Public Enemy, Fight the Power (purchase) Sometimes, simple sentiments say it best. Sometimes, there really are no words and music, glorious, pulsing, pounding music, makes life livable.
Like many fellow Americans, the words—the reality of the
words “President-Elect Trump”—have me alternating between nausea, bewilderment,
speechlessness, disgust and just plain furious anger. I don’t know what to say.
Thank God we have music in times like this. I don’t know
what else I’d turn to.
That’s all I got for this month’s theme. Politics is dead, I
think. Time to take the power back…
Just a short contribution, in light of Tuesday’s shocking election result. I’ll try to have something more substantial on the debacle over at Another Old Guy in a few days. (Here it is!)
My first thought when I heard the final result was that this was not the America that I knew, and that turned to nauseous feeling when I realized that half of this country sees America in a very different way than me—where division, hate, misogyny, racism, anti-Semitism, homophobia, bullying, greed and egotism are glorified. And I was pissed.
Here’s what my America is:
we believe that the American dream is big enough for everyone — for people of all races and religions, for men and women, for immigrants, for LGBT people, and people with disabilities. For everyone. . . . I count my blessings every single day that I am an American. And I still believe as deeply as I ever have that if we stand together and work together with respect for our differences, strength in our convictions and love for this nation, our best days are still ahead of us. Because, you know — you know, I believe we are stronger together and we will go forward together. And you should never, ever regret fighting for that. You know, scripture tells us, “Let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season, we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” So my friends, let us have faith in each other, let us not grow weary, let us not lose heart, for there are more seasons to come. And there is more work to do.
That was from the concession speech delivered by Hillary Clinton, the one candidate who was qualified, both by experience and temperament, to lead America, the candidate who, as I write this, got more votes than the President Elect, and who would have made a damn fine President. And someone who, at least publicly, is a lot more gracious than I feel right now.
I’d like to hope that what has happened over the last year is not America. But I’m just not sure anymore.
I would have preferred to post this 24 hours earlier: hate to be accused of
tilting the votes one way or another.
Rather than ramblin’ off on a tangent about how the state of the poor in
the US is a result of politics and dragging Ry Cooder into the whole business,
I might have gone directly to some Cooder politics in my previous post.
An article published via NPR a while back noted that Barack Obama was only
the 2nd US president to visit Trinidad. He was preceded by FDR. To follow up on
FDR's visit, Atilla the Hun composed a song.
To me, Cooder's <Into the Purple Valley> is about the time he solidified what I see as his style: crisp guitar of a semi-jazz style, assertive vocals, unusual backing bands and song-choice/themes that bring (musical) history to life.
Several others have taken up the song (van Dyke Parks and Ry among them).
The NPR story noted that FDR's Secretary of State received a certain amount
of credit in the song (it was Cordell Hull), and the article continued by
asking if Obama's Secretary of State (at that time) would have gotten as much
credit today (need I tell you who that was?)
Now, we know a little about Obama’s musical taste - see the various artists
he has invited to the White House, and we know that FDR became a fan of calypso
following his visit to the island. But how much do we know about his Secretary
of State’s (AT THAT TIME) musical preferences? Hope the results wont skew your
votes either way!
Have to say I am heartily sick of politics this year. And that is without even any involvement in the shitstorm of and around the who will be the next POTUS. Over here in the mother(land) of all parliaments we have had our own japes, "brexiting" Europe, or the EU, or planning to, at one stage having the similar threat of a bouffant haired shockwig idiot at the helm of our nation too. What does it mean? Probably that it is the sacred chalice of democracy that I am currently hating, as it was the voice of the people that chose to ignore the experts and believe the charlatans. By a pretty damn narrow margin. But hey, look on the bright side, holidays in the UK and british goods have suddenly become so much better value for any of you in the rest of the world, as the pound shrinks...... So how can I celebrate this fortnights theme? Well, in a foreign language I have no understanding of seems somehow entirely appropriate, and, by chance, I know of just the song.
I love the Ukrainians. The band, that is, knowing not enough of the actual country or it's people to confer that upon necessarily all of them. I know it isn't the first time they have appeared on these pages, but I am sure they are worth and deserve a reprise. Actually from Leeds, and an offshoot of 80s indie stalwarts, the Wedding Present, that band so beloved of the iconic disc jockey John Peel. Perhaps initially as a joke, and for one of his radio sessions, the band had produced ' Ukrayinski Vystupy v Johna Peela' as a celebration of guitarist Pete Solowka's heritage, bringing in the talents of 'Legendary' Len Liggins, an unlikely russian scholar, on fiddle and stentorian vocal, and Roman Remeynes, possibly, say it out loud, a pseudonym, on mandolin. An unexpected cult success, this led to Solowka and Liggins setting up the band in it's own right, as the Ukrainians, eventually breaking loose from the Wedding Present mothership. Since then, with the core duo remaining constant, the band has continued to play and tour, issuing 5 studio albums, several live and various compilations in the intervening years, totally without chart success in the UK. Paradoxically, they have become literally huge in the Ukraine and in other parts of what was once the eastern bloc. The signature sound is of basso profundo vocal, backed with fiddle, mandolin and accordion, underpinned with thunderous bass and drums. Always both never and so very much more than a piss-take, their love of traditional slavic folk song is immense and theirs is a true folk tradition brought into a 21st century focus. Plus their love for a cracking cover version, with translated and transposed versions of songs by the Sex Pistols, the Smiths and the Velvet Underground in their repertoire from the start. Last year they also produced a terrific all covers outing A History of Rock Music in Ukrainian'. Here is what 'someone' over at recommended blog 'Cover Me Songs' thought of that, even if he got the number of bandmembers wrong. (There are currently and were then 6)
And, should you fear this is all getting too far from our theme, what better way to return to the subject than this song, arguably an apt description of how and where it is all seeming to be heading over here. See if you recognise the tune below. It's political too!! G'luck the Yanks in your forthcoming. May the best woman win, say I.
Politics is very muchly on my mind these days. Mind you, I'm not talking about the US elections (I am assuming that is a forgone conclusion). My focus has been on the materials I have used for my work/lessons for many years:
As part of my DigitalCitizenship computer lessons, I direct my students to the WayBack Machine - part of the Internet Archive (archive.org). Aside from the millions of legally free video and music files they host (woohoo! Grateful Dead!!), the WayBack Machine offers a look back to the early days of the Internet - you can call up the Facebook site in its earliest incarnations. The point I try to make to my students is that there is always, somewhere, a copy of that SnapChat photo.
But on to politics... As you might well imagine, a mirror on the past might upset some of the powers that be: we humans may forget that so-and-so said such-and such 30 years ago. The WayBack Machine can prove it one way or another.
And so, to my great disappointment, this year, as I head into the "Your Internet Footprint" unit, I discover that the local <powers that be> have blocked access to archive.org - I dont know why, but I can surmise that there is information there that might not be ... er ... in our favor.
Music-wise, aside from his "chops", perhaps the thing I most bow down to is Ry Cooder's academics - the way he researches his music. From the very first album, his selections have shown a respect and understanding for the historical perspective: rock music is rooted in its antecedants (IE: cotton field music, which in turn has its roots ....)
As noted above, more often than not, perspective allows one to take a backward look with more information than we previously had. We once thought one way, but now see another: Jim Crow, LBGT, ...
Ry Cooder frequently zeroed in on songs about the poor: dustbowl farmers and such. Often his first albums included songs from previous stars like Woody Guthrie or relative unknowns like Blind Wilie McTell. Much later, he worked to give due credit to the Cuban Buena Vista Social Club. But behind each oevre, there is an academic approach: learn, teach and share. Subtle politics, but political in nature all the same.
Cooder's repertoire is extensive, but we'll go for a few.
Way back when, Johnny Cash came out with Get Rhythm - a song filled with references to working conditions for African Americans. A few years ago, Cooder upgraded the song
first Cash, then Cooder
Way back when, Woody Guthrie sang about the plight of the dustbowl farmer, Ry Cooder upgraded that one too.
Politics? Not directly, but there are commentaries in the lyrics about the man who votes and why he votes the way he does. Politics all the same ...
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