Tag Archives: poverty

Louise Wisechild Sings For The Homeless On Promised Land

After having traveled extensively, and having lived in a tent for a year, Lousie Wisechild found herself compelled to pen down the lyrics to her new single ‘Promised Land’.

Louise has been writing music for 40 years and is no stranger to making protest music. Wars and the Reagan era inspired her in her early days of writing music but today, she unfortunately sees that some of the songs she wrote back in the day are sadly still relevant.

Tackling homelessness and the failed promise of trickle down economics, Louise felt that her latest single, which was co-written by producer Paul Hoad, was necessary to be put out into the world after what she witnessed when she returned to her home city of Seattle. She tells me she was shocked by how obvious and stark the contrast is between those who have a lot and those who live under bridges.

“Promised Land was inspired by returning to my hometown of Seattle after five years of being in Guatemala and being shocked both at the the glistening glass office buildings and the tents filling the main plaza of city hall.”

Louise describes how people are living in every park, beneath every bridge and seemingly everywhere you go one can witness this injustice.

“On a personal level, I myself can not afford to live in my hometown. Also I lived in a tent in Hawaii for a year and it was challenging there even with good weather and plenty of space, so imagining the challenges of living on the streets, with no access to a safe, warm, dry place, not even a bathroom… it really pulls at my heart. And how little it takes to find oneself in that situation.”

Louise Wisechild (photo retrieved from the artist’s webpage)

I spoke with Louise about the connection between art and activism and she told me how she believes protest music can be a reminder for us humans. A reminder of the challenges that lay before us, something many people need to be reminded of with all the noise in today’s media world.

Louise makes a reference to Alice Walker who said, “Whatever we love can be saved.” She points out that protest songs can be a tool of empowerment. When we love something we want to protect it, and these songs remind of us what we want to change or fight for.

Check out more about Louise’s music and her other work via her webpage.

Brian Eno Starts A Campaign For Julian Assange And Releases A New Protest Song (videos)

Legendary producer and musician Brian eno is no stranger to activism. Some of his extra curricular activities include being an elected member of the Coordinating Collective along with Noam Chomsky and 10 others, president of the Stop the War Coalition and now he has started his own campaign fighting for the freedom of political prisoner and journalist Julian Assange.

“Journalism survives in an atmosphere of freedom and we’re gradually closing that down now. On December 19th, which is the day of his hearing, we want to swamp the Home Office with emails to protest his innocence. This is important not just for Assange but for the future of journalism, and the future of holding governments to account for what they do.”

For more information about the campaign that was co-founded by Ann Wright (retired United States Army colonel and retired U.S. State Department official, known for her outspoken opposition to the Iraq War) and Medea Benjamin (an American political activist, best known for co-founding Code Pink) click the image below.

See also: ‘Behind These Prison Walls’: David Rovics Records New Music Video Outside The Prison Where Assange Is Being Kept

In addition to fighting for the freedom of the press, on Monday the 9th of December, few days before Thursday elections in the UK, Eno released a jolly song that sarcastically criticizes the UK government and tells of the hardship poor, homeless and working people have to endure in the country.

All proceeds from the song go to the homeless.

A global music collaboration for good

The concept behind the organization Playing For Change is a beautiful path to connect people around the world. The idea is to get musicians from around the world to pitch in and play a song together. The produced videos on their webpage take the viewer on a trip around the planet and its cultures through a rainbow of instruments and sounds while covering some classic tunes. Do check out their page, support the cause and, above all, listen to the music!