The Chicks Are Owed An Apology

Once upon a time, back when the United States was under the leadership of another fairly incompetent Republican President (yes yes, Bush and Cheney look a little better now compared to Trump and Pence, but only because they were actually semi-competent in their evil, but they were still very evil), there was was sensationally good crossover country/pop group known as the Dixie Chicks.

They were country, but never of the “stars and bars” Dixie kind. It was simply an appellation. In fact, they were all pretty forward and progressive thinking and talking. And man did they get in trouble for it. I guess the new term of the day is “cancelled”, which is kind of an idiotic term, but the howlers really did try to obliterate Natalie Maines, Emily Strayer and Martie Maguire. From Wiki:

On March 10, 2003, nine days before the invasion of Iraq, the Dixie Chicks performed at the Shepherds Bush Empire theater in London, England. It was the first concert of their Top of the World tour in support of their sixth album, Home. Introducing their song “Travelin’ Soldier”, Maines told the audience the band they did not support the upcoming Allied invasion of Iraq and were “ashamed” that President George W. Bush was from Texas. Many American country music listeners supported the war, and Maines’s remark triggered a backlash in the United States. The Dixie Chicks were blacklisted by thousands of country radio stations, and the band members received death threats. Maines issued an apology, saying her remark had been disrespectful; in 2006 she rescinded the apology, saying she felt Bush deserved no respect. The backlash damaged sales of their music and sales of their next album and tour.

In a September 2003 interview, Maguire told the German magazine Der Spiegel: “We don’t feel a part of the country scene any longer, it can’t be our home anymore.” She noted a lack of support from country stars, and being shunned at the 2003 ACM Awards. “Instead, we won three Grammys against much stronger competition. So we now consider ourselves part of the big rock ‘n’ roll family.” Some fans were dismayed, but the group made no clear response.

If you have forgotten, which is awfully easy to do in these pandemic days of Trump, this was a huge deal at the time. The United States government under the Bush/Cheney regime, and the entire country music scene hated on them and ostracized them. It was one of those kind of fulcrum moments. It was not just the Iraq war, it was torture, the unitary executive, free speech, protest…..everything was wrapped up, in a cultural way, in the actions of the Dixie Chicks. It was symbolic of the divide.

But Natalie Maines, Emily Strayer and Martie Maguire were bad ass and stuck to their morals and thoughts. They got hammered at the time, but they hung in and are still here bigger and badder ass than ever. They are now just The Chicks, having dumped the Dixie part of their original name. The Chicks are owed a debt of gratitude and an apology for the idiocy and bigotry they faced from the howlers during the Bush/Cheney years, and they are here to let you know they are still on the good side of the cutting edge.

The Chicks have a new song and video out. “March March”, and it is truly awesome. A song for this time. I saw it last night at Atrios’ joint, and it is really superb. Take a look. Expand it and watch it full screen, it is worth it. This is the music of protest, and in the best way. Music was key in the 60’s and it is key now. It spreads far and wide what people feel, whether they are in the streets or at home. The “at home” part seems even more pertinent now in the time of unabated pandemic at the hands of yet another evil Administration. And that is our trash talk for this weekend, get on it!

image_print
104 replies
  1. harpie says:

    Thanks so much for writing this, bmaz! When I first heard that new music and saw the amazing video the other day, AND found out about that perfect name change [!] it did me a TON of good. :-) Such good musicians…and such good pictures and lyrics! I woke up with the tune in my head.

    March March!
    https://genius.com/The-chicks-march-march-lyrics
    The Dixie Chicks

    [Chorus]
    March, march to my own drum
    March, march to my own drum
    Hey, hey, I’m an army of one
    Oh, I’m an army of one
    March, march to my own drum
    March, march to my own drum
    Hey, hey, I’m an army of one
    Oh, I’m an army of one

    [Verse 1]
    Brenda’s packin’ heat ’cause she don’t like Mondays
    Underpaid teacher policin’ the hallways
    Print yourself a weapon and take it to the gun range
    (Ah, cut the shit, you ain’t goin’ to the gun range)
    Standin’ with Emma and our sons and daughters
    Watchin’ our youth have to solve our problems
    I’ll follow them, so who’s comin’ with me?
    (Half of you love me, half already hate me)

    [Chorus]

    [Verse 2]
    Tell the ol’ boys in the white bread lobby
    What they can and can’t do with their bodies
    Temperatures are risin’, cities are sinkin’
    (Ah, cut the shit, you know your city is sinkin’)
    Lies are truth and truth is fiction
    Everybody’s talkin’, who’s gonna listen?
    What the hell happened in Helsinki?

    [Chorus]

    [Instrumental Outro]

      • J R in WV says:

        In the other room, wife is listening to one of John Prine’s last concerts, and I run across this thread.

        The Chicks are great, they were great from day one, and their bravery in standing up to the crazed motherfuckers who supported Bush and Cheney and their illegal wars just underline their excellence as human beings and as musicians.

        I will never forget the summer my folks took the family around to Civil War battlefields. We headed down south, in the late ’50s, and ran smack into Jim Crow signs about who could drink or piss where. I was around 10, and was shocked to see “Coloreds Only” and “Whites Only” on shitty gas station toilets and water fountains. So I have no use whatsoever for people who wave that despicable Dixie racist slaver flag. So glad these women dropped that word… I know they were no part of that society, were just being proud of southern heritage that was no part of that hate. But still.

        And in W Va, while there was some segregation, like everywhere back in the 1950s… there was never Jim Crow Laws, just kinda nasty traditions in the lower classes of poor white folks. Which my family had no part of, resulting in me learning a lot of slurs with the “N” word while in grade school.

        Thanks for this post, and all the work you emptywheelers are doing!!

        ETA: Saw Lyryrd Skynard some 10 or so years ago, with waving both flags, the despicable Confederate battle flag AND the stars and stripes, which was bad enough, but their sound system sucked, their playing sucked — thank god ZZ Top, the headliners, still rock out the best!!

    • Baltimark says:

      This is tremendous!

      And it’s not NECESSARY but I love that they (appear to) know that the real-life inspiration for Geldof involved a female school shooter — not because that makes any particular political or social point but just to show they honor their source materials.

    • Maureen A Donnelly says:

      being “Dixie Chicked” was beautifully shown in “Shut Up and Sing” and you are so correct. The girls were on the money way back in the day and still are on fire. They fixed the Dixie right on out of their existence–we should all show such courage. Thanks for the post on three of my faves from the “country music” genre.

  2. Jenny says:

    I remember. Thanks bmaz.
    Excellent song and video. Powerful. Many thanks to The “conscious” Chicks.

  3. Pete T says:

    You’ve outdone yourself bmaz. I’ve been around a long time and possibly one of, if not the most, powerful creations ever.

  4. OldTulsaDude says:

    Congratulations, bmaz. I can’t imagine a more apt post. The song rivals “Ohio” for meaningful timeliness combined with timelessness. Thank you.

    • Knox Bronson says:

      It’s very similar, musically, to “Ohio.” Cadence, chords. I kept thinking, “what does this sound like?” Couldn’t put my finger on it. Then … yes, of course, “Ohio!” Fantastic song. Incredible video. God bless The Chicks!

      • bmaz says:

        It really does have that power and feel like Ohio. I have a feeling this is a keeper for the ages, as Ohio has maintained its power and significance all these years.

  5. harpie says:

    The first words on the screen:

    “If your voice held no power, they wouldn’t try to silence you.” – unknown

    [The Chicks would know that in their bones.]

  6. Jimmy Tea says:

    Yes I remember how they were country music’s outcasted members during the last inept Republican presidency. That’s when I first heard of them, and, at a time when their CDs were being burned as sort of a non-lethal lynching, its when I bought a number of their CDs. They had a powerful brave voice then, but then faded away. It warms my heart and soul to see them back with March March. I think they’re just getting warmed up and we will be hearing much more from them. The best to you ladies. I missed you…

  7. Raven Eye says:

    Is 2020 going to be a “woke” year for America?

    The last year (in my opinion) that reached that level was 1968. Until this year, I thought that you could kinda wrap up 1968 and tie a bow on it. But now it seems that 1968 was a door that had to be busted open, but which led us into a room that was much larger and darker then we imagined. But music was being played in that room — which, as it turns out, stretched for years into the future; 2020. Some of us listened to that music and change occurred…though not as much change as we thought (hoped?). It took a pandemic, a maliciously negligent government, and some horrible abuses of authority/suspension of humanity to nudge/slap us awake.

    In my case, 1968 was my junior/senior year in high school. I was profoundly interested in photojournalism. Of more than passing interest to this group, perhaps, is a photo book I saw in the making by David Douglas Duncan during the summer of 1968. The subject was the pair of conventions in Miami and Chicago. DDD was hired by NBC to photograph them and each day’s shots were presented in special segments of NBC’s convention coverage. The book is “Self-Portrait U.S.A.”. Very nicely gravure printed, you can find copies here and there — I have one. If your library has a copy, and they are doing curbside, I suggest you borrow a copy. When I page through it these days it is both the same and different.

    Thanks, bmaz, for reminding us again how music is a structural element of the arc of history.

    • John Paul Jones says:

      Lot of people have forgotten Duncan, but he was one of the all-time great photo-journalists. When I was a teen I had a copy of his book “Khe Sahn.” Amazing shots.

    • 90's Country says:

      Bruce Robison, a great songwriter from Austin wrote Travelin’ Soldier (and a number of other country hits). The record went to #1 on the Monday before the Natalie made her fateful remark, luckily. Nashville has never recovered from 9/11 and then the banishment of the Chicks. The biggest villain in this situation is country radio, the gatekeepers who decide what music people will hear. If you’ve never been around radio people, count your lucky stars.

      • Peterr says:

        I’m someone who works with words as my bread and butter – I’m a Lutheran pastor – and when I hear songs with lyrics like this, I really appreciate the craftsmanship.

        And you’re right. Other than the Toby Keith “we’ll put a boot in your ass” kind of lyrics, Nashville had no clue about what to do with 9-11. In a rather simplistic frame, you’ve got WWII with the good guys vs bad guys on one end of the spectrum and Vietnam’s shades of gray on the other, and the Nashville Powers That Be desperately wanted Bush’s Iraq adventure to be on the WWII end of the spectrum.

        In retrospect, the Chicks were a helluva lot closer to where most of America was on the Iraq war than the Nashville gatekeepers.

    • Jimmy Tea says:

      Saw a video of them performing that song while in England. I think it was the same performance where Dubya was dissed. The response from the crowd was literally amazing…

  8. Abbey says:

    They caught hell for that. I didn’t know who they were but instantly admired their courage and tenacity. I was a wee bit young in 1968, but I’ve long wondered, what happened to US?

    “Fortunate Son” is the anthem I remember most.

  9. Eduardo Flores says:

    Bush & Cheney were not just evil. They presided over an administration that was utterly corrupt and criminal.

  10. Chetnolian says:

    Thanks for that bmaz. It has the feel of being one of those songs that will live forever.

  11. Silly but True says:

    We have Bush/Cheney to thank for Jim Comey.

    But as bad as all they are, Comey’s star rose only because of the would-be-comically-evil-and-machiavellian-if-only-it-weren’t-true antics of the far worse Alberto Gonzalez seeking to usurp authority in 2004 while John Ashcroft was in the hospital for gallbladder surgery.

  12. madwand says:

    Chicks were/are great and they had to survive a lawsuit/counter suit with Sony (not the first, but George Michael comes to mind) and here they are today. Super!

  13. e.a.f. says:

    Thank you for the update. I’m still playing “Travelling Soldier”. In their documentary they talk about not being able to tour successfully in the U.S.A. so they came to Canada and toured here! Great group. Always like how they stood up for what they believed in.

  14. thomasa says:

    When I heard of the backlash against Natalie Maines introduction to “Travellin’ Soldier” I wrote them a letter referencing the blacklisting of The Weavers in the McCarthy era and reminding them that they were in good company. By then I had bought several more of their records. I used some of those lyrics in a presentation on the knock-on effects of the Viet Nam war but I could not get through it all. To this day I cannot listen to it dry eyed. They are stellar musicians and morally upstanding people. Glad to hear a new topical recording. Thanks Bmaz

  15. Eureka says:

    America and The Chicks, stories of resilience. March March. Great song and video.

    Speaking of the feels, the graphic artist Milton Glaser died yesterday, on his 91st birthday. Famous for many things, there’s a reason why this one makes the titles everywhere:

    Milton Glaser, designer of I ♥ NY logo, dies at 91
    https://twitter.com/i/events/1276827158380343297

    Images of more of his works, including the Dylan hair poster, are collected above.

    NYMag links to the MOMA entry for his 1976 crayon sketch, done on the back of an envelope, while riding in a yellow taxi cab.

    Milton Glaser, New York and ‘I❤NY’ Designer, Dies at 91
    https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/06/milton-glaser-new-york-and-iny-designer-dies-at-91.html

  16. Rugger9 says:

    OT but speaking of apologies owed, the NYT article from yesterday about the apparent bounties on US soldiers by Putin, briefed to DJT in March but the WH refused to do anything at all about it. DJT did invite Putin to the G7 in the USA, however.

    As a veteran that had to account for the Iran Contra missiles and F-14s courtesy of Reagan and Bush I while transiting Straits of Hormuz, this is pretty damned awful and will lose any military support DJT has once this gets to the troops. I wonder what Congressman Crenshaw will have to say about this. I know what he should say, but am more interested in what he will say.

    As for McConnell and the rest of the Senate enablers (we already know Collins will be very concerned while furrowing her brow) will say, so far it is nothing and Scarborough is calling them out for it. I’m looking forward to how the Lincoln Project will handle this one.

    As for use of the “T” word, we do have an active AUMF against the Afghan terrorists, so it might apply now… Maybe.

    • Savage Librarian says:

      3 reasons why the RNC might want to rethink having the convention in Jacksonville, FL

      1. The Navy has a big presence in NE Florida and they probably don’t look favorably on someone who couldn’t care less about the well being of its members. The Commander in Chief punished a captain who tried to protect his crew from Covid 19. And sailors probably don’t look favorably on how DT treats soldiers in Afghanistan, either.

      2. Florida is a Covid 19 hot spot. Why don’t the RNC and DT care about the well being of convention goers and residents in Jacksonville? And, remember, the Navy has a big presence. Why put sailors at more risk?

      3. Susie Wiles was a resident of NE Florida. She helped DT win the state in 2016. And she saved Natalia Veselnitskaya a seat at the Magnitsky Act hearing. Natalia was at the June 9, 2016 meeting in TT with Jr., Jared, Manafort, etc. Hmm. I wonder if they’ll have a meet up for old times sake…

      • Savage Librarian says:

        Adding another reason:

        4. Deutsche Bank in Jacksonville was where discrepancies in accounts that pertained to Jared Kushner were found. So, maybe that side trip visit that is being planned by some of the convention attendees is not such a good idea.

  17. BobCon says:

    People may remember at roughly the same time as the Chicks were blacklisted, the House GOP pushed to rename french fries and french toast in their cafeteria to “freedom fries” and “freedom toast” because they are such babies.

    The story took an interesting turn when the author of the proposal, Rep. Walter Jones, became a diehard opponent of the Iraq War after attending the funeral of a Marine in his home state and meeting the boy who would never know his father:

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/walter-jones-freedom-fries-congressman-who-became-iraq-war-critic-dies-at-76/2019/02/10/39aa38b6-232e-11e9-ad53-824486280311_story.html

    “’Lyndon Johnson’s probably rotting in hell right now because of the Vietnam War, and he probably needs to move over for Dick Cheney,’ Rep. Jones said in 2013 during remarks at a meeting of the libertarian group Young Americans for Liberty in Raleigh, N.C.”

    He later also bucked his party and voted for a minimum wage increase, for campaign finance reform, and against Trump’s 2017 tax cut. The House GOP retaliated for his independence and kicked him off the Financial Services Committee.

    With his retirement in 2018 and Justin Amash’s exile, there are basically no GOP Reps who are not in lockstep with Trump. They really screwed themselves over as a result. They need the different views, but they also need people with souls.

    • Geoguy says:

      “’Lyndon Johnson’s probably rotting in hell right now because of the Vietnam War, and he probably needs to move over for Dick Cheney,” Seems to be a common thread through Brown & Root, Bell Helicopter, and Halliburton. War was highly profitable for both of them (and Lady Bird.) I remember visiting the LBJ Presidential Library in Austin TX with a retired college history professor. He was fascinated with the revisionist whitewash of LBJ’s career and noted that he was one of the most corrupt presidents until Bush-Cheney. This was before Trump of course. Trump gave Syria to Turkey. When does he give Afghanistan to the Russians?

      • vvv says:

        Slightly OT but my now deceased ex-father in law was an official bodyguard for Lady Bird for a time (he was Corpus Christi police). He spoke very highly of her, but loathed LBJ as corrupt and a womanizer.

  18. Ian says:

    I heard Natalie’s dad Lloyd Maines play a show during the summer of 2001 and he said pretty much the same thing she did. Of course nobody at Henflings Tavern in Ben Lomond CA disagreed and he isn’t at all in the mainstream so it had no negative repercussions. As far as The Chicks go they have always had far too polished a sound to interest me but they sound like cool people and I hope this sells like hotcakes. And as far as Lloyd Maines goes, of course Lubuck on Everything by Terry Allen and Joe Ely Live at Antones are fantastic albums he features on, though he told me his favorite Ely album he played on is Musta Notta Gotta Lotta.

  19. chuck says:

    Ah, trash talk! Speaking of trash removal is there any sort of tracker out there recording if candidates affirm they’ll let investigations into Trump (and cohorts) continue unfettered? Because the tre45on just gets deeper the more testing it faces–probably why he’s so averse to it on all fronts.

    • Rayne says:

      The appropriate answer isn’t whether the presidential candidates will allow “investigations into Trump (and cohorts) continue,” but whether they will return to the norm of independence between the White House and Department of Justice to allow ALL investigations and prosecutions to work unimpeded by politicization.

    • Rugger9 says:

      No one has come out and said so, but when one considers the news that the Hunter Biden investigation was officially reopened in one of the Senate committees (I think it was Energy) it’s clear the GOP isn’t feeling any shame.

      Coming out to say they’ll investigate now does nothing politically, it would be better to impeach IMHO, except to gift-wrap GOP ads about being targeted victims, a role they and the MAGA trolls love. So, say nothing now and understand that this WH will add more to the list of things to look at in January 2021.

      Impeaching would at least tie up GOP hands to do more judges and stuff, as well as putting more dirty laundry out there for all to see and also forcing the Senators to acquit DJT or AG Barr on the side of sleaze. I can’t see Collins backing this , it might even get Lindsey to vote to convict. Nah…

  20. Nehoa says:

    George W. Bush needs to publicly apologize to them. There is a tiny bit of decency in that family. I hope that will shine.

    • Nehoa says:

      OK I see that it did eventually get posted. My point is that you need to get GOPers to admit to errors. It is part of an x step program. I have been a GOP whisperer. It is how you end the GOP.

  21. harpie says:

    I hope you don’t mind, bmaz [and all]…I wanted to slow the video down and read all the words, and thought people might be interested in what I’ve found. There’s a structure, of course, that’s linked to the words of the song, and I’d like to try to convey that here…I find it immensely powerful, like everything else about this NEW ANTHEM and CALL to ACTION. [I can’t finish this now, since the yard work is calling, but will add to it as I can, if people are interested.]

    MARCH MARCH
    Use your VOICE. Use your VOTE.
    https://twitter.com/thechicks/status/1276185766612201475
    12:09 PM · Jun 25, 2020

    [INTRO]

    [0:03] “If your voice held no power, they wouldn’t try to silence you.” – unknown

    [0:13 to 0:22] MARCH MARCH March, to my own drum
    March, march to my own drum
    Hey, hey, I’m an army of one
    Oh, I’m an army of one

    1. [FOLLOW “our sons and daughters”]

    [0:25 to 0:36] MARCH MARCH March, to my own drum
    March, march to my own drum
    Hey, hey, I’m an army of one
    Oh, I’m an army of one

    [Street mural]: SAY HER NAME

    [0:48] [Protestor/sign]: I STAND WITH EMMA [Gonzalez]

    [0:49] [Protest sign]: #COLUMBINE #VIRGINIA TECH #AURORA #SANDY HOOK #SAN BERNARDINO #CHARLESTON #SUTHERLAND SPRINGS #ORLANDO #LAS VEGAS #PARKLAND #WHO’S NEXT? #ENOUGH

    [0:51] [MALALA holding sign]: I AM STRONGER THAN FEAR

    [0:52] [BANNER]: MARCH FOR OUR LIVES

    [0:53] [GRETA THUNBERG holding sign]: SKOLSTREJK FOR KLIMATET [School Strike for the Climate]

    [0:54] [Protestors/signs]:
    OUR AMERICAN DREAM IS STAYING ALIVE
    STOP LOOKING AWAY AMERIKKKA

    [0:55] [Protestors/signs]:
    YOUTH FOR CLIMATE ACTION NOW
    SYSTEM CHANGE NOT CLIMATE CHANGE

    [0:56] [Protestor/sign]: FOSSIL FOOLS #FRIDAYS 4 FUTURE

    2. [IRAQ WAR PROTESTS]

    [0:57] [Protestor/sign]: NO TO U.S. WAR ON IRAQ

    [0:58] [Protestor/sign]: NO TO U.S. WAR ON IRAQ
    [Protestor/sign]: BOYCOTT WAR USA
    [Protestor/sign]: NO TO U.S. WAR ON IRAQ

    [0:59] [Protest sign]: BUSH and BLAIR WANTED FOR [??]
    [Protest sign]: PEACE PEACE
    [Protestor/sign]: You’re Going to HELL!
    [Protestor/sign]: Christians Against CHICKS

    3. [WE PROTEST and DEMAND RIGHTS] [1:00 to 1:43]
    [To be expanded]

    4. [BLACK LIVES MATTER] [1:44 to 2:31]
    [To be expanded]

    5. SAY THEIR NAMES [2:32 to 3:41]
    [To be expanded]

    • bmaz says:

      Oh no, not only don’t mind, that is great. The choruses are one thing, and powerful, but the actual real substantive verses even more so:

      “Brenda’s packin’ heat ’cause she don’t like Mondays
      Underpaid teacher policin’ the hallways
      Print yourself a weapon and take it to the gun range
      (Ah, cut the shit, you ain’t goin’ to the gun range)
      Standin’ with Emma and our sons and daughters
      Watchin’ our youth have to solve our problems
      I’ll follow them, so who’s comin’ with me?
      (Half of you love me, half already hate me)”

      and

      “Tell the ol’ boys in the white bread lobby
      What they can and can’t do with their bodies
      Temperatures are risin’, cities are sinkin’
      (Ah, cut the shit, you know your city is sinkin’)
      Lies are truth and truth is fiction
      Everybody’s talkin’, who’s gonna listen?
      What the hell happened in Helsinki?”

      I mean, just wow. What the hell happened in Helsinki, indeed.

      • harpie says:

        Thanks, bmaz! So, what do you think of the protest signs at the end of section 2 [Iraq War Protests]?

        [Protestor/sign]: You’re Going to HELL!
        [Protestor/sign]: Christians Against CHICKS

        Those are aimed directly at The Chicks and are shown at this line:
        “(Half of you love me, half already hate me)”.

        Yeah…and that Helsinki line just hangs out there with a big question mark.

        [About the yard work….I know, I know…that was fast, but it’s much too hot/humid here to do much more than an hour at a time…uggg…the worst!]

    • harpie says:

      3. [WE PROTEST and DEMAND RIGHTS]

      [1:00] [Protesters/sign]: BANNER STATE WOMEN’S NATIONAL BAPTIST CONVENTION

      [1:01] [Protesters/sign]: WE DEMAND AN AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES ENFRANCHISING THE WOMEN OF THIS COUNTRY

      [1:02] [Protesters/sign]: HEAD-QUARTERS FOR COLORED WOMEN VOTERS

      [1:05] [Protesters/sign]: RACE PREJUDICE IS THE OFFSPRING OF IGNORANCE AND THE MOTHER OF LYNCHING

      [1:13] [Protester/sign]: […] FOR EQUAL RIGHTS

      [1:15] [Protester/sign]: FREEDOM of SEXUAL EXPRESSION

      [1:16] [Protester/sign]: IT’S TIME NATIONAL GAY TASK FORCE

      [1:16] [Protester/sign]: STONEWALL MEANS FIGHT BACK! SMASH GAY OPPRESSION! GAY CAUCUS OF Y.A.W.F.

      [1:17] [sign]: HUG A HOMOSEXUAL FREE KISSES ALA/SSRT TASK FORCE on GAY LIBERATION

      [1:18] [Protesters/signs]:
      […] Out of the Bedrooms
      My Son’s Gay and THAT’s OK

      [1:19] [Sign]: GAY LIBERATION FRONT
      [Protester/sign]: COME TOGETHER SISTERS AND BROTHERS

      [1:20] [Protesters/signs]:
      BLACK LIVES MATTER
      BLACK LGBTQ+ LIVES MATTER

      [1:22] [Protester/sign]: GAY PRIDE

      [1:24] [Sign]: MEN WILL NEVER BE FREE UNTIL WOMEN ARE FREE
      [Headline]: WOMEN UNITE NATIONAL DEMONSTRATION

      [1:25] VOTE

      [1:35] [Protesters/signs]:
      WE SUPPORT THE BLACK [??] STRUGGLE
      OUT OF VIET NAM NOW
      “LAW AND ORDER” = RACISM

      [1:36] [Protesters/signs]:
      WE MARCH FOR JOBS FOR ALL & DECENT PAY NOW!
      WE MARCH FOR INTEGRATED SCHOOLS NOW!
      WE DEMAND AN END TO POLICE BRUTALITY NOW!
      WE MARCH FOR FIRST CLASS CITIZENSHIP NOW!
      WE DEMAND EQUAL RIGHTS NOW!

      [1:40] [Black boy with sign]: I MATTER

      [1:41] [Protesters with signs]:
      FIGHT LIKE A GIRL
      RED TAPE [??] WOMEN are RAPED of their RIGHTS [??]
      EQUAL PAY FOR EQUAL JOBS
      MARCH FOR ALL AMERICANS

      [1:42] [Protesters with signs]:
      ERA YES!
      MEN OF QUALITY ARE NOT THREATENED BY WOMEN FOR EQUALITY

      [1:43] RESIST
      VOTE
      I’M WITH HER [Statue of Justice]

    • harpie says:

      4. [BLACK LIVES MATTER]

      [1:44] ALL BLACK LIVES MATTER

      [1:46] BLACK TRANS LIVES MATTER

      [2:07] [Protester in mask]: #BLACK LIVES MATTER

      [2:10] [Protester with sign]: SILENCE IS VIOLENCE BLM

      [2:13] [Street mural]: BLACK LIVES MATTER

      [2:27] [Protester with sign]: THEY CAN’T KILL US ALL

      [2:30] #END WHITE SILENCE

    • harpie says:

      5. SAY THEIR NAMES

      [2:32] [Protestor with sign]: SAY THEIR NAMES
      AMAUD ARBERY * BOTHAM JEAN * MIKE BROWN * ATATIANA JEFFERSON * RENISHA MCBRIDE * SANDRA BLAND * PHILANDO CASTILLE * STEPHON CLARK * ALTON STERLING * JORDAN EDWARDS * COREY JONES * TAMIR RICE * TRAVON MARTIN * JONATHAN FERRO [sp??]

      [2:33 to 3:41] 123 NAMES

      • harpie says:

        [2:33] GEORGE FLOYD
        [2:34] BREONNA TAYLOR
        [2:36] MICHAEL LORENZO DEAN
        [2:37] TONY MCCADE
        [2:39] RAYSHARD BROOKS
        [2:41] AHMAUD ARBERY
        [2:42] TRYVON MARTIN
        [2:43] SANDRA BLAND
        [2:44] PHILANDO CASTILLE
        [2:45] TAMIR RICE

        [2:46] ALTON STERLING
        [2:47] ERIC GARNER
        [2:48] ERIC REASON
        [2:48] ALTERIA WOODS
        [2:49] AMADOU DIALLO
        [2:50] DAVID MCTEE
        [2:50] BOTHAM JEAN
        [2:51] CHRIS BEATY
        [2:52] ITALIA MARIE KELLY
        [2:53] DION JOHNSON

        [2:53] JAMEL FLOYD
        [2:54] WILLIAM GREEN
        [2:55] TROY HODGE
        [2:55] DARRIEN HUNT
        [2:56] KALIEF BROWDER
        [2:56] OSCAR GRANT III

        [2:56] [Protester/sign]: DUMP YOUR RACIST BOYFRIEND

        [2:56] TIMOTHY CAUGHMAN
        [2:57] TYRE KING
        [2:57] KOBE DIMOCK-HEISLER
        [2:58] WAYNE ARNOLD JONES

      • harpie says:

        [2:58] DANROY “DJ” HENRY JR.
        [2:59] BRADLEY BLACKSHIRE

        [2:59] [Child with sign]: BLACK LIVES MATTER

        [2:59] CHAVIS CARTER
        [2:59] NICHOLAS HEYWARD JR.
        [3:00] VICTOR WHITE III
        [3:00] RYAN MATTHEW SMITH
        [3:01] SEAN BELL
        [3:01] JAMES LEE ALEXANDER

        [3:02] [T-shirt]; MAKE YOUR MOVE

        [3:02] ANTWON ROSE II
        [3:02] REMARLEY GRAHAM

        [3:03] RONELL FOSTER
        [3:03] PAUL O’NEAL
        [3:03] DEMETRIUS DUBOSE
        [3:04] TERRILL THOMAS
        [3:04] MARY TRUXILLO
        [3:05] ANTRONIE SCOTT
        [3:06] QUINTONIO LEGRIER
        [3:06] RANDY NELSON
        [3:07] JAMES CARNEY III
        [3:07] NATHANIEL HARRIS PICKETT

        [3:07] LA’VANTE BIGGS
        [3:08] DOMINIC HUTCHINSON
        [3:08] KEITH HARRISON MCLEOD
        [3:09] PATERSON BROWN
        [3:09] FELIX KUMI
        [3:10] TROY ROBINSON
        [3:10] BILLY RAY DAVIS
        [3:11] JOSEPH MANN

        [3:11] [protester/sign]: DON’T KILL ME

        [3:11] VICTOR MANUEL LAROSA
        [3:11] WILLIAM CHAPMAN II

      • harpie says:

        [3:12] MATTHEW AJIBADE
        [3:13] ANDRE MURPHY SR.

        [3:13] [Protester with sign]: red-skin noun dated-OFFENSIVE Look it up!!!
        [Protester with sign]: VOTE THEM [OUT?]

        [3:14] LAQUAN MCDONALD

        [3:14] [Protester with sign]: BLACK LIVES MATTER
        [Protester with sign]: DESCRIM. SEX WORK

        [3:15] MEDGAR EVERS
        [3:15] ROBERTS JOHNSON JR.
        [3:15] MICHAEL WALLACE
        [3:16] FRANCINE GRAHAM
        [3:16] HASHIM WILSON
        [3:17] BRENT DURBIN-DANIEL
        [3:17] EDTWON STAMPS

        [3:18] SAMUEL GALBERTH
        [3:18] ISAIAH LEWIS
        [3:19] OSCAR CAIN
        [3:19] DAVIRI ROBERTSON
        [3:19] OSAZE OSAGIE
        [3:20] RODNEY FISHER
        [3:20] JAMES SCOTT REED
        [3:21] STERLING DURANT HUMBERT
        [3:21] DEMONTRY FLOYTRA BOYD
        [3:22] NEICO CROOKS

        [3:22] RASHUAN WASHINGTON
        [3:23] ALAN GOYANO
        [3:23] SHUKRI SAID
        [3:24] MATTHEW G. BROWN
        [3:24] SANCHEZ LOWE
        [3:24] ANTONIO AQUINO
        [3:25] JUAN CARLOS ROMERO
        [3:25] JERMAINE MASSEY
        [3:26] DECYNTHIA CLEMENTS
        [3:26] JOEL JACOBO

      • harpie says:

        [3:27] RAYMOND BISHOP
        [3:27] TIERRE GUTHRIE
        [3:28] ALBERT E. MORTON
        [3:28] TERRY AMONS
        [3:28] TRYVON MITCHELL
        [3:29] DENNIS PLOWDEN

        [3:29] [Protester with sign]:
        LATINOS FOR BLACK LIVES MATTER TOGETHER WE STAND

        [3:29] KIETA O’NEAL
        [3:30] MADGIEL SANCHEZ
        [3:30] ADAM TRAMELL
        [3:31] ZELALEM ESHETU EWNETU

        [3:31] ISAIAH MURRIETTA
        [3:32] RAYNARD BURTON
        [3:32] TIANO METON
        [3:32] TRAVIS FAISON
        [3:33] ALEJANDRO CORDERO-RIVERA
        [3:33] NAESCHYLUS VINZANT
        [3:34] KEVIN MATTHEWS
        [3:34] ROY NELSON
        [3:35] CORNELIUS BROWN
        [3:35] CHRISTOPHER KIMBLE

        [3:36] VICTOR LAROSA III
        [3:36] JERMAINE BENJAMIN
        [3:36] ROSS ANTHONY
        [3:37] MARCUS CLARK
        [3:37] REGINALD MOORE
        [3:38] BRYAN OVERSTREET
        [3:38] SAMUEL HARRELL
        [3:39] FRANK SHEPHARD III
        [3:39] DENZEL BROWN
        [3:40] TERRANCE MOXLEY

        [3:40] DEONTRE DORSEY
        [3:40] CALVON REID
        [3:41] JEREMY LETT

        • Jenny says:

          Impressive Harpie. I stopped counting at 25, just too fast. Thank you for listing all the names.

        • harpie says:

          You’re welcome, Jenny.
          The first 2 sets of 10 names were in 12 and then 7 seconds.

          The next 10 sets of 10 names were in about 4 seconds each, [+3 names].

          I still don’t know if I got them all, but it’s pretty close.

        • ducktree says:

          Yes, thank you for listing the names, harpie. They went by so fast when I watched yesterday that it made me dizzy – looking for the name “Ron Settles” – an African American rising football star at CSU Long Beach. In 1981 he was pulled over for “speeding” in the City of Signal Hill, CA (which I now call home). His death was initially reported as a suicide, but later evidence was presented that he most likely died as the result of a choke hold.

          It was ever thus . . .

        • harpie says:

          There must be so.many.names!
          I wonder how they decided which ones to share. There’s a list of organizations at the end…Maybe through them?

        • harpie says:

          Are these names shown on the video that I missed? [It’s very possible that I may have missed some…] If so, can you tell me approx. when they occur? Thanks!

      • vvv says:

        As a college creative-writing major, I recall doing analysis of (without the video part, but to the lyrics, and to a lesser extent the music) to “Stairway to Heaven”, and in high school to “American Pie”. In junior high we did “Sounds of Silence”.

        I love this stuff.

        My grad school paper was on song appropriation stuff (The Chiffon’s “He’s So Fine” vs. Geo Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord”, Willie Dixon vs. Led Zepplin, Robt. Johnson vs. Led Zep, Albert King vs. Led Zep, etc.)

        I applaud your geeky dedication and effort!

        • harpie says:

          Awww…geeee…THANKS!
          I’ve never been called “geeky” before! :-)

          …creative writing, huh? Very cool!

        • vvv says:

          Just to make all y’all laugh, creative writing/poly-sci double major with a minor in philosophy. I’ve long considered myself an altruistic ethical egoist but that part of my education was many years ago now, and besides, my brain is dead.

        • bmaz says:

          Lol vvv, you ought to check out the Estate of Randy California (Spirit) v. Led Zeppelin litigation over Taurus/Stairway to Heaven songs. Our own Roving Reporter Rosalind went to some of it.

        • vvv says:

          I do not recall seeing anything from Ms. RRR, but yes, I followed that, even wrote about it a bit elsewhere.

          In the end, and the analogy is not original with me, but for that dispute, it was almost the J. Potter Stewart thing, the jury and final appellate judges (that was the lately much-discussed “en banc*, no?) not “hearing” it.

          I know I tried (I play some) and I was not persuaded in favor of the Estate.

          I always preferred this tune (done here post-Spirit, but pretty well, live, and what sounds like a a great “P”-SVT bass sound):
          ht tps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jV7_z6ep3AE

        • bmaz says:

          Oh, there are a ton of great Spirit songs, including Mr. Skin. I had a chance to see them back in the day, and Mr. Skin in real life was one hell of an excellent drummer.

          And I don’t recall Rosalind writing posts on it, maybe a few comments, not sure. But I think she went to a day or two of the first trial.

        • vvv says:

          I s’pose a “best and/or favorite drummers” thread might be a little too OT …

          A shame, really.

          ;-D

        • rosalind says:

          vvv is correct. i had hoped to attend, but was out of town. we did do many comments about the trial.

    • Eureka says:

      OMG harpie, this thread was so suspenseful scrolling down.

      I read your first comment thinking, “(How) Is she going to do all of those names?!?”

      (yard work interstitial)

      (maybe if one writes to The Chicks they’ll release a list of the names)

      “Of course harpie will get all of those names, it is harpie!”

      Thank you so much!

      • bmaz says:

        Yeoman’s work by Harpie, simply fantastic. And they start out slow enough, but then start flying by and hard to catch all.

        • Eureka says:

          I know! It makes beautiful and tragic artistic sense to do it that way, then I feel bad missing their names (and maybe that is part of the point, too, not just that we have not been saying enough names, but that we can never say enough).

      • harpie says:

        Thank you, Eureka and bmaz…when I saw all of those photos/protest signs and NAMES through our history flowing through the video, I just had to focus a little closer.

        [And, I actually did do yard work for that period of time, I want you all to know! The main work on the MARCH MARCH video was done the night before. But it does take a while to format the comments before posting, and I wanted to do it as accurately as possible, and to have it make sense visually.]

        The LONG SCROLL of NAMES was difficult to get through, and not just because it went by so quickly…[I think it averages out to a NAME every half second…but someone should check my math on that…] It started out as a rush and became a sustained torrent. And, yes, I agree, that is part of the point…”We can never say enough.” [fast enough] [!]

        The MARCH of DEMANDS [see esp. 3. We Protest and Demand Rights] in the protest signs through the flow of the video is something that also affects me a lot.
        So many people.
        So many signs.
        So many years.

        • harpie says:

          “The arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice”-MLK

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeVITdHsY6I
          A selection portion of Dr. King’s “Where Do We Go From Here” speech, delivered August 16, 1967 to the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in Atlanta.

          The Call and Response in the audio [!]

    • harpie says:

      MARCH of Voices/Words/Music

      1] [1:38] Everybody’s talkin’, who’s gonna listen?
      [1:40] [Black boy with sign]: I MATTER

      bmaz has a screen grab of this moment, here:
      https://twitter.com/bmaz/status/1277245449506701312
      10:20 AM · Jun 28, 2020

      2] There was a VIOLIN VIGIL for ELIJAH McCLAIN in Aurora, Co yesterday. Marc Sallinger of #9 News has a great tweet thread about it here [news cast linked at end] https://twitter.com/MarcSallinger/status/1277083297739231232
      11:35 PM · Jun 27, 2020

      3] bmaz highlighted this tweet from the thread:
      Will link in next comment]
      11:55 PM · Jun 27, 2020

      As police in riot gear were spraying protesters with pepper spray and using batons to push them back at the #ElijahMcClain protest in Aurora today, this man began playing the violin. One of the most surreal scenes I’ve ever seen. Music is powerful. #9News [VIDEO]

      4] Response to bmaz:
      [will link in next comment]
      9:56 PM · Jun 28, 2020

      Replying to @bmaz and @nadabakos
      Hes playing Bruce Hornsby’s “That’s just the way it is” Look up the lyrics, its perfect!

  22. Jim White says:

    I’m very late to this, but thanks so much for putting it together, bmaz. Just incredibly powerful. I don’t know if I’ve seen anything that does such an incredible job of capturing the current moment.

    • bmaz says:

      That is exactly what I thought. The first time I watched it, I just like “holy shit, that is awesome”. Perfect for today’s moment.

  23. vvv says:

    A little more failed president-centric, but Lucinda Williams has a good new one:

    ht tps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=272voTjeHy4

    Other songs on her latest, *Good Souls Better Angels* (ex., “Bad News”) seem pretty topical, also.

  24. Robert Jordan says:

    This is a link to my anti-Trump song America Blues. I wanted to call it US Blues or The Downward Spiral but those names were taken. I was trying to make something like a 60’s protest song along the lines of Phil Ochs, Tom Paxton, Pete Seeger and the like. It is from my album Time Will Tell. The chorus is:
    I thought George Bush was crazy but Donald Trump is worse
    They’ve killed our lovely country and put it in a hearse
    George Washington and Lincoln are turning in the grave
    Good men can do nothing, no country left to save
    https://soundcloud.com/vibratingstrings/track-10

    • Sonso says:

      For those interested in Names, David Byrne has been ending his shows (American Utopia) for the past 2 years with Janelle Monaie’s “What I’m Talmbout”. The song consists of an ever-expanding list of African-American US citizens murdered by American police.

Comments are closed.