Music often tells a story better than any news article. Have you ever seen a news event and then found that it triggered the memory of a song? Well, we're setting today's happenings to music. Here is our (and yours!) musical commentary.
Watching this week’s news cycle made me think of this song’s title. How often must we, the public, be subjected to the same nonsense spewed as ‘doing the work of the people’? This week it was revealed that the political wrangling disguised as an inquiry into the tragic events in Benghazi is nothing more than misinformation and twisted facts.… [Read more]
This week’s “Say It In Song” pick is ”Homeless,”performed by Paul Simon on the album Graceland.
“Strong wind destroy our home
Many dead, tonight it could be you
Strong wind, strong wind
Many dead, tonight it could be you”
On any given night in this country, 700,000 to 2 million people are homeless.… [Read more]
Events in the news this week have some of us thinking about change on a national and global level. Today we’re posting this week’s “Say It In Song” pick: Bob Dylan’s “Things Have Changed.”
“People are crazy and times are strange
I’m locked in tight, I’m out of range
I used to care, but things have changed.… [Read more]
Money is on the mind today. Perhaps it’s because we’re moving beyond the trauma caused by filing our annual tax returns a couple of weeks ago, or maybe it’s because we heard the money-related news about how Congress moved to end the sequester only in an area which directly affects them; they quickly passed a bill to end Federal Aviation Administration furloughs right before they fled Washington to go on recess.… [Read more]
Richie Havens’ cover of “What’s Going On” is this week’s “Say It In Song” pick. Some of us feel it helps to have a moment of reflection and quiet contemplation when things appear to have gone crazy. The week brought a vote by the House of Representatives to invade citizens’ privacy on the one end, and a win by the National Rifle Association against all voices in support of sane gun control legislation on the other.… [Read more]
This week’s “Say It In Song” pick is an oldie but goodie by famed R&B group, The O’Jays. ‘Backstabbers’ feels appropriate based simply on its definition; it means to attack someone particularly in a sneaky, deceitful and underhanded manner.
Doesn’t that seem like what’s going on in U.S. politics today? We have elected officials in place to make the nation better for its citizens but, clearly, the agenda is controlled by far too many special interest groups.… [Read more]
The Scottsboro Boys were nine Afican-American teenagers who were accused in 1931 of the rape of a white woman in Alabama. The legal case that resulted included a frame-up, attempts at lynching by an angry mob, and an all-white jury. The case still stands as one of America’s worst examples of racism, systemic abuses and the overall miscarriage of justice. … [Read more]
This week’s “Say It In Song” pick feels appropriate in light of recent news about the continued battle for fairness for workers. Though “When Will We Be Paid, by the Staple Singers, was released shortly after the Civil Rights Movement, the lyrics are just as applicable today – especially when taken in the context of the ongoing fight for workers’ rights.… [Read more]
The inimitable Bob Marley said it best: “We don’t need trouble, what we need is love.” This week’s “Say It In Song” pick feels appropriate in light of recent news about chemical weapons in Syria and threats from North Korea directed towards military bases. At least there was some talk of peace this week, even it was purely symbolic.… [Read more]
Back when you were the party of Abraham Lincoln, we knew you.
When you became the party of Dwight D. Eisenhower, we knew you.
Even when you became the party of Barry Goldwater, we knew you.
And then you became the party of Ronald Reagan….and while there was much to squirm over, we still knew you because we knew what to expect.… [Read more]
This week’s “Say It In Song” pick is one that seems appropriate for Women’s History Month. Women are often the world’s nurturers and healers despite the fact that, globally, life isn’t easy for many women:
“Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves.… [Read more]
This week’s “Say It In Song“ pick is “Hold On,” by Alabama Shakes:
You got to hold on
You got to hold on
Yeah! You got to wait!
Yeah! You got to wait!
But, I don’t wanna wait
I don’t wanna wait
Sometimes we have to be active to get what we need; we have to participate in order so that we can achieve the outcomes we want.… [Read more]
This week’s “Say It In Song” pick was performed in 1976 by the inimitable singer and activist Nina Simone. In honour of Black History Month, we’d like you to have a listen:… [Read more]
Musical genius and legend Curtis Mayfield once said:
“We’re all built up with progress,
But sometimes I must confess,
We can deal with rockets and dreams,
But reality… what does it mean?… [Read more]
“We can bomb the world to pieces, but we can’t bomb it into peace.”… [Read more]
Today’s “Say it in Song” pick is a timeless song by Michael Jackson: “Earth Song”…because giving thought to this planet, and what we’re doing to our environment, can never be overstated.
If you’re interested in learning more about the air you breathe, the water you drink, the soil that nourishes the food you eat and the creatures that are dependent upon conservation efforts to survive, here is a partial list of global organisations to obtain more information.… [Read more]
This week’s “Say It In Song” choice is by British singer Lily Allen. While the song isn’t political, most of the lyrics can apply to how many of us are left feeling after watching politics each week. We think our elected officials are supposed to care but, unfortunately, in too many cases the evidence points to the contrary.… [Read more]
“Don’t hate the black
Don’t hate the white
If you get bitten
Just hate the bite”
~ Sly and the Family Stone
Everyday people spoke, petitioned, protested, occupied and marched.
Everyday people made their voices heard on Election Day.… [Read more]
This week’s “Say it in Song” selection is “Tennessee,” by Arrested Development. Tennessee has been in the news this week because one of its residents, a firearms dealer, thought that he should teach a lesson about freedom and the Second Amendment by issuing a statement in which he said … [Read more]
This week’s Say it in Song pick is John Mayer’s Waiting on the World to Change.
“One day our generation is gonna rule the population…so we keep waiting…waiting on the world to change.”
We don’t believe in waiting for things to change; we believe in active participation and being, as Gandhi said, the change we want to see in the world.… [Read more]
