John Legend - Live From Philadelphia CD & DVD Set

Home School/Good/DAS/Columbia/Sony BMG

While Legend may be semi new to the game, that does not detract from his greatness. Soul reverberates throughout this live release, taking a very Motown approach to rhythm and blues that has really been lost over the years. He adds a certain contemporary feel to the whole orchestration, which makes sense: about fifty percent of his career involves Kayne West. The "clash" in styles don't seem awkward at all, and really just brings out John Legend's charm so much more.
Live From Philadelphia captures Legend's amazing stage presence, consistently encouraging the audience with unintelligible screams and incredibly sexy dance moves. All of his hit songs (including "Ordinary People") are on here, all perfectly executed with finesse and soul.

Daft Punk - Alive 2007

Daft Life/Virgin/EMI

It's hard to talk about bands who are so beyond everyone else in their genre without sounding like a raving lunatic. While electronic has never been entirely my thing, Daft Punk have always been a group I have heavily respected, and acknowledge as being probably the best electronic musicians out there. They have the art form down to a program, so to speak. They can't fuck up; it just isn't possible.
Alive 2007 is the second in the Alive collection, following Alive 1997 which, if you spend half a second thinking about, was their live album from the late '90s. The 2007 edition is, personally, a better album. The music is clearer, the recording is super high fidelity (especially for a live album), and captures the live feel much better than the previous. Not to mention that the few albums between then and now have only been on an upslope. Their biggest hit to date "Around The World" is obviously on here, along with songs from a good majority of their previous releases.

k.d. lang - Watershed

Nonesuch/Warner Bros.

k.d. lang has been a strong voice in the Women's music movement for just over twenty years now. She's won and preformed at the Grammys, been on countless amounts of tours, and has lived out the cult-musician lifestyle that so many would kill for. She's openly queer, and is an activist for a solid handful of causes (including vegetarianism and AIDS/HIV research), and has touched the lives of millions.
Watershed isn't a country album. I just refuse to acknowledge it as that. It's a pop album, up and down. It's my favorite lang release to date: taking on an incredibly original feel that most musicians will never come close to. Intensely atmospheric production gives a vaguely jazz feel, but nowhere near enough to call it that.
Lang's production, which she takes almost exclusive credit for, is honestly perfect of this genre. The right amount of reverb on everything, and an odd taste of clarity that I can't quite explain, but simultaneously adds texture and emotion that aren't commonplace in this style of music. Strings are possibly over-utilized, but at times come close to bringing literal tears to my eyes. After a long break since her last album, it's great to see she hasn't lost her touch.

Tab Benoit - Night Train to Nashville

Telarc/Concord/EMI

Stripped down to barely the bare bones of it, Night Train to Nashville is the latest in Tab Benoit's Telarc releases. This time it's a live album, comprised of an across the board blend of Benoit signatures, standards, and personal renditions.
While the album contains a good amount of guest appearances (Jimmy Hall, Jim Lauderdale, Kim Wilson, the list goes on...), the majority of the release is fairly straightforward blues band: bass, drums, a bit of rhythm guitar, and endless amounts of guitar noodling. My personal favorite on here is "Darkness": a slower jam, but packed with the emotionally charged nuances that blues was designed for.

Eden Brent - Mississippi Number One

Yellow Dog/Big Daddy/Little Boogaloo

Intensely personal roads lay across Mississippi Number One, collecting Eden Brents broken heart and rural home into what is undeniably a great album. She takes notes from the blues greats, but really stands far on her own. I've seen the comparisons to Bessie Smith, Diana Krall and Janis Joplin countless amounts of times, but that really doesn't do her justice.
The record is orchestrated through Brent's spot on piano playing, ranging from some jazzier ends ("Love Me 'Til Dawn"), but more often than not sticks with her upbeat "boogie" blues presentation, which doesn't stop impressing me.
Her voice caries the characteristic of a lifetime of smoking, leaving her with such an intense sound that her voice is distinguishable from all before her. This doesn't at all affect her range: at her best, Brent's full-voice hollers are some of the best blues vocals I've heard in a while. If you ever liked the "boogie" end of blues, you'll be all over this.

Mercyme - All That Is Within' Me CD & DVD

INO

No one really knows a good category for this band. They are all about Jesus, so are they contemporary Christian music? But they are a bit to loud and bizarre for that, so are they alternative? But wrapped up in all that is quite a bit of pop production, so what about that?
While from the moment I saw the album I was really hoping it was just going to be based off of the Alkaline Trio song, this band is fairly original giving the circumstances. Every album they've released has gone Gold or Platinum, and further they fan base doesn't seem to fluctuate at all: their fan base has been relatively streamline since about 2001.
They are certainly a Christian band, which is hard to not hold against them. Their songwriting is quite U2 inspired, but a bit edgier: heavier on the distortion, more flexibility as far as musical themes, and a real lot of Christianity. Well, given that, this isn't so bad: singer Bart Millard's voice is surprisingly good, and having dual percussionists give an extra flair that most don't have.

Various Artists - Vans Warped Tour 2002 Tour Compilation

SideOneDummy

I can't get enough of these comps! While slightly embarrassing to hear NOFX fuck up almost every live song ever recorded, it's still golden to hear the band actually play punk again. This was also the year when "hardcore" started becoming all the rage, inducing bands like Glassjaw, From Autumn to Ashes, Kill Your Idols (who I still stand by are a great band), and Throwdown before they decided macho-brodom wasn't a joke and started taking their militant straightedge mentality. While most of these songs would not have been my pick for each band (aside from Alkaline Trios "Armageddon"), this album is totally awesome.
************LATE BUT GREAT***********

17 Hippies - Heimlich

Tyfoo/Soul Food/Rettet Die Amphibien/Hipster

The first word that comes to mind is terrifying. Yes, I find this music scary as all hell. I love it. Music that creeps me out is the kind of music I can find myself listening years and years from now, even if I've grown onto greener pastures than record reviewing. If that's possible.
Either way, 17 Hippies are a Berlin based...band. They take influences from Gypsies much more than indie rock, but doesn't seem ashamed to branch out once and a while. They use very few traditional western instruments, relying heavily on accordion, banjo, horns, strings, and just about any other organic folk instrument that has existed on the planet. German lyrics provide another edge of character to the entire mix, even furthering this band from most music I've ever heard. I'd say calling this a not-punk Gogol Bordello is about right, but with a lot more reserved, and creative feel. Wow. This is really an insane album.

Natasha James - Bad Judgments

Highway One/Street Pace/City Hall

Natasha James preforms in the spectrum of blues and country. I've always thought of the style as Western, but that may just be a personal opinion. Acoustic guitar heavy with an ever-present conditioned slide guitar, Bad Judgments has that traveling feel that folk has seemed to lose over the years, but always personally impresses me.
The accompaniment isn't too heavy, and brings out her voice, which isn't particularly impressive on its own. There, beyond anything else, is a strong country feel, but you cannot deny the blues elements interwoven within Bad Judgments. She manages to create a texture to the music which is really good, and doesn't really over-do much on here. While a good majority of the songs sort of blend together for me, I still really appreciate this.

Deaf Pedestrians - ...And Other Distractions

Dot Point Period/Virgin/Capitol/EMI

I don't think I like this at all. It sounds like they couldn't decide on which edgy-yet-commercial genre they wanted to fully immerse themselves in, and not really do any of them all that well. Opening track "Seatbelt" takes on vocal characteristics of System Of A Down, but remain completely uninteresting. "15 Beers Ago" just sounds like a track Green Day were too embarrassed to record for Nimrod (which certainly says something).
This band gets hyped primarily for a single track called "Hail To The Geek". It's a sort of ballad reflecting the singers nerd hobbies and social awkwardness. Theoretically, I should be all about this: I have multiple Star Wars tattoos, spend my time watching sci-fi movies and T.V. Shows, and, yes, I played Magic: The Gathering when I was younger.
With all that said, the song is still not good. It has hooks, kind of. And it's lyrics are kind of funny. But it really just misses the mark at being anything worth listening to. Again, this could just not be my thing, but I'm not incredibly stoked on music that plays a full CD of different genres without doing any particularly well.

Justin Currie - What Is Love For

Rykodisc

Here's my take: this is tolerably melodramatic. Emphasis on "mellow". Even the loudest of tracks on here are calm and planned out, not really leaving any room for full-blown emotion. Yet, somehow throughout What Is Love For, Justin Currie makes his emotions work within the context of slow, controlled music.
He is a veteran to the scene: he fronted mid 90's hit band Del Amitri, and has been in and out of bands since the mid 80's. His solo work carries very similar feels to his previous works, but in a much more reserved sense. This is very obviously a solo album, owning up to the fact that he has complete control of the whole process.
Title track "What Is Love For?," is the highlight for me: a finger-picked ballad describing, surprisingly, love. He's currently engaged, so that gives you a slight idea of the sort of reservations he has about love. This is really easy to listen to, and still uses enough style and talent to make it interesting as well.

Last November - Over The Top Or Under The Weather

Southern Tracks/Bill Lowery/Muff

With so much mediocre pop rock existing in this world, I really enjoy hearing a band come out that is at least decent. Last November, while not something I'd listen to on a regular basis, do have quite a lot going for them. Young and honest, the band don't seem to be bullshitting much on here: just a lot of honest songs about being nuts and in love, but more so from a point of view that probably is about a person the singer was in love with in high school but never had the guts to talk to. Yeah, one of those bands. Lyrical style takes slight cues from Ben Kweller, but still stand on their own. The over-processed synthesizer adds a dynamic that most pop rock acts dream of, but Last November actually pulls off, much like every other aspect of Over The Top Or Under The Weather.

Lead Belly - Where Did You Sleep Last Night?

Smithsonian Folkways

Lead Belly truly shaped the way we play music today. While not the first to play folk the way he did, his personal style and approach helped inspire the greats of our days, and continue to live on in Where Did You Sleep Last Night, his "Legacy Vol. 1" CD. He was born on a plantation, and lived a good majority of his live as a sharecropper, a good portion in jail, and the last halfish as a traveling musician, along the likes of Woody Guthrie and a young Pete Seeger.
He was known primarily for his amazing 12-string guitar playing, but was known to pick up just about every other folk instrument at one point or another. While a majority of his songs are about alcohol and women, he did talk strongly about his reality as an African American in a white supremacist society. Songs such as "Pick A Bail Of Cotton", which has been appropriated to a children's song, was very obviously about racism of the south in his day. While he might be dead, Lead Belly's legacy lives on, and hopefully will continue until the end of days.
****Shelton's Single of the Week: "Blind Lemon,"****

Hayes Carll - Trouble In Mind

Lost Highway/Universal

Hayes Carll is technically a country singer, but his soul really is in blues. While it's hard to imagine, his formula seems to be pretty similar throughout: Carll takes blues progressions, lyrics, and themes, but present them in country forms.
He has the country voice, and his style is certainly suburban, but still. While he sounds country, he is very much blues. Songs are incredibly depressing, feeling much like they are all just a buildup of a lifetime of broken hearts, but it certainly doesn't come off self-deprecating. Check out the song "She Left Me For Jesus".

Rupa & The April Fishes - ExtraOrdinary Rendition

Cumbancha

Gypsy music is slowly but surely becoming the new hit thing. Rupa & The April Fishes are a perfect example, in the best way possible. While most of this style we get here at JSITOP21 is primarily genre-bending with either punk or indie rock, this is fairly iconic Gypsy music.
Perhaps there is a jazz inflection here and there, but this is remarkably straightforward. Rupa, a musician while a physician on the side, has an incredible voice, using a style that western ears are not accustomed to. It creates a drastic contrast between mainstream American music.
The April Fishes use an array of instruments, but rely primarily on accordion, horns, and odd percussion. For all of you local readers, Rupa & The April Fishes are based out of San Francisco, meaning that their live performance will be coming around soon, so be ready to have your minds blown.

Anne Murray - Duets: Friends & Legends

Manhattan/EMI

While long before my time, Anne Murray is a name that's always floated around. She was the precursor to a good majority of the female pop acts out there, especially paving the way for artists such as Celine Dion and Shania Twain. Her music has touched millions of lives, and she continues to record after forty plus years.
Duets: Friends & Legends is what it sounds like. Every name on here is huge (Sarah Brightman, Celine Dion, Nelly Furtado, Indigo Girls, Shania Twain, Dusty Springfield, etc.) and Murray makes every single one work. Yes, Nelly Furtado singing with Murray is bizarre, but using the formula of old covers works surprisingly well.
Opening track "Danny Boy" is terrific, which may or may not have to do with the fact that the original was superb. While Murray has grown throughout the years, she certainly hasn't lost it.
****Shelton's Second Single Of The Week: "Another Pot O' Tea w/ Emmylou Harris,****

Various Artists - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack: 21

Columbia/Sony BMG

So this, as anyone who is literate can see, is a soundtrack. This is a movie about a bunch of MIT math wizards who learn how to count cards for the card game Blackjack. If you love the card game, you must see the movie, says the editor.
But, I have to review the soundtrack, so here's what I got: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack: 21 is a really bizarre collection of electronic pop and awkward indie rock. Basically, the most important part of this record is the opening track. A Soulwax remix of "You Can't Always Get What You Want". It's bizarre, to say the least. There isn't much left of the backing music, so basically it's a new song with Mick Jagger and back-ups. The music is low-end heavy groove. I kind of like it. The rest of the album is fairly similar: strange electronic music with lots of pop themes. Others on here include: MGMT, LCD Soundsystem, Knivez Out, UNKLE, and Broadcast.

Love Psychedelico - This Is Love Psychedelico

HackTone

I'm stoked this isn't a psychedelic album. I'm so over how hip and accessible that genre has become, and how obnoxious everyone involved is. Yes, I love weed as much as the next person, but when music become mediocre and accessible to the masses, then I start giving my big thumbs down.
But as I said, Love Psychedelico is anything but mediocre. Incredibly catchy guitar lines over electronic beats and samples make an odd form of J-Pop that is not only better than the rest, but really hard to fit into a concept. There are points that legitimately remind me of Avril Lavigne, but somehow not soul-less. It also uses the back and forth sung vocal diagram that Tatu used, but somehow make it work better than either of these artists. Japan only puts out good music. I stick by that.
***So Nice, Gotta Do It Up Twice (Created by the Original NYC DJ, Jocko, 1955)***

The Gust Spenos Quartet - Swing Theory

Swing Theory

I don't know much of what I can write about this record that the name doesn't already say. This is quintessential swing, up and down. A good majority is incredibly upbeat and energetic, with a few down points which serve to further accent the incredible dynamics of the Gust Spenos Quartet. While the album isn't actually a quartet (seven members off an on throughout the record), I feel comfortable looking over it for the pure sake of how good this is.

Airbourne - Runnin' Wild

Roadrunner/Warner Bros.

So when I first set eyes on Runnin' Wild I already made up my mind: a giant thumbs down. I never was big into much of mainstream hair metal or hard rock (minus the few that were good enough to actually be counted as music) and, let's be honest: with a logo like that, what are the odds of Airbourne writing songs that would actually be worth listening to?
So I put the CD in, spent a few seconds waiting for it to get really bad, but it somehow didn't. Then I kept on listening and wondered why I wasn't cringing yet. Then I figured it out: Airbourne are just an AC/DC cover band with better distortion. It's not an objective thing, they really just are. They have it down to science: the perfectly placed rock solos, the scratchy, and at times intolerable but still great vocals, and endless amounts of singalongs.
Every song seems to be about partying ("C'mon drink your beer and drink your wine, let's have a good time!") and they really don't fluctuate anywhere on the CD. So basically, if you thought "You Shook Me All Night Long" was a good song, then you will like Airbourne. No option.

The Raveonettes - Lust, Lust, Lust

Vice/ADA

All too hip indie sensations The Raveonettees do not let go. They are everywhere. Maybe it's because I live in hipster haven that is Santa Cruz that worships Pitchfork Media and Vice magazine, or perhaps it's because this band is actually everywhere, but I feel like I can't turn a corner without hearing about this band's newest doings, or what any other cohort band in the similar genre is up to.
Don't get me wrong, I totally like this band. I just get annoyed to hear about the same band over and over and over again. Maybe they are just that good. The two piece, consisting of members Sune Wagner and Sharin Foo, create lo-fi atmosphere through harsh noise and feedback, but don't especially hold back on the 60's iconography.
Not only do they pay tribute to white soul-less soul from our recent past, but also use artwork that is quite reminiscent of the time period. Lust, Lust, Lust is them at their peak: a majority of the album is just a mess of unintelligible hooks buried heavily underneath fuzzed out everything. Think a better Jesus and the Mary Chain. center>

***If You Like Music, You're Gonna' Love This!***

Come, get out of the way, boys
Quick, get out of the way
You'd better watch what you say, boys
Better watch what you say
We've rammed in your harbor and tied to your port
And our pistols are hungry and our tempers are short
So bring your daughters around to the port
'Cause we're the Cops of the World, boys
We're the Cops of the World

We pick and choose as please, boys
Pick and choose as please
You'd best get down on your knees, boys
Best get down on your knees
We're hairy and horny and ready to shack
We don't care if you're yellow or black
Just take off your clothes and lie down on your back
'Cause we're the Cops of the World, boys
We're the Cops of the World

Our boots are needing a shine, boys
Boots are needing a shine
But our Coca-cola is fine, boys
Coca-cola is fine
We've got to protect all our citizens fair
So we'll send a battalion for everyone there
And maybe we'll leave in a couple of years
'Cause we're the Cops of the World, boys
We're the Cops of the World

Dump the reds in a pile, boys
Dump the reds in a pile
You'd better wipe of that smile, boys
Better wipe off that smile
We'll spit through the streets of the cities we wreck
We'll find you a leader that you can't elect
Those treaties we sighned were a pain in the neck
'Cause we're the Cops of the World, boys
We're the Cops of the World

Clean the johns with a rag, boys
Clean the johns with a rag
If you like you can use your flag, boys
If you like you can use your flag
We've got too much money we're looking for toys
And guns will be guns and boys will be boys
But we'll gladly pay for all we destroy
'Cause we're the Cops of the World, boys
We're the Cops of the World

Please stay off of the grass, boys
Please stay off of the grass
Here's a kick in the ass, boys
Here's a kick in the ass
We'll smash down your doors, we don't bother to knock
We've done it before, so why all the shock?
We're the biggest and toughest kids on the block
'Cause we're the Cops of the World, boys
We're the Cops of the World

When we butchered your son, boys
When we butchered your son
Have a stick of our gum, boys
Have a stick of our buble-gum
We own half the world, oh say can you see
The name for our profits is democracy
So, like it or not, you will have to be free
'Cause we're the Cops of the World, boys
We're the Cops of the World

Political Article: How Things Work: FTC Chair to Join Procter & Gamble By:Robert Weissman Back To Top The chair of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Deborah Platt Majoras, is leaving her job. She's going to become vice president and general counsel for Procter & Gamble (P&G). Should it raise eyebrows for the head of the leading U.S. consumer protection agency to leave and take a job with the largest consumer products company? Not in Washington, D.C. Asked about the propriety of the move, FTC spokesperson Nancy Judy explains that Majoras will need to abide by a year-long "cooling off" period. She'll never be able to represent P&G before the Commission on matters on which she worked while at the FTC. And once she announced that she would be taking a job with P&G, she removed herself from any matters that might affect the company. Shira Mintz, who is the assistant general counsel for ethics at the FTC, says that Majoras is "extremely conscientious" about ethical matters, and that everything she has done is above board. OK, but is there any concern about appearances here? Or is this just how things work? "It is how things work," says Mintz. "The nature of the business is the revolving door." Wow. "You get extremely qualified people to come into government, and then they go back into the real world," says Mintz. "Real world" means well-paying corporate work. Majoras came to the FTC from the Bush Justice Department. Prior to that, she worked for the corporate law firm Jones Day. Jones Day claims more than half of the Fortune 500, including P&G, as clients. Procter & Gamble is the largest consumer goods company in the United States (not counting Altria/Philip Morris, which is breaking itself apart later this week). It makes Old Spice deodorant, Charmin toilet paper, Pampers diapers, Duracell batteries, Ivory soap, CoverGirl cosmetics, Dawn dish washing soap, Clairol hair dye, Pepto-Bismol, Tide laundry detergent, Crest toothpaste, Bounty paper towels, Gillette shaving products, Folgers coffee and Pringles potato chips, among many other products. The FTC is an independent federal agency with authority over both consumer protection and competition policy. Given the breadth of the FTC's jurisdiction and the breadth of P&G's product line, what the FTC does - and does not do - is of potentially enormous importance to P&G. Under the Bush administration, including the period since 2004, when Majoras became chair, the FTC hasn't done much. Consider just a few of the issues that touch on Procter & Gamble's interests: * P&G is the leading company involved in "buzz marketing" - employing regular people to talk up company products, often in exchange for free merchandise. P&G says it has 250,000 teens working for its Tremor division. P&G sends them stuff, and they are supposed to talk to friends about the products. The head of the Tremor division told USA Today in 2005, "If we've done our work correctly, they talk to their friends about" the gifts. Tremor doesn't tell members to say they are part of Tremor, he explained, "because you never tell a [panelist] what to say." An organization with which I work, Commercial Alert, petitioned the FTC in 2005 to investigate whether buzz marketing operations violate federal rules on deceptive advertising. The basic FTC rule is that paid marketers must disclose that they are paid. The Commercial Alert petition asked the FTC to review evidence that "companies are perpetrating large-scale deception upon consumers by deploying buzz marketers who fail to disclose that they have been enlisted to promote products. This failure to disclose is fundamentally fraudulent and misleading." The petition specifically focused on P&G, arguing that "the Commission should carefully examine the targeting of minors by buzz marketing, because children and teenagers tend to be more impressionable and easy to deceive. The Commission should do this, at a minimum, by issuing subpoenas to executives at Proctor & Gamble's Tremor and other buzz marketers that target children and teenagers, to determine whether their endorsers are disclosing that they are paid marketers." A year later, the FTC responded. The Commission agreed with the thrust of Commercial Alert's argument: "In some word of mouth marketing contexts, it would appear that consumers may reasonably give more weight to statements that sponsored consumers make about their opinions or experience with a product based on their assumed independence from the marketer." But then the Commission declined to undertake an investigation or rule-making, saying it would consider matters only a case-by-case basis. The P&G case - involving a quarter of a million teens who are not instructed to disclose their relationship to the company - apparently was not noteworthy enough. Said Gary Ruskin, Commercial Alert's executive director at the time, "Instead of acting like a watchdog, the Commission is more like a docile lapdog nestled in the lap of its corporate masters." * A major emerging technology for consumer products is RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) systems. These systems, involving the attachment of tiny, trackable electronic chips to products (or people, pets and cars), offer the possibility of precise inventory control and management. They also portend some major privacy concerns. The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) warns of the possibility of "an Orwellian world where law enforcement officials and nosy retailers could read the contents of a handbag - perhaps without a person's knowledge - simply by installing RFID readers nearby." There are concerns about retailers and manufacturers being able to track consumers once they leave the store. These issues are being taken seriously in Europe. There, says EPIC executive director Marc Rotenberg, "the European Commission has undertaken an extensive public consultation and has recently held several high-level events." The European Commission is now soliciting comments on proposed privacy standards for RFID technologies. In the United States, in 2004, the Federal Trade Commission held a workshop on RFID issues. P&G presented at the workshop, detailing the company's privacy policies and how it would ensure that RFID technologies were not abused. EPIC also presented. "EPIC submitted very detailed comments with clear recommendations," says Rotenberg. "No action since." * Childhood obesity rates in the United States have more than tripled over the past four decades. The childhood rate of type 2 diabetes, once known as "adult-onset" diabetes, has more than doubled in the past decade. No serious person believes skyrocketing childhood obesity rates are unrelated to the onslaught of junk food marketing targeting kids. The staid Institute of Medicine finds, "food and beverage marketing practices geared to children and youth are out of balance with healthful diets and contribute to an environment that puts their health at risk." It has been impossible for the FTC to completely ignore this issue. But the FTC has doubly worked to protect the junk food marketers. It emphasized that many factors besides marketing are driving the obesity epidemic - which is true, but a way to divert attention from the agency's regulatory role. And, as Majoras said in 2007, "the focus of the FTC/HHS [Department of Health and Human Services] joint initiative on childhood obesity has been on marketing and industry self-regulation." In recent years, facing the threat of litigation, federal legislation, state and local regulation, and citizen pressure campaigns - just about everything but serious FTC action - the junk food companies have adopted some modestly helpful marketing guidelines to curb some of their most aggressive practices. But the guidelines remain voluntary and are non-enforceable. Although it has held some interesting meetings, the FTC has been absent on the regulatory front. These are just three among many examples. Other FTC policy issues implicating Procter & Gamble include online marketing to kids, product placement on TV, and mergers (the FTC in 2005 approved a controversial, $57 billion P&G takeover of Gillette, a decision from which Majoras recused herself.) There are many others. There's no reason to suspect Majoras is violating any laws in going to work for Procter & Gamble, or that she will in the future. There is no reason to believe she did favors for P&G in anticipation of a job with the company. From her new, high post, she personally may never take up a matter before the FTC. But the deep corruption inside the beltway is not the illegal, Jack-Abramoff stuff. The real corrupting influences are the things that are legal. The things that Washington insiders view as just "how things work."

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