"In the dark times, will there also be singing? Yes, there will be singing about the dark times." - Brecht

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Pinoy Weekly

Ditties For Our Times (3)

Due to popular demand, ilang pahabol sa ating talaan. My only requirement is that the OPM was released in the mainstream. Problem is, so much of OPM is sentimental love song crap that it is hard to find anything remotely political from it. I nevertheless gave it a shot. Expect no "Bayan Ko" or "Himig Natin," tough.

19. American Junk by the Apo Hiking Society. This song was supposedly banned by the Marcos government in public performances, but the Apo defied it a few times, drawing the ire of the dictator. Seems as much revelant then as now, although it seems Jim Paredes not only has to get American but also Australian junk out of his bloodstream.

20. Oy Utol, Buto't Balat Ka Na'y Natutulog Ka Pa by Heber Bartolome. One of the first compositions of Bartolome, a nationalist writer-turned-musician, whose creative path to musical activism coincided with that of many others, from Jess Santiago to Joey Ayala to Carina David (of Inang Laya). The song was, as PCIJ noted, a "searing indictment of his countrymen's antipathy as their basic freedoms were blatantly being stripped away" during Martial Law.

21. Wala Nang Tao Sa Santa Filomena by Joey Ayala. This song still gives me the goosebumps. Militarization, abuses and massacre stil ring so true today as during Martial Law.

22. Oras Na by Coritha. "Tayo na sa liwanag / Ang takot ay nasa isip lamang / Tama na ang pag-aalinlangan / Ang takot ay nasa isip lamang..."

23. Pagbabalik by Asin. Song for prodigal sons and daughters of the motherland.

24. Babae Ka by Inang Laya. A catchy tune that effectively sends across the feminist cause. Later became a tune for an ad for a napkin.

25. At Nakalimutan Ang Diyos by Wuds. A kick-ass Pinoy punk song, despite the religious overtone. Redid by Ericson Acosta-era Alay Sining as "At Nakalimutan ang Bayan."

26. Trapo by Yano. Searing guitarwork by Eric Gancio notwithstanding, this is a raw yet masterful piece that takes a stab at the heart of what activists call bureaucrat capitalism.

27. Kumusta Na also by Yano. Almost every song by Dong Abay in his Yano stage deserves to be in this list. But this one is special, painfully yet effectively conveying the treason of Edsa.

28. Yoko by Eraserheads. Okay, this one is here only because I felt it should include a song by the 'Heads. This one, though, has a legitimate reason to be here, as it talks about maybe the only issue that Ely and his adolescent gang were passionate about: ROTC. "Minsan gusto ko nang sumali sa NPA / Blow them shit away!..."

Posted by: kr.guda at 11:35 | link | comments

Ditties For Our Times (2)

10. They Stand Alone by Sting. A song dedicated by the former Police frontman to the families of activists and innocent civilians victimized by the tyrannical Pinochet regime in Chile.

11. Mothers of the Disappeared by U2. I was walking home from the office one windy midnight, shaken by the terrible news of another activist's murder, when this song came to me: "In the wind we hear their laughter / In the rain we see their tears / Hear their heartbeat / We hear their heartbeat..."

12. Bullet The Blue Sky also by U2. A powerful song against America's imperialist wars. This is a dark song, but has a rather defeatist overtone. Why, for instance, would the very victims of its war run to the arms of America?

13. The Sky Is A Landfill by Jeff Buckley. This, I believe, is Jeff's first foray into progressive politics in his music, attacking Clinton and his empty promises of economic prosperity. Although known for his poetic imagery, some lines in the song reveal that Buckley was capable of agitprop: "Throw off your shame or be a slave to the system!" and "I have no fear of this machine!"

And although Hallelujah is not an overtly political song, I also saw a video clip of his concert where before singing the song he condemned the French government for its nuclear bomb testing in the Bikini Atoll: "This is for all the people who know that the only good place for a nuclear bomb is in the garbage, dismantled...This is for Leonard, wherever you are. And this is for Nina Simone..."

14. The Ghost of Tom Joad by Bruce Springsteen. Here is the consummate commercial artist conscienticized by political and social events in his country. He became so involved with progressive and anti-corporatist politics in his latter songs, particularly in 2005's Devil and Dust album, that many corporations, among them Starbucks, altogether banned his music from their stores and offices. This song's lyrics is so moving that even when Rage Against The Machine redid the song it retained its powerful poetry evoking the poor's hunger for justice: "Now Tom said, mom, wherever theres a cop beatin a guy / Wherever a hungry newborn baby cries / Where theres a fight against the blood and hatred in the air / Look for me mom I'll be there..."

15. Your Next Bold Move by Ani Difranco. Ani in her usually angry, angstsy self, singing ""Yes, the left wing was broken long ago / by the slingshot of cointelpro / and now it's so hard to have faith in anything..."

16. American Idiot by Greenday.

17. Big Yellow Taxi by Joni Mitchell.

18. Not Ready to Make Nice by Dixie Chicks.

To be continued...

Posted by: kr.guda at 12:40 | link | comments

Ditties For Our Times

Here is an unfinished list of songs which I propose to be part of the soundtrack of our times:

1. The Revolution Will Not Be Televised by Gil Scott-Heron. A poet, musician and pioneer of the spoken word, Scott-Heron was also an anti-war activist during the 60s.

2. So Much Trouble In The World by Bob Marley. Just about every Marley song is outstandingly political in its own merit, but this particular song just tugs at the heart of our troubled times. (Pass muna ako sa "Get up, stand up..." Hehe.)

3. Times They Are A'Changin by Bob Dylan. Of course.

4. Mississippi Goddam by Nina Simone. "Oh but this whole country is full of lies / You're all gonna die and die like flies / I don't trust you any more / You keep on saying "Go slow!""

5. What's So Funny 'Bout Peace, Love and Understanding by Elvis Costello.

6. Something In The Air by Thunderclap Newman. "The revolution's here, and you know it's right..."

7. Go by the Indigo Girls. It has that immortalized line, "Rock is cool, but the struggle is better."

8. Take The Power Back by Rage Against The Machine. No one else but RATM can start songs with lines like "Yeah, the movement's in motion with massive militant poetry" and get away with it.

9. You Get What You Give by the New Radicals. Too bad they broke up too soon...


To be continued...

Posted by: kr.guda at 14:35 | link | comments (9)

Ben Harper's Better Way

This is probably the most inopportune time to be thinking about birds and bees, but lately I found myself listening in my mp3 player over and over to Ben Harper's wonderful cover of Marvin Gaye's "Sexual Healing," a song not so much about sex as about healing that serious relationships offer.

His cover of the soul legend's classic song is probably Harper's most accessible song, rivalling most R&B ditties out there (Craig David sans the irritating vanity?). But even so, I found myself admiring Harper's emotional rendition, and led me to examine some of his music, spanning 1992's Pleasure and Pain to the recently released Both Sides of the Gun (terrific title, by the way). This led me to his political involvement. The last album's song "Better Way" is a perfectly-timed song for Americans of today's Bush era, a call for activism:

"What good is a man / Who won't take a stand / What good is a cynic / With no better plan...Take your face out of your hands / And clear your eyes / You have a right to your dreams / And don't be denied...I believe in a better way..."

Of course, there is also the sex appeal (so they say, not that I would notice hahah), a mysteriousness and brooding seriousness, like you know Harper's bound to do great things. Too often his singing has been compared to Lenny Kravitz (puhlease!) and "of the people" demeanor to Bruce Springsteen/Bob Dylan, but really he's so much more. Some of his songs are really soulful and well-written, and his approach to songwriting harking back to the folksy 60s era. For this he is often referred to as a "male Joni Mitchell".

Yet beyond the superficial comparisons, Harper is one of the conscientious few musicians (often singer-songwriters) today who do not fit into the ready-made categories of mainstream music, straddling between pop music genres (folk, hard rock, jazz, reggae, ska...), and speaking out about the inequities of our time. My mp3 player now is crowded with music from this strand, from Nina Simone to the Indigo Girls to Jeff Buckley to Ani Difranco. (More on them later...) 

Posted by: kr.guda at 12:34 | link | comments

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