As I spend a lot of time around musicians and in recording studios, I'm privileged to hear some really great music and performances, as well as some that are not so great. And I've heard people complain that we don't seem to have any good political 'protest songs' today.
Maybe not, but even back during the peak of protest songs, in the '60s, many of the best weren't actually protesting but appealing for us to be better than we were. For every "Eve of Destruction" there was a "Turn, Turn, Turn." For every "Blowin' in the Wind" there was a "Give Peace a Chance."
A tremendous new piece of uplifting political music has been created by a will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas, and is being used by the Obama campaign. Sung over a simple, yet insistent guitar track by will and others, the song re-states and sings Obama's speech after the New Hampshire primary as lyric poetry, offering a moving counterpoint to Obama's own words:
You can also watch it at its own web site, http://yeswecansong.com, and read will's thought process regarding his political awakening and writing this piece of music.
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