Soundcheck
Songs of Change
If the purpose of political songs are to rouse people into action, then today's breed of political musicians aren't doing a very good job, says writer Chris Dahlen in a recent column for Pitchfork Media. Dahlen joins us today to talk about how political music is changing and what's needed in the future. Also joining us is singer-songwriter and activist Steve Earle, whose last two albums were heavily political in nature.
I'm a singer-songwriter here in New York, and really appreciate you dedicating a show to this topic. I've been a politically minded person for a while now, but politics never infused my songwriting until there seemed to be a light at the end of the George W tunnel. That spark of hope moved me from the ambiguous to the somewhat-literal, and inspired this song, which seems to be catching on:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8SdJhVCRJM
Thanks for a great show.
Best,
Maddy
www.myspace.com/maddyw
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John Schaefer goes to North Korea; Soundcheck goes to Austin and to Berlin.
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