Seriously, who deserves that baby more than Pete Seeger, who has literally taught the world to sing, and created much harmony, tonal and otherwise.

The goal is to get the American Friends Service Committee, which is a rad outfit that won the prize in 1918 or so, to nominate him, because they are one of the few rad outfits that have won (I mean they gave one to Henry Kissinger, fer gawd’s sake), and only past winners can nominate others.

If you didn’t see the performance Seeger gave at the Inaugural last week with Bruce Springsteen, leading two million people in Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land,” please, stop right now and watch it. If that doesn’t inspire you to joy and doing good, and make you want to honor this man for his lifetime of service to humanity, nothing will.

Please note that the Nobel prize is given only to living people, and Pete is 89.

[This is one of several posts I have made about Pete Seeger. I guess I'll officially dub him with the small honor I can bestoy here: the first Peace Arena series.]

Seeing the (banned on YouTube) video of Pete Seeger singing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial Sunday made me think about how I first heard about him. It’s a pretty weird way, I think.

I was a typical 60s teenybopper — I loved the Monkees and read Tiger Beat and 16. My favorite Monkee was Peter, and in Tiger Beat, I learned how intellectual and politically passionate he was — so different than his character on the show. In one TB article, he talked about liking folk music, and how much he admired Pete Seeger. Although at the time I probably lived within 100 miles of Pete Seeger, I’d never heard of him.

In other seemingly forgettable TB articles about Peter I remember him saying he drove a beat up foreign car, Saab I think, because it was safer and more environmental or something, which made me think he was just so cool — which in retrospect he was, since this was before the first Earth Day even.

Anyway, I wish I could say I immediately went and listened to Seeger, discovered Dylan, Patti Smith and Lou Reed and left the Monkees to the other sheltered suburban girls, but that was not the case. I didn’t go in that direction until several years later in college. But don’t knock the Monkees, I can’t be the only one whom they eventually led into subversive activity. (Or maybe it was just those of us who chose Peter as “our” Monkee! And, yes, we divvied them up; it’s not like you could have two girls in the same clique liking Micky!)

If you haven’t seen the brilliant and moving documentary about Pete Seeger, The Power of Song, I urge you to do so. I wrote about it previously and just can’t recommend it enough. Here’s a preview:

Back in 2002, I met the three still-touring Monkees (Peter, Davy and Micky for those who don’t follow these things) after a concert in Clearwater, FL. I have a photo somewhere. It would really be perfect for this post, but I have no idea where it is.

By the way, when Peter Tork was imprisoned in the 70s (for marijuana possession), he served his time at the penitentiary in El Reno, Oklahoma.

No one knows how many people are in Washington for the inauguration (or even how to count them) but let’s just say, MANY.

The pundits, a cynical lot, are tripping over themselves describing the crowds they are seeing, not to mention the vibe of said crowds. People are excited, happy, thrilled to see Bush leave the scene (of the crime) and Obama begin to make his promised “change.” I hope they –we — aren’t disappointed. So many indications say Obama is just another politician, he just happens to be a very good one. But other signs portend that he may truly be planning to and able to do significant, progressive surgery on our body politic.

I choose to hesitantly believe the latter, with the full realization that I may be among the deeply disappointed. A year ago I believed John Edwards was a selfless populist, and look how that turned out. So, I don’t completely trust my judgment of Obama’s political integrity. But I know that I must stay positive, or I just can’t function. So I’m laying off the doom and gloom and giving the guy a chance to prove Booman right.

Obama uses language to unite people and to disarm them. If he occasionally says something true but harsh, he quickly apologizes. More often, he gives his ideological opponents the rhetorical benefit of the doubt. He shows people and their ideas respect…often more respect than they deserve. He studiously avoids creating lightning rods that can serve as oppositional organizing points. He reaches out to evangelicals, to the Republican leadership, to conservative commentators, to right-wing Democrats.

In the process of doing these things, he inevitably neglects to pander to those whom he most agrees with. Progressive criticism strengthens Obama precisely because it makes him look more centrist. He has succeeded in staking out the broadest middle we’ve seen in memory. He hasn’t changed any of his commitments (at least, not in any fundamental way) that he campaigned on, but he has blunted all criticism from the center and the center-right. This was the goal all along. Some call it moving the Overton Window. What was once considered radical (e.g., revisiting national health care, allowing gays to serve openly in the military) is now considered acceptable. Now we argue about the timing, not the substance.

The conditions in the country are dictating a leftward movement in the Overton Window, but the old opponents are still there opposing us. The goal is to rally the supporters and to disorganize and disarm the opposition. The goal of Obama’s rhetoric is not primarily to convince people of the merits of his policies, but to build support for them and weaken any obstacles to their implementation.

This video is not the best, but the quality of Dylan’s voice is great.

A video of folk legend Pete Seeger and Bruce Springsteen singing Woody Guthrie’s socialist-tinged “The Land is Your Land,” was removed by the Google-owned service after HBO complained about its exclusive rights to the event had been violated.

Oh, the irony. The song contains these often-ignored stanzas, which were not ignored by Bruce and Pete (who, at 89, must have particularly relished singing at the Lincoln Memorial — a la Marion Anderson — after being blacklisted as a commie in the 50s).

As I went walking I saw a sign there
And on the sign it said “No Trespassing.”
But on the other side it didn’t say nothing,
That side was made for you and me.

In the shadow of the steeple I saw my people,
By the relief office I seen my people;
As they stood there hungry, I stood there asking
Is this land made for you and me?

Now a version of the song shot by a German team has been posted on YouTube, and is available as of this writing. Here it is, watch it while you still can.

The whole idea of HBO getting rights to this part of the Inaugural events, a public event at a public location, in the people’s capital, is a concern, to say the least. Seems the excuse is that the Inaugural team needed the money to pay for all the logistics. I guess that legendary internet fundraising machine was offline.

Great song that is beloved enough to be parodied by half the planet — I just watched a bunch on YouTube. This is not the old Peter, Paul and Mary song! (not that there’s anything wrong with that) but The Proclaimers folk love anthem that is actually titled ‘I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles).’

The song was in Benny and Joon, the Johnnie Depp film. Check out mashups with Shrek, Homer Simpson, Family Guy, and South Park. Funny stuff.

It was even on Comic Relief, with Craig and Charlie chiming in at the end.

First 1000 packages will be signed by band members, and 10 of those 1000 will have special tix to the Flaming Lips’ New Years Eve show in OKC. Only available on FlamingLips.com

I’ve been out of commission for a few days with a major head cold, and before that a few days of my mother needing all my attention.

But I’m feeling better and hopefully will be in a browsing and posting mood again soon, with some time to do so.

Unfortunately, I did not miss the “hamster on a piano” craze. Like I wasn’t in enough misery!

So, here’s a worthwhile video of the great Suzi Quatro. it was on the Times Square soundtrack album, which is one of my favorite albums of all time. If you find a copy, grab it. I first got a cassette tape of it on just by chance, and wore that out in no time. Then got vinyl, then got another. (Song list here)

While in Crawford, I was introduced to an amazing musical duo, Pat Humphries and Sandy O, otherwise known as Emma’s Revolution. Their music is totally amazing, a blend of folk, pop, roots rock. The best way I can think to describe them is a mix of Pete Seeger and Sweet Honey and the Rock.

They seem to make it to every meaningful activist event, to offer their political support and musical contribution, which can raise the level of emotion and commitment to untold levels. I could go on, but you can read about them and all the events and projects they’ve been affiliated with, and all the accolades they’ve received, at their web site.

Because of their travels, their newsletter is a compendium of all the latest progressive political insider news. The latest issue is no exception. They just got back from the annual School of the Americas Watch demo at Ft. Benning, GA and here’s some of what they shared about the 19th (and hopefully last) SOA protest and its founder, Father Roy Bourgeois:

The weekend before Thanksgiving, we and 20,000 other folks gathered again outside the gates of Ft. Benning in Columbus, GA for the vigil to shut down the School of the Americas. Or, as activists call it, “The School of the Assassins.”

The SOA is a torture-training school-right here on US soil and funded by our tax dollars-where Latin America soldiers are taught counterinsurgency tactics, psychological warfare and Abu-Ghraib-style torture techniques. The School of the Americas Watch, a grassroots organization dedicated to closing the SOA and changing oppressive US foreign policy, has been holding these vigils for the past 18 years, the first one, with only 10 people. We wrote our song, “One by One” for this demonstration, which features spoken testimony from torture survivors, family members whose loved ones were killed by SOA graduates, the sole survivor of a massacre, elected officials, actors, and activists from around the world, all interspersed with the most music, spoken word and visual arts we’ve ever seen at a demonstration. (Thanks to Al Viola for this photo of the musicians’ collective at the 2007 Vigil!)

Sign the Petition to President- Elect Obama to End Torture and Close the SOA, and come next November!

Now, for the Pope part.

The Friday of this year’s vigil was also the day that SOAW founder, Fr. Roy Bourgeois, was to be excommunicated from the Catholic Church. Not for standing up to the military or to the US government, for that matter, but for participating in a Mass to ordain a woman priest.

Fr. Roy delivered the homily at that ceremony in August, saying:

“Sexism is a sin. . . The hierarchy will say, ‘It is the tradition of the church not to ordain women.’ I grew up in a small town in Louisiana and often heard, ‘It is the tradition of the South to have segregated schools.’ It was also ‘the tradition’ in our Catholic church to have the Black members seated in the last five pews of the church. No matter how hard we may try to justify discrimination, in the end, it is always wrong and immoral.”

In October, the church hierarchy sent Fr. Roy a letter demanding he recant his position or be excommunicated. But, Fr. Roy didn’t back down. He wrote a letter in response and he and others have pointed out the disturbing fact that, while it took the Vatican twelve years to begin to respond to the sexual abuse of nearly 5,000 children by US priests (with none of the priests, nor the bishops who remained silent about the abuse, being excommunicated) it took only three months for the Vatican to respond to Fr. Roy’s support of women’s ordination with the threat of excommunication.

(Did you know you can email the Pope? ) and the petitions are having an effect. We think the slogan of the Women’s Ordination Conference’s petition in support of Fr. Roy says it best:

“Break the Silence. Shatter the Stained Glass Ceiling.”

Emma’s Revolution will be playing at the Innaugural Peace Ball in DC on Jan. 20. But don’t plan on attending it unless you are one of the lucky 1000 who got tickets before it sold out in one day!

Their new album is called Roots, Rock, Revolution and you can listen and buy on the site. I’m ordering it and listening to their earlier album One while I wait for it to arrive.

Please be sure to sign the petition asking Obama to close the SOA using the linked image below.

Oh, and I’ll try to find my photos of Pat and Sandy from Crawford to add to this post.

There was an article in Sunday’s Oklahoman about this family of five brothers and sisters who play piano and are reportedly making classical music cool for kids.

The 5 Browns will perform in Edmond on the 17th and Stillwater the 18th.

Nov 17, Edmond  Armstrong Cultural Foundation
Nov 17, Edmond  Herbert W Armstrong College
Nov 18, Stillwater  Oklahoma State

But let’s not let any appearance in the Angie and Dave Daily prejudice our expectations, okay; these young men and women seem talented to my untrained ears. I actually liked “Flight of the Bumble-Bee” better, but it wasn’t available for embed, so here’s “Rhapsody in Blue” for five pianos.