RTP-area local music and culture

["clamnebula" <SHELLclamnebula AT netscape.netSHELL>]

I think it's worth noting here that even Merle Haggard has recently recorded 
an
anti-war song. It'll be interesting to see if it gets any airplay on stations
owned by the monolithic Clear Channel network (who are major Bush and GOP
supporters).

-Neb

---Original Text--- 
Rockers Unite to Oust Bush
http://www.rollingstone.com/news/newsarticle.asp?nid=19029

Bruce Springsteen told a crowd of 50,000 New Yorkers on October 4th to "shout 
a
little louder if you want the president impeached." Two weeks later, John
Mellencamp posted an open letter to America on his Web site, declaring, "We 
have
been lied to and terrorized by our own government, and it is time to take
action." Meanwhile, Moby, Eddie Vedder and Michael Stipe are organizing a 
TV-ad
campaign that will run anti-Bush commercials during the week of the State of 
the
Union address in January; Dave Matthews is railing against the war in Iraq in
interviews; and at press time, at least three multiband rock tours planned to
take aim at Bush-administration policies. Green Day, NOFX, Tom Morello, Dixie
Chicks, Don Henley, Willie Nelson and Steve Earle have all played (or plan to
play) for political candidates or causes. Hip-hop stars have also gotten
involved. "We have a voice and a responsibility to speak out," says Jay-Z, a
member of Russell Simmons' Hip-Hop Summit, which aims to register 4 million
voters before the 2004 election. "People listen to us."

Welcome to the increasingly partisan world of popular music -- where President
George W. Bush is a marked man. Thirty major artists interviewed for this 
story
cited many concerns: U.S. policy on Iraq, the Patriot Act, the Bush
administration's assault on the environment, the economy and the media. But 
they
all agreed that as the 2004 presidential election gets closer, it is time to
mobilize. "The America we believe in can't survive another four years of 
George
Bush," says Moby. Adds Lou Reed, "We must all unite and work for whomever
opposes Bush, regardless of whatever differences we may have. Our motto:
Anything but Bush."

Many artists aren't afraid to get their hands dirty in the democratic process,
either: At Punkvoter.com, more than 100 bands, including NOFX, Green Day and
Offspring, are creating voter-registration drives, a political action 
committee
and a Rock Against Bush Tour. Willie Nelson recently called Dennis Kucinich to
offer his time and a slogan, "Kucinich: His middle name is sin," and dozens of
other artists are contributing money to campaigns and performing in swing 
states
and in televised public-service announcements.

"Musicians have an obligation to get involved," says Henley, "not necessarily
because they have a forum but because they are citizens."

Donna Brazile, Al Gore's 2000 campaign manager, says that artists are 
important
to this campaign, because "musicians have reach that politicians need in order
to motivate people to take an active interest in their future." With that in
mind, eight Democratic candidates filmed ads for a November 4th Rock the Vote
event designed to woo young voters. In his spot, Wesley Clark even name-drops
OutKast.

It's not always easy for artists to speak out. Recently, New Jersey radio
station WCHR banned Jethro Tull after the band's lead singer, Ian Anderson, 
was
quoted in a local paper saying, "I hate to see the American flag hanging out 
of
every bloody station wagon. It's easy to confuse patriotism with nationalism.
Flag-waving ain't gonna do it."

Eight months ago, Dixie Chicks singer Natalie Maines told a London audience,
"Just so you know, we're ashamed the president of the United States is from
Texas." More than fifty radio stations pulled the Dixie Chicks' songs off the
air, and DJs and fans launched protests. Says Maines, "I thought, 'Why am I, a
country singer who has never been involved in politics publicly, the one 
asking
questions?'"

In July, Dixie Chicks contributed $100,000 to Rock the Vote -- the largest
single band donation in the nonprofit's history. Maines says that she hopes 
the
London incident will help rally eighteen- to twenty-four-year-old women to 
vote.
"I had gotten too comfortable in my life," she says. "And I wasn't necessarily
active for things that I believed in. It inspired me." Maines' experience may
have scared some musicians away from speaking out, but it angered others 
enough
to get involved. Merle Haggard, who recorded his own anti-war song, "That's 
the
News," this year, says that the attacks on the Chicks "reminded me of things 
I'd
read about Berlin in 1938. It pissed me off."

The notion that musicians shouldn't get involved in politics is "ridiculous,"
says Mike Burkett (a.k.a. Fat Mike), lead singer of NOFX and founder of
Punkvoter.com. "Everyone should be involved in politics: cabdrivers, lawyers 
. .
. everyone." Artists are in a unique position to understand the mood of this
country, too. "We travel," says Henley. "We see what the economy is like in
every city. We take the temperature of between 10,000 and 20,000 people four
nights a week."

Musicians hope that by getting involved they will inspire their fans to do the
same. James Taylor, who has supported Sen. John Kerry, says that the
administration has benefited from "a failure of citizenship." "Americans are
asleep at the wheel," Taylor adds. "We're not getting involved in our own
political process."

Mellencamp says that the goal of his open letter and his song "To Washington" 
is
to turn such apathy into action. "My whole purpose of being here, to write 
songs
or write a letter like that, is to put the idea forward that some conversation
needs to take place here, as opposed to accepting the [government] line," he
says.

But can musicians actually tilt the electoral scale, especially at a time when
voter turnout among eighteen- to twenty-four-year-olds is at an all-time low?
Republican strategists are skeptical. "People tend to choose candidates on the
issues that they stand for -- and not the position of their favorite 
musician,"
says Christine Iverson, spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee.
Brazile begs to differ. "People come out because they're attracted not just to
[the candidate] but also because the candidate is being endorsed by their
favorite artist," she says. "It matters."

Artists clearly agree. Many say they are convinced that they're reflecting a
national mood that is "disturbed," in the words of Haggard, or "agitated," as
Morello puts it, and that fans can be motivated to get involved. "What you 
have
to realize," says Russell Simmons, "is that it's a cultural step, not only a
political step. It's in style to be at the rallies. It's in style to give 
money
back to education." Adds Fat Mike, "If we get a few hundred thousand kids
together, we will be a force to reckon with. If anybody wants our votes, 
they're
going to have to give us some of the things we want. If the NRA can do it, why
can't we?"

DAMIEN CAVE
(November 26, 2003)