Pull us all together

Songs of dissent are often the first to go during wartime, yet in retrospect it is just these songs that carry forth after the carnage has ended. Just as Woody Guthrie acted as a tool against fascism, today we can look to the songs of bands like Rage Against the Machine to find the righteous indignation that is so sorely lacking in the major media. It is just as crucial these days to be given a melody that works as a theory on what is really going on.

I have never been one to be able to pick a song that really summarized a situation. At one point I had told an old girlfriend that Willie Nelson‘s song, “To all the women I have loved before,” should be our song. At first I didn’t understand why she would cry at that, then I realized, as I’ve said, that I lack the “picking the right song” gene. I have been listening to a local song of late that works for me, though, The Mother Hips‘ “Pull Together,” in which lead singer Tim Bluhm croons, “One good thing the bad things do is pull us all together.” You could see how this would be a mantra that I would carry around during these tough times. Of course, the rest of the song meanders into such complexities that you need to really stretch your imagination to make it work. I don’t think the Hips had Osama bin Laden in mind when they wrote, “Please don’t hate me, love me in my faults, but don’t you underestimate me.” No, I am pretty sure they didn’t, and so I go off looking for a different song to be my silver lining.

And while it might be too rock & roll for many of you, Neil Young‘s “Keep on Rocking in the Free World” has been a favorite cover of many local bands and does seem to be very American in its attitude. Because for those of us in love with rock, it seems now more than ever that we need to pull together and make that extra effort to keep the positive vibes going and our community growing. I urge you all to keep supporting the local live music scene!