Zevon Song of the Week #12
haro...@yahoo.ca
Category: Social Commentary
With the recent passing of Enron fraudster Ken Lay, why not pay sassy
tribute to him by discussing what I feel was the best of the three
collaborations by Warren and Carl Hiaasen (the others are Rottweiler
Blues and Basket Case). The song also ties in with the recent Mitch
Albom thread, in that we need have no doubts that Warren was very close
with Hiaasen. These two were born to be good friends, if not best
friends, as Warren described the relationship more than once
(admittedly, he had quite a few best friends).
(Hmm, I'm "watching" The Loft on DirecTV as I type, listening to
a song called Kansas City by an artist named David Bromberg. The album
is Wanted Dead or Alive. Google tells me that Mr. Bromberg, best known
as a versatile sideman, released his WDOA in 1974, five years after
Warren released his.)
Ken Lay wasn't exactly a junk bond king, more a Bush-like patsy to
Jeffrey Skilling's Cheney, but there's some inevitable Internet
chatter proclaiming that he's not really dead, but rather on the run
to avoid his jail term ("Show me the BODY!!!"). If anybody's
passing through the Everglades, tell us if you spot him Lay in the
legion hall.
I'm not sure if Seminole Bingo is based on one individual. I seem to
recall a mention of Robert Vesco, a crooked financier who ended up a
little south of Florida, in Cuba (I think he's still in the slammer
there). The Enron fiasco occurred after Zevon and Hiaasen wrote the
song, but the theme of scoundrels absconding with millions is,
unfortunately, a recurring one. The true junk bond king, Michael
Milken, never went on the run, but he did go to prison for an absurdly
short time, then became a philanthropist for cancer after he was
released, probably because he himself developed prostate cancer. Having
actually invented the junk bond phenomenon when he worked at Drexel
Burnham Lambert, Milken at his peak pocketed hundreds of millions of
dollars for a few years in the greedy '80s. He was also the major
motivator for a passel of regulatory reforms by the SEC.
Regardless, the pirate Zevon on the CD cover is the perfect artwork for
the album's lead track. Guys like Milken and Lay did everything but
chant "yo ho ho and a bottle of rum".
The song is great fun. I believe we can attribute most of the lyrics to
CH. There's a tolerant, perhaps even admiring, attitude towards the
wrongdoer, although he gets his share of grief in the bingo games. My
major enjoyments in the lyrics include "I fell in love with the ping
pong balls", "My Wall Street wiles don't help me even
slightly", "The SEC is far behind", and the mention of two
European countries, Luxembourg and Liechtenstein, you don't often
hear about in rock songs. Also, I've spent considerable time myself
on the Tamiami Trail, although I've never purchased a double-wide
there.
Musically, Warren plays all the instruments except for bass, for which
he brought in another best friend, Jorge. Working for the first time in
his home studio, Warren does a bang-up job, particularly with his
Waddy-like guitar licks.
Seminole Bingo wasn't covered by anyone on the two Zevon tributes,
but I'll be including a marvelous rendition by David Lindley on the
final DVD-R. As he often does, Mr. Dave makes modest errors in the
lyrics, e.g., swamp becomes swamps, but he beautifully captures the
song's spirit-that of a big time player brought low, hunkering down
in the south Florida marsh with gators and flamingos, playing bingo for
pennies instead of playing the market with millions of dollars of OPM
(other people's money).
A long way from Liechtenstein. Yes, indeedy.
Categories to date
--------------------------
Addiction and Recovery: 1
Family: 1
Geopolitical: 1
Love-Gone-Wrong: 2
Mortality: 1
Satire: 2
Social Commentary: 3
Sports: 1
infor...@kenlayisalive.org
Washington Post), an informative website devoted to tracking the
movements of the "late" Kenneth L. Lay, convicted felon and former CEO
of Enron Corporation.
You may send all of your reports to sigh...@kenlayisalive.org
Americans for Equal Justice is providing this site as a public service
for all of those who demand that Ken Lay and other white-collar
criminals be brought to justice. We welcome and will publish any and
all relevant information on the whereabouts of Kenneth L. Lay.
Americans for Equal Justice strongly suggests that you not only report
your findings to us, but most importantly, to your local news outlets.
Please send any links to news outlets reporting your sightings to our
organization as well.
If you were personally affected by the collapse of Enron or the
California Blackouts, we want to post your story. We at Americans for
Equal Justice would like to make your story available for the world to
read so we may all know the true costs of greed and corporate crime.
Please send your stories to infor...@kenlayisalive.org
We here at Americans for Equal Justice feel strongly that the
possibility exists that Mr. Lay, like Hitler, Elvis, and Tupac before
him, has faked his own death in order to avoid any more unwanted public
scrutiny. If this is true, then it is our responsibility as good
Americans to bring this criminal to justice by reporting his
whereabouts to the proper authorities.
Thank you for your support,
Americans for Equal Justice
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/10/AR2006071001107.html
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/life/4045793.html
http://www.wsbtv.com/money/9513207/detail.html
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/07/11/blogophile/main1790141.shtml
http://blogs.dfw.com/startle_grams/2006/07/who_knew_that_k.html
Jim R
<haro...@yahoo.ca> wrote in message
news:1153047267....@75g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
Random thoughts;
I always thought this song could be made into an excellent movie.
I love the title, very evocative. Having heard the song in concert prior to
the release I thought Junk Bond King was the title. Seminole Bingo is much
better.
Jim