Songs that clearly and directly address or reference economic hardships and injustice in America, not to mention that do so in a bitter, regretful tone, don't often become enormous hits. Matter of fact, it's such a rare phenomenon that you could count such songs on... um, one finger? Yes, Yip Harburg and Jay Gorney's iconic Brother Can You Spare a Dime is that song. Covered by a surprisingly wide range of singers through the years, the song still resonates. [more inside]
posted by flapjax at midnite on May 10, 2008 - 55 comments

Folks, don't worry about energy crisis. Because Standard Oil, Shell, Gulf, Mobil, Texaco, Amoco, Esso, Sunoco, Exxon, Nixon, Standard Oil, General Motors, Chrysler, George Wallace, and Ford is not the backbone of America. The backbone of America is a mule and cotton. [mp3] Bluesman, outsider artist, vaudevillian: Abner Jay was a real One Man Band and, as he put it, "the last great Southern black minstrel show". Some more mp3s: [Cocaine Blues, excerpt]; [I'm So Depressed, excerpt]; [The Reason Young People Use Drugs, full]
posted by billysumday on Aug 30, 2007 - 8 comments

"Not today, sir, probably not tomorrow": Alternatively titled "Me and My Shadow, Part I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX"; the long, touching, interesting, hilarious, disturbing story of how 'Jay' kicked his drug habit, written by 'Silent Bob', aka Kevin Smith.
posted by docgonzo on Jul 20, 2006 - 101 comments

Which Kevin Smith male or female are you?
posted by Bezuhin on Jan 13, 2002 - 45 comments

View Askew has released the first Internet-only trailer for "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" (J&BSB). Enjoy.
posted by chrish on May 10, 2001 - 17 comments

Open casting call for "Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back"
posted by plinth on Jan 22, 2001 - 27 comments