Category: Music

Punk Prayer Leads to Two Years in Russian Prison

Although I rarely write about Russian punk bands on this blog, we cannot ignore the news about three members of the band Pussy Riot being sentenced to two years in prison in Russia. Below is a video taken during their actions that are at issue. On February 21, they staged a protest at Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, where they gave their “Punk Prayer” of “Mother Mary, please drive Putin away.”

Band members Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Yekaterina Samutsevich and Maria Alyokhina appeared in their usual tights and face-covering balaclavas at the sacred place to protest President Vladimir Putin and the Russian Orthodox church’s close ties to the leader. The three women, who have already been behind bars for six months, were sentenced today to “two years deprivation of liberty in a penal colony” after they were found guilty of the crime of hooliganism.

Pussy Riot Protest As the feminist punk rockers were being taken from the courtroom, Tolokonnikova said, “We are happy because we brought the revolution closer.” A number of prominent people have voiced support for the women, including the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Madonna, Bjork, Sting, chess champion Gary Kasparov, and Paul McCartney. Amnesty International plans to send a truckload of colorful balaclavas to Putin in protest, while there is a “Free Pussy Riot” webpage too. Others have argued that the issue is more complicated and that most Russians do not support the band. As people around the world protest, though, only time will reveal whether the band’s case has lasting impact.

What do you think of the sentence for the band members? Leave your two cents in the comments. If you are unfamiliar with the band, check out this interview with band members a few days before they were arrested.

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    A Visit to Bob Dylan’s Hometown

    Bob Dylan's Childhood Home

    With Bob Dylan’s 35th album, Tempest, coming out next month, the anticipation is stirring up a number of Dylan stories. Sean O’Neal at the Onion’s A.V. Club recently visited Bob Dylan’s hometown of Hibbing, Minnesota.

    In the video, O’Neal ponders about how the town influenced Dylan’s music, and he takes us to several Dylan landmarks, including Dylan’s — er Robert Zimmerman’s — childhood home. Although that house is now on a road named after the singer, Hibbing does little else to acknowledge the hometown singer. O’Neal also showed the high school auditorium that was the location of Dylan’s disappointing talent show appearance.

    [2018 Update] Unfortunately, the video is no longer available. So, instead here is a short video about Bob Dylan’s hometown made for a KTCA special.

    Should Hibbing do more to honor Bob Dylan? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    Jakob Dylan Returns With The Wallflowers

    Wallflowers Glad All Over

    After two solo albums, Jakob Dylan returns with his first CD with The Wallflowers since 2005 when they released Rebel, Sweetheart. The band’s new album, Glad All Over, is out October 2. The first track “Reboot the Mission” has a dance reggae sound. Dylan told Rolling Stone he wanted to show the band could stay a rock band while still making a dance track. Meanwhile, the song not only name drops Joe Strummer but features one of Strummer’s old bandmates, Mick Jones of The Clash.

    What do you think of the new Wallflowers sound? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    Richie Havens Foresaw Cell Phones On the Woodstock Stage

    Woodstock

    This week, on August 15 in 1969, a Friday, the “Woodstock Music & Art Fair” began in Bethel, New York. Of course, today we remember the festival with simply the name “Woodstock.”

    I took the above photo in 2007 after making a pilgrimage to the site. At the time of my visit, there was not much to commemorate the site beyond the large plaque. But there also was a man who had attended the concert who came on his own to tell stories to eager tourists like me. It was cool. The owners of the site finally did build a museum though.

    Back in 1969, the musical performances started at 5:07 p.m. when Richie Havens took the stage. After he performed his set, the crowd kept calling him back for more, so that he finally had to resort to improvising a song based on the old spiritual, “Motherless Child.” Thus, he closed his set with his iconic performance of the much-improvised “Freedom (Motherless Child).” He later explained, “When you see me in the movie tuning my guitar and strumming, I was actually trying to figure out what else I could possibly play! I looked out at all of those faces in front of me and the word ‘freedom’ came to mind.”

    At one point during the song, he apparently foresaw the use of cell phones in the future when he sang, “I got a telephone in my bosom / And I can call him up from my heart.” What a great way to begin the advertised “3 Days of Peace & Music.” In this video below, Havens looks back on Woodstock forty years after the event.

    Do you wish you were at Woodstock in 1969? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    New Dylan: “Early Roman Kings”

    Bob Dylan Tempest Below is “Early Roman Kings,” one of the new tracks from Bob Dylan’s upcoming album, Tempest, due for release on September 10. There is a bluesy riff through the song, and Dylan’s voice has the familiar croak of his recent albums. While his songs are always open to interpretation, it sounds like the lyrics on “Early Roman Kings” could be about the most recent economic recession and discussions about economic disparities.

    They’re peddlers and they’re meddlers;
    They buy and they sell;
    They destroyed your city;
    They’ll destroy you as well.

    Dylan is allowing the song “Early Roman Kings” to be used for the soundtrack of the trailer for HBO’s new series about terrorism, Strike Back.

    Neil McCormick of The Telegraph was one of the few journalists who have heard the full album. He reports the songs are full of images and contradictions, and “There’s a lot of blood spilt on Tempest through murder and revenge, chaos and confusion.” Sounds good. Meanwhile, The Guardian reports that the new album could be the aging Dylan’s last, but it is the best work he has done in a decade. The reason for the speculation that Dylan’s 35th album might be his last is that Shakespeare’s final play was called “The Tempest.” On Dylan’s part, he has downplayed the connection, noting that his CD is called “Tempest,” as opposed to Shakespeare’s “The Tempest.” For now, I guess we will just be happy we have a new album coming out from Dylan.

    (Thanks to @ChrisHenry_TNW for the song link.)

    What do you think of “Early Roman Kings”? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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