Peace Arena » music

Getting religion

Rena — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 05:33:15 +0000

I went to a Catholic High School, not because I had gone to Catholic grammar school (I didn’t) and not because I or my family was particularly religious (we weren’t), but because after attending public school the first year back in the continental U.S., I was afraid I wouldn’t live through another year of it, much less three more, so I begged to transfer to the school where there was a little more behavioral control in evidence (for context, this was the late 60s).

There were some good moments (studying Ayn Rand, Niemoller, Saint-Exupéry, et. al. with a very charismatic priest is a highlight, as was hearing the coolest brothers and sisters telling about their Summers spent on the nearby Catholic Worker Farm), there was some psychological torture (studying Latin with the most dull-witted and mind-numbing person in the hemisphere).

But by far the best was a religion class in 11th grade. What was cool about it was that we didn’t talk about religion, at least I don’t remember doing so, though surely we must have. What I remember was an engaging, vibrant, passionate sister who clearly loved life, teaching, people and who respected her students and wanted to enrich their minds and hear their ideas.

There were two classes that really stick out for me. In one, the nun wrote the lyrics for the Leonard Cohen song ‘Suzanne’ on the blackboard. We listened to the song, examined and talked about the words, listened again, explored meanings and possible motivations and outcomes. It was one of the most stunning classroom experiences I have ever had. I would say it was the most stunning, except for another, also with the same nun.

She had at the front of the room several pictures depicting Jesus Christ. I don’t remember all of them exactly, but basically, for the purposes of this story, and being descriptively accurate, you could say one was The Pieta, one was a manger scene, one was a closeup of a face with a crown of thorns, one was floating beautifully passionless on a post-ascension cloud and one was Christ of the Breadlines.

She asked us which image best represented our idea of Jesus. Most of my classmates had gone to Catholic School and lived in the little township in upstate New York their whole lives. Maybe that accounts for their responses, which were mostly split between the torture victim and the cloud-rider. Anyway, I was the only one who raised my hand for Christ of the Breadlines. The only one, and I was somewhat embarrassed by that, in the uncomfortable way you feel if you are singled out for undue praise. I thought I was making the obvious choice.

That moment really made me aware that I was different from the other students in ways I hadn’t realized before (and I was already plenty different). I was shocked by the choices made by my fellow students and kept trying to understand. Did their responses really reflect their thinking, or was something else at work? Sometimes I’d thing they were just playing mind games with the nun. Maybe they were refusing to give the answer she wanted because, well, they’d been mindfucked themselves by many a nun and wanted to make a point about their earlier Catholic education. Or maybe I was the only one naive enough to be mindfucked into giving Sister the answer she wanted (and yes, I think it’s a given what answer she was hoping for; see ‘Suzanne’ above).

I finally realized that sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. And that’s when I “got” religion and stopped being a Christian. I realize that it’s possible that someone else, under the same circumstances, would make the opposite choice — in an alternate universe, maybe I’m the Pope. It took me many more years to come to realize I was or had at some point become an atheist, and to come to terms with that. But religion still fascinates me, like a lifelong research project, in the drastic/dramatic way it shapes people, and controls them, blinds them, and even sometimes enlightens and elevates them, and I still think if you read the New Testament, even the Cliff Notes version, and don’t come away seeing the Jesus depicted there (man, god, or literary character) as Christ of the Breadlines, there is something seriously wrong with your comprehension (it probably having been warped even more drastically by the many evils of dogma so that even religion isn’t “religious” anymore).

Suzanne takes you down to her place near the river
You can hear the boats go by
You can spend the night beside her
And you know that shes half crazy
But that’s why you want to be there
And she feeds you tea and oranges
That come all the way from China
And just when you mean to tell her
That you have no love to give her
Then she gets you on her wavelength
And she lets the river answer
That you’ve always been her lover
And you want to travel with her
And you want to travel blind
And you know that she will trust you
For you’ve touched her perfect body with your mind.

And Jesus was a sailor
When he walked upon the water
And he spent a long time watching
From his lonely wooden tower
And when he knew for certain
Only drowning men could see him
He said all men will be sailors then
Until the sea shall free them
But he himself was broken
Long before the sky would open
Forsaken, almost human
He sank beneath your wisdom like a stone
And you want to travel with him
And you want to travel blind
And you think maybe you’ll trust him
For he’s touched your perfect body with his mind.

Now Suzanne takes you hand
And she leads you to the river
She is wearing rags and feathers
From salvation army counters
And the sun pours down like honey
On our lady of the harbour
And she shows you where to look
Among the garbage and the flowers
There are heroes in the seaweed
There are children in the morning
They are leaning out for love
And they will lean that way forever
While Suzanne holds the mirror
And you want to travel with her
And you want to travel blind
And you know that she will trust you
For she’s touched your perfect body with her mind.

Hank Williams given special Pulitzer, Meryl Streep elected to Academy

Rena — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 06:48:16 +0000

Any ~~award~~ Special Citation for Hank Williams (Sr) doesn’t really need an explanation.

New York City, April 12 – The Pulitzer Prize Board has awarded a posthumous Special Citation to country music icon Hank Williams for his lifetime achievement as a musician, Columbia University announced today.
The citation praises Williams for “his craftsmanship as a songwriter who expressed universal feelings with poignant simplicity and played a pivotal role in transforming country music into a major musical and cultural force in American life.”

That the writer/singer of “Honky Tonkin’” and “Hey, Good Lookin’” would get an award like the Pulitzer once would have been sacrilege.

“The citation, above all, recognizes the lasting impact of Williams as a creative force that influenced a wide range of other musicians and performers,” said Sig Gissler, administrator of the Pulitzer Prizes. “At the same time, the award highlights the Board’s desire to broaden its Music Prize and recognize the full range of musical excellence that might not have been considered in the past.”

Shorter Gissler: “We used to be artsy fartsy snobs!”

My mother knew Williams in Montgomery in the late 30s, or knew of him, somewhat crossed paths. In her mid teens she played steel guitar (“Hawaiian guitar” back then) on a radio program and says he, a couple of years younger, hung out around the station, and at other music venues. She had no idea of his amazing talent, though. She can be a little snobby, I have to say, so she probably didn’t give him the time of day, much less a good listen. Who’s sorry now?

Also in opening-the-arts-to-the-lowly-masses news today, Meryl Streep was honored with a membership in the American Academy of Arts and Letters. This is a pretty exclusive club and she’s the first artist elected solely for acting, and this is seen either as the collapse of culture, or the democratization of art, depending on your point of view.

The inductees [of the special category Streep's membership is in] demonstrate again how far the academy has changed from its frankly snobbish roots, when modernists, women, non-whites and Jews were not welcome and the presence of a “lowly” actress, even one as talented as Streep, might have set off mass resignations.

And the gate crashing continues.

Giving Pete Seeger his just reward: a Nobel Peace Prize

Rena — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 04:30:12 +0000

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.]

My introduction to Pete Seeger

Rena — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 05:50:33 +0000

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.

Come gather ’round, people

Rena — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 04:02:09 +0000

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.

This land belongs to you and me, but the Inaugural concert belongs to HBO

Rena — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 02:51:50 +0000

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.

UC Men’s octet walk ’500 Miles’

Rena — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 06:49:42 +0000

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.

Flaming Lips Mega-Deluxe Christmas on Mars Package

Rena — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 06:29:19 +0000

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

Hang tight, Rock Hard

Rena — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 06:39:23 +0000

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)

Activist news report from Emma’s Revolution, progressive troubadours

Rena — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 04:56:56 +0000

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.