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July 06, 2002

The Song That Writes Itself

George Michael, singer/songwriter/regular-on-the-LA-public-toilet-circuit, is catching all sorts of hell for his new song and video "Shoot the Dog." In it, he blasts George Bush and Tony Blair, as well as the current war against terrorism. A true man of principle, neither the song nor the video are being released in the US for fear of wrecking George's music career in the States. Which leaves me asking, "Uhh... what career would that be?"

George goes on to say that he would "never knowingly disrespect the feelings of a nation which has suffered so much loss, so recently" - so it's apparently safe to assume that the song was written and recorded all by itself, and that George is just an unwitting victim in this whole mess. Of course, reading lyrics such as these gems:

"Nine nine nine gettin' jiggy / People did you see that fire in the city? / It's like we're getting fresh out of democratic / Gotta get yourself a little something semi-automatic... yeah"

...perhaps it would be in his best interest to pretend this nonsense didn't spill forth from his own pen. Words can be powerful - words can move people to action - or, in this case, they can make us long for the mute button.