Waist Deep in the Big Muddy, Part II...

About six weeks ago, i lamented what seemed to be the loss of the protest singer and the protest song.

Finally, artists are starting to speak up and out in droves, in their words, their lyrics, and their actions.

The new hit single from rapper Jadakiss "Why", contains the lyric "Why did Bush knock down the Towers," a hyperbollic way of condemning Bush for not being there for the people of the U.S. as much as he should have been.

John Mellencamp recently showcased a new song called "Texas Bandito", poses the lyrically question "What's a life to him if he can get some oil dug?"

And to show that punk rock hasn't lost it's angry sneer, Green Day's upcoming album is called "American Idiot," and the song "Holiday" contains the biting "Sieg Heil to the president gasman/Bombs away is your punishment."

Indeed, I'm feeling a bit more encouraged today. Yes, Virginia, the protest singer seems to be alive and well.

Details were announced today for the Vote for Change Tour, and with Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band leading the charge, this is a heavyweight thing. this is not chump change.

it's encouraging to see artists finally taking a chance. From legends like Springsteen, R.E.M. James Taylor, Bonnie Raitt, John Fogerty, and Jackson Browne to contemporary superstars like Pearl Jam, the Dave Matthews Band, John Mellencamp, and the Dixie Chicks, to up-and-coming artists like My Morning Jacket, Death Cab for Cutie, and the Jurassic 5, not to mention several other acts, you have a collection of musicians that run the gamut both stylistics and generationally.

The tour is unique. You won't see L.A. or New York City or Boston or Dallas on the tour schedule. But you will see Dayton and Ames and Kissimmee and Ann Arbor and Wilkes-Barre and other cities and towns in so-called battleground states in the schedule.

Places like California and New York and Massachusetts and Texas have already pretty much decided which way they'll be leaning in Election '04. But Ohio and Iowa and Michigan and Pennsylvania and even Florida are up for grabs, and the musicians involved in Vote for Change want to make a difference in the states where it matters.

The Artist Declaration from those involved for the tour speaks volumes - "Vote for Change is a loose coalition of musicians brought together by a single idea — the need to make a change in the direction of our country. We share a belief that this is the most important election of our lifetime. We are fighting for a government that is open, rational, just, and progressive," it begins. (you can read the entire thing in the accompanying link)

The words from the artists also help to encourage my feelings that we will make a difference in 2004, and that GW Bush and his minions can be defeated. The musicians are open and honest, their words are pointed and bold. By speaking their minds, they have a lot to lose. Ask the Dixie Chicks - they found their music boycotted and banned from the largest radio conglomerate in the country (no surprise here, as Clear Channel has pretty tight links with the Bush people) when they spoke critically of Bush during a concert overseas.

This potential backlash has not put fear into these musicians:

"A vote for change is a vote for a stronger, safer, healthier America. A vote for Bush is a vote for a divided, unstable, paranoid America. It is our duty to this beautiful land to let our voices be heard. That's the reason for the tour. That's why I'm doing it."
---Dave Matthews

"R.E.M. is very happy to be a part of the Vote for Change Tour. This unprecedented coming together of musicians underscores the depth of the desire for change in our country's direction, and it feels right to use some of the freedoms granted to us in a democracy to try and effect that change."
---Mike Mills of R.E.M.

""This is the fourth presidential election which Pearl Jam has engaged in as a band, and we feel it's the most important one of our life time. We believe in the power of the first amendment, and have always exercised our right to free speech in every aspect of our lives and music. This year there is no more powerful way for all Americans to exercise that right than by voting. Given the extreme political climate of a country at war, we are proud to stand among the many artists involved in this tour and to encourage Americans not only to vote for a president this November 2nd, but to vote for the change they wish to see in the world."
---Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam

It is indeed time for a change, and finally, our artists are coming together and helping us to make it so.

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"The Revolution Starts Now," from Steve Earle's new CD of the same name, due on 8/24.

The Revolution Starts Now

I was walkin’ down the street
In the town where I was born
I was movin’ to a beat
That I’d never felt before
So I opened up my eyes
And I took a look around
I saw it written ‘cross the sky
The revolution starts now
Yeah, the revolution starts now

The revolution starts now
When you rise above your fear
And tear the walls around you down
The revolution starts here
Where you work and where you play
Where you lay your money down
What you do and what you say
The revolution starts now
Yeah the revolution starts now

Yeah the revolution starts now
In your own backyard
In your own hometown
So what you doin’ standin’ around?
Just follow your heart
The revolution starts now

Last night I had a dream
That the world had turned around
And all our hopes had come to be
And the people gathered ‘round
They all brought what they could bring
And nobody went without
And I learned a song to sing
The revolution starts now