gagablog 65: Pete Seeger in Oz and Gaga the Glittery Golden Road

Pete Seeger believed in a peaceful future paradise and was one of the greatest lights to help us achieve it. It is a sad day today because he died last night but it is a happy day because as people remember him, and even more people are introduced to him through the media, we will take another huge step forward toward that goal. The future he believed in, and sought for us all, is one of peace, without money or war, or needless suffering at all. He wanted to bring us together, to awaken the goodness of our hearts so we can realize this dream is real and make it happen. It is the same dream I have always had, and since I was a kid I called it Oz and believed in it after reading such a perfect descriptions of how it would all work in the books by L. Frank Baum. Other people have other names for this future paradise of peace, and when we really believe it we expect to find it on the earth, eventually, and work towards it in the meantime. Pete was so influential in helping us reach this goal because he truly believed it and it is one of the best things to believe in, but can become the hardest because you go against the whole "world", as it is, to seek this kind of revolution of Love. It is the same belief Martin Luther King Jr. dreamed and Jesus taught, and so many others. The ones who guide us the best are those who believe it the most, the ones who have felt and seen it, like Buddha, who then can see most clearly what we need to change to get there. Music is one of the main ways to enter the peaceful paradise. It has always been this way because of the nature of music to bring people together and inspire and inform people and share feelings, even for countless years before we developed more complex, "civilized" problems. Now that we have those, to the extent that we can easily overheat, pollute, or blow up our environment, have weapons and guns etc, we need music even more. Pete Seeger responded to that need with the magic of music and spirit of kindness. We are all the same in so many ways but people who really believe in "Oz" have the duty to work to achieve it, as impossible as it may seem in circumstances, and it makes us differentonly because we are more like what we will all become. We have to overcome petty differences, including the "petty" but significance of the greatest income inequality ever. Obama used executive order to raise the minimum wage today. The co-incidence of this with remembering Pete Seeger proves the Gaga/Oz magic I have been talking about all this time. Just as I have been talking to my friend about the illusion of science for three days then on the third day my perspective was "proven" by Stephen Hawking's announcement that the black holes he told us about in the first place decades ago don't exist, at least not like we think. I'll explain all that later. The important thing is that addressing wealth disparity we are making progress on that Yellow Brick Road - the goal is no money at all but only the truly visionary, or young-at-heart whove read Oz, can see how easy that is and can be. Music is magical and always has been, but becomes revolutionary when it is the voice of the people in opposition to evils of society. "Pop" music, though subject to fctors that try to steer society on the mainstream course, which is why is is also usually mainstream, is, in it's nature, revolutionalry because it is popular music,the music of the people. Yes, today it is easy to see the record company, establishment influence making pop music a tool of oppressive forces in the state, but all that developed after Pete Seeger got some great stuff started, and that divine spark will never be extinguished no matter how much gloss covers it. When Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie started singing, they really developed pop music in a way, in the pure form as popular music, expressing the cares of the people that were being ignored by the status quo, mainstream. Pete'smusic was revolutionary and popular because so many people needed it. And it is pure music, people respond to the heart and message about it. And he was intentional about engaging his audience, getting us to sing along. This is so important, and gets into how significant he was not just for the music he played but how and where he played it - at protests and marches, to inspire the best in people facing some of the hardest troubles we need to overcome, such as war and pollution and greed. He really got people involved, in the song but moreso in the message, in the world, with each other. It is a great day because we get to focus on him and talk about these ideas and he represented them as well as anyone, but there are so many others who carry the torch and blaze through the darkness. Before Pete Seeger there were so many musicians who carried and shaped the tradition of liberation through music. The roots of American folk music go back to oppressed immigrants and poor rural folks and the roots of all popular music in America go back to chants and songs of people oppressed by slavery and spirituals, jazz, and soul music of people oppressed by economics and bigotry since then - these grew into all the rap, rock, country, dance music and everything we think of as American pop music and one of the best things to love about our culture. The deepest root possible for music is to be a lierating force, that is one of music's main purposes, and the people who fulfill that purpose the best really stand out adn influence us in major ways. I know there are many more I don't know and plenty I'm just not thinking of, but Jerry Garcia and Michael Jackson stand out to me as examples. And of course Gaga. We all have the benefit of those who came before us, so in a sense Gaga's role is the "easiest" for being here at the end after all who came before her, now that we are at the transformation point, but in another sense it is the hardest for actually seeing us through the transition. Pete Seeger and all great musicians envisioned this future for us, gave us hope and comfort. Gaga is the one, now, when we still need it most but for even crazier reasons than before, who is actually putting our feet step by step on that glittery golden road and waling with us, arm in arm, singing our songs of who we are and are becoming. Its a different time for each artist - Michael had us all wearing cool fashions, dancing and looking in the mirror to learn to love each other. Jerry got us high in every way and just let the paradise pour forth. Pete got the crowd to sing along, gave the protest march a happy uplifting song, and got us all smiling, hoping, and believing with him, and going for it. Gaga has one of the largest audiences ever, spread out all over the world and connected by the net and the luckiest ones at concerts or events or meeting her, but connecting to each other and the world more and more as she encourages us all to make and share our art, sing along with her in the modern world of unlimited media. The protest is still there, the revolution, even if we aren't the traditional mob gathered in one place. Gaga said BTW would be a cultural baptism and has referred to the revolution artpop will ignite - its the same one we have all been yearning for in our hearts. If there is one category little monsters belong to (or hippies or any people who are defined by their love of music, for that matter) it is the creative people, we tend to be more creative than the people we live around. This is a glimpse of the future, because we can all be more creative and benefit more from our creativity, but when that is revolutionary compared to the mechanical, porfit-based world the ones who believe in it stand out as "weirdos" - and little monsters may be the weirdest, most creative group yet, the hippies of this generation - but it is the path we are all on, the path of peace. I got the news from facebook that Pete Seeger died - it was the middle of the night and one of my best friends from high school posted about it. I was happy that his words were how I first heard the news. He said something complimentary and then said he remembered Pete playing for them at a protest march - this was the friend I could have the best intellectual conversations with and we protested police brutality together and other ways to try and help poeple, activist style, but mostly I just really valued being able to talk with such an intelligent, idealistic person at such a young age and it helped me realize my belief in these ideals. I was not at that march, but I was just so proud, of my friend for being there, for Pete for being there, for everyone being there and everyone who would want to, or would find out about it or other protest and get inspired to take action themselves. I was saddened to hear on the radio an interview with Pete's son in which he said Pete was disappointed in life and struggled with the idea that he had always belived that the guitar is mightier than the sword. He said on the one hand his life's work was complete since he published a book on how to play banjo, but his son's comments impled that Pete felt discouraged and like he didn't succeed because we did not reach peace in his lifetime. He lived 95 years, and when I look back on history I see all sorts of indications from 100 years ago and further back that could lead a hopeful and inspired person to expect us to reach paradise on earth any day now - from my perspective, the Oz perspective, it is baffling why we don't do it, other than it is so hard for people to think about because we are so sold on the idea of "the way it is". Music and art, and good people, give us these ideas, they spark us up. I am certain that Pete has realized that he did win, now that he is in the fullness of the spirit. As a visionary he always saw through time to the gleaming furutre awaiting us, but year after year he saw more and more getting in the way, too - more wars and injustice, global warming debate and everything else the republicans ever do. But he also saw us through all those years without us nuking ourselves into oblivion, his influence helped pull us back from that brink and while we still have far to go we are getting there. Thanks to him and the others who came before who paved and smolted and laid the road together and the ones who came after who shine and grease it up and leave the glitter trail and embraces to take us safely down it. You did it, Pete,you inspired generations and brought the brightest light of Love out clearly to help us see. I saw you just a few months ago on the Colbert Report and you brought tears of joy to my eyes, and the whole audience, there and at home. That will go on, you will live on in that eternal spirit of goodness you shared so much with us. Be happy and know that we are going to make it, and it is thanks to you, the love you've shown and how that awakens us to the love we all share. We'll get some hammers and hammer it out now that you don't need to anymore, just keep singing us back home and we will sing along - see you later, have fun! Next: Peyton Manning, Champ, Broncos Win the Superbowl of Weed for Denver, the REAL Emerald City: Football/Religion