White Town - "Your Woman"

This song was HUGE in 1997, and I remember talking to several people about what this guy was singing about - was it a gay man who was in a relationship with a man who realized he was straight?  Or a straight man who was singing to a woman who realized she was gay?  Or a transgender woman who transitioned to being a man?  And why did we care so much?

I found this handy White Town website that answers our long-burning question!  The short version is it's all of the above, and much more!  My favorite explanation is: "the hypocrisy that results when love and lust get mixed up with highbrow ideals."  Now we can finally have some closure with one of the great mysteries of our time: http://www.whitetown.co.uk/faq/.

Anyway, it's still a super fun song!

#YearlongMixtape

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIQWt3oMids

Midnight Oil - "Beds Are Burning"

“If you have come here to help me, you are wasting our time. 

But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.”

--Lilla Watson, Indigenous Australian activist, artist, and scholar

 

This has always been a favorite political song of mine, and it helps that it also rocks.  It’s about giving land back to the Pintupi Aboriginal group who left their native land – some forcibly, and some voluntarily (although they really didn’t have much of a choice).  Every time I hear it, I think about the racism inherent in the Australian government’s treatment of the Aboriginal people, and in so much injustice and oppression in our world.  I think about people who are living in conditions I cannot even imagine – in refugee camps or on the street – and what it must be like to try to survive and take care of your family, let alone have any sense of dignity or self-worth.  “How do we sleep while our beds are burning?”

And I think about the Lilla Watson quote above.  When we see someone in need, it’s (hopefully) human nature to want to help.  But there can be a tendency to believe that the other person is in need because they did something wrong, or they are inferior, and so we – thinking we’re the superior, correct person – have to “save” them or show them the “right” way to live or behave.  This is especially true when we advocate someone’s behalf, but we don’t allow them to also speak for themselves.  When we say “they don’t have a voice,” they really do, if only we’ll shut up long enough to listen.

When we understand that we are equal, and that we need to live together peacefully and love one another in order to survive and reach our highest potential, we can be truly free and alive.  We don’t have a choice.  We can try to live a different way, but we ultimately can’t be free.

“The time has come
To say fair's fair
To pay the rent
To pay our share

The time has come
A fact's a fact
It belongs to them
Let's give it back”

#YearlongMixtape

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejorQVy3m8E

Melody Gardot - "Who Will Comfort Me"

Okay, this song is so perfect and sad and beautiful, and Melody is so talented and stylish and cool that I cannot just even...

I'm posting two performances of the same song.  The first is the more traditional arrangement that she performed on Letterman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExkWicvA3L8

The second is from her performance on Later with Jools Holland, which will knock your socks off:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v99_r4qJWHQ

"Got a hold on my heart that keeps me bound
When the whole wide world is free,
Oh Lord who will comfort me"

#YearlongMixtape

Smashing Pumpkins - 2 from Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness

Today's #YearlongMixtape is a twofer - two songs from Smashing Pumpkins' 1995 double album "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness."  (I can't believe it's almost 20 years old!)  I had the album on cassette and I'm pretty sure I wore it out.  

I was in college and getting more into rock music, after listening almost exclusively to pop, dance, and hip hop throughout most of high school.  In my admittedly limited exposure to rock/grunge, Smashing Pumpkins and Billy Corgan's songwriting blew my mind.  At the risk of sounding like a snobby music critic, they were more musically ambitious than anyone I'd heard to that point.  This was pre-U2 fandom for me, but I think Smashing Pumpkins expanded my musical tastes so that I was prepared for U2 when the time was right, if that makes sense.  In fact, U2's frequent engineer and producer Flood co-produced this album. 

Mellon Collie was divided into two parts, and the first was called "Dawn to Dusk."  This is their "angry" song, and it spoke to a part of me I had not yet fully experienced. 

"And what do I get, for my pain?

Betrayed desires, and a piece of the game."

http://youtu.be/8-r-V0uK4u0 

The other #YearlongMixtape song is from part two of Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, called "Twilight to Starlight."

I love the orchestral Smashing Pumpkins songs, like Disarm and Tonight, Tonight.  Who else writes songs like this?  Especially in 1995, when so much of the popular music was horrible.  "Thirty-three" is one of those breathtaking songs that I listened to over and over.  The tone is hopeful, the exact opposite of Bullet with Butterfly Wings. 

"I know I'll make it, love can last forever,

Graceful swans of never topple to the earth,

And you can make it last, forever you..." 

http://youtu.be/AYSbztCCTlA 

Up To The Mountain - Patty Griffin

Patty Griffin wrote this song about Martin Luther King, Jr.  She was inspired by the famous “I’ve Been To The Mountaintop” speech he gave the night before he died (U2 fans should be familiar with it!), and you can watch a snippet at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oehry1JC9Rk. 

She sings about persevering in the face of huge obstacles, because Dr. King asked her (and all of us) to join him in his mission.  It could also describe how Dr. King must have felt during his life, carrying on even when he was discouraged, especially towards the end of his life.  Even when you’re exhausted and think you can’t do anything else ever, we can all do a little bit more.

In the past couple of years, I’ve been struggling with how I live in this world.  When I was younger and thought I knew everything, I used to take more risks.  I believed that everything would turn out the way I wanted, and I could be the most actualized version of myself.  I thought anything was possible.  When I found a social justice cause I cared about, I sacrificed a lot of time to be involved.  I was inspired by the stories of activists, like Dr. King and so many others, who faced arrest, harassment, and death, and still did what they knew was right.

And then, for too many reasons to discuss, things didn’t turn out the way I wanted them to.  Too many times, I’ve chosen relative physical and psychological safety – a warm bed to sleep in, food to eat, nice clothes to wear – instead of considering what path I might need to follow in order to make a real difference in the world.  I want to balance the need to do everything RIGHT NOW, because life is short, with the need to rest and recharge so I can do more good over the long run.

I often wonder whether I would be willing to do ANYTHING to live the life I am supposed to lead.  Am I willing to be radically honest and “authentic,” even if I have trouble finding a job and I lose some friends?  Am I willing to take a vow of poverty, if that’s what I feel called to do?  Am I willing to give my life for a cause greater than myself?  I honestly don’t know whether I’d be willing to go that far.  I do know that, the more people who get up and get engaged in their communities, the less of a burden it would be on the far-too-few people who are currently doing the work.  So maybe that’s where I can put my energy, for now at least – asking people to care more and do more, and setting a good example by doing it myself.

Dr. King was only 39 when he died.  I turn 39 this year.  I know that I have a lot of work left to do, and I want to take more risks again.  I want to believe that anything is possible.

#YearlongMixtape

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WA6Q5-Ap3o8

Public Enemy "Can't Truss It"

Public Enemy – “Can’t Truss It”

When I was in maybe 8^th grade, I started getting into rap and hip hop music.  Actually, it was because of New Kids on the Block that I started listening to it.  They grew up with rap and R&B music, and Donnie was and is a huge Public Enemy fan (I’m sure the rest of them are, but he was REALLY into them).  So I started listening to them.  Somehow, I got my mom to buy their 1991 album, Apocalypse ’91, for me, because it had a Parental Advisory sticker on it and I was only 14 or 15 at the time.  I think I convinced her because she knew the New Kids were “safe” and I might have said, “Well the New Kids really like them.”  This song was the main single from the album, and it was on pretty heavy rotation on MTV, and Yo! MTV Raps, which I watched a lot.

Looking back at that time, I think it was pretty radical that a high school-aged white girl from the suburbs was listening to this very heavy, socially conscious music about race and justice.  I am eternally grateful for the education I’ve gotten from listening to Public Enemy.  I learned about racism and a system of injustice, as portrayed in “Can’t Truss It,” that has existed for centuries.  It’s a system that has evolved to look less overtly racist, but the injustice is as present as ever. 

As importantly, I learned about the concept of privilege before it really had a name.  Privilege means that persons of a privileged group – including race (white), or gender (male), or nationality (American or European), or age (younger), or ability status (able-bodied, as opposed to physically or mentally challenged) – are able to live a life that is, for the most part, free of discrimination and oppression that non-privileged persons experience on a regular basis.  It pervades so much of our lives that it is often not evident if you are in a privileged group. 

When we are made aware of our own privilege, human nature tends to make us defensive and angry, because it sounds like we consciously did something wrong and should feel guilty.  Instead, recognizing privilege should be an opportunity for understanding an injustice or unfair situation or system.  It should be an opening of the heart and mind in a way that allows us to see the dignity of another person, and work with them to fix the problem.  This includes asking, “What is the best way for me to support you?” and not assuming that you know what’s best.  I am still learning about my own privilege, from some wonderful teachers, and it has made me a better person.

So when you see a hashtag that says #BlackLivesMatter, it does not mean that black lives matter MORE than white people, or more than police officers.  It means that many people need to be reminded that black people are EQUAL to everyone, and that their lives matter at all.  It means that people different from you have different lives and different struggles.  It means that many people are not able to lives their lives with the dignity they deserve.  If this is something that you feel challenged or threatened by, I hope that it will inspire some introspection, instead of anger.  And if you don’t think that black lives matter at all, then you should unfriend me now.

One of my favorite birthdays was when I attended a lecture Chuck D gave at York College a few years after I graduated.  He is the coolest – he talked for hours and answered everyone’s questions – and I have so much respect for him.  He and Public Enemy opened my eyes, as all the best music does.  And the beat is really great too J

Just a note that this video contains some violent imagery and is not appropriate for young kids.  Thanks for reading!

#YearlongMixtape

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=am9BqZ6eA5c

"They're intimidated by your enthusiasm."

“They’re intimidated by your enthusiasm.”

I was involved with a social justice organization called Jubilee USA for about 10 ½ years.  To briefly explain, its focus was on global economic and social justice.  I cared about this cause deeply because it got to the root of poverty, and I felt like I could wrap my head around the complexity of the issues and share it with others.

I first heard about the issue through Bono’s involvement in the Jubilee 2000 campaign, whose goal was to cancel poor country debts by the end of the year 2000.  This Old Testament principle of Jubilee called for a cancellation of debts and freeing of slaves – it’s a liberation from poverty.  I had first heard about it in 1999, but didn’t get heavily involved until the end of 2000 and early 2001, when I was 24, struggling with my life, and looking for a way to be a part of something larger than myself.  So I jumped in head first, learned as much as I could about the issue, and contacted the national organization to find out how to get involved.

In early 2001, I went to a national meeting in Denver – my first time ever on a plane – and met a lot of really great people.  I also met a lot of people who didn’t know what to do with this extremely enthusiastic U2 fan who was ON FIRE for this issue.  I was (politely) adamant that we needed to do outreach during U2’s upcoming tour, because there was talk of us having tables at the arenas, and I knew how effective other organizations had been in growing their membership when tabling at shows.  While some people really loved that I was so engaged (and I am forever grateful to those people – they are wonderful), many of the staff and older activists basically politely told me to shut up – either overtly, or by disregarding my ideas. 

They were kind of activist snobs – people who wanted a large grassroots base, but only if you fit their definition of what was acceptable, and fans of some rock band were crazy and would never get it.  (On a side note, we did actually have tables at the U2 shows, and I organized some of them.  It was really exciting, but I definitely felt like many in the organization didn’t want to be bothered.)

At the time, I know I was less than polished, but few people took the time to guide me and offer advice.  I think they just wanted me to go away.  I honestly didn’t understand why they were behaving this way.  I never once asked to meet Bono, I only mentioned U2 when it was related to doing outreach, and I was very open to listening to advice and learning as much as I could. 

One day, I was talking to another activist – an older pastor from Texas who was also frustrated with the lack of ambition he saw from the organization – and he told me that “they’re intimidated by your enthusiasm.”  It stopped me in my tracks.  For whatever reason or combination of reasons – sexism, small mindedness about what an “activist” is, self-consciousness about their own abilities and ideas – they tried to diminish me.  And because I wanted to be involved with this movement so much, I internalized it.  I allowed myself to be less than the fullest and most honest expression of myself.  And I found myself eventually sending that message to other activists.  I remember thinking really huge, world-changing thoughts, and then the powerful little voice said, “Oh that’ll never work.”  And so I settled for less.  I kept my mouth shut more times that I should have.  I didn’t have a strong enough sense of self-worth to understand that I didn’t need to believe these things.  It has affected so much of my life, and I’m tired of it.  It is soul crushing.

Sometime in 2001 – maybe spring or summer – I heard this song for the first time.  I remember exactly where I was – sitting in my office at my job, and it came on the radio.  I heard the line “When you’re trying hard to be your best, could you be a little less,” and started crying.  Oh my God, Madonna knows!  Of course she knows!  This is exactly how I feel!

The situation and my feelings about what happened have evolved a bit, and I see that there were some philosophical differences between Bono’s views and some of these activists’ views, and that partially contributed to their dislike of me.  But no one ever said it to me, like I was fragile and would be offended, or too stupid to understand.  And as some of you know, my involvement with Jubilee ended Very Badly a few years ago (that’s another super long story, but if you want to hear it, I’ll tell you all about it).  I will say, though, that sexism and racism are alive and well in the broader social justice movement, and I don’t know how we can possibly make the world better if we can’t even change our own entrenched, unjust attitudes.  If you want to change the world, you HAVE to be a little nuts.  You HAVE to recognize existing power dynamics and fix them.  You HAVE to think that the impossible thing is totally doable.

As for this song, I can’t find a video that includes Madge’s full vocal (she seems to have put the kibosh on unauthorized sharing of her music online), so I’ll post the video with a remix of the song and then include the lyrics below.  Some of you may know that the video is pretty controversial and somewhat violent, but that’s the artistic point she’s making – if you think this is violent, think about what women go through on a daily basis.  I think it’s perfect.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAgaPk4GHPY 

[Spoken:]
Girls can wear jeans
And cut their hair short
Wear shirts and boots
'Cause it's OK to be a boy
But for a boy to look like a girl is degrading
'Cause you think that being a girl is degrading
But secretly you'd love to know what it's like
Wouldn't you
What it feels like for a girl

Silky smooth
Lips as sweet as candy, baby
Tight blue jeans
Skin that shows in patches

Strong inside but you don't know it
Good little girls they never show it
When you open up your mouth to speak
Could you be a little weak

Do you know what it feels like for a girl
Do you know what it feels like in this world
For a girl

Hair that twirls on finger tips so gently, baby
Hands that rest on jutting hips repenting

Hurt that's not supposed to show
And tears that fall when no one knows
When you're trying hard to be your best
Could you be a little less

Do you know what it feels like for a girl
Do you know what it feels like in this world
What it feels like for a girl

Strong inside but you don't know it
Good little girls they never show it
When you open up your mouth to speak
Could you be a little weak

Do you know what it feels like for a girl
Do you know what it feels like in this world
For a girl

In this world
Do you know
Do you know
Do you know what it feels like for a girl
What it feels like in this world