(no subject)

[jfb]

A few things I ran across earlier on Google:

Damon Albarn makes the case for protest music in the Times of London.

Louise Kennedy writes in the Boston Globe about why musicians aren't writing anti-war songs. Among other things, she points out that the anti-war songs of the 60s didn't come along until, well, the war was underway.

Jeff Chang writes in Metro (last April) about protest music, media conglomeration, and self-censorship. Lots of good perspectives in this piece. Both Kennedy and Chang look to hip-hop as a probable source of protest music for the new millennium.

Brent Staples writes about protest music, but mostly about the consolidation of radio ownership in the New York Times, following a related article by William Safire.

Barry Stoller asks "Where are the new anti-war songs?"--not just "little indie groups" but "supernova chart power". But his ideas for chart-topping artists are Dylan, Baez, McCartney, Ono, Ozzy Osbourne, Neil Young, and Johnny Rotten. I think he's making some kind of point, but it just makes him look out of touch.

Comments

[greyaenigma.livejournal.com]

Yep, can't wait for those N'Sync and Britney Spears anti-war songs.

[(Anonymous)]

I assume you know about the Beastie Boys song released today?

http://www.beastieboys.com

It's not very good, but hey, their hearts are in the right place.

--sean

[greyaenigma.livejournal.com]

In their chests, right? Right???

hiphop

[(Anonymous)]

One genre of music you can usually count on for commentary or motivation for social change is, of course, hip-hop.. There's a pretty interesting split in the hip-hop community.

Some artists (in my opinion, most of which comprise a group of talentless sell-outs) are speaking out in a very pro-war fashion.

From a recent Canibus song called "Draft Me":

“Lurkin’, to leave y’all with bloody red turbans/ Screamin ‘Jihad!’ while y’all pray to a false god/We ready for all out war, it’s time to settle the score.”

Scary.

Others have rallied around GWB and the war: Wu Tang, R Kelly, etc.

But, the bright spot is that a good portion of hiphop artists, both mainstream and underground are speaking out pretty loudly against the war, but, curiously very few have done so musically (yet) But thoughts, letters, and diatribes abound:

Russell Simmons has written an open letter to GWB. (http://www.sohh.com/thewire/read.php?contentID=4392) No doubt he's feeling a little listless since his pretty uncompelling boycott of Pepsi.

Paris wrote a big rant here (http://www.guerrillafunk.com/thoughts/doc1083.html).

And a bunch of hip-hop artists (Busta Rhymes, Capone & Noreaga, Missy Elliott, Fat Joe, Mobb Deep, Outkast, Pharoahe Monch, Bubba Sparxx, Jay-Z and Nas) got together to film an ad speaking out against the war. From the snippets of it I read it sounds good, although I found myself occassionally wishing an artist here or there would have have been more succinct with something like "This isn't a just war" instead of sharing his insight into "Bush's beef with Saddam".

But, no, very little actual music. Maybe it just doesn't sell?

--Chris

Re: hiphop

[greyaenigma.livejournal.com]

Scary. Makes me wonder how many pro-war songs there were during Vietnam.

Re: hiphop

[jfb.livejournal.com]

According to one non-exhaustive survey (http://www.slipcue.com/music/jazz/warsongs_01.html): "The patriotic war song pretty much died a lonely death during the Vietnam War with Sgt. Barry Sadler's 'Ballad Of The Green Berets' and Tony Orlando & Dawn's 'Tie A Yellow Ribbon' proving the last gasp of this once-great genre." Plenty of WWII songs though.

Also, I wouldn't want to take this class (http://www.arts.adelaide.edu.au/personal/DHart/ResponsesToWar/Lecture/20thCOther/VietnamUSA.html), whose syllabus lists "Born in the USA" under "Partriotic [sic] Rock And Pro-War Country And Western".

[rollerboogie.livejournal.com]

That's very much for these links, I'm gonna read them when I have a little more brainspace, it's a subject I'm really fascinated by right now. I was musing on the same topic a few weeks ago and I ran across this NPR segment that reviews a few indie-rock anti-war such-and-suches. So far, Ted Leo's my main anti-war rock musician squeeze: when he was on Conan a few weeks ago, he had "NO WAR" written on his guitar in masking tape and I grinned for a day and a half. Rock music needs to validate EVERYTHING. :)

[jfb.livejournal.com]

Thanks. From the clips on that show, I like Yo La Tengo's Sun Ra cover, and the Sage Francis track, "Makeshift Patriot". But what I'm really curious about is the Exotic Fever comp. Is it good aside from the Reputation track?

[rollerboogie.livejournal.com]

It's very long (twenty tracks) and I like about half of it, which is pretty good for a comp like this. My favorites are the Reputation track and the J.Robbins track (he covers "Fear is a Man's Best Friend" by John Cale). There's also good stuff from Ted Leo, Death Cab for Cutie (with Harvey Danger's Sean Nelson on vocals), and creepy stuff from Q and Not U and Enon--all in all, a very good collection of indie rockers, and it's $10 PPD for a worthwhile cause (proceeds go to a Vietnam Vet charity), so I'd recommend it. If nothing else it's a good study to see how modern day indie rockers try to make these songs their own--because they're not songs or an era that many seem inclined to touch. Hit and miss, but when it hits, it's very poignant. I think it's worth it for the Reputation track alone.

'Supernova chart power'

[(Anonymous)]

Barry Stoller responds: You got my rant out of context. I meant the real mainstream news entertainment, specifically Dylan duetting with Baez, McCartney duetting with Ono - the sort of stunt People magazine cannot ignore. Who's out of touch - me or the mainstream? W

Re: 'Supernova chart power'

[jfb.livejournal.com]

Oh, well, yeah, now I get it. Thanks.