Obscure Moments in Pop Culture History I

Rove tries in vain to appear hip.

President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle celebrated American poetry with a gathering of poets, musicians, and artists at the White House last Wednesday night.

With relatively harmless Caucasian guests like Aimee Mann, Steve Martin, and Kenneth Goldsmith, it’s not hard to see why the invitation of the relatively uncontroversial rapper Common was politicized by critics of Obama's poetry night celebration.

Most prominently, former Bush adviser, Karl Rove, trash-talked Common on The Sean Hannity Show, because of his "violent and misogynistic music lyrics that advocated assassinating Bush and violence against police."

"Common is nothing but a common thug," Rove cried. "He's a big scary black man. I just couldn't imagine inviting him to the White House for anything, much less to do a rap performance. The only reason he should be there is to mop the floors or serve the guests."

Dylan Army Goes AWOL

44 years ago at Newport Folk Festival, Bob Dylan shocked fans by performing an unheard of electric set to a die-hard folk audience. This year he shocked fans once again...most readers first inclination will be to think of his Christmas album release. But no. This time Dylan completely surprised by plugging-in and jamming on a synthesizer at a recent performance at Wang Theatre in Boston, MA.

Fans honor "World's Worst Poet"

The land that gave the world bag pipes, haggis, the kilt and Rob Roy also has the dubious honor of producing the "world's worst poet." Now fans of the hapless William McGonagall are campaigning to put him in the pantheon of Scottish literary greats. See why McGonagall had to learn how to make salsa.

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