The Vinyl Community's Mazzy's new "Cease & Desist" YouTube video.
Norman Maslov (Mazzy) has developed quite a following amongst the Vinyl Community, with a subscriber base of over 5,000. And with good reason: He has a nice LP and CD music library, a good knowledge of the music the discs contain and the artists responsible, and is himself an interesting, entertaining fella. For a good time, check them out.
His newest video was made in honor of the current political situation in The U.S.A., and concerns the use of songs by a guy who will very soon be leaving his current residence (though he and many of his "slower" fans have yet to accept that fact). In the video, Mazzy cites a number of songs this individual and his minions have used at rallies, etc., songs for which the copywrite holders have issued to the individual Cease & Desist orders. They include the following:
- The Beatles: "Here Comes The Sun" (written by George Harrison). McCartney suggested an alternative: "Beware Of Darkness" (on a GH solo album). Funny, ay? ;-)
- Bruce Springsteen: "Born In The U.S.A.". Used by Ronald Reagan as well, who also didn’t "get" the lyrics.
- The Rolling Stones: "You Can’t Always Get What You Want".
- Tom Petty: "I Won’t Back Down". Yeah, we know.
- REM: "It’s The End Of The World As We Know It". Fortunately, not as much so as a second term would have meant.
- Phil Collins: "In The Air Tonight".
- The Village People: "Macho Man".
After that, Mazzy offers a selection of alternative songs, ones with titles more appropriate to said individual:
- The Beatles: "I’m A Loser".
- Neil Innes (The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, The Rutles): "How Sweet To Be An Idiot". Harsh ;-)
- The Knickerbockers: "Lies". A great song, by the way.
- The Smiths: "Big Mouth Strikes Again", "Unlovable", and "Half A Person". The latter being in this context generous.
- Dan Hicks: "How Can I Miss You When You Won’t Go Away", "Cheaters Don’t Win".
- John Lennon: "How Do You Sleep At Night?" (Answer: On the big pile of money he swindled his "marks" out of), "Crippled Inside", and "Gimme Some Truth" (don’t hold your breathe).
- Bob Dylan: "Neighborhood Bully".
- The Kinks: "He’s Evil".
- And finally and most fittingly: Julie London: "Adios".
I always thought that then candidate Trump's use of "You Can't Always Get What You Want" was a masterstroke. Positioning himself as the "you get what you need" persona was also one of the few self reflected statements he's publicly made. Actually, his dark vision of the country is better reflected by "Gimme Shelter". And to wrap up the Rolling Stones and politics, some lyrics from "Salt Of the Earth":
Raise your glass to the hard working people Let's drink to the uncounted heads Let's think of the wavering millions Who needs leading, but get gamblers instead Spare a thought for the stay-at-home voter His empty eyes gaze at strange beauty shows And a parade of the gray suited grafters A choice of cancer or polio When I look into the faceless crowd A swirling mass of grays and black and white They don't look real to me Or don't they look so strange
Audiogon is also a music site. This thread is about songs used in a political manner. Anyone not wanting to read about a video addressing that topic is free to not do so. Ah, there’s a song right there: "Freedom" by Richie Havens (performed live in a movie I don’t care for: Woodstock. I know, I know; this is an audio site. No one gives a damn about my views on movies ;-).
Considering what’s going at this very moment, I nominate the great compilation album of various artists performing Leiber & Stoller songs, the album’s title being There’s A Riot Goin’ On. Congratulations America, you are now just another banana republic, for a couple more weeks at least.
To paraphrase the great Sex Pistols song, "Anarchy In The U.S."
Question: When said individual (or anyone, really) gets that cease and desist notice, then what happens? I mean, it's not like they stop playing the songs immediately.
The point of this thread is NOT about how any here (including I) "feel" about the issue, but rather first about the YouTube video Norman Maslov posted, and secondly about the artists who did not want their music used for political purposes. And then to have a little fun by listing titles that make a related point. Some people take themselves and their feelings SO seriously. What do they call that? Oh yeah, snowflakes.
**** The point of this thread is NOT about how any here (including I) "feel" about the issue ****
Perhaps not in its entirely, but of course it is; and to suggest otherwise is to be disingenuous. Just one more example of why, IMO, politics has no place on this forum; especially considering the extremely volatile and, frankly, sad time that we are living through.
So, do people listen to, say, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Bonnie Raitt, Ry Cooder, John Mellencamp, and a great number of other artists I could name, and consider the political element in their lyrics off limits on Audiogon? Kinda silly. Speaking of which, Lucinda Williams has a lot to say on her most recent album about the tweeter-in-chief. Oops.
Is the fact that almost all musical artists are liberals/progressives/etc. of no significance? Do those who don’t share their philosophies pretend they are unaware of that fact, and listen to them anyway? As for myself, I don’t let the fact that Wagner was a Nazi sympathizer stop me from loving his music. And Joan Baez’s "correct" politics doesn’t make her voice tolerable to me.
Now Ted Nugent, there's a guy who sucks in EVERY way.
@simao, sending a Cease & Desist may to some degree just be a gesture, to insure everyone knows the artist does not share the politician's views. On the other hand, if the letter is ignored the artist and/or song copyright owner is entitled to sue for damages. I have never heard of that ever having been done, or any damages being awarded. It may be enough just to humiliate the pol. ;-)
But back to Mazzy: He has made a lot of videos (well over 100, perhaps even 200), all worth watching. He has introduced me to some older artists I missed, as well as new ones I have looked into because of his description of them. He's four years younger than I, but being born and raised in San Francisco and living there until 2014 (when he moved to Seattle. Uh Mazzy, watch out for any local nutjobs ;-), he and I (living in the San Jose area from '58 until '79) attended some of the same Fillmore, Winterland, Avalon Ballroom, etc. live shows he mentions in some of his videos. His No.1 Group is The Beatles, but was a little too young to have seen them in '64/5/6 as did I. Na-na-na-na-na, na. ;-)
Mazzy cares about sound quality, but doesn't consider himself an audiophile. Another Vinyl Community YouTube video poster who IS, however, is Michael in Germany, who uses the handle 45 RPM Audiophile. Michael's focus is on the sound quality of LP pressings, but also their musical content. He has a very nice system: Einstein from front to back. He buys vast numbers of LP's from all the reissue labels, including not just MoFi, Analogue Productions, Speakers Corner, Blue Note, Intervention, etc., but also The Electric Recording Company (!). The Acony (Gillian Welch and David Rawlings)-type labels as well, along with major label reissues such as the Neil Young catalog. He panned the Third Man Records LP's he bought (Jack White), which having heard White's production of Loretta Lynn I can understand. Michael is a very charming, likeable guy. Give his videos a shot!
Dylan was a protest singer but unlike Baez he decided to distance himself from the movement.
It certainly didn't harm his music, though many of the folkies, who thought they had bred him and fed him, felt betrayed when he moved away.
In the UK there was a political movement back in 1980s called Red Wedge supported by the likes of Billy Bragg, Paul Weller, Jerry Dammers etc. It didn't last very long and didn't succeed in defeating the incumbent Prime Minister of the time.
Those artists have all grown up considerably since then, although neither Bragg or Weller are in the mainstream now.
Someone like Springsteen has maintained a more centrist stance and thus managed to avoid alienating a sizeable portion of his audience.
As did the Beatles.
This was never better illustrated than in Lennon's song Revolution. The single version (Hey Jude - b side) had him singing "count me in" and yet when the White album came out he sang "count me out".
@cd318, in one version of "Revolution" Lennon sings "out", pauses briefly, then sings "in". That was the expression of his mixed feelings on the subject.
I love Jackson Browne’s songwriting and singing, but when he became overtly political his music became less interesting to me. Not only are the songs just not as good musically, but the lyrics are too "earnest", too literal, less artistic. His political/social causes became more important than the music/songs.
Dylan’s lyrics are of course in a class of their own. His path was the opposite of Jackson’s: from literal (his early, overtly political songs) to abstract, surrealistic, multi-level. He then took another turn and went down the road back to Hank Williams and Lefty Frizzell. After spending all of 1967 recording with Bob in the basement of Big Pink, The Band recorded Music From Big Pink in early ’68, including Lefty’s "Long Black Veil" (a great, great song) on the album.
Dylan was simultaneously recording his John Wesley Harding album in Nashville, again challenging his audience to follow him. A Country album in the midst of Psychedelia?! (remember, JWH came out only six months after Sgt. Pepper). And from the man very instrumental in creating the basis for the emerging Counter Culture?! He lost a lot of people with that album, but led others back in time, where we discovered the Hillbilly element in the original Rock ’n’ Roll. Thank you Bob! He’s still leading the pack, and almost 80 years old. THE musical artist of the early-60’s forward. The world will REALLY be a less interesting place when he’s gone.
Interesting thread & somewhat old. But what the H? Since this is a MUSIC thread, here goes. The party in power (Cmdr & Thief) are holding Cmte meeting today on silencing dissenting opinions thus destroying the 1st amendment, How LONG do you think it will take them to get around to silencing MUSIC they don't like which may be music you DO like? FWIW, I disagree with Neil Youngs political leaning. But I admire his music and play it. The problem with bringing up this stuff is that we are totally divided now as a country. How does this thread help the audiophile community?
Me, "help" the audiophile community? First, I don’t presume to have anything in the way of help for that community; I am not nearly as concerned with my music playback system as is the typical audiophile. "It’s about the music" may be a cliche’, but not in my case. My music library is worth far more than is my hi-fi, both in terms of importance to me and in monetary value.
And then there is the fact that the audiophile community---at least the segment active on Audiogon---has largely ignored the products offered by EAR Yoshino, Music Reference, Eminent Technology, Townshend Audio, and London, those being amongst my favorites. Considering that, why would anyone care what I have to say regarding hi-fi? Well, in the case of the London cartridges, that may be justified. ;-)
But that’s not really what you’re getting at, is it @artemus_5?
This thread was started for those whose taste in music, record collecting, and humor might find Mazzie’s posts in general, and the one referred to above specifically, of interest. I thought it might provide solace for like-minded people here on AG in the closing months of our national nightmare. It did for me.
If it doesn’t for you, I suggest you avoid the recordings of not just Neil Young, but also Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie, Bruce Springsteen, John Fogarty, Ry Cooder, John Mellencamp, Iris Dement, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, Johnny Cash, Steve Earle, Emmylou Harris, and all the other libtard artists.
But don’t despair. There is still Ted Nugent, Mike Love and Bruce Johnston of The Beach Boys, and.....uh, I think that’s about it. Enjoy!
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