brainsplotch

I saw Drive-By Truckers perform at Saint Andrews Hall in Detroit on election night. As I wrote on social media, "if I'm gonna stress out about the election anywhere, I may as well do it here with Drive-By Truckers. The whole evening had an eerie feel to it. I was too worried about the election to completely lose myself in the show, which is a shame because the band was absolutely cooking all night. It seemed that Patterson Hood in particularly was full of nervous energy. I know Hood's political leanings and I know he was likely worried about the election as much as I was, but was channeling all of this anxiety into his performance. Of the four times I've seen DBT, this was without a doubt the most incendiary show I'd ever seen. There were people in the crowd who were looking at their phones at election results. I didn't want to know, though I looked at these folks--most of them middle-aged white people--and tried to surmise who they were rooting for. Though mos...

I have been dreading the election for months, and it gets worse and worse as we get closer. Every morning I wake up, after a few minutes of refreshing thought, the dark cloud of the election enters my mind. There is a good possibility that Trump will win, and I'm trying to mentally prepare for that result.  Can I be frank? What the hell is wrong with Americans? (Specifically, American voters). How is it possible that this election, if one believes the polls, is THIS close?  For as long as I live, I will never understand Trump's appeal. Have Americans really become this nihilistic? This cynical? This callous? These are the only reasons I can fathom that explain Trump's continued popularity. It makes me sad about the state of this nation. (Having written this, I'm not naive enough to believe the United States was pure until Trump entered the picture in 2016. Our history is scarred with horrors, and we've had our share of terrible leaders before Trump). This is just so...