Protest songs have been a common theme in the music section of
City Weekly lately, for obvious reasons. But another
member of the
City Weekly staff who has been thinking about them too. Life or Death Music Matters—or LoDMM for short—is the project of Doug Kruithof, who manages the
CW online store. His projects can be found on Spotify if you search his name, featuring massive playlists varying in themes, and based on challenges that come from “puzzles” generated by questions in email chains he sends around to a seemingly select group (yours truly got to fill out a survey about songs, birthdays and dead celebs). The innovative archival format is unique and interactive, and now Kruithof is aiming his gaze towards collecting all the protest songs from the first half of the last century. On the first installment, titled “Positive Protest - Uncovered, Discovered + Covered,” there are multiple versions of early protest songs like “Bourgeoisie Blues,” “Go Down Moses,” “Swing Low Sweet Chariot” and other lesser-known tunes, making for a comprehensive survey of all the different styles and iterations of the sounds of protest in America’s first modern century. Follow Kruithof for the monthly installments he plans to drop going into October, covering eras like the Vietnam War, WWII and the years between the ‘70s and the ‘90s, which were filled with many protests of their own. It’s a great way to connect to our current moment besides scrolling Twitter or reading the news, to really feel the spirit of it all in these songs from our past. Find the link to the playlist
here.