Monday, September 01, 2008

Strange Fruit


In my opinion, the most powerful "protest" song ever written. This is a wrenching performance by Billie Holiday who wrote the song. This is about racism. The infection that is rotting America from its inner core. A virus that has found its vectors and opportunistically spreads via radio, television and the internet. It insinuates and is hidden beneath platitudes and the fuzzy logic and sloppy thinking that is a part of American Culture.
Did racism play a part in the handling of the "assinnation" plot uncovered against Barack Obama during the Democratic Convention? The alleged plotters were described as suspected white nationalists. The sherriff dismissed them as a bunch of "meth heads" and went on to talk about them as if they were just a harmless bunch of drug addled youths. I will post more about this, in lieu of the treatment that the perpetrator of the fake anthrax threat to John McCain recieved.

Meanwhile, what do you think are the most powerful pieces of "protest music"?
If I can, I will find performances and post them.
My #2 favortite is Trouble Comin' Everyday by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention from the 1966 Freak Out Album. Still relevant, the music snarls and burns and the lyrics could be about race and media today!
Frank said in the song, "You know, people? I'm not black but there's a whole lotta times I wish I could say I'm not white!" Play your harmonica, son..........

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hello Microdot,
From the Engineer of Knowledge.

Strange Fruit is one of the great Billie Holliday songs ever. Few know that it almost did not get recorded because of its controversial lyrics and the song’s meaning. Must not upset the status quo.

My choice is the song by the Who, “Won’t Get Fooled Again.” With lyric segments like what is noted below. The song was really about Richard Nixon conservatism and where that went wrong with hopes that as a nation, we will all learn from our mistakes. Unfortunately people’s memories are short and the next generation was not taught what to look out for. So we now have George W. Bush conservatism and we are right back where we were again in 1972.

We'll be fighting in the streets
With our children at our feet
And the morals that they worship will be gone

And the world looks just the same
And history ain't changed
'Cause the banners, they were all flown in the last war

Then I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again

Meet the new boss
Same as the old boss

microdot said...

Won't Get Fooled Again by The Who!
Great choice! I remember when it came out and the Who's Next record, all my "politically correct" hippy friends were appalled by the politics and thought that it was a call to political apathy.
I loved it....
I felt it was about keeping your mind open and not being afraid to look at anything or anyone including yourself with a critical eye!

Budding Trotskyite sentiments and I didn't even know what a trotsky was.

mud_rake said...

Very impressive and bold song for Ms Holliday back in those ugly days! Thanks for sharing it. Wow!