We don't do this much here at the Scene & Heard factory, but given the circumstance(s) of this week, we're taking a turn for the serious (gasp!) with today's YouTube Monday. Seriously, take a look around. See that? There is way too much going on in the serious world to focus on something sensational in the music, film, or pop culture realms. So serious we are; escapism can wait. (Can't take serious? I understand. Tune back in tomorrow when I'll surely be acting ridiculous as per usual again!)

Most obviously, today is Martin Luther King Day. Always an important day to remember and observe, certainly; but it takes remarkable precedence this year.



The Doc's dream that he spoke of and fought so valiantly for long ago marches across a new milestone this week with the inauguration of our 44th president, Barack Obama.

But not because he will be our first black president.

Though you can argue some cast their vote for Obama solely because he is black (and not from Texas), I believe Obama was voted into office not because of his skin color, but because of the hope he represents, the fact that people don't think "ugh, another politician" when they watch him or listen to him. I'd like to think Obama won the vote on Nov. 4 because the majority of us believe in him--regardless of his experience or what he looks like. And that was the dream the Doc spoke of in front of the Lincoln Memorial all those years ago. Not about blacks winning equal opportunities from whites, but that no dream is out of reach for any man or woman. Heck, that's not even the Doc's dream. That is THE AMERICAN DREAM--although it was disgustingly unbalanced for a loooooong time, and Obama is an appropriate distinction to show how far that dream has come.

I've been in an argument or two (or thirty-seven) over the past few months where I've been told that all this hope and dream talk is ridiculously hokey and has noooooo credence or place in politics, especially given the current economic climate. Well, I continue to differ. Look around. 2009 looks bleak. People are losing jobs. Wars 'round the globe continue to rage. The economy continues in it's coma. Plus we got all that global warming business. And the Eagles lose, again.

And the flying cars! Where are the flying cars we were promised in the 21st century?

It seems we're losing everything, including belief in ourselves and the people that we love. Even my parents are in a disheartening tangle of not talking to one another. Everything is falling apart. Hokey hope and dreams right now are EXACTLY what we need; a beacon that continues to glow while the rest of the world's lights shut off around it. And if you listen to Obama talk about hope...he isn't asking us to believe in him, but to believe in ourselves and the change that we can make ourselves. That's inspiring, and that's what we need.

Obviously, I expect Obama to eventually walk the walk and will call him on it if he doesn't. But right now, his journey to the White House is enough to keep me going, hoping, and working to change myself for the better in this awfully depressing climate of affairs. 2009 is at once, the most exciting time to be a 24-year old homeboy in America, and the most depressing. It is a dark, cold hour.

Frankly, all that someone like me has right now is a dream.

Barack Obama's speech before last year's Martin Luther King Day at Doc's old church

That's what I'm thinking about this Martin Luther King day.

But let's not forget today is also the last day of George W. Bush's presidency. The most unpopular president since Nixon, totally, but I think some people will ease up on his legacy in the coming decades. He was a often a bumbling goon, often stubborn, and often went about certain things the wrong way (not to mention, in an un-American way). Buuuuut, was it really that bad of a thing that he knocked Sadam from power in the Middle East? He played dirty no doubt, but Sadam was no angel either. Bush always meant well for us, that I am sure.

And I'm sorry, but his megaphone address to September 11 rescue workers in the middle of the clean up carnage, is one of the most uplifting moments I've seen from a politician--no cue cards, no footing around what he's trying to say--just "I hear you. The world hears you. We are America." That was a message of hope--our president in the dirt with us, talking in a megaphone.



Remember, we consoled in Bush when we came under attack that year. Bush was the light of hope we needed then. Barack is the light of hope we need now.

"Brothers and sisters, we cannot walk alone. In the struggle for peace and justice, we cannot walk alone. In the struggle to heal this nation and repair this world, we cannot walk alone. So I ask you to walk with me, and march with me, and join your voice with mine, and together we will sing the song that tears down the walls that divide us, and lift up an America that is truly indivisible, with liberty, and justice, for all. May God bless the memory of the great pastor of this church, and may God bless the United States of America." - Barack Obama

Yesterday's election has significance for you--no matter what type of American you are. If you are old enough to have lived through civil rights--or had parents who lived through the Civil War--you see firsthand the cultural significance of what's happened here. But us, the younger and more naive (we had it sooo easy, right? The internet and didn't have to walk uphill to school) generation, we see this as the first person in politics to stand up and make us believe in our country. In the end, maybe he'll make a few messes like Bush, but for now, he's brought us together--not pried us apart.

And so for that, we're giving you some free music to celebrate freedom. These are songs in celebration of what's happened here. If any of the following songs run for president some day, I'll vote for 'em.

Mixtape For Obama (click on song title link for MP3)

1. Ben Sollee - A Change Is Gonna Come (Sam Cooke cover)
-Last night Obama totally and appropriately quoted this. No better song for the moment.
Buy / Myspace

2. U2 - Pride (In The Name of Love)
-This one's for Martin Luther King Jr. , who is no doubt smiling where he is right now. And as for U2, this was the song that marked a change for them.
Buy / Myspace

3. Arcade Fire - Keep The Car Running
-This song from early 2007 is a call for the sort of thing that happened yesterday.
Buy / Myspace

4. The Beatles - I've Got A Feeling
-The band that celebrated this type of thing best deserves a spot, right? I think Lennon would be proud.
Buy / Myspace

5. Howard Huntsberry - Your Love Keeps Lifting Me (Higher & Higher)
-This Jackie Wilson cover comes from Ghostbusters 2--that being the movie where the Statue of Liberty marches through New York City to thwart the evil domination plot of a demon ghost. Relevant? You decide.
Buy

6. Eva Cassidy - People Get Ready (Curtis Mayfield & The Impressions cover)
-A beautiful cover of one of my all time favorite songs, and now it has context. All aboard the Obama train!
Buy / Myspace

7. Oasis - Keep The Dream Alive
-They might be from Britain, but they write great music for this sort of event.
Buy / Myspace

8. Kelly Clarkson with Jeff Beck - Up To The Mountain (Patty Griffin cover)
-I swear, I have just one Kelly Clarkson song in my iTunes...and this is it. Beck's guitar and her voice are so excellent together. As you can see with this Patty Griffin cover, lots of great music has been written about the dream of Martin Luther King, and now Obama is bringing these songs to life.
Myspace

9. Bruce Springsteen & The Sessions Band - We Shall Overcome
-After all the support Bruce voiced for Barack, it'd be sacrilege to not include him on this mix.
Buy / Myspace

10. Kevin Michael - We All Want The Same Thing (feat Lupe Fiasco)
-This young neo soul hip hopper from Philly has a bright future. And this song is about everything that's just happened.
Buy / Myspace

11. Robbie Robb - In Time
-I posted this song when The Phils won the World Series too. It's the perfect song for a hopeful future, for celebrating, for believing. And yes, it IS from the Bill & Ted Soundtrack.
Buy

Got any favorite America songs yourself? Share 'em in the comments.


About Scene & Heard's Mixtape For Obama
Sure, you can argue for or against the messy messes made during W. Bush's 8 year residency of the White House--the wars, the economy, the policies, gas prices, foreign relations, America's financial future, yadda yadda yadda.

Here at Scene & Heard HQ, we're too occupied with pictures of Natalie Portman and the new Kings of Leon album to really get bogged down with that.

But now that the age of Obama has dawned, I realized W. is why I had become so complacent in politics and faith in my country. John Mayer's "Waiting on the World To Change" sums that idea up better, but whether you believe W's work in the White House was good or bad, you must see the canyon he created between young America and old America. Idealistic and realistic. Proud and scared. Bottom and top. White and black. We were the un-united States of America for so long now--and I think a movie like The Dark Knight illustrates that rather poetically (and comic-bookly, if there's such a word).

And that's why Obama is special--because he got us paying attention again (like Harvey Dent in The Dark Knight!). Not because of what he says he will do or can do. But because he got us to put down the beer pong for a moment to hear what he had to say on the television. He got us out to the polls--in remarkable numbers. He inspired us to think about the America that we learned about in elementary school--the Lincolns, the Jeffersons, the Roosevelts, the Kennedys--and to believe that that America can still exist.

He saw that rift and said--let's bridge it.

But more importantly, he's illustrated that any building in democracy and America begins with us, the people--not a president.

That is what I want in a leader. I don't care if he's pro-life or pro-choice. I don't care if he's Republican or Democrat. I don't care if he's experienced or unexperienced. Black or white. None of that crossed my mind when I voted yesterday. I just want to be inspired to be better. I want to hear someone ring liberty's bell, even if it's cracked down the side.

Well here we are, election eve. The respective campaigns would have you believe this is the most important choice America has had to make since democracy's inception. Which means you got a lot riding on your back when you are forced to choose Obama or McCain at the polls tomorrow. So for those who are split down the middle, there is only one fair way to settle this.

A dual!

But we can't have them handle this the way Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton did. We have to do this right.

A break dance dual! Who's the better man? You decide.

Every once in a while, we like to share some of the edgier ideas from our marketing department's cutting room floor. So here's a new one for you; a little piece from our razor-sharp editorial department who threw this together after the Page One meeting today.

What could possibly be cuter than a kitten doing something silly with it's paws? How about, opposing presidential hopefuls eying each other up in a warm embrace. We haz it. And if you want it, check out today's edition of The Mercury.

Continuing in my series of Pa Primary coverage ala Colbert's historic visit to Philadelphia, I'd like to take this post to turn our spotlights on the city of Brotherly Love itself.

I find it oddly disturbing that Hillary seems to have pulled through the gates today as the favorite, over Obama.

Perhaps more than anywhere else, Philly loves our heroes. When they fail, we throw batteries at them and utterly smite their good name better than any other major metropolitan area on the map. But we've seen too many good things run away from us to not be magnetized towards heroes. Remember how hard we clung to Allen Iverson's back? Donovon McNabb's ankles? Or even Shawn Bradley's neck right after he was drafted? We all loved anyone that looked like they could come in and change things, clear the debris and usher in a new golden age of Philly enlightenment. Philly is always looking for our real live Rocky's. For a new place to eat a cheesesteak.

But no one ever makes it up those stupid Art Museum steps, do they? No. And nothing makes us angrier than getting our hopes up.

But why have the polls been favoring Hillary in our state? She certainly isn't the more hero-like of the two. She has no Rocky in her. She would sooner remove the steps and install an escalator. In fact she's more like the arch enemy supervillain. She's like the Doc Ock of politics! (or, Two Face anyone?) Of course, that doesn't mean she isn't a capable leader. But I think she's more fit to lead, say, a business. And that's the biggest problem with America. Patrioticism has become a business. Our three branched democracy government has become business. So if we want to keep it like a business, than yea, let's elect Hillary.

But... I say LAISSEZ FAIRE, wife of Clinton! You lack the charisma to save a country in need of a jump start. There is nothing inspiring about you, and shouldn't the first woman to get this far in election be inspiring?!

Have you seen any political poll within the past decade? Split, down the middle. America does not agree on anything anymore. We are a whole in divide! A broken home! And you, Hillary, you lack the unifying force we need. Most candidates for Pres that stumble along these days do, and you're just another one of those. A bump in the road. You're boring. You appeal to old people because they would like to see a woman in office before they die. That would be neat. And you aren't Republican. But yet, you're like the CEO business woman mogul monster of the Democratic Party. I say a strugging business (like Journal Register.. for instance) should employ you if you want to fix things, because you aren't gonna fix what's happened here in America. You ain't duct taping no American divide, and we all know it.

But have you seen Obama talk? Have you seen the well of stars that get stirred up in peoples eyes when he takes a podium? I know a hero when I see one. And you should know I do, because I write about em enough. And I can tell you I haven't paid attention to politics in a long time, not until Obama came along. He has inspired me to think about my country again, about our leaders again.

Last week at the Colbert Report taping was the closest I had come to being in his presence, and even though he was there via a video conference, I felt what people talk about. That feeling like you're in the presence of something grand. The comparisons to Kennedy and Lincoln are not out of left field.

Colbert's crowd roared. Exploded. Before that moment, there was an air of disapointment that Hillary was the candidate who made an appearence. And go ahead and listen to the difference in applause for when both showed up on the show. Hillary's was warm and receptive, but it was more of a celebrity applause. When Obama popped up on the screen, all hell broke loose. Everyone was out of their chair and shouting, clapping, crossing themselves, thanking God.

So now, Pennsylvania, it is on us. We have crucified our own who have screwed us in Super Bowls, NBA Final games, and World Series. We have cursed and thrown bowls of nachos at digital images of those we called heros for missing their cue, missing their calling, for keeping us off the map. For royally blowing the game. Now it's our turn. The ball is in our hands and the country is watching us. Let's not become what we have hated.

This is our chance to be the heros, to be the Rocky's, to bring home the gold. Let's nominate a real hero to run for this November's election, not one that is full of promises and policies, but one that inspires. That's what a leader is supposed to do, not manage a business.

For a week or so now, the entire nation has focused in on us here in PA.

And not just because they want to know if we like Obama more than Clinton.

Last week, all eyes were in a dead lock on us because we, the suburbanites of Philadelphia and it's surrounding areas got a new brother to love (no tongue though) --Stephen T. Colbert. For the birthing bedrock of modern democracy, Philly hadn't had a mantle to polish off on in modern times, outside of Rocky. We're known as the town with sports teams that blow every shot they get. That, and cheesesteaks. America knows us through cliches and founding fathers. Historic Philly and modern image Philly are as separated as Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston. The dark side of the force and the Jedi. Morrissey and the rest of The Smiths.

And now, perhaps, the fate of America's next decade lies in our hands. Irony is a funny man. And Stephen Colbert is his nephew.

Colbert's series of shows from Philly last week reminded me that loathing my Philly roots is something to be proud of, something to brag about and shovel in people's faces, flaming piles of it. He came to Temple University with jumper cables for us and his quality brand of hard-nails not-so-journalism, and he gave the PA Primary exactly what it needed. Not in-depth coverage, but leverage. That's what he's always done with his show, but now he was just down the road from us.

So, we the Scene & Heardicans of blogosphere nation had to see it for ourselves last Thursday for the taping of his final Philly episode. That was the big one, with Obama, Clinton, and a hilarious John Edwards. We came, we saw, we Colberted. And it was immaculately awesome. And that's The Word. (Or The Ed Word, whatever.)

Now, tomorrow, is the big day. The big Tuesday. The big showdown. It's the Aaron Burr vs. Alexander Hamilton duel of our day. So, as another quality outlet of fiery journalism, we here at Scene & Heard will be using our blogging time to cover the PA Primary, our way. And that's by dissecting what we witnessed at the Colbert taping last Thursday. And maybe tossing in some Harvey Dent campaigning too.

For Part 1 of this series, we're going to look at what happened while the cameras weren't rolling. Colbert, BEHIND THE SCENES.

First, a lot of people wanted to get in, and many droves of wrist-strongies didn't. Heck, we barely did. I ended up with a seat in the very back row, after standing and waiting for more than 2 hours. While about 700 people strong packed into the Annenberg Center's lobby to stand in one joint crowd for a treacherously long time, the usual string of Philly chants made their rounds. From the Eagles chant to repeated waves of "a*s-hole." At the time though, we didn't realize he had such an uncanny list of surprise guests to be waiting for. Though the swarming secret service dudes gave us an idea there'd be at least one guest of note.

Once sat, the producers prepped us, told us the part we had to play in the show (cheerleaders on coke, essentially). The opening comedian made a good point when the crowd began to throw some Hilary boo's his way. This is a Comedy Central show, not a CNN news program. Anyone that shows up is Colbert's guest, including us, and no one cares about an audience member's disapproval of anyone on the show. Pro-approval only. So that set the tone, and we went on.

What didn't you see in terms of entertainment that I did?

Benjamin Franklin rocking out on his walking cane like a guitar.

Some excellent music between sets, Green Day, Rancid, REM, Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros..

Colbert feeding Ben Franklin Doritos. Franklin losing them in the air and having to dig through his coat to find them.

Colbert doing show-stopping handstands.

Colbert: "To give you an idea of how much hairspray is in my hair, I just held a handstand and my hair did not move."

Profuse apologies from anyone involved with the show for making us wait long, before dissing Penn State alumni.

Colbert fielding questions from the crowd, out of character. One such question was "what is your idea of a perfect date. His reply was goofy and swarmy turning serious, "getting home in time to see my kids these days is good enough for me."

Much more quality air time from all the guests that was cut from the final half-hour product. Hillary's fixing of the screen was much more involved, asking more questions of Jimmy, before fixing it to ironically make way for Obama's video conference at the end of the show.

The first third of the show, or so, also had to be re-shot because the producers played the wrong footage of the previous night's debate.

A heavy dose of Colbert. The whole experience was just incredible. It took an ironic and deeply sarcastic comedy program to unearth the truth not only about what these democratic candidates can offer the future of our country, but also the truth of what it means to be from Philadelphia... and what it means to be American.

Tomorrow, Primary Day, I'll dive into the Philadelphia / patriotic side of things I came away from The Colbert Report with last week, along with something of an endorsement.

Did you know that Barack Obama smiled when he heard me mention your name?

Well, he did.

If you need proof, this Website says so, along with many other convincing reasons that Barack is your friend and is here to save the day and defeat the Hillary monster.