Bee-otch of the Day

Thursday, October 29, 2020

10.29.20 Heroes of the Day: Black Diamond Broadcasting

Bee-otch of the Day honors are awarded Monday through Thursday; Bee-otch of the Week is awarded Sunday morning on Chuck69.com's socials.

A SPECIAL HERO OF THE DAY!

Name: Black Diamond Broadcasting

Age: 5
Occupation: radio station owners
Last Seen: Traverse City, MI
Awarded For: bringing a rock icon to northern Michigan

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In the past 25 years, radio in general has become a total joke.

Too many hard-working jocks are out of work. It seems that most DJs that get hired are total douchebags and too many radio stations that can't achieve a two share last too damn long.

And sadly, northern Michigan is no exception.

When I launched this here site 21 years ago, it was to attack the fact that northern Michigan radio was hell. I was a teen, and there were virtually no radio stations for my age bracket. I was a rock guy, and my choices were the incredibly stale KLT, The Bear - which had the boring Bob and Tom show, plus more stale classic rock - and The Zone, which had *some* decent tunes, but you had to sit through a lot of wuss music to do so. Were you into bands like Tool, KoRn, Rage Against the Machine and White Zombie? Well, fuck you. Tragically, most radio station owners had the untrue mindset that hard rock and metal would never work for northern Michigan and that dreck from The Goo Goo Dolls, Counting Crows, Hootie and the Blowfish and Jewel were just perfect for the area. Hell, if The Zone was still around, I would imagine Maroon 5 having a presence on their current playlist.

Fast forward 21 years, and KLT now has new owners. Same with The Bear, though Bob and Tom have long been jettisoned for a local (and better) morning show. And The Zone - which shitcanned a ton of wuss music in late 2000 for most of the aforementioned good bands - became what was first called Real Rock 105 & 95-5 in 2009. Even though the station was a trainwreck in the beginning (c'mon... Heart into Rage Against the Machine? Buckcherry into Ted Nugent?), they've realized that classic rock belongs on The Bear and KLT, period.

Over all, northern Michigan radio is still an abortion. KLT's former North Dakotan owners sold off most of their stations to a mix of competitors like Midwestern Broadcasting (KLT) and MacDonald-Garber (106.7) and non-comms like Air1 (98.9), Central Michigan University (94.3) and Good News Media (105.5). However, 92.5's future is still up in the air, and its sale might have been hampered by COVID-19. And yes, there's that lawsuit that has kept 101.9 WLDR off the air for over a year.

But, leave it to Black Diamond Broadcasting to know the hole from their ass.

Today, it was announced that longtime WRIF Detroit jock Anne Carlini will be the new midday voice at Rock 105 & 95-5. When she will start will soon to be announced. Carlini was at WRIF for 33 years until being let go due to buget cuts earlier this year from station owner Beasley. Allegedly, Carlini and her husband moved to northern Michigan to start a new life.

Bear in mind that one of BDB's owners, Mike Chires worked at WRIF's former parent, Greater Media for many years and probably knew Carlini. It explains why several of Rock 105/95-5's jocks, past and present were WRIF alums.

Now, the question is, is that will Carlini's show be live? Personally, it would be cool if it were, since she'll definitely be a kick-ass alternative to the puke-worthy Terri Ray over at KLT and her burned-out Meatless Cafe-er, Leetsville Cafe. Currently, the midday slot is filled by Roxanne Steele, who voicetracks her show out of Detroit.

You know, I wish Rock 105 & 95-5 was around when I was in high school. If they had bumper stickers, I'd have them all over my rusty-ass car when I was a teen. It's funny how in the world of rock radio, Rock 105 & 95-5 is doing what bigger city radio stations were doing in the 1990s: they were edgy, in your face and fun. Of course, corporate radio fucked it up, big time. Sometimes, I wonder why in the hell Matt Hanlon destroyed KLQ here in Grand Rapids or why Clownsquare thought that they needed GRD to start playing Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Yes, Rock 105 & 95-5 ain't perfect. Their 400 lb. morning guy voicetracks his show from Wisconsin. Their "recently rocked" section on their webstream is loaded with grammatical errors (the Avatar song is "Colossus", not "Coulussus"). But, Rock 105 & 95-5 doesn't load their playlist with shitty 70s drivel that boomers love. The station is what a real active rock station should sound like: a good deal of currents mixed in with post-1990 material and very little - if any - pre-90s. Just because classic rock is a popular format doesn't mean that I want to hear Kansas segued into Slipknot. Leave the butt rock to The Bear and KLT.

But otherwise, thank GOD that northern Michigan has an awesome alternative to KLT!

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Wednesday, October 28, 2020

10.28.20 Bee-otches of the Day: anti-maskers

Bee-otch of the Day honors are awarded Monday through Thursday; Bee-otch of the Week is awarded Sunday morning on Chuck69.com.

Name: various

Age: various
Occupation: various
Last Seen: everywhere
Bee-otched For: not ending COVID-19

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Well, we all thought that this COVID-19 bullshit would be done by now.

Here in Michigan, Governor Gretchen Whitmer shut down all nonessential businesses and things were looking up. But then, slowly, but surely, restaurants, malls, cinemas and so on were told that it was OK to reopen, right on time for summer. Even more, I saw a ton of license plates from other states. To some of those folks, COVID-shmovid.

Now, schools are reopened and already, there have been multiple cases of COVID-19 among students and teachers. Some of them have sadly died of the disease.

Here in west Michigan, Montcalm County parapro Michelle McCracken died of the disease last month at just 53. Once again on Thursday, 63-year-old Connie Williams also died from COVID-19. Some cry that having kids return to school is no big deal since they can't die from COVID-19. Tragically, their teachers, their principals and other school staffers can.

Yesterday, Drumpf came to Lansing for another superspreader event. And guess what? There were members of his little peanut gallery that had no masks. They don't care. They're probably the type that don't mind sneezing all over you and will give you a handshake right after wiping their ass. Safety and sanitary are two terms that aren't in their vocab. Just ask Justin Turner.

Just today, Michigan had 3,271 new cases of COVID. America had nearly 60,000. Just weeks ago, the amount of COVID cases in Michigan was only around a few hundred per day. It wouldn't shock me that letting our kids back in school helped to amplify that number. "Oh, but kids need to be in class!" Just say that to the families of McCracken, Williams or any educator that died from the disease.

Folks, because of all this, I would not be surprised if another shutdown is on the way. Hell, if Biden is elected, I hope to God he'll tell ALL states to shutter until the pandemic ends. Fuck the economy. Our health is way more important. We need to listen to science, not bullshit.

Need a reminder? Watch a 1940s Warner Bros. Looney Tune sometime. A lot of them ask the question, "Is This Trip Really Necessary?"

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CHUCK69.COM IS ALWAYS ON!

Tuesday, October 27, 2020

10.27.20 Bee-otches of the Day: BOTH Republican and Democratic parties

Bee-otch of the Day honors are awarded Monday through Thursday; Bee-otch of the Week is awarded Sunday morning on Chuck69.com.

Name: BOTH the Democratic and Republican parties

Age: 192, 166
Occupation: the two-party system in America
Last Seen: Washington, DC
Bee-otched For: giving us Coney

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Recently, I've been getting a kick out of the 2006 Mike Judge sci-fi comedy "Idiocracy".

In the movie, Luke Wilson plays a military librarian who is frozen and wakes up in 2505. Feeling weird, he goes to St. God's Memorial Hospital, but realizes that he's in the future. He skips out on paying his bill, and eventually gets busted for it.

Wilson's character ends up in court, which is presided by a redneck judge (played by Stephen Root, aka "Bill Dauterive" from King of the Hill). Anywho, both the people's lawyer and his personal lawyer bash him in court. He tries to prove himself, but both the court and the audience mock him. He's found guilty and hauled away to prison.

Ladies and gentlemen, it sounds like our new Supreme Court. Do you like the 1980-81 season of Saturday Night Live? Good for you, because they replaced Gilda Radner with Ann Risley.

Effective last night, it was made official: Amy Coney Barrett was made associate justice of the Supreme Court. Her confirmation was akin to the end of a WWE match where the referee does a fast tap out so the villain could win. This was most-definitely the dream of the Republican Party, who would not allow former President Obama to replace Antonin Scalia with the more-liberal Merrick Garland on the high court. Sadly, with the senate still loaded with Rethugs, our Supreme Court is now loaded with six righties and three on the left.

The installation of Cunty on the SC is a severe insult on the legacy of Ruth Bader Ginsberg, who passed away just five weeks ago. RBG requested that her seat not be filled until after the election. And sadly, Drumpf pissed on her request and put in a fucking cunt who is a total 180 on Ginsberg's legacy of being a fighter for women and the middle class.

All this time, I kept thinking to myself about why I think this came to be. In 2016, Democrats wanted somebody who actually had FDR as his spirit animal: Bernie Sanders. But, the establishment had other plans, and Hillary Clinton became the Democratic nominee. Feeling duped, many ended up not voting for president or voting third party. All Hillary did was air a ton of attack ads on Drumpf bashing immigrants and the reporter with an intellectual disability, plus the infamous "grab 'em by the pussy" quip. Well, we all know what happened.

Hillary thought she had it all in 2016. America was strong under Obama and most of us didn't want to go back to the bad 'ol days of tax cuts for the wealthy and the great recession of 2008. With must-win states like Michigan, Wisconsin and Ohio going to Drumpf, Hillary proved that even by winning the popular vote, she still had her ass handed to her by the Electoral College.

But let's remember something: it wasn't the first time the Dems were very comfortable in regards to a presidential election. And my definition of "comfortable" is in regard to any person with a (D) after their name. The 2000 presidential election should have been the first election I voted in. But, I chose not to. Why? Because I hated Dubya and I hated the fact that Al Gore's running mate, Joe Lieberman was a wolf in sheep's clothing. Instead of improving human life, all Joe wanted to do was get Howard Stern off the air. So, I decided to not vote. As it was, Gore won the popular vote by 543,889. And we all knew what Dubya did: ignorance regarding 9/11 and all the fake wars he started with Dick Cheney over oil.

It seems that it's been the rule of the Democratic Party for years: elect a guy who is a leftist, and after he's term limited, his replacement isn't as to the left as their successor is. But, hey, as long as their mantra is "vote blue, no matter who!", they think that ALL Dems have the same core values.

Sadly, folks, there's Democrats who are pro-fetus (and I'm not saying "pro-life" because once one is born, they're on their own). There's some who are pro-gun and against improving healthcare. The aforementioned Joe Lieberman is a shining example.

I understand. If Hillary WAS our president, RBG would be replaced with somebody with the same values she had instead of being replaced with a Karen. She would have handled the pandemic in a more-positive light and so on. But instead, we're stuck with a big orange douche for about three more months.

But, guess what? I already voted. Straight ticket Democrat, too. Sorry, but I can't handle four more years of living in neutral or worse. In the other races in my area, I don't want a billionaire's son running Congress and I also don't want an Uncle Tom in the Senate.

Today, Biden spoke in Warm Springs, GA, where FDR was treated for polio. He chose to quote one of his speeches in hopes of helping to do something Hillary couldn't do in 2016: unify the Democrats. Georgia has not voted for a Democratic president since 1992, so only time will tell.

But at the end of the day, I hope we don't get fooled again.

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CHUCK69.COM IS ALWAYS ON!

Monday, October 26, 2020

10.26.20 Bee-otches of the Day: the Grand Rapids media

Bee-otch of the Day honors are awarded Monday through Thursday; Bee-otch of the Week is awarded Sunday morning on Chuck69.com.

Name: Grand Rapids media

Age: 69
Occupation: entertainers and informers of the public
Last Seen: Grand Rapids, MI
Bee-otched For: having a lack of priorities

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Last week, a giant in the world of Grand Rapids passed away.

Pete Secchia was a self-made businessman who helped to put Grand Rapids on the map. He was the Ambassador to Italy under George H.W. Bush and was a big donor to Michigan State University. Not only that, he also championed the building of Millennium Park near Walker.

At least, that's what the media wants you to know about Pete Secchia.

When he died on Wednesday at the age of 83 from COVID-19, among other health issues, the local Grand Rapids media did what they do best: they got on their knees and puckered up. They wanted people to think that he was the greatest human to walk the streets of Grand Rapids. But, he was nothing more than your typical, far-right-winged Repukelican who really didn't care about the small guy.

On Southpaws last weekend, host Darren Gibson recalled that when he was working at WOOD-TV in the late 80s, when Secchia stopped by, he had to have coffee ready for him. Yes, he was that pompous. Gibson also pointed out that when the Larry Nassar scandal broke out, Secchia made some very stupid quotes in regard to his victims. One time, he was heard saying that Nassar's victims had to be stopped and that if they were so angry regarding what he did, they should have switched colleges.

And yet, WOOD-TV, WZZM and other stations in west Michigan, along with the Grand Rapids Press all gave him a hero's send-off.

But, you know what? They did the same 14 years ago when Gerald Ford died. He was never elected president and pardoned Nixon for all the shit he pulled. Ditto with Richard Devos. He busted unions, used his religion to bash others and made sure that people who lived in Grand Rapids made paltry wages.

When a rich Rethuglican dies, the local media will begin their newscasts with a somber version of their theme music and devote much of their program to all the good things they did to the community. When Richard Devos died, WZZM created a memorial top-of-the-hour slide in his memory. If I were TEGNA, WZZM's owner, I would have replaced it with an image of him rotting in hell with the Sanford and Son theme playing in the background since scAmway sells nothing but junk.

The only good news in all this, is that in most cases in west Michigan, there's only one duopoly in regards to television, and that's Nexstar owning WOOD-TV, along with that *other* ABC affiliate, WOTV. Radio-wise, it's an abortion with only three companies controlling most of west Michigan radio. One of them, of course is iHeartMedia, who took 20 years to finally fix one of its biggest mistakes: 101.3.

On Saturday, the flat-sounding 101.3 The Brew had its last round and flipped to "101.3 Big FM: Fun Hits You Know", playing mostly 60s and 70s oldies. A sample hour from last weekend featured Gladys Knight and the Pips' "I Heard It Through The Grapevine", The Kinks' "All Day and All of the Night", The Beatles' "Hey Jude", Elvin Bishop's "Fooled Around and Fell In Love", The Supremes' "You Keep Me Hangin' On" and "My Maria" by B.W. Stevenson.

Before 101.3's flip, Grand Rapids' sole true oldies station was non-comm WGVU AM-1480. Townsquare's soft AC 100.5 The River does spin an oldie here and there while sister classic hits WFGR 98.7 - which morphed from being an oldies station many years ago - is mostly centered around the 80s.

Now, I have mixed feelings regarding 101.3's flip to oldies. Hell, I remembered the first time I heard rock music on 101.3 in 2000 driving back home in GR after visiting my mother up north. I was around Cadillac, listening to ZZ Top. My thought was, "damn, is 101.3 in Sault Ste. Marie coming down here loud and clear!" Then, an ID popped up: It was now 101.3 The Fox. Previously, it was a classic country station, WCUZ.

The reason for 101.3 flipping to classic rock was because Clear Channel wanted an outlet for Bob and Tom in Grand Rapids. The station also had other west Michigan rock radio legends over time, like Aris Hampers, the late Allison Harte, Andy O'Relly and Mark "The Head" Feurie. At times, they even adjusted their format to accommodate disenfranchised KLQ listeners like me to no avail. Eventually, Bob and Tom were even dropped.

In 2013, The Fox was shot down and replaced with... another failed rock format. The station was now "101.3 The Brew", a name chosen because Grand Rapids was named "Beer City, USA" by the now-defunct Examiner.com. Over the next seven years, The Brew was a total abortion with one failed format tweak after another. Sometimes, they played a lot of 90s and 00s hard rock and sometimes, it was a mix of that with 1970s and 80s butt rock. In other words, if you loved both Linkin Park and Styx, it was your station. At one time, the station was part of Clear Channel - now iHeartMedia's - "Man Up!" promotion, a tagline they slapped on their testosterone-induced rockers. Later on, the station added the Rover's Morning Glory program from sister WMMS in Cleveland. Despite all the changes, The Brew never saw a two share in the ratings.

Granted, the flip to oldies from the rock format of the day is a brilliant move for 101.3. However, how advertisers and listeners will react is one's guess. After all, I did hear The Contours' 58-year-old "Do You Love Me?" on Saturday night. Let's remember that oldies died not once, but twice commercially in the 2000s in west Michigan. In 2004, Oldies 107.3 WODJ begat to WKLQ's move to that frequency while KLQ's old position flipped to country as "Thunder 94.5". WFGR - then a ho-hum classical station whose call letters stood for "We're For Grand Rapids" - flipped to oldies, using ABC's "Oldies Radio" format. Despite doing well in the ratings, WFGR dropped most of their 50s and 60s music and flipped to classic hits in 2009. Soon after, WGVU became America's first NPR member station to flip to oldies.

Now, here's a good question: who's next to flip? Oddly enough, both The River and Thunder - now at 107.3 - are at 1.3. It took 20 fucking years for Clear Channel/iHeart to realize that they don't do rock radio right, especially in Grand Rapids.

Another question is, is that what format SHOULD be tried in this market? Alternative has been tried and failed. Magic 104.9 does OK with urban, though their signal sucks outside of GR. The area has another adult R&B thanks to 102.5 The Ride, though it also suffers from a shitty signal (I noticed they're in mono, too).

I can go on, but the issue is that with more people going digital thanks to Pandora, Spotify, SiriusXM and so on, maybe it was a good move on iHeartMedia's part to go oldies on 101.3. Considering that the 1970s ended 40 years ago, you don't see a lot of the elderly knowing what the hell a Bluetooth is. Hell, my 65-year-old mother has Bluetooth and an aux cord on her car stereo, plus a newer phone. But since she has a short drive to work, I don't necessarily see her plugging away at Pandora to listen to her favorite songs (FTR, her radio's tuned to 98.7 WFGR).

At the end of the day, yes, another Repuke is dead and we've gained an oldies station. But, the media here still sucks royally. Then again, this is what happens when Rethugs own your city. The media will call them champions for making the city prosper. Yet, they won't talk about how some people in Grand Rapids can't afford to live in a real house. Hell, I've been renting for 18 years and thanks to the far-right bullshit I've had to face during this time, I might not ever be able to have a place of my own. Nearly 40 years of mostly Rethugs running our country will do that to you.

So, here you go, Boomers. At least you had some rememberable music to listen to while you voted for Reagan.

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CHUCK69.COM IS ALWAYS ON!

Thursday, October 22, 2020

10.22.20 Bee-otch of the Day: Rush Limbaugh

Bee-otch of the Day honors are awarded Monday through Thursday; Bee-otch of the Week is awarded Sunday morning on Chuck69.com.

Name: Rush Limbaugh

Age: 69
Occupation: prepping for the casket
Last Seen: West Palm Beach, FL
Bee-otched For: giving us all good news

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It's no secret that 2020 has been a shitty year.

But, hey! Rush Limbaugh is dying.

On his little dog and pony show Monday, he announced that his lung cancer is now terminal. He spent 15 minutes saying that it did spread a little, but it's to the point that it's stage four.

Many conservatives have given the Oxy popper their well wishes, though fellow con-talker Michael Savage did otherwise. On Twitter, the former health guru-turned-right-winged asshole called Limbaugh's health update "the worst 15 minutes in radio history". In a later tweet, he called for Limbaugh to "leave the stage with dignity."

Rush and Savage are two turds in the punch bowl known as conservative talk radio. And hopefully soon, BOTH will be gone. Recently, Savage - real name: Michael Weiner - announced that his daily talk show will leave syndication by the end of the year and will simply do a podcast.

The two have had their fair share of problems over the years, especially when Savage used his platform to attack gays, people with disabilities and even late night radio host Art Bell, whom Savage claimed had to leave radio for sleeping with underage Filipino prostitutes. Bell - whose wife, Airyn was a college student in the Philippines when the two met over ham radio - ended up suing Savage and the two settled out of court.

How ironic that Bell died in 2018 of an accidental overdose of painkillers and medication for COPD, which he contracted from decades of smoking. Limbaugh used his maid to get Oxy, which made him legally deaf. Of course, this week, their manufacturer, Perdue agreed to pay $8 billion after pleading guilty for pushing the dangerous pills.

You know, I agree that it's not nice when someone is dying. However, Rush is an exception. If he dies, good. As it is, right-winged talk radio is dying, like its leader. Hell, even in conservative Grand Rapids, only WOOD Radio does well while WJRW was a colossal bomb. Plus, we have several music-playing AMs that have FM translators (i.e. WMJH, WYGR and WNWZ) that seem to do well.

Sorry, not sorry, but if you smoke, you die. Plain and simple. You're not born a smoker, you choose to do it. Rush kissed the tobacco industry's ass for years, and this is what he gets. Oh, well. He saved AM radio for as long as he could.

Just like the cigars that he puffed on, ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

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CHUCK69.COM IS ALWAYS ON!

Wednesday, October 21, 2020

10.21.20 Bee-otch of the Day: Pat Robertson

Bee-otch of the Day honors are awarded Monday through Thursday; Bee-otch of the Week is awarded Sunday morning on Chuck69.com.

Name: Pat Robertson

Age: 90
Occupation: senile televangelist
Last Seen: Hampton Roads, VA
Bee-otched For: losing it

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Sometimes, I love to joke about The 700 Club.

Maybe it's because 700 is the average age of the show's viewers. Maybe it's how many people watch the fucking show or how much money in cents each one of their viewers are worth. (In actuality, the origin of the show's name goes back to the 1960s when Pat Robertson bought an abandoned TV station in Portsmouth, VA. He started having money trouble, so he asked viewers to donate $10 per month. Some 700 viewers did so, hence the name.)

Yesterday, the senile asshole decided to tell his followers that God has already told him that Drumpf will win the 2020 election and that the end times are near.

However, this is NOT the first time Robertson has told the world that the end is near. In the past, he's warned that the end would come in 1982 and 2007. Well, we're still here.

Yes, this is the same Robertson that has prayed for hurricanes to rip through Orlando because Disney World has "Gay Days". Not to mention that he's the same wacko who had Jerry Falwell come on his show just after 9/11 to proclaim that gays, liberals and women were all at fault for the events that happened that day.

Folks, we have to realize who keeps this lunatic on the air, and it's white trash. I used to know a family who lived in a trailer and had another trailer in their backyard with its roof caved in. They were some of the nastiest people in the world. One of the tips of the iceberg was when I saw an envelope on their kitchen table from The 700 Club. Not only that, they went to a scary-ass church where people spoke in tongues. OK, so you can't fucking afford to get your goddamned trailer from your backyard, but you give to an old asshole who's worth **at least** $100 million?

Look, the prosperity gospel is a scam and if you want to know the people who give to Pat Robertson and so on, just drive by some old trailers. There's not many people who live in them who are intelligent people. All Robertson has to do is hold a Bible, scream out some verses and it's a quick buck for him.

At 90, all I can hope for is that his end times will be soon. If so, God has a lot to say to him.

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CHUCK69.COM IS ALWAYS ON!

Tuesday, October 20, 2020

10.20.20 Bee-otches of the Day: Five Finger Death Punch

Bee-otch of the Day honors are awarded Monday through Thursday; Bee-otch of the Week is awarded Sunday morning on Chuck69.com.

Name: Five Finger Death Punch

Age: 15
Occupation: metal band
Last Seen: Las Vegas
Bee-otched For: not masking up

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Hard to believe it, but once upon a time, I actually liked Kid Rock.

Same with 3 Doors Down. Growing up in northern Michigan, it was mandatory to listen to Ted Nugent virtually every hour.

But sadly, all three acts lost a shit ton of credibility points with me because of right-winged politics. Of course, Kid Rock endorsed both Drumpf and Mitt Romney. 3 Doors Down played at Drumpf's inaugural. And The Nuge wanted to kill Obama.

Now, we can add another band to that list: Five Finger Death Punch.

When 5FDP came onto the scene in 2008 with the powerful "The Bleeding", I knew that they were the saviors that the active rock radio format needed. Most of their singles would become top 10 hits on the rock charts, including a few #1s such as their previous single, the somewhat poppy "A Little Bit Off".

But now, 5FDP is WAAAAAY off, as shown by their latest video for "Living The Dream", the third single from their eighth studio album, "F8" (pronounced "fate"). The video mocks those who wear masks, labeling them "communists". The people in the video are ruled by an older, white-haired woman who wears a pin labeled "exempt". She never wears a mask. Many experts compare her to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

As the video progresses, the woman gets angry when she sees an ice cream truck with a tiny American flag sticking out from a bag of popcorn. She was being dragged by three men on all fours wearing leather who end up destroying the truck. People then start taking off their masks and start to rebel against the old lady's ideals. As the video winds down, a mob of people - including the members of 5FDP - start to run holding American flags towards the old woman. The mob - which includes policemen and military personnel - start to get shot at. As the song ends, it turns out to all be a dream as a fictional signer of the Constitution puts his signature on the document.

Many have attacked Pelosi for the fact that the California Congresswoman opened up a salon several months ago to get her hair done. In a surveillance video, it shows Pelosi not wearing a mask during the process. Many have labeled her a hypocrite for being privileged a time when all salons in California were shuttered because of the state's stay-at-home orders.

Ironically, the video was released a week after 14 terrorists were charged with threatening to kidnap and kill Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. To me, the mob running towards the old woman reminds me of those terrorists.

The band's rhythm guitarist and owner, Hungarian-born Zoltan Bathory, conceived the video. In a statement, he proclaimed, "America is a beautiful idea that draws immigrants like myself from all over the world to the promised land of equality, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This idea is now under siege and certain events are starting to remind me of the things many of us came here to escape... It’s not a “left against right” problem but an evolutionary problem. The growing pains of a civilization that without the necessary spiritual enlightenment, arrived a bit early to a level of technology where everyone is connected. The good news is that now everyone has a voice. The bad news is that now everyone has a voice. So we are living in the manipulators’ paradise, where liars and hypocrites run unscathed, the news are just opinions, politics are a blood sport, and facts are determined by consensus instead of the truth. We as artists, however, have a unique opportunity to portray and ridicule the absurd to prevent it from becoming reality."

Sadly, the video simply spreads the wrong message. For one thing, it makes ZERO mention of the coronavirus. It also labels those who wear masks as "communists". So, if I'm protecting myself - and others - from a disease that has killed over 210,000 Americans and well over a million people worldwide, I'm the bad guy, right?

Look, we shouldn't blame politicians for COVID-19. It's dangerous and it kills. I too, hope it goes away, but until then, WEAR A FUCKING MASK. Maybe when people wear masks now, it will stop the pandemic and SURPRISE! 5FDP will go back out on tour again!

In a way, looking at the band and others running toward Pelosi's effigy reminds me of the terrorists who wanted to kidnap and kill my governor, Gretchen Whitmer, sans them getting shot to death. It's a shame, since I saw them in concert twice here in Grand Rapids. The first time was at the now-defunct Orbit Room here in Grand Rapids. Hell, I even got to meet lead singer Ivan Moody! However, the next time was at the much-bigger Deltaplex. I paid more to see them, plus there was no meet-and-greet after the show. Ah, the price of fame.

Since then, 5FDP has strayed far from their down-to-earth roots, sadly. As a matter of fact, Moody has battled drug and mental problems over the years, including a stint in rehab. Since their 2008 breakout, only Moody and Bathory are the only long-time members of the band, though bassist Chris Kael joined the group in 2010.

I know. Rock music has been all about Freedom of Speech and Expression. I grew up with left-leaning rockers like Rage Against the Machine, Tool and Pearl Jam. Hell, I even remembered when Clinton was reelected in 1996, Rage held a concert protesting that event. But then again, Clinton's opponent was Bob Dole, who wanted to rid the world of Snoop Dogg.

These days, rock is a mixed bag. Yes, we still have lefties like Green Day, Disturbed (lead singer David Draiman supported Bernie Sanders in 2016), Serj Tankian and many 90s bands still rocking away. However, we have righties like Godsmack's Sully Erna (who recently proclaimed that Joe Biden would be the most-dangerous president if elected), Megadeth's Dave Mustaine, Morrissey, Johnny Rotten, Avenged Sevenfold (who had a puppet of Hillary Clinton in one of their videos) and probably the most-overrated band out there right now, Skillet. And oh yes, Trapt.

The active rock radio format was dominant in the 1990s, mainly in major cities. Today, the largest market that still has such a format is Dallas. Sadly, a lot of the rock produced today is somewhat bland and melodic. Even worse, some of it has a Republican vibe to it.

All I can say is that if 5FDP wants to piss on their left-leaning fans, they've already done their job. Once again, if you are crying that your freedoms are being taken away because of the pandemic, sorry, not sorry, but you don't have any freedoms six feet below the ground.

To quote the last words of "The Bleeding", "it's over now."

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