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.