Header

Huge Support for Pussy Riot

August 15th, 2012 | Posted by John Powles in Europe | Pussy Riot | World News - (0 Comments)

Support from musicians and singers, as well as from the media and campaigning organisations, for the 3 members of the radical Russian punk group Pussy Riot , imprisoned for daring to protest against Putin’s suppression of freedom of speech and expression. Pussy Riot have been in the news for some months, as reflected on this blog for example – see Pussy Riot Held in Prison and Pussy Riot Song Protest in Red Square.

The three members of the group now on trial (a trial compared by many commentators to the infamous show trials of the Soviet period) face a verdict on Friday 17th August; a global day of protest is being planned for that day, including at 11:00 (an hour before the verdict is delivered) a reading at the Royal Court in London of the testimonies of the three women. Throughout the trial support for the three, and outrage against their persecution, has grown considerably. For example, a letter in the London Times on the 2nd August from performers including Jarvis Cocker, Johnny Marr, Martha Wainwright, Neil Tennant, Pete Townsend, Kate Nash and Corinne Bailey amongst others, expressed concern for the way the members of the group are being treated, and stated that “Dissent is a right in any democracy … .We believe firmly that it is the role of the artist to make legitimate political protest and fight for freedom of speech.” During recent concerts Madonna has joined in the protests, especially at her recent show in Moscow when she appeared on stage wearing a balaclava (as worn by members of Pussy Riot) and with Pussy Riot written on her back whilst telling the audience “I pray for their freedom.”

Amnesty International is writing to the Russian authorities demanding the release of the band members (to add your name text ACTION18 and your full name to 88080). The trial has even been reported in a lengthy feature on the BBC News at Ten on 14th August, although for most of the item the reference was to “a Russian punk group”, with the newsreader seemingly reluctant to actually state the name Pussy Riot!

Pussy Riot Held in Prison

July 24th, 2012 | Posted by John Powles in Europe | Punk | Pussy Riot - (0 Comments)

Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alekhina and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 3 members of Pussy Riot, the feminist punk band, will be held in prison until at least March 2013 whilst awaiting trial for performing an anti-Putin punk song in Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. Pussy Riot have been protesting for many months now against Putin’s crack down on freedom of expression in Russia – for example see my news blog item Pussy Riot Song Protest in Red Square. Their Cathedral protest performance has been condemned by the Orthodox Church, which is urging the government to take strong action against the women.

Springsteen Attacks Bankers in Berlin

June 5th, 2012 | Posted by John Powles in Anti Cuts & Financiers | Europe - (0 Comments)

Playing to a crowd of almost 60,000 at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, Bruce Springsteen spoke out against bankers and fat cats before singing Jack of All Trades from his album Wrecking Ball. Springsteen told the crowd “In America a lot of people have lost their jobs. But also in Europe and in Berlin, times are tough. This song is for all those who are struggling.” The lyrics include a scathing attack on bankers and speculators, but also a note of hope for the future:

The banker man grows fatter, the working man grows thin
It’s all happened before and it’ll happen again
It’ll happen again, they’ll bet your life
I’m a Jack of all trades and, darling, we’ll be alright

Now sometimes tomorrow comes soaked in treasure and blood
Here we stood the drought, now we’ll stand the flood
There’s a new world coming, I can see the light
I’m a Jack of all trades, we’ll be alright

Bob Dylan Awarded Medal of Freedom

April 30th, 2012 | Posted by John Powles in Bob Dylan | North America - (0 Comments)

Bob Dylan has been awarded The Medal of Freedom, the USA’s highest civilian honour; he will receive the award from President Obama in a few weeks time. The White House statement announcing the awards says

Bob Dylan. One of the most influential American musicians of the 20th century, Dylan released his first album in 1962.  Known for his rich and poetic lyrics, his work had considerable influence on the civil rights movement of the 1960s and has had significant impact on American culture over the past five decades. He has won 11 Grammys, including a lifetime achievement award.  He was named a Commandeur dans l’Ordre des Art et des Lettres and has received a Pulitzer Prize Special Citation.  Dylan was awarded the 2009 National Medal of Arts.  He has written more than 600 songs, and his songs have been recorded more than 3,000 times by other artists.  He continues recording and touring around the world today.

Toni Morrison will also receive the Medal of Freedom at the same ceremony. So … from Chimes of Freedom in 1964 (with its bells “Tolling for the rebel, tolling for the rake / Tolling for the luckless, the abandoned an’ forsaked / Tolling for the outcast, burnin’ constantly at stake” and “for the aching whose wounds cannot be nursed / For the countless confused, accused, misused, strung-out ones an’ worse” to, from the American government’s Medal of Freedom in 1912 … there’s a thesis waiting to be written about that! Chimes of Feedom has been covered by many singers, including a powerful version from Bruce Springsteen.

Song Protest in Defiance of Breivik

April 29th, 2012 | Posted by John Powles in Europe - (0 Comments)

Crowds of many thousands flocked to Norwegian city centres on Thursday 26th April to protest against mass murderer and extreme right wing fanatic Anders Breivik and everything he adheres to. The main vehicle of their demonstration was song. In Oslo Norwegian artist Lillebjoern Nilsen led an estimated crowd of 40,000 in singing the 1970s peace song Children of the Revolution;

the song is based on Pete Seeger’s My Rainbow Race;

Pussy Riot Song Protest in Red Square

March 5th, 2012 | Posted by John Powles in Europe | Punk | Pussy Riot - (0 Comments)

Eight members of an anarchic punk band have been arrested in Moscow and charged with public order offences as a result an impromptu performance of an anti-Putin song, prefaced by a chant of “Riot in Russia”. The radical feminist group, Pussy Riot, usually performing in balaclavas, has gained both influence and notoriety following a number of performances over the past few months in a range of venues, including city squares, the Moscow metro and on a bus. One of the group’s members, Garadzha, stated

We are against Putin, against the regime. We wanted to show that this can happen in Russia, that there are girls who are active, who can do things like this.

Staff Halt Performance of Hitler’s Favourite Opera

February 7th, 2012 | Posted by John Powles in Europe | Opera - (0 Comments)

Staff objections have led Berlin’s biggest opera house, the Deutsche Oper, to drop plans to perform Hitler’s favourite opera. The opening night was to be April 20th, Hitler’s birthday. Wagner’s Rienzi (Last of the Tribunes) was said by Hitler to be a major influence on his political thinking. Rienzi is set in Rome and is based on the life of Cola di Rienzi (1313–1354), a medieval Italian populist figure who succeeds in outwitting and then defeating the nobles and their followers and in raising the power of the people.

The actual impact of the opera on Hitler has been widely debated, but certainly there are clear affinities between the plot and Hitler’s actions; one commentator Thomas Grey has very interestingly stated “In every step of Rienzi’s career – from … acclamation as leader of the Volk through military struggle, violent suppression of mutinous factions, betrayal and … final immolation – Hitler would doubtless have found sustenance for his fantasies.”

Vote for Lads of the BLF. A Roaring Jack Song

January 19th, 2012 | Posted by John Powles in Alistair Hulett | Asia-Pacific | World News - (0 Comments)

5 Song Set, an Oregon based Blog (“a semi-monthly five song music podcast, featuring an eclectic mix of generally upbeat music” to quote the blog’s website) is running a competition to determine the favourite song played during 2011, as selected by listeners.

Podcast Episode 9 posted on May 6th featured, to celebrate May Day, 5 songs about unions and the labour movement, one of which was Lads of the BLF by Roaring Jack. So, if you want to vote for the song, and perhaps win a prize for yourself as well as for the group, check out the website for full details.

Meanwhile, the lyrics of the song are as relevant here and now as they were when Alistair wrote the song about the struggles of the Builders Labourers Federation:

Corporations rule this land

Democracy’s a sham sir

They rob us blind at every turn

And then don’t give a damn sir

Alistair’s advice is also pertinent
“Stand up now for workers’ rights
And socialist reform sir”

CHECK OUT http://www.nme.com/nme-video/youtube/id/S_hnLKJWmnA/search/Roaring%20Jack

SOPA / PIPA Blackout Day Protest Songs

January 19th, 2012 | Posted by John Powles in Anti SOPA PIPA Protests | North America | World News - (0 Comments)

On Wednesday 18th January 2012 many internet sites intentionally blacked out for the day in protest against the SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act] and PIPA [Protect IP Act] legislation now being advanced in the USA. The day of protest has been judged a success by some of the major organisations involved. Wikipedia stated:

More than 162 million people saw our message asking if you could imagine a world without free knowledge. You said no. You shut down Congress’s switchboards. You melted their servers. From all around the world your messages dominated social media and the news. Millions of people have spoken in defence of a free and open internet.

Meanwhile Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg urged people to protest saying:

Tell your congressmen you want them to be pro-internet. We can’t let poorly thought out laws get in the way of the internet’s development. Facebook opposes Sopa and Pipa, and we will continue to oppose any laws that will hurt the internet.

Of course the internet with sites like YouTube, Facebook and the rest is a powerful tool for distributing activism against social injustice, including using songs as a vehicle for protests. Needless to say the SOPA / PIPA protests have led to the creating and posting of songs. The following examples demonstrate just how easy it can be to make protesting voices heard – no expensive equipment is required, no record industry moguls have to be grovelled to, no media pawns of government have to be persuaded – just do it and post it.

The first sample uses the age old method for creating a song of social justice – the adoption and adaption of an existing well known tune and lyric – in this case Don Maclean’s American Pie. Created by LaughPong, The Day The LOLcats Died – #SOPA #PIPA Protest Song includes some pertinent lyrics:

Why, why are laws a thing you can buy?
They got paid off, should be laid off, re-election denied
Our web means more than lawyers, lobbies and lies
So speak up before the internet dies
Speak up before the internet dies.

The next song – SOPA Cabana by Dan Bull seems to morph some South American musical influences with RAP delivery:

The American Government wants to CENSOR the Internet is pure rap by Okwerdz:

Finally in this brief selection Stop the SOPA Song is just a guy in his room with an acoustic guitar and some very clever lyrics.

Ramy Essam Album of Tahrir Square Songs

December 10th, 2011 | Posted by John Powles in Arab World Uprisings | Middle East | World News - (0 Comments)

Following being awarded the 2011 Freemuse Award, Egyptian singer and songwriter Ramy Essam is releasing Al Midan, an album of Tahrir Square songs. The Freemuse Award Committee described Ramy as playing “an important role during the Egyptian revolution and suffered severe beatings and torture as a consequence. He personifies the powerful role that music played in the Arab Spring.” In his acceptance speech in Stockholm Ramy said “My dream is to spread the voice of Egypt all over the world. Thank you for helping me in that … I’d like to dedicate this award to the revolution and the Egyptian protesters. Please, a moments silence for the martyrs.” Ramy’s song Irhal (Leave), became an anthem of the protests. A quote from the lyrics makes Ramy’s message very clear:

We are all united as one,
And what we ask for,
Is just one thing: GET OUT! GET OUT! (x3)
Down, Down Husni Mubarak! (x4)
The people demand: Bring down the regime! (x4)
He is going away. We are not going anywhere! (x4)
We are all united as one,
And what we ask for,
Is just one thing: GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! (x4)