Vote For Change - Springsteen, Pearl Jam, REM,...
tom
05.08.2004 - 21:44
Es wurde zwar bereits in einigen anderen Threads angesprochen, aber diese Tour verdient IMHO einen eigenen :-)
Das ist ja mal ein Wahnsinns-Lineup. Die oben genannten und viele weitere Bands werden Anfang Oktober durch mehrere Swing-States touren, um ihre Unzufriedenheit mit der Bush-Junta auszudrücken und zusätzliche Wähler zu mobilisieren.
Tour Artists:
Pearl Jam
Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band
R.E.M.
Dave Matthews Band
Jurassic 5
Dixie Chicks
Death Cab for Cutie
James Taylor
Ben Harper
My Morning Jacket
Jackson Browne
Bonnie Raitt
John Fogerty
Keb' Mo'
Bright Eyes
John Mellencamp
Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds
"Springsteen joins anti-Bush concert tour
The Financial Times
04 August 2004
[What follows is the full text of the news story.]
Directly entering partisan politics for the first time, rock icon Bruce Springsteen will join a loose coalition of high-profile musicians in an unprecedented early October concert blitz aimed at mobilizing opposition to President Bush.
The concert tour ranks among the most ambitious efforts ever by entertainers of any kind to influence the outcome of a presidential race. The effort, announced this morning, will send over 20 artists to perform more than 34 shows in nine battleground states during a single week in early October, hoping to not only raise money but attract publicity and sway voters.
Besides Springsteen, those participating include the Dave Matthews Band, Pearl Jam, R.E.M., the Dixie Chicks, Bonnie Raitt, James Taylor and John Mellencamp. Many of these artists have been politically active before. But Springsteen has held back from overt partisan activities, although his music has long explored working-class frustrations and other social themes in spare and poetic language.
"What we are doing here is the direct outgrowth from the ideas that I've tried to sing about for the past 25 years," Springsteen said in an interview. "Hopefully we have built up a lot of credibility with our fans over the years. There comes a moment when you have to spend some of it. This is that moment."
The ambitious initiative is bound to intensify the simmering conflict between Bush's campaign and the liberal elements of the entertainment industry, which have become a rapidly growing source of support for his Democratic rival, Sen. John F. Kerry.
After several entertainers ridiculed Bush at a Kerry fund-raiser in New York last month, the Bush campaign derided the event as a "Hollywood hate fest."
Privately, some conservative strategists welcome the growing activism for Kerry among entertainers, believing it could help them portray him as part of a "cultural elite" hostile to traditional social values.
"Most people don't look at these big-name entertainers as representing mainstream values," said Steve Schmidt, deputy communications director for Bush's campaign. "I think it could backfire for John Kerry, who is going around the country saying he represents conservative values."
The entertainers participating in the shows belittled the idea that they were out of the mainstream.
"We're from Georgia. Springsteen is from New Jersey," said Mike Mills, the bassist for R.E.M. "This is no media elite. These are concerned citizens speaking out in the most efficient manner we know how."
And sensitive to the backlash from the July event, the leading performers in the October tour said they intend to take a respectful tone toward Bush.
"I think it's important to speak in a measured voice," said Springsteen, whose closest previous brush with partisan politics occurred when he chided then-President Reagan for associating with his music in the 1984 campaign.
"We want respect for the office of the presidency," Springsteen said. "We don't want to be Bush bashers. We are Bush questioners, is the way I would put it."
Boyd Tinsley, the fiddle player in the Dave Matthews Band, was even more conciliatory.
"I want to say this: I don't hate George Bush," he said. "I think George Bush, like me, loves America. And I am here speaking to you because I love America. He's doing what he's doing because he loves America. I disagree with him."
To say I am unpatriotic because I am disagreeing with somebody: that's not very American."
It remains to be seen, of course, if all the bands will hold to this standard. Some already have been sharply critical of the president — Pearl Jam recorded a dismissive song called "Bushleaguer."
And in the interviews Tuesday at a New York recording studio, some of the tour participants made clear they would aggressively critique his presidency, especially the decision to invade Iraq.
"We have alienated ourselves from our most important allies, we've got a country that is more split than I can remember ever in my lifetime. There is a feeling of desperation that is almost an emergency right now in this country," said Dave Matthews, who was born in South Africa but long has been a naturalized U.S. citizen. "And we have to move in a direction of reconciliation both inside and outside this country."
Martie Maguire of the Dixie Chicks — a country group that faced boycotts and radio bans of its songs after one of its members said last year she was "ashamed" to be a Texan, like Bush — also cited the president's decision to invade Iraq as a principal motivation for participating in the tour.
"My biggest fear is the threat of terrorism, and the way to deal with that is not the way this current administration has been dealing it," she said. "I think the war was a side issue, it wasn't addressing the real issue. I feel like this administration has alienated a lot of our international leaders and counterparts who should be aligned with us."
Along with the record-breaking sums of money both Bush and Kerry have raised and the sharp partisan divisions in opinion polls, the tour is a measure of the intense passions the 2004 campaign has generated.
"I would be derelict in my duties as a citizen of this country if I keep what I feel right now inside," said Matthews, one of the most politically impassioned of the performers. "That would be undemocratic. That would be unpatriotic. That would be against everything this country asks of me as a citizen. I have to get up and say, 'This is my position.'ƒ;"
All proceeds from the concerts will go to America Coming Together, the leading group attempting to register and turn out Democratic-leaning voters this fall. The shows will also offer those buying tickets the chance to join the political action committee for MoveOn.org, the giant liberal online advocacy group. MoveOn.org is helping to plan and promote the concerts.
"The word unprecedented keeps coming to mind," said Mills, the R.E.M. bassist. "Not only do we have this many musicians, but there are people who don't usually do these kind of things. To see Bruce Springsteen come out on these issues, I'm stunned."
The ad hoc artists group organizing the tour, which calls itself Vote for Change, does not explicitly endorse Kerry. Instead, in a mission statement released today, the group describes itself as "a loose coalition of musicians brought together by a single idea — the need to make a change in the direction of the country."
But most of the major artists participating said they intend to make clear during the shows that they are supporting Kerry.
"I will certainly say that I want people to vote for John Kerry," said Matthews. "Whether you are saying defeat Bush or vote for Kerry, it really is becoming one and the same in many ways."
Still, enthusiasm about Kerry varies among the tour participants. Springsteen, for instance, remained qualified in his praise.
"I don't think Kerry and [John] Edwards [the Democratic vice presidential candidate] have the answers to all the questions," he said, "but I do believe that they are interested in asking the questions. What does it take to move in a more equitable direction, to regain our standing in the world?"
In 2000, Pearl Jam lead singer Eddie Vedder was a prominent supporter of Ralph Nader's presidential candidacy supporters. But Vedder said he would support Kerry this year in the hope of ousting Bush.
He said that while he was attracted by Nader's call for fundamental social change in 2000, "right now, it's a different situation. It's hard to talk about remodeling the house when the basement is on fire."
In its scale, its strategy, and the magnitude of the artists involved, the tour seems unique in recent political history.
The shows involve so many top-tier artists that Springsteen will play with an opening act for one of the only times in his career and R.E.M., a headlining band for more than two decades, will serve in that role for the first time in memory.
"Let's put it this way: there aren't many acts we've opened for," said Mills.
Typically, musicians hoping to help a cause or candidate have played one or two benefit concerts in a large city, primarily to raise campaign money. But this tour will attempt to raise money and influence voters by dispatching artists for a concentrated series of shows on the same night in one battleground state after another.
"We want to have the impact of being in every major city in a state," said Matthews. "So it's like bam, wow, tonight every city is covered. And then let's go to the next state: Bam, wow."
The musicians will perform not only in major cities and Democratic strongholds, but also in many of the swing communities Kerry and Bush are targeting in their own campaigning.
When it kicks off on Oct. 1, the tour will include six shows across Pennsylvania, ranging from Springsteen and R.E.M. in Philadelphia to Pearl Jam in Reading, Dave Matthews at State College and the Dixie Chicks in Pittsburgh.
The next night the artists will play six shows across Ohio, targeting communities ranging in size from Cleveland to Toledo; on Sunday, they will play in Michigan — not only in Detroit and Ann Arbor, but Grand Rapids, a Republican stronghold.
After dividing across Minnesota, Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin and North Carolina over the next few nights, all of the artists will hold concerts in six cities across Florida on Oct. 8.
The performers also intend to conduct interviews with local newspapers and television stations to publicize their case against Bush. Several said they still have not decided how much explicit political content they will include in the shows themselves.
"We are going to play it by ear every night," said Stone Gossard, the guitarist for Pearl Jam. "I think the main concentration will be playing music. But just by being out on the same night as all these bands, we are expressing a message of unity and collectiveness and that is the strongest message we can send."
The idea for the tour grew out of conversations between Pearl Jam and its manager, Kelly Curtis, over how to handle the political requests the band was receiving as the election year began. Curtis called Jon Landau, Springsteen's manager, who was facing similar questions.
With the help of Jenny Toomer, who runs a nonprofit group called the Future of Music Coalition that attempts to involve artists in causes, the conversations grew into a meeting of some 50 managers and artists in New York in April. When someone at the meeting suggested a mega-concert involving a large list of bands, Landau made the proposal for dispersing the artists through simultaneous tours.
After that meeting, Curtis, Landau and the mangers for R.E.M., the Dixie Chicks and Dave Matthews began a series of e-mail and phone call exchanges to plan the tour; they only brought in the political groups after they had conceived of its basic structure and were deciding who would benefit from the proceeds.
The coalition decided to direct the proceeds to America Coming Together after MoveOn told Landau that it wanted to participate as a way of boosting membership and spreading its message, but did not need the funds. America Coming Together will fund the cost of the shows and receive all of the profits.
In the highly polarized atmosphere of this year's campaign, the musicians said they expect a backlash from Bush supporters over their participation.
"Do I think we are going to get bashed?" said Springsteen. "Sure, in this political season, that's coming. But I have written about very basic American principles for 25 years. I wasn't kidding when we're on that stage. And there are particular moments when you have to [say], 'This is the moment when you take your place on the playing field and the chips are going to fall where they may' "
The risk of political consequences is probably greater for groups such as Springsteen and the Dixie Chicks, with a broad audience, than for some of the other bands.
"On one level I understand the idea of talking about being attacked," said Gossard. "But in reality it is just politics and noise."
tom
05.08.2004 - 21:45
http://www.moveonpac.org/vfc/
Demon Cleaner
05.08.2004 - 23:05
OK, Bush muss weg. Aber wenn man mal überlegt, dass man mit dieser Tour dann so gut wie automatisch Kerry unterstützt... nee, nee, nee.
TwistedKite
05.08.2004 - 23:22
tja, ist nun mal die einzige Alternative, und da ist es klar, wen ich unterstützen würde...
klar, es gibt noch Nader. Aber ich denke, ich würde taktisch wählen, denn was Stimmen für Nader bedeuten können, hat man ja 2000 gesehen... Wobei meine Kritik sich hauptsächlich auf das Wahlsystem bezieht: Wenn sich das Ergebnis am landesweiten Wählervotum orientiert und es zu einer Stichwahl kommt, wenn keiner eine absolute Mehrheit erreicht (so wie in Frankreich), wäre Nader keine ungewollte Hilfe für Bush und somit evtl. unterstützenswert
tom
11.10.2004 - 21:50
das Vote For Change-Finale in Waschinton D.C. wird heute via Real Player live übertragen (ab 0:30 MEZ).
http://guide.real.com
1. Opening Song with all artists
2. John Mellencamp
3. Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds
4. Jackson Browne Bonnie Raitt, Keb Mo
5. Jurassic 5
6. REM
7. Pearl Jam
8. Dixie Chicks including James Taylor
9. Dave Matthews Band
10. Springsteen including John Fogerty
11. Two Finale Songs
Mitt
04.11.2012 - 12:21
Vote for me
Hannah Honigkuchen
04.11.2012 - 12:22
Schnauze, Homo!
Kid Rock
06.11.2012 - 17:24
Shut up, Bitch!
Louboutin UK
18.06.2013 - 09:44
Interesting blog page on He may currently have blown himself in Stockholm, but he was basically radicalised in Britain, and the throw call goes on Louboutin UK http://www.uchristianlouboutin-uk.com/
Das wird man doch nochmal sagen dürfen!
18.06.2013 - 09:47
"Vote For Change"
Das war wohl ein Kniff in den eigenen Schritt!
Delonte
21.06.2013 - 12:19
Wow, that's a really clever way of tihnknig about it!
8-D
21.06.2013 - 12:21
Das war wohl ein Kniff in den eigenen Schritt!
Wow, that's a really clever way of tihnknig about it!
Darum liebe ich dieses Forum so.
Hinterlasse uns eine Nachricht, warum Du diesen Post melden möchtest.
Teile uns Deine E-Mail-Adresse mit, damit wir Dich über neue Posts in diesem Thread benachrichtigen können.