believe me good will come

Bob Dylan played in town last night. Admittedly, I know little about him – I don’t own any of his albums and I can only name half-a-dozen of his songs (which is odd given that he is arguably the greatest [English-speaking] popular musician of the past fifty years…). What I do know is that he has some great political songs:

Masters of War – Bob Dylan

Come you masters of war
You that build all the guns
You that build the death planes
You that build the big bombs
You that hide behind walls
You that hide behind desks
I just want you to know
I can see through your masks

You that never done nothin’
But build to destroy
You play with my world
Like it’s your little toy
You put a gun in my hand
And you hide from my eyes
And you turn and run farther
When the fast bullets fly

Like Judas of old
You lie and deceive
A world war can be won
You want me to believe
But I see through your eyes
And I see through your brain
Like I see through the water
That runs down my drain

You fasten the triggers
For the others to fire
Then you set back and watch
When the death count gets higher
You hide in your mansion
As young people’s blood
Flows out of their bodies
And is buried in the mud

You’ve thrown the worst fear
That can ever be hurled
Fear to bring children
Into the world
For threatening my baby
Unborn and unnamed
You ain’t worth the blood
That runs in your veins

How much do I know
To talk out of turn
You might say that I’m young
You might say I’m unlearned
But there’s one thing I know
Though I’m younger than you
Even Jesus would never
Forgive what you do

Let me ask you one question
Is your money that good
Will it buy you forgiveness
Do you think that it could
I think you will find
When your death takes its toll
All the money you made
Will never buy back your soul

And I hope that you die
And your death’ll come soon
I will follow your casket
In the pale afternoon
And I’ll watch while you’re lowered
Down to your deathbed
And I’ll stand o’er your grave
‘Til I’m sure that you’re dead

Masters of War “is supposed to be a pacifistic song against war. It’s not an anti-war song. It’s speaking against what Eisenhower was calling a military industrial complex as he was making his exit from the presidency. That spirit was in the air, and I picked it up”. – Bob Dylan, USA TODAY, 10/09/2001.

Brick
by Ben Folds and Darren Jessee

6am, day after Christmas
I throw some clothes on in the dark
The smell of cold
Car seat is freezing
The world is sleeping
I am numb

Up the stairs to the apartment
She is balled up on the couch
Her mom and dad went down to Charlotte
They’re not home to find us out
And we drive
Now that I have found someone
I’m feeling more alone
Than I ever have before

She’s a brick and I’m drowning slowly
Off the coast and I’m headed nowhere
She’s a brick and I’m drowning slowly

They call her name at 7:30
I pace around the parking lot
Then I walk down to buy her flowers
And sell some gifts that I got
Can’t you see
It’s not me you’re dying for
Now she’s feeling more alone
Than she ever has before

She’s a brick and I’m drowning slowly
Off the coast and I’m headed nowhere
She’s a brick and I’m drowning slowly

As weeks went by
It showed that she was not fine
They told me son, it’s time to tell the truth

She broke down, and I broke down
Cause I was tired of lying

Driving home to her apartment
For a moment we’re alone
Yeah she’s alone
I’m alone
Now I know it

She’s a brick and I’m drowning slowly
Off the coast and I’m headed nowhere
She’s a brick and I’m drowning slowly

“People ask me what this song’s about…I was asked about it a lot, and I didn’t really wanna make a big hairy deal out of it, because I just wanted the song to speak for itself. But the song is about when I was in high school, me and my girlfriend had to get an abortion, and it was a very sad thing. And, I didn’t really want to write this song from any kind of political standpoint, or make a statement. I just wanted to reflect what it feels like. So, anyone who’s gone through that before, then you’ll know what the song’s about.” – Ben Folds

You can hear & see the song on Youtube here.

Now that I have found someone / I’m feeling more alone / Than I ever have before

Can’t you see / It’s not me you’re dying for

If you have been at any concert/musical event in history, which one would it be?

Some that spring to mind - Roger Waters’ staging of The Wall show in Berlin in 1990 - amid the ruins of the Berlin Wall; the Live Aid concert at Wembley Stadium in 1985 that featured Queen, David Bowie, U2, The Who and Paul McCartney; Crowded House’s farewell concert outside the Sydney Opera House in 1996; Jimi Hendrix’s rendition of the Star Spangled Banner at Woodstock 1969…

But I’d choose U2’s Popmart show at River Plate Stadium in Bueno Aires on 5 February 1998. U2 played Mothers of the Disappeared for the first time since December 1987 and they were joined onstage by some of the original “mothers of the disappeared” (the Madres de Plaza de Mayo), who held pictures of their missing family members. After the song they put their white scarves around Bono’s neck and the crowd began to sing Argentina’s national anthem.

In 1976, a military coup brought Argentina under a military dictatorship. Over the next eight years, between 10,000 and 30,000 Argentinians “disappeared” at the hands of military death squads. In 1977, mothers and grandmothers of those who had disappeared began gathering at the Plaza de Mayo to protest the military’s actions. Similar movements emerged under the military dictatorships in other Latin American countries such as Chile and El Salvador (Mothers of the Disappeared was originally dedicated to the madres in El Salvador, whom Bono had met when he travelled there in 1986).

Here’s footage of U2’s concert at Estadio Nacional in Santiago, Chile on 11 February 1998, when some of the madres came on stage:

And here’s a description of the Buenos Aires concert by someone who was there on the night:

With the standard set list again, I knew they must be saving something special until the end, and it could only be one song. As Bono introduced One he said, “Every country, every city, has its ghosts. These ghosts won’t be forgotten.” As he said this, the Madres de Plaza de Mayo walk out on stage, about thirty in all, and begin slowly walking back and forth across the center section of the stage. I knew what I was about to witness will be something special, history, one of those rare moments that makes traveling thousands of miles worth every penny. Seeing this, hearing the crowd sing along, and knowing what has to come next, overwhelms me, and the tears start to flow. Bono sings an incredible rendition of One as the Mothers continue to slowly walk. Then, as the song ends, they all line up across the stage, behind Edge, Bono and Adam. Without a word Edge begins Mothers of the Disappeared. A new video sequence begins, footage of the Mothers marching in their search for justice for the sons and daughters, as Bono starts to sing. The song is almost too painful to watch, and to hear. Bono changed the words slightly to “We hear their hearts beat, and still their hearts beat” I thought 40 in Seattle was emotional, but the next few minutes in River Plate Stadium, with 70,000 people singing “Oh oh oh oh. Oh oh oh oh.” goes beyond description. One thing remained, Bono starts singing “El Pueblo Vencera” and the audience joined in. This was it, the moment I’ll never forget, the defining moment of my POP Mart tour, and my 15 years as a fan.
As the song ended Bono walked to the base of the stage, turned, bowed, and applauded the Mothers. Larry stood at his drum kit and did the same, followed by Edge and Adam. One of the Mothers stepped forward, took Bono’s hand and held it in the air, then took off her white head scarf and handed it to Bono, who put it on. The band left the stage and the audience roared in their applause of the Mothers, and began to sing what I was later told is Argentina’s national anthem. As the lights came up we embrace each other, everyone savoring this special moment. As we were leaving the stadium a bus carrying the Mothers was pulling out of the parking lot, everyone stopped and respectfully applauded.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mothers_of_the_Plaza_de_Mayo
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mothers_of_the_Disappeared
http://www.u2faqs.com/songs/#11
http://www.threechordsandthetruth.net/u2albums/joshuatree.htm
http://www.u2-vertigo-tour.com/show55.html
http://hem.bredband.net/steverud/U2MoL/JTree/mothers.html
http://www.u2-vertigo-tour.com/song132.html http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4647150.stm

I like a few of Switchfoot’s songs and I like the fact that in its songs the band often asks the big questions about life (though if you look at too many of Switchfoot’s lyrics you’ll find it’s actually the same question every time: “This is your life/Are you who you want to be?”…”We were meant to live for so much more”…”There’s a new way to be human”…”The tension is here/Between who you are and who you could be”…”I want to live and die for bigger things”…”There’s gotta be something more/Than what I’m living for”…etc…).

I also like songs that tell stories. ‘Faust, Midas and Myself’, off Switchfoot’s newest album, tells a story and references Greek mythology and classic literature. It fits nicely with Pan’s Labyrinth (teaser trailer), which I saw last week.

You can listen to Faust, Midas and Myself on Switchfoot’s Myspace page. Here are the lyrics:

Faust, Midas, And Myself

This one’s about a dream
I had last night
How an old man tracked me home
And stepped inside
Put his foot inside the door
And gave a crooked smile
Something in his eyes
Something in his laugh
Something in his voice
That made my skin crawl off

He said, “I’ve seen you here before,
I know your name.
You could have your pick
Of pretty things.
You could have it all -
Everything at once,
Everything you’ve seen,
Everything you’ll need,
Everything you’ve ever had in fantasies.”

“You’ve one life, you’ve one life.
You’ve one life left to leave.”

I woke up from my dream
As a golden man
With a girl I’ve never seen
With golden skin
I jumped up to my feet
She asked me what was wrong
I began to scream
“I don’t think this is me.
Is this just a dream
Or really happening?”

You’ve one life, you’ve one life
You’ve one life left to leave

What direction, what direction?
I’m splitting up, I’m splitting up!
This is my personal disaffection
What direction, what direction?
What direction now?

I looked outside the glass
At golden shores
Golden ships and masts
With golden cords
As my reflection passed
I hated what I saw
My golden eyes were dead
And a thought passed through my head
A heart that’s made of gold can’t really beat at all
I wanted to wake up again
Without a touch of gold
 
What direction, what direction?
Death or action
Life begins at the intersection
What direction, what direction?
What direction now?

I woke up as before
But the gold was gone
My wife was at the door
With her night robe on
My heart beat once or twice
And life flooded my veins
Everything had changed
My lungs had found their voice
And what was once routine
Was now the perfect joy

You’ve one life, you’ve one life
You’ve one life left to lead

Faust – Wikipedia
Midas – Wikipedia
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, The Tragedy of Faust 

• Flight of the Conchords - Hiphopopotamus vs Rhymenoceros:

• Late night TV won’t be as funny when George W. Bush when is replaced by a [more] competent President in 2008. One of Letternman’s ‘Great Moments in Presidential Speeches’:

• Letterman makes fun of Schwarzenegger:

• Flight of the Conchords – Albi the Racist Dragon:

• Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra plays Hey Ya by Outkast:

• Spiders on drugs:

• The saddest music video ever:

• MuteMath perform Typical on Jimmy Kimmel Live (I like watching the little singer guy jumping around in the last 50 seconds):

• Wikipedia can be funny. This is from the entry for Coldplay (read it fast, before someone fixes it):

Despite Coldplay’s large worldwide popularity, the band have remained protective of how their music is used in the media, refusing its use for product endorsements. In the past, Coldplay turned down multi-million dollar contracts from Gatorade, Diet Coke, and Gap, who wanted to use the songs “Yellow”, “Trouble”, and “Don’t Panic” respectively. According to Martin, “We wouldn’t be able to live with ourselves if we sold the songs’ meanings like that.”[12] However, he is more than happy to sell his prepackaged teen depression lite to impressionable people the world over without an ounce of guilt. There are no appropriate quotes to suggest how well he sleeps at night.

ONE TREE HILL

We turn away to face the cold, enduring chill
As the day begs the night for mercy
Your sun so bright it leaves no shadows, only scars
Carved into stone on the face of earth
The moon is up and over One Tree Hill
We see the sun go down in your eyes
You ran like a river to the sea
Like a river to the sea
And in our world a heart of darkness, a firezone
Where poets speak their hearts and then bleed for it
Jara sang, his song a weapon, in the hands of love
You know his blood still cries from the ground
It runs like a river to the sea
Like a river to the sea
I don’t believe in painted roses or bleeding hearts
While bullets rape the night of the merciful
I’ll see you again when the stars fall from the sky
And the moon has turned red over One Tree Hill
We run like a river to the sea
Like a river to the sea

(Greg Caroll’s Funeral, Wanganui, New Zealand, 10th July 1986.)

Greg Caroll and One Tree Hill

Greg Caroll was a New Zealander who joined the U2 team after the Auckland concert of their 1984 Unforgettable Fire tour. Greg became Bono’s personal assistant and the two were close friends.

When they first met, Greg took Bono to visit One Tree Hill. Greg was Maori, and One Tree Hill’s significance to Maori dates back to around 1600, when a totara tree was planted on the hill to commemorate a noble birth. The hill was named Te Totara i Ahua (“The Totara that Stands Alone”).

The totara is thought to have stood on the hill until 1852, when settlers cut it down (though this article suggests the totara fell at an earlier date, and a solitary pohutukawa stood on the hill when Europeans arrived). One Tree Hill was given its name in 1840 by Sir John Logan Campbell – known as the “Father of Auckland”. Campbell attempted to re-establish a native tree on the summit in the 1870s. He planted five Pinus radiata to shelter a grove of native trees, but only the pines survived. In 1962, the second to last surviving pine was vandalised and had to be felled, leaving the famous solitary pine on the summit. In October 2000, One Tree Hill’s last pine was removed, due to damage from chainsaw attacks by Maori activists in 1994 and 1999.

In July 1986, Greg was killed in Dublin when a drunk driver struck his motorbike. Bono and his wife Ali, Larry and his girlfriend Anne, and several U2 crew members flew back to New Zealand with Greg’s body. They attended his funeral at Kai iwi Marae, near Wanganui. Upon his return to Dublin, Bono wrote ‘One Tree Hill’ which is dedicated, along the The Joshua Tree, to Greg.

enduring chill
American author Flannery O’Connor wrote a short story titled ‘The Enduring Chill’. Bono and the other members of U2 said that O’Connor was a chief inspiration for The Joshua Tree and they thanked her in their Grammy acceptance speech.

heart of darkness
Joseph Conrad’s famous novel of the same name.

Jara sang, his song a weapon
Víctor Jara was a Chilean poet, folk singer/songwriter, and political activist who became a symbol of the struggle against military oppression and injustice across Latin America (a theme that runs throughout The Joshua Tree).

Jara was prominent in the development of the New Chilean Song movement that acquired considerable prominence during the socialist Popular Unity government of Salvador Allende. On September 11, 1973, a military-organised (and CIA-backed) coup led by Augusto Pinochet overthrew Allende’s government. Jara was one of tens of thousands of political prisoners taken to the Chile Stadium on 12 September. Jara was repeatedly beaten and tortured. With the bones in his hands and upper torso broken, soldiers mockingly suggested Jara play guitar for them. He managed to sing a portion of the song of the Popular Unity coalition. Jara was murdered on 15 December, after further beatings.

You know his blood still cries from the ground
Genesis 4:8-10: “And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother and killed him….The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.”"

I’ll see you again when the stars fall from the sky
And the moon has turned red over One Tree Hill
Revelation 6:12-13: “I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned as black as dark sackcloth, the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth.”
Matthew 24:29: “Immediately after the distress of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky”
Acts 2:20: “The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood”

We run like a river to the sea
Ecclesiastes 1:7: “All the rivers run to the sea; yet the sea is not full.”

[sources]:

One Tree Hill still bare six years on
Axe taken to One Tree myth
One Tree Hill summit project
Cornwall Park Trust - History
Bono makes emotional plea
U2 New Zooland - A History of One Tree Hill - The U2 Perspective
U2faqs.com - Songs/Lyrics FAQ
U2.com – One Tree Hill
U2MoL – The Meaning of U2 Lyrics

Flannery O’Connor at Wikipedia.org
The Dark Side of the Cross: Flannery O’Connor’s Short Fiction

Victor Jara at Wikipedia.org
CIA Acknowledges ties to Pinochet’s Repression
CIA Activities in Chile
Documents Reveal US Funding for Chile Coup
parque por la paz

@U2 – U2 Lyrics – Bible references
U2Literary.com
U2’s Christian Subterfuge

U2 are releasing a new ‘best of’ compilation on 20 November. A best of best of…Titled U218 Singles, it features sixteen of their best known songs, a new track called ‘Window on the Sky’, and their cover of the Slits’ ‘The Saints are Coming’ (a collaboration with Green Day).

So, come 20 November, three of U2’s last five albums will be ‘best of’ compilations (I guess if you’re struggling to create good new music then it makes sense to recycle your old music…).

Here are my sixteen favourite U2 songs (excluding B-sides, covers or live versions) -

01 Running to Standstill
02 One
03 Mothers of the Disappeared
04 Please
05 With or Without You
06 Mysterious Ways
07 Mofo
08 Discotheque [original Pop version]
09 Do You Feel Loved
10 One Tree Hill
11 Lemon
12 Miss Sarajevo [full-length Passengers version]
13 All I Want Is You
14 Tomorrow
15 Where the Streets Have No Name
16 New Year’s Day [full-length War version]