Author: tim

Okay, it’s time to get a little bit serious around here. Alejandro Escovedo has some health problems and needs your help.

“Following a show in Phoenix on April 26, 2003, acclaimed singer-songwriter and playwright Alejandro Escovedo collapsed and was hospitalized due to complications from Hepatitis C.”

He is currently recovering and undergoing treatment at his home, but his health bills are (believe it or not) staggering. Like many, many musicians, Alejandro does not have health insurance. A lot of people are giving money to help him out and you should too.

Take a moment to think about all of the musicians in America who struggle financially for years of their lives in order to make the art that they (and you) love so much. It pisses me off that there is ZERO support from our government for these people. Arts funding in America is a joke. Every year, funding is cut more and more and artists are discouraged from trying to do what they love.

When I was touring in Holland recently with Magnapop, we played with a Dutch band called Caesar. This band is doing pretty well in their country. They were number one on the independent music charts in Holland (only to be knocked out by the White Stripes), had a sponsorship deal with Converse, and were touring their asses off. Each member of this 3-piece band had part-time jobs to help with their rent. But, they also had assistance from the Dutch government. It’s a 3-year program and they have to fill out a lot of paperwork and jump through some hoops, but I thought that was amazing. They receive discounts on their rent (half price!) and other benefits just because they are musicians. And, of course, health care is not an issue for them, since health care in Holland is nationalized.

Contrast that with America where the arts are looked down upon by our government in terms of financial support and there are national scandals because some guy took some homoerotic photos with the government’s money. Big fucking deal. Let me tell you something. Art is integral to culture and culture is being slowly squeezed to death by our government. Artists need support and if our government isn’t going to give it to them, it looks like it will have to come down to the private citizen.

That’s why I just gave Alejandro Escovedo $30 of my hard-earned money.

Will someone with some inside knowledge explain to me what happened to Jeff Mangum? He put out two brilliant Neutral Milk Hotel albums and then pretty much disappeared. Last I heard, he was a DJ at some college station in New York.

I just listened to On Avery Island on the way to work and, once again, was blown away. Such poetic, interesting music. Me likey.