Mr. Campion,
Your take on music, especially musical icons is always exceptional. (CHARLES EDWARD ANDERSON “CHUCK” BERRY – 1926 – 2017 – Issue: 3/29/17) This may be your finest. And what a subject to hit a home run. Chuck Berry is more than a rock and roll icon, more than an inventor of the genre, he is an American treasure, the bridge between the wholly American blues tradition and the modern rock of today, through the 1960s and beyond. He is responsible for turning on the British Invasion in which young English kids reveled in his music and brought it back here and re-taught our youth the beauty and majesty of the originators; Little Richard, Elvis, Jerry Lee, and Buddy Holly, etc. But Chuck is the king, once and for all.
—Darren L.
Thank you for this. It was a tremendous way to send Chuck off. He is one of my heroes and the mentor to a generation of guitarists and songwriters and lyricists. He is the essence of the music he created and his kind resonates even today. So many owe a debt to Charles Edward, and we who understand that thank you for sharing his brilliance and influence.
—TADROCKER
Your tribute to Chuck Berry reminds me so much of your other tributes that always seem to hit the mark, James; Prince, David Bowie, Lou Reed, just beautiful stuff. You should do more of this. I have read your long-form cover features for the Aquarian and that should be more of what you do here in the column. I do love your takes on politics and social issues and celebrity and sports and all that, but this is your wheelhouse. I have read your books on music too and I applaud your ability to take us inside the music and the artists. It is an impressive feat of journalism. I went back a researched and re-read your work on Dan Bern and the Stones “Exile” and Tori Amos and Sinead O’Connor and the Counting Crows and Fountains of Wayne and it is all so readable and relatable stuff. But to take the master, Chuck Berry, and whittle his career down to its core is amazing work. Well done, sir.
—Marcus Fealey
Son,
Great article! Chuck Berry was soooo great and he is one of the ones I attribute the blame for breaking my heels while dancing up a storm. One of a kind.
Thanks my talented son.
Love,
—Mom
Enjoyable, rollicking read Jim!
—Paul Fichera
For the sake of mayhem, I will have sex with Bill O’Reilly. WILL SOMEONE PLEASE HAVE SEX WITH BILL O’REILLY? – Issue: 4/12/17). Nothing kinky though.
—Pete Saveskie
Bill O’Reilly is scum, but he is only part of the problem, or should I say the symptom of not only the atmosphere around Fox News, because there have been so many sexual harassment lawsuits and revelations over the past few years it is incredible the damn place is still operating. It is a wider sense of backlash from viewers of that nonsense station and the right wing ilk who elect horrible misogynistic beasts like Donald Trump. There is this idea that feminism as an ideology is jammed up into what the rights of women have—which should be the same rights as men (we pay the same taxes and go to the same schools and learn the same trades and work just as hard if not harder) but are denied them and somehow this is seen as being a check on men. As if adult men cannot behave the same with women as they do men in the workplace because they are from another generation or some bullshit excuse.
Bill O’Reilly may take the fall for this, but it will continue until Fox and the right admits that what they are doing is trying to keep women in their place. This is the issue, not that asshole.
—skaus_for_all
I think there comes a time when we all have to realize FINALLY that anything this president says is a lie. (WHEN AN ARMADA IS NOT AN ARMADA – Issue: 4/26/17) And then if it is not somehow a lie or a fabrication or hyperbole then we can go from there, but the default on this guy is lie. Period.
—Gary S.
JC,
I know you hate Trump, I get it. Your hatred is visceral and deep seated. You have somehow tried to grab the mantle of the intellectual high ground but alas, you missed the brass ring.
There is indeed a U.S. Naval Battle Group sitting on station off the North Korean coast in the Sea of Japan. Trump is absolutely correct that the “boomers”, the nuclear subs, are more powerful than the aircraft carriers. Yes, it is true that the U.S. Naval aircraft carrier is 4 1/2 acres of sovereign U.S. territory deployable damn near anywhere on the planet but it is the nuclear attack sub that TRULY instills fear into our enemies’ hearts. The nuke sub goes anywhere on the planet with a full arsenal of nuclear tipped ICBM’s. They don’t even have to surface to deploy their weapons. The target city incinerates and no one knows where it came from. The carrier on the other hand sits offshore, in full view giving off a Val Kilmer-ish “Say When” vibe.
Look man, I am against invading Syria. Without a clear picture of what is to be gained and unless there is to be a WWII vision of victory (complete surrender) this will turn into another endless bloodbath the U.S. military has known since 1964. That said, we are in a tight spot because of our level of indifference and cowardice over the last 8 years. Those last 8 years have seen our enemies grow bolder in their actions and if we aren’t willing to meet those threats in a manner that reduces or eliminates those threats, we might as well throw our hands up and get our women fitted for their Burkhas because that is how this story ends.
You can mock Trump at your own risk but his moves are very Reaganesque as are his enemies. I like Trump’s chances here.
Peace,
—Bill Roberts
Conservatively Speaking
Do yourself no favors and “like” this idiot at www.facebook.com/jc.author
James Campion is the Managing Editor of The Reality Check News & Information Desk and the author of “Deep Tank Jersey”, “Fear No Art”, “Trailing Jesus”, “Midnight For Cinderella” and “Y”. His new book, “Shout It Out Loud – The Story of KISS’s Destroyer and the Making of an American Icon” out now!
