Tag: music

FEB 1, 2012 - A group of 10 socially-conscious artists inside Syria are using art to help Syrians cope with the violent and hard struggle they are going through in trying to secure a democratic government and push for more freedoms, and they call for President Assad to step down. They use puppets and humor, and videos on the Internet, which allows them a little anonymity to avoid detection and arrest by Assad's security forces. Watch a video of one of the puppet shows below, and there is a great story with awesome pictures over at MSNBC.com here.

JAN 31, 2012 - JTMP supports the civilian Syrian opposition and calls for President Bashar al-Assad to step down. Assad's security forces have used brutal tactics on peaceful civilians, that have called for major reforms and more freedom. Assad has been widely accused of major human rights violations in trying to hold on to power. JTMP believes that the only way to peace is for Assad to step down, and the people of Syria form a new government that represents them and secures their human and civil rights. 

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton attended a UN debate on a resolution calling for President Assad to step down, Josha Hersh on HuffPo has a great post up about it here.

For more news and information on the Syrian opposition and current events, check out The Syria Monitor, a site ran by CLIME, an organization supporting individuals and civic groups spreading democratic values of liberty and tolerance in the Middle East. Check out the Center for Liberty in the Middle East website here.
(photo credit Maggie Osama/Flickr)

JAN 26, 2012 - Occupy London, a group of musicians in support of Occupy, such as Ani DiFranco, Billy Bragg, Tom Morello, Tao Seeger, Sam Duckworth and more, are poised to release their first album "Folk The Banks", and on their own record label called "Occupation Records". Digital release will be in February, and proceeds will go to help the Occupy movement across the globe. Four further albums will be released, and Adam Jung, spokesperson for Occupy Records said, "“From Motown Records providing the soundtrack for the civil rights movement, to the music of Billy Bragg inspiring striking miners, artists and the industry have historically provided fuel for social change."

Watch a video below from Occupy London, and read more on MusicWeek.com here.

JAN 26, 2012 - Spinner.com has an article out about Neil Young and "Occupy Audio", a project he is launching that is urging consumers to insist that radio stations don't play MP3s, but a higher quality and larger digital track, called High Resolution Audio. Neil says the larger and better tracks give you "a relief that you feel when you finally hear music the way artists and producers did when they created it in the studio." Recently, John Mellencamp released an album both on CD and DVD audio.

A statement from Occupy Audio says: (more)

JAN 25, 2012 - Over 80 musicians spanning music styles and genres as well as age, have all come together to honor 50 years of Bob Dylan and his musical activism, and have teamed up with Amnesty International in an album called "Chimes of Freedom". Musicians include everyone from Miley Cyrus to Patti Smith, and from Joe Perry to Ziggy Marley.

Amnesty International says the album is dedicated to "people worldwide who are unjustly imprisoned or threatened for the peaceful expression of their beliefs." Check out a track from the album below, and read more at the Amnesty International website here.