Thank God the National Football League (NFL) has concluded its football season. I haven’t watched this product in several years, even though I dig the game of American football. Yet, for whatever misguided reason I tuned in last week. It was the Super Bowl and I felt it was my civic duty to watch this slice of Americana, as my hometown team was scheduled to appear. Just like the Los Angeles Rams, I barely showed up.

I have always felt that the Super Bowl features, in great abundance, two of my least favorite aspects of life in 21^st Century America, rampant, relentless and unapologetic commercialism, coupled with phony- bologna, in your face patriotism. It is enough to make me want to throw up and I haven’t even gotten to my neighbor’s “world famous” Frito, jalapeno, cheese-wiz and sushi casserole yet. 

Maybe the renowned political columnist and baseball enthusiast, George Will put it best when has famously described the NFL as, “featuring the two worst aspects of American life…violence, punctuated by committee meetings.”

I however do love college football and watch it every Saturday in the fall. I would rather watch Rice (no affiliation with the San Francisco treat) vs. Temple (no affiliation with any synagogue) than the Super Bowl. How is this possible? Easy, there are less committee meetings. That’s right, they average 25 more plays per game in college football than they do in the NFL. That’s a lot more action, presumably why we watch this stuff in the first place, and a whole lot less standing around. By logical extension this means more violence, but I guess I prefer that to committee meetings, television time-outs and the two-minute warning.

They don’t have the two-minute warning in the college game. The assumption here is that most of their fan base can tell time and certainly don’t need to be warned about it. On top of all this, I’ll take the worst college marching band in the country over the halftime show at the Super Bowl any day of the week and twice on Super Sundays.

As I watched this annual spectacle, it occurred to me, I am deeply conflicted.  The last I heard Trump wants us to boycott the NFL, as he is at war with this entity, as he is with everybody, or so it seems, except my country’s real enemies and their nations who are also led by fascist dictators.

It is my understanding that our dictator loves the team based in Massachusetts, one of the many states who roundly rejected “Commander Bone Spurs” in 2016. It was very noticeable that he wasn’t present to throw out the ceremonial first cat-scan at this year’s Super Bowl. This is for the same reason he missed the World Series, the College Football National Championship Game and the Kennedy Center Honors, and that is because he is a persona non grata in his own country. He may be President at the moment but he is not welcome…anywhere.

As it turns out he is friends with the quarterback from the team that bares the nickname of every man, woman and child who has also rejected and resists Orange Julius at every turn. Us patriots can’t stand the New England Patriots for this reason. Their quarterback, Tom Brady, met Trump a few years ago as he was a judge at one of Trump’s beauty pageants. They have remained, according to Agent Orange, “good friends.”

I watched and listened to Gladys Knight sing the National Anthem and couldn’t be more impressed. She still has chops and more importantly knows how to use them. Her nuanced approach to this famously difficult song to sing was very moving. It was the best version of the Star-Spangled Banner I have heard in recent memory.

Then it was all downhill from there. I moved myself over to the mute button and then the DVR. I listened to a great brand-new blues album in the first half and then listened to it again. It is by a great Japanese rhythm & blues band called Bloodest Saxophone. That isn’t a typo, that’s their name. Their brand new, 2019 album entitled Texas Queens 5 features, as one might expect, five female vocalists from the Lone Star State. I’ll give you the details and my assessment of this great album in our Monthly Album Spotlight feature.

After I gave up on the Super Bowl (I watched it after it was over and fast forwarded through the commercials…yeah, I know I missed the best part), on Super Monday I turned my attention to Black History Month. I have some thoughts on this annual observance.

I also thought maybe it was time to put the famous Tony Coleman interview back on the top shelf. This piece is a few years old now, but remains one of the most read, most talked about interviews ever in BLUES JUNCTION. If you haven’t read this before, I highly recommend you do so.

In our semi-reoccurring feature entitled Re-Visited I take a look back on the career of Van Morrison. He had not only one, but two brand new albums released last year. The second offering came on December 7^th.  Both albums are among the best of his long career and that is really saying something.  

Also, here in February I encourage our SoCal readers to check out The Winter Blues Spotlight on February 23rd. It is an outdoor private party (open to all) and blues festival all wrapped in one. Only in Southern California would somebody, in this case Sweet Lou of Sweet Lou’s BBQ fame, have the audacity to stage a major blues festival outdoors in February. He is banking on our predicable mild climate to see him through. So far, he is three for three. Rain or shine, I will be in attendance, as well as our good friend, the one and only Charlie Lange and his Bluebeat Music traveling record store.

Speaking of Charlie Lange and Bluebeat Music he has offered up another installment of his Re-Issue Rodeo.

San Pedro Slim, who will be coming off his current European tour, is on the bill at the Winter Blues Spotlight. I thought it would be a great idea to “publish” an interview I conducted last year with the one and only David Kiefer aka San Pedro Slim. Also check out the artwork on our Homepage by the multi-talented David Kiefer. 

By now most of our readers are painfully aware that we lost a bright young talent on the blues scene. Michael Ledbetter was only thirty-three years old when he left us. His future seemed bright and in an instant, he became a memory. His passing leaves all of us saddened, but none more so than his immediate family and close friends who remain in our thoughts. This tragedy might serve to remind us all to never ever pass up an opportunity to tell someone you love, that you love them. It reminds us to be kind and thoughtful to everyone with whom we come in contact and to, at the very least, offer up a smile to a total stranger every chance you get. 

Thanks always for your continued support of our labor of love or what I like to call our little word factory by the sea. As always, I enjoy hearing from you, our loyal readers. Until we meet again, be well and be in touch.  

- David Mac