Here's a fun and faux 'contest' which everyone with a memory can enjoy and relive with. Have a great weekend
and help retain our city's history, before it disappears, altogether. Ed PS: All the songs are great, but only one has become the banner for struggles for freedom and democracy throughout the world. Deep in my heart, I do believe, We Shall Overcome! From: Portside Moderator [mailto: <[email protected]> Ten Protest Songs That Matter by Peter Rothberg The Nation.com: April 21, 2011 http://www.thenation.com/blog/160084/ten-protest-songs-matter Dorian Lynskey's comprehensive new book, 33 Revolutions Per Minute, details the history of the protest song in America and around the world. Defining a protest song as one that "addresses a political issue in a way which aligns itself with the underdog," Lynskey starts his story with Billie Holiday's harrowing 1939 anti-lynching ballad, "Strange Fruit," and ably takes us through the historic tunes that helped sustain and promote the civil rights, labor and anti-Vietnam war movements as well as non-American music from The Clash in Britain, Victor Jara in Chile and Fela Kuti in Nigeria. It's a bracing and informative survey, even if you're familiar with the topic, and it sent me thinking and talking to people about all-time favorite protest songs. A quick poll of Nation staffers and friends of the magazine produced an eclectic play list: Nation Publisher Emeritus Victor Navasky offered "Peat Bog Soldiers," one of Europe's best-known protest songs that became a Republican anthem during the Spanish Civil War and a symbol of fascist resistance during World War II. Executive Editor Richard Kim cited Sinead O'Connor's "Black Boys on Mopeds." Managing Editor Roane Carey undoubtedly spoke for many when he insisted on Bob Dylan's classic " Masters of War." Publicity Director Gennady Kolker contributed John Lennon's "Gimme Some Truth." Blogger, author and former Crawdaddy editor Greg Mitchell's tentative short-list includes Sam Cooke's "Change Is Gonna Come," Woody Guthrie's "Vigilante Man," Steve Earle's "Jerusalem," Bruce Springsteen and Tom Morello's live version of "Ghost of Tom Joad," Bob Dylan's "Chimes of Freedom", Louis Armstrong's "Black and Blue," Leonard Cohen's "Democracy," Billy Bragg's version of Beethoven's "Ode to Joy and Neil Young's "Shock and Awe." Mother Jones Publisher Steve Katz wrote to say that Steve Goodman's "My Name is Peggy Evans" is the song that's stuck with him all these years. Free Speech TV's Don Rojas votes for Bob Marley's "Redemption Song." Care2's Cindy Samuels couldn't pick just one among vintage classics "Union Maid," "Bread and Roses," and "We Shall Overcome." GritTV's Sarah Jaffe lauds Patti Smith's "Radio Baghdad" and the Dropkick Murphys' version of "Which Side are You On." Nation Institute Investigative Editor Esther Kaplan counters with what she argues is the "ultimate version of the song," featured in the film Harlan County USA and sung by Florence Reece, who wrote the ballad during a coal mining strike in the 1930s. Alternet's Washington, DC editor Adele Stan cites the Isley Brothers' "Fight the Power" and Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth." TruthOut editor Jason Leopold argues for Barry McGuire's version of PF Sloan's "Eve of Destruction," and FAIR founder and Head of the Park Media Center at Ithaca College Jeff Cohen named a too-often- ignored 1970 song "What About Me?" from the San Francisco band Quicksilver Messenger Service. "It has almost everything -- environment, media criticism, class, youth rebellion, repression, optimism." Seriously picking a top-ten is an impossible task, but in the interests of getting the conversation started, here are my choices. The criteria includes musical quality as well as topicality and I tried to stray some from the totally predictable. Hope you enjoy the videos! 1) Bob Marley's "Get Up, Stand Up" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKuUKHmTHPk <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKuUKHmTHPk&feature=player_embedded> &feature=player_embedded 3:26 2) Stiff Little Fingers' "Suspect Device" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgG_c21NW0c <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgG_c21NW0c&feature=player_embedded> &feature=player_embedded 2:43 3) Steel Pulse's "Ku Klux Klan" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ji4hdnCEEUM <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ji4hdnCEEUM&feature=player_embedded> &feature=player_embedded 4:46 4) Gil Scott-Heron's "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded <http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=X6OASOH_66A> &v=X6OASOH_66A 3:24 5) Malvina Reynolds' "Little Boxes" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_2lGkEU4Xs <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_2lGkEU4Xs&feature=player_embedded> &feature=player_embedded 2:12 6) Phil Ochs' "I Ain't Marchin' Anymore" http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded <http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=SVCJC5wIFbA> &v=SVCJC5wIFbA 2:01 7) Billy Bragg's "Waiting for the Great Leap Forward" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdYwfDaAHVs <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdYwfDaAHVs&feature=player_embedded> &feature=player_embedded 5:29 8) Bob Dylan's "Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll" http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded <http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=UVSWc9KzqV0> &v=UVSWc9KzqV0 13:11 9) Aretha Franklin's "Respect" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FOUqQt3Kg0 <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FOUqQt3Kg0&feature=player_embedded> &feature=player_embedded 2:30 10) Boogie Down Production's "Stop the Violence" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pAjPuKO6VU <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pAjPuKO6VU&feature=player_embedded> &feature=player_embedded 4:52 We also want to hear from Nation readers! Use this form to tell us what you consider your all-time favorite protest song. Please include a link to a video, if you have it, but just tell us the name and artist if you don't. We'll be publishing a survey of readers' choices next week. http://www.thenation.com/whats-best-protest-song-ever [Peter Rothberg, the Nation's Associate Publisher for Special Projects, has been writing the Act Now blog covering the world of activism since 2003. His previous positions with The Nation include publicity director, web editor, special projects director and intern. A former contributor to Air America radio's daily Nation Minute commentaries, Rothberg is also a former speech-writer for civil rights leader Julian Bond. A member of the Brooklyn Literary Council and the board of Living Liberally, Rothberg lives in Brooklyn, where he was born and raised.] ___________________________________________ Portside aims to provide material of interest to people on the left that will help them to interpret the world and to change it. Submit via email: [email protected] Sub/Unsub: http://portside.org/subscribe-and-unsubscribe Search Portside archives: http://portside.org/archive Contribute to Portside: https://portside.org/donate * * * _____ From: [email protected] The exact address is 115 Paseo De La Plaza, 90012. Just next to Olvera Street. Thanks. --- On Tue, 4/19/11, Trey Baskett <[email protected]> wrote: Thanks Ed. I appreciate it. The event is this Saturday the 23rd at noon on the plaza at El Pueblo near the Methodist Church. It coincides with the Blessing Of The Animals. I will be happy to fill people in on the details and the long story behind this push to secure a lease. The El Pueblo Commission that governs the monument and provides direction to the management meets regularly and as we move forward it would be nice to add people to our presence at those meetings. Anyone can feel free to contact me on or off list for info too. Those of you so inclined could contact your council offices as well to brief them on the matter. The more people we can inform the better. Kindly, Trey Echo Park, Please join me to support La Plaza United Methodist Church at El Pueblo De Los Angeles Historical Monument on Olvera Street to encourage the city to resolve current lease negotiations in a fair and timely manner. La Plaza United Methodist is in talks with the city to secure a new lease agreement to remain in the location from which they have served the community for over one hundred years. Let's keep this great monument to Los Angeles historical roots from the hands of salivating developers who would drastically change the configuration and look of the origin of Los Angeles ' earliest village. Erasing history should not be the goal of a healthy, redevelopment and improvement of such a unique, historical core. At noon this Saturday, April 23rd, the church congregation will be on the zocalo to show our presence and provide information to the community about our challenges with the city lease negotiation team. I invite you all to come down and hear our story. Please see the attached flyer for details. Please pass this on to your friends and if anyone could be so kind as to translate to Spanish it would be greatly appreciated. Email me if you have questions. Thank you, Trey _____ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Digest: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Help: <mailto:[email protected]?subject=laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive1: <http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive2: <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yahoo! 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