I thought I had made a wild and crazy migration, detailed here, but it’s nowhere near as amazing as Arlo Guthrie’s. Before I go any further, for those of you who are under forty and don’t know who Arlo is (or his father Woody), or just want to reminisce about the old days, have a look at this…
Okay, now stick those “keys” back in your steamer trunk, smoking them will just make you fat, and mosey on over to arlo.net and start reading. Yesireebob, the hero of Woodstock, the son of the iconic left-wing author of “This Land Is Your Land”, opposes the healthcare bill and supports Sarah Palin.
What are we to make of this? Well, maybe the world is upside down. What was cool once is no longer. And some of us are smart enough to know it. [That sounds self-serving.-ed. It is.]
MORE: CNN has its own memories of Woodstock today, but they are nowhere near as sophisticated as Arlo’s (who is referenced in their story singing a duet with Joan Baez.)
FASCINATING FACT: Between Woodstock and today – 40 years. Between Woodstock and the liberation of Auschwitz – 24 years.
(Yes, I know he’s a Ron Paul supporter; nobody’s perfect.)
Interesting. Ron Radosh noted that Arlo’s been shifting too. http://pajamasmedia.com/ronradosh/2009/07/26/hey-arlo-the-times-they-are-a-changin/
But where’s the part at arlo.net about Arlo supporting Sarah Palin? I couldn’t find it.
There’s a comment by an “Arlo Guthrie” in the comments section of Ron’s article that seems credible, meaning that if it isn’t Arlo Guthrie, someone make a credible response in his name.
I first saw Arlo at one of Pete Seeger’s concerts on Garrison, N.Y., raising money for the Clearwater Sloop. But he’s always been a loveable dingbat (“the Thruway’s closed, man.”)
It is a culturally interesting phenomenon to see that he has become a Republican, although from his meandering writings, the reasons are unclear. It’s nice to see his mind appears to be somewhat open. But he still comes off as a loveable dingbat.
Roger,
Instead of thinking about Ron Paul today, maybe we can remember Les Paul. Arlo could approve of that.
Roger,
Here’s another interesting fact: Pete Seeger at age 90 is on tour (he’s playing in San Francisco on September 18), but he isn’t touring with Arlo. Seeger is, however, touring with Arlo’s daughter Sarah Lee Guthrie. Pete and Arlo toured regularly together for years. It makes me wonder if Arlo’s absence from the lineup is accounted for by his political conversion.
Yours truly,
Neobuzz
I think we still take lovable dingbats in on the right side. Sean Hannity comes to mind.
Yo, Victor! I don’t see it as a “culturally interesting phenomenon” that Arlo is a born-again Republican. Now, I don’t want to get off on a rant, here. But he was old when I was young and *I* am an R. Which is to say I’ve gotten past talking point templates and vague generalities and started worrying about whether the world will be able to support (Read, tolerate) me when I’m 65 and need a liver transplant. (Or whatever!) I think very shortly you’ll see more of the so-called limo-liberals begin to feel the government’s burgeoning intrusion into their own lives to the point that even their checkbooks won’t be able to save them! Heck, even “rich white guilt” has its breaking point! Course, that’s just my opinion. I could be…
Roger, unfortunately you’re wrong about Arlo supporting Palin. Search on his site for “Palin”; the first hit is to a comment thread he started where people exult over her leaving office (with a few people wondering how she could be “extinguished” – talking about her career, of course).
It’s nice to know that this bill is so patently bad that even the nuts can see through it, but he’s still nuts.
A loveable dingbat as Victor put it, but a dingbat nonetheless.
I just read the Ron Radosh piece linked by ForNow and want to partially retract my last post. His thinking is not exactly crystal, but there are some solid theads in it.
Arlo talking about closing down the New York State Thruway reminds me of comedian Robert Klein’s monologue on turning 40. On Saturday Night Live he adopted the voice of an old Yiddisher kopf reminiscing about his youth. “Ve closed down da T’ruway!” he bellowed, to a crowd of approving “freaks”
Bob Dylan is conservative too.
See: http://www.rightwingbob.com
& read his early interviews,
& listen to his lyrics,
& check out the article in “First Things”.
& he made fun of one of his band members for wearing an Obama button on tour last Fall.
Larry Carlton: Train to nowhere…