American Labor celebrated in some really good contemporary songs--by Anne Feeney, The Foremen, Mad Agnes, John McCutcheon, Utah Phillips, and David Rovics.
See "Credits" for playlist.
David Rovics, "The Day the Minimum Wage Workers Went on Strike." An upbeat celebration of the working class and of strength in solidarity . . . with some very nice banjo picking.
Mad Agnes, "Katie." A witty and sharp critique of bourgeois life from the perspective of the long-suffering--and admirable--cleaning lady.
The Foremen, "Workin on an MBA." Comic satire of the cushy life & boundless self-pity of the men in the gray flannel suits--set to a tune that recalls a chain gang work-song. Yep, one of those voices is Roy Zimmermans.
Utah Phillips, "Moose Turd Pie." Spoken, w/ a little guitar. Utah recalls (with only the SLIGHTEST hint of exaggeration) the worst job he ever held.
Anne Feeney, "Business News / Hallelujah, Im a Bum!" A beautiful rendition of an 1890s song about unemployment. A fine homage to Simon & Garfunkels 1965 classic "Silent Night / 6 oClock News"; and a good song in its own right.
John McCutcheon, "Doing Our Job." McCutcheon applies Cal Ripken Jr.s modest remarks upon breaking a major-league record to working people generally. A long-overdue celebration of the BEST of American working-class values.
New World Notes is produced under the auspices (Latin for "suspicious gaze") of WWUH-FM, a community service of that beacon of light in darkest Connecticut, the University of Hartford.
Previously broadcast. Files downloaded from the links, below, are identified as NWN #391.
More details, photos, links, & other good stuff on the show's blog: http://newworldnotes.blogspot.com
You can download this program also from The Internet Archive (www.archive.org). The page with the download links is here: https://archive.org/download/NewWorldNotes391-LaborDayMusicalSpecial
SERIES OVERVIEW -- Political and social commentary in a variety of genres. Exploring the gap between what we want ... and what they're trying to make us settle for. "Date recorded," below, = date of first scheduled broadcast.
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