I used to be in a country-rock band in the ‘90s, singing and playing guitar. We mainly played at local parties of family, friends, and neighbors. After I quit the band around 2000, the other guys hired a very talented guitarist to replace me. And they shifted the band’s focus from oldies country (my preference) to oldies rock. They then became pretty well-known in the area, playing at a number of local bars and community events.
That little story is indicative of this fact: my musical abilities and talents are quite limited. After I quit the band and was replaced, the group became a lot more popular! A similar thing—though on a much larger scale—happened to the guy who taught me how to play guitar in 1977 and 1978. He was a very talented guitarist name John Curulewski. John was a founding member of the rock band Styx, around 1970. He was on the group’s first few albums, which achieved moderate popularity. After he quit in 1975—and was replaced by Tommy Shaw—the band quickly soared to the heights of rock superstardom. Although John was talented, I guess that Shaw had that extra special element that separates real rock stars from the rest of us common folks. Poor John ended up dying in 1988 at the age of only 37.
I sing country and some rock pretty well, I have a minor talent for songwriting, I play rhythm guitar at an acceptable level of musicianship, and I totally fake it on keyboard. Despite the limits of my musical abilities, I remain very enthusiastic about playing music and I greatly enjoy it.
In recent years, I have been writing songs with political content, recording them with guitar or keyboard accompaniment, and posting them as videos on YouTube. The songs reflect my conservative / libertarian political perspective. The libertarian (that is, freedom-loving, or classically liberal) label is much more accurate than the conservative label in my case. I have grouped several of these songs together into a playlist at: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLu992IsaOaQgchQG5fGeCCYdj6ZH1yL6N
In the following text, I list the songs that I have in this political playlist (as of early November 2021) and provide brief explanations of the songs. In addition to my original, self-written songs, I have two covers of Rob Zombie and a Zager and Evans cover in this playlist. If you have some time to kill, perhaps you can check a few of these tunes out. They’re not too bad, you might even think that some are pretty good, and at least they offer a unique freedom-loving political perspective that is rarely heard in music during these dark conformist authoritarian times. That should be somewhat refreshing (though it might also be a downer, as many of the songs reflect my pessimism about the current and future American situation).
Old Man Conservative Blues
This song reflects my feelings that, as a 60-year-old conservative/libertarian man, I do not fit into the world anymore. The political and cultural zeitgeist and modern technology have passed me by, and I think I’m now a dinosaur.
1978
In this song, I fondly recall the year 1978, when I was 18 years old and absorbed in the great music of the time, from Waylon and Willie to Elvis Costello and Blondie. I also remember the spirit of freedom and the relative societal sanity of those times. In my opinion, liberty and freedom have steadily eroded since.
Take Your Mask and Your Vax…
My most popular upload, this tune describes my anger at the illogical, fascist mask and vaccine mandates, which cost me my job because of my refusal to get jabbed. Take your damn mandates and shove ‘em where the sun don’t shine!
Power to the People (2021 “Insurrection” Version)
My most recent political upload, I present my updated version of John Lennon’s hippie Marxist anthem from 1971. In my version, I rewrote the lyrics to support the so-called “insurrection” by Trump voters in Washington, DC, on January 6, 2021. And I speculate that if Lennon was alive today, he might be a MAGA man!
This Land Ain’t My Land
I wrote this takeoff on the Woody Guthrie song after the stolen 2020 presidential election. I bemoan the fact that the Leftists not only stole the election—they have also stolen our very country from us with their corrupt, authoritarian, anti-American policies! This ain’t my America anymore!
America 2021 is Orwell’s 1984
I continue the theme of a stolen America in this organ dirge, with selected lyrics borrowed from George Orwell’s 1949 novel 1984. With their endless propaganda, twisting of language, and authoritarian policies, the Dems have transformed the United States of America into the dark dystopian upside-down society depicted by Orwell in his novel.
Oh, Say Can You Die (funeral dirge for America 2021)
This is another organ dirge—a funeral dirge for a dead America, killed by the communist fascist Democrats and the weak-willed invertebrate Republicans. I use the beginning “oh say can you see” notes from the National Anthem and warp them into a dark chaotic musical mess, reflective of the current “oh say can you die” condition of the country.
Political Blues
This is a pure electric guitar blues jam, with me and my friend Bill just having some fun. We’re jammin’ on guitar while I’m shouting out some improvised lyrics about always being on the losing side of politics.
Two original cowboy songs:
Sunset on the Prairie
This Bad Guy
This video features recordings of my band, from the 1990s, playing two cowboy songs that I wrote. I view these tunes as political in the sense that cowboys (and outlaws) have always represented freedom and individualism to me, and those are the key principles of my political beliefs. In “Sunset on the Prairie,” I try to capture the feeling of a cowboy riding along on the prairie at sunset. In “This Bad Guy,” I tell the tale of an outlaw who got into trouble with his gun.
I Don’t Like It At All
This song, which I wrote in the ‘90s, is another tune about my discontent with the modern world. I guess it’s kind of an early version of “Old Man Conservative Blues,” but written when I wasn’t so old, and it is focused more on my dislike of big cities and my love of nature and the country.
Go to Work Blues
This is another song that I wrote in the ‘90s. At the time, I viewed it as just a fun little ditty about a guy who didn’t like to go to work. But the perspective I have today makes me think of it as commentary on how the Democrats have discouraged people from working with their fear-mongering about the virus, their vaccine mandates, and their government checks for staying at home.
Highway Take Me Away
Yet another song I wrote in the ‘90s, about the feeling of freedom that I always get when I’m traveling down the road. Freedom is what life is all about. And as Billy Joe Shaver sang, “moving is the closest thing to being free.”
Stalker Talker (Watching You)
I recently wrote this creepy song about a sex-crazed pervert stalker. However, I then realized that it could also apply to the creepy power-mad government—obsessed with watching you and controlling you. The government is the biggest pervert of all!
American Witch (Rob Zombie cover)
This is a karaoke-type cover of one of my favorite Rob Zombie songs. It’s about the persecution of women accused of being witches. I believe that it’s politically relevant, as it offers an example of how people with socially and culturally unpopular views have historically been persecuted by ignorant people and governments. And, of course, we are seeing many cases of freedom-loving Americans being persecuted today. This video starts with a tribute to my favorite American witch—Samantha Stephens of the 1960s-70s Bewitched TV show.
King Freak (Rob Zombie cover on organ)
Here is another Rob Zombie cover, featuring me on keyboard as well as vocals. I believe that Rob’s lyrics are meant to refer to the power of evil, or Satan (King Freak), over people’s lives and the need to fight this evil. However, I think that the words can also be interpreted to describe the power of the evil government, including the fascist mandates and policies being promulgated by America’s own King Freak—Joe Biden. I previously wrote about my political interpretation of this song here: https://www.intellectualconservative.com/articles/my-political-interpretation-of-rob-zombie-s-king-freak
In the Year 2525
My cover of the classic Zager and Evans song. I’ve always liked this song because it highlights the overall destructive nature of humanity and technology, and the idea that Earth and Mother Nature would be better off without people. I know this is definitely not a conservative idea. Rather, it is usually thought of as a Leftie environmental wacko idea. But recall that I do not consider myself to be a conservative. And I like nature, animals, and plants a helluva lot more than I like people. So label me as you wish, but I dig this song.
The Chips N Salsa Show – interview with me (Oct. 26, 2021)
This last video is not a music video. Rather, it features an interview with me on The Chips N Salsa Show, a podcast/radio show hosted by Alice Lara and, on the day I was on (October 26, 2021), Rachel Alexander. I discuss how I was recently fired from my fully remote work-at-home part-time job because I refused to get the COVID vaccine, in violation of Biden’s dumb-ass mandate. During the interview, Alice plays a bit of my “Take Your Mask and Your Vax…” song.
That's all folks. I hope you like some of the videos! — A J
