Have you heard of Playing For Change?  Their goal is bring peace to the world through music.  Below is one example of the powerful message they are sending out by uniting artist all over the world to create a cohesive whole from many distinct parts.

As you watch one of the videos, you can see and hear each individual’s contribution to the song.  It is very interesting to listen to how the musicians play off of each other even though they are entire continents away.

We all need to unite to solve many of the problems facing us today.  I hope you enjoy this video as much as I did and find encouragement in the message.

One Love, One Heart
Let’s get together and feel all right
Hear the children crying (One Love)
Hear the children crying (One Heart)
Sayin’ give thanks and praise to the Lord and I will feel all right
Sayin’ let’s get together and feel all right

We’ve had a lot of rain in the Northeast this spring, but now it looks like we are getting some good weather this week.  All this wetness will quickly be followed by the blooming of trees and flowers which brought this Talking Heads song to mind.

The lyrics are very open to interpretation.  I like to think David Byrne is happy to see our modern society disappear and the earth returned to nature.  Although if you listen closely to the song, you could make the argument that he misses all of the “advances” and is disappointed with a simpler scenic world.  Listen to the last line “Don’t leave me stranded here, I can’t get used to this lifestyle”.

Either way it is a fun song.  I choose to focus on the positive message and would welcome some undevelopment of our urban lifestyle. What do you think of when you hear this song?

Here we stand
Like an Adam and an Eve
Waterfalls
The Garden of Eden
Two fools in love
So beautiful and strong
The birds in the trees
Are smiling upon them
From the age of the dinosaurs
Cars have run on gasoline
Where, where have they gone?
Now, it’s nothing but flowers

There was a factory
Now there are mountains and rivers
you got it, you got it

We caught a rattlesnake
Now we got something for dinner
we got it, we got it

There was a shopping mall
Now it’s all covered with flowers
you’ve got it, you’ve got it

If this is paradise
I wish I had a lawnmower
you’ve got it, you’ve got it

Years ago
I was an angry young man
I’d pretend
That I was a billboard
Standing tall
By the side of the road
I fell in love
With a beautiful highway
This used to be real estate
Now it’s only fields and trees
Where, where is the town
Now, it’s nothing but flowers
The highways and cars
Were sacrificed for agriculture
I thought that we’d start over
But I guess I was wrong

Once there were parking lots
Now it’s a peaceful oasis
you got it, you got it

This was a Pizza Hut
Now it’s all covered with daisies
you got it, you got it

I miss the honky tonks,
Dairy Queens, and 7-Elevens
you got it, you got it

And as things fell apart
Nobody paid much attention
you got it, you got it

I dream of cherry pies,
Candy bars, and chocolate chip cookies
you got it, you got it

We used to microwave
Now we just eat nuts and berries
you got it, you got it

This was a discount store,
Now it’s turned into a cornfield
you got it, you got it

Don’t leave me stranded here
I can’t get used to this lifestyle

One of the best bands from the 80’s is Dramarama.  I don’t think they ever made it big nationally, but they had a huge radio hit with “Anything, Anything” here on the East Coast.   This song was pure energy and is still one of my favorite songs of all time.

This week I would like to feature another song by Dramarama called “What Are We Gonna Do?”.  Please excuse the mistake in the opening line, we know Earth Day is April 22nd, but I guess they had the date wrong when they recorded it.  Seems kind of funny now to make such an obvious mistake when we have instant access to the internet.  Back then, song writers just wrote lyrics and I guess nobody took the time to actually check the date.

Anyway, I found this video on YouTube that uses the song with some wonderful images of our beautiful planet.  There are also 50 inspirational messages to help encourage all of us to live better and take action.  I hope you find motivation in one or more or the messages while enjoying the music.

It’s April 21st and everybody knows today is Earth Day
Merry Christmas, Happy Birthday to whoever’s being born
And now I’m trying hard to think of something
meaningful and worthy, kind of earthy
to make everybody ask themselves just

What are we doing here?
and what are we doing to her?

I don’t know
What are we gonna do?
What are we gonna do?
What are we gonna do?

I missed posting this week’s song over the weekend, so I am putting one up tonight.  My blogging during the whole month of March was seriously lacking.  I have been swamped with work and struggling to find the time to write here.  It is not for lack of inspiration, just lack of energy right now, which seems kind of ironic.  Anyway, I will try to do a better job this month and catch up on the backlog of posts that I have accumulated.

My good friend Scott runs a live music venue in Asbury Park called The Saint.  So last night he booked a band from Ireland, Guggenheim Grotto.  I have heard a few of their songs on the radio, watched a couple of videos on YouTube and like their sound.  Well they greatly exceeded my expectations with a brilliant live performance.

You see, I typically work on this blog at night, once my kids go to sleep.  It can take me a few hours to catch up on my news feeds and find a story that I want to write about.  Next thing I know it is after one in the morning and I need to sleep or I will never get up in the morning.  So the line in the chorus of this song, “I just can’t seem to get out of bed anymore”, seems very appropriate.

Well, I hope you enjoy this video by my favorite new band.  I picked up their cd at the show last night and it has been on heavy rotation all day.  Thanks again Scott for bringing great original music to the Jersey shore.

she used to say about love,
that it should come from above
and it should come from below
she used to say my love
wear the lips of a saint
and the hips of a whore
and when we’d walk along the street she’d say
if it rains now, I hope to God it pours
and with her beautiful ideas,
she’d cut me in half, clean this broad sword.

and now I~
I just cant seem to get out of bed anymore..
yeah and now my~
my heart hangs worn and weak like an old wire door
and now I~
I just cant seem to get out of bed anymore~

This is a long clip (12 minutes) from Live Aid and it is a little spotty during a few points, but a very powerful performance.  To continue the celebration of Earth Hour I wanted to feature a song that shows the spirit of people coming together.  If you watch the clip, let me know what you think.

To let it go! And so to fade away
To let it go! And so to fade away
I’m wide awake
I’m wide awake
Wide awake
I’m not sleeping, oh no, no, no

This week’s song is a strong recommendation from my 10 ½ year old daughter Jane.  It was not my first choice, but she can be very persuasive.  If you are not familiar with Miley Cyrus, then you do not have a young girl in your house that watches Hannah Montana almost every day.

After listening to this song, I have to agree with her.  It has a great message about the youth of today telling us all to wake up to the everyday challenges that we face.  Unfortunately, many of us are currently looking the other way.

So, maybe this song will inspire you to take action.  If not, you might be harassed like me, by a cute girl singing this song during your next car ride.

Ohh
Can you take care of her
Ohh
Maybe you can spare her
Several moments
Of your consideration
Leading up
To the final destination
Ohh
The Earth is calling out
I wanna learn
What it’s all about

But everything I read
Is global warming
Going green
I don’t know
What all this means
But it seems
To be saying

Wake up America
We’re all
In this together
It’s our home
So let’s take care of it
You know that you want to
You know that you got
To wake up America

In celebration of St. Patrick’s Day this week I would like to feature an Irish group.  There are so many great ones including Van Morrison, U2, The Waterboys and The Pogues.  The band I chose for this week is Snow Patrol doing their song “Chasing Cars”:

We’ll do it all
Everything
On our own

We don’t need
Anything
Or anyone

If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?

I believe the song is about a girl, but when I listen to the lyrics I can also hear a cry for Energy Independence.  Go ahead, look at the lyrics above while listening to the song and let me know what you think.

You can find the song Gasoline on Sheryl Crow’s latest cd Detours.  I have always liked her music and I got to see her play live back in the mid 90’s, opening for John Hiatt at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park.  She has certainly come a long way since then.

I picked this song to feature this week since it accurately represents many of the problems we face with our current oil imports.  She picks a date in the future to show how foolish we may look when we review the incredible dependence we have today on gasoline.  In her clever lyrics, she touches on climate change, peak oil and the mistakes made by our government.

Give this song a listen and let me know what you think.  There are also several interesting live versions of this song on YouTube where she nicely segues into “Gimme Shelter”.

Way back in the year of 2017
The sun was growing hotter
And oil was way beyond its peak
When crazy Hector Johnson broke into a refinery
And the black gold started flowing
Just like Boston tea

It was the summer of the riots
And London sat in sweltering heat
And the gangs of Mini Coopers
Took the battle to the streets
But when the creed was handed down
For no more trucks and no more cars
They threw cans of petrol through the windows at Scotland Yard

Gasoline
Will be free, will be free
Gasoline
Will be free, will be free

This weekend over 10,000 of our nation’s youth gathered for Power Shift 2009.  The goal of the conference was to allow the attendees to make connections, harness resources and take action to repower and reclaim their futures.

This historic gathering is one of the largest and most well-organized youth movements in years.  On Monday, they are marching on Capital Hill to protest dirty energy and call for a dramatic transition to alternative energy sources.  There is some excellent coverage from this weekend’s activities over at It’s Getting Hot In Here.

While reading about this conference, I found this great hip hop song that I am using for my song of the week.  I have never heard of any of the artists before, but I love the message.  The song is “Green Anthem” by Tem Blessed, First Be & Outspoken:

Everybody shine
Be solar powered
Speak your mind
That’s wind power
Move your H2O
Wavepower
Organize people power
We got the soul power

Last week I wrote a post entitled “Putting the Brakes on Offshore Drilling”.  In this post, there is a video from GreenPeace comparing our oil usage to drug addiction.  This is a very powerful metaphor that illustrates our urgent need for energy independence.

This week’s song is “Royal Oil” from the Mighty Mighty Bosstones.  I’ve read in a few places that the song is about drug use and how it can ruin your future.  As you listen to the song, I think you will agree it could easily be about our current oil addiction.

Royal Oil, come on bubble and boil.
Stabs like a dagger, makes you stagger on the hot tin foil.
Mind your mind or it will surely spoil, then you sleep down in the soil.
Nothing comes from nothing, come on Royal Oil.

When you smoke or poke the poison you lose the chance to be tomorrow.
Look out on the horizon and see the sadness, the pain and sorrow.
I can’t say enough about the stuff or what it has in store.
When you smoke or poke the poison you can’t be anymore.

Royal Oil, come on bubble and boil.
Stabs like a dagger, make you stagger on the hot tin foil.
Mind your mind or it will surely spoil, then you sleep down in the soil.
Nothing comes from nothing, come on Royal Oil.

Royal Oil has cut many down to size.
Spikes gonna strike the weak and strong alike.
And then forever, and ever close those eyes.
Make up your mind to keep your mind up and to your life be loyal.
Nothing comes from nothing, come on Royal Oil.

Royal Oil, big trouble brewing.
Long lonely road, long road to ruin.
Wrong path to take, great big mistake.
And then you sleep down in the soil.
Nothing comes from nothing, come on Royal Oil