Click image to play
So I have to get a little, irritable thing off my chest. There we were, bands and musicians, sharing an amphitheatre with at least 20,000 people per day for 2 days, and not until Manu Chao hit the stage did I hear anyone speak out about the current incumbents at the White House and their/our(?) ‘War on Terror.’ Here’s a clip of Manu’s peformance and what he had to say about things. Later the Beastie’s Ad Rock spoke about his views on the same subject but otherwise I heard nothing from anyone else. Have a look and a listen then we’ll resume normal programming. Click the image to play and stay tuned for more clips…
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wow, nice sound quality (not sarcasm)…sounded like you plugged right into the sound board.
May 29th, 2007 at 1:52 pmactually some of the sound on other clips is a bit ropey but Manu’s set sounded great. I have more Manu to post…
May 29th, 2007 at 1:57 pmdamn good point—similarly to how in gradeschool all kids pledge allegiance to a nationistic symbol, maybe every concert should begin with a pledge of disobediance to the war. I think in our politically marginalized society we’ve lost the ability to discuss things rationally and most artists are just afraid to stir up the nest or appear insincere. plus not everyone has your critical thinking skills and just doesn’t know what to say, DA:)
May 30th, 2007 at 12:17 pmI think appearing sincere is the least of their problems…artists these days are more concerned about getting banned from the airwaves or MTV for speaking out. Look what happened to the Dixie Chicks initially. They bounced right back so there’s a great example of being firm and standing your ground whilst holding on to your convictions – the public actually wanted to hear what Natalie said and they received a lot of support for her speaking out – indie bands should take note, we want to hear dissent it’s that simple. I heard that Manu said the same things at the PDX show on Sunday night. So even more props to him, we need more like him.
May 30th, 2007 at 1:36 pmI was amazed by the sound quality too… jumped right out my speakers and I wondered if it was dubbed later.
May 31st, 2007 at 12:50 pmGood sound bite and I agree with the sentiments wholeheartedly but you know, politics ain’t everyone’s thang and to be honest I’ve seen some US bands here in London and they say “Bad USA” and I wonder sometimes if they really mean it or are pandering to the crowds wishes. Better to say it with conviction and weight that hollow words of bandwagoneering
not dubbed later just got lucky with the camcorder. you’ll notice on the other vid clips that there’s slight distortion as I got closer to the stage…oh, and I think politics should be everyone’s thang..it’s what makes our daily lives passable…
May 31st, 2007 at 9:26 pm