The Flying Burrito Brothers

The Flying Burrito Brothers was an American country rock band, best known for their influential 1969 debut album, The Gilded Palace of Sin. Although the group is perhaps best known for its connection to band founders Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman, the group underwent many personnel changes and has existed in various incarnations to the present day.

Original lineup and members until 1972

The Flying Burrito Brothers were founded in 1968 on the West Coast of the United States by former Byrds members Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman, with pianist and bassist Chris Ethridge and pedal steel guitarist Sneaky Pete Kleinow. The group borrowed their name from an East Coast–based group of the same name who had been colleagues of Parsons's first band, the International Submarine Band, but had never recorded. Though Hillman and Roger McGuinn had fired Parsons from the Byrds in July 1968, Hillman and Parsons reconciled later that year after Hillman himself left the Byrds. Parsons had refused to join his Byrds bandmates for a tour of South Africa, citing his disapproval of the apartheid policy of that nation's government. Hillman doubted the sincerity of Parsons's gesture, believing instead that the singer merely wanted to remain in England with Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones, whom he had recently befriended.

The Flying Burrito Bros (album)

The Flying Burrito Bros is the third album by the country rock group, The Flying Burrito Brothers, released in 1971. Before recording sessions for the album began, Gram Parsons departed from the band for a solo career, leaving Chris Hillman and "Sneaky" Pete Kleinow to carry on. In Parsons' place, the band hired a young unknown musician named Rick Roberts, who later was the lead singer of Firefall. Guitarist Bernie Leadon would also leave the band shortly after the album's release, going on to found the Eagles.

Over the winter of 1970 to 1971 the band returned to Sunset Studios to record their third album. With Jim Dickson again the producer, the group developed original pieces mainly from Chris Hillman and Rick Roberts, along with a revisitation of Bob Dylan compositions. Several outtakes from the recording sessions later appeared on several compilations following the band's demise. Following the release of the album, further personnel changes occurred including Kleinow departing to focus solely on session recordings.

Hand to Mouth

Hand to Mouth may refer to:

Hand to Mouth (song)

"Hand to Mouth" is a song written by George Michael that was recorded for his 1987 album Faith. It was the B-side of single "Faith", which was the best-selling single of the year 1988 in the USA.

The song is known for its political motivation and Michael's gratitude to America. The mood of the song is low-key throughout, except for brief moments of solace in the beginning of each chorus.

"Hand to Mouth" soberly tells two stories of lives denied the American Dream: one who finally blows his top and shoots at people, the other a woman who has no one to turn to and becomes a prostitute. The criticism of Reaganite America is strong here:

"I believe in the gods of America.
I believe in the land of the free.
But no one told me
that the gods believe in nothing,
so with empty hands I pray."

This track features one of Michael's highest vocals; he said in his autobiography that the song was meant to be a single replacing his biggest hit "Faith" but due to negative publicity of his friends, he gave up the idea.

Hand to Mouth: Living in Bootstrap America

Hand to Mouth: Living in Bootstrap America is the debut book by Linda Tirado. The book was released on 2 October 2014 and contains a foreword written by Barbara Ehrenreich.

Production

Tirado, a 32-year-old mother of two who worked two low-paying jobs, wrote a message in response to the question "Why do poor people do things that seem so self-destructive?" on an online forum. Her response went viral and was subsequently reprinted by The Huffington Post, The Nation, and Forbes, in November 2013 under the title This Is Why Poor People's Bad Decisions Make Perfect Sense. Tirado subsequently received $60,000 in donations from concerned readers, and a book deal. The article was read by over 6 million people and led to Tirado receiving over 20,000 emails in one week. She wrote the book while she continued to work at an IHOP in Utah.

In November 2014 Tirado appeared on Real Time with Bill Maher and On Point to promote the book.

Content

The book attempts to answer many questions that middle and upper class people have about the working poor, such as why they eat junk food, have kids, smoke, drink and do drugs. Tirado states that all the answers to these questions relate to a simple lack of money—for example, minimum wage and no benefits results in long shifts and constant commuting, which results in fast food consumption being the only viable option. Having no time to plan ahead and save money results in a desire to have children now since there will never be a better time. Tirado makes no apologies for being a smoker, stating that smoking helps reduce hunger and relieves stress from working exhausting jobs. Chapter titles include “You Can’t Pay a Doctor in Chickens Anymore", "I've Got Way Bigger Problems Than a Spinach Salad Can Solve", and "We Do Not Have Babies for Welfare Money". The book ends with an open letter to "rich people" regarding topics such as sex and parenting.