Obama 2 Women: "I Apologize!"

Nobody asked, but here’s my suggestion. Obama takes the next 30 days and crisscrosses the entire country, apologizing to every American mother, sister, daughter, aunt, transgender nephew, and grandmother and maybe, just maybe, we can right this ship and begin to straighten out this lunacy.

Norse_Goddess

I mean, is it me? Or does it seem that ever since Hillary’s concession speech, the womenfolk have taken to the streets in the loudest of ways. First it was the lovely First Lady of Alaska who bolted out of the Northern Wilds, like some fully formed Norse Goddess, her homespun logic and moral code seemingly hatched from the premiere episode of the Roseanne show (can’t wait to hear Sarah sing the national anthem at a Red Sox playoff game). And then Fannie Mae kinda fell to pieces dragging poor old Freddie Mac down with her.

TINA TURNER LIVE 1969

And then it was Hurricane Tina’s turn - yeah, that’s right Tina (you think Ike could have done all this without Tina by his side).

Hell, they even brought Hannah Storm back.

And then there’s Megan McCain.

As an Obama supporter, I’m pledging to do my small part. So beginning today and continuing for the next 26 (A-Z), I’ll post a song with a woman’s name in the title - and then back again if need be. I encourage you to do the same. Send me the name of a song not on this list or a name for whom you’d like to find a song – yeah, we do wedding anniversaries and bar mitzvah’s too.

A is for Sweet Adeline by Elliott Smith.

But there’s also Alice (Cocteau Twins), Alison (Elvis Costello and the Pixies), Amanda (The Cars), Amity (Elliott Smith), Amoreena (Elton John), Amy (Ryan Adams), Angela’s Theme (theme from Taxi), Forever Angeline (Bob Dylan), Angie (Rolling Stones), Ann (The Stooges), Annabella (Rupert Holmes), Anne Boleyn (Rick Wakeman), My Sweet Annette (Drive-by Truckers), Polk Salad Annie (Tony Joe White), Annie’s Song (John Denver), Annie Mae (John Lee Hooker), Annie Waits (Ben Folds), Ariel (Dean Friedman) or any American Girl (Tom Petty) or American Woman (Guess Who or Lenny Kravitz).  On behalf of Obama, we apologize to all of you.

Intimate despair, heavenly choruses, bitter grief, lush arrangements, searing anguish, beautiful melodies; good lord, has anyone ever mined the duality of pleasure and pain like Elliott Smith?

With a simple, but dominant descending guitar progression and poignant lyrics that reveal the anguish of a painful ending, Sweet Adeline from the 1998 release, XO, leaves the listener unprepared when it literally erupts into one of the lushest and prettiest choruses ever recorded.

Sweet Adeline

Swirling vocals and a tack piano might give the impression that it’s all going to work out but this is Elliott Smith after all and there won’t be a happy ending… and then it fades out, much like life itself.

This one goes on the breakup mix and is best paired with a big, bold zin that is packing some heat; perhaps something from Turley or Ridge.