Making Change Through Music

In the wake of all of the recent changes in the world lately, it occurred to me that the global unrest is very similar to what the world looked like in the '60's. During that time, music became a major venue for people to express their frustrations and attitudes towards the establishment. As great as ATS is, it only appeals to those who are already interested in knowing more than what mainstream media feeds us. Music can have widespread appeal as a vehicle to spread knowledge and a message of peace and ownership in our destiny.

What I would love to see is a new generation of "folkies" who write music with meaning and advocate change by example. I realize there are a handful of artists out there doing this, but not nearly enough. So how about it? Do we have any folk musicians out there willing to wear their hearts on their sleeves and lead the next generation of freedom fighters. I would love to hear any original songs or ideas. Maybe we can put together a music festival to launch the revolution? FYI, I am not interested in making money off of anybody. I just want to try and reach people with the power of music. Any ideas?

Hi there,

I agree with what your saying


Well the subject matter is not the same but,


soundcloud.com...

gnomeattic1.bandcamp.com...

Music is good for the soul. You should upload clips to youtube and post them here!

That would be nice...

Here was my idea for it...
ATS Worldwide Mixtape vol. 1

It was very quickly dumped to the trash because it was sended to belowtopsecret...

If anyone wants to bring this up again, please do so....
I will leave society in the next moth, so i have no time to do this project.

Peace

Jim

reply to post by JimIrie
What do you mean leave society?

I would like to see a list put together of songs/artists that deal with bringing up issues in their songs.
Honestly I know there is MORE out there and I currently do not have enough to listen to now.

So what are some good artists/bands/songs that you all feel deal with issues in their lyrics?

I know I really like NOFX....even their older songs still hit the nail on the head about how the world (especially America is)

please add so I can pick up some more great songs for my collection!

s&f btw

Here you go. Dont know if you'll like these but,


or


or


All awesome in my opinion, and their lyrics actually are meaningful

I'm going to be recording some music in about a week. I would describe a couple of the songs as acoustic folk. I will try to remember to add those to this thread. I hope to see some more original music from posters.

I heard this on my dad's iPod the other day. I am a big fan of it.

reply to post by XxRagingxPandaxX


I am going to travel through the world. But mainly i am leaving society to live in nature...

reply to post by joeandandi


They are out there. They are called rappers. Of course not all rap is about social change but it is to a large extent. It passes by many of us because it is couched in words an phrases which are unfamiliar to us.

Back in the sixties not all the folk musicians adressed social issues. The Kingston Trio were hardly political. Or the New Christy Minstrals. Those that did,Baez,PP+M, Mimi Farina,Ochs etc. though all kept singing, fell by the way when the popular rush to social change played out with the pull out from Nam and Trickies resignation.

Dylan changed to a much less pointed approach to music and and mostly left protest behind him. Arguably the "Big Star" of the fold scene, his change of musical direction took a lot of wind from the sails of folk. There have been numerous accounts of heavy threats put to Dylan and Baez to back off or else, which could account for her early semi retirement and his shift to less threatening songs.

Folk never did bring the big big money so the venue remained modest. Through the following decades many kept singing in small venues and short tours, but none reaching out much to wider audiences. Arlo and Seeger, Ronnie Gilbert and Holly Near, both duets toured off and on for years, carrying the message to the faithful.

There are many folk singers around. However one must search in the small corners of our cultural scene among the political progressives. The truth is, there is no big market for it. As a profit generator folk just always threatened to bite off the hand that fed it.

reply to post by bulletproof_monk


Monk. I'm old now, but that Gore Bush vid from Rage boils my blood. Thanks for that.

Here's a track i literally put together a few days ago... only 20 odd ppl have heard it.

I suppose you can say it is kind of conspiracy based, you will have to judge for yourself.

UK HipHop.. just in case you're not into that sort of thing

soundcloud.com...



PS Nice thread.. s&f

TWO WORDS.

LUPE, FIASCO.

Off of his first album in 2006

www.youtube.com...

Off his second album in 2007

www.youtube.com...

Off his recenlt album which just dropped

www.youtube.com...

His third album should have been released in Q4 of 2009 but was shelved due to Atlantic Records. Myself along with half a dozen other people orchestrated chaos for Atlantic records for weeks during the summer tying up their emails and phones at their offices etc. We also got a petition going that gained more than 32,000 signatures as well we got featured on CNN amongst other news outlets and countless online blogs.

bonus

www.youtube.com...

"Black woman voted head of Ku Klux Klan
Malcolm Little dies as a old man
Martin Luther King read the eulogy for him
Followed by bill O'Reilly who read from the Quran
President bush sends condolences from Iran
Where Fox News reports live
That Ahmedinijad wins Mandela peace prize"

This is exactly what I was hoping for. I think there is a lot of interest in folk-type music again. The problem is that it is just hard to ferret out after so many years of being pushed into the background. I look forward to listening to everyone's suggestions.

Just for anyone still checking this thread out. I recorded this the other day. Just an instrumental i made after the earthquake hit japan. I'm living in Kawasaki city, so luckily nobody in my family was hurt.
Hope you guys like it