how funny... i had "here's to the state of mississippi" stuck in my head a few days ago. you can do worse than phil ochs as far as earworms go.

god, he's beautiful. and he had mental illness and killed himself, i found out today. :(

Well, he also wrote 'Love Me, I'm A Liberal' one of the most scathing songs ever.

Ochs had a great talent for crapping on people's parties. Along with Love Me, I'm a Liberal, Outside of a Small Circle of Friends may have been one of the punkest songs ever.

But, I'm sure it wouldn't interest anybody, er, oh nevermind.

i can't help but think of all of the prominent chickenhawks whenever i hear "draft dodger rag".

Ok, weird, I thought Phil Ochs was the lead singer of Pantera, so I was confused. I have no idea how I conflated the two Phils.

I have admired Phil Ochs since I was a teenager. He got me all riled up about political issues that were 30 years old.

But really...what a tunesmith. His melodies are sooo catchy, his way with words unbelievable. His voice has a warm, reasoned authority. It's sad that he was so out of his head; I read a biography of him years ago, and the degree of psychosis he had was horrifying.

HIs topical songs are brilliant, but I always felt he could use a good editor. Many of his songs are two or three verses too long --the gimmick gets old, and the axe keeps grinding. But the topical songs aren't his only works. For sheer beauty in song, you can hardly do better than "Changes," "When I'm Gone," or "Pleasures of the Harbor."

Which Bio was that, Miko? All I can find on Amazon are stupid expensive out of print books. I'd love to read more about his life, though.

One of my most cherished possessions is an old Ochs song/tab book that an online buddy (tizzie) sent me out of the blue. One of these days I need to scan all those images and put them on Flickr.

And while not your original intent, BTGOG, I've had the Jello Biafra/Mojo Nixon version of Love me I'm a Liberal stuck in my head all day. Thanks!