[Powderworks] Music and patriotism (NMOC)
Lina Yune
midoil2001@yahoo.com.au
Thu, 15 Aug 2002 08:41:52 +1000 (EST)
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Sharon wrote:
> I'm from the US and one of the things that's always interested me
> about Midnight Oil is its up-front presentation of itself as an 'Australian
> band'. In some of the interviews on the discs and tapes that I've seen, Rob
> or someone talks about making Australian music, loving Australia, what a
> great country it is, etc. I've heard plenty of critical comments about
> Pauline or other people/situations in Australia, but always this great love for
> the country.
>
> I've tried to think before about American musicians/bands that have a
> similar connection with the US and for some reason I have trouble.
> Bruce Springsteen comes to mind, not just for "Born in the USA" (one of the
> few Springsteen songs I really don't like) but for a lot of his other
> music that takes blue collar life and issues in the US seriously. And we have
> lots of overtly 'patriotic' country music (but that's another beast all
> together).
One band (actually originally Canadian, from Yorkville district of Toronto) that deals with US and the real life is Stepppenwolf. They are known for their anthem Born To Be Wild, but quite frankly, like Oils, they have other good songs, but not too many people heard them unfortunately. Their song "Monster" is a very good example. That song was written in late 60's, but as time goes on, it's almost prophetic. Another one of their newer songs is called "Endless Commercial" and that one is satirical criticism of TV and the agency CASH (Consumer Agency for Spending Habits). Or the comical "News I Can Use" about media. That's just to name a few... Steppenwolf music has many-many times dealt with the real life, and many times focusing on right and wrong, rich and poor, nature, freedom, and other very important issues in US and other countries. What's interesting is that the lead singer of Steppenwolf, John Kay was not born in US. He came here as a child from Germany, at the age of 5, legally blind, running away from Prussia Germany after World War II. As a matter of fact, I am also member of the Wolfpack, and was for many-many years. Steppenwolf.com is their website, and right this moment politics are also being heavily discussed on their fan link! And fighting there too, oh yeah!
Rhonda wrote:
I grew up in the US and moved to Canada exactly 10 years ago today, and
am now a dual citizen. I have a lot of conflicted/mixed feelings about
the US and patriotism in general; Canadians are reputed to be quite
laid-back & not as flag-waving patriotic as Americans....to some, it
appears as if the term "Canadian patriotism" is an oxymoron because
we're usually pretty low-key about it. But if you drive down any street
around here, there will be a good number of Canadian flags posted by the
house or garage....we just don't have them in bumper stickers all over
our cars. Having lived on both sides of the border, (and preferring
Canada), my feeling is for the country itself....the land, the pines,
the lakes, HOCKEY (!), Tim Hortons, Molson commercials, This Hour Has 22
Minutes, just weird little things I miss when I'm Stateside visiting
family. It's not something explained easily....we have the same disgust
for our politicians that the Oils seem to have for theirs, but I get the
feeling that the love for the land itself is the same. It's not the
figurehead of government that one misses, it's the country behind it
that endures in your heart. When they are touring abroad, I bet it's
the simple little things that are "Australia" to them are what they
miss....the red dirt, the familiar accent, the taste of the food, the
names of the towns and streets (who knows, maybe even Vegemite! hehe).
I know I'm not explaining this very well but the feeling is difficult to
put into words. In that way, I think they're intensely patriotic, the
same way I am about Canada. It's the feeling of "home" when you've
found 'your place', you would do anything to protect it from harm, and
lament its shortcomings and when things go wrong - like they do in their music.
I left the US partially because I was uncomfortable with the US' global
image of the often "bossy big brother," and no longer wanted to be a
part of it or identified with it. But sometimes Canadian policy is
almost as bad, because we're the "little brother' that tags along (or
gets dragged along) with nearly everything the US says/does. I'm aware
that Canada's not perfect - treatment of the aboriginal peoples of this
country is just as rotten as that in the US, both historically and
present-day. We've got issues that need addressing in many areas.
Guess now I'm twice as conflicted as I was before moving!! ;-) Anyway,
apologies for my rambling, if anyone can put their finger on this this
more precisely, I'd breathe a sigh of relief!
/Rhonda
I grew up in Odessa, Ukraine, and came to United States in 1977. When I was just a kid, back in Soviet Union back then, there was no such thing as freedom, and yours. I remember not being able to speak what you think, not being able to listen to your choice of music, and many other things that people in a free world take forgranted. Before coming to the US I lived in Italy for almost 2 years, and really loved that place. That's where I learned about freedom. Then, we came to US. We almost went to Australia, but somehow my mom chose to go to US instead. That's maybe why I am so interested in Australia, and wanted to see that place all my life! Life in US has been good to me, and I have many choices and the freedom to do what I want (if I can afford it, and that's another thing eh?). I learned that with lots of hard work, many things eventually get accomplished. I love US and it's land, I love the Rocky Mountains, Montana, Wyoming, I love nature and camping, I love it so much that we just bought a land in Montana in the Bull mountains after spending few weeks there on our vacation. Maybe one day we will be able to move there. The only thing that really scares me is driving there in the winter. Chicago is bad enough hmmmm.!
Well, when 9/11 happened, I was at work and we all ran to the lunchroom to watch the little TV up on the wall. It was just like watching some crazy 007 movie, except it was not! I thought it was some kind of a nightmare. When I finally realized what was going on, my heart dropped. I began to think about all the people in the whole world, and how we will all be affected by it, just because of some crazed man (or men?) want to seek revenge! I am not the one to have US flags all over my car, or on my house, but that doesn't make me un-patriotic. However, I did notice some things that were bothering me like one guy in a pickup truck driving like a maniac, and his passenger yelling at all passer-by's "buy American or else!" But those incidents were very few. Just think and compare to what would it be like if Al Khaida would be the rulers! Would we be able to even be on this e-mail list and speak about it freely? Hmmm...something to think about there. America may not be perfect, but who is? Is there a perfect society? I never judge the people by their nationality, race, sex, sexual orientation. I only judge them for their actions, and how their actions affect others. In my book a person who molests and kills a child is just as horrible, if not worse, yeah, definitely worse than Osama.
Lina
Concrete you don't free my soul... ...Midnight Oil
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<P> Sharon wrote:<BR><BR>> I'm from the US and one of the things that's always interested me<BR>> about Midnight Oil is its up-front presentation of itself as an 'Australian<BR>> band'. In some of the interviews on the discs and tapes that I've seen, Rob<BR>> or someone talks about making Australian music, loving Australia, what a<BR>> great country it is, etc. I've heard plenty of critical comments about<BR>> Pauline or other people/situations in Australia, but always this great love for<BR>> the country.<BR>> <BR>> I've tried to think before about American musicians/bands that have a<BR>> similar connection with the US and for some reason I have trouble.<BR>> Bruce Springsteen comes to mind, not just for "Born in the USA" (one of the<BR>> few Springsteen songs I really don't like) but for a lot of his other<BR>> music that takes blue collar life and issues in the US seriously. And we have<BR>> lots of overtly 'patriotic' country music (but that's another beast all<BR>> together).
<P><EM>One band (actually originally Canadian, from Yorkville district of Toronto) that deals with US and the real life is Stepppenwolf. They are known for their anthem Born To Be Wild, but quite frankly, like Oils, they have other good songs, but not too many people heard them unfortunately. Their song "Monster" is a very good example. That song was written in late 60's, but as time goes on, it's almost prophetic. Another one of their newer songs is called "Endless Commercial" and that one is satirical criticism of TV and the agency CASH (Consumer Agency for Spending Habits). Or the comical "News I Can Use" about media. That's just to name a few... Steppenwolf music has many-many times dealt with the real life, and many times focusing on right and wrong, rich and poor, nature, freedom, and other very important issues in US and other countries. What's interesting is that the lead singer of Steppenwolf, John Kay was not born in US. He came here as a child from Germany, at the age of 5, legally blind, running away from Prussia Germany after World War II. As a matter of fact, I am also member of the Wolfpack, and was for many-many years. Steppenwolf.com is their website, and right this moment politics are also being heavily discussed on their fan link! And fighting there too, oh yeah!</EM>
<BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px solid">
<P>Rhonda wrote:</P>
<P><BR>I grew up in the US and moved to Canada exactly 10 years ago today, and<BR>am now a dual citizen. I have a lot of conflicted/mixed feelings about<BR>the US and patriotism in general; Canadians are reputed to be quite<BR>laid-back & not as flag-waving patriotic as Americans....to some, it<BR>appears as if the term "Canadian patriotism" is an oxymoron because<BR>we're usually pretty low-key about it. But if you drive down any street<BR>around here, there will be a good number of Canadian flags posted by the<BR>house or garage....we just don't have them in bumper stickers all over<BR>our cars. Having lived on both sides of the border, (and preferring<BR>Canada), my feeling is for the country itself....the land, the pines,<BR>the lakes, HOCKEY (!), Tim Hortons, Molson commercials, This Hour Has 22<BR>Minutes, just weird little things I miss when I'm Stateside visiting<BR>family. It's not something explained easily....we have the same disgust<BR>for our politicians that the Oils seem to have for theirs, but I get the<BR>feeling that the love for the land itself is the same. It's not the<BR>figurehead of government that one misses, it's the country behind it<BR>that endures in your heart. When they are touring abroad, I bet it's<BR>the simple little things that are "Australia" to them are what they<BR>miss....the red dirt, the familiar accent, the taste of the food, the<BR>names of the towns and streets (who knows, maybe even Vegemite! hehe). <BR>I know I'm not explaining this very well but the feeling is difficult to<BR>put into words. In that way, I think they're intensely patriotic, the<BR>same way I am about Canada. It's the feeling of "home" when you've<BR>found 'your place', you would do anything to protect it from harm, and<BR>lament its shortcomings and when things go wrong - like they do in their music.<BR><BR>I left the US partially because I was uncomfortable with the US' global<BR>image of the often "bossy big brother," and no longer wanted to be a<BR>part of it or identified with it. But someti
mes Canadian policy is<BR>almost as bad, because we're the "little brother' that tags along (or<BR>gets dragged along) with nearly everything the US says/does. I'm aware<BR>that Canada's not perfect - treatment of the aboriginal peoples of this<BR>country is just as rotten as that in the US, both historically and<BR>present-day. We've got issues that need addressing in many areas. <BR>Guess now I'm twice as conflicted as I was before moving!! ;-) Anyway,<BR>apologies for my rambling, if anyone can put their finger on this this<BR>more precisely, I'd breathe a sigh of relief!<BR><BR>/Rhonda<BR></P>
<P><EM>I grew up in Odessa, Ukraine, and came to United States in 1977. When I was just a kid, back in Soviet Union back then, there was no such thing as freedom, and yours. I remember not being able to speak what you think, not being able to listen to your choice of music, and many other things that people in a free world take forgranted. Before coming to the US I lived in Italy for almost 2 years, and really loved that place. That's where I learned about freedom. Then, we came to US. We almost went to Australia, but somehow my mom chose to go to US instead. That's maybe why I am so interested in Australia, and wanted to see that place all my life! Life in US has been good to me, and I have many choices and the freedom to do what I want (if I can afford it, and that's another thing eh?). I learned that with lots of hard work, many things eventually get accomplished. I love US and it's land, I love the Rocky Mountains, Montana, Wyoming, I love nature and camping, I love it so much that we just bought a land in Montana in the Bull mountains after spending few weeks there on our vacation. Maybe one day we will be able to move there. The only thing that really scares me is driving there in the winter. Chicago is bad enough hmmmm.!</EM></P>
<P><EM>Well, when 9/11 happened, I was at work and we all ran to the lunchroom to watch the little TV up on the wall. It was just like watching some crazy 007 movie, except it was not! I thought it was some kind of a nightmare. When I finally realized what was going on, my heart dropped. I began to think about all the people in the whole world, and how we will all be affected by it, just because of some crazed man (or men?) want to seek revenge! I am not the one to have US flags all over my car, or on my house, but that doesn't make me un-patriotic. However, I did notice some things that were bothering me like one guy in a pickup truck driving like a maniac, and his passenger yelling at all passer-by's "buy American or else!" But those incidents were very few. Just think and compare to what would it be like if Al Khaida would be the rulers! Would we be able to even be on this e-mail list and speak about it freely? Hmmm...something to think about there. America may not be perfect, but who is? Is there a perfect society? I never judge the people by their nationality, race, sex, sexual orientation. I only judge them for their actions, and how their actions affect others. In my book a person who molests and kills a child is just as horrible, if not worse, yeah, definitely worse than Osama.</EM></P></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR><P>Lina</P>
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<P> </P>
<P><STRONG>Concrete you don't free my soul...</STRONG> ...<EM>Midnight Oil</EM></P><p><br><hr size=1>
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