posted Jan 20, 2009, 6:32 AM by Vu Nguyen
In honor of Martin Luther King Jr Day, here are some songs about
change. King wanted change for the equality of everyone... making it
possible for Barack Obama to become the first black President.
MLK
Day is a fairly recent holiday, it only came into existence in 1983
when Ronald Regan signed it into law. What you probably didn't know
was that some states didn't call it Martin Luther King Day. Utah
called it Human Rights Day, while Virginia combined a bunch of people
into the Lee-Jackson-King Day. It was only recently in 2000 did all
the 50 States decided to call it the same thing.
Either way, enjoy your Monday off work!
Also, please also check out Ben Sollee's A Change is Gonna Come and Stevie Wonder's Happy Birthday (Martin Luther King Jr).
MANZE DAYILA & THE NAGO NATION
manzedayila.com
♥ myspace.com
Manze Dayila & The Nago Nation's "Change" is about Barack
Obama and how he is our president. The music has its roots in African
beats and rhythm, much like all their songs from their Solé album. Although "Change" isn't on their (debut?) album, the song is a free download on their website.
According to Dayila's biography, she was a refugee from Haiti (she was
19 when she rafted into Miami Beach!). The Haiti would explain why some
of their songs have a Carribean, with just a dash of Reggae, in them.
Half of the album are also traditional Haitian Folk song ("Kwi",
"Miseye Rigaud", "Kafe", "Papa Loko", etc).
The stand-out track for me is one of the few English songs on Solé
called "That Feeling". The song also features an additional
singer/rapper called Bennchoumy Elian, who also sung on the other
English song "I Want to Be Free".
Other stand-out track is the "Solé", which although I do not
understand the lyrics - I feel it is a sad song, as if a mother is
weeping for her child. With the absent of music on this song, it made
for an even more powerful emotional connection.
Since most of the album is not in English, which also gives it
a Worldly touch. If you enjoy World music, especially Afro-Pop or
Afro-Hip-Hop, this album is worth checking out. You can purchase Solé via cd baby ($14) or download via itunes ($10) or amazon ($8).
|
|
THE BRILLIANT MISTAKES
thebrilliantmistakes.com
♥ myspace.com
The Brilliant Mistakes are an indie rock/Americana-esque band from
Brooklyn, New York. Their music also have great catchy melodies, unlike
banging pot/pans and quirky sound of indie music these days (don't
worry, I have a few of these experimental albums for review - so fans
of this sound will be happy).
Between the two singers, keyboardist Alan Walker and bassist
Erik Philbrook, I would have to say that I like the Walker songs - they
sound vaguely like Ben Folds. The Philbrook vocals sounds more
alt-country.
I'm more drawn to their upbeat songs like "The Circle's Not
Broken" and "The Day I Found My Hands". Even though I didn't know the
words to their songs, I feel like I could probably make up words to
rhyme with their lyrics.
Their "change" ("Good Year For A Change") has nothing to do with
politics, but you can read what you want in it.... 2009 will be a great
year for a change, right?
Anyway, the song sounds a little subdue, but it shows off the
Folds-vocals as I mentioned earlier. I think the song may be about
changing your life, a fresh start, and finding someone new. Possibly
not looking back.... but the song seems to reflect on the past.
You can find out details on how you can purchase their album on their website. The page also lets you download "The Circle’s Not Broken" - the upbeat song that I liked, so check it out.
|
DESCRIBE AND Y-LOVE
myspace.com/describeylove ♥
ylovemusic.com
I've previously wrote about Y-Love
before, so I was kind of interested in seeing what he's up to. His
latest release is a collaboration with fellow Jewish songwriter
Describe.
Much like the "Change" song by Manze Dayila, this "Change"
song is the excitement of a new political change in the White House.
The song has some auto-tuning vocals, with that distinctive Yiddish
sounds of the H sound like in "hhhheh". The lyrics comes in fast and
furious and Describe's lower vocals slows down the song when it needs
to be.
As described by the press material, The Change EP
consists of four songs. But instead of releasing the EP in one release
date, they are dropping each song per month, starting tomorrow (January
20 th). The other scheduled release are February 24 th for "Make It", March 31 st, and April 28 th.
All details will be updated over at shemspeed.com/change, which contain links of how you can buy the song(s).
|
|
MICHAEL FRANTI & SPEARHEAD
michaelfranti.com
♥ myspace.com
There's no "Change" in title, but if there was an alternate title
to the simply titled "Obama Song", it would be about change and the
message that we can make a difference. This toe-tapping, hand-clapping,
feet-dancing song by Michael Franti & Spearhead is very catchy. The
song features many vocals, Best of all, the song is free to download
via
ilike.com/franti.
CORY CHISEL
corychisel.com
♥ myspace.com
We've previously mentioned Cory Chisel before, and here is a live version of the Sam Cooke's classic "A Change Is Gonna Come".
I think the song was recorded at the Lawrence Memorial Chapel in Appleton, WI (Aug 15 th, 2008), and the song comes as a break for Chisel to do his solo acoustic-thing.
|
01/19/2009 07:18:34 ♥ vu ( )
♥weheartmusic.com♥podcast.weheartmusic.com♥news.weheartmusic.com
|
|