Monday, March 15, 2010

Carlos, You Asshole

Gay people have once again proven why they're cooler than straights. That's right Elton John and Carlos Santana, I'm talking about you. I know this is a bit old but I just saw it yesterday.

Basically, Santana's road team tried blaming the cancelation of his June 3 Tel Aviv gig on scheduling issues but people on the Israeli production side have learned that the real reason he cancelled was due to anti-israel pressure placed on the rapidly aging rockstar. And he's still playing shows in Europe the week prior so his scheduling claims seem like a load of Mexican bullcrap.

Sir Elton on the other hand has been under intense pressure to cancel his Ramat Gan show since early February. And he hails from one of the most anti-Israel countries on earth, at least based on popular attitudes. Santana lives in a bastion of pro-Israel support, at least as far as the average American is concerned. I guess it's ok for Carlos to play shows all over a country that uses drones to kill innocent muslims in Afghanistan and Pakistan. But when it comes to Israel, all bets are off.

But enough about politics, because that's what they want us to focus on instead of the music, right? And music is about bringing people together and at its best, about making us better people on some visceral level. Elton John understands this. If music can't transcend politics, then what can? And that's why the Common Sensorium hates ideologues, right and left. Because it's all politics, all the time to them. And that's just lame.

In truth, I never bought a ticket to Santana anyway; concerts are expensive here so I had to pick my poison and I chose Elton for various reasons you will hear about when he comes in June. In the meantime, Viva l'Elton. It turns out Santana's just a big tool anyway.