Hello, It's Me; Twisted MixTape Gets Heavy Man

What music defines you?

Over at Jen's Twisted MixTape, we've gone through the decades and found songs which we feel define decades, or our lives in those decades. But what songs define you or your life? That is the question we need to answer this week. Whose idea is this anyway? Well, that would be Troy from As Long As I'm Singing, one fine writer and man of complex musical tastes. So that's how we got here. Now to look in the mirror and try to identify what, and who I am.

While it's not the first song I remember giving me the feeling of "Hell Yeah," I always recall thinking of this song when I needed a little boost of self-confidence.

"When I'm out in the street

I walk the way I wanna walk

When I'm out in the street

I talk the way I wanna talk"

That's Jersey attitude all the way and no surprise, it's the Boss.

"Out In The Street"

Pretty much for me, it's always been about the lyrics. One of the first songs I can remember actually trying to analyze what the words meant and the message the poet was trying to make was by Paul Simon. His songs would always speak to me. The man is brilliant. I think we knew that as soon as we first heard this.

"The Sounds of Silence"

When I was a young woman, things that are now taken for granted, were the changes we tried to achieve. We were making our own rules and learning about ourselves in the process. Hearing this song made me think of what was, and what could be. It was a coming of age anthem for me. Judy Collins had the hit, but I'll take the writers version for its purity. Joni Mitchell.

"Both Sides Now"

I grew up during a time of conflicts: Vietnam, Civil Rights, Women's Rights, it was a big pile of shit. Protest songs were everywhere and some damn fine ones at that. But the first song that made me think "well what the hell is really going on?" was this one by Buffalo Springfield.

"For What It's Worth"

I'm not a religious person, don't send emails. I know who I am, I believe in the greater good of people and in turn myself. That being said, I'm not a prayer. So I find it somewhat amusing that one of the songs that made a difference in my life is a psalm. Written by Pete Seeger, and taken from the Book of Ecclesiastes, the version by The Byrds was a huge hit. The song speaks of the balance of life... for everything there is a season.

"Turn, Turn, Turn"

Now I've used this song, ok, several times over the life of this blog. It all started with this song and to not include it here would be wrong. It is me. And Dobie Gray.

"And when my mind is free

You know a melody can move me

And when I'm feelin' blue

The guitar's comin' through to soothe me

Thanks for the joy that you've given me

I want you to know I believe in your song

And rhythm and rhyme and harmony

You've helped me along

Makin' me strong

Oh, give me the beat boys and free my soul

I wanna get lost in your rock and roll and drift away"

So that's what brought me here. Yeah, there were a few other twists and turns, but they only rounded out the edges. Or maybe not.

Because We Do

There are a lot of artists I've yet to showcase here on Kat's Theory of Music. Patti Smith is one of them. Poet-Singer-Songwriter, Patti has always been a unique and outspoken voice in the music community. I have always loved the irony of the "Godmother of Punk" having her most commercial success with a rock song co-written with Bruce Springsteen. That song was of course, "Because The Night."

Aside from that tune, one of her best known songs is the one picked by Linda from Elleroywashere.com for Lance's 100 Word Song Challenge this week. The song is "People Have The Power," and you know what... they do.

Using the song and writing exactly 100 words, here is my story for the week.

People Have The Power

“Dad…you were there?”

“Me and a quarter million others. August 28, 1963.”

“What was it like?”

“Son, I’ve lived through war, love, birth and death, but no other moment comes close to what I felt that day. Change would come, and this man would be a major force behind it; that I knew.”

“How?”

“Looking around, I saw men, women, children… black and white, young and old. Many were crying; most held their breath. We all knew his was the true vision, and in time the people would make it come true. On that day, his dream became our destiny.”

Celebrating Our Government and a Man of Peace

Today we celebrate the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. Today is also the day we hold the second inauguration ceremony for Barack Obama, the first black President of the United States. Bob Dylan would call it a "simple twist of fate." I would call it "just desserts."

Today, I'm re-posting my blog from Martin Luther King Day 2012. Take the day to enjoy your civil rights and celebrate your government.

The Civil Rights Movement: The Times Were A Changin'

“You are not only responsible for what you say, 

but also for what you do not say.

...Martin Luther King Jr.

The time of the civil rights movement was also the time of Vietnam war protests.  A lot of the music from that time was interchangeable between the two, in the ideas put forth.

In "Blowin' in the Wind," Bob Dylan wrote "How many years can some people exist before they're allowed to be free. How many times can a man turn his head and pretend that he just doesn't see."  The song also contains the line "How many times must the cannonballs fly, before they're forever banned."  

A song that was sung on the steps of the Washington Monument along with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., perhaps one of the greatest songs ever written...listen to "Blowin' in the Wind" performed by Peter, Paul & Mary.

For a personal view of a moment from the civil rights movement era, read "Martin Luther King Jr.: Defining a Life" on Kat's Theory of Life.

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George McGovern: The Times Are Still A Changin

In this election year, as in so many others when times were less than ideal, many look for a change. And just as many hope the experience of the past four years will provide a clearer path for our future. 1972 was one of those years. Viet Nam, the Civil Rights movement...the country was tired of conflict of every type. The presidency of Richard Nixon, while improving international relationships, did little to quell the unrest here in the States.

The hope that year was a young Senator from South Dakota...George McGovern. A dove in a time of war, McGovern represented the change the country so badly needed.

George McGovern died today. The promise of his presidency never achieved. In his memory, today we offer another song from the 60's as relevant today as the day it was written. Released in 1964 as the title track of his album, this Bob Dylan song also showed the promise of an incredible songwriter.

A beautiful cover by Eddie Vedder.

"The Times They Are A Changin"

"Come gather 'round people

Wherever you roam

And admit that the waters

Around you have grown

And accept it that soon

You'll be drenched to the bone

If your time to you

Is worth savin'

Then you better start swimmin'

Or you'll sink like a stone

For the times they are a-changin'.

Come writers and critics

Who prophesize with your pen

And keep your eyes wide

The chance won't come again

And don't speak too soon

For the wheel's still in spin

And there's no tellin' who

That it's namin'

For the loser now

Will be later to win

For the times they are a-changin'.

Come senators, congressmen

Please heed the call

Don't stand in the doorway

Don't block up the hall

For he that gets hurt

Will be he who has stalled

There's a battle outside

And it is ragin'

It'll soon shake your windows

And rattle your walls

For the times they are a-changin'.

Come mothers and fathers

Throughout the land

And don't criticize

What you can't understand

Your sons and your daughters

Are beyond your command

Your old road is

Rapidly agin'

Please get out of the new one

If you can't lend your hand

For the times they are a-changin'.

The line it is drawn

The curse it is cast

The slow one now

Will later be fast

As the present now

Will later be past

The order is

Rapidly fadin'

And the first one now

Will later be last

For the times they are a-changin'"

Easy journey George.

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Barry McGuire: The Eve of Destruction

Happy Birthday Barry McGuire.

The 1960's were a time of turmoil both domestically and around the world. In the states, we had the Civil Rights Movement and the War in Viet Nam front and center. The treat of nuclear war with the Soviet Union seemed an ever present possibility. Schools had fall-out shelters with canned goods and supplies of water. If there had been an attack, none of that would have done a bit of good.

Protest songs were everywhere. Dylan, Baez, Seeger...all sang about the issues of the day. The one song that rang true for me and still does, is a song by Barry McGuire. Written in 1965 by one of the more successful songwriters of the day, P.F. Sloan, the song was originally intended for the Byrds. Over the years, it was recorded by many, but the raw version by McGuire projected the sentiment of the song perfectly.

The song is "Eve of Destruction"
The story goes that it was recorded in one take on a Thursday and by Monday, you could hear it on the radio, where it soon went to number one. Please read the lyrics as you listen.

"The eastern world it is explodin', violence flarin', bullets loadin'

You're old enough to kill but not for votin'

You don't believe in war, what's that gun you're totin'

And even the Jordan river has bodies floatin'

But you tell me over and over and over again my friend

Ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction

Don't you understand, what I'm trying to say?

Can't you see the fear that I'm feeling today?

If the button is pushed, there's no running away

There'll be none to save with the world in a grave

Take a look around you, boy, it's bound to scare you, boy

And you tell me over and over and over again my friend

Ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction

Yeah, my blood's so mad, feels like coagulatin'

I'm sittin' here just contemplatin'

I can't twist the truth, it knows no regulation

Handful of Senators don't pass legislation

And marches alone can't bring integration

When human respect is disintegratin'

This whole crazy world is just too frustratin'

And you tell me over and over and over again my friend

Ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction

Think of all the hate there is in Red China

Then take a look around to Selma, Alabama

Ah, you may leave here for four days in space

But when you return it's the same old place

The poundin' of the drums, the pride and disgrace

You can bury your dead but don't leave a trace

Hate your next door neighbor but don't forget to say grace

And you tell me over and over and over and over again my friend

Ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction"

"Hate your next door neighbor, but don't forget to say grace," brilliant way to end the song. It's 47 years later and not much as changed. Different places and wars, but it's still relevant today. 

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The Civil Rights Movement: The Times Were A Changin'

“You are not only responsible for what you say, but also for what you do not say”...Martin Luther King Jr.

The time of the civil rights movement was also the time of Vietnam war protests.  A lot of the music from that time was interchangeable between the two, in the ideas put forth.

In "Blowin' in the Wind," Bob Dylan wrote "How many years can some people exist before they're allowed to be free. How many times can a man turn his head and pretend that he just doesn't see."  The song also contains the line "How many times must the cannonballs fly, before they're forever banned."  

A song that was sung on the steps of the Washington Monument along with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., perhaps one of the greatest songs ever written...listen to "Blowin' in the Wind" performed by Peter, Paul & Mary.

For a personal view of a moment from the civil rights movement era, read "Martin Luther King Jr.: Defining a Life" on Kat's Theory of Life.