Fred Aaron 🇺🇸🇮🇱

“Justice, justice shall you pursue, that you may live and inherit the land which the Lord your God is giving you” - Deuteronomy 16:20

[Fred Aaron is Pops Culture @fredforthemets]

Story Songs: Chuck E.'s in Love

How come he don't come and p.l.p with me
Down at the meter no more?
How come he turn off the t.v.
And he hang that sign on the door?
We call and we call,
"How come?" we say
What could make a boy behave this way?
He learn all the lines,
And every time, he don't stutter when he talk
And it's true! It's true!
He sure is acquired a cool and inspired sorta jazz when he walk,
Where's his jacket and his old blue jeans?
If this ain't healthy it is some kinda clean?
I think that Chuck E.'s in love
Chuck E.'s in love

I don't believe what you're saying to me
This is something I gotta see
Is he here?
Look in the poolhall
Is he here?
Look in the drugstore
Is he here?
No, he don't come here no more
I'll tell you what, I saw him
He was sitting behind us down at the Pantages
And whatever it is that he's got up his sleeve
I hope it isn't contagious
What's her name?
Is that her there?
Christ, I think he's even combed his hair!
Is that her?
What's her name?
Oh, it's never gonna be the same
But that's not her!
I know what's wrong!
Chuck E.'s in love
With the little girl who's singin' this song
Chuck E.'s in love
Chuck E.'s in love
With me

[Fred Aaron is Pops Culture @fredforthemets]

Time to Play B-Sides: Wouldn't It Be Nice/God Only Knows

By 1966, Brian Wilson had stopped touring due to anxiety, staying home in LA, writing music and working with session musicians to make the next Beach Boys singles and albums. Brian had a massive anxiety attack before going on tour in 1963, being replaced first by Glen Campbell and then Brian Johnston. The result of this decision was the elevation of the Beach Boys music from simple surfing anthems to massive orchestral pieces with increasingly complex arrangements. In other words, these with Brian Wilson's Pet Sounds, the music he was hearing inside of his head.

A misconception that many music fans have is that the Rolling Stones were the biggest competition to the Beatles. While this was splashed all over the pages of 16 and Tiger Beat, the truth was that the Beach Boys and the Beatles were the rivals. Each new album from one goaded the other into taking things to the next level. Such was the case with Pet Sounds, released as a response to Rubber Soul, with Revolver being the Beatles' answer to Pet Sounds.

Pet Sounds is considered one of the greatest albums of all time. I agree with this assessment. It is a cycle of songs that I feel must be listened to in order to get the full effect of what Brian Wilson has created. Of course, the hard part for the Beach Boys was deciding on which songs to release as singles, so the decision was made to release a cover of Sloop John B as the first one and it was a huge hit. As a follow up, the album's opening track, Wouldn't It Be Nice, was chosen to be the A-Side on a single that features another album track, God Only Knows, as the B-Side. It would be harder to find a single from the mid-60s that rates as highly as these two songs.

Wouldn't It Be Nice was written by Brian Wilson, Tony Asher and Mike Love, and features Brian Wilson singing lead vocals backed by the other band members Carl and Dennis Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, and Bruce Johnston. None of them play any instruments. Instead, Brian Wilson assembled a veritable who's who of the Wrecking Crew. Hal Blaine plays drums, while Carol Kaye and Ray Pohlman play bass. Larry Knechtel is one of several pianists featured on the track. Meanwhile, jazz great Barney Kessel plays a 12-string mando-guitar that provided that harp like intro hook to the song. The result is an absolutely gorgeous tune that served as an ideal A-side and one of the most memorable Beach Boys songs of the mid-60s.

The flip side, God Only Knows, would prove to be an equal to Wouldn't It Be Nice. One of the most incredible love songs of all time, God Only Knows was written by Brian Wilson and Tony Asher. It features Carl Wilson on lead vocals, showing off Carl's incredible high tenor. Joining him are Bruce Johnston and Brian Wilson. The other three Beach Boys don't appear on this track. Carl also plays the 12-string guitar part on God Only Knows, doubled by Carol Kaye also on a 12-string guitar. Drummer Hal Blaine appears alongside drummer Jim Gordon who taps out his part on plastic orange juice cups. Bill Green and Jim Horn add the flute flourishes, Alan Robinson adds the French horn intro, while Larry Knechtel plays harpsichord. One of the wildest things about the song was that Don Randi played a tack piano track with tape over the strings to mute them. The song also features two bass players like Wouldn't It Be Nice, this time Lyle Ritz on an acoustic upright bass and Ray Pohlman on electric bass. The results are equally sublime. However, the decision was made that Wouldn't It Be Nice had more commercial potential and was made the A-Side instead. Nevertheless, God Only Knows turned out to be the hit in many places, outperforming its original A-Side.

One of the greatest concerts I ever saw was Brian Wilson at PNC Bank Arts Center in New Jersey on September 9, 2000. During the second part of the show, Brian played all of Pet Sounds concluding with Good Vibrations. It was absolutely note perfect, courtesy of a massive band that had practically every instrument imaginable.

[Fred Aaron is Pops Culture @fredforthemets]

This is an absolutely terrible decision by Trump. This makes it all but certain that China will be able to steal this technology from the untrustworthy Saudis. The almighty dollar prevails. At least Israel probably has some secret countermeasures.
https://t.co/ufIcDZy1Qk

[Fred Aaron is Pops Culture @fredforthemets]

The Company You Keep: Friends in High Places

Unless you are over 60, you've probably never heard of Bebe Rebozo. That's because Bebe was most well-known in the late 60s and early 70s, since he was President Richard Nixon's best friend. Like most people, presidents have friends, and Bebe was Nixon's BFF, the guy he turned to when he needed a friendly time away from the grind and grime of politics.

Yes Sir, That's My Bebe!

Bebe wasn't his real name. Charles Gregory Rebozo as born in 1912 to two Cuban immigrants. He got the nickname Bebe because he was the youngest of 12, making him the baby or "bebe" in Spanish of the family. The nickname stuck. But when it came to business, Bebe was nobody's baby. He was a go getter who made his fortune from a string of gas stations and laundromats in south Florida. This led him to buying a mansion in Key Biscayne, an absolutely beautiful little island just south of Miami Beach. There, Bebe opened the Key Biscayne Bank & Trust. It also got him involved in politics as a fundraiser which is how he met Representative Richard M. Nixon in 1950. Nixon was looking for a nice place to stay during the winter, and Bebe helped his new friend find a home on Key Biscayne to use during House recesses. This led to a friendship that lasted for the remainder of Nixon's life, and also got Bebe to switch party registration from Democrat to Republican.

When it comes to choosing friends, Bebe hit an absolute grand slam homerun. Nixon climbed the political ladder, becoming Ike's running mate in 1952 and the Vice President in 1953. Meanwhile, Nixon and his family continued to visit Key Biscayne in the Winter, spending time with Bebe and his family. When Nixon lost the hotly contested presidential election in 1960, Bebe was one of the friends who consoled him. Two years later, when Nixon lost the race for California governor to Jerry Brown's dad Pat, and infamously quipped "You won't have Nixon to kick around anymore," Bebe was there for him too. So, it was only right that Bebe would celebrate when Nixon won the 1968 presidential election.

Nixon didn't offer Bebe a job in his cabinet. Didn't appoint him to be an ambassador or anything like that. And it seems that Bebe didn't want anything like that. However, when Bebe docked his boat at Biscayne National Park in a slip that was reserved for National Park Service (NPS) administration only, he got a ticket from a park ranger. Bebe called up Nixon to complain and the next day fired NPS director George Hartzog when he refused to intervene on Bebe's behalf to get the ticket rescinded.

There were also allegations that Nixon fired Watergate Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox on October 20, 1973 because he had begun to investigate if Bebe Rebozo had any role in the Watergate break-in and coverup. However, that came from the often unreliable Jack Anderson and the firing (dubbed the Saturday Night Massacre by the press) was related to the fight over the Watergate tapes. Moreover, Rebozo was investigated for accepting $100,000 from reclusive industrialist Howard Hughes on behalf of Nixon, but nothing came of this.

Minister Without Portfolio...and Experience

For all intents and purposes, Steve Witkoff is the Bebe Rebozo of Donald Trump. The two men have been close friends and golfing buddies for over 30 years. They also worked together in New York City's real estate business, where Witkoff has made a small fortune developing several different projects.

Steve Witkoff may be many things, but he is not an expert on foreign policy. This was shown when he met with Putin on Ukraine and was baffled that the Soviet dictator actually lied to him. Nevertheless, Trump has seen fit to put Witkoff in charge of his foreign policy, despite having a skilled team.

Marco Rubio is Secretary of State. He was appointed by Trump and approved by the Senate in line with Constitutional requirements. Rubio is also a skilled politician with many years of experience working on issues of foreign policy, especially in the Senate. Mike Waltz is the National Security Advisor who also gained a great deal of knowledge, wisdom and experience working on issues of foreign policy from his years in the House of Representatives. Nevertheless, Trump has chosen to sideline both of these men in favor of a novice, Steve Witkoff.

When Nixon was president, the Middle East was almost as volatile as it is today. Israel and Egypt were engaged in a war of attrition when Nixon took office, and there was the rise of PLO hijackings culminating in Black September in 1970. On top of this, Syria and Egypt invaded Israel on Yom Kippur, 1973, while Nixon was embroiled in Watergate. Nevertheless, Nixon relied on a skilled man, Henry Kissinger, who served as his National Security Advisor and Secretary, not Bebe Rebozo.

We can see how Trump's choice of relying on his pal has caused problems. The 20-point plan is already falling apart with Hamas slow walking the release of hostage bodies, refusing to disarm, and now saying it will not accept a multinational force to police Gaza. On top of that, Witkoff's only move has been to constantly pressure Israel to give more and more concessions. This is not foreign policy but appeasement, capitulation instead of negotiation. On top of all that, Witkoff has close financial ties to Qatar, calling into question his motives and objectivity. Trump's continued use of Witkoff to handle important foreign policy matters is a real risk to the success of the administration and the future outlook for US foreign policy.

Like Father, Like Son?

Another example of putting friendship ahead of the nation's interests is the relationship between JD Vance and Tucker Carlson. Not only are Tucker and JD close friends, but he appointed Tucker's son Buckley W. Carlson as his Deputy Press Secretary, a plum position for a young man who is just six years out of college holding only a BA in government and political science.

Over the last two years, Tucker Carlson has emerged as a leading critic of Israel, engaging in arguments that border on outright antisemitism, while hosting an unending stream of antisemites, antizionists and neo-Nazis on his show. These cranks and Jew haters are met with puff ball questions that are so soft they make the late talk show host Larry King look like a hard-hitting investigative journalist in comparison. This was shown by Groyper neo-Nazi Nick Fuentes expressing his admiration for Hitler without Tucker bothering to call him on it. To add to this, Tucker's brother (also named Buckley) has posted outright antisemitic statements right here on X.

There has been a growing number of critics calling into question the relationship between JD Vance and Tucker Carlson. This includes his decision to have Tucker's son on his staff, which has all the appearances of a patronage job given to an underqualified candidate for political reasons. It is unclear how young Buckley feels on issues since he has never posted anything that I am aware of on Jews or Israel. But his dad's positions are quite clear. And JD doubled down on this yesterday by calling a Jewish woman reporter a "scumbag" for even daring to question him. Adding to this, Trump was quoted as supporting Tucker Carlson because he "says some nice things about me."

The Company We Keep

We are judged by the company we keep. Whether you call this "guilt by association," the fact is that our choice of friends will have an impact on how we are judged by others.

The Witkoff and Carlson matters go above and beyond Bebe Rebozo getting a NPS director fired over a stupid boat dock ticket. This is about US foreign policy regarding Israel, Ukraine and other countries, especially in the volatile and strategic Middle East. It also touches on US domestic policy, how we deal with terrorism and the rise of virulent antisemitism.

Presidents and Vice Presidents have friends like everyone else. They occasionally do favors for these friends, whether getting a job for a relative or a pardon for themselves. But putting these friends in positions of power and influence, especially where they have no experience, is a recipe for disaster. At a time when this nation and this world is on the brink of another world war, we can ill afford such lapses in judgment.

[Fred Aaron is Pops Culture @fredforthemets]

Story Songs: Radar Love

I've been driving all night, my hand's wet on the wheel
There's a voice in my head, that drives me heel
It's my baby callin', says I need you here
And it's half past four and I'm shifting gear
When she's lonely and the longing gets too much
She sends a cable coming in from above
Don't need no phone at all
We've got a thing that's called: Radar love
We've got a wave in the air
Radar love

The radio's playing some forgotten song
Brenda Lee's: "Coming on strong"
The road's got me hypnotised
And I'm speeding into a new sunrise
When I get lonely, and I'm sure I've had enough
She sends her comfort coming in from above
Don't need no letters at all
We've got a thing that's called: Radar love
We've got a line in the sky

No more speed I'm almost there
Gotta keep cool, now gotta take care
Last car to pass, here I go!
And the line of cars drove down real slow
And the radio played that forgotten song
Brenda Lee's Coming on strong
And the newsman sang his same old song
One more Radar love has gone

[Fred Aaron is Pops Culture @fredforthemets]

Time to Play B-Sides: Have You Ever Seen the Rain/Hey Tonight

In 1970, Creedence Clearwater Revival was at the top of their game. Proud Mary had become a standard, Cosmo's Factory was topping the album charts with a series of singles off the album climbing the pop charts, and everyone knew CCR. The roots rock masters were poised for more success.

They just had one problem. They had a shitty contract with Fantasy Records, whose owner Saul Zaentz was giving CCR headaches. CCR lead singer/songwriter John Fogerty was not someone who took crap from anyone, and he feuded with Zaentz epically. So, when it came time to release the first single off of their latest album, Pendulum, Fantasy put out a double a-side.

A double a-side is basically where the record label hedges its bets and releases two powerful songs on each side of a single. Two of the most famous examples are from the Beatles: We Can Work It Out/Day Tripper and Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields Forever. While this is a bonus for fans, the risk is that radio programmers will get confused and won't focus on a single song to promote. There is also the chance that you will waste a potential single by using it as a B-side. This is what happened with this CCR single.

The ballad Have You Ever Seen the Rain became the hit off of the single, but CCR missed a chance with the rave-up Hey Tonight getting largely ignored. This was a missed opportunity as FM radio stations started playing the song but it didn't chart because people already had it in their collection either on the album Pendulum or as the B-side to Have You Ever Seen the Radio.

As for CCR, the band eventually broke up in 1972 from internal struggles exacerbated by Saul Zaentz's meddling. Drummer Doug Clifford, bassist Stu Cook, and even John's brother Tom (who played rhythm guitar) resented the focus always being on John. They saw him as domineering and controlling. Zaentz did nothing to stop this and, in fact, fed into this, losing his biggest act. Zaentz and Fogerty continued to feud over the next decade, leading Zaentz to sue Fogerty for plagiarism for stealing his own song. Zaentz claimed that The Old Man Down the Road was a ripoff of Run Through the Jungle. Zaentz lost the lawsuit as the court found that you can't sue a man for sounding like himself, something I covered in an earlier episode of Fluffing the Covers.

[Fred Aaron is Pops Culture @fredforthemets]

Some things never seem to change:

'Although armed resistance to American rule in the Philippines had effectively ended by the summer of 1902, sporadic violence continued in the Muslim south. In late February 1906, on the island of Sulu, one thousand Muslim tribesmen revolted against the local leadership installed by the Americans and fled to a natural fortress in an extinct volcano known as Bud Dajo. In Manila, U.S. Governor Leonard Wood, [Teddy] Roosevelt's old friend and Rough Rider comrade, ordered eight hundred soldiers to crush the rebellion. In four days of operations, U.S. soldiers killed every last one of the Muslims - men, women and children. Twenty soldiers died in the fighting. Wood assured Secretary of War [William Howard] Taft that "no man, woman, or child was wantonly killed." Native women had charged the American troops along with the men, Wood said, while children "had been used by the men as shields."' - Gregg Jones, Honor in the Dust (2012), pages 353-4.

[Fred Aaron is Pops Culture @fredforthemets]

#Bales2025FilmChallenge
@bales1181
November 19: A Nostalgic Movie From Your Childhood
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (Ken Hughes, 1968)
@ithrah69 @ihateclaims @JanuaryMovie
Based on a story by Ian Fleming with a script by Roald Dahl, this musical absolutely enchanted the four year old me, even if the Child Catcher gave me nightmares (tempting kids with candy to get into the back of his wagon is frighteningly realistic). I made my parents go out and by me the popup book, soundtrack album and toys to this one. Sadly, none of that survived to this day.

[Fred Aaron is Pops Culture @fredforthemets]

The ones making the most noise about AIPAC are the same ones growing fat on Qatari bribes.

[Fred Aaron is Pops Culture @fredforthemets]

This is Foreign Policy Jeopardy!
Answer: Saudi Arabia pledged to invest one trillion dollars into the US economy.
Question: ???

https://t.co/fjJirSDgDE

[Fred Aaron is Pops Culture @fredforthemets]

I remember this like it was yesterday. My mom drove a Cadillac Sedan de Ville and my dad had an Olds Cutlass Supreme with a 450 engine. We were completely unprepared for the Oil Embargo. Fortunately, Nick always had gas. He owned the marina near by our house where my dad kept his boat, a Pacemaker 36. Nick wasn’t allowed to put gas in a car by law, but he did fill up my dad’s boat which became our family’s floating gas tank. Each week, my dad would fill up the boat with gas, dock it, and then use a siphon and Jerry can to fill up his and mom’s car. By the way, his boat’s name was Valhalla, and it was our floating Heaven during the 1973 Oil Embargo.

[Fred Aaron is Pops Culture @fredforthemets]

Thank you for posting this. For all those who follow me and have questions, please read this thread.

For those sending me DMs looking for answers, thank you for reaching out. I enjoy chatting with all of you. But your best bet is to read this thread instead.

And for all those who support Israel, no matter who you are, Am Yisrael Chai, let’s keeping fighting the good fight, alone or together. Our enemies are larger than us and they haven’t gone away.
Shalom!

[Fred Aaron is Pops Culture @fredforthemets]

Story Songs: How Long

How long has this been going on?
How long has this been going on?

Well, if friends with their fancy persuasion
Don't admit that it's part of a scheme
But I can't help but have my suspicions
'Cause I ain't quite as dumb as I seem

And you said you was never intending
To break up our scene this way
But there ain't any use in pretending
It could happen to us any day

How long has this been going on?
How long has this been going on?

Ooh, your friends with their fancy persuasion
Don't admit that it's part of a scheme
But I can't help but have my suspicions
'Cause I ain't quite as dumb as I seem

Oh, you said you was never intending
To break up our scene this way
But there ain't any use in pretending
It could happen to us any day

And how long has this been going on?
How long has this been going on?
(How long?)
How long has this been going on?
(How long has this?)
How long has this been going on?
(How long?)
How long has this been going on?

[Fred Aaron is Pops Culture @fredforthemets]

Three Letter Songs: C.O.D.

No, not "Cash On Delivery." This AC/DC song from For Those About to Rock (We Salute You) actually stands for "Care Of The Devil." It was all part of the band's efforts to play up all the Satanist stuff swirling around heavy metal back in the early 80s.

C.O.D. was written by Angus Young, Brian Johnson and Malcolm and it is the eighth track on the album. This was the second album to feature Johnson after the death of original lead singer Bon Scott in 1980. Like every other track on that classic album, C.O.D. absolutely rocks. Angus absolutely shreds while drummer Phil Rudd, bassist Cliff Williams and Malcolm on guitar keep the rhythm steady. The album was produced by the incredible Mutt Lange, and it remains one of the truly great albums of the early 80s. It also accounted for the AC/DC movie that still ranks as the worst blind date I even went on in my entire life.

[Fred Aaron is Pops Culture @fredforthemets]

Fluffing the Covers: Always on My Mind

How many of you love this Willie Nelson song? Come on, show of hands. Great song, right? This tune he released in 1982 has always been one of Willie's best loved tunes. Except, it's a cover. And what's more the great Country singer/songwriter didn't actually write this song. Bet it hasn't always been on your mind.

This love song was actually written by Wayne Carson, Johnny Christopher and Mark James in 1971. Except they didn't give it to Willie Nelson. In fact, the first version recorded was by a woman, while the first version released was by another woman. Brenda Lee recorded Always on My Mind in early 1972, but Gwen McCrae beat her to the punch by releasing her "cover" in March, three months before Lee's version came out.

None of that really mattered. Not when Elvis, the King of Rock himself, decided to record a version. Elvis went into the studio the day after Gwen McCrae's version of Always on My Mind was released to the public. Once the King of Rock released his version, the other two earlier ones faded into obscurity. It seemed a fitting song since of the problems in his marriage to Priscilla. Released on Halloween 1972, just as the eight year old ME was trick-or-treating around my hometown dressed as a mummy, Always on My Mind gave Elvis a follow up hit to Burning Love, which came out earlier that year.

John Wesley Ryles was the next to take a shot with the song, which he retitled You Are Always on My Mind. But while that made some waves on the Country music charts, it didn't crossover. But it did catch the attention of Willie Nelson. The result was one of Willie's biggest hits, a song so perfect for him that he eve titled his 1982 hit album by that name. And, in typical Fluffing the Covers fashion, this cover became the biggest hit and, in many minds, the definitive version.

[Melanie Phillips @MelanieLatest]

Starvation, anyone?

[Fred Aaron is Pops Culture @fredforthemets]

Three Letter Songs: Aja

If you asked me the greatest song ever recorded, I might say it is this one, the title track off of Steely Dan's sixth studio album, Aja. It is a truly singular piece, a powerful tune that is carried by some of the greatest musicians on the planet during the summer of 1977.

By the time Steely Dan went into the studio to record Aja in 1977, they were a band in name only. The original touring group had been dismissed after Pretzel Logic in 1974, as Donald Fagen and Walter Becker had decided to focus on recording in the studio, eschewing live performances altogether. As a result, the "band" as it was had become the two songwriters, with Fagen handling lead vocals, while utilizing a rotating group of musicians from other bands as well as seasoned studio musicians and jazz artists. The result was a sound unlike any other, the ideal fusion of rock and jazz. And Aja is the pinnacle of that fusion.

I've often wondered if Steely Dan is a rock band that plays jazz or a jazz band that plays rock. Frankly, I don't know the answer. But does it really matter? On Aja, Fagen and Becker brought together a group of seasoned musicians to record almost eight minutes of musical perfection.

Former Steely Dan co-founder Denny Dias, the Hicksville resident who placed the ad answered by Becker and Fagen that led to the formation of the band, plays a flawless guitar solo, supported by jazz aficionado Larry Carlton. This would be the last time any original member of Steely Dan other than Becker and Fagen ever played on one of the band's tracks. The great Steve Gadd contributes not one but two drum solos, the first time there was ever a drum solo on a Steely Dan record. He is joined by the equally amazing Wayne Shorter of Weather Report who contributes an iconic tenor saxophone solo. Joe Sample of the Crusaders plays electric piano while Chuck Rainey plays bass, Victor Feldman is on vibraphone and Michael Omartian handles the piano. Becker and Fagen even recruited bassist Timothy B. Schmitt of Poco and the Eagles to contribute his high tenor to the backing vocals. And to round out the sound, Becker plays a third guitar part, with Fagen playing a police whistle and a weird synthesizer part.

[Fred Aaron 🇺🇸🇮🇱 @Fred4Justice]

@Catkid5785 @fredforthemets Thanks but I got my main account back. Just be careful with phishing.

[Fred Aaron 🇺🇸🇮🇱 @Fred4Justice]

@AmYisraelChai_X @dr3ddj I’m back as @fredforthemets