When Taylor Swift first arrived with her hit, "Tim McGraw," I heard her on the radio describing why she gave Tim McGraw (in Single-Man Envy Land we call him "Mr. Faith Hill") such a shout-out, and she said something like, "For people my age, Tim McGraw is a legend." I laughed at that, no disrespect to Tim. His highs are really high; I love the guy; he knows himself, and knows his audience. I always thought that what I'd heard of his albums (most of them) was a bit inconsistent. This dude is a singles artist to me, and that's not a slur. But then I thought about it, the phrase, "knows himself, and knows his audience." Maybe that's what a music legend is: he or she understands what he/she brings to the table, and doesn't do anything contrary to those shared musical experiences. This is my favorite Tim McGraw song. [Geez, you're haunted by ghosts.--ed.] Very likely. But seriously, the reason I love this tune is that it explains why I love R&B and country in the same song. Tim has sung approvingly of bending genres before, and even accomplished it a time or two. Perhaps my other favorite is this one. It's so packed with metaphors and similes that you say, "Hmmm, I gotta think about that one." [Every song you like is about women.--ed.] Hey, any idiot who's ever written a song will tell you: love songs are the easiest to write. [Noone says that but you.--ed.] OK. The reason I mention all this is that I woke up with "She's My Kind Of Rain" in my head. I don't know why. Next thought: "What a bloody great song." Thought After That: "Why didn't I write that?" [Because you don't play any instruments, and can barely carry a tune.--ed.] I don't sing that bad. There are worse with record contracts, I reckon.
Update: I read the whole thing. I’m sorry, but what a weirdo. I thought you [Tom Darrow, of Denver, CO] made a trenchant case for why lockdowns are bad, and I definitely appreciated it. But a graduation speech is *not* the place for that. Secondly, this is an august event. It always is. I would never address the President of the United States in this manner. Never. Even the previous president, though he deserves it, if anyone does. Thirdly, the affirmations of Catholic identity should be more general. He has no authority to propound with specificity on all matters of great consequence. It has all the hallmarks of a culture war broadside, and again, a layman shouldn’t speak like this. The respect and reverence due the clergy is *always due,* even if they are weak, and outright wrong. We just don’t brush them aside like corrupt Mafia dons, to make a point. Fourthly, I don’t know where anyone gets the idea that the TLM is how God demands to be worshipped. The Church doesn’t teach that. ...
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