Thursday, September 23, 2004
OOOH AH EEEH AH OOOH AH
I 'm sorry Cat, er..Yusef, but you see we're a little sensative right now. Think of it this way, your mom is killed by men in black ski masks, wouldn't you then be a little skittish around men in black ski masks? We, as a nation, do not need to explain, or apologise for your inconvenience, but I will try anyway. Your name, Yusef Islam, came up on a list. Now, it is quite possible that it's some other Yusef Islam, I'm sure that in the Muslim world it's a fairly common name, but our guys are just doing their job (finally), your name came up, they acted. I don't believe you fund terror groups, but you might. How do we know? We thought we knew you when you sang pretty songs about peace and love, but apparently we did not, because now your Yusef, not Cat, so it's confusing. My advice? Stay put. They have real nice recording studios in London, great engineers too.
I 'm sorry Cat, er..Yusef, but you see we're a little sensative right now. Think of it this way, your mom is killed by men in black ski masks, wouldn't you then be a little skittish around men in black ski masks? We, as a nation, do not need to explain, or apologise for your inconvenience, but I will try anyway. Your name, Yusef Islam, came up on a list. Now, it is quite possible that it's some other Yusef Islam, I'm sure that in the Muslim world it's a fairly common name, but our guys are just doing their job (finally), your name came up, they acted. I don't believe you fund terror groups, but you might. How do we know? We thought we knew you when you sang pretty songs about peace and love, but apparently we did not, because now your Yusef, not Cat, so it's confusing. My advice? Stay put. They have real nice recording studios in London, great engineers too.
Comments:
Re-posting my response on JJ's blog re: Cat...
For the record, I am a huge Cat Steven's fan so this is a major story for Tony Alva. As a matter of fact I just gave some friends of mine a copy of "Monabone Jakon", which I believe is his best record just in front of "Tea For The Tillerman". My mother's love for his records ensured that it was the background music of my early childhood. As a musician, I play quite a few Cat songs in my repertoire. What makes his early stuff so great is his desperation to find faith and spirituality. He was obviously a lost soul in the sixties looking for a place to plant roots. I think his songs were appealing because most people go through the same crisis of spirituality at some point in their lives, some more than once, and to different degrees. I can certainly relate on many levels.
I think it was this vulnerability that made Islam an easy fit for him. Why not? Nothing else was working for him right? Being a considerable star in the sixties and seventies he no doubt became one who knows only excess in everything and the excessive bent of Islam was where he suited up.
The only intel I’ve seen on him since his conversion was the Rushdie thing, a VH1 Behind The Music episode, and now this. I feel bad for Cat, but having said all that, if a single dollar of his ended up in the hands of those who strap bombs to people and blow up buses on busy Jerusalem streets, than he is not welcome here. Zero tolerance for any connection to terrorists should be the order of the day. Bravo to Homeland Security for giving him the boot. They may want to upgrade to faster computers however, and perhaps let him know before he gets on the plane.
UPDATE:
I wish for Cat to show contrition for any inflammatory remarks he may have made publically and ensure that none of the fanancial support he give to his Islamic school in London hasn't or doesn't get back to the Jihadists. If these things come to bear than I'm inclined to let him come pimp his new DVD. Hell, I'll even buy it, but if it turns out that he's linked to any of that crap, he stays were he is.
Post a Comment
For the record, I am a huge Cat Steven's fan so this is a major story for Tony Alva. As a matter of fact I just gave some friends of mine a copy of "Monabone Jakon", which I believe is his best record just in front of "Tea For The Tillerman". My mother's love for his records ensured that it was the background music of my early childhood. As a musician, I play quite a few Cat songs in my repertoire. What makes his early stuff so great is his desperation to find faith and spirituality. He was obviously a lost soul in the sixties looking for a place to plant roots. I think his songs were appealing because most people go through the same crisis of spirituality at some point in their lives, some more than once, and to different degrees. I can certainly relate on many levels.
I think it was this vulnerability that made Islam an easy fit for him. Why not? Nothing else was working for him right? Being a considerable star in the sixties and seventies he no doubt became one who knows only excess in everything and the excessive bent of Islam was where he suited up.
The only intel I’ve seen on him since his conversion was the Rushdie thing, a VH1 Behind The Music episode, and now this. I feel bad for Cat, but having said all that, if a single dollar of his ended up in the hands of those who strap bombs to people and blow up buses on busy Jerusalem streets, than he is not welcome here. Zero tolerance for any connection to terrorists should be the order of the day. Bravo to Homeland Security for giving him the boot. They may want to upgrade to faster computers however, and perhaps let him know before he gets on the plane.
UPDATE:
I wish for Cat to show contrition for any inflammatory remarks he may have made publically and ensure that none of the fanancial support he give to his Islamic school in London hasn't or doesn't get back to the Jihadists. If these things come to bear than I'm inclined to let him come pimp his new DVD. Hell, I'll even buy it, but if it turns out that he's linked to any of that crap, he stays were he is.
