Kansas City Playlist: Voters Decide $474M School Bond Fate

By now we all know the arguments in favor of EPIC cash for Kansas City Public Schools.

In fact . . . 

This weekend Kansas City schools opened their doors for the public to check out the need for building rehab.

For supporters, the strongest argument for a yes vote is that the KCPS hasn't garnered a bond issue boost since 1967. 

However, this bit of local history inspires a more important observation . . .

An upcoming low turnout Kansas City vote for school construction money might offer a hint at the direction of the local electorate.

From our vantage . . .

Approval of the tax increase bond issue signals that urban leaders have effectively argued their case and have garnered sympathy from so any surrounding neighborhoods who aren't directly connected with crumbling schools.

Alternatively, if KC voters reject the bond issue , it's likely that economic harsh times and a lack of confidence in local governance is driving force of skepticism.  

As always . . . 

Here at TKC we don't offer any endorsement other than the constant reminder that these kind of decisions in our own backyard have FAR MORE DIRECT IMPACT ON LOCAL LIVES than so much social media blathering about issues inside the Beltway. 

Accordingly, our www.TonysKansasCity.com playlist is dedicated to education or lack thereof . . .

Recently, Pink Floyd & controversial singer/songwriter Roger Waters have fallen out of favor for sketchy political antics. However "Another Brick In The Wall, Part Two" remains a staple of classic rock radio and starts our playlist tonight. A bit of the political backstory: The single and the subsequent album were banned in South Africa in 1980 after the lyrics were used by school children to protest their education under apartheid. Prime minster Margaret Thatcher was also reported to have “hated it.”

For many of GenXers, "Teenage Dirtbag" by Wheatus was the last song ironic pop song about school days before the events of 2001 took American culture to a much darker place. The song was released as part of the soundtrack for the 2000 college-movie comedy "Loser" but some of the band members were well into their 30s at the time and the track isn't intended to be taken seriously by anyone amid an epoch when wry detachment was a bit more fun and didn't involve corporate social media. Accordingly, we wanted to share this somewhat recent live performance that still holds up . . .

Since our Saturday list is mostly about nostalgia, the Beastie Boys anthem from 1986 "(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party)" actually does have an underlying political bent even if it's only an endorsement of American beer chugging good times and the kind of care-free frat house antics that would only serve to inspire culture war fodder if they were popularized by any contemporary artist. 

Still . . . The campy rap/rock classic remains ingrained on the cerebral cortex of any dude over 40 and still standing upright.

And now for the bridge . . . "We're Going to Be Friends" is a song by American alternative rock band White Stripes from their album White Blood Cells. It was released in 2002 and tells the story of meeting a new friend at the beginning of a school year. 

The track has dominated media for more than two decades and serves as a kind of American shorthand for the lost innocence of youth . . . Thankfully, the song still deserves one more listen for those who haven't enjoyed a wistful remembrance so far this weekend. 

Tonight's finale and a hint to readers who made it this far . . . You can tell we're having fun writing something when we have time to include a Steely Dan reference . . . The band is an acquired taste and signals that a dude is getting old maturing in his listening habits . . . In fact, TKC HATED Steely Dan until we hit 40 . . . Now we're a bit more appreciative of jazz/rock fusion, complex instrumentation along with dark/sardonic lyrics. 

One of their lesser tracks that still garners old school streaming & radio station play "My Old School" tells part of the story of a marijuana drug raid and a longstanding grudge of front-man Donald Fagan. It's a fun musical romp and a 70s era glimpse at American boomers and their growing pains which continue to this day.

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