14993.txt
The Gannett Lecture Series
April 29, 2004
Speaker: Carl Atkins
>> GOOD EVENING AND WELCOME TO THIS, THE THIRD IN THE SPRING CAROLINE WERNER
GANNETT LECTURE SERIES. MY NAME IS PAUL GREBINGER, AND I AM GANNETT LECTURER AND
COORDINATOR OF SENIOR SEMINAR HERE IN THE COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS. THIS IS A
LECTURE SERIES THAT IS PRESENTED IN THE COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS FOR THOSE OF YOU
WHO MAY BE COMING IN FROM OUTSIDE. BEFORE I MAKE THE INTRODUCTION OF CARL
ATKINS, I WANT TO INTRODUCE THE INTERPRETING STAFF. INTERPRETING RIGHT NOW TO
THE RIGHT OF ME IS CATHY DARA, AND SHE'LL BE SPELLED BY THERESA JONES, SITTING
OVER THERE. I WANT TO THANK THEM FOR ASSISTING WITH THE SPRING SERIES. I
APPRECIATE THAT KIND OF ASSISTANCE. THIS EVENING THEN, I'M PLEASED TO PRESENT
CARL ATKINS. LAST YEAR WHEN ORGANIZING THE GANNETT LECTURE SERIES, THE SENIOR
SEMINAR FACULTY DECIDED THAT WE SHOULD INCORPORATE TALENTED INDIVIDUALS FROM THE
RIT COMMUNITY IN THIS SERIES. CARL ATKINS WAS IMMEDIATELY SUGGESTED AS ONE WHO
SHOULD PARTICIPATE. HE IS A PROFESSOR OF MUSIC IN THE COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS,
HAVING RECENTLY COME TO US FROM A DISTINGUISHED CAREER AS CONDUCTOR, COMPOSER,
WOODWIND SPECIALIST, MUSICOLOGIST AND CONSULTANT. HE HAS PERFORMED CLASSICAL AND
JAZZ IDOMS WITH THE BOSTON POPS SYMPHONY, BOSTON POPS ORCHESTRA, THE BLACK
COLLECTIVE OF NEW YORK, THE GUNTHER SCHULLER, GEORGE RUSSELL, BILL EVANS AND
HERBIE HANCOCK. PROFESSOR ATKINS EARNED HIS DOCTORATE OF MUSICAL ARTS IN
PERFORMANCE AND LITERATURE FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER'S EASTMAN SCHOOL OF
MUSIC. HE HAS HELD FACULTY POSITIONS AT THE NEW ENGLAND CONSERVATORY, BROWN
UNIVERSITY, AND THE EASTMAN SCHOOL OF MUSIC, AMONG OTHERS. PROFESSOR ATKINS HAS
ALSO SERVED AS PRESIDENT AND C.E.O. OF THE ROCHESTER PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA AS
CO-DIRECTOR WITH BASSIST RON CARTER, I THINK ALSO AN EASTMAN GRADUATE, WITH
THELONIOUS MONK AT THE NEW ENGLAND CONSERVATORY. FROM 1999 TO 2002, HE WAS
ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR ADVANCED STUDIES AND SERVED ON THE FACULTY AT THE NEW ENGLAND
CONSERVATORY. HERE AT RIT, PROFESSOR ATKINS TEACHES HISTORICAL MUSICOLOGY,
ETHNOMUSICOLOGY, AND DIRECTS THE WORLD MUSIC ENSEMBLE, WHICH I BET YOU CREATED.
HE DIDN'T TELL ME THAT BUT I JUST KIND OF KNEW. CARL, WE ARE VERY PLEASED THAT
YOU HAVE RETURNED TO ROCHESTER, JUST IN TIME TO EXPAND OUR HORIZONS ABOUT THE
MUSIC OF PROTEST. THE TITLE OF TONIGHT'S LECTURE IS "PROTEST AND MUSIC: A
GLOBAL VIEW." PLEASE GIVE PROFESSOR ATKINS A WARM WELCOME. (Applause) >> THANK
YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, PROFESSOR GREBINGER. IT'S MY PLEASURE TO BE WITH YOU
THIS EVENING. I HAVE A LOT THAT I WOULD LIKE TO SHARE WITH YOU THIS EVENING, AND
I'LL TRY TO DO IT AS EFFICIENTLY AS POSSIBLE. ONE OF THE PROBLEMS ALWAYS WITH
THESE KINDS OF TOPICS IS THAT THEY ARE INCREDIBLY FERTILE AND THE REAL CHALLENGE
IS THE EDITING PROCESS. WHAT IS IT YOU DON'T SAY? THERE'S LOTS TO SAY. I WANT TO
GET TO THE POINT THAT WE FOCUS ON THE THINGS THAT I THINK ARE GOING TO BE
IMPORTANT. LET'S START WITH A COUPLE OF DEFINITIONS JUST SO THAT WE'RE SORT OF
ALL ON THE SAME PAGE. SINCE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT MUSIC AND PROTEST, LET'S TAKE
THOSE TWO WORDS. MUSIC, MOST PEOPLE HAVE A VIEW OR A THOUGHT ABOUT WHAT MUSIC
IS, BUT IN THE SORT OF ACADEMIC SENSE, A DEFINITION WOULD READ THE ART AND
SCIENCE OF COMBINING VOCAL, INSTRUMENTS AND TONES IN VARYING RHYTHMS, HARMONY
AND TONE STRUCTURES TO FORM EMOTIONALLY COMPLETE AND EXPRESSIVE COMPOSITIONS.
THE SIMPLER DEFINITION WOULD BE PATTERNS OF ORGANIZED SOUND AND SILENCE IN TIME.
WE ALL KNOW THAT THE CLOSE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SPEECH, LANGUAGE AND MUSIC.
ACCORDING TO ANTHROPOLOGIST AND ETHNOMUSICOLOGIST BRUNO NETTL, HUMAN
COMMUNICATION WAS NEITHER SPEECH NOR MUSIC BUT SOUNDS THAT FEATURED VARYING
ACCENTS, DURATIONS AND PITCH. GRADUALLY THE SOUNDS MOVED INTO TWO CLASSES, ONE
OF WHICH BECAME SPEECH AND THE OTHER WHICH BECAME MUSIC. OVER THE EONS, THE
SPEECH DEVELOPED INTO DIVERSE LANGUAGES AND THE MUSIC CLASS INTO DIVERSE MUSICAL
STYLES. HOW DO WE USE MUSIC IN OUR SOCIETIES? IN OUR CULTURES? THERE ARE MANY,
MANY FUNCTIONS. THE ONE THAT IS PERHAPS MOST APPROPRIATE FOR US THIS EVENING IS
ONE OF THE TEN FUNCTIONS GIVE BY ANTHROPOLOGIST ALLEN MERRIAM, WHICH HE CALLS
EMOTIONAL EXPRESSION. PEOPLE EXPRESS THOUGHTS WITH MUSIC MORE DRAMATICALLY OR
PASSIONATELY THAN THEY MIGHT IN SPEECH. WE FINALLY COME TO THE WORD "PROTEST."
LIKE MUSIC, MOST OF US PROBABLY HAVE SOME IDEAS ABOUT WHAT THE WORD "PROTEST"
MEANS. IF YOU GO TO A DICTIONARY OR ANY SOURCE THAT GIVES A DEFINITION, IT'S
INTERESTING TO FIND THAT THE FIRST DEFINITION OF PROTEST IS NOT WHAT MOST PEOPLE
INITIALLY THINK OF. THE FIRST DEFINITION THAT YOU WILL FIND IS AS FOLLOWS:
"PROTEST, TO STATE POSITIVELY, TO AFFIRM SOLEMNLY, TO ASSERT." MOST OF US THINK
OF PROTEST AS BEING AGAINST SOMETHING, HAVING SOME PROBLEMS THAT WE WANT TO
EXPRESS OUR OPINIONS ABOUT AND THAT WE HAVE SOME OBJECTIONS TO. THE SECOND
DEFINITION YOU FIND IN MOST SOURCES DOES GO FINALLY TO THAT DEFINITION: "TO MAKE
OBJECTION, TO MAKE OBJECTION TO, TO SPEAK STRONGLY AGAINST." SO YOU SEE, PROTEST
ACTUALLY HAS A MUCH BROADER MEANING THAN MOST OF US GENERALLY THINK OF. I USE
THE WORD INTERCHANGEABLY WITH THE PHRASE "SOCIAL COMMENTARY" OR THE TERMS
"SOCIAL COMMENTARY" BECAUSE I THINK FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS DISCUSSION WE ARE
TALKING ABOUT WAYS IN WHICH MUSIC MAY BE USED TO MAKE COMMENT ABOUT SOCIAL
CIRCUMSTANCES, AND AS SOCIAL BEINGS, OBVIOUSLY ALL THE CIRCUMSTANCES WE FIND
OURSELVES IN ARE SOCIAL CIRCUMSTANCES. SOME ARE PLEASING AND SOME NOT SO
PLEASING. JOHN GREENWAY HAS STATED IN HIS CLASSIC BOOK "THE AMERICAN FOLK SONGS
OF PROTEST," THAT FROM THE EARLIEST PERIODS OF AMERICAN HISTORY, THE OPPRESSED
PEOPLE FORMING THE BROAD BASE OF THE SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC PYRAMID HAVE BEEN
SINGING OF THEIR DISCONTENT. I WOULD BROADEN THAT TO SAY FROM EARLIEST RECORDED
HISTORY, PEOPLE FORMING THE BROAD BASE OF THE SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC PYRAMID HAVE
USED MUSIC AS A VEHICLE TO EXPRESS THEIR DISCONTENT. GREENWAY'S BROAD BASE
REFERS TO THOSE WHO USUALLY OCCUPY THE LOWEST RUNG OF THE ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL
LEVEL, I WOULD SUGGEST THAT EVERY LEVEL OF THE PYRAMID THROUGH HISTORY HAS USED
MUSIC TO EXPRESS CONCERNS REAL AND IMAGINED. WHY MUSIC AND SONG? JOHN STEINBECK
MAY HAVE SAID IT BEST: "THE SONGS OF PEOPLE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN THEIR SHARPEST
STATEMENT AND THE ONE STATEMENT THAT CANNOT BE DESTROYED. YOU CAN BURN BOOKS,
NEWSPAPERS, GUARD AGAINST HANDBILLS AND PAMPHLETS, BUT YOU CANNOT PREVENT
SINGING." FURTHER IN THE WORDS OF LABOR SONGWRITER JOE HILL, "A PAMPHLET, NO
MATTER HOW GOOD, IS NEVER READ MORE THAN ONCE, BUT A SONG IS LEARNED BY HEART
AND REPEATED OVER AND OVER." WHILE IT'S TRUE THAT SINGING, SONGS AND WORDS, HAVE
MADE UP THE VAST EXPRESSION OF MUSICAL SOCIAL COMMENT, THE USE OF MUSICAL SOUNDS
TO SUPPORT AND OR TO AMPLIFY THE MEANINGS OF SONG TEXT MUST ALSO BE CONSIDERED
IMPORTANT IN A DISCUSSION OF MUSIC AND PROTEST. THE SHAKUHACHI FLUTE AND
SHAMISEN LUTE, JAPANESE MUSIC, ARE USED TO AMPLIFY AND EXTEND MEANINGS IN
JAPANESE SONGS. THE GUITAR AND HARMONICA ARE USED AS ADDITIONAL EXTENSIONS OF
THE VOICE IN AMERICAN BLUES, AND THE CONNECTION BETWEEN SINGING AND PLAYING
VARIOUS WIND INSTRUMENTS FOUND IN JAZZ OR OTHER MUSIC HAS BEEN WELL DOCUMENTED.
IN THE COURSE OF MY RESEARCH, I HAVE YET TO FIND A CULTURE OR SOCIETY WHO DOES
NOT HAVE A FORM OF VOCAL INSTRUMENTAL EXPRESSION THAT I WOULD NOT FEEL
COMFORTABLE CLASSIFYING AS MUSIC. WITHIN THIS MUSICAL EXPRESSION IS ALMOST
ALWAYS FOUND A CATEGORY OF MUSIC/SONG THAT CAN BE CLASSIFIED AS SOCIAL
COMMENTARY OR, USING THE BROAD DEFINITION, PROTEST. WHILE IT IS LARGELY VIEWED
FROM THE CROSS-CULTURAL, INTERCULTURAL PERSPECTIVE, IT IS ALSO TRUE
INTRACULTURALLY, PARTICULARLY IN SOCIETIES THAT MAKE DISTINCTION BETWEEN STYLES,
POPULAR VERSUS ART OR SECULAR VERSUS SACRED MUSIC. FOR EXAMPLE IN WESTERN
EUROPEAN SOCIETIES, THE GENERAL CONSENSUS IS THAT MOST MUSICAL EXPRESSION
CONTAINING SOCIAL COMMENT WOULD BE FOUND LARGELY IN POPULAR OR SECULAR MUSIC.
WHILE STATISTICALLY THIS IS NO DOUBT ACCURATE, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF WELL-KNOWN
EXAMPLES OF SO-CALLED ART MUSIC DATING FROM THE 17th CENTURY TO THE PRESENT THAT
HAVE ESPOUSED A SOCIAL MESSAGE. A FEW CELEBRATED EXAMPLES: "THE COFFEE CANTATA"
BY J.S. BACH, IN WHICH HE RAILED AGAINST THE ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH DRINKING
COFFEE AND HEALTH; "THE RITE OF THE FIRST NIGHT CHORUS FROM THE MARRIAGE OF
FIGARO" BY W.A. MOZART, IN WHICH THE LORD USED TO DEFLOWER ALL THE YOUNG WOMEN
IN HIS FIEFDOM; "THE 1812 OVERTURE" BY TCHAIKOVSKY; "THE CONTEMPORARY OPERA" BY
DAVIS AND "NIXON IN CHINA" BY ADAMS. IT IS CLEAR THAT THE USE OF MUSIC TO
EXPRESS CONDITIONS OF THE BODY, MIND AND SPIRIT IS NOT LIMITED TO A PARTICULAR
TIME, PLACE OR CIRCUMSTANCE. THE UNITED STATES ENJOYS A UNIQUE PLACE IN THE
WORLD AS AN EXAMPLE OF A SOCIETY IN WHICH MUSIC HAS BEEN USED AS A PALETTE FOR
EXPRESSING SOCIAL COMMENTARY AND PROTEST. FROM THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE REPUBLIC
TO THE PRESENT, MUSIC HAS PROVIDED AMERICA FOR A SOUND TRACK FOR EVERY
SIGNIFICANT SOCIAL ISSUE IT HAS CONFRONTED, WHETHER TAXATION WITHOUT
REPRESENTATION, THE ANTI-SLAVERY MOVEMENT, TEMPERANCE MOVEMENT, WOMEN'S
SUFFRAGE, LABOR ISSUES, ECONOMIC DIFFICULTIES, YOUTH AND TEENAGE REBELLIONS,
CIVIL RIGHTS, ANTIWAR, PRO-WAR SENTIMENTS AND WHAT ANTHONY PERKINS CALLS "THE
RAP ATTACK." BECAUSE OF THE PROMINENCE OF DEMOCRACY CITIZENS THROUGHOUT THE
WORLD HAVE OFTEN EMULATED U.S. METHODS TO SEEK REDRESS FOR THEIR OWN MOVEMENTS.
AMERICAN MUSIC, PARTICULARLY POPULAR MUSIC, HAS PLAYED A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN
THESE EFFORTS WORLDWIDE. AS I INDICATED IN MY OPENING COMMENTS, MANY CULTURES
HAVE A HISTORY OF USING MUSIC AND SONG IN THE SERVICE OF SOCIAL COMMENTARY IN
ADDITION TO MORE RECENT MUSICAL INFLUENCES. I WANT TO FOCUS ON FOUR WORLD
CULTURE SOCIETIES TO VIEW VARIOUS WAYS IN WHICH THEY HAVE USED MUSIC TO ADDRESS
SOCIAL CONCERNS: THE UNITED STATES, JAPAN, INDONESIA AND BRAZIL. THOUGH MUSIC
AND SONG HAVE BEEN PART OF AMERICA'S SOCIAL FABRIC SINCE THE BEGINNING I HAVE
CHOSEN FOUR GENRES THAT HAVE CHARACTERIZED A UNIQUE SENSE OF DEMOCRACY, FAIR
PLAY AND FREEDOM THAT IS AMERICA. NUMBER ONE: SONGS OF THE AMERICAN LABOR
MOVEMENT; NUMBER TWO, ROCK 'N' ROLL; NUMBER THREE, POLITICAL FOLK MUSIC AND,
FOUR, JAZZ. GLOBALLY, THESE CATEGORIES OR STYLES OF MUSIC HAVE EXERTED TO
INFLUENCE MUSICALLY AND SOCIALLY. LET'S START WITH LABOR SONGS. IN THE HISTORY
OF THE AMERICAN LABOR MOVEMENT AND SONGS OF PROTEST CAN LEGITIMATELY BE TRACED
BACK TO THE FOUNDING OF THE REPUBLIC. WHEN THE FIRST INDENTURED SERVANT
EXPRESSED DISCONTENT AT THE TREATMENT RECEIVED FROM THEIR EMPLOYER AND THE FIRST
AFRICAN SLAVE LAMENTED THE CIRCUMSTANCE IN WHICH THEY FOUND THEMSELVES, THE
LABOR SONG OF PROTEST WAS BORN. THROUGH EVERY ERA IN AMERICAN HISTORY, MEMBERS
OF THE LABOR FORCE HAVE HAD OCCASION TO USE MUSIC AND SONG TO EXPRESS CONCERNS.
ONE OF THE EARLIEST LABOR SONGS, DATING FROM THE LATE-18th CENTURY, LATE 18th
CENTURY PHILADELPHIA, WAS CALLED "THE CORDWAINER SONG." A CORDWAINER WAS
ESSENTIALLY A SHOEMAKER, ONE WHO WORKED WITH CORDOBAN LEATHER. I ALWAYS FOUND IT
INTERESTING TALKING ABOUT SHOEMAKERS AND COBBLERS BECAUSE THEY, IN THIS
INSTANCE, ALSO SERVED AS THE GENESIS FOR ONE OF OUR FAVORITE CHILDREN'S SONGS,
ONE OF OUR CHILDREN'S PLAY GAME SONGS, "POP GOES THE WEASEL." IF YOU HAVE NOT
THOUGHT ABOUT THAT SONG EVER, YOU MIGHT REFLECT FOR A MOMENT AND CERTAINLY
REALIZE OR AT LEAST HOPE THAT IT IS NOT ABOUT THE EXPLOSION OF SOME VERMIN
BECAUSE IF IT IS, THEN OBVIOUSLY IT'S A RELATIVELY NASTY SIGHT. BUT COBBLERS
USED A FORM TO MOLD THE LEATHER TO CREATE BOOTS AND SHOES, AND THAT FORM, WHICH
YOU CAN SEE IN ANY SHOE SHOP THAT YOU MIGHT GO IN, WAS CALLED A WEASEL. AND WHEN
THE SHOE/BOOT WAS FORMED OVER THAT WEASEL, WHEN THE COBBLER THEN PULLED THE SHOE
OFF OF THE WEASEL, IT MADE A POP SOUND, AND IT CREATED, FOR CHILDREN, THE
OPPORTUNITY TO CREATE A CHILDREN'S SONG CALLED "POP GOES THE WEASEL." SO THE
CORDWAINER HAS A MORE SIGNIFICANT PLACE IN OUR HISTORY THAN WE MIGHT REALIZE.
DURING THE LATE 19th CENTURY, ACTUALLY EARLIER, BUT CERTAINLY BY THE LATE 19th
CENTURY, LABOR UNIONIZED AND LED THE BATTLE FOR BETTER WAGES, BENEFITS AND
WORKING CONDITIONS. ONE OF THE EARLY STRUGGLES WAS TO REGULARIZE THE HOURS OF
THE WORK DAY. IT WAS NOT UNCOMMON TO WORK 12, 14, 16-HOUR DAYS FOR WHAT WOULD
SEEM A PITTANCE BY TODAY'S STANDARDS IN TERMS OF THE HOURLY WAGE. SO ONE OF THE
THINGS THAT ALL OF THE VARIOUS UNION GROUPS OR WORKER GROUPS COULD AGREE UPON
WAS THE NEED FOR REGULARIZING THE WORK DAY. A NUMBER OF SONGS, PARTICULARLY
DATING FROM THE LATTER HALF, THE MIDDLE TO LATTER HALF OF THE 19th CENTURY, CAME
OUT AT A PROTEST, AT LEAST A REQUEST FOR SHORTER AND MORE REGULAR WORK DAYS. SO
I WOULD LIKE TO START THEN WITH AN EXAMPLE CALLED "EIGHT HOURS." I WON'T READ
ANY OF THE TEXT OF THESE PARTICULAR SONGS BECAUSE THEY'RE FAIRLY CLEAR AND YOU
CAN HEAR THEM WITHOUT ANY INTERPRETATION. SO FIRST EXAMPLE... WE'RE SURE IT'S
THERE SOMEWHERE. \M We mean to make things over \M \M \M We are tired of toil
for naught \M \M \M With but bare enough to live upon \M \M \M And never an hour
for thought \M \M \M We want to feel the sunshine \M \M \M And we want to smell
the flowers \M \M \M We are sure that God has willed it \M \M \M And we mean to
have eight hours \M \M \M We're summoning our forces from the shipyard, shop and
mill \M \M \M Eight hours for work \M \M \M Eight hours for rest \M \M \M Eight
hours for what we will! \M \M \M Eight hours for work \M \M \M Eight hours for
rest \M \M \M Eight hours for what we Will! \M \M >> SO LEST ONE THINK THAT
PROTEST SONGS ALWAYS HAD TO HAVE SOME KIND OF EDGE TO IT, MOST OF THEM WERE
SONGS PATTERNED AFTER THE SONG TYPES OF THE 19th CENTURY, PARTICULARLY THE SORT
OF THEATER SONGS, CABARET SONGS THAT WERE COMMON DURING THE 19th CENTURY. THE
NEXT SELECTION IS CALLED "THERE'S POWER IN A UNION." AGAIN, THE UNION BECAME IN
MANY WAYS THE GUIDING FORCE BEHIND LABOR SONGS, LARGELY COMPOSED IN THIS
INSTANCE BY A SWEDISH IMMIGRANT, JOEL HAAGLUND HILLSTROM, OR JOE HILL, WHO I
REFERRED TO EARLIER. MOST OF THESE SONGS WERE WRITTEN FOR THE INDUSTRIAL WORKERS
OF THE WORLD, KNOWN AS THE WOBBLIES AND MADE UP IN A LITTLE RED SONG BOOK CALLED
"THE WOBBLIES' BIBLE." >> \M Would you have freedom from wage slavery \M \M \M
Then join in the grand industrial band \M \M \M Would you from misery and hunger
be free \M \M \M Then come and do your share, lend a hand \M \M \M There is
power, there is power in a band of working men, folks \M \M \M When they stand
hand in hand \M \M \M That's a power, that's a power... \M \M \M That must rule
in every land \M \M \M One industrial union grand \M \M \M Would you have
mansions of gold in the sky \M \M \M And live in a shack, way in the back? \M \M
\M Would you have wings up to heaven to fly \M \M \M And starve here with rags
on your back? \M \M \M There is power, there is power in a band of working men,
folks \M \M \M When they stand hand in hand \M \M \M That's a power, that's a
power... \M \M \M That must rule in every land \M \M \M One industrial union
grand \M \M \M If you've had enough of the blood of the lamb \M \M \M Then come
join in the grand industrial band \M \M \M If, for a change, you'd have eggs and
ham \M \M \M Come on, do your share, like a man \M \M \M There is power, there
is power in a band of working men, folks \M \M \M When they stand hand in hand
\M \M \M That's a power, that's a power... \M \M \M That must rule in every land
\M \M \M One industrial union grand \M \M >> SO AGAIN, THESE GET-TOGETHERS,
UNION MEETINGS, WERE ALWAYS ACCOMPANIED AND INCLUDED MORE OFTEN THAN NOT AT THE
END BUT CERTAINLY INCLUDED A HEAVY DOSE OF SONGS AND SONGS TO RALLY THE TROOPS,
AS IT WERE. MODERN-DAY WORKERS HAVE CONTINUED TO USE MUSIC AND SONG TO STATE
THEIR CASE AGAINST INADEQUATE OR INAPPROPRIATE WORKING CONDITIONS, OFTEN USING
THE AGE-OLD TECHNIQUES OF PARODY AND WHAT WE CALL ZIPPER SONGS: NEW WORDS,
FAMILIAR MELODIES, TO CREATE CONTEMPORARY LABOR SONGS. I'LL PLAY THE NEXT
EXAMPLE AND HAVE THIS YOUNG WOMAN WHO WROTE THIS SONG EXPLAIN WHAT SHE HAS BEEN
DOING WITH THESE SONGS IN HER OWN WORK FORCE. THIS IS CALLED "FLOCK AROUND THE
CLOCK." >> WHAT I DO, I'M NOT REALLY A MUSICIAN OR PERFORMER, BUT I STARTED
WRITING SONG PARODIES THAT WE PUT IN OUR UNION PAPER AND SO OF COURSE I ALWAYS
HAD TO USE TUNES THAT PEOPLE WERE FAMILIAR WITH BECAUSE IF YOU'RE GOING TO WRITE
"TO THE TUNE OF" AT THE TOP OF IT AND HAND IT TO PEOPLE, THEY'RE NOT GOING TO BE
ABLE TO SING IT ANY OTHER WAY. IT STARTED TO BE FUN BECAUSE I WOULD HEAR PEOPLE
WALKING THROUGH THE HALLS AT WORK HUMMING SOME OF THE TUNES AND MANAGEMENT WOULD
THINK THEY WERE HUMMING WHAT WAS THE REAL SONG BUT THEY WEREN'T; THEY WERE
HUMMING ALL THESE SONGS ABOUT THEM. SO WE STARTED DOING THAT AND-- FOR INSTANCE,
THEY WOULD HEAR PEOPLE WALKING THROUGH THE HALLS HUMMING WHAT THEY THOUGHT WAS
"ROCK OF AGES" BUT IT WAS REALLY "DOCK THEIR WAGES." (Laughing) AT ANY RATE,
LAST YEAR WE DID A PLAY, A MUSICAL PLAY ALL ABOUT THE HOSPITAL WHERE WE WORK AND
PEOPLE GOT A CHANCE TO DO WHAT THEY ALWAYS WANT TO DO, WHICH WAS PLAY THE PART
OF THE BOSSES IN THE HOSPITAL AND HAD SONGS WITH THEM AND SEVERAL SCENES ABOUT
DIFFERENT KINDS OF THINGS THAT HAD HAPPENED TO EVERYBODY IN THE HOSPITAL. AND IT
REALLY STARTED-- IT WAS THE FIRST TIME THAT WE EVER HAD THE NERVE, THE FIRST
TIME WE TRIED SOMETHING LIKE THAT, I MEAN YOU ALWAYS SORT OF WONDER WHETHER
YOU'RE JUST GOING TO MAKE A FOOL OF YOURSELF OR WHETHER PEOPLE ARE REALLY GOING
TO GET INTO IT OR WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN. BUT WHAT I HAVE FOUND OVER AND OVER
AGAIN IS THAT IF PEOPLE CAN HAVE FUN, YOU CAN MAKE A LOT OF REALLY SERIOUS
POINTS WITH HUMOR. \M Your car broke down and the bus is late \M \M \M But you
know that time clock just won't wait \M \M \M They're gonna dock you by the
clock tonight \M \M \M The clock won't ask if you're wrong or right \M \M \M
Gonna dock, gonna dock you by that clock tonight \M \M \M If you come in late,
they call it a crime \M \M \M But they never want to pay you overtime \M \M \M
We're going to start our work and walk tonight \M \M \M When the shift is
through, we'll be out of sight \M \M \M Gonna clock, gonna clock that overtime
tonight \M \M >> SO AGAIN THERE IS AN EXAMPLE OF A SONG THAT CERTAINLY EVERYBODY
OF A CERTAIN GENERATION, AND I CAN LOOK IN THE AUDIENCE AND SEE THAT THERE ARE A
FEW OF US HERE FROM THAT GENERATION THAT WOULD RECOGNIZE THAT SONG. BUT THE
POINT IT MAKES, AGAIN, IS THAT WAS A FAMILIAR MELODY THAT SHE COULD THEN PUT
WORDS TO THAT HAD SOME SIGNIFICANCE FOR WORKERS IN HER PARTICULAR AREA OF HEALTH
CARE. THIS ZIPPER TECHNIQUE WAS VERY COMMON IN AMERICAN LABOR SONGS. THAT SONG
IS APPROPRIATE FOR US TO MOVE ON INTO OUR NEXT TOPIC, WHICH IS ROCK 'N' ROLL.
ROCK 'N' ROLL AND ITS VARIOUS OFFSPRING, WHETHER YOU CALL IT PSYCHEDELIC ROCK OR
SOUL OR HEAVY METAL OR FUNK OR PUNK OR RAP OR WHATEVER TERM, DEPENDING ON THE
TIME PERIOD, THAT MAY REPRESENT THE QUINTESSENTIAL PROTEST MUSIC. IT WAS ABOUT
REBELLION AGAINST THE SOCIAL MORES AND ATTITUDES OF ADULT AND CONTEMPORARY
SOCIETY. EXPERIMENTATION WITH SMOKING, ALCOHOL, SEX, FAST CARS BECAME THE MANTRA
OF THE YOUTH CULTURE OF THE '50s. THE SAME REBELLIOUS ATTITUDE CARRIED INTO THE
YOUTH MOVEMENT OF THE '60s LEADING TO THE SO-CALLED YOUTH REVOLUTION OF THE '60s
AND '70s IN WHICH EXPERIMENTATION WITH ALCOHOL, SEX AND DRUGS ACTUALLY BECAME A
REALITY. THROUGHOUT THE '80s AND '90s TO THE PRESENT, A VARIETY OF POPULAR
STYLES HAVE DEVELOPED DISTINGUISHED BY A NUMBER OF SOCIAL FACTORS: RACE,
ECONOMICS, POLITICS, GENDER, WAR, ET CETERA. HOWEVER, NO MATTER THE STYLE OF THE
TIME PERIOD, THEY ALL POSSESSED ONE THING IN COMMON: CATEGORIES OF MUSIC SONGS
WRITTEN TO MAKE SOCIAL COMMENT OR PROTEST. WHETHER THE EARLY ROCK 'N' ROLL OF
BILL HALEY AND HIS COMETS, COUNTRY JOE AND THE FISH, JIMI HENDRIX, JAMES BROWN
AND RAY CHARLES, MEREDITH BROOKS, OR THE RAP OF TUPAC SHAKUR, SOCIAL MESSAGES
HAVE BEEN AND ARE PRESENT. LET'S START WITH THE FIRST EXAMPLE TO KIND OF GIVE US
THE GROUNDWORK AGAIN AND IT WILL BE A RECAP OF THE SONG WE JUST HEARD OR THE
ORIGINATION OF THE SONG WE JUST HEARD. IT'S BILL HALEY AND HIS COMMENTS PLAYING
"ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK." >> ONE, TWO... >> \M 1, 2, 3 o'clock, 4 o'clock, rock
\M \M \M 5, 6, 7 o'clock, 8 o'clock, rock \M \M \M 9, 10, 11 o'clock, 12 o'clock
rock \M \M \M We're gonna rock around the clock tonight \M \M \M Put your glad
rags on, join me, hon \M \M \M We'll have some fun when the clock strikes 1 \M
\M \M We're gonna rock around the clock tonight \M \M \M Gonna rock, rock, rock
'til broad daylight \M \M \M We're gonna rock, gonna rock around the clock
tonight \M \M \M When the clock strikes 2, 3 and 4, if the band slows down,
we'll yell for more \M \M \M We're gonna rock around the clock tonight \M \M \M
We're gonna rock, rock, rock 'til broad daylight \M \M \M Gonna rock, gonna rock
around the clock tonight \M \M (Instrumental) >> FOR THOSE OF YOU AGAIN IN A
CERTAIN GENERATION, THAT SONG SHOULD BRING BACK SOME WONDERFUL MEMORIES,
PARTICULARLY OF A MOVIE THAT BECAME A KIND OF CULT FAVORITE CALLED "BLACKBOARD
JUNGLE" OF WHICH THAT WAS ONE OF THE PRINCIPAL SONGS IN THAT MOVIE. AGAIN, THAT
WAS A MOVIE THAT SPOKE TO THE REBELLIOUSNESS OF THE TEENAGERS OF THE '50s. WE
MOVE ON INTO THE NEXT GENERATION, AGAIN BECAUSE OF TIME FOR SURE, TO LOOK AT
SOME OF THE PROTEST SONGS THAT ROCKERS MADE DURING THE HEYDAY OF PROTEST MUSIC,
THE 1960s. AND I SPOKE ABOUT THE IRREVERENCE OF A FELLOW BY THE NAME OF COUNTRY
JOE AND HIS BAND THE FISH. AND THE SONG THAT HE BECAME PERHAPS MOST ASSOCIATED
WITH WAS "I THINK I'M FIXIN' TO DIE RAG," WHICH WAS AN ANTIVIETNAM SONG DURING
THE VIETNAM ERA. I WILL CAUTION THOSE OF YOU WHO MAY BE A LITTLE BIT SQUEAMISH
ABOUT THESE THINGS, AND I DON'T IMAGINE MANY OF YOU, BUT IT STARTS OUT WITH WHAT
IS KNOWN AS THE FISH CHEER AND THOSE WHO KNOW COUNTRY JOE AND THE FISH KNOW WHAT
THE FISH CHEER IS. LET'S LISTEN TO A LITTLE BIT OF THIS PROTEST SONG FROM THE
'60s. I THINK I'M FIXIN' TO DIE RAG." >> GIVE ME AN "F." >> "F"! >> GIVE ME AN
"I." >> "I"! >> GIVE ME AN "S." >> "S"! >> GIVE ME AN "H." >> "H"! >> WHAT'S
THAT SPELL? >> FISH! >> WHAT'S THAT SPELL? >> FISH! >> YOU CAN DO IT OUT HERE IN
WOODSTOCK. "FIXING TO DIE RAG," TAKE FOUR. (Instrumental) \M Yeah, come on all
of you, big strong men \M \M \M Uncle Sam needs your help again \M \M \M He's
got himself in a terrible jam \M \M \M Way down yonder in Vietnam \M \M \M So
put down your books and pick up a gun \M \M \M Gonna have a whole lot of fun \M
\M \M And it's one, two, three \M \M \M What are we fighting for? \M \M \M Don't
ask me, I don't give a damn \M \M \M Next stop is Vietnam \M \M \M And it's
five, six, seven, open up the pearly gates \M \M \M Well, there ain't time to
wonder why \M \M \M Whoopee! We're all gonna die \M \M \M Well, come on, Wall
Street, don't move slow \M \M \M Why, man, this is war au-go-go \M \M \M Plenty
of good money to be made \M \M \M By supplying the Army with the tools of the
trade \M \M \M Just hope and pray that if they drop the bomb \M \M \M They drop
it on the Viet Cong \M \M \M And it's one, two, three \M \M \M What are we
fighting for? \M \M \M Don't ask me, I don't give a damn \M \M \M Next stop is
Vietnam \M \M \M And it's five, six, seven, open up the pearly gates \M \M \M
Well, there ain't time to wonder why \M \M \M Whoopee! We're all gonna die \M
\M >> AGAIN, "FIXIN' TO DIE RAG," AN ANTIWAR SONG DURING THE '60s, WHICH SET A
NUMBER OF PEOPLE OFF, ONE OF THE REASONS BEING THAT PROBABLY THE MOST
CONSERVATIVE GROUP GEOGRAPHICALLY THAT WE WOULD FIND IN AMERICA WOULD BE
SOUTHERNERS AS A GROUP AND TENDING TO HAVE A FAIRLY CONSERVATIVE VIEW OF THINGS,
AND CERTAINLY THE ANTIWAR MOVEMENT WAS NOT SOMETHING THAT MOST COUNTRY WESTERN
OR SOUTHERNERS ADHERED TO. AND SO WHEN COUNTRY JOE AND THE FISH CAME ALONG AND
STARTED MAKING THIS MUSIC WITH COUNTRY MUSIC SOUNDS, IT STARTED TO SET A LOT OF
THEM OFF ON TIRADES, AS IT WERE. TO BALANCE THIS JUST A LITTLE BIT, AND I THINK
I'VE GOT THE RIGHT ORDER HERE. IF I'M WRONG, YOU'LL HEAR AS SOON AS THE SONG
STARTS, BUT TO BALANCE IT OFF, I WANTED TO INCLUDE A GLENN FREY RECORDING FROM A
FEW YEARS LATER. "FIXIN' TO DIE RAG" WAS '63, '64, BUT LATER IN THE '70s, GLENN
FREY WROTE A TUNE CALLED "IT'S BETTER IN THE U.S.A.," WHICH AGAIN WAS A
SENTIMENT THAT WE COULD FIND WITH LOTS OF COUNTRY AND WESTERN SINGERS AND LOTS
OF PEOPLE WHO DIDN'T AGREE WITH THE ANTIWAR SENTIMENTS IN SONGS LIKE "FIXIN' TO
DIE RAG." LET'S SEE IF WE HAVE THIS CUED UP RIGHT. IT MUST COME AFTER THAT. MY
NOTES ARE A LITTLE SKETCHY. LET ME SKIP FORWARD THEN TO TELL YOU ABOUT JIMI
HENDRIX. SOME OF YOU KNOW JIMI HENDRIX; SOME OF YOU HAVE HEARD OF HIM. I SPOKE
ABOUT INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC AS A PART OF PROTEST AND WHILE MUCH OF IT HAS TO BE
COUCHED IN TERMS OF WHAT WE UNDERSTAND MUSIC TO MEAN OR WHAT WE FEEL MUSIC MEANS
TO US BECAUSE THERE ARE NO WORDS, NO WORDS TO GIVE US EXPLICIT INSTRUCTIONS
ABOUT WHAT IT IS WE ARE HEARING, BUT ONE OF THE MOST EXTRAORDINARY AND
VIRTUOSTIC PERFORMANCES DURING THE PERIOD WAS JIMI HENDRIX AT WOODSTOCK IN 1969
AND HIS VERSION OF "THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER." (Instrumental) >> AGAIN, YOU GET
THE IDEA. IT BECOMES EVEN MORE WICKED AS IT GOES ALONG, BUT CLEARLY THAT'S
PROTEST. CLEARLY THAT IS INSTRUMENTAL PROTEST AND YOU CAN HEAR THE BOMBS AND THE
PLANES AND THE HELICOPTERS AND ALL OF THOSE THINGS GOING ON. NOW, I DID WANT TO
PLAY AT LEAST A PRO-WAR, PRO-AMERICA SONG, SINCE AGAIN WE SAID THAT PROTEST
DOESN'T ALWAYS MEAN IT'S AGAINST SOMETHING. NOW IF I'M LUCKY, WE HAVE GLENN FREY
AND "IT'S BETTER IN THE U.S.A." (Instrumental) \M Well, they look to the east \M
\M \M Look to the west \M \M \M The Third World wonders which way's the best \M
\M \M We got freedom \M \M \M We got soul \M \M \M We got blue jeans and rock
'n' roll \M \M \M Man, there ain't no choice \M \M \M It's better in the U.S.A.
\M \M \M It's better in the U.S.A. \M \M \M You can be what you want \M \M \M
Say what you wanna say \M \M \M It's better in the U.S.A. \M \M \M How can I
make you understand \M \M \M It's better in the U.S.A.? \M \M \M It's better in
the U.S.A. \M \M \M I hear the same propaganda \M \M \M Day after day \M \M \M
Getting so hip to knock the U.S.A. \M \M \M If we're so awful and we're so bad
\M \M \M You ought to check the night life in Leningrad \M \M \M Man, it ain't
even close \M \M \M It's better in the U.S.A. \M \M \M It's better in the U.S.A.
\M \M \M If you could see behind the curtain \M \M \M Life is cold and gray \M
\M \M It's better in the U.S.A. \M \M \M How can I make you understand it's
better in the U.S.A.? \M \M \M It's better in, it's better... \M \M >> OKAY.
AGAIN, THERE WERE A NUMBER OF SONGS THAT CAME OUT IN THE LATE '60s, THROUGH THE
'70s AND EVEN INTO THE '80s THAT WERE CERTAINLY PRO-AMERICA TO TRY TO
COUNTERBALANCE SOME OF THE ANTI-AMERICAN OR ANTIWAR SENTIMENTS THAT WERE BEING
EXPRESSED IN A LOT OF ROCK SONGS. EVERYTHING WASN'T ANTIWAR. SOME OF THE ISSUES
CERTAINLY OF THE '60s THAT WE REMEMBER CERTAINLY HAD TO DO WITH CIVIL RIGHTS AND
THE ISSUE OF BLACK PRIDE AND THE RISE IN THE SENSE OF WHO BLACK PEOPLE WERE IN
AMERICA DURING THE '60s WAS CAUSE FOR THE CREATION OF A NUMBER OF SONGS THAT
EXTOLLED THAT CHANGE IN THE ATTITUDES OF BLACKS. AND PROBABLY ONE THAT IS MOST
ASSOCIATED WITH THAT PARTICULAR THOUGHT COMES FROM "THE GODFATHER OF SOUL," Mr.
JAMES BROWN. >> \M Say it loud \M \M \M I'm black and proud \M \M \M Some people
say we have a lot of malice \M \M \M Some say a lot of nerve \M \M \M But I say
we want to move it until we get what we deserve \M \M \M Brother, we can't quit
\M \M \M 'Until we get our share \M \M \M Say it loud \M \M \M I'm black and
proud \M \M \M One more time \M \M \M Say it loud \M \M \M I'm black and proud
\M \M \M Now we demand a chance to do things for ourselves \M \M \M We're tired
of beating our head against the walls \M\M \M And working for someone else \M \M
\M We're people, we're just like the birds and the bees \M \M \M We'd rather die
on our feet \M \M Than be livin' on our knees \M \M \M Say it loud now \M \M \M
I'm black and proud \M \M \M Say it loud \M \M \M I'm black and proud \M \M \M
Ow! \M \M \M Say it loud... \M \M >> ALTERNATIVE ROCK GROUPS CERTAINLY STARTED
TO HAVE THEIR SAY ABOUT SOCIAL CIRCUMSTANCES BUT MORE OFTEN THAN NOT THOSE
ALTERNATIVE GROUPS SPOKE MORE TO THE PERFORMERS THEMSELVES AND NOT ALWAYS SO
MUCH ABOUT SOCIETY. ONE OF THE EARLY HEAVY METAL GROUPS THAT CERTAINLY MUST BE
SEEN AS IMPORTANT IN THIS CHANGE IN THE ALTERNATIVE ROCK MUSIC, HEAVY METAL,
LATER ON PUNK, A GROUP CALLED JUDAS PRIEST. AGAIN, THOSE WHO ARE A LITTLE BIT
OLDER MAY WELL REMEMBER JUDAS PRIEST. THEY MADE A NUMBER OF SONGS, HAD A NUMBER
OF SONGS THAT FIT THIS CATEGORY. ONE THAT I REMEMBER, ANYWAY, AND CHOSE TO
INCLUDE TONIGHT IS CALLED "BREAKING THE LAW." (Indecipherable) >> BREAKING THE
WHAT? BREAKING THE WHAT? BREAKING THE LAW! (Instrumental) \M There I was
completely wasting, out of work and down \M \M \M All inside it's so frustrating
as I drift from town to town \M \M \M Feel as though nobody cares if I live or
die \M \M \M So I might as well begin to put some action in my life \M \M \M
Breaking the law, breaking the law \M \M \M Breaking the law, breaking the law
\M \M \M Breaking the law, breaking the law \M \M \M So much for the golden
future, I can't even start \M \M \M I've had every promise broken, there's anger
in my heart \M \M \M You don't know what it's like \M \M \M You don't have a
clue \M \M \M If you did, you'd find yourselves doing the same thing, too \M \M
\M Breakin' the law, breakin' the law \M \M \M Breakin' the law, breakin' the
law \M \M \M Breaking the law!! \M \M (Instrumental) >> THOSE KINDS OF GROUPS
CERTAINLY AGAIN HAD SOMETHING TO SAY. WHETHER THERE WAS A MESSAGE, A SOCIAL
MESSAGE THERE OR NOT, IS OPEN TO DEBATE. BUT CERTAINLY BREAKING THE LAW WAS A
PART OF THE VIEW THAT GROUPS LIKE THAT-- THE RAMONES, THE SEX PISTOLS-- ALL HAD
RELATIVE TO SOCIETY AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO SOCIETY. THE FEMINIST MOVEMENT
CERTAINLY HAD A PLACE DURING THIS PERIOD, MOVING INTO THE '80s, AND THE SOCALLED RIOT GIRL BANDS CAME ALONG TO COUNTERACT THE ATTITUDES OF THE MALE
PUNKERS, THE HEAVY METALERS WHO, IN EFFECT, KEPT THEM SORT OF OUT OF THE
MAINSTREAM OF THAT MUSIC. SO THEY FORMED THEIR OWN KINDS OF MESSAGE BANDS TO
REALLY ADDRESS THEIR CONCERNS AS WOMEN AND TO CONTINUE THE VIEWS THAT THE
FEMINIST MOVEMENT OF THE '60s AND '70s HAD BEGUN, TO TALK ABOUT THEIR
RELATIONSHIP TO SOCIETY AND TO MEN IN GENERAL. MEREDITH BROOKS CAME OUT WITH HER
STERLING AFFIRMATION OF WHO SHE WAS AND CHOSE TO SIMPLY ENTITLE THE SONG
"BITCH." \M I hate the world today \M \M \M So good to me, I know, but I can't
change \M \M \M Tried to tell me but you look at me like maybe I'm an angel
underneath \M \M \M Innocent and sweet \M \M \M Yesterday, I cried \M \M \M Must
have been relieved to see the softer side \M \M \M I can understand how you'd be
so confused \M \M \M I don't envy you \M \M \M I'm a little bit of everything
all rolled into one \M \M \M I'm a bitch, I'm a lover, I'm a child, I'm a mother
\M \M \M I'm a sinner, I'm a saint \M \M \M I do not feel ashamed \M \M \M I'm
your hell, I'm your dream \M \M \M I'm nothing in between \M \M \M You know you
wouldn't want it any other way \M \M \M So take me as I am \M \M \M This may
mean you'll have to be a stronger man \M \M \M Rest assured that when I start to
make you nervous and I'm going to extremes \M \M \M Tomorrow I will change and
today won't mean a thing \M \M \M I'm a bitch, I'm a lover, I'm a child, I'm a
mother, I'm a sinner, I'm a saint \M \M \M I do not feel ashamed \M \M \M I'm
your hell \M \M \M I'm your dream \M \M \M I'm nothing in between \M \M \M You
know you wouldn't want it any other way \M \M >> RAP HAS RECEIVED A RAP OF BEING
ANTI-WHITE, ANTI-SOCIETY, MISOGYNISTIC, ANTI-POLICE, ANTI-AUTHORITY, NOT REALLY
MUCH DIFFERENT FROM ROCK 'N' ROLL IN GENERAL. BUT RAP IN THE BEGINNING WAS ABOUT
A MESSAGE; IT WAS ABOUT A MESSAGE TO YOUTH; IT WAS ABOUT A MESSAGE RELATED TO
THE PLIGHT OF THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN, THE URBAN AFRICAN-AMERICAN, ALTHOUGH WE HAVE
TO ALSO INCLUDE IN THAT A DISCUSSION ABOUT THE LATINOS BECAUSE THE LATIN
INVOLVEMENT IN EARLY RAP HAS OFTEN BEEN OVERLOOKED AND IT REALLY WAS ABOUT URBAN
MUSIC, NOT JUST ABOUT AFRICAN-AMERICAN MUSIC. BUT EVEN A PERFORMER AS WIDELY
CASTIGATED AS TUPAC SHAKUR HAD A MESSAGE AND ONE OF HIS SORT OF MID-CAREER
PIECES WAS CALLED "PANTHER POWER." \M Panther power \M \M \M Pa-pa-panther \M \M
\M As real as it seems \M \M \M The American dream ain't nothing but another
calculated scheme \M \M \M To get us locked up, shot up, back in chains \M \M \M
To deny us of the future, rob our names \M \M \M Kept my history of mystery but
now I see \M \M \M The American dream wasn't meant for me \M \M \M 'Cause lady
liberty is ...hypocrisy \M \M \M She lied to me \M \M \M Promised me freedom,
education, equality \M \M \M Never gave me nothing but slavery \M \M \M And now
I look how dangerous you made me \M \M \M Calling me a madman 'cause I'm strong
and bold \M \M \M Withe this dump full of knowledge of the lies to you told \M
\M \M Promise me emancipation, indispute nation \M \M \M All you ever gave my
people was our patience \M \M \M Fathers of our country never cared for me \M \M
\M They kept my ancestors shackled in slavery \M \M \M And Uncle Sam never did a
damn thing for me \M \M \M Except lie about facts in my history \M \M \M So now
I'm sitting here mad 'cause I'm unemployed \M \M \M But the government's glad
'cause they enjoyed \M \M \M When my people are down so they can screw us around
\M \M \M Time to change the government now \M \M \M Panther power \M \M \M Papa-panther... \M \M \M Panther power \M \M \M Pa-pa-pa... \M \M \M Panther power
\M \M \M >> BOTH A STATEMENT ABOUT CONTEMPORARY AND CURRENT ISSUES AS WELL AS
SOME ALLEGIANCE TO HISTORY, TALKING ABOUT THE PANTHERS, THE BLACK PANTHERS OF
THE '60s AND EARLY '70s. SO WE SEE THAT ROCK 'N' ROLL THROUGHOUT ITS HISTORY HAS
ALWAYS HAD A MESSAGE. DIDN'T MATTER WHAT THE STYLE WAS. DIDN'T MATTER WHO WAS
DOING IT, WHETHER WE WERE TALKING BLACKS, WHITES, FUNK, RAP, SOUL, EARLY ROCK
'N' ROLL. IT ALL HAD A MESSAGE. ALL PROTESTED EITHER IN THE AFFIRMATIVE OR IN
THE NEGATIVE ABOUT SOCIAL ISSUES. THE MUSICAL STYLE THAT MOST PEOPLE ASSOCIATE
WITH PROTEST IN AMERICA IS POLITICAL FOLK MUSIC OF THE 1960s. IN POINT OF FACT,
THIS MUSIC DOES REPRESENT THE MOST CONSISTENT USE OF A POPULAR MUSIC STYLE TO
MAKE SOCIAL COMMENTARY AND LITERALLY DEFINED AND WAS DEFINED BY PROTEST, GROWING
OUT OF THE POLITICALLY SOCIALLY CONSCIOUS MUSIC OF WOODY GUTHRIE AND OTHERS, LED
BY BOB DYLAN, JUDY COLLINS, BUFFY SAINTE-MARIE, TOM PAXTON AND RICHARD AND MIMI
FARINA, AMONG OTHERS, BROUGHT SOCIAL FOLK MUSIC TO ITS ZENITH. PROVIDING
COMMENTARY ON ALL TOPICS OF SOCIAL CONCERN BY THE FOLK SINGERS OF THE 1960s. ONE
OF THE ANTHEMS OF THE FOLK MUSIC OF THE '60s WAS BOB DYLAN'S "BLOWING IN THE
WIND." \M How many roads must a man walk down \M \M \M Before you call him a
man? \M \M \M How many seas must a white dove sail \M \M \M Before she sleeps in
the sand? \M \M \M And how many times must a cannon ball fly \M \M \M Before
it's forever banned \M \M \M The answer, my friend \M \M \M Is blowing in the
wind \M \M \M The answer is blowing in the wind \M \M \M How many years can a
mountain exist \M \M \M Before it washes to the sea \M \M \M How many years can
some people exist \M \M \M Before they're allowed to be free? \M \M \M Yes, and
how many times can a man turn his head \M \M \M And pretend that he just doesn't
see? \M \M \M The answer, my friend \M \M \M Is blowing in the wind \M \M \M The
answer is blowing in the wind \M \M >> THE VIETNAM WAR, OF COURSE, STILL WAS AT
THE BASIS OF MUCH OF THE PROTEST MUSIC OF THE '60s, AND THE HUMOR THAT WAS OFTEN
INJECTED INTO THE SITUATION CERTAINLY MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR LOTS OF THESE SONGS
TO RECEIVE BROAD PLAY AROUND THE COUNTRY. THIS WAS ONE OF THE MORE POPULAR
HUMOROUS SONGS, "LYNDON JOHNSON TOLD THE NATION." \M I got a letter from L.B.J.
\M \M \M It said this is your lucky day \M \M \M Time to put your khaki trousers
on \M \M \M Though it may seem very queer \M \M \M We've got no jobs to give you
here \M \M \M So we are sending you to Vietnam \M \M \M Lyndon Johnson told the
nation \M \M \M Have no fear of escalation \M \M \M I am trying everyone to
please \M \M \M Though it isn't really war \M \M \M We're sending 50,000 more \M
\M \M To help save Vietnam from Vietnamese \M \M \M I jumped off the old troop
ship \M \M \M Sank in mud up to my hips \M \M \M I cussed 'til the captain
called me down \M \M \M Never mind how hard it's raining \M \M \M Think of all
the ground we're gaining \M \M \M Just don't take one step outside of town \M \M
\M Lyndon Johnston told the nation \M \M \M Have no fear of escalation \M \M \M
I am trying everyone to please \M \M \M Though it isn't really war \M \M \M
We're sending 50,000 more \M \M \M To help save Vietnam from Vietnamese \M \M \M
Every night the local gentry \M \M \M Slip out past the sleeping sentry\M \M \M
They go out to join the old V.C. \M \M \M In their nightly little drama \M \M \M
They put on their black pajamas and come lobbing mortar shells at me \M \M \M
Lyndon Johnson told the nation \M \M \M Have no fear of escalation \M \M \M I am
trying everyone to please \M \M \M Though it isn't really war \M \M \M We're
sending 50,000 more \M \M \M To help save Vietnam from Vietnamese \M \M >> THERE
ARE A NUMBER AGAIN OF PROTEST SONGS, POLITICAL SONGS DURING THE '60s. IT COVERED
A WIDE RANGE OF TOPICS FROM, AGAIN, ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH NATIVE AMERICANS TO
EDUCATION AND CERTAINLY CIVIL RIGHTS. I DON'T KNOW IF OUR TECHNICIAN-- HELLO? IF
YOU PUT YOUR EARPHONES ON AND FIND "WE SHALL OVERCOME" THREE TRACKS DOWN, I'LL
HAVE YOU PLAY THAT IN A MOMENT, BUT I WANT TO TALK ABOUT A COUPLE OF THINGS
BEFORE WE HEAR THAT BECAUSE AGAIN, THAT LIKE "BLOWING IN THE WIND," WAS ONE OF
THE ANTHEMS FOR THE PROTEST MOVEMENTS OF THE '60s. AS A MATTER OF FACT, THE
PERSON WHO INTRODUCES THIS SONG ON THIS PARTICULAR CUT TALKS ABOUT ITS USAGE
AROUND THE COUNTRY, AROUND THE WORLD, AROUND THE VARIOUS SOCIAL ACTIVITIES THAT
WERE GOING ON IN THE WORLD, THIS SONG CONTINUED TO CROP UP, CROPPED UP IN CHINA,
IN CZECHOSLOVAKIA, SOUTH AFRICA, AS A PART OF THE PROTEST MOVEMENTS IN THOSE
PARTICULAR COUNTRIES. ONE OF THE EVENTS OF THE '60s THAT CREATED MUCH CONCERN ON
THE PARTS OF PEOPLE WHO MIGHT HAVE BEEN SITTING ON THE FENCE OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS
MOVEMENT WAS THE BOMBING OF THE 16th STREET BAPTIST CHURCH ON SEPTEMBER 15th,
1963. A NUMBER OF SONGS WERE WRITTEN DURING THAT TIME IN THE ROCK IDOM AND FOLK
MUSIC AND IN JAZZ COMMEMORATING AND MEMORIALIZING THAT PARTICULAR EVENT. THOSE
FOUR LITTLE GIRLS WHO WERE KILLED ON THAT SUNDAY HAVE BEEN MEMORIALIZED IN MORE
WAYS THAN ONE CARES TO REMEMBER. RICHARD FARINA HAD A SONG CALLED "BIRMINGHAM
SUNDAY," A WONDERFUL MEMORIAL TO THEM. BUT I WANT TO SEE IF WE NOW HAVE "WE
SHALL OVERCOME." IF WE DO, I SHOULD LIKE TO PLAY THAT. NO, WE CAN'T FIND THAT.
THEN WE'LL SKIP FORWARD BECAUSE I WANT TO SAVE A LITTLE TIME... >> \M In the
quiet... \M \M >> YOU'LL KNOW "WE SHALL OVERCOME" WHEN IT COMES ON. DON'T WORRY
ABOUT IT; IT'S OKAY. JAZZ, AS I SAID, IS ONE OF THOSE MUSICS THAT IS MOSTLY
INSTRUMENTAL AND SO WE DON'T OFTEN THINK OF IT IN TERMS OF PROTEST. AS I SAID
EARLY ON, INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC MUST ALWAYS BE CONSIDERED AS A PART OF THE PALETTE
OF COLORS USED BY MUSICIANS TO EXPRESS THEMSELVES, AND JAZZ CERTAINLY WAS NO
DIFFERENT. THERE HAVE BEEN SOME STERLING EXAMPLES OF VOCAL MUSIC THAT SPOKE TO
ISSUES, TO SOCIAL ISSUES, FAR BEFORE THEIR TIME, LONG BEFORE THEIR TIME. ONE
THAT COMES TO MIND MOST READILY IS BILLIE HOLIDAY'S VERSION OF "STRANGE FRUIT."
WE HAD A RECORDING OF THAT AND IT HAS NOW DISAPPEARED, WHICH IS WHY IT'S NOT ON
OUR TAPE, SO I CAN'T PLAY IT FOR YOU TODAY. BUT "STRANGE FRUIT" WAS IN 1937 A
MAJOR SOCIAL STEP FORWARD FOR A PERFORMER TO TAKE BECAUSE IT WAS ABOUT
LYNCHINGS. IT WAS ABOUT LYNCHINGS IN THE SOUTH, OF NEGROES, OF BLACKS, AND SHE
SPOKE ABOUT THE BLACK BODY SWINGING ON POPLAR TREES. IT WASN'T THE KIND OF MUSIC
SUNG IN POLITE SOCIETY AND SHE WAS OSTRACIZED QUITE VEHEMENTLY BY CLUB OWNERS
AND RECORD COMPANIES FOR SINGING AND RECORDING THAT PARTICULAR SONG, "STRANGE
FRUIT." JAZZ MUSICIANS FROM LOUIS ARMSTRONG TO DUKE ELLINGTON TO JOHN COLTRANE
HAVE ALL HAD THEIR COMMENTS ABOUT SOCIAL ISSUES AND EXPRESSED THEM THROUGH THEIR
MUSIC IN MANY, MANY WAYS. IN 1957, SONNY ROLLINS MADE A RECORDING CALLED
"FREEDOM SUITE" AND ON THAT RECORDING HE WAS ALLOWED TO MAKE A COMMENT AND IT
WAS AS FOLLOWS: "AMERICA IS DEEPLY ROOTED IN NEGRO CULTURE: ITS COLLOQUIALISMS,
IT'S HUMOR, ITS MUSIC. HOW IRONIC THAT THE NEGRO, WHO MORE THAN ANY OTHER
PEOPLE CAN CLAIM AMERICA'S CULTURE AS HIS OWN, IS BEING PERSECUTED AND
REPRESSED; THAT THE NEGRO, WHO HAS EXEMPLIFIED THE HUMANITIES IN HIS VERY
EXISTENCE, IS BEING REWARDED WITH INHUMANITY." 1957, NOT DONE. SONNY ROLLINS WAS
OSTRACIZED. THE RECORDS WERE PULLED FROM ALL STORES AROUND THE COUNTRY, REISSUED
IT AS A RECORDING CALLED "SHADOW WALTZ," ANOTHER PIECE ON THIS PARTICULAR
RECORDING, AND SONNY ROLLINS LOST HIS CABARET CARD WHICH MEANT HE COULDN'T WORK
IN NEW YORK ANY LONGER, SIMPLY FOR COMING OUT AND MAKING THAT KIND OF PUBLIC
STATEMENT IN THE NAME OF JAZZ. WASN'T TO BE DONE. SOME HAVE ARGUED THAT JAZZ HAS
NO PARTICULAR SOCIAL CONTENT, SPECIFICALLY IT IN NO WAY PERTAINS TO BLACK
EXPERIENCES ANYMORE THAN IT DOES TO WHITE; BLACK JAZZ MUSICIANS HAVE BEEN EITHER
UNWILLING TO OR INCAPABLE OF CONCERNING THEMSELF WAS SOCIAL ISSUES. AND CLEARLY
HISTORICAL EVIDENCE DOES NOT SUPPORT THIS. BOTH BLACK AND WHITE MUSICIANS
THROUGH THE YEARS HAVE EXPRESSED THEIR OPINIONS ABOUT SOCIAL CONDITIONS IN A
VARIETY OF WAYS, SOMETIMES OVERTLY, SOMETIMES EXPLICITLY, SOMETIMES LESS OVERTLY
AND SOMETIMES JUST IMPLICITLY, BUT NONETHELESS, STATEMENTS WERE CLEARLY MADE. I
WANT TO MOVE NOW INTO SOME OF THE NON-WESTERN CULTURAL ISSUES, TO SAVE A LITTLE
TIME, AND I WANT TO TALK ABOUT JAPAN A LITTLE BIT BECAUSE IT HAS BOTH A MODERN
AND AN ANCIENT HISTORY OF PROTEST MUSIC. UNLIKE MANY OTHER COUNTRIES TO WHICH
PROTEST MUSIC, AT LEAST AS A PUBLIC PHENOMENON IS SOMEWHAT NEW, SOMEWHAT A
MODERN PHENOMENON, IN JAPAN, HOWEVER, THE IDEA OF PROTEST HAS BEEN A PART OF
EVEN TRADITIONAL JAPANESE MUSIC FOR MANY, MANY CENTURIES. WE'RE NOT GOING BACK
MANY CENTURIES, SIMPLY TO THE MIDDLE OF THE 19th CENTURY. FROM 1600 TO ABOUT
1867, JAPAN WAS RELATIVELY ISOLATED FROM THE REST OF THE WORLD BY ITS OWN
CHOICE. AT THE END OF THIS PERIOD OF ISOLATION, THEY FELT IT NECESSARY TO
MODERNIZE LIFE AROUND THEM, WHICH FOR AWHILE MEANT ADOPTING WESTERN MODELS. IN
THE LAST DECADES OF THE 19th CENTURY, DIFFERENT OPINIONS EMERGED OVER JAPAN'S
FUTURE DIRECTION, ONE SEEKING TO WORK TOWARD A DEMOCRACY LIKE THE U.S. AND THE
OTHER SUPPORTING A STRONG MONARCHY. THOSE WHO SUPPORTED THE MONARCHY, GAINED
POLITICAL AND MILITARY SUPREMACY, BUT THE ARGUMENTS WERE FAR FROM SETTLED AND IT
LED TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE PEOPLE'S RIGHTS MOVEMENT OF THE 1880s WHICH
URGED FURTHER DEMOCRATIZATION THROUGH ESTABLISHMENT OF A PARLIAMENT. OUT OF THIS
MOVEMENT, A NEW KIND OF SONG EVOLVED CALLED ENKA-- E-N-K-A-- TO EXPRESS THE
GOALS OF THE MOVEMENT. ONE OF THESE SONGS, CALLED "SONG OF FREEDOM," IS NOT SO
MUCH SUNG TO A MELODY AT RECITED, LIKE A RHYTHMIC CHANT, PERHAPS A PREDECESSOR
TO RAP. THE WORDS GO, "I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE THOSE WHO DISLIKE RIGHTS AND
HAPPINESS FOR THE PEOPLE DRINK THE WATER OF FREEDOM. THOSE IN THEIR FANCY
WESTERN HAIRDOS AND HATS WHO DRESS IN STYLISH GARB, THEIR OUTWARD APPEARANCE MAY
BE FINE BUT THEIR THINKING IS INADEQUATE. THEY DON'T UNDERSTAND THE TRUTH OF THE
LAND. WE SHOULD SOW THE SEEDS OF FREEDOM IN THEIR HEARTS." ANOTHER MORE
INCENDIARY SONG WAS ACTUALLY ENTITLED "THE DYNAMITE SONG," POPULAR BETWEEN 1886
AND 1888 IN JAPAN. IT READ AS FOLLOWS-- I CAN'T PLAY EXAMPLES AND WON'T DARE TRY
TO SING BECAUSE ENKA SONGS HAVE DEVELOPED INTO A KIND OF OVERLY ROMANTICIZED,
NOSTALGIC SONG THAT BELIES ITS ORIGINAL SOURCES WHICH, AGAIN, WAS POLITICAL AND
SOCIAL THOUGHT. SO ALL WE HAVE AGAIN ARE WORDS TO SONGS LIKE "THE DYNAMITE
SONG." THERE ARE NO CURRENT RECORDINGS OF THESE OLDER SONGS. IT GOES, "YAMATO"-WHICH MEANS JAPANESE SPIRIT-- "IS POLISHED WITH RAIN FROM THE TEARS OF THE
ADVOCATES OF PEOPLE'S RIGHTS, FOR BOTH THE NATIONAL INTERESTS AND THE PEOPLE'S
HAPPINESS, FOSTER THE NATIONAL RESOURCE BECAUSE IF THIS IS NOT DONE, DYNAMITE!
BANG!" THESE DEEPLY POLITICAL SONGS WERE TRANSFORMED THROUGH THE DECADES, AS I
SAID, TO BECOME MORE SENTIMENTAL SONGS FULL OF NOSTALGIA AND LONGING, BUT THE
EARLY INFLUENCE OF JAPANESE SONGS OF SOCIAL COMMENT IS UNMISTAKABLE. IN MODERN
TIMES, THE ENKA HAS MOVED INTO THE ARENA OF THE KARAOKE. KARAOKE WE THINK OF IN
THIS COUNTRY AS BEING SOCIAL, RECREATIONAL MUSIC OR AT SOME LEVEL JUST EGODRIVEN PERFORMANCES. BUT IN JAPAN, IT MEANS SOMETHING VERY, VERY DIFFERENT AND
HAS ALWAYS MEANT SOMETHING DIFFERENT. THE WORD MEANS "EMPTY ORCHESTRA," WHICH IS
WHY YOU HAVE A MACHINE THAT CREATES SOME KIND OF INSTRUMENTAL ACCOMPANIMENT FOR
PEOPLE TO SING THEIR FAVORITE SONGS. ORIGINALLY, ENKA SONGS, WHETHER POLITICAL
OR NOT, WERE THE BASIS FOR LOTS OF THE BEGINNING KARAOKE PERFORMERS. THEY
LEARNED THIS MUSIC IN VERY MUCH THE SAME WAY AS TRADITIONAL MUSIC WAS LEARNED,
UNTIL FINALLY WE GOT TO MORE MODERN, TECHNOLOGICAL APPROACHES TO LEARNING SONGS.
THE KARAOKE EQUIPMENT HAS BEEN USED TO REINFORCE TRADITIONAL JAPANESE CUSTOMS OF
GROUP SONGS-- SOCIAL GROUPS BASED ON SCHOOL, FAMILIAL OR COMMUNITY
RELATIONSHIPS MATTER GREATLY IN JAPANESE LIFE AND THE JAPANESE PUT IN MUCH
EFFORT INTO HARMONIOUS RELATIONSHIPS WITHIN THESE GROUPS. WHAT WE FIND AGAIN
WITH ENKA SONGS IS THAT THEIR POPULARITY, AT LEAST IN TERMS OF HOW PEOPLE START
TO UNDERSTAND THE HISTORY, HAS SPREAD TO YOUNGER AGE GROUPS BECAUSE OF SOCIAL
KARAOKE SINGING. WE FIND MANY INTERGENERATIONAL PERFORMANCES, YOUNGER JAPANESE
PERFORMERS PERFORMING ON THE SAME STAGES WITH OLDER PERFORMERS AND HEARING THAT
REPERTOIRE AS WELL AS INTRODUCING NEW REPERTOIRE. SO THE KARAOKE THEN BECOMES
THE SORT OF MODERN MANIFESTATION OF THESE EARLY POLITICAL ENKA SONGS. IF YOU CAN
TURN THE TAPE OVER AND START IT BACK AT THE BEGINNING? IS IT OVER NOW? OKAY.
THIS IS A CURRENT POPULAR ENKA SONG CALLED "NIETA NAGASAKI," WHICH MEANS "CRYING
NAGASAKI," AND I'LL PLAY IT, A COUPLE OF VERSES, SO YOU CAN SEE THE OVERLY
SENTIMENTAL, OVERLY ROMANTICIZED FORM OF MUSIC THAT USED TO BE ENKA AND IS STILL
CALLED ENKA, BUT NOW HAS A VERY DIFFERENT FLAVOR. (Music) (Instrumental)
(Singing in Japanese) >> "ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE HILL, I CAN SEE THE NIGHT
TRAIN TAKING YOU AWAY, THE NORTHBOUND TRAIN. I WANT TO SEND YOU OFF, BUT IF I
DO, IT WILL BE PAINFUL. FROM THE WINDOW OF MY ROOM, I WAVE GOODBYE TO YOU,
CRYING, CRYING, CRYING, NAGASAKI." AGAIN, IF YOU LOOK UP THE WORD "ENKA" ON
GOOGLE, IT WILL DIRECT YOU TO A NUMBER OF INTERESTING SITES, INCLUDING SOME
JAPANESE WEB SITES IN WHICH THEY extol THE VIRTUES OF MODERN DAY ENKA SONGSTERS.
MOST ARE FEMALE AND MOST SONGS THEY SING ARE IN THIS CATEGORY, THIS STYLE OF
MUSIC, NOT AT ALL LIKE THE ORIGINAL POLITICAL OR SOCIALLY CONSCIOUS ENKA SONGS
OF THE MID- TO LATE-19th CENTURY. LET'S LOOK AT ANOTHER ASIAN CULTURE,
INDONESIA. AS MANY OF YOU KNOW, INDONESIA IS SOME HUNDRED TO 1,000 ISLANDS, MOST
OF THEM INHABITED. EXCEPT FOR THE LARGER ISLANDS, MOST OF THEM ARE FAIRLY
INDEPENDENT, MEANING THAT THEY HAVE MAINTAINED CERTAIN LANGUAGE CHARACTERISTICS,
CERTAIN RELIGIOUS CHARACTERISTICS, CERTAIN SOCIAL CUSTOMS, AND ARE NOT AT ALL
SIMILAR TO THEIR NEIGHBORS. BALI, JAVA, JAKARTA, WHERE THERE'S LOTS OF WESTERN
INFLUENCE, WE WILL FIND MORE SIMILARITY IN THE CULTURES. YOU MAY ALSO KNOW THESE
ISLANDS AS THE SPICE ISLANDS. MOST OF THE MUSIC INDONESIANS WOULD IDENTIFY AS
POPULAR IS LIKE MOST POPULAR MUSIC ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD, CHARACTERIZED BY THE
USE OF AT LEAST SOME WESTERN INSTRUMENTS AND WESTERN HARMONY. I WANT TO CONSIDER
TWO CONTRASTING STYLES WITHIN INDONESIANS' POP MUSIC WORLD, EACH EXPRESSING A
UNIQUE SOCIAL MESSAGE. THE FIRST IS CALLED "DANGDUT," AN ONOMATOPOEIA THAT IS
REPLICATED IN THE SOUND OF THE DRUMS AND GUITARS, ELECTRIC GUITARS. INITIALLY IT
WAS THE SOUND OF THE HAND DRUMS IN INDONESIAN MUSIC, AND THE SOUND THEY MADE
SOUNDED LIKE "DANG-DOOT." AND SO YOU'LL HEAR THAT IN THIS PARTICULAR MUSIC THAT
WE'RE ABOUT TO HEAR. THE KING OF DANGDUT FOR MANY, MANY YEARS WAS A MAN NAMED
RHOMA IRAMA. AS A TEENAGER, HE JOINED THE UNDERGROUND MUSIC MOVEMENT IN
INDONESIA, HEAVILY INFLUENCED BY WESTERN ROCK MUSIC, ALTHOUGH HE WANTED TO
CREATE A UNIQUE SOUNDING INDONESIAN MUSIC, EVEN WITH THE WESTERN INFLUENCES. SO
IRONICALLY, HE TURNED TO A WESTERN INFLUENCE GENRE WHOSE ORIGINS ARE TRACED TO
THE URBAN AREAS OF NORTH AND WEST SUMATRA. ONE OF HIS FIRST HITS WAS A PIECE
ABOUT GREED ENTITLED "RUPIAH," THE NATIONAL CURRENCY. IT WAS BANNED BY THE
GOVERNMENT BECAUSE THEY THOUGHT IT WAS A DENIGRATION OF THE NATIONAL CURRENCY.
ANOTHER WAS "BASIC RIGHTS," INCLUDING HUMAN RIGHTS, THE FREEDOM SPEECH. IRAMA
WANTED FAITH TO BE AN IMPORTANT PART OF HIS GOVERNMENT AND LIFE IN INDONESIA.
ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR SONGS FROM THE LATE-'70s THAT HE MADE WAS A SONG CALLED
"BEGADANG II." "BEGADANG" IS A JAKARTA TERM WHICH MEANS STAYING UP ALL OR MOST
OF THE NIGHT, USUALLY TO SOCIALIZE WITH FRIENDS. I WANT TO READ A LITTLE BIT OF
THE TEXT OF THIS SONG SO THAT YOU KNOW A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT IT'S ABOUT...
"WHAT GOOD IS SATURDAY NIGHT FOR THOSE OF US WHO ARE NOT WELL-TO-DO? WANT TO GO
TO A PARTY, HAVE NO MONEY, WIND UP SQUATTING BY THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. LET'S STAY
UP, STAY UP AND SING. EVEN THOUGH WE DON'T HAVE MONEY, WE CAN STILL HAVE FUN."
AND IT GOES ON. HE HAS GREAT INTEREST FOR FOLKS, PARTICULARLY THE YOUTH AND THE
LOWER CLASS OF HIS PARTICULAR SOCIETY, AND THIS SONG WAS DEDICATED TO THEM.
(Instrumental) (Singing in foreign language) >> A SECOND TYPE OF INDONESIAN POP
MUSIC IS A TYPE OF WESTERN-STYLE ROCK. WITH SO MANY YEARS WAS A SONGWRITER NAMED
DHANI MANAF, MORE COMMONLY KNOWN AS DHANI. THE BAND WAS THE AHMAD BAND. HE
EXPRESSED LITTLE INTEREST IN TRADITIONAL INDONESIAN MUSIC BUT DEMONSTRATED
STRONG POLITICAL CONVICTIONS WHICH HE EXPRESSED MUSICALLY WITH HIS GROUP. THE
FOLLOWING SONG IS AN ALTERNATIVE ROCK PROTEST SONG ABOUT HYPOCRISY AND
CORRUPTION. "THEY ALWAYS WANT TO COMBAT POVERTY, BUT THERE'S ALWAYS SOMEONE WHO
DRAINS OFF THE PEOPLE'S MONEY. THERE ARE SHOW-OFFS WHO OPEN THEIR MOUTHS IN
PROTEST, BUT IT'S A SHAME THEIR MOUTHS ALWAYS SMELL OF ALCOHOL." (Music)
(Instrumental) (Singing in foreign language) >> AGAIN, THIS TYPE OF PROTEST
MUSIC IS NOT VIEWED WITH A POSITIVE EYE BY THE GOVERNMENT AND, AS A MATTER OF
FACT, THAT PARTICULAR SONG WAS OUTLAWED BY INDONESIA'S AUTHORITARIAN PRESIDENT
SUHARTO AND HIS POLITICAL AND BUSINESS ASSOCIATES DIDN'T WANT TO SEE DONNY
PERFORMING THAT KIND OF MUSIC AT ALL BECAUSE AGAIN PEOPLE RESPONDED TO THAT MUCH
MORE READILY THAN THEY DID TO SPEECHES. I'D LIKE FINALLY TO TAKE A LOOK AT A
COUPLE OF EXAMPLES OF MUSIC FROM BRAZIL, NOT THE TYPICAL MUSIC THAT WE ARE
ACCUSTOMED TO, ALTHOUGH ONE OF THE THINGS I THOUGHT ABOUT DOING TONIGHT, WHICH
WOULD ACTUALLY HAVE BEEN QUITE APPROPRIATE WAS TALKING ABOUT SAMBA AND BOSSA
NOVA, MUSICS OR AT LEAST DANCES THAT WE THINK WE KNOW SOMETHING ABOUT. USUALLY
WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT SAMBAS AND BOSSA NOVAS ONLY SCRATCHES THE SURFACE OF WHAT
THEY ARE IN THEIR NATIVE COUNTRIES. SAMBA WAS A PROTEST DANCE IN THE LOWER CLASS
AND THE BOSSA NOVA, IN MORE RECENT TIMES, IN ANY EVENT, GREW OUT OF THE SAMBA
AND HAS BECOME PART OF THE SOCIAL AND POLITICAL FABRIC OF THE MIDDLE CLASS IN
BRAZIL. BUT I WANT TO TALK ABOUT MUSIC OF THE "FAVELA" AND MUSIC OF THE
"SERTAO." WE WOULD DESCRIBE "THE FAVELA" AS THE SLUMS, THE AREAS THAT THE
POOREST OF THE POOR TEND TO LIVE IN AREAS LIKE RIO AND SAO PAULO AND LARGELY
INHABITED BY AFRO-BRAZILIANS, ALTHOUGH CERTAINLY THERE'S A BROAD RANGE OF PEOPLE
WHO LIVE THERE. THE "SERTAO," ON THE OTHER HAND, IS THE RURAL HINTERLANDS, THE
DESERTS. THE PEASANTS WHO WORK THERE WORK ON PLANTATIONS OR LARGE RANCHES AND
ARE OFTEN INHUMANELY TREATED, DON'T HAVE PROPER DWELLINGS, FOOD, WATER AND THE
LIKE, AND VERY OFTEN BECAUSE THE AREA IS DROUGHT-RIDDEN, PEOPLE LEAVE THAT AREA,
MIGRATE AND VERY OFTEN MIGRATE TO THE LARGE CITIES, AND THE IRONY THERE IS THAT
MANY OF THOSE PEASANTS WHO MIGRATE FROM THE DESERT AREAS INTO THE LARGER URBAN
AREAS END UP BEING RESIDENTS IN THE FAVELAS. SO THEY ARE FERTILE AREAS FOR
PROTEST MUSIC AND IN RECENT TIMES YOUNG BRAZILIAN COMPOSERS AND SONGWRITERS HAVE
SPENT A LOT OF TIME WRITING AND PERFORMING MUSIC TO REPRESENT AND TO COMMENT ON
THE LIVING CONDITIONS AND THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF BRAZILIANS WHO LIVE IN THE SLUMS,
THE FAVELA, AND THOSE WHO LIVE IN THE HINTERLANDS IN THE DESERTS, THE SERTAO. SO
I WANT TO PLAY A COUPLE OF QUICK EXAMPLES AND THEN WE'LL BE THROUGH. ONE IS
CALLED "PEDRO PEDREIRO," "PETER THE MASON." AND THIS SONG IS ABOUT PETER THE
MASON. "HE IS SAD. HE IS WAITING FOR THE TRAIN TO TAKE HIM AWAY. HIS WHOLE LIFE
IS A MATTER OF WAITING, WAITING FOR THE PROMISED RAISE, THE LOTTERY TICKET, THE
SUN. HIS WIFE ALSO WAITS FOR THE BABY AND THE BABY WAITS FOR WHAT? DOES PETER
PREFER TO WAIT FOR DEATH OR SHALL HE RETURN TO BEING A MASON AND GIVE UP WAITING
AND HOPING FOR THE GOOD THINGS IN LIFE?" THIS IS MUSIC FROM THE FAVELA, OR MUSIC
OF THE FAVELA. (Instrumental) (Singing in foreign language) THE SONG OF THE
SERTAOS IS CALLED "SONG OF THE PEASANT," VERY MUCH IN THE SAME VEIN AS THE SONG
WE JUST HEARD AND ALSO ABOUT PEOPLE IN THAT CIRCUMSTANCE BUT WHO ARE LONGING TO
GET OUT OF IT AND WHO HAVE EXPRESSED SOME DISPLEASURE IN THE RELATIONSHIP WITH
THEIR BOSS. "I NO LONGER WILL SHARE WHAT I PRODUCE WITH THE MASTER WHO DOES NO
WORK. HOWEVER, I'LL LEAVE MY BELOVED VILLAGE RELUCTANTLY. I'LL GO TO RIO AND
WORK AS A MASON, BUT IF GOD CARES, HE'LL GIVE ME SOME LAND I CAN WORK BY MYSELF
FOR MYSELF." THESE ARE THE LONGINGS OF THESE SONGS OF PROTEST FROM THE LOWER
ECHELON OF SOCIETY IN BRAZIL AND, IN THIS CASE, THESE FAVELAS CAN BE FOUND IN
EVERY MAJOR CITY IN BRAZIL AND THE SERTAO COVERS SOME 250,000 SQUARE MILES OF
THE BRAZILIAN HINTERLANDS SO THAT THERE ARE PLENTY OF AREAS IN WHICH A LARGE
MASS OF BRAZILIANS, PARTICULARLY IN THE PEASANT CLASS, AS THEY WERE, FIND
THEMSELVES WORKING ON THESE PLANTATIONS OR LIVING IN THE SLUMS. SO WHAT WE HAVE
SEEN HERE IS THAT THE IDEA OF PROTEST IS NOT UNIQUE, AS I SAID EARLY ON, TO ANY
PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCE OR TIME OR PLACE AND THAT IN FACT MOST COUNTRIES, MOST
CULTURES NOT ONLY HAVE MUSIC BUT THEY HAVE SPECIFIC CATEGORIES OF MUSIC THAT
EXPRESS SOCIAL COMMENTARY AND EXPRESS PROTEST. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. (Applause)
>> CARL, THANKS VERY MUCH. I'M SURE THAT A COUPLE OF YOU MIGHT HAVE QUESTIONS.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE, I'M SURE THAT CARL WOULD BE HAPPY TO ANSWER THEM AND IF NOT,
THAT IS TO SAY IF YOU HAVEN'T GOT A QUESTION ANSWERED, YOU CAN ALWAYS COME DOWN
AND TALK TO HIM JUST AFTER. LET'S TAKE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS AND THEN FINISH UP
FOR THIS EVENING. I'VE GOT A MICROPHONE, BY THE WAY, TO BRING TO YOU. >> THANK
YOU, CARL. THE SECOND INDONESIAN SONG, THE ROCK SONG, REMINDED ME OF A CZECH
BAND CALLED THE PLASTIC PEOPLE OF THE UNIVERSE WHOSE RECORDS WERE ALSO BANNED
UNDER THE COMMUNIST GOVERNMENT IN THE '60s AND THEIR CAUSE WAS TAKEN UP BY
AMERICAN MUSICIANS LIKE FRANK ZAPPA AND ED SANDERS AND SO FORTH AND THEY HELPED
TO ACTUALLY SPUR THE VELVET REVOLUTION OF VACLAV HAVEL, SO THESE GROUPS CAN HAVE
ENORMOUS IMPACT ON THEIR SOCIETIES, AS YOU POINTED OUT. BUT I ACTUALLY WANTED TO
ASK A QUESTION, A LARGER QUESTION ABOUT ROCK AND RAP, WHICH ARE-- IN ONE WAY
HAVE BEEN IMPORTED TO OTHER COUNTRIES, DO OFTEN CARRY A MESSAGE OF FREEDOM AND
SO FORTH, BUT THEIR CRITICS SAY THAT THESE MUSICAL-- WESTERN MUSICAL FORMS ALSO
BRING WITH IT WESTERN ATTITUDES AND, TO SOME EXTENT, WESTERN DOMINANCE OR
WESTERN HEGEMONY, AND I WONDER IF YOU COULD COMMENT ON THAT? >> THE TENSION IS
ALWAYS THERE BETWEEN THOSE WHO WANT TO MAINTAIN TRADITIONAL CULTURAL ISSUES AND
THE INFLUX OF OUTSIDE INFLUENCES, WHETHER IT'S FROM THE UNITED STATES OR OTHER
COUNTRIES. MOSTLY THE OUTSIDE INFLUENCE DOES COME FROM THE WEST AND MOSTLY DOES
COME FROM THE UNITED STATES, AND YOU HAVE THESE TENSIONS AND THERE ARE A NUMBER
OF BOOKS THAT HAVE BEEN WRITTEN ABOUT THIS WHOLE TRANSNATIONAL ISSUE OF RECORD
COMPANIES AND THE WAY THEY MOVE INTO CERTAIN CULTURES AND DOMINATE THE MUSICAL
ENVIRONMENT TO SUCH A WAY THAT THE LOCAL MUSICIANS HAVE A VERY DIFFICULT TIME TO
ACTUALLY MAKE A LIVING BECAUSE NOBODY WANTS TO HEAR THE TRADITIONAL MUSIC
ANYMORE. WHAT YOU FIND ARE GROUPS WHO ARE TRYING TO BALANCE THE TWO, BRING THE
TWO TOGETHER SO THAT THEY GET THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS, AGAIN, RHOMA IRAMA FROM
INDONESIA IS ONE OF THOSE MUSICIANS. A PERSON I DIDN'T TOUCH UPON WAS ACTUALLY A
FELLOW BY THE NAME OF PUTRA SUHARTO, THE SON OF THE FORMER PRESIDENT WHO FELL IN
DISFAVOR WITH HIS FATHER BECAUSE HE WANTED TO IMPORT LOTS OF WESTERN INSTRUMENTS
INTO INDONESIA, BUT HE WANTED TO KEEP ALIVE INDONESIAN TRADITIONAL MUSIC BUT HIS
FATHER, OF COURSE, DIDN'T WANT THE WESTERN INFLUENCES. SO THAT'S A BIG PROBLEM
IN ALL OF THESE CULTURES, THE TRANSNATIONAL INFLUENCES LIKE THAT. >> ONE MORE
QUESTION? >> COULD YOU JUST COMMENT BRIEFLY ON THE ROLE THAT BONO HAS PLAYED
WITH HIS MUSIC AND HIS OTHER ACTIVITIES AND HOW HE MIGHT FIT INTO SOME OF THIS
TRADITION. >> AGAIN, I DON'T PROFESS TO BE NECESSARILY AN EXPERT ON THE MUSIC,
BUT I THINK THE IDEA OF REBELLION, GROUPS LIKE-- THE REBELLIOUS MUSIC OF GROUPS
LIKE U2 AND BONO AND THOSE KINDS OF GROUPS REALLY SPEAK AGAIN TO THE ISSUES OF
THE LOCAL CIRCUMSTANCES, HOW THEY ARE BEING REPRESENTED BY MUSICIANS LIKE BONO
AND THEIR DISPLEASURE WITH THE GOVERNMENT AND THE GOVERNMENT'S IN TURN
DISPLEASURE WITH THEM. SO I THINK THEY ARE IMPORTANT FIGURES. THE WHOLE IRISH
CATHOLIC/ENGLISH PROBLEM IS EXACERBATED TO SOME EXTENT AND SOMETIMES IN A GOOD
WAY BY THE KIND OF MUSIC THAT GROUPS LIKE U2 AND BONO AND THE LIKE DO, SO
THEY'RE IMPORTANT. >> ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? >> THANK YOU. >> THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
(Applause)