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| Cover art, for Malachi Ritscher |
1. "Ban the Game" by Men Without Hats
(from the album Rhythm of Youth)
Not many people would use the word "poignant" when referring to Men Without Hats. For most folks, the band's name evokes images of midgets at a Renaissance fair. But "Ban the Game," the first track on their 1982 debut album, is quite the poignant tune and I thought this was a good way to introduce the program.
2. "The Mob Rules" by Black Sabbath
(from the soundtrack to the film Heavy Metal)
Although Ozzy-era Sabbath is laden with political themes, this was seldom the case with their Dio-era material. "The Mob Rules" is something of an exception. The idea that "when you listen to fools, the mob rules" is a reminder that mass hysteria generally yields the worst of what the world has to offer. In the wake of 9/11, this kind of polarized groupthink brought our worst prejudices to light and ultimately led us to the invasion and occupation of two countries. (I used the Heavy Metal edit because on Mob Rules, there's about half a second of the song "E5150" that bleeds into the beginning of "The Mob Rules" and it's pretty much impossible to edit out. I wish the sound quality of this particular track was a little better.)
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| Allen Ginsberg |
(from the album Howl and Other Poems)
Both for his own time and well beyond, few voices of protest and activism are as thought-provoking and insightful as that of Allen Ginsberg. Laden with vivid imagery and ethereal symbolism, "The Sunflower Sutra" is a work that evaluates and celebrates self-awareness while chronicling his personal struggle to make the world a better place. (Had I not been going for the whole "three word title" pattern, I might've included "America," which is one of my favorite Ginsberg works.)
4. "No Fucking War" by 7 Year Bitch
(from the album Sick 'Em)
7 Year Bitch was one of the most underrated punk bands of the 1990's. They were heavy as hell and something of a standout from the "riot grrrl" and grunge ensembles of their time. Selene Vigil belted out songs with the bulldozer-like ferocity of a female Cronos (and that, friends, is the highest of compliments from yours truly)."No Fucking War" was 7 Year Bitch's song of protest against Operation Desert Storm, but the lyrics became even more relevant during America's second foray into the Persian Gulf. With George W. Bush leading the new charge, the line "Bush, pull out like your father should have" (originally aimed at George HW Bush) turned a simple double entendre into an irony that was profoundly unfortunate.
5. "Two-Sided Politics" by Suicidal Tendencies
(from the album Suicidal Tendencies)
Some Cold War-era musings on alienation and injustice going on here: I'm not anti-Reagan, Reagan's anti-me /And I'm not anti-government, government's anti-me/And I'm not anti-politics, politics is anti-me/And I'm not anti-anything, I just wanna be free. Well…It still rings true, doesn't it?
6. "Pen Cap Chew" by Nirvana
(from the box set With the Lights Out or possibly from the Pay to Play bootleg)
It's not so much of a pacifist's anthem, but there's definitely some political awareness in the line "Kill a politician and then wear his clothes." Part Robin Hood, part Bolshevik revolutionary….all Cobain. The spoken word lead-in is an outtake I pulled from side four of the LP version of From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah. It's not really relevant to the song, but it's funny because Bob Larson is a yutz. I originally spliced these tracks together for another mix CD many years ago.
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| 7 Year Bitch |
(from the album Talking with the Taxman About Poetry)
So beautiful and so sad, all at the same time. This song is about trudging through life despite the worst kinds of trouble and tragedy: "When the world falls apart, some things stay in place."
8. "The Call Up" by The Clash
(from the album Sandanista!)
Sandanista! should make each and every list of the greatest rock albums of all time, now and forever. The unfortunate fact of the matter is that this album is still woefully underappreciated despite innovation, musicianship and content (both artistic and political content) of the highest caliber. Think of "The Call Up" as something like the punk equivalent of Phil Ochs' much-celebrated draft evasion anthem "Draft Dodger Rag."
9. "Canons of Christianity" by Phil Ochs
(from the album Phil Ochs in Concert)
Phil Ochs is not just one of my favorite artists; he is one of my favorite human beings. I think a lot of people believe Phil ultimately took his own life because he lost his sanity. I prefer to think that Phil stayed sane while the rest of the world went crazy. "Canons of Christianity" nicely sums up the problems wrought by religion's best of intentions.
10. "Over the Edge" by The Wipers
(from the album Over the Edge)
If you've never heard any stuff by The Wipers, do yourself a favor and buy the 3 CD box set that includes is This Real?, Youth of America, and Over the Edge. This is a great song for those days when you feel like everyone is pushing your damn buttons. (I had hoped to include the song "Youth of America" in this mix and then use the Hole cover of "over the Edge" but with "Youth" clocking in at almost 10 minutes, I wouldn't have been able to contain this collection in a single disc.)
11. "Cult of Personality" by Living Colour
(from the album Vivid)
My head almost exploded when I first saw Living Color perform on Saturday Night Live back in 1989. I still remember seeing how annoyed my mom was with the performance and pretty much deciding right then to go buy their album. She was less than thrilled when I brought it home. I think I missed the whole point of the song "Cult of Personality" back then but as I've grown older, I can appreciate it in a different context. Any way you look at it, this song is tremendous.
12. "Worried Man Blues" by Woody Guthrie
(from the album Muleskinner Blues: The Asch Recordings Vol. 2)
The quintessential poet and songwriter of the American Left, Woody fought for a better world and shared his vision far and wide. His voice and music remain the heart and soul of the continuing struggle against corruption and injustice. it was one of my favorite moments as a parent thus far when I heard baby Z. -- at about the age of 2 years old -- singling along with Woody's "Muleskinner Blues."
13. " Ένα το χελιδόνι" ("Ena to helidoni" or "A Solitary Swallow") by Mikis Theodorakis
(from the YouTube video "ΝΟΕΜΒΡΗΣ 1973-ΠΟΛΥΤΕΧΝΕΙΟ")
The YouTube video collage "November 1973 – Polytechnic" chronicles the 1973 uprising by students of the Athens Polytechnic in opposition to the fascist dictatorship of Greece's military junta. "Ena to Helidoni" was originally written during the Greek Civil War of 1946-1949 but it became symbolic of the struggle against the junta during the years of the dictatorship. The voice at the beginning of this track is Maria Damanaki, who was a leading voice of the students during the uprising (Damanaki has long since given up radical politics in favor of a career with ruling-class organizations and institutions). In the excerpt included in this track, Damanaki proclaims, "Everyone united in the struggle for democracy and national independence; Long live the people's struggle!" The gunshots immediately following the song are taken from audio of the junta's brutal suppression of the students on 17 November. My friend Anthony once described the juxtaposition of the song with the sound of gunfire as "chilling" (or words to that effect." I edited the audio a bit to bring these elements closer together. Thanks to Anthony for the translation help.
14. "Commerce of Grief," an excerpt from a presentation by Arundhati Roy
In her September 18, 2002 talk "Come September, writer and activist Arundhati Roy commented on the dangers of jingoism and militarism that flourished in the wake of the September 11 attacks. In this particular excerpt, she explores the hypocrisy of killing innocent people to avenge the deaths of other innocent people.
15. "Search and Destroy" by The Stooges
(this version from the soundtrack to The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou)
I wish I had a coherent explanation for including this song, but I have to settle on the explanation that it just felt right. All of this talk of death and destruction probably brought this tune to my mind.
16. "Gimme Some Truth" by John Lennon
(taken from the soundtrack to The U.S. vs. John Lennon)
John Lennon, much like the rest of us, wanted the one thing that's the hardest to get.
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| The great Phil Ochs |
(from the album Return of the Read Menace)
Somebody gave me a compilation of stuff by the Weakerthans some years ago and to be totally honest, I never got past this song, which was the first track. This is a dynamite cover of the epic tune by Phil Ochs (without Phil's cinematic, spoken-word prologue, mind you) and after hearing this, I figured the bar was set too high and that I wouldn't appreciate anything else by Yhe Weakerthans on the level that I loved this particular performance.
18. "Black Wind Blowing" by Billy Bragg and Wilco
(from the album Mermaid Avenue, Volume 2)
The Mermaid Avenue albums, collections of Woody Guthrie's heretofore unpublished lyrics, contain some of the best music ever recorded. The song "Black Wind Blowing" reminds me of something that I often say about the state of the world today: "Things have to get a whole lot worse before they ever get better."
19. "Power to the People" by Huey P. Newton
(excerpted from a public address)
Brother Huey, much like Paul Robeson, Phil Ochs and so many others like him, had a brilliant vision of a better world that was compromised and marginalized through sustained campaigns of repression and harassment from elitists and their proverbial "running dogs." He was the epitome of the doctrine of revolutionary suicide: "I, we, all of us are the one and the multitude."
20. "Until the End" by The Nightwatchman
(from the album One Man Revolution)
I used to refer to Phil Ochs as the last great songwriter of the American Left… Then I heard Tom Morello's material from his "The Nightwatchman" project.
21. "for Malachi Ritscher" (original composition)
This is an original "sound collage," created using my Epiphone Les Paul, Karera bass guitar and the keyboard simulator from Apple GarageBand. The spoken content was performed by K. and Z. (Z.'s line took about 37 takes.)
