freedom songs
Jan. 17th, 2003 01:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jfbThere's an article in one of the Metro newspapers about Freedom: Songs from the Heart of America. It's hyped as, apparently, "the soundtrack of America", companion to a PBS series. But it's composed entirely of music currently owned by Sony, and, needless to say, leaves a lot out.
The author, Greg Cahill, writes that "there's something disingenuous about Sony culling its archives--no matter how vast--and passing these songs off as representative of our rich musical heritage", but I have to say there's something a little disingenuous about acting surprised about it. Still, there's an interesting exercise here: Cahill offers samples from "my own alternative soundtrack to our crumbling empire". (Sony's list is here.)
What else belongs on the soundtrack of America? I'd nominate Joni Mitchell's "Don Juan's Reckless Daughter"--an intensely personal song but also one that takes in whole landscapes--and surely something from Marvin Gaye's What's Going On?, maybe something by Mingus....
And now I'm starting to chase my own tail over the problematic nature of this kind of endeavor, so I'm going to post this and let it go.
The author, Greg Cahill, writes that "there's something disingenuous about Sony culling its archives--no matter how vast--and passing these songs off as representative of our rich musical heritage", but I have to say there's something a little disingenuous about acting surprised about it. Still, there's an interesting exercise here: Cahill offers samples from "my own alternative soundtrack to our crumbling empire". (Sony's list is here.)
What else belongs on the soundtrack of America? I'd nominate Joni Mitchell's "Don Juan's Reckless Daughter"--an intensely personal song but also one that takes in whole landscapes--and surely something from Marvin Gaye's What's Going On?, maybe something by Mingus....
And now I'm starting to chase my own tail over the problematic nature of this kind of endeavor, so I'm going to post this and let it go.
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Date: 2003-01-17 01:59 pm (UTC)Also:
"Alice's Restaurant"
"Miss American Pie"