To those who can hear me, I say - do not despair. The misery that is now upon us is but the passing of greed - the bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress. The hate of men will pass, and dictators die, and the power they took from the people will return to the people. And so long as men die, liberty will never perish. …..
Soldiers! don’t give yourselves to brutes - men who despise you - enslave you - who regiment your lives - tell you what to do - what to think and what to feel! Who drill you - diet you - treat you like cattle, use you as cannon fodder. Don’t give yourselves to these unnatural men - machine men with machine minds and machine hearts! You are not machines! You are not cattle! You are men! You have the love of humanity in your hearts! You don’t hate! Only the unloved hate - the unloved and the unnatural! Soldiers! Don’t fight for slavery! Fight for liberty!
#7: Baz Luhrmann's "Wear Sunscreen." In 1997 Mary Schmich wrote a column for the Chicago Tribune called "Advice, like youth, probably just wasted on the young." The column became one of the earliest "viral" email messages, and somehow got attributed to Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. who allegedly delivered it at an MIT Commencement. Vonnegut had to come out and deny having anything to do with the speech, though he did say he would have been proud to write something like that.
Baz Luhrmann's musical version became an international hit in 1998/1999. What I find fascinating is how unfulfilling the words are in 2020 given the condition of the world. Worse, listening to those words today reminds me of how terribly in denial the United States was in the late 1990s about almost everything that plagues us today--yet could and should have been anticipated and acted on at that time. The Republicans spent that decade practicing and perfecting the "politics of personal destruction," while the Democrats re-branded themselves to become more corporate friendly, Republican-lite technocrats. The results have been nightmarish and catastrophic for all, and led directly to the current mess(es) we find ourselves in.
Video: Baz Luhrmann: Wear Sunscreen
#6: Will.i.am, "Yes We Can" (samples Barack Obama's New Hampshire primary concession speech from January 8, 2008). I generally despise when celebrity entertainers not known for their musical abilities show up in music videos. In this effort, however, Will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas found a way to get a range of artists to lip sync the words from one of Barack Obama's most impressive speeches in a way that did not humiliate them or the candidate. In fact, after this video "Yes We Can" became the dominant slogan of the campaign, something no other candidate that year could match in terms of how it energized a base of idealistic young voters.
#5: Frank Zappa, "Porn Wars." In the 1980s Frank Zappa was probably the leading opponents of efforts to put ratings on musical products. He participated in a memorable Senate hearing in 1985 on "Porn Rock," and in typical iconoclastic Zappa fashion ended up placing testimony from it in his 12 minute epic "Porn Wars." Actual voices from politicians and "experts" at the hearing are made to sound like they are in a literal hell. Certainly takes patience to listen to, but worth it in order to get a sense of the sheer absurdity of the politicians' stupidity.
Video: Frank Zappa, "Porn Wars"
#4: Ani DiFranco and Utah Phillips, "Anarchy." Indie music icon Ani DiFranco in the 1990s released two albums with labor organizer/folk singer/storyteller Utah Phillips called "The Past Didn't Go Anywhere" (1996) and "Fellow Workers" (1999). On both, Phillips tells stories set to DiFranco's original music. There are a number of ear opening tunes and stories on both records. My personal favorite is probably "Anarchy," in which Phillips tells the story being disenchanted after serving in Korea and then having his life changed upon meeting Christian pacifist/anarchist Ammon Hennacy. (Note: This track also samples the Reverend Jesse Jackson's "Please Forgive Me" and other lines from his 1984 Democratic National Convention address.).
Video: Ani DiFranco and Utah Phillips, "Anarchy"
#3: Neilio, "Outside This World" (samples a portion of Ronald Reagan's Address to the 42d Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, New York on September 21, 1987). In that speech, delivered before the fall of the Soviet Union was widely predicted or imminent, President Reagan engaged in his typical Cold War posturing. But then at the end he surmised that maybe an "alien threat" could bring us all together:
". . . we often forget how much unites all the members of humanity. Perhaps we need some outside, universal threat to make us recognize this common bond. I occasionally think how quickly our differences worldwide would vanish if we were facing an alien threat from outside this world."
Neilio's mix makes Reagan sound like a kind of Big Brother meets Mr. Rogers mash up. I find it amusing.
Video: Neilio "Outside This World"
#2: E-40 featuring Big K.R.I.T "Black is Beautiful" ("Democracy is Hypocrisy" by Malcolm X). Hard to imagine a more appropriate rap given the events of the last few months.
Video: E-40 featuring Big K.R.I.T Black is Beautiful ("Democracy is Hypocrisy" by Malcolm X)
#1: Living Colour, "Cult of Personality." This classic rock track from 1988 features audio samples from Malcolm X, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and John F. Kennedy. In politics, "Cult of Personality" refers to a situation in which the "great leader" is praised and defended by millions who know him (it's almost always a "him") mostly through mass mediated images. All Presidents of the United States develop some kind of personality cult appeal, usually in terms of the enthusiasm of supporters. The Trump presidency is probably the first since President Nixon in which the personality cult consumes supporters AND opponents. As noted by political scientist Greg Weiner in reference to the US response to the pandemic:
"Mr. Trump — signer of checks, provider of health tips, filter for medical reality — is offering a diluted and delusive aura of a personal relationship with him as a substitute for the true relationships that constitute communities. What is disturbing is the extent to which the public has taken on this perspective, whether through the lens of support or of opposition."
Speaking just for me, the song "Cult of Personality" had pretty much left my playlist in the mid 1990s. Since 2017 it's been back in the rotation. I'm sure I am not alone! (The songs says in part: "I exploit you still you love me/I tell you one and one makes three.")
Video: Living Colour Cult of Personality
Hope you enjoyed this edition of Ten Bold Cover Tunes! Peace! --TP
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