Imagine a Department of Education run by illiterate creationists, an EPA run by oil tycoons, an FDA by cannibal cokeheads. Best case scenario, where does this leave us? An optimist’s view of the future might see digression to fundamentalism as the second early step en route to the kind of anarcho-syndicalist utopia we see in Star Trek: TNG. A cynic might counter that extreme conservatism operating under the guise of populism only further buttresses the already firmly planted pillars of the existing power structure.
But try explaining any of this to someone who believes humans and dinosaurs coexisted.
You might start by throwing Melted Candy, the new EP by free folk-jazz ensemble Uncivilized, on the gramophone. When track 1, “Stupid Gurus,” begins, describe the malarkey not as chaotic cacophony but hee haw hootenanny. Beat your more devout audience members to the punch by pre-affirming that indeed, the mark of the beast is everywhere. And should you invite them to tomorrow’s Uncivilized show at Barbès in Brooklyn, call it a revival instead.
