Sunday, June 29, 2003

Utah Phillips performs Killing/Bum
Songs, poetry, Canada/US commentary - Media Viewer .ram @ Zed.cbc.ca

Love of Labor review:
Satirical folkie Anne Feeney has been inside the machine.
"I was inspired by Mother Jones’ motto: ‘Mourn the dead and fight like hell for the living,’” says Anne Feeney, folk singer, labor activist, voice of the people and self-described hell-raiser. “I really believe that hell-raising is a noble occupation.” She is lighthearted in her social criticism, even borrowing a quote from Emma Goldman to title one of her recordings, “If I Can’t Dance, It’s Not My Revolution.”

Saturday, June 28, 2003

Julius Margolin (and Friends)
Hail to the Thief! Songs for the Bush Years.
The CD that takes on Dubya, his stolen election, and his inadequacies; folk-style songs, parodies and serious work, from some of the country's most active labor singer/songwriters.

Produced by labor folksingers angry at the theft of our nation's top elected office, "Hail to the Thief! Songs for the Bush Years" has 15 songs about Dubya and his right-wing administration. It is folk music with a twist of satire, parody, and dead seriousness about this travesty. "Hail!" is full of hard-hitting songs of the stolen election and the coming struggle against Bush's agenda.

Review - Peoples Weekly World Singing the George Bush Blues

T h e M u s e a n d W h i r l e d R e t o r t
July 2003 Volume 4 issue 10

Hey everybody,
OK it's not quite that time of the month yet… but I wanted to get the newsletter out a little early this time… sorry – once again I gotta be brief…

Those of you sitting at home and waiting by the computer at the first of the month may have your schedules interrupted – but frankly – you *should* be interrupted if that applies to you. The only reason we make schedules in the first place is to break them. I mean, wasn't it Mickey Newbury who said that time was created so that everything wouldn't happen all at once?

If everything did happen at once it would be chaos all the time – and any order would interrupt the inflexible disorder of the universe. Apollo -- riding shotgun -- on the road with Jack Kerouac trying to subvert the authoritarian coyote trickster.

Hmmmm…. Sorta sounds like our foreign policy – now that I think about it…
How does the T shirt read?
War is peace
Slavery is freedom
Bush is President

Now, let's see... where did those weapons of mass destruction that we heard so much about end up?

Maybe Saddam zapped them with his super secret invisible ray gun and magically teleported them to the parking lot of some mom & pop hardware store in SE Nebraska where they will never be found, thanks to the brand new Walmart that opened up next door. Nah, people would never believe that... but then ... what the hell – they are buying everything else.
------
Coupla quick snap shots – central, PA
A caravan of Boy Scout vehicles – sporting the slogan "let's Roll"
Good thing they do not allow homosexuals in the scouts – it might say – "let's decorate"

and for all you Georgians out there... how about Herman Talmadge and Maynard Jackson dying with in 24 hours of each other? … I somehow picture Herman clinging on to that ax handle tighter than he was clinging on to life waiting for Maynard to get the hell out of here.

A billboard in Arkansas… Large picture of Christ in black and white – hanging from the cross – only the blood is in bright red. A caption reads: "This Blood's for you."

A black Billboard with white type in Oklahoma reads: "Stop using my name in vain – God" (really)

-----
Anyhow
I really gotta run…
I wanted to get this out early because I arrived here in Pittsburgh late last night and Anne and I are about to get on a plane to Seattle – where we are playing tommorow night – followed by 30 some odd dates on the west coast…

Then --- TIME OFFFFFFFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
*****
Peter Paul and Mary are recording Anne's song "Have you been to Jail for Justice!!!! And we'll be in the audience when PP&M play Pittsburgh on July 31 (see www.peterpaulandmary.com for details)
*****
We are looking for dates in Wisconsin Minnesota Chicago Illinois and Indiana in late October
*****
We are planning a 10 day trip to Texas in November (by Texas We mean that triangle of land from Dallas/Ft Worth to Houston to Austin) can you help us? then on to SOA & the FTAA rally/riots in Florida
*****
I am sure there are other announcements but I feel so overwhelmed by the notion of getting to the airport on time that I just can't think – please feel free to zap me back if ya got any questions or anything else.
*****
Anne and I are still looking for the right fit on labor day – got any ideas?
******
Oh, had a great time with my old friend Wiktor – tooling around DC towing his fabulous statue "The evolution of the trickle down theory"
Check it out athttp://www.wsart.com/public/candidate.html

****
It has often been said that we are an act to be witnessed live so finally! The new Live CD is here!
Live from the Wholly Stolen Empire.
You can buy it by clicking: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/afcc


Sunday, June 22, 2003

T H E M U S E A N D W H I R L E D R E T O R T
JUNE, 2003 Vol 4 issue 9
Kerrville, TX

Hey everybody,
It's that time of the month again! Only this month I really am going to be brief – Anne and I are at the Kerrville Folk Festival – with limited computer access. And even if that were not true – the last thing I would want to be doing is sitting in front of a computer at the Quiet Valley Ranch – do this is a brief one…

Yes, the rumors are true – we did play on the treadgill stage last Thursday – WOW! 5 standing ovations (but who is counting)

We are looking forward to a busy June and July.

Right now my life is in boxes – in a tent… just over there – at camp CALM… 15 years of living on the road – stacked in boxes of suitcases and glove compartments – on an endless thrift store pub crawl in pursuit of more boxes and things to put in them.

And even though my life is in a box that is not to say my thinking is in the box – there are those that would say MY thinking is Way outside the box – but they would be wrong – because if you think there is a box – then that is the very reason you are in a box – and you will be until you realize – there is no box.

There is no cutting edge…

…there are no lines to color inside of – outside of – only the thin yellow lines that dot the highways of fat America which carry us – and all of our boxes forever towards that inevitable pine box…

realizing all the while – that if the world we see in your rear view window is not better that the one you see in our front windshield – then we are not doing our job.