Campus spotlight: Weighing in on music, the war and so much more

Sick of the crap played on commercial radio, we invited twenty friends over for a gathering to discuss the state of radio, music and any other issues that popped up.

Here is a sample of the comments.

"I'm so sick of the bling-bling bullshit. Reality check, most of the listeners will never be rich. Public Enemy was the soundtrack to a revolution, this shit is the soundtrack to Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous. Give the listeners five years for reality to set in and see how thrilled they are of people bragging about living the ghetto fabulous high life."

"My issue is with Britney Spears. No one's buying that album of 'hits.' But I can't switch past a Clear Channel station without hearing her crappy version of 'My Prerogative.' It's as though they're committed to playing her and all the other freeze dried shit. Her sales have fallen, but her airplay has increased. Explain that to me."

"I'm heavily into neo soul and really think that, if there's hope for the state of music today, it will come from this genre. Erykah Badu, Maxwell and Patricia Maertens are examples of real music, not souless trash churned out by corporations. Give me Tweet over [Justin] Timberlake any day."


"Wilco. That's all I have to say. Listen to Wilco."

"On the one hand, I think of all the great music our parents had in the sixties and early seventies and wonder why we don't have anything similar. On the other hand, I'm well aware that there is great music out there, it just can't force it's way on radio. And that's what it has to do, force it's way on because Clear Channel and the others are not interested in music. And Clear Channels taken over so many concert halls that you can pretty much forget about hearing the acts that matter live. Wall Street's running the music labels. So it's not a good time for music to be popularized. But with all that said, I know that my friends and I are always talking about music and noting artists we care about. Ani DiFranco will never get saturation airplay on Clear Channel, but she is a music star, legend or whatever. And that's an example of how, even today, with the system so rigged, an artist can get around it."

"I bought Bright Eyes because The Common Ills blogged on it and an article in Spin. I'm giving no money to those who support George W. Bush. The breaking point for me was when I saw Michael Moore's film [Fahrenheit 9/11] and saw that clip where Britney Spears was saying that Bush knows best and we should just trust him. I never bought a CD from her but I was just so outraged. This woman who suddenly sprung forth with breasts after adolesence is in store for a frightening moment. Right now she can have 'faith' in 'my president' because her life has been a dream where her medicore talents have exceeded anything she could ever have dreamed of. But like Tiffany and Debbie Gibson before her, she's going to find the real world can be a hard place when a new pretty shows up on the scene. And that bitch can bite my ass because I'll never buy anything she puts out. I make it a point to trash her at least once a day. And I make it point to check out an artist before buying their stuff now. I bought Bright Eyes and I love both discs. I'm looking to people who feel as I do that the leadership has betrayed this country."

"I can go along with Ani [DiFranco] and Bright Eyes because I love both but I also would note that I'm listening to a lot of older music now. I put on the Beatles a lot more than I used to. And I bought a best of by Melanie the other day. I'll listen to good music by socially aware people from any era. But I do agree that it's very hard to hear new voices and you really have to work to find out about them."

"Green Day slammed dunked the Bully Boy. And they ended up with a number one album and it's still in the top ten. Because a bunch of would-be-book-burners stomped on some Dixie Chicks CDs, there's this idea that the whole country loves the Bully Boy. It's bullshit. There are a huge number of us around. Look at Air America which keeps adding stations every week. Green Day's success tells the truth that you can speak out and rock out and still have strong sales."

"Green Day reminds me of the review that you guys [Third Estate Sunday Review] ran by Kat.
I love Kat and she rocks. When I read that review, it was like someone was telling it like it was.
And that's what I look for. Last year, my mother and I went to see Joan Baez in concert. And it was standing room only. We are not a tiny sliver of the population. We matter. And when I buy something, I do ask myself where that person stands. I bought Carly Simon's recent greatest hits because I remember when she was at Howard Dean's side during the primaries. Joan Baez, Carly Simon, Green Day, Wilco and others provide me with enough great music that I don't need to turn on the radio to hear whatever sex-ed up muzak is getting played by whomever is sniffing at Bush's crotch this week."

"I'm glad you mentioned Joan Baez because I was thinking about John Fogerty who has a new album that I love and is really make some strong music and strong statements. I'm more apt to buy the stuff from older artists just because they come with a public track record. If I buy Ricke Lee Jones, for instance, I don't have to worry that tomorrow I'll pick up the paper and read her praising the Bully Boy."

"I like feel good music but I've noticed that the albums I buy now are the ones by people who did speak out against Bush. I bought Linda Ronstadt's greatest hits after she was slammed for speaking out. What I'm looking for when I buy an album is something I can sing my heart out with when no one's around to point out I'm off-key. But thinking about it as everyone is speaking, I'm realizing that I've been making purchase choices based on whether the artist stands with me. Dave Matthews Band isn't doing a lot of message songs, but I've bought three or four CDs of theirs since they did the concerts for [John] Kerry. I'm really turned off by those who support the Bully Boy. That includes the acts who performed at the inauguration."

"Destiny's Child sucks. They always sucked. They still stuck. TLC rip-off act. 'Soldier' is so offensive. That they want to engage in propaganda is disgusting. My kid sister was listening to that. I stopped her and pointed out that she's against the war. She said, 'So, they're not talking about the war.' We sat down and talked about it. She ended up selling that crappy CD. It is really important that we speak the truth. We need to get the word out."

"I'm really glad Pearl Jam has left Sony. I think that they had no support from the label and that now they can put their music out there without interference. When I see the right attack Pearl Jam or anyone like them, I don't think, 'Oh, I won't listen anymore.' I think, 'Fuck you!' and just pump up the volume."

"I love Eddie Veddar's voice. He sang back up on Cat Power's CD and that's an example of the type of CDs I buy. I'm not interested in listening to what all the little kids in junior high are giggling over. Cat Power has some powerful statements on that album. There's a song there where she sings how we all do what we can and how we need to shake this land. That speaks to me. Tarts in push up balls and hairless boys grabbing their tiny packages do nothing for me."

"My girlfriend gave me the Rock Against Bush volume II CD and I was surprised by how many great songs were on it. I didn't know Flogging Molly or Sleater-Kinney before that CD and I've gone ahead and bought stuff by them. But it's funny because you see all these geezers on TV or hear them on the radio [the name Cokie Roberts is shouted out by two people] yeah, who say that the youth vote didn't matter and it did. More of us voted in 2004 than in 2000. And if the gasbag geezers had left their little circle to go on to an actual college campus, they would've seen how energized we were and a large part of that was due to the musicians speaking out. It did make a difference. We're having conversations on campus that never get on NPR. It's a peer to peer type of thing because the media has blocked us out, locked us out and it's so funny because my dad came up last weekend and he hung out with me and some of my friends. He had this idea that we weren't active and we were all about keggers and shit. And he was just blown away because we know what's going on with Iraq. We can talk about that and any other issue. He's a NPR listener and he thinks he's informed but he hadn't heard what was happening on campuses.
We are taking back our country. And I don't want to act like it's just us. My brother's in high school and he wears his anti-Bush t-shirt and speaks out. And you've got older generations too.
But all of us are the start of this massive movement rejecting the crimes and policies of the administration and the press doesn't even seem to know we exist. I think that's because they fear that if they note this shift that's going on, it will gather more momentum. But we're gathering it without them. In a year, the press will be talking about how suddenly we are all so active. But the activism is spreading right now while they try to act like the entire country except for a few rare voices is behind Bush and his war."

"Cat Power has this great song called 'Rockets' and I listen to her and Billy Brag and Paula Cole and people who have something to say about the world we are living in. I don't think I've heard a top forty song in the last two years that had anything to say about my life. It's soul less and it's irresponsible because music should comment on the times. It's as though these people like Britney Spears are in denial. And historically, it's the ones who speak out that are remembered. The ones who just churned out plastic are lost to history. I mean, the ones we remember from the sixties are the people who had something to say. But not everyone was speaking out in the sixties and those people charted to. You don't hear about them today. My roommate has a Jefferson Airplane poster up on the walls. And Jefferson Airplane never had a number one single but they're remembered. It's because they captured a mood in the country. I'm really thrilled about Green Day's success because they earned it and I like to think that it will both encourage others to do more and also force radio stations to open up the airwaves to artists who aren't pledging to lick Bush's balls clean twice daily."

"System of the Down is really great. I wish Rage Against the Machine hadn't broken up because they did so when we really need them."

"Here's the thing, I choose who I listen to. And I have no time for cheerleaders for W. And I bought a Linda Ronstadt album after she spoke out too. In fact, I pretty much go to J.B. World everytime someone's being attacked. I bought Pearl Jam for that reason, the Dixie Chicks, Bruce [Springsteen] and I'll keep buying that way. I think that was a good point about how the music getting saturated airplay is in some sort of denial. I also like hearing all these acts mentioned because I'm going to have a long list now of people I need to check out. But I will add to that list by saying Patti Smith's Trampin' is incredible and she gets how immoral this war is. Listen to her 'Radio Baghdad' and be prepared to be blown away."

"See, that's what it takes. Someone like Patti [Smith] or Rickie Lee Jones who's not trying desperately to get on [Jay] Leno or Clear Channel. Those are the only people who can tell the truth. I didn't know about John Fogerty's album but I'll check it out now. And I want to drop in Thursday. That's the band, not the day of the week. War All of the Time is an incredible album if you like emo-rock."

"I'm going to note the older artists as well because they are setting real examples. Joan Baez and Pearl Jam and Springsteen raise the bar. And I think we'll see more reaction from people because people are outraged by this illegal war. And we're looking for music that speaks to us.
Blink 182 and Green Day are speaking to us and that they both sold butt-loads of CDs has to be noted somewhere by someone. I'm actually more hopeful now than I was in the weeks after the election. That's because I see Green Day stickers or Ani [DiFranco] t-shirts. And I can't walk through campus without hearing people speaking out about the war. When [Senator] Barbara Boxer sided with [Congress woman] Stephanie Tubbs Jones on the voting problems in Ohio, I think we realized that election or not, we can make a difference. Boxer taught everyone that it's not, 'Oh, we lost. Well see you in four years.' I really think she's ensured that the progressive base stay active. She's become a folk hero in the last weeks. And I think we'll see more acts of courage. I think Randi Rhodes is making a difference to with her show on Air America because she's talking about how useless the crap music that gets churned out is. And I hear people talking about that on campus and saying things like, 'You know what Randi says . . .' I think there's this huge movement going on across the country and that the press is missing out on it.
Whether they are choosing to or whether they are just ignorant, I don't know. But they've missed the boat completely."