In need of inspiration?
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Music has become a commodity to be bought and sold, but for some of us the taking part and using your voice to project emotions and inspire yourself and perhaps others is still centrally important. This clip sent to me by someone in Sheffield Socialist Choir makes the point that we are all one human race and each of us can put our own interpretation on a song. Ultimately this planet belongs to us all and we all have to play our part in saving it and changing it to a more harmonious place: Hope it works: http://vimeo.com/moogaloop..swf?clip_id=2539741 Some of this spirit is embodied in the UK annual Street Music Festival (Choirs Festival) that takes place this year in Whitby on the weekend of July 9th-10th
Here's a bit of background from playingforchange.com
'Playing for change' is going to feature on the Jazz/World stage at prime time slot on Saturday at Glastonbury.
Mark Johnson got the idea for the Playing for Change project one day when he happened upon a New York City subway performance. "Some of the best music I ever heard in my life was on the way to the studio," he said. "It just hit me that great music is just moments in time, and they exist all over the world."
So over several years, he travelled the world to capture those moments. They included street musicians from India, performers from South Africa and a children's choir from Ireland.
The album's lead single, a remake of a Ben E. King classic, starts out with the soulful, raspy voice of singer Roger Ridley, playing his acoustic guitar in the streets Santa Monica, Calif., then segues into the voice another street performer, Grandpa Elliott, in New Orleans. It then blends their voices and instruments while folding in musicians and vocalists from France, Brazil, South Africa and elsewhere.
The album also includes versions of Bob Marley's "One Love" and Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come," as well as big-name cameos from Bono and Keb' Mo', who said the project has a "big purpose. It's found its way into the consciousness of the public."
"Playing for Change makes a statement because its primarily people who were playing music on the streets," he added. "What it says is people are really moved by real people playing real music. It's real feelings and real situations."
It's also about more than music. Johnson has started a foundation to create music schools across the world, and more concert performances are planned, "There's something transcendent about it and the whole idea," said TV producer Norman Lear. "(There's) a global search for desire for connection, a spiritual surf ... this kind of music has caught that effort.
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