- "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 on mainstream
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 ....
-
- "... what if you saw
- All of the things that's wrong
- Would you stand tall and strong?
- Or would you turn and walk away..."
-
- Paris - 'Sonic Jihad'
- http://www.guerrillafunk.com/audio/paris/Sonic_Jihad/what_would_you_do.wav
-
- 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).
-
- Steve Earle - 'Rich Man's War'
- http://www.steveearle.net/discography/revolution.php
-
- And then from David, plenty of reasons why people seek
him out:
-
- David Rovics -
- 'After We Torture Our Prisoners'
- 'Operation Iraqi Liberation'
- http://www.soundclick.com/pro/default.cfm?BandID=111310&content=music
- (seventh one down, click play)
-
- A new one from one of the architects of the legendary
band Pink Floyd ...
-
- Roger Waters - 'To kill the child'
- http://www.roger-waters.com/
-
- Somewhere between salsa and swing, this checklist of
American woes ...
-
- 1,000 Paper Cranes - 'Baghdad Suite'
- http://www.sonicyouth.com/prmp3/Baghdad_Suite.mp3
-
- Now let's get really bleak ...
-
- Soylent Gringo - 'Let's Start a War, Part 2'
- http://www.soylentgringo.com/movingpictures.htm or
- http://www.soylentgringo.com/Let%20Start%
- And from a popular West Coast peacenik ...
-
- "We can bomb the world to pieces,
- but we can't bomb it into peace."
-
- Michael Franti and Spearhead - 'Bomb the World'
- http://www.spearheadvibrations.
-
- Some country with clear vision ...
-
- James McMurtry - 'We Can't Make It Here Anymore'
- http://www.digitalvisionmedia.com/compadre/We_Cant_Band.mp3
-
- I defy you to classify this one ...
-
- Iron Sheik - 'Neocon Loveson'
- http://www.ironsheik.biz/Music/NEOCONLUVSONG.mp3
-
- Has a little bit about 9/11 ...
-
- Chumbawamba - 'Jacob's Ladder' (Not In My Name)
- http://www.peace-not-war.org/Music/Chumbawamba/
-
- And this will make you laugh, no question ...
-
- Uncle Harold & the Due Rights - 'Fascist Nation'
- http://iresist.com/myth/FascistNation.html#Track1
-
- 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.
-
- http://www.smytheandtaylor.com/unholyland.mp3
-
- If you can produce one penny from the use of this song,
you'll be way ahead of me. Even Dylan needed to eat. We are the solution
- not the problem.
-
- And for you thrash fans, check out ...
-
- Sado Nation - 'Nuke Up Now'
- http://myspace.com/sadonation
-
- Here's an obvious message phrased in a catchy way ....
-
- Loudmouth - 'Deluge'
- http://www.unet.univie.ac.at/~a0107361/Deluge.mp3
-
- 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 ....
-
- Eminem - 'Mosh'
- http://mosh.eminem.com/video/
-
- 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
-
- ***
-
- The mother lode of interesting antiwar songs is here
...
- http://hotburrito.100megsfree5.com/iraqwar/songs.html
-
- and here ...
-
- Music Against the War
- http://maritimes.indymedia.org/news/2003/11/5364.php
-
- 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.
-
- The Coup (featuring Dead Prez) - 'Get Up'
-
- http://www.heartbone.com/various/BurningBush.html
- (near the bottom of the list)
-
- 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.
-
- http://www.heartbone.com/various/RedPillVideos.html
-
- Peace.
-
-
- 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/
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