I play this song during all of my classes while my students work. They’re too busy to listen to it, but the song’s message is one that I want all of my students to grasp and hold dear.
I believe we are part of a growing global chorus. And I know for a fact that moderates exist everywhere, in every tradition and in every political environment. There are moderates in Israel. There are moderates in Iran, the Republican Party, the Democratic Party. And what we need to do is link all of these moderates together and figure out a way that this coalition can speak to important issues to marginalize the voice of the extremists.
(via nprfreshair)
Source: NPR
A.V. Club: Our "White People Problems" Problem: Why It's Time To Stop Using "White" As A Pejorative
“One of the biggest fallacies in the way we talk about art is this idea that somehow personal taste equates to quality: That each of us miraculously only enjoys movies and music that are the best of their respective medium, and ergo, any music or movies we don’t enjoy must be terrible.”
Amen.
We never played no fruit rock, no punk rock. We never wore dresses onstage or put no paint on our faces. We never blew any bombs off onstage. We didn’t suck off any snakes onstage. We didn’t wear tight pants or them big turquoise rings. We didn’t take a piss onstage or throw any TVs out the window that I can remember. But today the music business has gotten so it’s like Vietnam; a few guys making a lot of money, some guys getting cut up, and in five years ain’t much of it even gonna be worth a pinch of shit.
R.I.P. Levon Helm
Levon is one of my heroes and I don’t use that word lightly. He embodied pure artistry founded on solid musicianship and good songwriting. His voice is one of a kind, utterly unmistakable. He exuded such confidence and stability playing in The Band and that, among the contributions from the other four members, gave The Band a sense of authenticity that was contagious; legend has it that Eric Clapton broke up Cream out of envy after he listened to The Band for the first time. I devoured his autobiography, “This Wheel’s On Fire”, which I highly recommend. The Band, in it’s prime, was a true collective, but I think of The Band, I think of Levon first.
There’s a lot I could say about Levon, but what endures the most is his exuberance when it comes to playing music. For me, he’s the epitome of keeping it loose and having a good time while performing. In that respect, it’s fitting that whenever I play air drums, I always pretend to play like Levon.
If you’ve never listened to The Band or are a casual fan, I encourage you to bust out your Band records and give them a listen.
This is one of my favorite Joni Mitchell songs. It’s too bad she never made a studio recording of it.
eMusic: May Your Song Always Be Sung
This is a great essay on the contrast between the singer/songwriter model of the past and present.
