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Pete Seeger: The Voice Of America
6:00 AM GMT 23/04/2009
When Pete Seeger, the man Bruce Springsteen calls "the father of American folk music", walks on stage at Madison Square Garden on May 3 for his 90th birthday concert, 20,000 people will rise to their feet and roar acclaim - accompanied in spirit by multitudes around the world.
This will embarrass him no end. Although a lifelong performer, he is almost allergic to applause: a man whose collectivist political morality tells him he really can't be worth it, that life isn't about him or you or me, it's about us, the whole seething mass of us.
That's why, as ever, the first words his cracked old husk of a voice utters are almost certain to be something like, "Well, let's sing a song together. I'll teach you the words as we go along... " That's what he did in January at President Obama's pre-inaugural concert. A couple of plinks on the banjo, then a holler of "This land is your land..." and 400,000 voices sent Woody Guthrie's anthem rolling down Washington Mall.
Of course, he couldn't always count on such a welcome in his own country. In the '40s and '50s, as an American Communist, he stood against McCarthyite persecutors who hounded his traditional folk groups off the radio and almost jailed him for "un-American activities" (a one-year sentence was quashed on appeal).
No matter what they threw at him, Seeger carried on singing, campaigning and marching for decades' worth of left-liberal causes - Civil Rights, Vietnam, anti-nukes, the environment. Consequently, as biographer David Dunaway wrote, he "became the most picketed, blacklisted entertainer in American history... If Seeger had been made of soft wood instead of oak, he would have cracked and split."
But for all Seeger's muso-activist struggles, he told this writer in 2005 that "the most valuable thing I ever did was carry on the music of Woody Guthrie". The raggedy little Oklahoman genius of folk and the austere Harvard-educated political purist met at the start of World War II. Woody taught Pete how to make a buck as a barroom busker, how to sneak a ride on a freight train - and how to laugh at himself, admit errors (like temporarily mistaking Stalin for a good guy) and move on.
When Guthrie fell ill in the mid-'50s, Seeger lovingly fostered his music so that it endured to inspire Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Springsteen, Billy Bragg, Steve Earle and more surprising names on the birthday concert bill such as Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder and Rage Against The Machine's Tom Morello.
In a year when mass audiences have come back to Seeger, it's worth considering one recent image of him standing alone except for his principles. Around the time Bush and Blair launched the invasion of Iraq, a friend of Seeger's drove up the Hudson Valley to visit him. A heavy snow fell. As he got near the turn-off he saw a tall, solitary figure at the roadside. Seeger. He held a placard towards the passing traffic. It carried one word: "Peace".
By Phil Sutcliffe
Posted by Ross_Bennett at 6:00 AM GMT 23/04/2009
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I think it's great that Seeger's legacy is nurtured and the man revered well into his twilight years. I have nothing but praise for the man, and for the respect afforded him in Mojo.
What I find disappointing is Mojo's considerably less fulsome praise of others whose contributions are no less worthy that Pete's.
Last month, another Pete - one Peter Garrett - reformed Midnight Oil in order to headline a benefit concert for the survivors and families of a bushfire tragedy in Victoria that claimed over 200 lives and destroyed thousands of homes.
The Oils had reformed once previously (in 2005) for a Tsunami benefit concert but have otherwise lain dormant since 2002.
Three points stand out:
One: Peter Garrett is now the Federal Minister for the Environment. Discounting the noble efforts of Sonny Bono, Garrett is surely the only rock lead singer to walk the walk after having talked considerable talk when on (and off) the stage.
Second: As they were throughout their entire career, the Oils - despite minimal rehearsal - were incediary. I sincerely doubt anyone who has ever seen Midnight Oil live has come away disappointed.
Third: Not a jot of this information appeared in Mojo. For Shame. Surely the reformation of a such a significant '80's band would have merited a mention. Is this Antipophobia? Or lazy journalism? Either way, it's baffling, as the Oils seem to embody everything that Mojo seems to ebody, saving perhaps a love of indie-hype. (The Beatles fetish is there, if you listen closely enough; they're just a little less girly about their crush.)
To any Mojo readers wondering why this is posted here, it is simply because I have no idea where else to post it. Check out the Sound Relief videos on youtube (that are getting yanked soon after posting to ensure maximum charity dvd sales) and listen to Scream in Blue (Live) or 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 from 1982. Incredible stuff.
Come on Mojo. Time for a feature.
Posted by Mike at 10:06 AM GMT 23/04/2009 Report Abuse
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Anyone with a brain and an ability to appreciate music, you pair of horse-f*cking tossers.
Posted by Mike. at 2:45 AM GMT 24/04/2009 Report Abuse
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As much as I agree with the sentiment expressed by "Mike", I - author of pro-Oils post - didn't write it. This is Mojo, not Rolling Stone, and I've got better things to do(and more class) to abuse people or their opinions simply because I don't share them.
Such agression in such tiny postings! You lads would like the Oils, I reckon. They were angry young men, and became angry old men. Women like them too, if that helps at all.
Who gives a f*ck? Hmm - lets, see. The millions who bought their albums, the many millions who went repeatedly to their sold out concerts, and most recently, the 80,000 who went to see them at a benefit gig to name but a few.
If you like bands, that's cool. But if you need to run down other bands - or the opinions of those who like other bands - to feel better about yourself or your tastes - then perhaps you need to calm down a bit.
Good luck, kids.
PS - read the house rules about posting before you say something childish.
Posted by Mike at 3:03 AM GMT 24/04/2009 Report Abuse
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RE: Mike
Yeah but those "millions" you mention are all Aussies so their opinions ain't worth a soapy wank.
Posted by Sweary Stan at 3:14 AM GMT 24/04/2009 Report Abuse
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Hi webmaster! pmu
Posted by Kazellwm at 3:42 AM GMT 24/04/2009 Report Abuse
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RE:Mike
you puffed up,patronising,pontificating pratt.
Posted by doobydoobyquackquack at 4:55 PM GMT 24/04/2009 Report Abuse
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RE: Sweaty Stan
give it a rest potty mouth
Posted by foureyes at 5:43 PM GMT 24/04/2009 Report Abuse
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RE: foureyes
Will do shit for brains.
PS
Yo Momma sweaty like a bitch.
Don't take it personally little dick, this is what I do.
Posted by Sweary Stan at 1:38 AM GMT 25/04/2009 Report Abuse
Reply to this post
RE: Sweary Stan
What a rich life you lead. You mother must be so proud. You're one of the few people I've encountered who could improve his (her?) life - and the lives of others - by turning to arson as a means to get attention. It'd be classier - and wittier - than your current approach.
Best of luck.
Posted by Pete at 3:42 AM GMT 25/04/2009 Report Abuse
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RE: doobydoobyquackquack
Please, dooby - your "name" is more insightful than your critique.
Why don't you post your own ideas instead of slagging other peoples? Grow some balls, sport.
Posted by pissypissysoftcock at 3:45 AM GMT 25/04/2009 Report Abuse
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RE: Sweary Stan
Do you actually read Mojo? Or do you just chew on it for roughage?
I can't imagine that with comments like you can read very much of anything.
But keep chewing, Sweary. Constipation can make one rather tetchy.
PS - the Oils are great, and Pete Seeger would find you inane, at the very least.
Posted by HighFibre at 4:35 AM GMT 25/04/2009 Report Abuse
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RE: Sweary Stan
Sweary, do you actually read Mojo? Or do you just chew on it for roughage?
If you'd read it, you'd find that it's of a slightly more intelligent level than your "opinions".
But sadly, I'm not sure you can read that much of anything, based on how you express yourself.
Still, keep chewing; constipation can make one grumpy, can't it?
You hang in there.
PS - the Oils are great, and Pete Seeger would find you inane at the very least.
Posted by HighFibre at 4:38 AM GMT 25/04/2009 Report Abuse
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RE: Sweary Stan
ok,ok wind yer neck in son.I've shit bigger than you now on yer way boy,I think I can hear yer mummy calling.Must be bath time.
Posted by foureyes at 12:45 PM GMT 25/04/2009 Report Abuse
Reply to this post
RE: pissypissysoftcock
ouch,that told me!
you cock knocker
sport
Posted by doobydoobyquackquack at 1:21 PM GMT 25/04/2009 Report Abuse
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RE: Sweary Stan
he he,off you go again
it's too easy.
Posted by foureyes at 9:33 AM GMT 26/04/2009 Report Abuse
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1. I love the Oils and their efforts should be touted.
2. Back to the ORIGINAL subject...Pete Seeger. I saw him this past Saturday at the New Orleans Jazz Fest on his actual 90th birthday. To be 90 and still performing on stage was amazing...not to mention the great body of work he's put together. At the Fest, he was accompanied by a band led by his grandson.....
...now, continue with your argument.....
Posted by New Orleans Mike at 8:03 PM GMT 28/04/2009 Report Abuse
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RE: New Orleans Mike
Get bent.
Posted by Sweary Stan at 10:58 AM GMT 29/04/2009 Report Abuse
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Posted by Trackback - Free Internation Call >> How to make free international call at 9:57 PM GMT 19/11/2009 Report Abuse
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