Matt Connarton Unleashed 7-21-23

Hey, bring it on, girl, No welcome everybody here we go Happy

Friday. It is Matt Connerton Unleashed and we are live from the studios of

w m n H ninety five point three FM in glorious downtown Manchester, New

Hampshire, also on Comcast ninety seven if you're in Manchester, and hello to

all of our online listeners across the nation and around the globe. You can

go to my website Matt Connerton dot com for all of your live streaming options,

social media links, conduct in fosh, archives, etc. Etc.

Today is a Friday, July twenty one, two thousand twenty three, so

nice have you all with me? Friday, of course my favorite day of

the week here at WMNH. It's my long day. I get to do

double duty and I do love it. Of course. I'm here with you

until six pm for this program, and then I am back tonight from eight

to eleven pm for Retro Spectrum Radio with Paul ec I have the honor and

privilege of being one of excuse me, I'm being one of Paul's co hosts

on that show. My allergies have really been bothering me today, along with

of course DJ Steve and Mike from Queen City Cabinetry. And this is what

Paul posted regarding tonight's show on retro Spectrum Radio. Will be featuring our third

installment of original versions of popular songs that you had no idea were covered by

your favorite bands. And of course in new name that nine at nine will

DJ Steve hold his title join us for the fun at eight pm Eastern this

Friday, and don't forget next Friday Night on July twenty eight, will be

joined in studio by the lovely and talented producer and director Aaron Zadofski don't miss

it. So that's tonight from eight to eleven pm. And one thing we

like to tell people about Retrospectrum Radio, Please join us on Facebook on the

Retrospectrum Radio Facebook page in the chat room. But Paul mutes the show so

that we don't get kicked off Facebook. So then also open a second tab

on your browser for WMNH Radio dot org and click listen live so you can

listen online on the WMH website, but hang out with us in the chat

room. We love having people in the chat room, just like we love

having people in the chat room on this show. And we will say hello

at everybody in there at a moment. But let me give you the contact

info for the show and I'll tell you what we've got coming up today on

this program. Six zo three two five six seven is a studio line six

zo three two five ozho six zoo seven. You can text me at six

one seven nine one seven four four seven six. I'm on social media at

Matt Connerton. You can email me Matt at Matt Connerton dot com. And

of course you can interact endo Pine in the aforementioned Facebook live chat. But

the best thing to do so that we can hear and enjoy your dulcet tones

is to give us a call at six zo three two five six zo seven

six zo three two five six zo seven. And by the way, if

you happen to be in the Manchester, New Hampshire area, if you're outdoors,

I would expect to get rained on if you're not already, because actually

it looks like it might already be raining. It got very very dark outside.

It is not supposed to be that dark outside in the middle of July,

so definitely some storms coming. Once again, I think I probably made

it here at just in time. Today to avoid the wetness coming up on

this show. Today, at the top of the hour, we have Eric

Pilcher's classic film review, as we do every Friday, and this week the

subject is Close Encounters of the Third Kind, which I did see for the

first time when I was a kid. Great film, and I would also

say it might be timely in a sense because not that this is one of

the things I want to get into today in depth necessarily, but although it

would be an appropriate day for it because of Eric's review. But you know,

the government, a little by little we learn more about the possibility of

extra terrestrial life or something something going on in the skies that can't be fully

explained. Mike says in the chat room, I was thinking the same thing.

Oh, or were you referring to Easyg's comment about there is nothing better

than a Queen City cupcake on a hot day. Yeah, it's nothing like

a delicious cupcake on a hot day. But yeah, so so we're gonna

be doing that today. At the top of the hour, I do want

to another thing that we are going to do today too, is I want

to kind of pick up where we left off. But we'll we'll circle back

to this the discussion yesterday at the end of the show about the new Jason

Aldean song Try That in a Small Town and the video I had a chance

to after the show, I watched the video that goes with the song,

So I have some additional thoughts and reflections. Plus I've I've had Oh how

dark it is. That's what Mike was saying. I was thinking the same

thing. Yes, it's very dark outside for four o'clock or four fifteen on

a summer day. But yeah, I have some more thoughts to share about

that and that controversy, and I also want to read you something a recent

guest of ours set about it on social media that I thought was particularly interesting.

So I do want to get to that. But I want to open

the show with talking a little bit about Tony Bennett passing away at the age

of ninety six. Although he was just shy of ninety seven, he was

only a couple of weeks away from hitting ninety seven. Now. Obviously,

people are talking today about his music, his music career, his you know

how he was able to bridge generations with his music and have a lot of

success, not only early in his career but later in his career as well

and all of that, and I feel like everybody else kind of has that

covered already. But what I wanted to look at a little bit was his

his work as a civil rights activist. And this is what I thought was

particularly interesting. And Nbcnews dot Com as a story up that kind of focuses

on this, and this is how I kind of wanted to honor him.

It says here in the nineteen fifties, Tony Bennett watched with dismay as black

musicians like nat King Cole and Duke Ellington were denied admission to concert hall,

dining rooms, and hotels. The injustice he witnessed infuriated the younger singer.

By the way, that kind of mirrors what also we know about Frank Sinatra

during his career. He was very upset. There's a famous story about how

when he was first getting to know Sammy Davis Junior, he invited Sammy Davis

Junior to open for him or something, and Sammy never showed up, and

it turned out it was because he wasn't allowed in, which made Frank Sinatra

angry. Bennett wrote this quote, I'd never been politically inclined, but these

things went beyond politics. He wrote this in the Good Life, his nineteen

ninety eight autobiography, quote, Nate and Duke were geniuses, brilliant human beings

who gave the world some of the most beautiful music it's ever heard, and

yet they were treated like second class citizens. The whole situation enraged me unquote.

That's why when the artist and activists Harry Bellifonte called up Bennett and asked

him to join the Reverend Martin Luther King Juniors Voting Rights March from Selma to

Montgomery in nineteen sixty five, Bennett accepted without hesitation. He flew to Alabama

and linked arms with his allies in the fight for justice. By the way,

I'm embarrassed to say I didn't know that. I did not know that

Tony Bennett had participated in the Selma March. I did not realize that.

Bennett, who died today at age ninety six, entered the American musical pantheon

thanks to his velvety vocals, velvety vocals, and seemingly effortless command of the

standard songbook. But his civil rights activism is another essential part of his legacy,

and he viewed his entrance into King's political movement as a crucial chapter in

his life. He wrote in his biography, quote, when the march started,

I had a strange sense of deja vu. I kept flashing back to

a time twenty years earlier when my buddies and I had fought our way into

Germany. Unquote. Serving in World War Two, Bennett's friendship with a black

serviceman was condemned by white army officers. Bennett wrote, quote, it felt

the same way down in Selma. The white state troopers were really hostile,

and they were not shy about showing it. There was the threat of violence

all along the march route from Montgomery to Selma, some of which was broadcast

on the nightly news, and really helped to make the country aware of the

ugliness that was still going on in the South. Un Bennett was terrified,

he recalled, but Bellefonte kept a school and helped make sure everyone focus on

the road ahead. In a side note, Bellefonte, who just died in

April, he was also ninety six at the time of his death, says

here Bennett did not walk all fifty four miles. Instead, he went ahead

to Montgomery so he could be there on March twenty four to greet King and

sing for the marchers alongside Ella Fitzgerald, Pete Seeger, Joan Baias, Sammy

Davis Jr. Mahalia Jackson, and others. The day after the Stars for

Freedom Rally, King delivered the how Long Not Long speech on the steps of

the Alabama State Capitol. Bennett wrote, quote, I'm enormously proud that I

was able to take part in such an historic event, but I'm saddened to

think that it was ever necessary and that any person should suffer simply because of

the color of his skin. Unquote. When the Selma to Montgomery march came

to an end, Bennett was driven to the airport by one of King's supporters,

Biola Liuzo, a white woman from Detroit who had three children. He

later learned that she was killed by white supremacists on the drive back to Selma.

Bennet committed himself to the cause of racial equality. In the decades that

followed, he advocated for gifted black artists and pushed the corporate music industry to

release their records. He joined the artistic boycott of apartheid South Africa and performed

for Nelson Mandela during the South African president's first state visit to Britain. The

crooner's abiding spirit of inclusion was clear to his children, including his eldest son

Danny, who recalled the wonderful childhood. In an interview with Good Housekeeping in

nineteen ninety five, Danny Bennett recalled quote, waking up to hear Count Basie

and Duke Ellington jamming in our basement unquote. Danny was proud that his father

joined King's March quote before it became fashionable among celebrities to publicly crusade against racist

discrimination. He is a good man and a good father, NTE. In

two thousand and seven, Tony Bennett was inducted into the International Civil Rights Walk

of Fame, a promenade at the Martin Luther King Junior National Historical Park in

Atlanta. The other inductees that year included the Hollywood Icon Sidney Portier, who

died last year, and Representative Maxine Waters, Democrat of California, five years

earlier. The King Center for Non Violent Social Change, a nonprofit organization in

Atlanta, bestowed on Bennett its twentieth annual Salute to Greatness Award. King's widow

Coretta Scott King, and the singer richly deserved. I'm sorry, I said,

the singer richly deserved the honor, she said. Quote Tony is not

only one of America's premier performing artists, but he was a deeply committed friend

and supporter of my husband and the civil rights movement. He has continued to

support the efforts of the King Center to fulfill Martin's dream, along with so

many other great causes. Bennett, for his part, told the Atlanta Journal

Constitution that he was over the moon. In an interview with the newspaper,

Bennett reflected warmly on his friendship with Bellefonte and the inspiration he drew from the

latter's example. He said, quote, Harry just reaffirmed for me that we're

all political animals. When injustice is happening, We're all such a small speck

in the face of the universe. Every single person on this planet is important

and should be respected equally. Unquote. So that's that's a story from oh

DJ, Steve says in the Facebook live chat, good afternoon, Matt.

My father's cousin, the late Tory Zito, was his pianist and musical director

for eight years. That's right. I think I remember you mentioning that on

Paul Show, Steve. Yeah, very interesting. One other thing, uh,

regarding Tony Bennett two that I wanted to mention, and this also relates

to, you know, he talks about his time fighting in World War Two

and uh, you know, and some of what he had to deal with

in terms of, you know, being friends with black soldiers and how not

everyone approved. Um. This is from media dot Com. Tony Bennett's gripping

account of fighting in World War Two during iconic Howard Stern interview, says here

he gave us seventy years of music, and now the iconic Tony Bennett is

gone. The Grammy winning singer who appealed to multiple generations, died at age

ninety six. While he was lucky enough to spend the vast majority of his

life doing what he loved, Bennett's life took a detour when he was drafted

to serve in World War Two. He described the experience in a famous twenty

eleven interview with Howard Stern. Admitted he was scared and said his time in

the military made him a pacifist and quote eliminated all bigotry from my life unquote.

So here's some of that exchange. So Stern said, so, when

you were this young boy and you wanted to sing, this war going into

the army interrupted your life and interrupted this passion. Bennett, I didn't look

at it like that. Just everybody had to go to war. It was

just one of those things. It was the most horrible war. Studs Circle

in Chicago called it the good War because it had to happen. Stern,

there was nobody to stop Hitler. The Japanese were Bennett, the worst philosophe

in the world was created there. Bennett also talked about witnessing racism against a

black friend of his, a best friend, pointing out that he quote had

my stripes slice from a bigot captain in the army. Un So here's that

story that exchange. So Tony Bennett on Howard's Show said this. He was

the greatest guy. He was a fantastic drummer, and we used to be

in high school together. We met in Mannheim, Germany, in the Truman

Hotel. It was Thanksgiving. He took me to his Baptist church and I

said, well, they're allowing me one guest in the Mannheim Truman Hotel.

Why don't you join me? Well, if Thanksgiving dinner, he said,

great, And so we were having fun, and the captain came over and

he said, Benedetto, that's my family name. Get your gear, you're

shipping out. They sent me to the graves registration digging up bodies. Stern.

You had to go to the graves, I guess of Americans and dig

their graves and exhume their bodies. Bennett, Yes, Stern. What was

the point of that to bring them home? Bennett? No, just to

bury them. Stern. That's a how horrible thing to see, Bennett.

It's eliminated all bigotry from my life as a result of that. It's a

premise in my life that I think one of the most important, I'm sorry,

one of the most ignorant things that could ever happen are people that are

bigoted about other people. And there's there's a clip here from that interview contained

in this article, although I'm not going to play it just in case there's

any profanity in it. Tony Bennett, I'm sure it doesn't swear at all,

but Howard occasionally will. It's on satellite radio, of course, But

so I I didn't really know honestly until today. I mean, you know,

obviously I knew a lot about Tony Bennett's career. I did not know

much about his civil rights activism and advocacy, and I or is world War

Two experience, And it's interesting how one informed the other, how his experience

in World War Two really kind of solidify in him his uh rejection of any

sort of bigotry or prejudice. And uh so that's that's really interesting. So

I wanted to focus on that, um a little bit. Of course,

you know, everyone's talking about his music, but well then that's important too.

I mean, he really was able to to bridge across multiple generations with

his music. We have a call. Hi, welcome to Matt Connerton.

Unleash. Who's this? It's John Hopwood, John Hopwood. How are you

sir? Fine? How are you you found fine? Except for being frightened

by the coming storm? I am I'm frightened by the coming storm. I'm

gonna hide under the desk. I'm not really the microphone won't reach. Yeah,

I'm older than you. So I did know that Tony Bennett was part

of the civil rights movement. Yes, the woman was named violently ozzo.

I believe, and she was murdered by the ku Klux plan that after driving

Tony to the you know, the place of the concert that came out in

the nineteen mid nineteen seventies because they were making a TV movie about this uh

FBI informants with the Klan as a hero, played by Don Meredith. Of

all people, I know, you won't know who Don Meredith him because he

was not only a football player, but he was one of the co hosts

with Howard Cosell, you know, Monday Night Football. And it came out

during the hearings about into the abuses of FBI and CIA that he was an

agent provocateur and that you know, he was likely responsible for the woman's murder.

Then he turns the people that killed her in Oh wow, and yeah

it was And yeah, but Tony Bennett was well known. Two other things.

The army was segregated during World War Two. I actually have a friend

who was long gone, Max, who was in the segregated army. He

was African American. He was in patents. Oh yeah, you've talked about

him. Yeah, yeah. So, but Tony Bennett being Apalion probably was

probably the subject of racism himself because you know he's talking. I think the

captain was from the South. The clan wasn't just about white supremacy. He

was also against the Roman Catholic Church. And uh, but and the other

thing that uh, this is just a When The Good War, which is

in our oral history about World War two came out, it was in quotes

the Good War because people like Studds Circle who was a left winger, and

people of that generation, you know, the great writers like Norman Naylor and

and Joseph Holler who wrote Catch twenty two is the best novel ever written about

the military, and they were a cynical about World War two, as the

World War One generation was a cynical about that war. So it was in

quote. In other words, it wasn't such a great war, right,

But they actually took the quote. The publisher, after being a big took

the clothes out and and the Studds wasn't very happy about that because he was

pretty much a lefty and against war. Yeah, I remember on of course,

on all in the family, Archie Bunker would refer to it as w

W two, the big one. Well, sixteen million men, quite a

few women went to war, and the population was much smaller than because you

know, people got drafted, and when they drafted everybody from eight eighteen blee

eighteen to forty four. Oh really, I went as high as forty four.

Yeah, because up in nineteen forty two the Europe to Pearl Harbor people

were not enlisting. Yeah, no, enlisting in the numbers. They needed

to fight two wars, one in the Pacific and one in Europe. By

the way, when when did the army when did the military desegregate? Would

that would that have been in line with the civil rights movement? Or where

was that? Nineteen eighty eight by executive order? Okay, And that's one

of the reason strong Ferments and Southern Democrats broke off and created the Dixiecrat Party

because in the nineteen Democratic platform there was civil rights planks. The Party of

Civil Rights up and pulled I would say Reagan or at least you know,

it was the Republican Party. The Rockefeller family financially supported the NAACP and all

of the historic black colleges in the South. That was part of the Republican

legacy. But you know that kite that changed and Eisenhower President eis that was

very much pro civil rights, Yes, yep, but but then you know,

things shifted to the whole to control, like a whole week store at

the junk about that. But by the way, the storm is here apparently

because the EAS alert just went off here in the studio take cover. But

I'll just say my father was a World War two when he said, there's

anti Semites. Everybody was. Everybody hated each other. Go white people,

which we call white people now or called urban ethnics. When I went to

the university in the seventies, and they all dislide to each other until the

you know, aides are married, and even then they disliked each other.

Yeah. But Tony Bennett, yeah, he was a great one, and

he was there at Salmo. Yes, yes, yeah, no, it's

been here all right, John, thank you for the call. I appreciate

it, all right. That was the great John Hopwood. That does open

up the studio line for you. Six zo three two five six seven six

three two five oh six o seven. By the way, if you are

in some people listening might have missed part of that discussion because the EAS alert

did go off. It doesn't but you can always go back later and check

the podcast for what you missed. Not that the eas interrupts for very long,

but but if you are in the Manchester, New Hampshire area, it's

probably for all of in the surrounding areas. I would assume there is a

terrible storm on the way, if it hasn't already started. It is very

dark outside for this time on a summer afternoon. Six O three two five

six zo seven six zo three two five oh six Z seven. I do

want to move on, and I have more to say about the Jason Aldean

song, but I also want to say hello everybody quickly in the Facebook live

chat. Mike from Queen City Cabinetry is in the chat room. As we

mentioned earlier, Mike, of course not only one of our great sponsors here

with Queen City Cabinetry. In the Historic Sunbeam mall speaking of war, named

of course for the great General Sunbeam, the greatest military mind since slic spread

you remember that next time you're enjoying a delicious sandwich, remember and reflect on

the freedom you have to enjoy that sandwich and be thankful to General Sunbeam.

And as you're thinking about that, think about taking a visit to Queen City

Cabinetry for all your kitchen needs, bring your kitchen to life with Mike.

But not only is Mike one of our sponsors here at WMH ninety five point

three, but he's one of our co hosts on retro Spectrum Radio, so

I look forward to seeing him on Friday nights. Jay Fed joins us in

the chat from the great state of Vermont, says a good afternoon and everyone.

Jenny is in the chat room, of course, and says shaloha and

peeps. E ZG joins us in the chat and says, happy freaking Friday

to all peeps. My goodness, Jay Fed says we are getting some much

needed rain. I think he's being he's making a joke. Of course,

if Vermont it does not currently need any more rain. And if you've seen

those images from Mont Peleier, Vermont, you know exactly what I'm talking about.

Eric Pilcher is in the Facebook live chat. Of course, it is

Friday, which means in a little bit we're gonna hear Eric's classic film review,

as we do every Friday, and this week the subject is Close Encounters

of the Third Kind. And this week also, sorry if I sounded distracted

there, one of the computers just had a window pop open on it that

I've never seen before. Must have something to do with the storm. But

of course he also joins us on Wednesdays for a segment that I call my

favorite Conservative in the first hour on Wednesdays, and this week John Hopwood joined

us, and John expressed his deep displeasure with Eric's chosen candidate to endorse for

the Republican nomination. But it is actually pretty funny. Should go back and

listen to a John's reaction was funny. Melanie Liberty, also from the Great

state of Vermont, says, happy blanking Friday. I can't say that naughty

word on the air, of course, but the chat room is uncensored.

Tom Blanchard joins us in the chat room and says, I better get more

gas for the lawnmower. Yeah, that's true. The rain does make everything

grow, all this rain we've had. Melanie says, h, I just

notice Easy G and I have the same almost comment. Yeah, not quite.

I don't think Easy G has much of a potty mouth. I think

I think he blushes at naughty words. Let's see. E says welcome back

to me, Yes, welcome back. John Hopwood is in the chat room

and says, h, I thought you were going to talk about Tony Bennett's

career as an actor, playing Himie Kelly in the Oscar. You're nineteen sixty

six. I'm not familiar with that. I didn't know that. Let's see

DJ cve I mentioned is In the chat room, Melanie says, didn't you

sit in with Tony Bennett one night? That's kind of a running joke around

here. Rondo Favro joins us in the chat room from Californias. She says,

I saw Tony in concert, voice like silk, Yes, yes,

by the way. Oh, And Miriam Bannish joins us in the chatroom and

says, good afternoon. Quite a storm out there. Yeah, I'm glad

I'm safe and sounded here. I actually enjoy a good thunderstorm as long as

I'm not driving in it or caught in it. I don't like I'm one

of those people. I don't like to get caught in the rain. I

don't like the way wet clothes feel on my skin. It's the something grows

about it. I'm like a cat. I don't like to get wet,

except when I bathe obviously, one other interesting thing about Tony Bennett and then

we will move on because I do want to talk more about the Jason Aldean

controversy about that song, but just interesting to me. So what was it?

It had to be at least a couple of years ago. He had

done something with Lady Gaga. They did a concert and I'm sure it's on

DVD and you can stream it. They did a duets concert together, or

maybe they put out an album, or maybe maybe both. I'm sure there's

a video of it too, and Lady Gaga. I think this was also

in a Howard Stern interview. She was talking about how you know, Tony

Bennett had been diagnosed, I think in twenty sixteen with Alzheimer's disease, and

apparently at the point where he and Lady Gaga did that concert together, he

was he was really struggling at that point to remember a lot of things.

But when he was on stage, anytime, you know, if she said

to him or someone said to him, Tony, it's time for whatever the

song was that they were about to do, he could remember the lyrics and

sing the song flawlessly like he wouldn't he like, like just like when he

was younger, Just no problem. He could. And it is interesting too

how people with whether it's Alzheimer's or types of dementia, very often, you

know, they'll they'll forget things, of course, and that's what happens,

but or even just you know, getting older and just the memory starts to

slip a little bit. But people who have these issues, you know,

they might have difficulty remembering certain things, but when it comes to music,

they can. And there's been studies the show, even people with advanced Alzheimer's

they can remember songs. It's like songs are just so permanently ingrained in the

mind. It's just really interesting. Yeah, Miriam says music is something that

stays with you. John Hopwood says music comes from the other side of the

brain, doesn't it. I don't know. I couldn't tell you. I

just I thought that was interesting. All right. I want to circle back

to if you missed yesterday's show. We spent some time on this yesterday in

the second hour. But the new Jason Aldean's single Try That in a Small

Town is getting some controversy, and I shared my thoughts yesterday. Now,

people who are very critical of the song are saying that the song is racist

and the video for it is racist. And I played the song yesterday on

the show, and this controversy had been going on for a little bit.

But I had intentionally avoided listening to the song because I wanted to listen to

it live on the air and give it my off the cuff, on the

spot reactions to it, and get feedback from the audience, of course,

and you know, without any I wanted to do that, without really having

time to think about it or sit on it for a while. I wanted

to just give you my instant reaction. And my verdict upon listening to the

song was not guilty. I do not feel that the song in and of

itself is racist. Now, what I did say is and we'll get to

the video in a moment, because I hadn't seen the video yet. I

was actually initially I was going to play the video and not that you would

see it because it's a radio show, but I was going to play it

here on this computer and listen to the song while the video was playing,

so I could see the video at the same time I was listening to the

song. But then DJ Stephen the chat room gave me the heads up and

said, Matt, I think there's an s bomb in there, and he

was right, there is. So I had to find a radio edit of

the song. When I was a kid, you know, country artist never

swore in songs. But you know these days everyone's trying to be edge.

You know, use a bad word. It makes it edgy and cool.

So I had to find a radio edit. So I did not play the

video. I just played the radio edit of the song that has the bad

word removed. Miriam says in the chat room, I did not like the

video at all, and I'm not sure if listening gives the same message.

We'll get to that. Yeah, I have some thoughts on that, But

my verdict on the song itself, I said, not guilty. But what

I did say was I can see how someone who maybe is racist would really

like the song, really like the lyrics, because some of the imagery in

it about good old boys and don't mess with us and whatnot. Some of

that I can see how that might evoke for some people as it did for

me, I guess, because I can empathize with someone having a certain kind

of reaction to those lyrics. But I did not feel that the lyrics in

and of themselves were racist. And you know art, music is art,

and art is subjective and you can project onto or take from whatever it is.

When it's art. It doesn't matter if it's music or if it's a

painting that you look at. You know, two people can look at a

painting and see completely different things, or it might affect them in different ways.

People read books and have different interpretations about what they've read. And you

know, anything any any kind of art that's created. Now, some things

are blatant, some things are subtle, including you know what the message is

that maybe the person who created the art is trying to put across. But

listen, I mean it is not unusual. We had a discussion, in

fact, it was with John Hopwood. Yeah I see your comment, John,

and yes we will. I did talk about that yesterday, by the

way, but we'll get to that with the video. That is a very

good point. But speaking of John, so we discussion here one day on

the show about Sweet Home Alabama by Leonard skinnerd and some of the lyrics and

that some people interpret I say interpret because again even music critics have different ideas

about what the song is really saying in terms of you know it mentions it

mentions George Wallace and the song not by name, but he's mentioned in there,

you know, segregationist of course, as he was a governor of Alabama.

But people have different interpretations of that. Some people think Sweet Home Alabama

by Leonard skinnerd is racist, some people don't. Some people say, I

don't know. I think that again, talking only about the song, not

the video yet, but speaking only about the song itself, I don't think

the song is racist. But again, I understand how someone coming from a

particular point of view might project something onto it that may or may not be

intended. Maybe is intended. You know, there are such things as dog

whistles and you know, subtly implied messages. But I think that I tried

to think of it this way. If you were to play that song for

me, if you were to say, Matt, listen to this song and

I had no idea about any of the controversy, and you just played me

that song and said, Matt, pay attention to the lyrics and then tell

me what you think. Do you think does anything about this bother you?

And I just listened to it, I would say no. It sounds like

a standard modern country song about life. In a small town and we're tough

and don't mess with us. And you know, I probably wouldn't think of

it much more beyond that, to be honest. So I do not think

the song itself is racist. Now the video. Let's get to the video.

I did watch the video after the show. My ultimate conclusion, my

verdict actually does not change. I come to the same conclusion. I don't

think that I did not perceive the video as racist, but I did not

perceive the video as sort of innocuous as the song either. The video definitely

very politically charged, with the imagery of riots. And although there is one

thing I well, never mind, I don't want to get I don't want

to muddle things with mentioning that. But most of the imagery was, you

know, a lot of people rioting and things like that, people burning the

American flag and whatnot. Again, the video in and of itself definitely politically

charged and definitely coming from a certain political point of view, shall we say,

ideologically, no question, no question about that. The song itself I

don't think is politically charged. The video is absolutely is. But the video

in and of itself, that's probably as much as I would say about it.

But again, as we discussed yesterday on the show, and John brings

it up in the chat room, the video was filmed at a courthouse where

a black man was lynched. That is problematic. That bothers me quite a

bit. Now, Apparently that location a lot of things are filmed there.

That's a popular filming location. It is quite possible. You might think this

naive of me, but I do think that sometimes people, when people are

culturally insensitive or racially insensitive, however you want to think about it, sometimes

it's because you know, they do have some prejudice, be it over or

or sort of beneath the surface. And sometimes people are just oblivious because they

don't think about those things. I can imagine that it is. I'm willing

to let me put it this way. I'm willing to give the benefit of

the doubt that either they didn't know or it didn't occur to them that that

might be a problem. It's entirely possible just nobody realized it. Now,

I can tell you that when I first read that, you know, that

bothered me. I said, well, that's that's not good. But again,

I'm willing to offer some benefit of the doubt on that we have a

call. Hi, welcome to Matt Connorton Unleashed. Who's this, Hey,

Matt, it's Eric Pilch calling in. Well, Hello, Eric Pilcher.

Hey, I just wanted to chime in on this Jason Albean situation here real

quick. I have a few minutes left of my lunch break. Oh cool.

Yeah, let's let's not act like here that Jason Alban has never been

in the headlines for any reason for his political views. His views are at

best borderline alt right. His wife has said some pretty inflammatory things. So

while I understand and appreciate your point about how you don't think there was any

malicious intent there, I'm gonna flip it and say I think the evidence against

him dictates otherwise. Interesting. Help me out with something here, Eric,

because I don't know. I don't know anything about his wife. His wife

has said some pretty inflammatory things. I mean, I don't have the information

in front of me because I'm at my work desk. Yeah, I don't

dare look it up on my work computer. Yeah. But yeah, his

wife, Brittany I believe as her name, has said some pretty shocking things,

and he has as well. I mean, they've been borderline like typical

conservative views on certain aspects of society. Sure, but then you coupled those

statements with the music video in the song, and it's like, Okay,

the evidence doesn't give you a free pass, right, And that's my point.

It's the evidence the past actions he has committed doesn't give him this free

pass. I asked this, if Kid Rock had done this song, would

Kid Rock be given a free pass? No? No, With Ted nug

absolutely not. Would. Hank Williams Junior, who called us sitting president,

compared him to Hitler. Ted Nugent also comes to mind. Yeah. Um,

by the way, when when I look up, when I look up

Brittany Aldine, um, I don't find anything racist, but I do find

I guess she she caused quite a bit of a stir over some transphobic comments.

Oh yeah, I'm just saying in general, so pretty plorable views from

that family. So this isn't like ye to me. When I heard who

the artist was that did it, I'm like, oh, okay, not

entirely shocking. Okay, it's interesting. It's interesting the same boat as Kid

Rock in Ted mug In, Hank Williams Junior just a conservative And I'm not

even going to call him a conservative. To me, they are all right,

all right, individual that has a very large platform with a very ignorant

fan base that buys into this crap. Interesting, I M see, I

didn't know much. I've never I'm not a big country guy. I've never

paid much attention. Obviously. I've always been aware of Jason Aldeen, especially

you know, working in the music business, but I never knew much about

him. I kind of just assume that most of these arests are pretty right

wing anyway, although sometimes people get it wrong. For example, Toby Keith

when when he put out that song after nine to eleven, after we went

to war invading Iraq and Afghanistan, he put out that song courtesy of the

Red, White, and Blue, everyone assumed that he was a right wing

conservative and he was actually a registered Democrat at the time. So you never

know. But um, but yeah, I didn't. I didn't know much

about Jason Aldeen until this, to be honest with you. Yeah, yeah,

it's I guess wish that again. I want to say this carefully.

I just wish if you have that platform you would use it for good,

right and use it in a way that could bring people together. You can't

sit there. And he didn't even write the song. Someone posted in the

group right about all and everything they posted is one hundred percent factual. It

came out May. They did use Paola to get the MT to ban it.

They it wasn't even written by him. Yeah, apparently he doesn't write.

From what I understand, that is something I did learn about him.

I guess most of his hits are written by other people. He performs,

but he doesn't actually write. Not that there's anything wrong, not that there's

anything wrong with that. That's not a knock on him. I'm just saying,

though, it's interesting that he doesn't, you know, because most of

you know, most country artists, they do write their own music, right,

And probably should have chosen a better word there than right, but whatever.

Yeah, it's just utterly insane to me that, like, there are

people defending this, especially I get it's a popular place to film scenes.

Yeah, but then you look again the totality of the evidence, right,

right, How do you not know this? And I mean I haven't watched

the music video. I honestly have no desire to watch the music video.

I listened to the song and I was just like, this is up there

with the forty five band singing the national anthem. This is just it's it's

just a way to generate fake controversy for him to puff his chest out and

be patriotic. Well, it does, I mean to make it worse?

I was governor, posted on Facebook today a great day to listen to Jason

Aldan. Yeah, a lot of people are posting on social media. You

know, I stand with Jason Alden and all this. But but let me

let me ask you this though, Eric, if you had heard that song,

just understand what you're saying about, you know, the totality of the

evidence and the context and everything. But if you had just heard that song

without no who it was, do you think he would have had the same

reaction. I probably would have been like, oh, it's a modern country

song. Yeah, most of them are black John Yokels, So probably a

touch of racism there, okay, But again I would have aired on the

side of how do I would have aired on this side of that to begin

with, um, without of hearing this song, So I'm probably the wrong

guy to ask, Well, no, I'm just I'm curious. It's it's

very because one of the things that's interesting to me about a moment like this

where something like this is happening. It isn't even so much the controversy itself

that I'm fascinated by. I'm fascinated by how how different people process this,

you know, especially someone like you who thinks about these things a little bit

deeper, instead of just saying, Okay, I'm going to check a box.

I'm either outraged or I'm not outraged. You actually you actually think about

these things. Um. So it's it's that's why it's interesting to discuss something

like this with you and get your perspective. Yeah, well I appreciate that.

Um yeah. I just to me, I just looked at I heard

that. I read the name, and I'm like, oh, oh no,

oh why But if you why But if you didn't know who it was

and you heard the song, you wouldn't. I just want to know if

I have this right, you would I would have. I'm kind of in

the boat with you on it. Yeah, I wouldn't have inferred much from

it than what I've heard from people that have watched the video. Okay,

okay, um, so yeah, I mean I don't watch this show anymore,

but I have a funny feeling South Park is going to take a hit

on this one. Oh I'm sure. Wow, south Park that's still on.

That's amazing, isn't it. That's been that's over thirty years, right,

that that's been on nineteen ninety seven. Oh my god, I'm not

as long as the Simpsons, but still that's a long time. Wow.

Yes, But my lunch break is over. I just wanted to chime in.

I'm glad you did. Thank you for the call, Eric, I

appreciate it, my friend, Thanks for having me anytime. All right,

bye bye, all right. That was our friend Eric Pilcher. And I'm

going to hold off just a couple more minutes though on Eric's review, because

I see Billy Panter from Outlaw Radio is in the chat room and he says,

I have to call in once Eric has done. So Billy, go

ahead. The line is open, sir if you want to get in and

then we can we can hold for a few minutes on Eric's review, and

uh, yep, here he is. Billy Painter is on the line.

Hey, Billy or bad Billy as you like to say, Hey, how

you doing? Actually for the new podcast? I do I actually go by

Billy Painter for that one. I think. I think that's good. I've

always thought Billy Painter is just a cool sounding name to begin with. So

I if I've influenced you in any way, I'm glad. But if I

haven't, that's fine too. But I think that's great. You should.

You should use that name. That's good. You're fading out a little bit.

I don't know what's wrong with the lines, but no outlaw radios where

I take off the gloves. Where this new one I keep it more clean

and professional. Gotcha, gotcha? But um, I didn't call so much

to talk about Jason Alden and try that in a small town. I will

just make a quick comment on that is me being from a small town myself.

Eric Filcher, I'll love you to death, brother, but I have

to disagree with you that because I listened to the lyrics very closely, and

whereas the video is very controversial, I don't think there's anything racist about that

song. I from a small town, I understand it a lot more than

others, I think so, And to me, it's about a community that

stands together. Um when the poop hits the fan. So yeah, I

think, um, well, I think that's basically what Eric was saying,

but he but he's looking at it as he's looking at Jason Aldeen in a

larger contextum instead of instead of necessarily the song itself. But I wanted that's

all I'm going to say on that, because Jason Aldean is not the only

country artist who's in the line of fire right now. I don't know if

I can't remember if he commented on Luke Combs and his cover of Tracy Chapman's

Fast Car, I did. I think I did catch something about that.

Yeah, some people are mad about about Luke Combs covering her song. I

think that that controversy started to bubble up. But then I think, at

least on my radar, the Jason Aldeen thing kind of flew in and crowded

out the Luke Combs Tracy Chapman thing, and I lost track of it.

But I think I know where you're going with this, and I think I'm

going to end up a green with you. But go ahead, Well,

I think this is I mean, you know, I can understand why there's

a controversy over Jason Aldein and what he did, but this is just utterly,

very very stupid, and you know, The reason why Luke Combs covered

the song is because he fell in love with it as a child and connected

to the song and just felt the need to cover it. Not only that,

he didn't change any lyrics. He even, you know, just Tracy

Chapman wrote in the song, I work in the market as a checkout girl,

and he didn't change that. He said checkout girl, even though we

know he's a guy. And when that song was nominated for Grammys, she

grossed millions off of it. But some idiot over at the Washington Post,

I'm gonna I'm gonna quote what was said here. As Luke combs hit cover

of Tracy Chapman's Fast Car dominates the country charts, it's bringing up some complicated

emotions and fans and singers who know that Chapman, as a queer black woman,

would would have almost no chance of that kind of that achievement herself.

I mean, you know, she's nominated for Grammy. She gross millions off

of that off of her first album. And then Tracy Chapman herself came out

and praised the song and that Luke Combs did a good job and said she

never expected to be on the country charts, but she's honored to be there,

right, And so for somebody who just came out and said that is

just complete ignorance that on their part without doing any research on the song.

Because not only is you know, obviously Luke Combs is making money off of

this himself, but so is Tracy Chapman. Every time it plays, they're

both getting paid. Yeah, and actually, because she's the one who wrote

it, she's getting more of that money than he is. And uh,

you're right. It says it says here there's a quote from Tracy Chapman.

She says, the success of my cover is unreal and I think it's so

cool. Oh no, I'm sorry, that's Luke. That's Luke Combs quote.

He said, the success of my cover is unreal, and I think

it's so cool that Tracy is getting recognized and has reached new milestones. But

it does say in this article too that Tracy Chapman has been very supportive and

approves of his cover of her song, so she's on board. So yeah,

so there's really yeah, there's always going to be somebody who finds something

wrong in a situation like this, but oh yeah, here's I found the

quote from Chapman, She said, I never expected to find myself on the

country charts, but I'm honored to be there. I'm happy for Luke and

his success and grateful that new fans have found and embraced Fast Car. Yep.

So there you go. You know, there's a reason why Tracy Chapman

doesn't have a smartphone, doesn't have a Facebook or a Twitter, or stays

off all that. She very rarely talks to the press. There's there's got

to be a reason too that, you know. I mean, obviously she

hasn't said anything about the stupidity, and I don't think she wants to be

tied up in it. Yeah, yeah, better to remain above above the

fray if you can, you know. And I'm sure she's you know,

she she's had a lot of success. I'm sure she has enough money she

can kind of stay out of it not have to, uh get into the

muck and the mire of it all. A Fast Car is probably her biggest

hit, but she's she had a couple other really big hits. Uh.

Give me one reason, I think is the title that's a that's also a

big song. That might even be a bigger hit now that I'm thinking about

it, but yeah, she's had a lot of success herself. Yeah,

give me one reason that that came out. I think of what ninety six

and I remember it didn't get stopped playing for the longest time. Oh yeah,

yeah. So she's done, and she had a couple of others suits.

She's done very well. Yeah. So I mean to put her race

and her sexual preference into it and say she can't make that kind of achievement

is just pure ignorance, right right. Absolutely, I agree with you,

Billy. I thought I might. I figured I knew where you were going

with that, and uh no, I'm in complete agreement. Absolutely. Anyway,

I don't know what's wrong with the connection, but you're fading in and

out, so I'm gonna go ahead and end it here. There's some very

bad weather going on here, so that probably has something to do with it.

But Billy Painter, wonderful to hear from you, my friend. You

bet you have a you have a wonderful day, all right, man,

you two take care, Bye bye bye bye. All right. That was

Billy Painter from Outlaw Radio and he also has his newer show that he does

with John Grosvenor. Out of Nashua. Billy is in uh In, Idaho,

but John Grover or is local here in Nashua, New Hampshire, just

up the road there, and they do a show together called Patriot Confederation.

We are yeah, let's do this. We are a little bit past stop

the r so we're gonna go ahead and get to Eric's film review. Let's

see, and this week the subject is Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

Great film. I haven't watched that in a long time, but we got

into a little bit of a discussion about it too recently with John Hopwood when

he was here. But we're gonna do this. Actually, I'm sorry,

I'm I've got things in the wrong order here. We're gonna take a break

and show some love to our amazing sponsors first and then you know, they

pay the bills, so we'll do that, and then we're going to go

from there directly into Eric's film review, and then after that we will come

back with the balance of our program. So there is plenty more to come

today here on Matt Connerton Unleashed, Don't go away. Come on down to

the Hop Night at one end Elms Street, Manchester's premiere Craft Beer and gourmet

pretzel bar tell us More at Trudy. We make our dough fresh every day.

We make a variety of styles of pretzels and serve craft beer cocktails and

a few bottles of one. We do the traditional pretzel and we have multiple

flavors for that. We also do stuff pretzels, pretzer sandwiches, three dessert

pretzels, and pretzel knots the Hop Knot in the Brady Sullivan Plaza at one

thousand Elms Street. Bring your kitchen to life with Queen City Cabinetry, located

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Best cotails abound comment as friends, a leamless family, w M N

h rips the no more more Humber flight more Knights, don't tell me something?

What the hell it's happening here? It's flight number nine jan nineteen.

Watch it's that training region from the name of the last station at Fort Waterdale.

They were doing talking grunts on at all off both flights. Great flight

these anymore no one. These planes were reported missing in nineteen forty five.

When it looks brand new, where's the miling? I don't understand the row.

Hey, I'm a heller get hair, aliens, extraterrestrials, pod people,

martians, space invaders. No matter what they have been called. Beings

from other planets or even other galaxies, have enthralled, captivated, and even

caused fear in film audiences since the beginning of film One film made audience feel

all of these emotions and even added one of the most important feelings we can

have, that is hope. Released in nineteen seventy seven, directed by Steven

Spielberg, coming off his successful third film Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third

Kind introduces us to Roy Neary played by Richard Dreyfus, a line worker in

Indiana that, while on a job, encounters an alien spacecraft that changes him

from everyday working stiff to a man obsessed with beings from other worlds. Rounding

out the starring cast is Terry Gar, Melinda Dillon, Bob Balaban, and

declaimed French director Francois Truffaux. The introductory clip sets up the arrival of the

beings with the mysterious reappearance of planes in the Sonoran Desert that has long been

thought to be lost flying over the Bermuda Triangle. Our next clip builds the

tension when air traffic controllers have to prevent two aircrafts from colliding in the air

with a UFO. What makes this scene important is it beautifully builds tension that

is noticeable throughout the film, and notice at the end of the scene the

unwillingness by multiple parties to a knowledge a possible UFO that could be interpreted as

disbelief that is constantly present throughout this film. Let's take e WA four twenty

one nine one three four point four four four wards here Ryn Island point out.

I gave you as on one twenty two point five. I'll be running

one and then aft. Kind of you having traffic for every thirty one one

very thirty one negative. The only traffic I have is a t W a

L ten eleven in your six o'clock position range fifteen miles ended out a gainy

DC nine in your twelve o'clock position fifty miles. It's done by one.

I'll take a look at rossendel Erry thirty one tic criary of pro very is

thirty one, Roger. I have a primary target about that position. Now,

I have no known high light field traffics done by one. Check lover

Dick what you're check low altitude and you've been a who this is thy one.

The topic is not lower than us one o'clock. Now they'll about me

into ending. Every is thirty one can use the aircraft type negative center.

We distinct outline the two at the time, it is rather break it.

That's the brightest to any quisition lights. I think I've ever seen all any

white to rest colors are a little striking center. D W. Way finds

in the team traffic man of extra bright landing light. I thought airing at

his landing light off it being satellite. Every is dirty one. Now you

have the primary target now, and you're kind about position. I've never had

anyone rugged center be a problem. Now you can about being too lonely way

exact. Everybody one, okay, every even Donny one the Trammick can he

had he went from my way hill were turning way and maybe pla a whole

free fight year down every thirty one to sign nineteen finalvel three one yar own

great Knaghan and troop a corn turn right twenty degree, you know on the

part of the forty five there and every jet decent Napolis only test operations Restricted

area two fives YERL eight, Ryny one Rocker traffic here quite long with internator

to gibling some non bolistic motion over roger very is thirty one? Continue to

sign a joy this question over? Okay? Now, Donna filas distress had

approved the trafficking approaching head on altered right and really moving and right by it

right now. But that was really close very thirty one. It's out of

three to four year old. The traffic past them if they want to report

officially A five seventeen? Do you want to report a UFO A five seventeen?

Do you want to report a UFO over making it food men water report

are is thirty one? Do you wish to report a UFO those data are

is thirty one? Do you wish to find a report of any kind of

him? However, what kind of report? Twilve n are he's thirty one?

Me neither. I'll try to track traffic the destination of him. That

disbelief and unwillingness to acknowledge eventually turns into panic in fear. Our next scene

takes place at a radio telescope center where a group of individuals are trying to

decipher the signal being sent from the beings. Their inability to do so leads

to them comedically rolling a twenty five hundred dollars giant globe down the hallway to

pin down the coordinates that the beings are sending them. The conclusion of this

scene also the fleet introduces us to truro Foes, famed role of Claude laying

comb. Here are the pedals. We just received two fifteen minute broadcasts.

These non randoms like one hundred and four rapid pulses after a five second innival,

forty pulses, another five second break and the thirty pulses, sixty seconds

of silence, and then an entirely new set of numbers forty break five,

thirty six, break five ten, one hundred and four rapid pulses come hard,

wait sixty seconds, and the whole dogs one thing repeats. Where these

signals coming from right in the neighborhood, light travel time rockby seven seconds.

It's well within the plane of the eclipance missions. He's non randoms are forty

thirty sixty ten. Response to that, no, they should be. We've

been sending out this musical combination for weeks before were getting back a number.

This could mean the Indy of Sounds reached the Dandy to help me the thing.

There's so much that we don't know about where the signals originally. Excuse

me, excuse me. Before I got paid to uh speak French, I

U I used to read maps. This first number is a longitude. Yeah,

two sets of three numbers degrees, minutes, and seconds. And the

first number has three digits and the last two were below sixty. Obviously it's

not in right ascension and declination on the sky. You have to be Earth

coordinates. Truly, somebody. There's a globe in the County Supervisor's office.

There's a release, it's a tent. What are you guys doing all the

thing? The antenna? How um hold? Each way? Is the antenna

point northeast. We're going to need a geodetic survey map of Wyoming. I

want this down to the square. Yeah, man, I don't know,

I don't know. Just this any day, inky day this year. There

are quite a few memorable performances in this film, the aforementioned Trufaux in Balaband

Melinda Dillon. You may know her as the mother from the film A Christmas

Story, But there is one that does stand out, and that is the

performance of Dryfuss as NEARI. There were many considered for this role, as

mentioned on Wednesday's episode of Matt Connerton Unleashed, including Gene Hackman, and one

of the biggest film debates is how this role would have been with Gene Hackman

as Near. Despite this, Dryfus does this role justice in encapsulating the essence

of nearing. Our last two scenes show this. First, we here Neary

as an everyday family man trying to teach his son about fractions. Then,

at the peak of his obsession, in broad daylight, Neary begins digging up

dirt trees and throwing it through the windows of his house and even trash.

His neighbors are watching this crazed behavior, and this eventually leads to his family

leaving him. This clip also showcases Terry gars amazing understated performance as his wife

Ronnie. I don't you do your problems for you? That's why I graduated,

so I don't have to do problems. I don't understand these fractions,

all right? What's one third of sixty? That's a fraction I don't understanding.

All right. Let's say that this box car is six defeat long,

okay, and one third of it is across this switch here, all right,

okay, and now another train is coming now how far do you have

to move this box car off the track so that the other train doesn't smash

it? Quickly? Brad? If there are thousands of lives at stake,

Brad, any answer and now Roy's breakdown. That's what I was gonna say.

All right, come on, man, do this? Can we go

good? In my window? Stop? Stop funny? If I don't do

this, that's what I'm gonna need a doctor. Do it? What are

you doing? I got it? What are you thinking? Well, I'm

figuring it out. That's all we could. Just listen, no running.

Look you ever look at something when it's crazy and then you look at it

in another way and it's not crazy? I haven't come on, Ronnie,

just listen. I don't know if you just close your rise with finness,

because close your eyes and hold your breath. No, it'll be really pretty

right. That's scaring us. Now, don't be scared. Just don't be

scared. I feel really good. You think he's gonna be all right?

I haven't felt this good in years. Okay, don't know what else?

What else? Right? Thank you? Chicken wire. Whatever you're doing is

against the law. He's putting it fat missus life I'll take it, take

it ill. You look on this fence right here? You come with me?

Do you want me to hit you? You look doing at this show?

We listen to me, Listen to me. Please come on right now,

we're we're going. Come on, come on here here, let's go

in the come on, he shre we going? Where are we going?

There? We going in the car? There we go. We quickly get

Arey's going to ye lock the doors? What just lock the door? Un

right house? You need funny? Where are you gonna? What are you

gonna taking kids to my sisters? It's crazy? Not even dressed? What

he said? What funny? The holy one minute. This film was wrought

with production problems that led to the film's release being delayed from a summer blockbuster

to a limited release in November of nineteen seventy seven and a national release December

fourteenth of nineteen seventy seven. It started slow, grossing over a tad over

ten million dollars its opening weekend. More theaters were added the week before Christmas,

and the film made over twenty four million by the end of the second

week. Overall, it made two hundred and eighty eight million dollars worldwide.

It was the most successful Columbia Pictures film at that point and saved the fledgling

studio from ruin. Critics have heralded the film since, and it is one

of the most highly regarded science fiction film films. The Academy Awards took notice,

giving the film nine nominations, including Best Director for Spielberg and Best Supporting

Actress for Melinda Dillon. It won two for Best Cinematography and Special Achievement.

This film is breathtaking with its music, lighting, special effects, and its

gripping, compelling story was one not seen in science fiction to that point.

When this review started, I spoke of hope. The hope this film conveys

is that we should not fear those beings humans are otherwise that we do not

know. We should seek them to find answers and make the unknown known.

That is the message of hope that this film conveys to me, in a

message we should all view and carry with us in earnest. I hope you

joined me next week when we will look at the film that gave Quentin Tarantino

his start in Hollywood. This film is written by Tarantino and directed by Tony

Scott. We will look at the crime romance Caper, True Romance for WMNH

and Matt Connerton Unleashed. This has been a classic film review with Eric Pilcher.

Welcome back everybody as we cruise into our final segment today or of the

week, really here on Matt Connerton Unleashed on this Friday afternoon. By the

way, there were a couple of eas warnings, so I did hear the

words flash flood, which we hear quite a bit lately. So I hope

everybody is safe out there. If you're local to this area or wherever you

are, wherever you might be listening from, I hope you're safe. But

this is Matt Connerton Unleashed and we are live from the studios of WMNH ninety

five point three FM in glorious downtown Manchester, New Hampshire, also on Comcast

ninety seven if you're in Manchester, and hello to all of our online listeners

across the nation and around the globe. You can go to my website Matt

Connerton dot com for all your live streaming options, social media lenks, contact

in folk show archives, etc. Etc. Today is Friday, July twenty

one, two thousand, twenty three. Nice to have you all with me.

By the way, it is Friday, which means it's my long day

here at WMH, and I do love it so because not only do we

have this program for another about twenty two minutes, but I will be back

tonight from eight to eleven PM for retro Spectrum Radio with Paul Lec as we

do every Friday night, and I have the honor and privilege of being one

of Paul's co hosts on that show, along with our friends DJ Steve and

of course Mike from Queen City Cabinetry in the historic son b Mall, who

not only one of our great sponsors here at WMH, but also one of

our co hosts on retro Spectrum Radio. And here's what Paul posted on social

media. For tonight's show, We'll be featuring our third installment of original versions

of popular songs that you had no idea were covers by your favorite bands.

By the way, this is a kind of show I love where I get

to learn stuff. I'm really looking forward to tonight, and of course,

an all new name at nine at nine will DJ Steve hold this title?

That's part I don't look forward to as much because DJ Steve always rushes me

and it is humiliating and embarrassing, as I experienced the defeat at the hands

of DJ Steve. But you know I swear too like when we do that,

and if you don't know what I'm talking about, so we do that.

Name that nine at nine Paul plays nine riffs, just little snippets of

songs, and then we have to figure out what they are. And very

very often Steve just beats me by a hair. You know, one of

us has to say, got it when we know what it is. And

as Steve will just he's just stop. He gets it a half second quicker

than I do. But perhaps tonight I will make my rousing come back.

I'm not sure I've ever beaten him. I think he wins every week.

But that's okay. It's fun. It's a lot of fun. Join us

for the fun. Speaking of fun at eight pm Eastern tonight, and don't

forget next Friday night on the twenty eighth, will be joined in studio by

the lovely and talented producer and director Aaron Zadofski. Don't miss it. That'll

be fun too. And by the way, we do recommend if you're going

to join us online for retro Spectrum Radio. Please sign into the Facebook live

chat, but also open a second tab on your browser at WMNH radio dot

org and click listen live. Paul does mute the audio on the Facebook feed,

so we'd love to have you in the chat room to talk with us,

but open a second tab on your browser to listen to the show uninterrupted,

unimpeded in stereo. If you heard about this, it's a new thing

stereo, stereophonic or something. It's great. All the kids are talking about

it. It's very exciting. But no, but we do look forward to

to that. So that will be tonight from a to eleven pm in the

meantime, so we have a few minutes left on today's show. If you'd

like to get in with a call, six zo three two five six z

seven is the number six zo three two five zero six zoo seven. You

can also text me at six one seven nine one seven four four seven six.

I'm on social media at Matt Connerton. You can email me Matt at

Matt Connerton dot com. Then of course you can interact endo Pine in the

Facebook live chat. But the best thing to do so that we can hear

and enjoy your dulcet tones is to give us a call at six three two

five six Z seven six zo three two five zero six zo seven. By

the way, thank you to our friend Eric Pilcher for a great film review

Close Encounters of the Third Kind. It's a Eric's reviews are a very popular

segment on the show. We look forward to every Friday with those. I

also threw in a little bonus after that before we came back, I played

a Fast Car by Luke Combs, the cover of the Tracy Chapman song that

our friend Billy Painter was talking about when he called in, And there was

a little bit of controversy about that, but that seems to have blown over

and been replaced largely by the Jason Aldean controversy. But the Luke Combs controversy

is really much ado about nothing. I really I had not listened to his

version of that. I'm gonna tell you this, and this might get me

in a little trouble with some people, but I'm just gonna be honest with

you. I kind of like his version better now. Part of that might

be because I've just heard the original one hundred thousand times, because that was

a that was a monster hit when I was a kid. That was a

huge hit song. Um, So maybe part of it is just being tired

of hearing the Tracy Chapman version. But I really like I'm not a big

country guy, so I haven't heard much of Luke Combs. I've been aware

of him. I think he's I think he's young. I think he's relatively

new on the scene, so we say. But I really like his voice,

and I really like the way he does that song, and I do

appreciate and I was listening for it too, because Billy had pointed this out

when he puts it in when he when he called in rather U when uh,

when Luke Combs uh did the song, he was so respectful and so

faithful to the original in terms of the lyrics that he doesn't even change that

line about you know, working as a checkout girl. He kept the line

exactly the way it is. He doesn't change it to working as a checkout

boy, or working as a checkout guy or something, you know, he

kept he kept the lyrics exactly the way she wrote them, which very very

cool that he did that. So no, I like it. I like

it. I'm glad Billy mentioned that when he called Eric. Nana Rone says

in the chat room, good song, and Tom Lanchard says, I'm going

to have some birthday cake this weekend and maybe get a little wiser. I

don't know about that. Lol. Does birthday cake make you? Why?

Oh, I get it. It's your birthday and you'll be older and wiser.

Yes, well, happy birthday, Tom Blanchard. Apparently it is Tom's

birthday this weekend, So very good. I don't eat birthday cake anymore myself.

The last time I had a piece of birthday cake I talked about this

on the show is a couple of months ago. I hadn't eaten anything like

that for a really long time, with that much sugar. I never had

much of a sweet tooth anyway. Maybe growing up I did, but as

an adult I never have. So it's not like I eat a lot of

that stuff. But I had gone a really long time without eating anything like

that. And the last time I had a piece of birthday cake, the

stomach ache that I had after going a long time without having that all that

sugar, all that white sugar at once. Oh, it was so uncomfortable,

And I really think that that was my body's way of saying, hey,

dude, you don't eat this stuff anymore. What are you doing?

It was so I'm not trying to ruin your thoughts of birthday cake. Tom,

I'm sorry. I just it was so uncomfortable. I almost thought there

was something medically wrong with me. The best way I can describe it is

this, you know, the sensation you get when you have heartburn. It

was like having heartburn, but in my stomach. It wasn't a normal stomach

ache like we feel like, oh I ate too much or something like that.

No, it was like having heartburn. But in my stomach it was

alarming, frankly, and I just said, that's it no more for me.

Tom says, chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. See that does sound good,

Tom, that sounds delicious. And yet, and yet I would not

eat it myself, only because of what happened to me the last time.

Granted, the last time when I did have a piece of somebody's birthday cake,

it was vanilla. It was not chocolate. Maybe the chocolate would be

okay, I don't know. Scott Robinson says, what about pineapple upside down

cake? That's delicious I have to tell you, Scott, that sounds disgusting

to me. Actually, but pineapple, anything sounds disgusting to me. I

think that pineapple, I dare say, is the devil's food. What do

they put in devil's food cake? Is it pineapple? I have no idea,

but it wouldn't surprise me. Wouldn't surprise me at all. By the

way, lots of positive feedback in the chat room for Eric's film review.

Mike from Queen City Cabinetry says, of course, Erica reviewed Close Encounters of

the Third Kind of Mike from Queen City Cabinetry says absolutely my favorite movie,

and Melanie says great movie makes me crave mashed potatoes. Yes, that is

a famous scene in the film. Jeff Nyan joins us in the Chireman says,

Hawaiian pizza with extra pineapple is the best? Are you out of your

mind? Are you literally really from hell? That is the food of Satan?

You cannot eat that? That is horrible? I can't. I frankly,

Jeff, I like you. I think you're a wonderful person. But

I must tell you, in this particular moment, I am a gast.

A gast, I say oh, I'm gonna This has never happened in the

history of the program, and I don't think it would necessarily. I don't

think management would like this very much. But I might actually begin vomiting uncontrollably

right here on the air. Miriam Bannish says, there is no pineapple in

Devil's food cake lll okay, Well, you know, but you can understand

why I wondered if there might be, you know, the food of Satan

that pineapple, anything pineapple flavored, pineapple itself. I mean, I can't

think of a single pineapple flavored thing that I would find even remotely enjoyable.

You know how they have the multiverse theory, the idea that there's an infinite

number of multiverses and different version of all of us in these different multiverses.

Even if that's true, Even if that's true, I know this, Even

if there is an infinite number of other versions of me, none of them

like pineapple on anything. I know this. I don't even really believe in

the multiverse theory, but I'm just saying, if there is such a thing

or things, there is no version of me that likes pineapple. And even

if there was, it's not like we would ever know. You can't prove

that there's a version of me that like spineapple, And granted I can't prove

that there isn't. Tom Blanchard says, yeah, Matt, why do you

have to get cut off? Why do you have to cut off an inch

of peel to get those what? I don't I don't even know what you're

talking about, Tom, I don't what. I don't eat. I don't

eat that, So I don't even know what's what you're talking about about.

I don't. Yeah, I don't need anything where you have to, you

know, cut things off and peel things off, and oh, that's disgusting.

I like food that is low maintenance. You don't have to peel things.

You just eat it. You just you take the food and you just

eat it and enjoy it. That's why I like pizza. You don't have

to you don't even need utensils. You just pick up a piece of pizza,

you shove it in your mouth. No pineapple on the pizza. If

this pineapple on the pizza, I won't be eating the pizza at all.

But if there's no pineapple, I'm just gonna take that pizza. And no

olives either I don't like olives or onions. Onions on pizza is also discussing.

There's a lot of really strangely discussing things that people put on pizza.

Sometimes people ask me, They'll say, Matt, what do you recommend?

How do you keep your pizza delicious? I'll tell you how. It's very

very simple. When you're choosing your toppings for your pizza, you should only

choose delicious toppings. If you put delicious toppings on your pizza, your pizza

will be delicious. On the other hand, if you choose disgusting toppings for

your pizza, guess what happens to your pizza. Your pizza will also be

disgusting. Your pizza should be delicious. Pizza was meant to be delicious.

Make pizza delicious again. You get a hat that says that make pizza delicious

again. Miriam Mannish says, I think white chocolate is an abomination, but

we all have different taste buds. I agree white chocolate is weird. I

like chocolate again, I don't really eat it anymore. I don't really eat

any of that kind of stuff anymore. The only time I'll have chocolate at

this point is if I have a really bad headache and it just won't go

away. Sometimes chocolate can help a headache, but dark chocolate actually can be

somewhat healthy because it has antioxidants. And regular chocolate in moderation is fine,

but white chocolate is odd. I don't know. I don't know quite what

to make of it. It just tastes strange. It doesn't taste like anything

else I can think of. It's just I'm not disgusted by it. If

you put it on pizza, i'd be disgusted, but I'm not disgusted by

white chocolate. I can eat it, but I won't necessarily enjoy it.

It almost tastes like soap, Like like I've never eaten soap, but it's

what I kind of imagine. Well, of course i've tasted. You know,

we've all gotten soap or shampoo, at least in our mouths right when

we're taking a shower. It tastes like soap to me. That's what white

chocolate is like. Maybe it is supposed to be soap. Maybe is there

a like I'm gonna have to look up online later. Maybe you can wash

yourself with white chocolate. I don't know. Miriam says, delicious is in

the tongue of the beholder. Well, except when it comes to what I'm

talking about with the pizza, because also had somebody asked me once, Matt,

who put you in charge of deciding what should and should not be on

pizza? And I said, no, one put me in charge. This

is just how it is. This just happened. I just am the person,

you know. Sometimes it just happens that way. Dj C says,

Matt, you only like to shove pizza in your mouth and sing that's a

more. Yes, a classic moment on retro Spectrum Radio. I sang,

that's a more. Well, well, we don't, that's in the past.

We don't. We don't have food on the show. Um Miriam says

it's referring to white chocolate. It's sugar and fat without the yum. Yeah

it doesn't. It doesn't actually taste good, but you're still getting the sugar.

Yeah, no good, no good. Wow. We're almost out of

time already. It's ten minutes of six. Um Miriam says, I feel

like eating pineapple on pizza and protests, Now, while you can do that,

but I don't recommend it. Culinarily speaking, if that is a word.

Culinarily, I think it's a terrible idea, Miriamu. Tom Blanchard says,

you demand Matt, thank you, thank you. I appreciate being dumb

man. All right, hey, by the way, because we don't really

have time to get in anything else. One other thing about the Jason Aldean

thing that we spent a lot of time on both yesterday and today on the

show. Oh now I can't find it. That figures. So Stevens Blanchard,

who is in the band The Conniption Fits, and he was in a

band years ago called Motor Plant. And he's also a radio guy too.

He works at he works at a radio station in Boston. He had made

an interesting comment that I shared out. He made a comment on social media

regarding the Jason Aldean controversy last night, and I did share it out to

the Matt connors an unleashed Facebook page. And I'm trying to get back to

it now, and of course now it won't come up. The internet's being

a little slow, probably the weather. Here we go. I think I

think it's loading. I think it's let me close out these other windows maybe

to load a little quicker, since we're not gonna get to anything else anyway.

He posted something about the controversy being somewhat staged, saying that the label

actually paid for actually paid. Okay, here we go, here's the full

comment. I want to read this to you. This is what STEVENS.

Blanchard put on Facebook on the whole, Jason Aldean try that in a small

town thing. They arranged to have it quote unquote banned from CNT, Like

do they even play videos anyway? They knew, damn well, this song

would fall flat unless it's stirred controversy. Controversy that just isn't there, by

the way, so they paid to promote it to being banned. Everybody just

eats it up. Also, he didn't write the song, written by Neil

Thrasher, Kurt Allison, Tully Kennedy and Kelly Lovely, like a lot of

country hits, as he points out. Also, the hook of the guitar

solo was ripped right off of Michael Jackson's beat. It directly from the fingers

of Eddie Van Halen. It would be just another average country rock song if

it wasn't for the fake controversy well played. Also, the song has been

out since May. Nobody heard of it. Until it was quote unquote band

I call bs. Yeah, I've been hearing that too. They arranged to

have it banned because controversy does generate. By the way, that's all kind

of a longstanding thing. That type of thing is done, and it used

to be done a lot in radio. You create controversy around a song,

and doing so creates interests in the song. If you want to break a

record, as they say in the business, you know, have a hit

single. There's a lot of old like radio scams and schemes that are like

that, and of cour us now it's carried over into this if his theory

is correct, which I believe it is, because I've read that other places

too, that they arranged to have a band to try to stir up more

controversy. I'll give you an example of just a quick classic radio scam,

just so you know what I'm talking about, and any other radio people listening

we'll probably know what I'm talking about too. So back in the day,

I don't think anybody does this kind of thing anymore. There's really no point.

But there was a time when radio stations and major markets. I remember

those a station in Boston that did it once at least once they would say,

Okay, we've got a I think I feel like it was a Pearl

Jam song that was coming out. A radio station will say would say back

then, okay, we've got a new we've got a new single. There's

a new single coming out from this band. We'll say Pearl Jam because I

think that's the example I'm thinking of, but I can't remember all the details

new Pearl Jam singles coming out. We're not authorized to play it yet,

it hasn't officially been released to radio yet. But we're such a badass radio

station, we're gonna go ahead and play it even though we're not allowed to.

We'll suffer the consequences. We think you should hear it. And then

they would play the song, and then the record label would publicly be upset.

You know, this radio station broke the rules. That's not fair.

They're not supposed to do that. It was all a scam. Of course,

no radio station, no corporately owned radio station, is going to break

any rules. It was And by the way, I appreciate this kind of

thing, being a fan of Andy Kaufman, being a fan of professional wrestling,

I always think this kind of thing's kind of fun. But they would

do this where you know, everyone would play their part. So the radio

station plays the song quote unquote early. They get unquote unquote trouble for it

with the record label whose quote unquote really upset. But in reality, they're

all working together and it's just to create controversy around the song. So it

generates interest, gets people talking about it. Everybody comes out of it looking

good. The radio station looks great because they look like, Ooh, they're

the cool radio station. They break the rules ooh, and the the artist

and the record company they benefit because you know, it boosts the single.

So that kind of thing is not anything new in radio or in music television

CMT country music television. I'm sure. I'm sure they've had other instances of

this type of thing, and none of it's new. None of it's new

in the entertainment industry. You know, uh stunts where not everything as quite

as it seems that generate interests to create buzz. Alice Cooper did. They

did something like that Alice Cooper in the early days of his career when he

first signed with whatever record label he was on at the time. I think

it was for the album Constrictor they they had They had a truck, like

a box truck with a picture on the side of it of Alice Cooper nude

with the snake, you know, a big, a big snake, a

big boa constrictor, you know, covering up everything you can't show publicly,

but very provocative picture on the side of this box truck. And they had

the truck driving around New York City, I think it was New York.

But they intentionally stalled the truck in the middle of a busy intersection during rush

hour. The driver pretended that the truck had stalled out in the middle of

this busy intersection. So that draws all kinds of attention. There's news crews

showing up, the traffic coptors looking, you know, oh look look at

this. Look at this truck stalled out right in the middle of this busy

intersection at rush hour in this very busy city, and it generates all of

course, the truck hadn't actually stalled, but that generated all kinds of publicity

and buzz. I'm just saying that kind of thing goes on all the time.

So if that is true, and some of this controversy was sort of

self generating, that's not unusual. It's not unusual for controversy to be self

generating. Okay, we're gonna wrap up. I will be back tonight for

retro Spectrum Radio with Policy from eight to eleven PM. Join us, won't

you. It's gonna be a lot of fun. Always is always look forward

to my Friday nights here at WMNH. And if you miss any part of

today's show, it will be up in just a little bit at WMH radio

dot org and on my website Matt Connerton dot com. And don't forget,

of course, Saturday mornings here on WMNH. You've got classic episode of the

Morning Show from seven to nine am, followed by the best of Matt Connerton

Unleashed from nine to eleven AM here on Saturday. And then I'll be back

with this program on Monday. And I'll be back tonight for Retrospectrum Radio.

Oh and one other thing, the Hopknot, as they do on Saturday night.

Tomorrow night, they have live music. They have Ryan Gagney Hall playing

live from seven to nine pm at the Hopknot tomorrow night. And don't forget

those delicious scoremet pretzels and that ever burgeoning assortment of Kraft Beer. All Right,

we gotta go. I will talk to y'all a little bit later

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