Should You Bring Your Kids?

Some folks have asked me if Saturday’s event is going to be kid-friendly. And I’ve responded by saying that there’s some cussing and some sex, but it’s not graphic. I think kids will be more bored than scandalized. But I’m not a parent, so I feel kind of uncomfortable saying “Oh, it’s fine.” So, I thought I’d give y’all a head’s up so that you can make an informed decision on whether to bring your kids.

Here’s what I’m planning on reading and what it contains.

“Sarah Clark”–The Devil, gambling, murder, witchcraft, revenge, a child with yellow fever

“Bone”–a gal has to save her girlfriend from meddling assholes. It’s basically Cerridwen meets Odin and Loki.

“Frank”–a zombie henchman teaches a woman to drive. Some sex, some cussing. I think there’s an f-bomb, if I’m remembering right.

The first chapter of my Sue Allen project–racism, mild cussing, a guy is an asshole to his kid, frank descriptions of drug use (though it’s clear the kid is worse off for it)

The first part of the second chapter of the Sue Allen project–racism, ghosts. That’s about it.

Some stories from A City of Ghosts, which I haven’t picked out yet–probably some mild cussing. Likely the Devil. Obviously, ghosts and sadness and shit.

So, if your kids are interested in sex and cussing and ghosts and sadness and shit, bring them. If they’re likely to play quietly in a corner and not care, bring them. If you want to warp them, bring them. Otherwise, don’t.

How Would You Know?

I know, by now, it’s become passe to wonder what the hell is going on at The Tennessean, but what the hell? Why is this story so stupid? Songs are usually less than four minutes long. Which means that it would take less than ten minutes to listen to both songs and provide your readership some guidance as to whether the lawsuit seems to have merit. I don’t expect and I think it would be inappropriate for the reporter to pass judgement on whether the song was the same–unless it’s just so blatantly obvious.

But why can’t the story be written from the assumption that, at the least, I don’t have access to Carmichael and Curry’s version? If we’re going by the who, what, when, where, why, and how rule of journalism and the who is Curry and Carmichael what allege that their song was stolen, the why has to be short for “why are they making this claim?” Right?

So, The Tennessean, why are they making this claim? I have a million paragraphs on the whos and potentially the hows. And like half a sentence devoted to why they’re making this claim– that the song has “nearly identical lyrics, pitch and rhythm to the track he co-wrote with Louisiana fiddle player Britton Curry.”

Why can’t we read the similar lyrics? Why can’t we know what key both songs are written in? Why can’t we hear whether they both have the same time signature? These aren’t opinions. Those are facts.

Why isn’t there a paragraph about the specifics of the claim? Here’s what I wonder–is there no one left at the major daily in Music City who knows enough about music to write music stories that actually deal with content, not personalities? Maybe no one is left there who can give an educated guess about rhythm or key. But my god, someone ought to be able to give a guess as to what the lyrics are, right?