Originally written March 4, 2017

When I think of the political scene in our nation today there’s one parallel that sticks in my brain, begging to get out. Yes, there’s a historical parallel to what’s going on; it just isn’t a political one.

Those of us who are old enough may recall a music phenomenon referred to as "Phil Spector's Wall of Sound." For you fogies like me, does that ring a bell? Spector, strange as he always was, had a certain savant aspect to the way he approached musical arrangements. He understood music production from the aspect of its effect on the human brain and emotions. His “Wall of Sound” was much more than just intense volume. It was purposeful, and had a powerful effect on listeners. In a 1964 interview Spector was asked what it was about “The Wall of Sound” that made it different and gave the performances wrapped in “The Wall” such an impact. His reply was truly insightful, and today should be admired as something akin to prophecy. He stated, "I was looking for a sound, a sound so strong that if the material was not the greatest, the sound would carry the record. It was a case of augmenting, augmenting. It all fitted together like a jigsaw."

My friends, what we’re seeing and hearing from the progressive Democrats and all their media water-carriers is nothing more than a political, verbal variant of Spector’s old “Wall of Sound” concept. The material isn’t the greatest, but the sounds carry the message.

The human brain is a funny thing. As complex as it is, it’s very much like the computer in your lap or on your desktop in one respect; it does one thing at a time very well, but doesn’t multitask well at all. Those who think they’re great multi-taskers are confusing processing speed with an actual ability the brain doesn’t possess. Likewise, a computer can only perform more than one task at a time if it has multiple processors. Each processor acts as a separate brain. Even then, computers are seriously limited by their operating systems and programs, and often don’t do parallel processes well at all. They time-share the processors and it’s their overall speed that convinces you they’re doing multiple tasks simultaneously. If that was not so, why do you think your computer slows down whenever you’re trying to do several chores at once? The processors work in parallel, alright, but overall the computer is trying to get everything done at once, with the operating system directing traffic. The parallel with humans should be apparent. We use HB.01 – Human Brain, Version 01 as our operating system. Different parts of the brain process the information they specialize in continuously, but HB.01 literally can’t do but one thing at a time. It has to prioritize information management, just like Windows XP, 7, 8, 10 or even that dumb Vista O.S. does. Or close to that, anyway. We just like to think we do it faster than our computers, and that we’re capable of multi-tasking. As we age the fiction of multi-tasking becomes much more apparent.

“The Wall of Sound” worked by overwhelming our senses. In musical arrangements prior to Spector’s creation you could pick out the signature sounds of the bassoons, the French horns, the violins, the piano, and even the piccolos. But you couldn’t do that with “The Wall.” Spector blended orchestral sounds, and bent and shaped the music by various means into a melodious cacophony that overwhelmed our senses in ways we never experienced. The music was the power. We couldn’t discern individual instruments within it, except on the occasions Spector knew it would add a desirable sensory effect. The music so occupied our synapses that we hardly listened to the words of songs, and had no idea if the artists who sang could carry a tune or not. The power of “The Wall” was to eliminate our perception of flat notes and lyrics that were truly weak. A recording that got “The Wall” treatment was a total sensory experience, especially when blasted out at greater than 100 dB. Us poor audiophiles, what did we know? Spector had our number, and it made him a very rich and famous man. And, all that time we thought those records were great.

Now, it’s 2017. Spector is in prison, and no one really does “The Wall of Sound” much anymore, though there are modern permutations of it you’ll detect here and there if you really understand the concept. But, some really bright political people have taken Spector’s concept and applied it to their undertakings. We’re experiencing the results right now – today. I call it “The Wall of Noise.” I’m not sure if there’s a creator of “The Wall of Noise,” but I know it’s real. I see it, hear it, and feel it. It’s a total sensory experience, just like the one Spector developed. If anything, the “Wall of Noise” is a melding of Spector’s concepts with those of some people from longer ago; people like Lenin, Goebbels, Stalin, and Mao. This, indeed, is total sensory propaganda.

For two days you heard almost the same great noise; words now, not music. They went something like, “Trump, Trump, Sessions, Russians, Sessions, Russians, Sessions, Trump, Sessions, Russians, Flynn, Sessions, Sessions, Russians, Sessions, Trump.” Those were the lyrics. There was no musical accompaniment, or if there was the synapses were so overloaded by the noise it wasn’t discernible. What you were hearing was “The Wall of Noise.” Get used to it. It’s here to stay.

Yesterday evening I noted a few variations in the lyrics. What I heard was “Sessions, Sessions, Russians, Trump, Sessions, Russians, Trump, Pence, E-mail, Sessions, Russians, Sessions, Trump.” Did you hear it, too? How could you not. The din was overwhelming. It drowned out real news, about anything remotely and actually important. Not only were our synapses overloaded, there seemed to be precious little news to comprehend. That was an intended effect.

The orchestra playing this “Wall of Noise” has two major components. I identified them earlier and I know you already understand. The progressive Democrats are making lots and lots of noise, aided and abetted by the media that puts them in front of cameras and microphones so they can individually add their contribution to “The Wall.” The media yapping heads take over and use what’s left of the day, developing the lyrics we hear. The purpose is clear. The intent is clear. The strategy and tactics are clear. The only question remaining is how long people will tolerate it before they beg for mercy.

If you ever went to a concert back in the day that featured music designed along Spector’s “Wall of Sound” concept you’ll recall what it was like at the end. You were drained of energy. You had trouble thinking. You had trouble doing anything. You felt as though you’d just gone ten rounds with Ali and all the punches that were landed fell upon you. The “Wall of Noise” experience is not measurably different. It’s meant to imprint a story line upon those who willingly listen. It’s meant to convey the messages of the progressive left. It’s meant to convey expectations and to get the fellow travelers and useful idiots worked up into a lather. They hear it as a call to action. They take to their Twitter, Facebook pages, and their other social media outlets and they replicate their imprints. Social media becomes saturated with the day’s distilled versions of the lyrics of “The Wall of Noise.”

The Trump administration needs to understand how “The Wall of Noise” works. They need a counter strategy. They need to develop a sure-fire mechanism to crank the volume down and keep it down. Common sense should tell them if they don’t, they will pay. Eventually they’ll be weakened to the point they can’t effectively govern.

I’m a “fight fire with fire” kind of person. I like to respond in kind. But, with the control of the media overwhelmingly in the hands of progressives and their camp followers, that’s not a strategy that works. I personally think the administration needs to read the progressive playbook every day and pick some part of it to put to use. Today I like Alinsky’s Rule #5. Today I think it’s time to trot out every element of social satire and ridicule what’s going on. If it can be successfully exposed for what it is by ridiculing it, the administration may have time to develop a more comprehensive and all-encompassing strategy and eventually eliminate “The Wall of Noise.”

There’s one other hope, too. That hope is the American people. If they figure out what’s going on they may rebel. If they don’t, they still might get so overloaded by this “Wall of Noise” that they switch off and drop out. Both of those scenarios are okay. But, there is the possibility that before either of those two eventualities comes to pass the really stupid people will take to the streets and want to press their lyrics upon us in physical ways. Perhaps that’s the intent or desired outcome of it all. We can only speculate. But, while we’re sitting around speculating, we all better be prepared. Stirred-up stupid people can do a whole lot of damage if they aren’t stopped very quickly. We need to be aware of the potential and make sure all our officials are as well. If not, “The Wall of Noise” may take on a very ugly physical manifestation. Who needs that?

Now, I have to go listen for a while to see how the lyrics of “The Wall” change. You can bet they will. Make sure you listen, too.