Moving Pictures

POLITICAL COMEDIAN LEE CAMP’S NEW STAND-UP SPECIAL SENDS UP PARTISAN POLITICS

BY JOE NOLAN, FILM CRITIC

Comedian Lee Camp has made a name for himself in progressive political circles as the host of Redacted Tonight with Lee Camp, a political commentary program that’s aired on RT since June, 2014. Descended from both George Washington and Robert E. Lee — the comedian’s namesake — the Richmond, Va.-native presents himself as a kind of everyman bucking the system.

On his show and in his new stand-up concert, Not Allowed On American TV, Camp skewers the political/corporate/military complex in its entirety with nearly no regard for the shadow puppet games of partisan politics. The fact that Camp only says Donald Trump’s name a few times during his special will give you an idea why he stands-out in a field that’s turned late night talk show television into a wasteland where laughter goes to die with relentless “bad hair” and “orange” jokes since 2016. Camp says Trump, “is a catastrophe,” but, “he’s a symptom, not the cause.”

Camp starts strong sharing some of his personal background to set up a bit about Richmond’s Monument Avenue, which is lined with statuary displays celebrating Virginian Confederate Army heroes like Jefferson Davis and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson as well as Robert E. Lee. Camp cites the 1996 addition of a statue of Richmond native and black tennis star Arthur Ashe to set up his punch line. Lesser comedians might oversimplify the story with the kind of stark dualism that makes for easy, but not-very-impactful zingers. Camp chooses to highlight the unintended consequences and awkward resolutions of erecting the statue. He still scores laughs, but he also demonstrates how complex questions about history, race and cultural representation actually are in the South.

Camp does some of his best work in a George Carlin-esque interrogation of the kind of language used by propagandizing political pundits who give America’s regime-change wars a cerebral spin when they praise the country’s “advanced weaponry” — coloring the conversation about exporting violence with an air of technological enlightenment. Camp also skewers phrases like “secondary targets” — the innocent civilians who’ve done no wrong besides being unlucky enough to be deemed expendable by the American war machine. This rant also recalls comedian Bill Hicks’ unhinged tirades against the Persian Gulf War. Camp rails about American support of violent strongmen like Saddam Hussein, Muammar Gaddafi and Osama bin Laden before they’re villainized and scapegoated for more foreign targeting by American imperial violence

But it’s not all rage and ranting. Camp also celebrates the progress evinced in changing popular opinions that find most Americans supporting gay marriage and the legalization of cannabis.

“That changed quickly,” says Camp. “When I was a kid they were like ‘Oh my god! Marijuana rots your brain and turns your kids into zombies who try to eat you in their sleep.’” But he also acknowledges that waking up to critical thinking and loosening oneself from the bonds of mainstream consumer propaganda can be a complicated path strewn with dead ends and obscured by the purposeful misdirection of unrelenting media messaging to eat, drink, and buy more. Camp points out the absurdity of a headline promising to sort the 14 healthiest options available at fast food restaurants.

“If you’re going skydiving, and you pull the chute and noth

ing happens, at that point, the healthiest choice is to try and hit a car rather than hit the ground directly.”

He points to cannabis to illuminate the nonsensical divisions we create between illegal drugs and prescription medicine, and attacks both law enforcement’s drug war policies and the pharmaceutical industry’s role in the opioid crisis in the process.

“One person’s marijuana is a suburban soccer mom’s Ambienand-white-wine mixer, which she calls Mommy’s Happy Time Juice,” scoffs Camp.

Watch Not Allowed on American TV for free at www.leecamp.com

Joe Nolan is a critic, columnist and performing singer/songwriter based in East Nashville. Find out more about his projects at www.joenolan.com.

Street Music

STORIED HOMELESS ALBUM PROJECT DROPS DIGITAL DEBUT

BY JOE NOLAN

What do you get when you cross a handful of homeless and formerly homeless songwriters and a selection of independent Nashville music artists? Streets of Music City is a new digital album release resulting from this unique collaboration, which spotlights the musical talent found in the people who live, create and perform on Nashville’s streets.

The Streets of Music City project began years ago, but the large cast of contributors and various technical issues extended the production time. Now the COVID-19 crisis and social distancing has resulted in the decision to release the project as-is for digital streaming and downloading. Once social distancing is relaxed one final song will be added to the project and a physical CD package will offer the entire collection.

Streets of Music City has been spearheaded by Richard Aberdeen, whose Freedom Tracks Records is coordinating the recording and release. Aberdeen says the album is a labor of love and not a for-profit project.

“We as a label have invested far more than we expect in return regarding this project and as such, there is no intention to profit off of the backs of the homeless and poor,” says Aberdeen. “Rather, the intention is to bring the plight of the homeless and poor, who as one of the songs says, are often treated as ‘invisible,’ more into general public awareness, hopefully inspiring others to help.”

Razzy Bailey produced the project and the arrangements vary from country-fried hymns to gospel stompers to reggae mellow-downs. “Nowhere We Can Hide” was written by former Contributor vendor Christopher Scott Fieselman and it features one of the best vocals on the project from Guy Harden.

Amy Jean Kenna’s “Unknown Soldiers” is performed by Charlie Baker. The song is an elegy for our neighbors who have lost their lives facing the hardships found living on Nashville’s streets. All the songs in the collection — like many of the stories in this paper — provide perspectives about homelessness in Nashville from the men and women who know it best.

The tracks will all be available for free to stream and download on various platforms, but you can get them now at the Freedom Tracks website.