Greg Mitchell's Blog, page 142

Pete Seeger at the Copa

Sound odd?  Well, not so much.  It's the great Sam Cooke doing Pete's "If I Had a Hammer" at the nightclub in NYC in 1964.  Sam had gotten very political, recording "Blowin' in the Wind" which in turn led him to write "Change Is Gonna Come." -- G.M.

Leonard Cohen Finds 'Solidarity' With Pete

I wouldn't normally associate Leonard Cohen with Pete Seeger--two very different types of "old folkies"--but here for a protest he sang Pete's updated version of the 1915 pro-union classic, "Solidarity Forever." -- G.M.

Pete and Johnny

Two of the greats of our time.  First Johnny Cash in the 60s on Pete's TV show--with old folk song that he makes very political--then Johnny returns the favor in 1970 (talking about his protest songs about Native Americans).

Pete Seeger, R.I.P.

One of the great Americans of the past eighty years has died at the age of 94 in New York.  See my tribute at The Nation.   I'll add that I never did meet Pete but I did board his famous environmental crusading sloop Clearwater--we both lived virtually on the Hudson, though he was a few miles upstream--and, of course, saw him perform at numerous protests, including in D.C. in the late 1960s.  Always enjoyed his stories about traveling with Woody Guthrie before Woody's illness struck.

As a youth I recall the controversy when he was banned from the popular ABC TV series Hootenanny in the early 1960s--as I recall Joan Baez then said she would no longer go on the show herself.   But a few years later he was allowed to sing "Waist Deep in the Big Muddy" on the Smothers Brothers, with LBJ as the "the big fool" who wanted to "push on."  Of course, there is much more to reflect on, right up to Springsteen's recent tributes and Pete marching for Occupy Wall Street.  But for now, Big Muddy and below that--a personal favorite, of course--his updated version of the "Ode to Joy."   --G.M.

Another First Look

The new media outlet from Pierre Omidyar  (plus Glenn Greenwald) releases a video update/preview.

A Few Chips Off the Herblock

Swell and important doc on the masterful, and funny, editorial cartoonist tonight on HBO, watch for repeats.  When I was editing Editor & Publisher we picked him in 2000 as one of the 25 most influential newspaper people of the century.   The doc shows why.  I'll run a few of his classics below.  First, one featured in the film, pure genius at the time of Watergate (which, by the way, Herb nailed within days of the break-in).  Below that, from decades back, on the gun lobby.  And then nailing Joe McCarthy--four years before Edward R. Murrow did it.

Physician, Heal Thyself

U.S. Rep. Paul Broun, M.D., from Georgia, asks the question we all want to hear from our elected officials in the week following yet another mall shooting and two or more school shootings:  "How would you like to start off 2014 with a brand new AR-15 [the semi-automatic version of the military's M-16] for free?"   Jim Galloway at ajc.com quotes from the email Broun just sent to supporters:

You see, it's no secret that the Democrats and liberal media would love to take our guns and mandate every aspect of our lives, but I refuse to let them get away with that. In fact, today I have some exciting news for you.
Today, stand up with me and fight for our freedoms by joining our campaign's contest to win a semi-automatic AR-15...

The contest ends Thursday, February 27th, 2014.   h/t MedPage Today   -- B.B.

A Modest SOTU Proposal

William K. Black--economist, former financial regulator, and author of the indispensable The Best Way to Rob a Bank Is to Own One-- suggests in The New York Times that President Obama should invite whistle-blower Erika Brown to his State of the Union speech. Brown revealed Bank of America's orders that its employees lie to homeowners to encourage foreclosures rather loan modifications that could help borrowers keep their homes. (Stringing homeowners along with the hope of a loan mod they were never going to get eventually saved the bank piles of money.) Pro Publica posted her shocking sworn statement. 

Brown, noting that if President Obama invited Erika Brown to be his guest at the State of the Union, he would signal an end to the administration's hostility toward whistle-blowers" (paging Edward Snowden), had a further suggestion: "The president should use his address to praise her courage and encourage others to follow her lead--and he should create a new website and phone bank so that whistle-blowers can come forward with evidence of fraud." --B.B.

Sunday Morning in the Church of Beethoven

Continuing this long-running feature, here's the opening of Disney's lengthy "Pastoral" segment in the classic Fantasia.  You can then watch the rest. The latest on our Beethoven 9th film here.


Fantasia 1982 - Pastoral pt 1 from W W on Vimeo.

Direct from Somedunce

Parody of every indie movie ever.  Though I don't appreciate the takeoff on great "Beasts of Southern Wild" soundtrack...  -- G.M.