A Good Cause: The Voice Project

One of the amazing things about music is its ability to bridge gaps and unite people for a common, peaceful purpose.  All too often, when confronted with the great injustices of the world, we find ourselves thinking: “Hey, I’m just one person.  What can I do?”

Well, the Voice Project believes that one voice can make a real difference.  Here’s a bit about the mission:

A peace movement is an incredible thing, people coming together, mobilizing like an army, and in this case armed not with guns but with songs and something more powerful than than any bullet; compassion, the strength of human will, and determination.

For over two decades war has ravaged Northern Uganda. It is Africa’s longest running conflict and it has spread to Southern Sudan and Eastern Congo. Joseph Kony’s LRA has made abducting children and forcing them to fight his chief weapon of war, even making them kill their friends and family members. Many abductees and former soldiers escape but hide in the bush, afraid to return home because of reprisals for the atrocities they were forced to commit.

The women of Northern Uganda – widows, rape survivors, and former abductees have been banding together in groups to support each other and those orphaned by the war and diseases so prevalent in the IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) camps. And they are singing songs. The lyrics let the former soldiers know that they are forgiven and that they should come home. The songs are passed by radio and word of mouth out into the bush, as far as the Sudan and DR Congo. And it’s working. Former LRA are returning and for the first time 24 years the region has a chance at real peace.

The Voice Project is an attempt to support these incredible women and the peace movement in Uganda, and an effort to see how far a voice can carry. And although we are a non-profit, we don’t see what we do as charity, but rather a partnership and an exchange of value. The strength, the message, and the art of these women and their peace movement can benefit the world, and in return we can help spread their message as well as help provide them with basic necessities and the tools to sustain their efforts and themselves. We have two main goals, to AMPLIFY the message in their songs in order to support the peace movement, and to assist them in their efforts to EMPOWER themselves economically in order to better their lives, create real social change, and to sustain peace. Please join us and be a link in this incredible chain that the women have started, help spread the word or donate to the cause.

Music and word of mouth, it can end wars, it can change the world. These incredible women have shown us that. Pass it on.

They’ve worked hard to further efforts to rehabilitate child soldiers, and to bring vocational training to these war-torn parts of Africa.  They’ve also assembled musicians who have raised their voices in support of this cause.  Why not check them out at twitter and facebook, and on their own site, and then follow me for a couple of great videos:

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Pomplamoose: Tribute to Famous People

My good friend Chris of Geek Force Five first turned me on to Pomplamoose, and I’ve really come to dig their quirky, creative covers of various popular songs.  Pomplamoose is a collaboration between Nataly Dawn and Jack Conte who, together, represent the astounding power of retro love, musical innovation, and YouTube.  They approach all of their videos – which show you every thing that’s actually being heard, without trickery – with a sense of humor that tells you that, in another life (or perhaps in this one), they would be karaoke legends to tell your grandchildren about.  But more than this, their immense popularity on YouTube seems to speak to a wave of nostalgia and the re-emergence of pop as a force in our society.  Whatever your take, you’re sure to be amazed.

You can hear some of their songs on their myspace page (as well buy t-shirts and find links to their stuff on iTunes), but the best way to experience their music is by watching their videos, and seeing that goofy – at times, almost embarrassed – playfulness in their studio/apartment.  Here’s a free cover of Mrs. Robinson, and a couple of videos.  Enjoy!

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Friday Night Videos – Covers Night!

Hey!  Been a while… Before I get on with the post, I wanted to thank everyone for stopping by this week.  Each day has been the “best day ever” for traffic to this site, and I’m really touched.  So, thanks!

For this installment of Friday Night Videos, I’ve decided to throw some covers at you.  One of the things about YouTube that really amazes me is the staggering number of people performing songs in their cars/bedrooms/showers and uploading them for the world to watch.  There’s some really awful stuff, naturally, but there’s also some absolutely wonderful music, too!  And more than that, there’s a serious amount of home audio/video editing going on here.  For the most part, this is impressive.  At other times, it sobers me with the reality that my beleaguered high school band was probably the worst band ever.  Sigh.

Anyway, rather than just throw you in the deep end, I’ve elected to give you a mix of unknown and famous covers.  So, without further ado (and because I really have to get on with my dissertation), let’s get to it:

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Preview: Peter Gabriel – Scratch My Back

I’m back from my dissertation-induced exile to let you know that the The Guardian newspaper in the U.K. is streaming a preview of the forthcoming Peter Gabriel album Scratch My Back.  The idea behind the album is straightforward: For each song that Peter Gabriel covers, the artist whose song it was will cover one of Peter’s songs.  That album, to be released at a later date, is called I’ll Scratch Yours.  For the moment, though, we get to enjoy a release that is remarkable not only for its breadth, but for the speed at which Gabriel – a noted perfectionist and long-time studio noodler – has produced it.  Needless to say, covering tracks by Elbow, Radiohead, and Regina Spektor, among others, is a fairly bold career move at this stage in Gabriel’s career.  Fortunately, it all mostly works, and the result is a decidedly intimate, engaging album full of challenging interpretations of songs both familiar and strange.

Go ahead and use the player below to hear the whole album (courtesy of The Guardian).  Also, you can download a copy of Gabriel’s cover of Bon Iver’s “Flume” by following the link below the player.  Lastly, the album’s out on February 15th in the UK, and March 2nd in the US.  Enjoy!

As an added bonus, enjoy this cover (not on the album) of Vampire Weekend’s “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa” featuring Peter Gabriel and Hot Chip: [audio:https://www.shh-listen.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/capecodkwassakwassa_vampireweekendcover.mp3|titles=Peter Gabriel and Hot Chip – Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa]