Tag: occupy

FEB 8, 2012 - Musician activist Boots Riley from the "radical" hip-hop group Coup, has been out in front with the Occupy Oakland movement. RS has a article out about him, here is an excerpt:

“Riley has been an activist since high school, when he spent a summer helping to organize migrant farm workers in central California. He says he was used to seeing twenty-five people show up at demonstrations, and in he past, he’s weighed his activism against what he might accomplish with his music, and generally chosen the music – so many more people could hear the message that way. "But with Occupy, I can’t use that same equation," Riley admits. "What we’re doing here gets a different message out, a stronger message out, to many more people than my music.””

Check out Boots Riley performing at Occupy Oakland below and read 
the full article on Rolling Stone here. (Photo credit: Bankrobber1/Wiki)

FEB 6, 2012 - Occupy in a museum? That will be a display in the future at various museums in New York soon. ArtNet.com is reporting that the Smithsonian Institution, The New-York  Historical Society and the Museum of Jewish Heritage and other cultural repositories are collecting buttons, posters, and other memorabilia from the Occupy movement.

They have also launched a photography show by photographer Accra Shepp called, "Occupy Wall Street: A Photographic document", that includes pictures of Occupy activists. Check out some pics and read more on ArtNet here.

FEB 6, 2012 - Occupy Palm Beach has been a model for Occupy movements for other cities. The government has granted them access to land, and even water and electricity, and everything has been peaceful and a model for free speech rights. However, the city of Palm Beach is asking for funds to pay for the electricity, water, and upkeep of the encampment. So the folks at Occupy Palm Beach are planning a benefit concert to raise funds. It is titled, "Benefit for the 99%", tentatively scheduled for the weekend of February 25.

On the Broward Palm Beach NewTimes Blog, Alex Rendon says "They are asking for a "little help from friends." So if you are a musician in tune with the 99 percent who would like to get down with the cause and/or are a performing artist in other media, including poets, dancers, and acrobats, you're also welcome. Contact occupypbc @ gmail.com to get involved." Read the full NewTimes Blog here.

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)