Sep
5
2018
David Byrne Presents: Conscious Dance
By Todomundo
| Song | Artist | Purchase |
|---|---|---|
| Love Is the Message | MFSB | Amazon |
| Happy People | The Temptations | Amazon |
| Glasshouse | The Temptations | Amazon |
| You Make Your Own Heaven and Hell Right Here on Earth | The Temptations | Amazon |
| Home Is Where The Hatred Is | Gil Scott-Heron | Amazon |
| Love Train | The O'Jays | Amazon |
| For the Love of Money | The O'Jays | Amazon |
| Don't Call Me Brother | The O'Jays | Amazon |
| Living In A Bottle | The Organ Grinder | Amazon |
| Winter in America | Gil Scott-Heron | Amazon |
| The Bottle | Gil Scott-Heron | Amazon |
| Love's In Need Of Love Today | Stevie Wonder | Amazon |
| Family Reunion | The O'Jays | Amazon |
| Village Ghetto Land | Stevie Wonder | Amazon |
| Pastime Paradise | Stevie Wonder | Amazon |
| He's Misstra Know-it-All | Stevie Wonder | Amazon |
| Wake Up Everybody | Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes | Amazon |
| The Revolution Will Not Be Televised | Gil Scott-Heron | Amazon |
| What's Going On | Marvin Gaye | Amazon |
| Mercy Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) | Marvin Gaye | Amazon |
| Across 110th Street | Bobby Womack | Amazon |
| Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) | Marvin Gaye | Amazon |
| Trouble Man | Marvin Gaye | Amazon |
| People Get Ready | The Impressions | Amazon |
| Family Affair (Single Version) | Sly & The Family Stone | Amazon |
| Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City (Single Version) | Bobby "Blue" Bland | Amazon |
| Smiling Faces Sometimes | The Undisputed Truth | Amazon |
| The Ghetto | Donny Hathaway | Amazon |
| The Payback | James Brown | Amazon |
| The World Is A Ghetto | War | Amazon |
| Why Can't We Be Friends | War | Amazon |
| A Change Is Gonna Come | Sam Cooke | Amazon |
| Freddie's Dead (Theme From 'Superfly') | Curtis Mayfield | Amazon |
| Respect Yourself | The Staple Singers | Amazon |
| Brother's Gonna Work It Out (The Mack/Soundtrack Version) | Willie Hutch | Amazon |
| Gypsy Woman (She's Homeless) (Basement Boy Strip To The Bone Mix) | Crystal Waters | Amazon |
| Gypsy Woman (She's Homeless) (Radio Edit) | Crystal Waters | Amazon |
| Hard Times | Baby Huey & The Baby Sitters | Amazon |
| Theme From Cleopatra Jones | Joe Simon | Amazon |
| Nelson Mandela | The Specials | Amazon |
| Cosmic Slop | Funkadelic | Amazon |
| Sign 'O' The Times | Prince | Amazon |
| The Future | Prince | Amazon |
Writing songs that deal directly with social justice and contemporary issues is hard—at least it is for me. I feel like I often manage to approach these things in a round about or indirect way. When I want to pontificate or give my opinion or analysis on a particular issue, I often do it in a blog post or newspaper op ed rather than in a song. My sense with my own writing is that music and songs can do wonderful things—allow people to feel empowered, less alone, part of a community—but maybe they’re not so good at arguing a specific social or political point.
Others have proved me wrong. I think of Bob Dylan’s “Hurricane” which was like a kind of reportage. The Specials—lots of their songs, but “Free Nelson Mandela” stands out. Peter Gabriel’s “Biko”. The common thread in those songs and many others—in a lot of hip hop too—is a personal story where one person’s story stands for a wider injustice.
The Janelle Monae song I am performing on my current tour is a little bit like that—the tragic deaths of the individuals named in the song stand for a larger injustice—which then doesn’t have to be underlined. It’s obvious.
I also think of the songs in this playlist—songs with irresistible dance grooves and great melodies that didn’t shy away from looking at the world while also imagining what a better world could be. They’re mostly, though not all, from a particular era—the 70s—a formative musical era for me. Hearing these incredibly catchy songs made me realize pop music could be danceable and conscious at the same time. (A lot of rock music had a lot to say, but not all of it was as brilliantly good for the feet and body at the same time as this stuff). These songs are hugely inspirational even if I might have to continue on my search of how to do this in my own way.
David Byrne
NYC
Sep
5
2018
David Byrne Presents: Conscious Dance
By Todomundo
| Song | Artist | Purchase |
|---|---|---|
| Love Is the Message | MFSB | Amazon |
| Happy People | The Temptations | Amazon |
| Glasshouse | The Temptations | Amazon |
| You Make Your Own Heaven and Hell Right Here on Earth | The Temptations | Amazon |
| Home Is Where The Hatred Is | Gil Scott-Heron | Amazon |
| Love Train | The O'Jays | Amazon |
| For the Love of Money | The O'Jays | Amazon |
| Don't Call Me Brother | The O'Jays | Amazon |
| Living In A Bottle | The Organ Grinder | Amazon |
| Winter in America | Gil Scott-Heron | Amazon |
| The Bottle | Gil Scott-Heron | Amazon |
| Love's In Need Of Love Today | Stevie Wonder | Amazon |
| Family Reunion | The O'Jays | Amazon |
| Village Ghetto Land | Stevie Wonder | Amazon |
| Pastime Paradise | Stevie Wonder | Amazon |
| He's Misstra Know-it-All | Stevie Wonder | Amazon |
| Wake Up Everybody | Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes | Amazon |
| The Revolution Will Not Be Televised | Gil Scott-Heron | Amazon |
| What's Going On | Marvin Gaye | Amazon |
| Mercy Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) | Marvin Gaye | Amazon |
| Across 110th Street | Bobby Womack | Amazon |
| Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) | Marvin Gaye | Amazon |
| Trouble Man | Marvin Gaye | Amazon |
| People Get Ready | The Impressions | Amazon |
| Family Affair (Single Version) | Sly & The Family Stone | Amazon |
| Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City (Single Version) | Bobby "Blue" Bland | Amazon |
| Smiling Faces Sometimes | The Undisputed Truth | Amazon |
| The Ghetto | Donny Hathaway | Amazon |
| The Payback | James Brown | Amazon |
| The World Is A Ghetto | War | Amazon |
| Why Can't We Be Friends | War | Amazon |
| A Change Is Gonna Come | Sam Cooke | Amazon |
| Freddie's Dead (Theme From 'Superfly') | Curtis Mayfield | Amazon |
| Respect Yourself | The Staple Singers | Amazon |
| Brother's Gonna Work It Out (The Mack/Soundtrack Version) | Willie Hutch | Amazon |
| Gypsy Woman (She's Homeless) (Basement Boy Strip To The Bone Mix) | Crystal Waters | Amazon |
| Gypsy Woman (She's Homeless) (Radio Edit) | Crystal Waters | Amazon |
| Hard Times | Baby Huey & The Baby Sitters | Amazon |
| Theme From Cleopatra Jones | Joe Simon | Amazon |
| Nelson Mandela | The Specials | Amazon |
| Cosmic Slop | Funkadelic | Amazon |
| Sign 'O' The Times | Prince | Amazon |
| The Future | Prince | Amazon |