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https://kregmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/02/blog-5-blowin-in-the-wind-where-have-all-the-protest-songs-gone.mp3 In 2003, the Dixie Chicks got a dose of censorship when the lead singer Natalie Maines told an audience the band was embarrassed George W. Bush was from Texas. After that comment, radio stations bumped the Dixie Chicks from their playlists. Has the reemergence of politics in music suffered under the weight of this…

https://kregmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/02/blog-4-music-is-power.mp3 In an Indie Wire article by Eric Kohn in October 2020 David Byrne of the Talking Heads is asked: “To what extent do you believe your art actually becomes a catalyst for change?” Byrne replies: “I’ve been asking myself this question — how much influence art can have — and I don’t know the…

https://kregmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/02/blog-3-woody-guthrie-a-life.mp3 In the late ’70’s, Marjorie Guthrie, Woody Guthrie’s wife, started thinking that the time had come for someone to write Woody’s story.  She found a young, eager journalist willing to take on the task, Joe Klein.  Marjorie gave Klein unconditional access to all of Woody’s writings and he went on to write the only…

https://kregmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/02/blog-2-33-revolutions.mp3 Dorian Lynskey is a prominent music critic and has written a thoroughly researched history of 20th century protest music. In his book, 33 Revolutions per Minute: A History of Protest Songs he explains how protest songs force their way into a culture and everyday conversation. Some of the artists he explores are Billie Holiday,…

https://kregmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/02/blog-1-its-the-end-of-the-world-as-clear-channel-knows-it.mp3 Following the September 11th attacks in 2001, Clear Channel Communications (now iHeartMedia), the largest owner of radio stations in the United States, circulated an internal memo containing a list of songs that program directors felt were “lyrically questionable” to play in the aftermath of the attacks. In the article It’s the End of the…