The intersection of culture and politics...

April 4th, 1968

Here are clips from some of the things we discussed today.

The beginning of Bobby Kennedy's famous speech on the night of Dr. King's assassination:



I misspoke today - it was the following night that James Brown performed at the Boston Garden. There's a movie on VH1 on Saturday called "The Night James Brown Saved Boston" if you're interested. Here's a news account and a brief video:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/12/26/some_say_hub_owes_debt_to_james_brown




Here is an excerpt from Dr. King's last speech the night before he was assassinated. It's almost as if he knew.



One last one - a GREAT live version of U2's Pride (In the Name of Love)

Interpreting "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall"

It appears I'm the first one to try it. Oh goody.
I got the last stanza. I think that Dylan's line, "I'm a-goin' back out 'fore the rain starts a-fallin'" means that he is trying to spread the word of impending disaster before it strikes. His examples of where he is going to tell people the news illustrate why bad things are going to start happening. He's headed for the "depths of the deepest black forest", or the center of the confusion. Obviously, what we now consider and trust to be safe isn't, since water is poisoned and the homes are near prisons. We never know exactly what or who our enemies are since "the executioner's face is always well hidden". Dylan knows that resistance is futile, yet he'll "stand on the ocean until" he starts sinking. He will consider carefully what he will say to make sure he is right before he begins singing. However, "a hard rain's a-gonna fall", no matter what he--or we--do. Trouble is coming, we just get a warning about it.

Interpreting Dylan

To me with the wind "howling" and the wildcat "growling" doesn't produce a positive image to me, so i think the two riders are approaching with sinister intentions. Plus i think that the joker and theif talking are really plotting something. What that it im not sure, but if i had to interpret it i'd say the joker and the theif are the two horseman riding up to the watchtower, to change something, perhaps this is dylan's "transformation" as was noted in class.

my interpretation of dylan (finally)

I think the ending isn't as unclear as was said in class Monday; something to the extent "we don't know the nature of the riders" was said, but I think the lyrics make it perfectly clear. The joker and thief know their time is almost up when the joker says the hour is getting late. And with the wildcat growl and wind howling as the riders approach, that's a sign of danger and bad things to come in any story.

I also think Dylan saw into the future with my account problems, and wrote all along the watchtower about me having to fight with Google just to post this darn thing. I was so confused about why Google hates me.

interpreting dylan

I agree with many of the points raised in class. If I had to connect the dots for this song, I would say that the role reversals for both the joker and the thief are evident. However, I think that they are literally trapped behind the watchtowers, unable to leave unless the princes see fit to let them. The women and servants are mentioned to reinforce the inequality and they are not allowed to leave either. This is another reason why the joker laments about needing a way out of there.
I felt that the growling wildcat and the howling wind were very foreboding and so I picture the two riders as being dressed in all black with their capes flying in said wind. I see them as death coming for the thief and the joker, which ultimately is the only way out of here. The thief senses this which is why he says," the hour is getting late." He knows better than to try to make sense out of life and those who do not know how to live it, for life is much too short.
My last blog deleted when I tried to post it so this had better work!

And then...

The first verse, the one the joker says, reflects the joker's feelings of how people view him. I believe that he feels people don't respect him because his profession is playing the fool. He is not the fool in real life, and can see problems and the meaning of life that others cannot see because they are narrow minded. The second verse, with the thief speaking, is about not worrying about what everyone else feels. The rest of the world (not these two) is playing the fool and cannot see what is clearly there. The thief feels that the world should be left in its ignorance because they will not accept what these two see. The thief I feel is knowledgeable about everything and knows everything that is going on because people look down on him and ignore him when he is walking the streets as a shady character.

As they approach the city, they are embarking on a new adventure, a new life within the judgemental stigma that follows them everywhere. This time though, they will not let it affect them, they will not be pushed down into a category and ignored. The thief, being the more wise character, will take the lead. They will spark change in the new city into which they are coming. If the change is not welcome, or they are thrown out of the city, they will travel on, determined to find one place that will accept them as they are, without putting them into categories.

This song is about finding your place in the world, not relying on what others think of you and how you are placed in a category. You must stop worrying about what others think because they cannot see the world from your point of view. Only you alone can stand up for what you believe in because no one else believes in exactly the same thing.

Finishing the Story

Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower" is an interpretation of the hypocracy among the political extremes of American society colliding in the late 1960's. The characters of the Joker and the Thief each represent one of these aspects. The Joker represents the counterculture, not taking life seriously and seeing life as just a game. The Thief embodies the corparate conservatives, taking and taking from the working and middle class. In the first two verses of the song, the characters reveal themselves to act opposite of their titles. This commentary reflects Dylan's view that the Counterculture is just as selfish and greedy, if not more so, as the conservatives. At the same time, the conservatives show that they just don't care, and see their impending doom, the Riders, as an opportunity to shed the acts and to be honest for once in their lives.

The final verse is the beginning of the reckoning. The princes, the American upper class, watches while the lessers of society, the women and barefoot servants, are passing through. The two riders, being Woe and Dispair, come to bring warning and to prepare the society as the watchtower collapses upon itself...

Dave Matthews Band - "Cry Freedom"

In this blog...

1.) Summarize your thoughts after your first listen.
--> Why do you think the "Hands and feet are all alike..." Part sounds happy compared to the rest of the tune?

--> Do you think the choice of instrumentation could have been better?
Ex: Should there have been a piano instead of an acoustic guitar; or more instruments in general.

2.) Lyrically speaking, each verse touches upon some main idea or underlying theme. What do you presume each verse is about?
--> Why do you think these examples were chosen?

3.) Are there any other songs about Freedom, or standing up for your rights slash beliefs; which you can provide examples of?


Feel free to add links and embeded YouTube videos. Holla!

Here is Rage Against the Machine - "Freedom"
make sure to check out these lyrics too.

The Shalom Singers

Here's a link to the Shalom Singer's Myspace page; you can listen to "We Shall Overcome" in their music player, last song.

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=269444317

It's got somewhat dance style drums; you could almost dance to it. I am right now...Anyway, it's also worth noting how they have added their own lyrics, and it's interesting to see how modern singers perform a song like this.

BeatBox We Shall Overcome

I listened to a beatbox version of We Shall Overcome. I think this version was interesting because it is symbolic of how the song has been remodeled by the most current street artists. Plus i like this because Beatboxing is sweet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pv0tP5srqGA

Peter, Paul and Mary

I chose to find the Peter, Paul and Mary version on Youtube. The video itself featured still shots of people at demonstrations for peace and equality. However, the most powerful portion is the song itself, sung in a definite folk style complete with invitations for the audience to sing along. The song is more of a soothing mantra than a defiant fight song, but that is the beauty of it. The fact that Peter, Paul and Mary were active participants at the time of the movement makes the song even more inspiring, to me.

Mahalia

As I said in class, the power in her voice is incredible. She also has a very real presence in her voice in which, even if you don't see her, you can still feel her voice all around you. I am amazed at how much emotion and the pleading of an entire generation can be put into three simple words as she sings the opening lines.

Joan Baez

I listened to the Joan Baez version of "We Shall Overcome" Like many of the other versions of the time it had very little orchestration, only a guitar. I don't necessarily think that her version was anything amazing, but what I found more interesting was the audience that could be heard in the background. They all knew the words and all sang along throughout the entire piece. That shows just how important and well known this song was during this period.

Mahalia Jackson on youtube

Here is the video of Mahalia Jackson singing 'We Shall Overcome' that Liam linked in his post:

"We Shall Overcome" with a hint of Jazz

I chose to listen to Louis Armstrong's version of "We Shall Overcome." The orchestration was different from other versions I had heard because of the use a big band ensemble, but it still had a slow, gospel feel. This version, recorded in 1970, is a reminder of the hard battles fought in the previous decade and the struggles yet to come in push for racial equality in the United States.

Welcome! (and first assignment)

Welcome to your class blog! For your first post, please discuss the version of 'We Shall Overcome' you chose to listen to and describe it in the context of our reading of the song's history.