Category: music

Are we ever going to be better than this?

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I was just sifting through a bunch of old blog pieces from way back and it dawned on me that
1: I’ve been doing this a very long time in one form or another, and
2: we as people are not getting any better at this ‘being humans’ thing.
While cleaning up the drives and storing things away like some kind of OCD squirrel who can’t let any nuts go, I spotted some stuff that made me angry, sad and kind of defeated to be honest. It’s okay, I’ll better now, and I’m just old and pissy, the usual.

So, anyways, I’m going through all these old notes and folders, and was reminded that on August 2, 1990 we walked into the studio to start recording new material, and as we arrived, war broke out on the TV. It was the first gulf war. We recorded four CD’s of music that became the “War” album …We spent hours and hours asking each other “are we ever going to be better than this?”

WAR

Thirteen years later, in 2003, some of that music became part of the American Dreams album/video in reaction to the son following in daddy’s footsteps and starting another war in the middle east – in Afghanistan and Iraq.

(Due to content, you may directed to YouTube to watch this video.)

Jump ahead eight more years to September of 2011 and I’m back recording music for Occupy Edmonton, because, well, shit just isn’t getting any better … c’mon guys …

2019 brings us civil unrest on the streets, a pandemic, yep, a fucking PAN DEM IC!, a government that’s completely out of control, racists marching in the streets, open season on young black men for cops, and the dementia addled, insecure president of the United States attacking his own citizens in an effort to hang onto power.
2020, brings us Trumpsurrection ‘20 / GQP-Fascismalooza …woo hoo …
so, of course, more pissed off music …

Now, 2022 is here and I’m recording a new song for a friend who is, at present,  in  Ukraine.

I’m getting really tired of this, guys, how about we all get along so I can retire?
I’m way too old for this shit. We all are.
And the question remains the same,are we ever going to be better than this?

Imagine

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Capture

The War on Ukraine is an unimaginable tragedy… As a human, and as an artist, I felt compelled to respond in the most significant way I could. So today, for the first time ever, I publicly performed my Dad’s song, IMAGINE. Why now, after all these years? – I had always said, that the only time I would ever consider singing ‘IMAGINE’ would be if it was the ‘End of the World’… But also because his lyrics reflect our collective desire for peace worldwide. Because within this song, we’re transported to a space, where love and togetherness become our reality, if but for a moment in time… The song reflects the light at the end of the tunnel, that we are all hoping for… As a result of the ongoing murderous violence, millions of innocent families, have been forced to leave the comfort of their homes, to seek asylum elsewhere. I’m calling on world leaders and everyone who believes in the sentiment of IMAGINE, to stand up for refugees everywhere! Please advocate and donate from the heart. #StandUpForUkraine” —Julian Lennon

“Julian Lennon Performs ‘IMAGINE’ for Global Citizen’s Stand Up For Ukraine w/Nuno Bettencourt

Juylian Lennon – vocals

Nuno Bettencourt – guitar, vocals

Land of the Free

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Music video by The Killers performing Land Of The Free.
© 2019 Island Records, a division of UMG Recordings, Inc.

Can’t wipe the wind-blown smile from across my face
It’s just the old man in me
Washing his truck at the Sinclair station
In the land of the free
His mother Adeline’s family came on a ship
Cut coal and planted a seed
Down in them drift mines of Pennsylvania
In the land of the free
Land of the free, land of the free
In the land of the free
Land of the free, land of the free
Land of the free, land of the free
In the land of the free
(I’m standing crying)
When I go out in my car, I don’t think twice
But if you’re the wrong color skin (I’m standing crying)
You grow up looking over both your shoulders
In the land of the free
We got more people locked up than the rest of the world
Right here in red, white and blue
Incarceration’s become big business
It’s harvest time out on the avenue
Land of the free, land of the free
In the land of the free
Land of the free, land of the free
Move on there’s nothing too see
Land of the free, land of the free
In the land of the free
I’m standing crying, I’m standing crying
So how many daughters, tell me how many sons
Do we have to have to put in the ground before we just break down and face it
We got a problem with guns
In the land of the free
Down at the border, they’re gonna put up a wall
Concrete and rebar steel beams (I’m standing crying)
High enough to keep all those filthy hands off of our hopes and our dreams (I’m standing crying)
People who just want the same things we do
In the land of the free
Land of the free, land of the free
In the land of the free
Land of the free, land of the free
Land of the free, land of the free
In the land of the free
Land of the free, land of the free
Land of the free, land of the free
Land of the free, land of the free
Land of the free, in the land of the free
(I’m standing crying)

Easy Target

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John Mellencamp capped off a haunting rendition of his politically charged anthem “Easy Target” with a powerful statement on Thursday’s episode of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”
The musician dropped down to one knee and raised a fist into the air as his performance drew to a close.

Rage tweets due from Bad Touch Donnie in 3 … 2 … 1 …

Tommy Banks

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tb
I don’t even know where to begin on this one …
I cannot put into words how much this man meant to me, my friends, my fellow musicians …especially in the early days of my own musical journey … how much he ‘stopped to help’ when he did not need to … how he ALWAYS had the time, no matter who you were … how much class, elegance, understanding, caring and decency he displayed at every moment. To me, Tommy was “the Man.” Period. And then there was the music. The beautiful, amazing expression of joy that was every moment of Tommy’s music. There were none better, technically, emotionally, creatively. None.

This one really hurts.
Rest in peace Tommy.

Thomas Benjamin Banks, OC AOE LL.D
December 17, 1936 – January 25, 2018

…..

Old Man Trump

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Old Man Trump
Words by Woody Guthrie, Music by Ryan Harvey

I suppose that Old Man Trump knows just how much racial hate
He stirred up in that blood pot of human hearts
When he drawed that color line
Here at his Beach Haven family project
Beach Haven ain’t my home!
No, I just can’t pay this rent!
My money’s down the drain,
And my soul is badly bent!
Beach Haven is Trump’s Tower
Where no black folks come to roam,
No, no, Old Man Trump!
Old Beach Haven ain’t my home!
I’m calling out my welcome to you and your man both
Welcoming you here to Beach Haven
To love in any way you please and to have some kind of a decent place
To have your kids raised up in.
Beach Haven ain’t my home!
No, I just can’t pay this rent!
My money’s down the drain,
And my soul is badly bent!
Beach Haven is Trump’s Tower
Where no black folks come to roam,
No, no, Old Man Trump!
Old Beach Haven ain’t my home!

“tell me what it looks like”

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tell me what a shithole look like
is it a place built on the backs of enslaved people was taken from they people
by hate and deranged evil and greed and the need
to feel that we all not the same people where no one is made equal?/
tell me what a shithole look like, where we move heaven and earth
for a couple of men’s net worth while we let our poor live in dirt
where lies are national, and fashionable trumps factual
where we don’t know what just is, justice is laughable?/
tell me what a shithole look like
where you get famous for being famous we worship the mediocre
where bankers is playing poker with people’s futures w futures and leave em homeless
and our leaders save em and leave us broken/
is that what a shithole look like? where we send folks to die for courage and valor
in their mind but for real it be for the purses of power
and we proclaim that we kill to defend the people’s rights
but install dictators just for resources at cheaper price/
what a shithole look like? is it what the hood like?
where you could die any minute because of what you look like?
where children starving all cuz of discrimination
in ghettos created by homeowners loan corporation/
was an agent of the government so, tell me what a shithole look like
is it a place where we exist cuz the unforgivable
and walk around like if you not us we don’t want sit with you
where opinions with truth in em dismissed as hypercritical?/
tell me is a place a shithole,
where we lock and abuse people and cage the soul out em based on a color skin tone
allow folks to make millions off their pain while they sit home
smiling, while babies crying cuz they fathers aint never get home?/
i’m tryna imagine a shithole aesthetic
is it where anyone with an amplified voice is prophetic?
where people who gave their lives for freedom go unknown
but we deify people who make phones?/
tell me, when our president called black countries a shithole
was i mad because that’s racist to say?
and i know its wrong but deep down i be thinking the same?
And i would’ve said it to a neighbor over a brew and a j?/
Like do i know why wrong things are wrong?
do i accept my many privileges, and the role that i play when i play along?
do i want a pat on the back for basic humanity?
would i still be righteous in the face of calamity?/
tell me what makes a shithole? i think i live in one
am i ready for it to change ‘fore i get my livin’ done?
this aint a riddle son these are the simplest questions
if i knew i’s making a shithole would i switch professions?
how we make a shithole on land that was never ours
then puff our chest out with no shame bout how we get the power?
create a monster the surest way to get devoured
homie look around ya. A mu’fuckin shithole

– marlin craft
http://marloncraft.com

respect … bless up brother.

Impeach The President – Honey Drippers

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Just ‘cos it made me smile, and who can’t use one of those these days?

Roy Charles Hammond (born August 3, 1939), better known as Roy C or Roy “C”, is an American southern soul singer, songwriter and record executive, best known for his 1965 hit, “Shotgun Wedding”. Another song, “Impeach the President” (1973), which he recorded and produced with a high school group, the Honey Drippers, has had one of the most sampled drum tracks in hip hop music.
“Impeach the President” was a song advocating for the impeachment of President Richard Nixon due to the ongoing Watergate scandal and resulting impeachment process against Richard Nixon.

Eat The Rich

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Bad Touch Donnie and the GOP just announced their “screw everybody but us” tax plan and I have no idea why I’m in the mood for this, but, hey, enjoy!
This one goes out to Bad Touch Donnie, Lyin’ Ryan, Snitch McConnell and all the other empathy-free, out of touch Koch-suckers in the Greed Over People party.

Gord Downie

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“Music brings people together. Anything I do is to bring people together.”
– Gord Downie 1964-2017

“For almost five decades, Gord Downie uncovered and told the stories of Canada. He was the frontman of one of Canada’s most iconic bands, a rock star, artist, and poet whose evocative lyrics came to define a country.

The Tragically Hip’s music invited us to explore places we had never been – from Mistaken Point to Churchill – and helped us understand each other, while capturing the complexity and vastness of the place we call home.

Gord’s command of language was profound. He painted landscapes with his words, elevating Canadian geography, historical figures, and myths. When he spoke, he gave us goosebumps and made us proud to be Canadian. Our identity and culture are richer because of his music, which was always raw and honest – like Gord himself.

In the wake of his diagnosis, Gord only fought harder for what he believed in: social justice, environmentalism, and reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples. Before passing, he shined his light on the story of 12-year-old Chanie Wenjack who died from hunger and exposure after trying to find his way home from a residential school. For his work raising awareness of Indigenous issues, he was inducted as a member of the Order of Canada in 2017.

Gord did not rest from working for the issues he cared about, and his commitment and passion will continue to motivate Canadians for years to come.

On behalf of all Canadians, Sophie and I offer our deepest condolences to Gord’s family, friends, bandmates and crew members, and his many, many fans. He will be sorely missed.”
– Justin Trudeau

Everybody’s Got Somebody To Lean On

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Bloom County …

GFZdddY

Handle With Care
Tom Petty, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison and Bob Dylan.

Been beat up and battered ’round
Been sent up, and I’ve been shot down
You’re the best thing that I’ve ever found
Handle me with care
Reputations changeable
Situations tolerable
But baby, you’re adorable
Handle me with care

I’m so tired of being lonely
I still have some love to give
Won’t you show me that you really care
Everybody’s got somebody to lean on
Put your body next to mine, and dream on
I’ve been fobbed off, and I’ve been fooled
I’ve been robbed and ridiculed
In day care centers and night schools
Handle me with care

Been stuck in airports, terrorized
Sent to meetings, hypnotized
Overexposed, commercialized
Handle me with care

I’m so tired of being lonely
I still have some love to give
Won’t you show me that you really care
Everybody’s got somebody to lean on
Put your body next to mine, and dream on
I’ve been uptight and made a mess
But I’ll clean it up myself, I guess
Oh, the sweet smell of success
Handle me with care

…