Sep 5 2018

David Byrne Presents: Conscious Dance

By Todomundo

Song Artist Purchase
Love Is the Message MFSB Amazon
Happy People The Temptations Amazon
Glasshouse The Temptations Amazon
You Make Your Own Heaven and Hell Right Here on Earth The Temptations Amazon
Home Is Where The Hatred Is Gil Scott-Heron Amazon
Love Train The O'Jays Amazon
For the Love of Money The O'Jays Amazon
Don't Call Me Brother The O'Jays Amazon
Living In A Bottle The Organ Grinder Amazon
Winter in America Gil Scott-Heron Amazon
The Bottle Gil Scott-Heron Amazon
Love's In Need Of Love Today Stevie Wonder Amazon
Family Reunion The O'Jays Amazon
Village Ghetto Land Stevie Wonder Amazon
Pastime Paradise Stevie Wonder Amazon
He's Misstra Know-it-All Stevie Wonder Amazon
Wake Up Everybody Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes Amazon
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised Gil Scott-Heron Amazon
What's Going On Marvin Gaye Amazon
Mercy Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) Marvin Gaye Amazon
Across 110th Street Bobby Womack Amazon
Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) Marvin Gaye Amazon
Trouble Man Marvin Gaye Amazon
People Get Ready The Impressions Amazon
Family Affair (Single Version) Sly & The Family Stone Amazon
Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City (Single Version) Bobby "Blue" Bland Amazon
Smiling Faces Sometimes The Undisputed Truth Amazon
The Ghetto Donny Hathaway Amazon
The Payback James Brown Amazon
The World Is A Ghetto War Amazon
Why Can't We Be Friends War Amazon
A Change Is Gonna Come Sam Cooke Amazon
Freddie's Dead (Theme From 'Superfly') Curtis Mayfield Amazon
Respect Yourself The Staple Singers Amazon
Brother's Gonna Work It Out (The Mack/Soundtrack Version) Willie Hutch Amazon
Gypsy Woman (She's Homeless) (Basement Boy Strip To The Bone Mix) Crystal Waters Amazon
Gypsy Woman (She's Homeless) (Radio Edit) Crystal Waters Amazon
Hard Times Baby Huey & The Baby Sitters Amazon
Theme From Cleopatra Jones Joe Simon Amazon
Nelson Mandela The Specials Amazon
Cosmic Slop Funkadelic Amazon
Sign 'O' The Times Prince Amazon
The Future Prince Amazon

Writing songs that deal directly with social justice and contemporary issues is hard—at least it is for me. I feel like I often manage to approach these things in a round about or indirect way. When I want to pontificate or give my opinion or analysis on a particular issue, I often do it in a blog post or newspaper op ed rather than in a song. My sense with my own writing is that music and songs can do wonderful things—allow people to feel empowered, less alone, part of a community—but maybe they’re not so good at arguing a specific social or political point.

Others have proved me wrong. I think of Bob Dylan’s “Hurricane” which was like a kind of reportage. The Specials—lots of their songs, but “Free Nelson Mandela” stands out. Peter Gabriel’s “Biko”. The common thread in those songs and many others—in a lot of hip hop too—is a personal story where one person’s story stands for a wider injustice.

The Janelle Monae song I am performing on my current tour is a little bit like that—the tragic deaths of the individuals named in the song stand for a larger injustice—which then doesn’t have to be underlined. It’s obvious.

I also think of the songs in this playlist—songs with irresistible dance grooves and great melodies that didn’t shy away from looking at the world while also imagining what a better world could be. They’re mostly, though not all, from a particular era—the 70s—a formative musical era for me. Hearing these incredibly catchy songs made me realize pop music could be danceable and conscious at the same time. (A lot of rock music had a lot to say, but not all of it was as brilliantly good for the feet and body at the same time as this stuff). These songs are hugely inspirational even if I might have to continue on my search of how to do this in my own way.

David Byrne

NYC

Sep 5 2018

David Byrne Presents: Conscious Dance

By Todomundo

Song Artist Purchase
Love Is the Message MFSB Amazon
Happy People The Temptations Amazon
Glasshouse The Temptations Amazon
You Make Your Own Heaven and Hell Right Here on Earth The Temptations Amazon
Home Is Where The Hatred Is Gil Scott-Heron Amazon
Love Train The O'Jays Amazon
For the Love of Money The O'Jays Amazon
Don't Call Me Brother The O'Jays Amazon
Living In A Bottle The Organ Grinder Amazon
Winter in America Gil Scott-Heron Amazon
The Bottle Gil Scott-Heron Amazon
Love's In Need Of Love Today Stevie Wonder Amazon
Family Reunion The O'Jays Amazon
Village Ghetto Land Stevie Wonder Amazon
Pastime Paradise Stevie Wonder Amazon
He's Misstra Know-it-All Stevie Wonder Amazon
Wake Up Everybody Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes Amazon
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised Gil Scott-Heron Amazon
What's Going On Marvin Gaye Amazon
Mercy Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) Marvin Gaye Amazon
Across 110th Street Bobby Womack Amazon
Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) Marvin Gaye Amazon
Trouble Man Marvin Gaye Amazon
People Get Ready The Impressions Amazon
Family Affair (Single Version) Sly & The Family Stone Amazon
Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City (Single Version) Bobby "Blue" Bland Amazon
Smiling Faces Sometimes The Undisputed Truth Amazon
The Ghetto Donny Hathaway Amazon
The Payback James Brown Amazon
The World Is A Ghetto War Amazon
Why Can't We Be Friends War Amazon
A Change Is Gonna Come Sam Cooke Amazon
Freddie's Dead (Theme From 'Superfly') Curtis Mayfield Amazon
Respect Yourself The Staple Singers Amazon
Brother's Gonna Work It Out (The Mack/Soundtrack Version) Willie Hutch Amazon
Gypsy Woman (She's Homeless) (Basement Boy Strip To The Bone Mix) Crystal Waters Amazon
Gypsy Woman (She's Homeless) (Radio Edit) Crystal Waters Amazon
Hard Times Baby Huey & The Baby Sitters Amazon
Theme From Cleopatra Jones Joe Simon Amazon
Nelson Mandela The Specials Amazon
Cosmic Slop Funkadelic Amazon
Sign 'O' The Times Prince Amazon
The Future Prince Amazon

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