Kansas City Playlist: Use Caution Amid Season Of Charity

Tonight we take a quick moment to offer kind souls a bit of unsolicited advice and a simple word of caution.

Despite the holiday season of niceness both real and imagined . . . Sometimes people down on their luck have bigger problems than a bowl of soup or some kindness can fix. And it's important to be careful when dealing with the less fortunate.

Don't worry . .  .We're not giving this life lesson from on high . . . It's a bit embarrassing to admit that TKC is often mistaken for a dangerous hobo . . . Free cups of coffee have been garnered from this confusion along with other fun encounters. This might be a good example: During this holiday season we keep running into a very curvy pulchritudinous box store clerk who is always careful to avoid eye-contact and skitters away whenever we walk down her aisle . . . It's cool because we don't want to be creepy and understand that, sadly, women always need to remain vigilant about their safety BUT it's still kinda funny that sometimes public reaction to TKC is akin to the final scenes of King Kong wherein the noble beast is turned loose on the streets . . . Luckily . . . All of this makes us EVEN MORE GRATEFUL for much more daring big booty women who enjoy our plucky, snarky, goofy charm despite an admittedly hostile appearance . . . But I digress . . .

The point here . . . As always . . . Is that things aren't always what they seem and this time of year there are good intentions that sometimes put people at risk of running into problems whilst trying to help desperate people . . . 

Locally . . . Here's a look at a controversial yet well-meaning effort . . .

"Shelter KC also offers rooms and programs for homeless people with medical problems, including mental illness. But, to expand some of these programs, it needs more space.

"The organization is hoping to break ground on that expansion in March, however, it still needs to raise several hundreds of thousands of dollars to do that."

ALTERNATIVELY and for local edification . . . Locals should never forget that even in the richest country on Earth . . . Homeless life is rough and sometimes very dangerous people lurk local streets or occupy treacherous encampments.

Here's a soul crushing example that proves our point . . .

"A man who lived in a makeshift camp with a homeless 5-year-old Kansas girl and her father pleaded guilty Friday to first-degree murder and rape in connection with the child’s death."

Read more on both these stories www.TonysKansasCity.com links. . .

Shelter KC offering hope and help around the holidays

The holiday season is one of the most difficult times of the year for people who are homeless and hurting. But at Shelter KC, lives are being transformed, dignity is being restored, hopelessness is...

A man has pleaded guilty to the death of a 5-year-old girl living in their Kansas homeless camp

A man who lived in a makeshift camp with a homeless 5-year-old Kansas girl and her father has pleaded guilty to rape and first-degree murder in connection with the child's death.

And all of this inspires our playlist on the topic of rough homeless life at the outset of the holiday season. Let's get started

As always, our playlist is mostly for us to indulge in nostalgia . . . And so we start by returning to the 90s and a grunge rock anthem. Pearl Jam had already recorded the music for "Even Flow" when Eddie Vedder joined the band in 1990 and provided the lyrics about a homeless man who is misunderstood, scorned and subsequently ignored. In concert the tune always sparks near hysteria amongst fans and it's the favorite track of lead guitarist Stone Gossard according to some interviews. "Even Flow" is Pearl Jam's most-played live song, performed over 900 times.

Prayer In C is a fun techno remix that actually gets a little bit deep, brings up destroyed homes and the big picture. Here's an apt quote with one interpretation of a the track originally recorded by Lilly Wood & The Prick. . . "The Robin Schulz-remixed song Prayer in C ('Yah, don't think I could forgive you) that we keep hearing on the radio is actually a Jewish song about how God has given up on humanity, which is now slowly destroying itself because of it."

Arrested Development never garnered enough credit for demonstrating to Americans that hip-hop didn't have to be street garbage but could take a variety of creative forms and even speak to life outside of the urban core . . . To their credit, the group did earn many well-deserved accolades but were mostly forgotten by all but the most loyal fans of college radio . . . Here's a passage regarding the critical reception one of their popular tracks . . . 

Music journalist Larry Flick from Billboard described "Mr. Wendal" as "another gem". He added, "Once again, lyrics that realistically reflect the strife and struggle of survival during these racially tense times are woven into an easy-going pop/hip hop groove. Icing on the cake are rich and soulful vocals at the chorus."

For the bridge . . . You knew it was coming . . . TKC hates this song, you hate this song and it has still racked up over half a BILLION views on Youtube and offers a saccharine yet poignant melodic reminder for the middle-class and anybody with a car radio that things can ALWAYS get worse.

A politically charged classic concludes our list for tonight . . . We really like and wanted to share Rossane Cash singing Woody Guthrie's American classic "I Ain't Got No Home." There's actually a connection to MAGA for those who listen closely . . . Here it is: "An unreleased variant of the song protests the segregation at the Beach Haven apartment complex owned by Fred Trump, the father of 45th United States President Donald Trump, which he stayed at from 1950 to 1952: 'Beach Haven looks like heaven / Where no black ones come to roam! / No, no, no! Old Man Trump! / Old Beach Haven ain't my home!' This is similar in topic to Guthrie's unreleased song "Old Man Trump" . . .

As always, thanks for reading this week and have a safe & fun Saturday night.