Happy Birthday, Pete Seeger

[filkertom]

Eighty-seven and still going strong. So many songs, so much music, so much hope.

In honor of Mr. Seeger, would you mind sharing a link to a favorite folk song, protest song, or activist music site? My own contributions would be:

• Folk Alley
• Downhill Battle
• Music For America
• The Brobdingnagian Bards

Comments

[singlemaltsilk.livejournal.com]

In loving memory of Hal Frank, I offer one of his favorite sites: the Mudcat Cafe.

[folkmew.livejournal.com]

Well, one of my favorite singers who can be quite political is Dick Gaughan. He's got a wonderful soothing voice and is a fantastic guitarist. He's also a fiery, political activist. We love his version of the Leon Rosselson song "The Digger's Song" (or "World Turned Upside Down"). He also does another song we love but seldom perform unless it is late at a filk "Stand Up For Judas." (come to that he also does the coolest cover of Ruby Tuesday I ever heard!) But I digress... the song that sums up the political action best is:
A Different Kind of Lovesong (lyrics there).

Thanks for asking this and alerting me to Pete's birthday!

[shadowcat48li.livejournal.com]

some of my favorite political comedy comes from tne capitol steps

http://www.capsteps.com/

[selenesue.livejournal.com]

They play at Cal Tech this Friday and I'm going. Squeeee! Actually, there is a large contingient from local SF fandom who go in a gang every year. Interesting, that.

[shadowcat48li.livejournal.com]

I try and see them everytime they get back to illinois, one of my favorite things about them is that they poke pun at everybody....

[redaxe.livejournal.com]

Here's to perhaps the most earnest, and one of the best, protest singers ever: Phil Ochs.

For everything from "(Outside of a) Small Circle of Friends" and "I Ain't Marching Anymore" to "Bracero" and "Cops of the World", with side trips to "Draft Dodger Rag" and "Love Me, I'm a Liberal", here's to you, Phil. May your dreams of a world where people care to do the right thing come true, sooner than later.

[ladysmith.livejournal.com]

It's not a protest song, or any of the above, but my absolute favorite piece of Pete Seeger's is one that I used to fascinate my kindergarten classes with: Abiyoyo.

I memorized it because I could never find a copy of the book. And after telling it one day, I looked up to see not only fascinated kindergarten students, but about half a dozen fascinated PARENTS. Great story.

[jmthane.livejournal.com]

I'm partial to:

Chad Mitchell Trio (http://www.folkera.com/cmtrio/index.html)
Joan Baez (http://www.joanbaez.com/)
Country Joe and the Fish (http://www.well.com/~cjfish/) and its founder, Country Joe McDonald (http://www.countryjoe.com/)

Among others.

[jmthane.livejournal.com]

Oh, yeah, and Crosby, Stills, Nash (http://www.crosbystillsnash.com/), and occasionally with Young (http://www.csny.net/).

[trdsf.livejournal.com]

Still fightin' the good fight. I had the great good fortune of hearing him perform at the March on the Pentagon in 1981.

I suppose linking back you your blog(s) would be redundant... ;)

It's not folk as such, but Neil Young's latest is definitely protest. (as a sidenote: a big middle finger to the RIAA--hearing it online made sure I went out and bought it)

[selenesue.livejournal.com]

I'm a bit surprised nobody has mentioned Woody Guthrie yet. His official website http://www.woodyguthrie.org/ features a splash photo of the man himself armed with guitar, on which is written: "THIS MACHINE KILLS FASCISTS". His pen was mighty mighty, more than a thousand swords!

[alymid.livejournal.com]

Tom Paxton - early in my more "activist" days I heard his album Politics-Live. I pretty much fell in love, right there and then.

but here are some good ones
http://lyrics.rare-lyrics.com/T/Tom-Paxton/Daily-News.html
http://www.stlyrics.com/songs/t/tompaxton22207/thewillingconscript571380.html

his lyrics are kind of hard to find on the web or I would link some more

[alymid.livejournal.com]

I thought I would add, that he seems surprisingly unknown despite having written some of the most pervasive folk songs . ..

IIRC these are all his:
I Can't Help But Wonder Where I'm Bound
Bottle of Wine
The Last thing on my mind
Ramblin' boy
The Marvelous toy

Bread and Roses

[sepdet.livejournal.com]

Hoorah for Pete Seeger! One of the best.

That's odd. The midis I've found online for "Bread and Roses" aren't the tune I remember from my women's college, where the alums would come back to sing this with us and everybody cried. I've got no external mike and my voice is a bit rusty, but let me sing you the version I love:

Bread and Roses (http://sepdet.istad.org/recordings/breadandroses.mp3)


About the 1912 Worker's Strike and this song (http://www.holtlaborlibrary.org/Lawrence.html#Web%20Sites)

[patoadam]

Thanks to all for the many wonderful links.

I had the privilege of hearing Pete in concert twice. The first concert was a benefit for children who had been wounded or orphaned in the (first) Gulf War. Pete's voice was showing its age, but his integrity came through, clear as a bell.

I would like to point out two filk songs about the current Iraqi war: Mark Mandel's "Valse Macabre", and, if I may, my own "The Osama bin Laden Happy Dance".

[ericcoleman]

I tend to get people angry at me for saying that punk is the modern folk music. But I will say that here.

I highly recommend the Rock Against Bush CDs ... they are still available at fatwreck.com ... to see that the fight continues.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

I admit that I disagree, but I also admit that it may be a folk music. :)

[hms42]

Harry Chapin - He was a VERY active till he passed away almost 25 years ago in getting donations for the hungry. I think he did a song or two in tribute to Pete Seeger.

The album he was working on at the time of his death was released as "The Last Protest Singer".

A couple of the many sites out there. The first one does link to music. (Possible on the net, definately via USPS mail.)

http://www.chapinmusic.com/
http://www.harrychapinmusic.com/intro.html

Harold S.

[anneb.livejournal.com]

When I was in about 6th grade, due to my dad's job at the time, my family had the luck of having Joe Glazer (http://www.joeglazer.org/) in our living room, along with some youth labor leaders, singing some of his work- I'm guessing somehow through USIS. I learned quite a bit alongside of the music- he had quite a strong influence on my politics then, which still carries forward now.

BTW, my favorite Seeger song is "Little Boxes." But if he wrote it now, they wouldn't be pink, blue, yellow and green, they'd all be varying shades of ecru, and that probably wouldn't scan nearly so well. >SIGH<

[gpeefalt.livejournal.com]

Wow. And still "Like A Rock". Is he still practicing his "Night Moves"?

/ducking

[indyellen.livejournal.com]

Well, I have to say for some of the best *folk* music (and it was occasionally activist), very few top Stan Rogers (http://www.ifred.ca/stanrogers/main.html), IMHO.

But thanks to everyone for posting links; some good stuff to remind us of.

[gan-chan.livejournal.com]

I'm a fan of Stephan Smith (http://www.stephansmith.com/), personally. I heard his anti-war song "The Bell" on a CD insert in Utne Magazine, and off I went to buy the album. Good stuff.