XM radio is a great way to rediscover one-hit wonders.

--  Hands down, the most underrated band has to be Little River Band.

--  How is Three Dog Night not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?

-- How is Janet Jackson in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?

--  Listening to Sirius XM is a great way to rediscover one-hit wonders.  I keep a list of songs that I want to put on my Ipod by listening to the radio.

--  As someone who grew up in the 80's, it's weird to have Alan Hunter, Nina Blackwood, Martha Quinn, J.J. Walker and Mark Goodman spinning records still.  But is this all they know how to do?

--  I hear The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald enough that by the time I die I may actually know the lyrics to the song.  What the heck:  I've even been to Whitefish Point, which is nearby where the ship went down.

--  I don't care how goofy, or the fact that Guardians of the Galaxy included the song in the movie:  Any time Brandy by Looking Glass comes on, I sing.

-- Speaking of singing, The Eagles Take It Easy is perhaps their most fun song.  I only know the lyrics though the second verse, where Glenn Frey is standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona.  Perhaps someday I'll see the statue of him they put up there.  Whenever that song comes on the radio, I belt it out until the verse about Winslow, Arizona.

--  I do miss Glenn Frey.

--  It occurred to me just how many singers are divas.  The thought amused me, because in most cases, these people were given gifts by God that -- yes -- they worked hard to maximize.  But to be such an unpleasant person around people and act as if one is God's gift to creation...I'm speaking to you, Mariah Carey, Christina Aguilera, Dionne Warwick, Elton John, Beyonce...

-- I've gained an appreciation for Roxette and the Cranberries.

--  Now that we all know that Barry Manilow is gay, it puts a spin on the song Mandy, doesn't it?  For those slow on the uptake, ever hear of Mandy Patinkin?

--  I've asked Karen several times who's in which band, but I'll never keep straight who was in The Backstreet Boys, New Kids on the Block and and *NSYNC.

-- I miss Dan Fogelberg and Jim Croce.

-- For my money, The Spinners are the best Motown group to ever make it big.  The songs they recorded -- Rubberband Man, September, And Then Came You, Could It Be I'm Falling In Love, I'll Be Around, Games People Play, Working My Way Back To You -- are classic.  Other groups may have had bigger hits, but no group had better music.

-- I do wish there was a channel devoted to Irish punk so I could listen to Flogging Molly.

(c) 2019 The Truxton Spangler Chronicles