Idaho

I was still in high school when I met a girl from Idaho and we flirted a bit and then she went back to Idaho.
She sent me a letter. There was a lipstick kiss on the envelope.I opened it and little red paper hearts spilled out. The letter was sprayed with strong perfume which hit my nose and immediately made me vomit up my oatmeal. I had to clean up oatmeal vomit with little red hearts in it. I never read the letter, I just had to get it away from me as quickly as possible.
So, um, sorry girl from Idaho. I really did like you.

Her Safeword Was Goodbye

I do this joke on my latest album, Atheist Christmas.
I told it last week at The Punch Line in Sacramento, and I tagged it with, "If any of you know a few chords on the guitar and some words that rhyme with goodbye, hit me up after the show. We could have a hit."

Well, much to my delight, an audience member, Joshua Goodman actually took me up on this and sent me this original song based on my joke:


Lyrics:
I met Susie Mae last summer down at the rodeo.
I prayed to baby Jesus asking how far things would go.
She went to church on Sundays but she sinned the other six.
If only birth control came with that silver crucifix.
We had a laugh and we had a bite and then I walked her home.
I asked her why she had a pair of naked garden gnomes.
Don't mind that she said and then she led me to her room.
She winked and whispered in my ear we'll all be naked soon.

Susie Mae she broke my heart. Susie Mae made me cry. I wonder now how many other broken hearted guys.
Susie Mae she left me. When people ask me why, I tell them that her safeword was goodbye.

She had some toys I can't describe, I'm not sure what they did.
She tied me up in handcuffs made me act just like a kid.
The things she made me do I can't explain some memories repress.
But I won't forget how she looked in that latex dress

Susie Mae she broke my heart. Susie Mae made me cry. I wonder now how many other broken hearted guys.
Susie Mae she left me. When people ask me why, I tell them that her safeword was goodbye.

Atheist Christmas, Out Now

Watch on Amazon, iTunes, or on DVD, and hear it too (The CD is from a different show taped two nights later with a few extra jokes.) Enjoy!

Atheist Christmas,  is for sale.

The physical product features both the DVD and CD.
Buy it here: http://amzn.to/1wMmge2

For the digital versions:
Audio on iTunes: http://bit.ly/1tQPlYz
Video on Amazon: http://amzn.to/1pzNl70
Audio on Amazon: http://amzn.to/1pxj6xN

Click to enlarge, and hear what people are saying

...and remember I have three other albums out on iTunes, Amazon, and at KLJShop.com. THANKS!

You Can Pre-Order Atheist Christmas Now!

UPDATE: Atheist Christmas,  is for sale.

The physical product features both the DVD AND the CD, I promise.
It got listed weird, which we're trying to fix, but if you look it says "Number of Discs: 2". That 2nd disc is the DVD.
Buy it here: http://amzn.to/1wMmge2

For the digital versions:
Video on Amazon: http://amzn.to/1pzNl70
Audio on Amazon: http://amzn.to/1pxj6xN
Audio on iTunes: http://bit.ly/1tQPlYz

...and remember I have three other albums out on iTunes, Amazon, and at KLJShop.com. THANKS!

Johnny Taylor "Tangled Up In Plaid"

I have a huge bias here, as Johnny Taylor is one of my best friends, but we sought each other out to work together and then became friends because we liked each other's comedy, and Johnny's first album captures what it is that I love about his stand up.

His slow, steady delivery, amazing story telling, and dark sensibilities are all present. It's confidence to the point of arrogance the way he refuses to "sell" the jokes. He puts 'em out there patiently, and lets the writing get whatever laugh it's gonna get. The laughs come through.

The one point where a particularly dark joke doesn't get a laugh from the crowd gets one from the comic as he relishes in the shocked silence. If you're not familiar with Johnny Taylor's comedy, please don't think I'm describing a "shock" comic, not at all. Johnny's shocks come from an honest and sincere place where he doesn't steer clear of them rather than mining them for cheap thrills. He is the real deal.

I'm excited that this is coming out on Sept 23rd from Stand Up! Records.

My First Viking Funeral

My daughter keeps day pets. Anything she can catch we let her keep for a day and then she lets them go again. She felt terrible when her centipede didn't make it to the release party and asked if she could give her a viking funeral. My wife helped make it so. I came home on my lunch break to attend my first viking funeral.

The Deceased

The Viking Ship (with leaves for fuel)

The Ocean

My Daughter Says a Few Words

Setting Sail

Mama Supplies The Flaming Arrows

The Boat Sinks (with a bit of help)

Fighting With The Parking Tyrant at The State Fair

Parking lot guy at Cal Expo: Sorry, cash only.

Me: Oh, um, I don't think I have cash.

Guy: You can go out the first exit and find an ATM. Come back, have fun.

Me: Oh, just a minute, I have quarters.

Guy: You can't pay in quarters.

Me: What!? Sure I can. This is legal tender.

Guy: No. I'm not gonna take your quarters.

Me: Yes you are. I'm going to pay ten dollars in quarters, and then I'm going to go park.

Guy: Sir, there are people behind you in line. I'm not going to make them wait while you count out ten dollars in quarters. Go to an ATM, come back, have fun.

Me: You're spending more time arguing with me than it would have taken to count the quarters.

Guy: I'm not taking the quarters.

Me: Yes you are. (And I take my keys out and set them on the passenger seat.) You go ahead and contact your manager, the cops, tow company, whatever you have to do to move my car. I'll wait here. Or you can just take my fucking quarters.

Guy: ... Give me the quarters.

It took about a minute to count ten piles of four quarters each. He handed me my parking pass and said again, less cheerfully, "Have fun."

Is your roommate gay?

The following is an actual phone conversation that took place in the early 90s:

My landlord Mike: Keith, is your roommate gay?
Me: Yeah, Mike.
Mike: Why do you wanna live with a gay guy?
Me: I like the swishy way he always pays his rent on time.
Mike: Well the guys next door (Mike rented the house next to ours to a fraternity) said that he was on your back porch looking at their dicks.
Me: Oh yeah? Well, I'll look into that.
Mike: Please do. That's not okay.
Me: Right. One quick question though; What were their dicks doing out on the back porch? Could you find that out for me?
Mike: ... Make sure to get the rent check in on time.
CLICK

Maxine The Vampire Slayer

They were running every test known to man on my four year old daughter Max, because they do that with the wee ones, just to stay ahead of anything that might be going screwy. They needed a good amount of blood and when you're tiny you don't give too much blood at once. So, we arranged three visits in three days, with a sticker and a lollipop and the end of each.

Max did pretty well on visit one, sitting on mommy's lap. Visit two was a bit more of a fight. Visit three she was over it and resisted hard.

When the phlebotomist stuck the needle in her right arm and wasn't able to get any blood they announced they'd have to switch arms. Well Max wasn't having it. "YOU SAID THREE! YOU SAID THREE TIMES NOT FOUR!" and of course she was right. But her parents, traitors that we are, said "Come on Max, we're already here, lets get it done and you won't have to come back."

My wife had Max on her lap, was holding both of her hands, and had a leg wrapped around the front blocking Max's feet. The kid was secured like Hannibal Lecter. Unfortunately, she is also as crafty. One phlebotomist having already failed moved aside and another leaned in to try and draw the blood. She leaned over and my sweet daughter saw her opportunity; she headbutted the lab-coat clad lady in the face. Lab-coat had seen it coming and pulled back avoiding any real damage. I said, "Max, NO!" Ignoring me completely Max looked her enemy in the eye and said very clearly, "I will punch you in the face!" and when the vampire went back to trying to place the needle, Max said, "If you put that needle in my arm I will punch it out!"

At the time I was shocked and worried, but the more I thought about the less concerned I was. It was an extreme situation. They HAD in fact made a deal and reneged on it, and it's nice to know my kid can take care of herself. That headbutt was kind of beautiful really.

To put it more succinctly, yes, my daughter did headbutt a phlebotomist, but the fiend was trying to stab her!

A Visit From Jehovah's Witnesses

My wife politely let the two Jehovah's Witness ladies at our door know that we're atheists and then she invited them in because it was 103 out.

When they asked whose picture was on the wall my 4 year old daughter Max very matter-of-factly told them, "That's Louis Armstrong. He's not as good as my trumpet playing hero Dizzy Gillespie." Then she taught them all about dragons and dragon related accessories.

A Note From A Mother of An Angel

Some time ago a woman wrote me to very politely and very matter of factly let me know that I was mistaken, God is real, and we'll be united with our loved ones in heaven.

I clicked on her profile and saw that she was very active in Mothers of Angels groups. These are groups for people who've lost a child.

I felt a cringe and an ache seeing that they have special decals they put on their cars so the sticker of a mom, dad, and children can also reflect children who have died represented by an angel with halo and wings.
She had poems and remembrances all over her timeline memorializing her angel.

I wrote her back and said "Thank you very much for the information and concern."

SESSION, A Jazz and Comedy Jam

As the audience took their seats at San Francisco's Punch Line local bass man, Woody Camaro (AKA Andy Woodhouse) was already on stage setting the mood for the evening. As the lights came down, four comedians joined the musicians on stage and for the next 90 minutes jokes, short stories, and from the hip interactions between the funny folks and the musicians flowed forth. There were magic moments where it all hit together perfectly in way that could not have been pre-planned and can not be recreated.

Magic moments are sure to happen when we bring the show to the Sacramento Punch Line (2100 Arden Way, Sacramento, CA 95825) on July 23, 2014 at 8pm. $15 cover, 18 and over. Questions, interview requests, offers to share coffee, vegan baked goods or pictures of baby goats please call (310) 692-4495.

Featured performers:

Keith Lowell Jensen will release Atheist Christmas, his 4th hour long comedy special this year on Stand Up! Records. He has developed an international following online where he shares personal stories, absurd one liners, and lefty political/topical material.
He loves jazz but has failed, despite numerous efforts to learn to play an instrument. This show is his way of filling a desperate need to do something with the feeling he gets when listening to Monk, Mingus, Ellington, Pops, Dizzy, Bird, (this list will stop here, but could go on and on)

Alfonso Portela is well known and loved in music and comedy circles. He was a drummer, performer writer with the popular cabaret show Graham-A-Rama, and he plays with gypsy band, Red Skunk. Alfonso will serve as our bandleader but that won't stop him from grabbing the mic and doing some jokes from behind his drum set like a comedic Phil Collins but with more hair.






Lance Woods is one of the hottest, most sought after young comedians working today! His high-energy style, unique storytelling ability and clever punchlines give him universal appeal. He has performed at some of the top venues across the country as well as for U.S. Marine Corp troops in Japan. Lance Woods is truly a comic to watch!


Sacramento's Johnny Taylor uses sharp wit, and off-beat sensibilities to communicate his sometimes tragic life experiences in a hilarious way.

A dynamic performer, Johnny has established a reputation for displaying a wide range of comedic styles.

He has opened for some of the biggest names in stand-up comedy, including Robin Williams, Bobcat Goldthwait, Brian Posehn, Wayne Federman, and more.

Johnny is a regular at every major comedy club in Northern California, including the San Francisco Punch Line, Sacramento Punch Line, Cobb's Comedy Club, and 142 Throckmorton Theater, and was recently featured on Comedytime.TV.

Matt Lieb is a comedian, writer, actor and street musician/Bone Thugs-N-Harmony cover band. He was named “one of my all-time favorite Bay Area performers” by the award-winning SF blog Courting Comedy and described as “extremely talented, charmingly dark and genuinely pleasant.”

He won 2nd place at the 2004 KZSC Comedy Competition, but the guy who won 1st place no longer does comedy so Matt basically won 1st place. He also won 1st place at the 2013 Rooster-T-Feathers Comedy Competition, which was very validating for him.

Matt Lieb has opened for many legendary performers including W. Kamau Bell, Ryan Papazian, Jeff Anaya, and 3rd Eye Blind. He is also Glenn Danzig’s neighbor and Emmy-winner Camryn Manheim is a family friend.

He writes for Filmdrunk. He has also performed at the Los Angeles Comedy Festival, the Santa Cruz fringe festival, and the S.H.I.T.S & Giggles Comedy Festival in Arcata, California.

He has 960 followers on twitter. If you play your cards right, you could be 961.

Alex Reiff is a beloved bass man from Davis who studied Music/Jazz Studies at Sacramento State. When he's not jamming with comedians he can found on stage with the Jason Galbraith Quartet.

Surprise comedian drop ins are a sure thing.

I was almost REALLY creepy

Freshman year of high school. I thought I'd be hip moving to the small town of Roseville, CA from Corona, CA. I mean, Corona was closer to LA, so it was pretty much a guarantee that I'd be the coolest thing Roseville ever saw right?

Here's the thing; The kids in Roseville didn't know they weren't hip. That's the way hip works. And instead of adoration and admiration I got a lot of, "Are you wearing army boots? Are you a skinhead? I didn't even know there were gay skinheads. Ha ha, faggit." My favorite Overheard In Roseville quote from that time is "New Wave girls are girls who are already ugly so it doesn't matter if they look weird." I was in hell.

It took awhile to make friends and when I did it was with the biggest geeks in school, and this is before geek was chic. These guys were the best though and I cherish the memory of getting muddy playing really intense games of capture the flag in the creek, where my boots seemed perfectly appropriate, helping Mike with his model railroad set up, and laughing our asses off watching Late Night With David Letterman during sleep overs. I'd resisted for years, but it turned out geek suited me.

One of the members of the geek corps happened upon a porn tape. Pre-internet a porn tape was just about the greatest gift the universe could bestow upon a high school freshman. We all gathered at a latch key kid's house and gave it a screening. It was Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs. No clever name, I think they decided the original was dirty enough. We watched one scene. It involved a feather duster, no dwarfs, it was Snow's solo in the spotlight and it was glorious. We'd have given it a standing ovation but none of us felt comfortable standing.

Dave noticed that the back of the box advertised a deal to get a video a month on the cheap mailed right to us. We decided we'd pitch in and get a PO Box, open a checking account, and sign on up. This was exciting. This was some grown up shit. We started picking titles, discussing whose house was available at what time for screening parties. We could even alternate who got to have the tapes at home with 'em. Then Mike said, “Yeah! It'll be a porn club!”

That phrase sparked something in my brain. I had one of those “Moments of clarity” I've heard so much about. Looking at my lust filled friends I said, “Hey guys, I'm pretty sure that if we do this, we'll officially be really creepy.”

And the realization spread over them. We all said quick awkward goodbyes, headed our separate ways, and never mentioned the porn club again.

This White Guys Thoughts On Suey Park and #CancelColbert

My gut reaction was to find #CancelColbert ridiculous.

Then, as I read more I moved on to, "Oh, it was a misunderstanding. The joke was heard out of context."

While many people of color defended Colbert, there were enough condemning the joke, even after the context was clear, that I had the choice to either consider the complaint further or assume that THAT large a number of people of color either didn't understand satire and/or were hysterical and knee jerk and completely irrational. This seemed a poor assumption to make.

And while I considered Colbert's joke, I don't mean that I considered whether or not he should be cancelled (never Park's real goal) or whether he was intentionally being racist (I have no doubt his intent was the opposite) but wether it was a good joke or not, whether this particular joke might have been a miss.

This discussion went on in my brain. I may have talked with a few friends about it, but I did so privately. What I didn't do, was to immediately publicly condemn Suey Park and everyone else supporting #CancelColbert.

It seems to me that if an Asian woman finds a joke about racism against Asians (and about racism against Native Americans once context is added) offensive, the white guy should probably listen to her carefully and give her argument a lot of thought. The white guy should maybe not be SO quick to assume he knows more about racism than she does and should not be so quick to assume that she doesn't comprehend or that she is hysterical and irrational. When many other people of color feel the same, this is magnified. I feel like a white guy navigating discussion of racism might want to be slower to respond, more eager to listen, less cocky.

I am still not sure exactly where I stand, but it has affected the way I'll move forward with comedy about race. I feel like it will affect the way Colbert will move forward as well. What I do know is that whether I fully agree with Suey Park or not, the interviews I've heard and read that have actually allowed her to speak show us a very intelligent and thoughtful person. I have no doubt she understands satire and I don't have to necessarily agree with her to be glad that she is willing to push this conversation even against a huge effort on the part of many who rather than enter the conversation immediately seek to end it, often doing so with insults, threats, and other bullying. I am still a fan of Steven Colbert. I am now also a fan of Suey Park.

I hope that this incident strengthens the push against racist sports mascots. Imagine if the amount of energy that went into condemning Suey Park went into condemning the Redskins name and mascot, something I think Colbert and Park would both like to see come out of this.

4 Up, Round 1

It's simple really.
Four comics, each makes a joke, and each comments on the others' jokes.
Graphics by Torch Davison

Aparna Nanchurla's Joke

Johnny Taylor's Joke

Keith Lowell Jensen's Joke

(KLJ's Pic by Amy Scott)

 Myq Kaplan's Joke

(Myq's picture was shot by Mindy Tucker) 

Don Geronimo, some guy with a podcast

I said that Don G and I crossed paths as he was on his way down. Then he got canned in Sacramento. He scrambled and got another gig quickly, in DC. He got canned from that one in record time. His brand of mindless negativity is done. Now he has a podcast. Dang, decided to skip satellite and go straight to a subscriber based podcast. Far be it for me to take delight in another's failing... HA HA HA, I'm SO taking delight in watching this dudes fail.

Why I'm Not A Libertarian

My libertarian friends like to present themselves as the peace-niks, abhorring the violence of the tax man.

And I do see this violence. I see that they have no choice but to pay their taxes or people with guns will seize their property and/or incarcerate them.

I also see the violence strewn throughout human history of people hording resources and living lavishly while the masses starve, regardless of how hard they work. This phenomenon did not stop with modern capitalism, far from it. If it had, the “violent and oppressive” taxation, and wage and safety regulations would never have been necessary. People fought and died for these protections because they were so desperately needed.

So, given the choice between these two forms of violence, I see a clear choice.

Oddly enough this choice benefits those oppressed tax payers as well, as their position at the top is never more stable than when those at the bottom are well fed and cared for. 

I must ask; why is it okay to use force to stop us from murdering each other but not to stop us from starving each other?  

That said, I believe this first type violence that the libertarian wishes to avoid is in fact a fiction. The money they are made to pay tax on is not theirs. Do they really think it is? Would they support the right to pile it up and burn it? Money is produced by us, collectively, and it's value honored by us, all of us, collectively. It is a key ingredient in a system of resource distribution. They do not strike me as being forced to participate in this system against their will. They participate gleefully and masterfully benefiting from it more than anyone. They reap it's benefits, benefits never available so readily in any other system in human history and then they complain when they have to pay back into that same system and they call it violence. To put it another way, if you're making enough to be taxed, you're making more than has ever been possible for non aristocrats in any non-taxed system.

Do not be mistaken that I am stereotyping all libertarian's as excessively wealthy. The above character could be any tax payer. I am not a property owner, few people would consider me wealthy, but I am a tax payer and I'm proud to support the social safety net. 

I do have two friends who are opposed to paying taxes because they disagree with the American military industrial complex (as do I), but they honestly opt out. They earn so little income the tax man wants nothing from them. They live in a one bedroom apartment. They produce amazing low budget films, paintings, and rock and roll recordings. They educate homeless kids. Their choice and protest strikes me as sincere and in stark contrast to the libertarian complaining that their home or vehicles could be taken if they choose not to pay their taxes.

Another popular libertarian canard is the lazy, freeloading welfare recipient. The real leisure class somehow offends them not a bit but the statistical anomaly that is the welfare cheat is exaggerated to represent a whole class of people. 

A very important person to me got to spend her childhood not being homeless and malnourished because her mother had access to social programs. This mother may have made bad decisions at a young age or may have just had terrible luck, or perhaps a bit of each. Social programs allowed her to continue to feed her kids, all four of whom are now self sufficient adults, while allowing her to go to school and eventually become an amazing special education teacher who benefited our society greatly, while also earning a living and paying back into the system that caught her when she slipped and fell. Sorry if I end on a personal and emotional appeal but it is personal. The people who would face starvation, and violent non-gated communities, and a lack of opportunities are the people I love and interact with everyday, and one of those people is me. Another of those people is my daughter. It is personal. 

But you know I wouldn't leave you wanting. Here are some lovely numbers for you: 

In 2012 more than 47.8 percent of families receiving food stamp were working (the highest ever), and only 13.2 percent were welfare recipients with no working adults, according to the US Department of Agriculture.

The USDA reported that, "76% of SNAP households included a child, an elderly person, or a disabled person. These vulnerable households receive 83% of all SNAP benefits."

Of our uninsured families, 78 percent have at least one working person in the family and 62 percent have one or more individuals working full time.

Sources: http://www.offthechartsblog.org/five-things-you-probably-dont-know-about-food-stamps/

http://feedingamerica.org/how-we-fight-hunger/programs-and-services/public-assistance-programs/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program/snap-myths-realities.aspx

I hate TV

I do.

I know it's the biggest hipster/snob cliche to say I don't own a TV, but I don't, though I may as well because my home is stocked with two desk top computers, two tablets and one laptop all of which can bring us pretty much every show around.

I love All In The Family, The Simpsons,Star Trek TNG, and I'd probably love Breaking Bad and Downton Abby if I'd give them a chance but they want too much of my time. I can watch a movie. I can give you 2 hours to entertain me. Very rarely do I feel something is good enough to escape into for more time than that before it becomes more about the escape and less about the entertainment.

It sounds like we live in a golden age of television. I'm hearing about all the great shows. Maybe I'll watch 'em someday if I'm stuck in a hospital. But for now I refuse to give up time that I could spend doing something interactive, trying to learn how to play the guitar, or even watching a great movie, and another great movie, or spending time with my loved ones. And that's where the terrible irony is. I lose time with my loved ones because they watch TV, something I have so little interest in sharing with them.

I try. I watched a few episodes of House of Cards. Brilliant. Would have made a great movie. Maybe even a couple movies. I watched Sherlock. Great acting. Funny silly plot lines. By the 3rd episode I was feeling over it. I watched LOST all the way through and I want to kick JJ Abrams in the shins for that. I watched Dexter. Jesus. Really well acted and well written but I just can't spend that much time putting violence in my head. There is enough of that on the news.

Even Facebook, that epic time-suck, is at least putting me in touch with real people who touch my life and whose lives I touch. People I can hug, and know and talk back to.

When I was younger it wasn't a big deal. We all rejected TV and spent our time at the river, or making out, or listening to music, or exploring new foods because life was so exciting and we'd just been given the reigns to our own! But I guess we got bored of all that and now I am feeling increasingly lonely as even my artsy fartsy friends spend more and more time watching and discussing the latest must see TV.

And I still don't know how to play the guitar.

Is the old Jack hiding in the Vatican?

Not everyone remembers this but Jack from the Jack in The Box showed up to save the company which almost died of e-coli.

When I was a kid you'd go to a Jack in The Box drive-thru and you'd actually talk into a clown head to order. They had a big ad campaign when they updated their image and ditched the clown, commercials of the clown being blown up with dynamite and such.

Then, in the early 90s three kids died of e-coli linked back to tainted meat served by Jack in The Box. It hit the company hard as you can imagine. Dead kids equals terrible PR. Sales plummeted and stock value crashed. They were in trouble.

In 1994 Jack came back in the very original and often controversial (Jack blowing up a room full of the suits who'd gotten rid of him) commercials and the public loved it. This new Jack with the normal human body and ridiculous head was a hit. And we forgot all about the e-coli and the dead kids.

And that, is how is I feel about the new Pope.

Solid

I work in a pretty masculine industry. My boss is a pretty manly guy.

When my ulcerative colitis was at it's worse and I'd dropped a crazy amount of weight and looked like death he took notice. He asked how it started and I said that I went to the doctor after not having a solid shit for over a month.

As I tried various treatments and medications he showed his concern in his own manly way.

I'd go into the bathroom and when I came out I'd see him standing nearby.
"Solid?" he'd ask.
I'd shake my head, no.
He'd give me a "Sorry buddy." and we'd go on with our workday.

Then, one day, I came out of the john and he said, hopefully, "Solid?"
I proudly nodded my head, affirmative.
He high fived me.
And throughout the day, whenever there was a quite moment I'd hear him cheer from his office, "SOLID!"

On The Macklemore Witch Hunt:

I don't think he stole the song Thiftshop. The similarities to the song he supposedly cribbed aren't that strong. (Google it if you don't know what I'm talking about.)

I think its a hard sell to say that being white is an advantage in hip-hop. White artists having that level of success in hip hop is still an anomaly outside of ICP circles. (Like crop circles but scarier.)

I don't think his lyrics about worrying that he was gay as a kid represent a lyrical #NoHomo but rather an honest telling of his personal experiences with homophobia, his own. Critics are leaving out the lines "Bunch of stereotypes all in my head." "A preconceived idea of what it all meant".

I don't think saying "I'd think that hip hop hated me" is him saying everyone in hip hip but him is homophobic. I think that's a huge stretch and skips the line "Have you read the YouTube comments lately?"

There are lyrics in Same Love and Thriftshop that I rejoice at hearing on mainstream radio. Both songs had some great things to say and said them to a big audience that needed to hear them.

I find it funny that he's accused of exploiting the momentum of the marriage equality movement. Right, because all those artists have been scoring all them hits doing hip hop tunes about marriage equality. It was a no-brainer. (/Sarcasm)

Could he have handled the awards thing better? Yeah. He could've been a fucking hero. I appreciate when people are heroic. I don't think "You were less than heroic!" is enough of a slight to justify much of the vitriol I've seen aimed his way.

I honestly don't know how the Grammies work. But lets not pretend that this isn't subjective. Did he have the best hip hop/rap album of the year. Probably not. Did the winners in any other category have the best whatever album of the year? Ever? Usually not, with occasional delightful surprises IN MY SUBJECTIVE OPINION! Of course I realize that institutional racism has historically played a role in who gets recognized, continues to play a role, and that is where I think his opportunity to be a hero was missed.

I think he's a good guy, who says some good things, and that his sudden rapid acceleration into HUGE success is probably a bit daunting. I think he's trying, and doing pretty well more often than not.

Not sure if this matters or not, but I'm not writing this as a huge fan of his music. I like Thrift Shop, a fun song that does a great job of mocking the label/status bullshit. I like the words and message of Same Love. I don't actually listen to him often at all.