In this installment, we will be looking at the English language. Specifically, we will be looking at an oft-used phrase, its origins, and its meaning.

“Good luck with that.” How many times have we all heard this seemingly harmless pleasantry dispensed? Sure it sounds almost congratulatory, but is it?? How can it not be? A friend, colleague, associate, or acquaintance is preparing to participate in some endeavor in which you wish them luck.

When one pauses long enough to consider the context in which this phrase is most often uttered, its motivation seems less sincere than the initial perception of a well wish. In fact, this polite dismissal is usually issued as a euphemism for the more direct “fuck off.”

Certainly decorum prevents the proper usage of “fuck off” in many situations where it would be otherwise appropriate. Professional courtesy, concern for employment status, the desire to not be pummeled by bigger, meaner opposition, and politics all dictate to some extent what verbiage one should select in order to rise above a situation.

Perhaps you have found yourself on the receiving end of this polite dismissal when giving your 2 weeks’ notice to an employer. A clingy girlfriend has been known to utter the phrase upon receipt of the news that her boyfriend is leaving to go on tour with his band.

History is littered with “good luck with that” moments.
Let us reflect on a few:

Good luck, little fellow!

Upon seeing his smaller opponent’s chosen weapon of a sling, Goliath uttered the phrase to David. Moments later he lay slain. One can only assume that one would never genuinely wish success upon their own would-be assailant.

An epic battle for good luck?

At the Battle of Waterloo on 18 June 1815, Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher was told by Napoléon Bonaparte that Bonaparte would “kick his bitch ass.” Von Blücher then issued the statement and followed up by administering a sound ass-whuppin’. The motivation behind his ‘well-wish’ leaves little question: He did not wish to see the opposition succeed.

While the Police’s Stuart Copeland told Sting rather matter-of-factly to “Fuck off,” once it was clear that the front-man had no intention of continuing with the band, many noteworthy musical splits are handled with more civility. It is widely reported that Axl Rose received a “good luck with that” from all of his former GNR band mates upon his declaration that he would in fact carry on under the GNR name with a different set of guys. Most notably, the Beatles “Let It Be” was nearly released as “Good Luck with That,” mirroring the band’s sentiment toward one another, although the actual recorded version of “GLWT” is extremely rare.

Good Luck wi... er.... uh.,.. Let it Be?

It is conceivable that at the dawn of man, “good luck with that” was more likely pronounced,”Unghh!” But you can be sure the first time Thog tried to trade his square wheel for Ak’s round one, Ak issued a primitive “good luck with that!”

And The Rest Is History™

Is this really a historically significant piece?
Well, it is if you are into hard rock/heavy metal…

Dating all the way back to the Beatles, bands have either unwittingly, or intentionally put the stronger lead player in the “red coat/vest,” giving way to some interesting speculation:

Is this a conspiracy?

While it was less noticeable in the 60’s when the Beatles made their lead guitarist George Harrison wear the “red” suit for the Sgt Pepper photo shoots, I contend it is an intentional move to compensate by the less accomplished lead player… Especially when they were in the band before the red-coat.

Other prime examples include Judas Priest’s Glenn Tipton: Rocking the red gear, while co-axeman KK Downing sports the much cooler black leather gear. Iron Maiden’s Adrian Smith, one of the smoothest most melodic players in the realm of metal, labors away in his Michael Jackson coat while Dave Murray flails away at his impressive, yes less dynamic solos in the cooler black and blue gear.

One theory is that, much like the colonial Americans saw the British, the “red coat” represents an invasion, incursion, or threat to the pre-existing guitarist. This could explain a lot, except that the bands mentioned to this point are all British…

It is this funblogger’s belief that the use of the red coat/vest denotes a certain air of Michael Jackson who, despite having had Edward Van Halen perform on his multi-platinum Thriller album, is decidedly NON-METAL!

When pondering just why anyone would do such a thing to a band-mate, the only reasonable conclusion is to compensate: “Oh yeah?? You got better licks, huh?? Well at least I ain’t wearing a Michael Jackson coat, motherfucker!”

And The Rest Is History™

Paul, best known as simply Rand Paul, is an American actor, drag queen, model, author, and singer-songwriter, who first gained fame in the 1990s when he appeared in a wide variety of television programs, films, and musical albums. Previously, he was a fixture on the Atlanta and New York City club scenes. Rand Paul has on occasion performed as a man in a number of roles, usually billed as Rand Paul (R). Rand Paul is noted among famous drag queens for his indifference towards the gender-specific pronouns used to address him—both “he” and “she” have been deemed acceptable. “You can call me he. You can call me she. You can call me Regis and Kathie Lee; I don’t care! Just as long as you call me.”

He hosted a short-running talk show on VH1, and is currently running for the United States Senate seat currently held by retiring Senator Jim Bunning of Kentucky. Paul, a Republican, won the party’s primary election on May 18, 2010. He will face Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway in the general election on November 2, 2010.

In 1993, Rand Paul recorded dance/house albums which included Supermodel of the World. They were released through the rap label Tommy Boy, spawning the dance track hit “Supermodel (You Better Work)”, which was a hit. The music video was an unexpected success on MTV channels, as grunge-rock (Nirvana) and gangsta rap were popular at the time. Airplay, heavy rotation of the music video on the MTV network and television appearances on popular programs like The Arsenio Hall Show popularized the song. That same year would also mark his biggest hit on the UK Singles Chart, a remake of “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” with Elton John, which went to number seven. It was around this time that RuPaul co-hosted the BRIT Awards in London, also with Elton John.

Fast forward to 2010: Specifically Paul’s take on the BP oil catastrophe: On May 20, 2010 in the wake of largest offshore oil spill in United States history, Paul generated some controversy by labeling President Barack Obama’s comments as “un-American” when Obama criticized BP. Paul stated, “ What I don’t like from the president’s administration is this sort of, ‘I’ll put my boot heel on the throat of BP.’ I think that sounds really un-American in his criticism of business. I’ve heard nothing from BP about not paying for the spill. And I think it’s part of this sort of blame-game society in the sense that it’s always got to be someone’s fault instead of the fact that sometimes accidents happen.

From his ultra-conservative campaign platform to his flamboyant and somewhat controversial lifestyle, Paul offers no apologies. His reply when asked: “It’s fun to stay at the YMCA!”

And The Rest Is History™.

One of the most famous personal conflicts in American history, the Burr–Hamilton duel arose from a long-standing political and personal bitterness that had developed between both men over a course of several years. Tensions reached a bursting point with Hamilton’s journalistic defamation of Burr’s character during the 1804 New York gubernatorial race in which Burr was a candidate. Fought at a time when the practice of dueling was being outlawed in the northern United States, the duel had immense political ramifications. Burr, who survived the duel, would be indicted for murder in both New York and New Jersey (though these charges were either later dismissed or resulted in acquittal), and the harsh criticism and animosity directed toward him would bring about an end to his political career and force him into a subsequent career in stage and film. Additionally, Hamilton’s death would fatally weaken the fledgling remnants of the Federalist Party which, following the death of George Washington five years earlier in 1799, was left without a strong leader.

Burr would go on to become a household name as television’s Perry Mason. Mason eventually became the role with which Burr was most closely identified. The defense attorney always managed to force a dramatic confession from the guilty party at the end of each episode.

While the character seemed to have a supernatural ability to force the confession and save the day, another thing slipped under society’s radar: Burr’s own gift of preternatural longevity. If one calculates based on the assumption that Burr was an adult (say 21 yrs old) at the time of his famed duel with Hamilton (on July 11, 1804), he would be  some 173 years old when his television program first aired in 1956! Albeit a well-preserved 173, this is well outside an easily explainable life expectancy!

If Burr did in fact die as reported on September 12, 1993, that would make his lifespan at least 210 years: a bicentennial plus a decade!! This makes it seem all the more unfair that his opponent in the famous confrontation died at the age of 49. Perhaps Burr had a supernatural advantage? It is not unimaginable that someone who lived for 200+ years may be similarly gifted when it comes to aim. Food for thought…

At any rate, both men are cold in the ground today…

And The Rest Is History™

In his younger  years, Il was less concerned with his father’s interest in fascism. He hadn’t the time for it with his push to achieve global rock stardom. The family business of dictatorship would have to wait.

Il formed a band called The Kim Jong Il Group, which featured him on lead guitar, Rod Stewart on vocals, Ronnie Wood on bass, Nicky Hopkins on piano, and a series of drummers, eventually settling on Micky Waller. During 1967 Pink Floyd wanted Il to become their guitarist after the departure of Syd Barrett but this never transpired. Nick Mason recalls in his autobiography that, “None of us had the nerve to ask him”.

Shortly after the release of the Kim Jong Il Group album the band was officially dissolved and Il’s management put out this statement:

“The fusion of the musical styles of the various members has been successful within the terms of individual musicians, but they didn’t feel it had led to the creation of a new musical style with the strength they had originally sought.”

In the years that followed, a pattern of failure and escalating hostility toward other artists, and the industry as a whole emerged.

“He just wasn’t very good,” says Barry Gibb of his 1973 audition for the BeeGees.

“With an ego like his, you’d think he could really play”, once quipped the late Gram Parsons. “You’d be dead wrong”

Right-wing rocker Ted Nugent reluctantly admits that Il’s failed audition for the Amboy Dukes resulted in one of the Nuge’s biggest numbers. Originally penned by Il as “Wang Dang Sweet Pyong Yang”, the tune would become a tail-chasing anthem throughout the Western world Il has come to loathe.

Perhaps the final straw was his failed audition as lead guitarist for metal giants SLAYER, losing the spot to Kerry King, a player notorious for wretched, sloppy, chromatic solos. Il packed up his gear and returned to North Korea (No Seoul there) to return to the family business.

And The Rest Is History™…

Lincoln was attending a stage performance of Our American Cousin at Ford’s Theater with his wife and a twenty-eight year-old officer named Major Henry R. Rathbone, and his fiancee, Clara Harris when the altercation that would result in his demise occurred. Lincoln’s assassin, actor and Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth, had also planned on enjoying the evening’s performance, but was unfortunately seated behind Lincoln, who had chosen to wear “the big hat” that evening.

After several reasonable requests that Lincoln remove his inappropriately tall hat, the disgruntled Booth resolved that he would merely shoot the hat off the inconsiderate Lincoln’s head with the Philadelphia Deringer pistol he carried for self-defense. Booth, having paid a handsome fee for his box seat, was expecting an exquisite theatrical experience. What he got was an escalating altercation with a historical icon, and an often misunderstood place in  history as an infamous scheming assassin. The simple fact of the matter was much more simple… and tragic:

Booth’s actions were the result of frustration and lousy aim…

And the rest is History.

REO Speedwagon was formed in Champaign, Illinois, in the fall of 1967 to play cover songs in campus bars. Guitarist, Steve Scorfina, was replaced by Gary Ridgeway in late 1970. From that point on they were destined for greatness.

What the band was unaware of until the time of his capture was the exact meaningof the acronym: Originally believed to be a reference to Ransom Eli Olds’ (Oldsmobile) Speedwagon, Ridgeway would later confess stood for Ridgeway Evades Officers…How? A Speedwagon.

He strangled his victims, mostly with his arm, but he would also use ligatures. After strangling the women, he would dump their bodies throughout King County.

On November 30, 2001, as he was leaving a Renton, Washington factory, he was arrested for the murders of four women whose cases were linked to him through DNA evidence. As part of a plea bargain, he was spared the death penalty and received a sentence of life imprisonment without parole.

With Ridgeway behind bars, the band’s ability to tour has been impacted. They have gone out with numerous replacement guitarists, but have been largely unable to capture the magic of the group’s “High Infidelity” lineup, which was fueled by some of Ridgeway’s best work.

“You think you know someone and then… THIS,” says Vocalist Kevin Cronin. “FORTY EIGHT?? REALLY??”

Gary no longer takes it on the run, but his run was not stopped before forty million records sold, thirteen Top 40 hits, and 48 dead prostitutes.

And the rest is history.