bedsitter23

Many, many times and many years ago, i posited that every time I am in a small Iowa bar, I hear Steve Earle,

I am a huge fan, and "Copperhead Road" is one of those classic bar songs.

I was shocked/not shocked when the Des Moines Register (of all places) did a survey of the most played songs on Iowa jukeboxes and Earle was on the list.

Unsurprisingly, when we've been drinking, we often bond, so it's not surprising that the list can't be pigeonholed. Also, I think these songs might be ingrained in ways that conventional chart success can't or won't reveal.

Anyway, this is totally my type of article

Top songs played on Iowa jukeboxes in 2018
1-Chris Stapleton -Tennessee Whiskey
2-Steve Earle- Copperhead Road
3-Garth Brooks- Friends in Low Places
4-Queen- Fat Bottomed Girls
5-Journey-Dont Stop Believin'
6-Jon Pardi-Dirt on my Boots
7-Midland-Drinkin Problem
8-Bebe Rexha with Florida Georgia Line- Meant to Be
9-Sam Hunt- Body Like a Back Road
10-Eric Church- Smoke a Little Smoke

Indeed, it sounds like a perfect small town bar playlist, but Des Moines wasn't that much difference. Stapleton was still #1, Garth at #2, and Drake's "Gods Plan" at 3, Earle fell to #8 between Cardi B's "Bodak Yellow" and #9 Post Malone's "Rockstar", but everything else pretty much stayed the same.

Iowa's top artists were Chris Stapleton, AC/DC, Eric Church, Post Malone and Kid Rock. In Des Moines, it was Drake, Post Malone, Stapleton, Church and Rock. The Rolling Stones, AC/DC, Lynrd Skynrd, Cardi B and the Eagles rounded out the top 10.

Not altogether dissimilar, the Register did a feature on Black Velvet Whisky which is the most consumed of Iowa's alcohol choices, and it's not even close.

Iowans love Black Velvet Whisky:It's Cheap read the headline, as it went into the fact that Iowa was hitting record revenues

Iowans drink a lot of beer as well, and although Topping Goliath Brewery is now one of the hippest brewers in the nation; when Iowans aren't drinking craft beer, they're drinking Busch Light.

Busch Light sponsored local softball teams in Des Moines with one team receiving $5000.  This fall, they are rolling out a special Busch Latte edition package- a play on words.

The Daily Iowan wrote about why Iowans gravitate to it.  It's cheap- not great, but not terrible.

Mapping out beer preference, and Busch Light stands out in Iowa.  The West Like Coors Light (of course).  Miller Lite is popular in Big 10 country-  states like Wisconsin, Ohio, and Illinois. It's Bud Light in the South and the East.  

Busch Light is noticeably an Iowan preference.  By the way, Beer is cheaper in Iowa than most places.

Even this week, Busch Light is an Iowan headline since ESPN Gameday was in Ames for Iowa vs Iowa State.

Standing in the background with a sign that said BUSCH LIGHT SUPPLY NEEDS REPLENISHED and a Venmo account name, 23 year old Carson King has made $29,000 and counting in donations since his Saturday appearance.

Concert Review: Gretchen Wilson.  I try not to turn down the chance to see a live musical act.

To be fair, Gretchen Wilson is the complete opposite of what I usually listen to.

She is interesting to me, though. For starters, she is from about 50 miles from where I grew up. It is hard to think of anyone my age from my area that is more famous than her.

Everyone will likely know her 2004 hit "Redneck Woman" which put her on the map. She was showered with Grammies, ACM and CMA Awards.She had 5 songs hit the Country Top 5 and Pop Top 100, and was a solid mainstay on the Country scene up until at least 2013, when she recorded an album of rock covers. The last song I heard by her on (Satellite) radio was a cover of the James Gang's "Funk # 49"

I was not sure what to make of Wilson, but that she had showed a rock side was promising to me. "Redneck Woman" was a huge hit, and I wasn't sure a decade-plus later what I thought of it. It's a very slick produced singalong that is very much in line with a history of Achy Breaky/Urban Cowboy country music that is stronger today than ever. Yet, country music is short of songs by strong females, so it also owes to a lineage of "D-I-V-O-R-C-E", "Harper Valley PTA" and "The Pill."

Wilson, of course was discovered by Big and Rich. John Rich wrote and sang some of Lonestar's biggest hits, before making a bigger name for himself. Rich is responsible for Wilson's success; but also responsible for the auditory excrement of Big &Rich's  wedding floor staple "Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy). Rich also famously won the 4th Season of Celebrity Apprentice. The likeable Rich who won the competition in 2011 over Gary Busey, LaToya Jackson and Lil Jon among others- was the highest ratings ever achieved by that series- and thus, is probably just as responsible for the fact Marco Rubio isn't in the White House right now.

So, is Wilson a country rebel or a slick studio concoction?  Well, it's complicated, but I am going with the former.The first thing you notice about Wilson is that she can flat out sing. If she had been given the fortune of being born and becoming famous in a pre-Napster, pre-TRL, pre-American Idol world, it seems likely that she would be revered in ways that Tammy Wynette, Loretta Lynn, and (probably her closest comparison) Tanya Tucker are and were. A multi-decade career as a country legend. There's no studio trickery needed. She has a voice for country. That Merle Haggard sang on her album is all you need to know for originalty

The second thing you notice about Wilson is her rock side. She cuts through faithful covers of Foriegner’s “Urgent”, Heart’s “Barracuda” and Zep’s “Rock N Roll”. The band even rip through an instrumental medley that references Van Halen, The Who, Queen, ZZ Top, the Scorpions, AC/DC and the Eagles. No doubt in my mind that Gretchen couldn’t pull an “Adam Lambert” and front any classic arena rock band.  Her concert is as much as FM Rock as it is Country.

Indeed, it’s not surprising that she ends up there. There’s no real spot for the 38 Special/Steve Miller/ZZ Top crowd and it has eventually found a camaraderie with Country via artists like Hank Williams Jr and Charlie Daniels. Which is why people like Kid Rock, Brett Michaels, and Jon Bon Jovi find themselves on the country side of the fence in recent years, and Don Henley and Stevie Nicks are as important to country music as George Jones.

Little surprise too, that for Wilson’s last big hit, 2010's “Work Hard, Party Harder”, she lost a court battle to the Robinson Brothers for veering too close to the Black Crowes’ “Jealous Again”. Wilson is a rocker and is likely more a true heir to Joe Walsh than any kid out there with a guitar that Pitchfork is covering today. She has a voice for country, a voice for rock, and honestly could get onstage and hold her own at any Blues Festival.

At the end of the day, Wilson isn’t really my kind of music. Her anthemic arena rock and country isn’t my preference. She really isn’t a Lucinda Williams or Roseanne Cash style songwriter. But for what she does, she is good, it’s just not for me, and that’s ok.

Best moment: the Bakersfield stroll of “When it Rains (I pour). “

 

Wilson protege Jessie G opened. Despite the name, she was pretty straight pop country. She definitely could sing, though I suspect you could say the same for dozens of opening acts this weekend. She can sing and she is beautiful. though in a world of Taylor Swifts and Kelsea Ballerinis, I suspect she may already be too old for that to matter. She has what seems like a made for charts hit in “Army Ranger” about loving a soldier overseas.

Her set ended with a cover medley which is surely a Rushmore of influences - Joplin, Jett, Benatar and Ethridge.  Admirable, but like those women, she will have to find her own distinct style to make an impression.

You know, I meant to write about the food at the 2017 Iowa State Fair. Guess, I will hit both years now.

44 Foods were introduced in 2017 and the winner was the Pork Almighty.




Pork almighty starts with of all things, a 32 ounce Soft Drink and ads a"lid" which is a bowl of twisty fries and pulled pork topped with queso sauce, Barbecue sauce, diced onions and green peppers and shredded cheese.

Which makes it about 4 pounds and 1800 calories.

Iowa takes pride in his State Fair. There are a few states that can compete for the title as the State Fair- Texas, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin- but Iowa is in the top five.

2018 brings us the delicious sounding Apple Egg Roll.

The Des Moines Register describes it as: Apple Egg Rolls are two crispy egg roll wrappers filled with apples and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar and served with caramel sauce for dipping.



It beat out the pretty self-explanatory Brown Sugar Pork Belly on a Stick and the half pound Belly Up Burger.

The State Fair takes pride in that offers at least 80 things on a stick. To pick a few: Honey on a Stick, Cheddar Bacon Cheese on a Stick, Chocolate covered Key Lime Dream Bar, Coconut Mountain, Deep Fried Pineapple, Chocolate covered Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough and caramel cocoa crispy crunch.

Innovation!

Despite the fact that John Delaney is running ads every night, there is not much that there is to blog about for the 2020 Iowa caucuses yet.

However, there are some big changes that were announced in December that will change the Caucuses forever.

This probably did not get a lot of attention, but actually could have big implications.

If you don't understand the Iowa Caucus (particularly the Democrat caucus), you don't understand how weird the process is.  I lived in a state prior that had primaries and those are fairly straight forward.  You go in some time from 7am to 9pm (or whenever) and cast a ballot.

The caucus requires physical presence for the vote.  It takes place on a Tuesday night at 7pm.  The people who show up, vote.  If you have to work, you are out of town, you are sick, the Iowa January weather does what Iowa January weather does, or anything prevents you from attending at your designated location at the specific time, your vote does not count.

That will be forever changed, when the Democrats allow absentee ballots going forward.  Will it change things?  Well, it might.  The people who attend the caucus are generally 9-to-5ers.  Will this open up a younger demographic or a less affluent crowd of second shifters.  Would this have put Bernie Sanders over the top in 2016, stunning the world (instead, Sanders stopped just short of the stun, with a great showing but on the wrong side of 49.8 to 49.3. 

Would Howard Dean have fared better than a disastrous 18% Third Place finish if his supporters could have been organized to get ballots in leading up to Caucus Day?  Would he have at least survived to make it as the primary competition to John Kerry and went into Super Tuesday in that role instead of John Edwards?


The other change seems insignificant but may be more important than you think.  The Democrat Party plans on publishing the vote tallies of the caucuses.  This is a big deal, but again, only if you understand the process.

While the Republicans also caucus, their vote is basically a straw poll, and they post the vote totals.  The Democrat process is a bit more complicated.  A vote is taken, but if a candidate does not get 15% of the vote, then they are not considered 'viable', and a revote is taken.  At the end of the process, delegates are assigned on that revote (and sometimes multiple revotes).

What does that mean?  Well, at my caucus in 2016, Martin O'Malley had 12 votes, while clearly not game changing, was just over 6% of the crowd assembled.  Because, he was not at 15%, the results of my caucus was HilRod 4, Bernie 3, Martin 0.  Well, which sounds better 6% or zero.  (Also worth noting, another local caucus, Hillary had 44 votes while Bernie only had 29, but because of the math, what was reported was that this caucus was a 2-2 tie).

Again, I am not sure if this would have changed winners in 2016, but as close as it was, we would have a more accurate picture of where people stood.  If indeed Bernie was more popular, or (don't yell at me) if maybe his numbers were inflated.

In any case, it became a two person race.  O'Malley had half a percentage point in the delegate count. Now, if he had polled more accurately at 5%, it might not have been enough to convince him to stay in the race, but then again, he may have thought it worthwhile to hang around a little longer, and given both candidates' baggage, he may have got some momentum.

You can probably pick any caucus, but I would also point 2008 when Bill Richardson and Joe Biden polled in the 5-10% range.  The eventual headline was that it was now a three person race (Obama, Clinton, Edwards) since Richardson only had 2.1% of the delegate vote and Biden less than one percent.  Still, if a more accurate count was given of actual support, maybe four candidates could have moved forward.

Also of note, it likely was those second-choice Richardson and Biden votes that pushed Obama over Clinton.  Would Obama's victory have been so shocking if it had been printed side-by-side with the fact that Hillary was still the most popular candidate with everyone figured in.

In any case, history can't be changed and we don't know what the future holds, so we just have to wait to see if these changes have massive effects or none at all.

So each year I post about the Butter Sculpture at the Iowa State Fair.

It's sort of been a who's who of culture and history - Butter Elvis, Star Trek, the Last Supper, Tiger Woods, the moon landing, Snow White, Dr Seuss, John Wayne, Superman and many others.

I didn't see much of anything written about ths year's Butter Sculpture.  Perhaps in the Facebook/Reddit age, things truly have to be bizzare to go viral.

In any case, while it's good to see a salute to literature, Butter Laura Ingalls Wilder doesn't have the same buzz as Butter Spock.



I looked up Wilder, and my initial thought was the Dakotas.  Indeed, you can travel her home and museum in South Dakota.

Wilder did live in Iowa, though not on the Western side, as you might expect, but on the East.  She was born in Wisconsin and she taught on the other side f the Iowa/Wisconsin border.  She also spent a large amount of her life in Missouri, which could stake a claim to her, and as far as I can tell- Kansas, Minnesota, and New York too.

In any case, not a year passes that i don't post something about the butter sculpture, so mark this one in the books.

Iowa is my adopted state, as it seems I just moved here, improbably I have been here a third of my life.

I have got well acquainted with the state and its culture, but occasionally will here something new.

In this case, I was charmed to the hear the story of the Cherry Sisters, a late 18th century vaudeville act, who predated a lineage of "so bad they are good" acts such as The Shaggs, William Hung, Rebecca Black, and Florence Foster Jenkins. Their success got them to Broadway with the help of Oscar Hammerstein, where they played six sold out weeks, and saved Oscar from bankruptcy. (Hammerstein's logic was that for many years he tried putting on the best talent, now he was going to try the worst)

The sister quartet was panned in the newspaper everywhere they went, even resulting in a libel case against a Des Moines newspaper that went all the way to the Iowa Supreme Court. As time has faded, it's hard to tell if the libel case was born out of outrage or was a publicity stunt that even 2016ers would be jealous of.  They lost, as the judge saw the act and established athe concept of 'fair comment'.

Indeed, it's hard to tell if the family were in on the joke. Like the Shaggs, the question is did they know how bad they were, or did they think they were really good and didn't "get" it. In any case, the audience reaction of catcalls, derisive laughter and thrown produce was real.

I love this type of cultural history. Here are a few articles that have run.

NPR: Worst Act Ever?

Wikipedia

Cedar Rapids gazette:  Time Machine

WMFU

So as you can tell, I was out of the state for most of the month, but I have a duty and it's to report on the Butter Cow from the Iowa State Fair and it's accompanying theme.

I assume here everyone who is reading this has some idea of the Butter Cow history, if only because there's like two people who read this journal, but if you need some history, i have blogged about it for years.

So 2016, is the year of....

Star Trek.

Fitting perhaps as Captain Kirk (and I mean Kirk, not William Shatner) was born in Iowa, and the town of Riverside celebrates the future birth of Captain Kirk.

Butter Spock. Butter Uhura. Butter Enterprise. All were there. All sculpted of butter.

Behold

I did a few posts this year about when candidates attack.  Of course the worst part about a candidate coming to town is a candidate coming to your town.

At least that is my takeaway from a Marshalltown, IA newspaper article that I thought had potential to go viral, and feel is worth sharing.

Marshalltown is a town of 27,000- so it is a decent sized city, helped by the fact that it is midway between Des Moines and Iowa City, and in the framework of Iowa, it is the 16th largest city.  So important.

It is also well known as being home of Billy Sunday- maybe the most famous of the early 20th century evangelical preachers.  Sunday was a baseball player who used the fame to combat the devil alcohol and sexuality.  Another famous person from the city was Cap Anson.  Anson was the first of baseball's greatest players, though his legacy now is more known for being the man who segregated the sport.

Marshalltown also too is the home of Eugene Debs' two-time running mate Ben Hanford, and unexpectedly, home of some of the best local music acts.

In any case, this is worth sharing:

The dust has settled from several high profile candidate appearances in January featuring former President Bill Clinton, Republican presidential candidates Ben Carson and Donald Trump, and former Secreatary of State and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.

All put Marshalltown in the national limelight.

But the exposure cost the city $7,071.

hose were expenses the Marshalltown Police and Fire Departments said they incurred for duties ranging from traffic and crowd control to counting visitors entering public facilities.

The only candidate who paid was Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., seeking the Democrat Party's nomination for president. And he is the only one without a Super Political Action Committee funding his campaign.

Trump and Hillary Clinton appearances

By far the highest expense was Trump's visit to the Marshalltown High School Roundhouse early evening Jan. 26, which cost the MPD $3,596 in police overtime, according to an email sent to the Times-Republican last week by Marshalltown Police Chief Mike Tupper.

Trump, a billionaire real estate mogul, drew 1,486 visitors, according to Marshalltown Fire Chief David Rierson.

To a lesser extent, Hillary Clinton's event at Miller MIddle School later the same evening cost $2,474.

She drew 400, said Rierson.

"These costs do not include the salary expenses for salaried employees who do not receive overtime compensation but still worked the events," said Tupper. "These costs also do not include the expenses (time) that were incurred planning and preparing for these events.

Carson and former President Clinton

"Additionally we incurred $800 in expenses for Carson's event at the Best Western Regency Inn Jan. 24, and $201 in expenses for former President Bill Clinton's event (campaigning for spouse Hillary) at Marshalltown Community College Jan. 15," said Tupper.

Tupper said not all candidates requested services and the MPD generally received requests from those who have secret service protection.

Sen. Sanders

"Occasionally, a candidate without secret service protection makes a request, but these are not common and are generally minimal," he said.

"Sen. Sanders was in Jan. 10," (at the BWRI). Tupper said. "He does not have secret service protection and did request security assistance. The Sanders campaign paid. That is a welcome deviation from the norm."

Marshalltown Fire Department

Fire chief David Rierson told the T-R in an email Jan. 29 it had incurred roughly $675 in expenses.

"Since deputy chief Johnson and I are salaried, no overtime was incurred," he said.

Rierson could be see dutifully counting people as they entered political events as part of fire safety concerns.

Offsetting city expenses

However, money spent at numerous Marshalltown businesses and elsewhere by campaigns was noticed.

"The visits from presidential candidates certainly had an impact on the Marshalltown economy," Lynn Olberding, executive director of the Marshalltown Area Chamber of Commerce told the Times-Republican last month.

"(There were) extra visitors at hotels, facility and room rentals, stops in convenience stores and gas stations, restaurants and entertainment."

Marshalltown's image enhanced

Marshalltown's image gained too, she said.

"Visits from Democratic and Republican candidates has shown the media what a great community Marshalltown is and the important role our diverse community makes in the political arena. Iowa continues to be the first in the nation caucus for a reason and every four years, communities like ours play a part on the national stage as candidates vie for votes," she said.

The TL;DR version is that Bernie Sanders paid his way as he did require security (He did not have Secret Service detail as others did).  Whereas the people who have the most, also cost the most- Trump left a bill for $3600 in police overtime and Hillary for an event of 400 incurred almost $2500.

All told $7000 for visits from The Donald, President and Secretary Clinton separately, and Ben Carson.
All
 

The 2016 Presidential Race is on, and at least on the Republican side, anyone you thought might run has decided to run. Sure, Romney bowed out, and we haven't heard anything out of Palin, but yeah, otherwise, they're in.

I haven't spent a lot of time on election '16, somewhat because of time constraints but also because of lack of real news or motion.

I do feel incumbent to mention Joni Ernst's Roast and Ride.

I have spent a lot of time here talking about Ernst, who comes off as an adrenaline version of Palin, taking the guns and leather jacket meme to logical and illogical extremes. It's the kind of' Merica F--k Yeah meme, that say you were head of a White Supremacist group that Dylann Roof would want to be part of, you might want to give her thousands of dollars to run her campaign. (Ernst and Steve King have since distanced themselves from Mr Sasse)

There have been plenty of fundraisers and will be many more, but Ernst's Roast and Ride is going to be one of the Top 5. It did occur before the landscape got crowded with the addition of Jeb, Donald, and Christie, but they aren't the types of candidates that would be appreciated at a place like this anyway.

A landmark fundraiser in Iowa had always been Harkin's Steak Fry- a key moment to fundraise as presented by longtime Democrat Senator Tom Harkin (and sadly, not a steak fry, but a catered meal).

Whereas Ernst promised the candidates would ride 38 miles on their bike and then roast a pig.

Some big names came and here is what you need to know (I was hoping to get some of this info out before the Ride, but know that it's happened, my sources will include pre- and post- coverage)

-Marco Rubio doesn't ride bikes. "I need a sidecar", he joked.

-Rick Perry does ride, and he did with Navy Seals in tow. So, here's the payoff you were waiting for



-Ernst gave each candidate 8 minutes to speak and a 10x10 tent

-Oh, and it should probably be mentioned, no candidate has spent more time in Iowa than Perry, and he is ranked 8th in popularity on a good day.  Oh well, those Perry on a bike photos are totally worth it.

-Besides Perry and Rubio, guests were Lindsey Graham, Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina, Mike Huckabee, and Scott Walker

-Huckabee and Carson also rode 'hogs', though they preferred blazers to Perry's all-black biker gear.  Fiorina made her arrival on a John Deere

-The event was enough of a success, it will probably be back, but things look bad for the Ames Straw Poll (last won by Michele Bachmann if that tells you anything) with Huckabee and Graham dismissing it vocally.

-Walker is the front runner and this was the first event where that has been the case.  Walker might have otherwise skipped an event like this, but he can't afford to.  At this point, it sounds like everything is civil, but at some point, everyone is going to come gunning at him

-If you are looking for a storyline thus far (and there have been a handful of these 'big' moments already) it seems to be Fiorina.   She got good buzz at the Iowan GOP's Lincoln Dinner.  I see a lot of social media buzz on Carson, and I suspect Trump may try to go for similar minds who are looking for either a "Washington Outsider" or a "Established Corporate Leader".  Still, it sounds like Fiorina might win converts with her oratory.  All I have read sounds like she is targeting Hillary, but don't count out conventional wisdom.  If Fiorina is indeed dazzling audiences, at some point that should translate to the polls.

-No big news, I suppose (Those Perry biker photos tho) but pointless controversy.  The two major colleges in Iowa sent their mascots.  Iowa's Herky the Hawk showed up, which led to "We didn't know this was a partisian fundraiser.  We thought this was just a thing" apologies.

Herky, the school wants everyone to know is non-partisian.  Cy the (Iowa State) Cardinal similarly was popular (the event took place near the Ames school) and did not appear to engage in any untoward behavior.



I can't say I have a problem with it, and the media spent attention on the outrage that probably did not exist in the first place.  It's hard to argue that an event where more than 1500 people attended and made national event, that some could be a bad thing.

I spent my Spring Break in Eastern Iowa.

This is an area I am pretty familiar with, but did get to see a few things that i hadn't seen before.

One was the Devonian Fossil Gorge just outside of Iowa City.

Iowans remember very well the Flood of 1993, as well as the Flood of 2008.

It was these two events that revealed the Gorge.

Per the city's website: The overflow washed away tons of soil, huge trees, and part of our road. When the waters receded the 375-million-year-old fossilized Devonian ocean floor was revealed.

If you are like me, and only know your Prehsitoric eras from Blockbuster movies made of them like me, the Devonian era was called "The Age of Plants".

As most if not all animals were still in the sea and yet to make it to land, well, of course, it was the Age of Plants right.

I can't recommend making a trip from wherever you are to go here, but if you are in the area, you should go.

The lake area has everything you would normally love in a lake area- opportunities to fish, picnic and hike, but has this additonal area to hike and climb through this unique area.

I have been told that it's not as good as it once was (due to public abuse), but you can still see some cool fossils, of that era's corals and fronds.

Well worth the time. We took a lot of pictures, which I will have to post when i get the chance. Also, it probably doesn't look like much, but it is a dried out gorge where the Park Service has marked off 10-15 of the most recognizable points marked off.

Trip Advisor has plenty of pics too in the meantime.

This photo of Devonian Fossil Gorge is courtesy of TripAdvisor

It is interesting to note that Iowa was once a tropial paradise and was once in the Southern Hemisphere.

I could use some tropical paradise, mayeb history will repeat.