how we gon' fight to keep freedom when we ain't got
it? you wanna stop terrorists? start with the u.s.
imperalists ain't no track record like america's,
see bin laden was trained by the c.i.a but I guess if
you a terrorist for the u.s then it's okay uh
huh Dead Prez, Know your enemy http://www.heartbone.com/various/BurningBush.html (click
download; it’ll play)
It took me awhile to find this free link, but here it
is, kicking off a concert of free music you are not likely to
hear onmainstream radio. After my recent remark that popular
music is dead, hundreds of musicians and music fans sent me
their prime cuts — definitely conscious stuff. The point of
most who wrote was that corporate media won’t play any of
these songs, because they focus on humanity rather than
profits, and see the fascist warmaking America we confront
today with the searing vision of people craving love and peace
and witnessing only needless death and
destruction.
Music dead? I stand corrected, no question about it. Of
course, we should all boycott Clear Channel’s lobotomized
radio stations. The music is on the Internet. Dig it out and
dig it.
So let’s just imagine we’re all hanging with our
closest friends in a lovely grove with a bodacious sound
system and plenty of good stuff to eat and drink. Kick back
and listen to this inspiring array of funky passion from
principled musicians who, like us, are very worried about the
state of the world, and know how to sing about
it.
Let’s start with a Grammy award winner
...
The revolution starts now When you rise above your
fear And tear the walls around you down The revolution
starts here Steve Earle, The Revolution Starts Now http://www.steveearle.net/discography/revolution.php (click
the appropriate choice inside the link)
... then move on to a statement of the basic situation
in the hearts of people everywhere ....
Damn few artists have had the courage to say anything
about 9/11. Check this out and see if your chest doesn’t
tighten up ....
Take away our Play Stations and we are a Third World
nation. Under the thumb of some blueblood royal son who
stole the Oval Office in that phony election . . . . 3000
some poems disguised as people on an almost too perfect day
should be more than pawns in some asshole's passion
play so now it's your job and it's my job to make
it that way to make sure they didn't die in vain
sshhhhhh.... — Ani Difranco, Self Evident http://www.righteousbabe.com/self_evident.mp3
The wonderful folks who wrote me and tried to clue in
this aging square (me) about what was both hip and worthwhile
at this time in our history mentioned two artists more than
any other: Steve Earle and David Rovics. First, here’s another
one from Steve (and links to many other tunes by
him).
And another response I received to my last essay saying
I couldn’t find any good music was from T. C.
Smythe.
You want the truth, but The Truth is Expensive (or,
"Hey Asshole, Where's My Penny?")
In your article
you're asking the choir to sing — well, we've been singing,
but even the independent media won't play us. They won't come
to the church. Then you have the temerity to call me an
asshole and tell me to write a song. We didn't leave the
American public — they left us.
The ugly truth is that
it's the artists who *don't* need to get paid that can afford
to publish the songs you are waiting for. Thousands of
songwriters all over the country play these songs for free at
political rallies, marches, protest events and open mics. Some
of the songs are subtle, others more graphic, but they tell
the truth. Trouble is, you'll never see us on tour or in
concert venues because the truth doesn't sell beer or
insurance. Night clubs won't hire us and we have no
distribution outlet.
When we DO manage to get the nerve to write a really
good one, we lose our jobs, friends, or the songs get pirated
and sold behind our backs by the same folks who cry for it.
How many unlicensed MP3s are on *your* hard drive? 10? 100?
These recordings cost thousands of dollars to produce. Without
a job or an avenue for income, how are we to continue?
Writing/recording a good song takes practice, months of
editing/re-writing and lots and lots of money. I still have to
pay the rent, so this profession goes way beyond a hobby for
me.
If you can come up with a viable method of helping
us, we'd certainly appreciate it. Tell your friends if they
can find the song, they can find the songwriter — send them
the measley 1/15th of a cent they're supposed to get from
downloads.
And of course, the obligatory blast from the past,
contemporized ... Country Joe MacDonald, Support the
Troops http://www.countryjoe.com/epitaph.htm
And no decent concert today would omit perhaps the only
mainstream artist who has managed to galvanize millions with a
conscious message that actually has been played (if not
frequently) on mainstream outlets ....
even though I didn’t like the ending, because voting
didn’t do a damn bit of good. It never will as long as
Republican criminals control the companies that count the
votes
And lastly, but not leastly, my favorite of all the
songs I received does not have a link. But ... you can hear it
.... Splitting the Sky, United by writing John Boncore
at ... splittingthesky@yahoo.com and he’ll send it you.
Don’t miss it.
Thanks to all those musicians and music lovers who sent
lyrics and poems. They were all very inspiring and if I can
figure out a way to put them all together in a viable way, I
will. But right now I have enough to make a book out of them.
Hope you enjoy the music. Share it with your
friends.
Normally, my listening fare is somewhere between
Rachmaninoff and Debussy. But I must say, I’m becoming a real
fan of Dead Prez, so let’s close this out with another pointed
message.
Wait, don’t go yet. One more thing. You know that video
you’ve been wanting to watch, but haven’t been able to afford.
Chances are good you can find it here.
John Kaminski’s Internet
essays can be seen on hundreds of websites around the world.
They have been collected into two anthologies, the latest of
which is titled “The Perfect Enemy,” about how the
Zionist-controlled U.S. government created the terrorist group
known as al-Qaeda. His booklet “The Day America Died: Why You
Shouldn’t Believe the Official Story of What Happened on
September 11, 2001” was written especially for those who cling
to the government’s false explanation of the events of that
tragic day. For more information go to
http://www.johnkaminski.com
Send
this story to a friend
John Kaminski is the author of
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