(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

[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.