I always say, “none of my songs are political. I just write about every day stuff.” My friend Judy called me on this recently and said, “lots of your songs are political. You just don’t think you’re obvious about it.” I guess she’s right. Politics doesn’t have to be about government. It applies to any human interaction. For example, a city that favors growth over farming. Arrogant drivers. Or the antics of us so-called higher primates when we get our hands on a cell phone. Sometimes you just wrap that stuff in humor to get away with commentary about it. Case in point:

“Hang It Up”, accompanied here by the totally awesome Aaron Bagchee

I sometimes wonder how we as a society functioned before 80% of us were yammering on cell phones all the time. Along the same lines, I’ve wondered how easy (or not) it would be to shut the darn things off now and then. Especially when behind the wheel. With a song like “Hang It Up” under my belt, I always feel more than a tad hypocritical when I’m talking on the phone in the car. Turns out, it’s not that hard to “hang it up” (or “turn it off”, to be more accurate) when you’re on the road.

Since April is National Distracted Driver Awareness Month, and CHP officers nationwide are handing out cell phone abuse tickets like malted Easter eggs, not getting a “fine that starts at $159” is a nice incentive to shut the thing off. And keeping the phone turned off lets me concentrate on more important matters when I’m driving. Like finishing that sandwich, switching CDs, or…hmm, I know there’s something else…

Oh yeah. Watching the road.

P.S. “Hang It Up” is on my “Dogspeed” CD. You can also download it from iTunes.