Not only do the lyrics to ‘Killing in the Name of’ cleverly portray the sad nature of institutional racism and police brutality — which is sadly fitting to the recent string of events in South Africa — but its feisty guitar riffs actually make you want to get up and fucking do something about it. As you might know, it has enough force to turn Mary Poppins into a riot girl, so make sure breakable valuables near to you are safe. Or don’t, and show people how angry you are.
 
 
 
‘For What It’s Worth’ – Buffalo Springfield

‘For What It’s Worth’ may have later been associated as a protest song against events such as the Vietnam War, but was in fact written by Stephen Stills in memory of an incident less severe but nonetheless disturbing. In November 1966 some sour residents and business owners called for a pre-school-like curfew for club-goers as early as 10pm on the Sunset Strip in LA, which is home to the loud and legendary Whiskey a Go Go. A protest was organised by fun-loving rock ‘n’ rollers almost in a wink of an eye, resulting in about a 1000 demonstrators — among them Jack Nicholson and Peter Fonda — shouting for the right to party. Three weeks after on 5 December, 1966, Stills was musing about the event and came up with the lyrics,

‘There’s battle lines being drawn
Nobody’s right if everybody’s wrong’.

 
 
 
‘Imagine’ – John Lennon

Although often accused of naive dreaming-of-utopia, ‘Imagine’ remains one of the most widespread peace anthems. So before we attempt to shoot off a load of cynicism, it’s worth giving wishful thinking a try — it’s generally more satisfying and, although its guarantee for success isn’t bullet proof, it normally gets you further than a fit of negativity can. After all, there’s a reason why the lyrics

‘You, you may say
I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one
I hope some day you’ll join us
And the world will live as one’

have outlived their author on coffee cups, posters and sugar wrapping. Let’s stay inspired and maybe one day the naive dream will become a miraculous reality.
 
 
 
‘Oxgam/Baxabene Oxamu’ – Miriam Makeba

Miriam ‘Mama Africa’ Makeba or aka the epitome and role model of human rights activism can’t go unmentioned in South Africa after a day that celebrates equality. She got the world to bow in front of her with a tears-of-compassion-and-admiration inducing power that sprung to the fore every time she stepped into public. As a true citizen of the world holding nine different passports throughout her life, she stood up for South Africa and the world, encouraging a humane togetherness with her incredible never-give-up spirit.
 
 
 
‘Zombie’ – The Cranberries

The fact that this song is often heard in a pub/party/puke environment with drunken self-proclaimed heroes sing-shouting ‘zooombieee’ into a smoked-up room, makes it hard to believe that it actually deals with a sourly sad topic. It was written in 1993 in memory of Jonathan Ball and Tim Parry, who were killed in an IRA bombing in Warrington.
 
 
 
‘W.M.A.’ – Pearl Jam

‘W.M.A.’ stands for ‘White Male American’ and deals with the sad reality of police racism. Eddie Vedder said the following about the creation of the song:

‘I think I’d probably stayed at the rehearsal studio the night before and it had been a couple of days since I had a shower and I’ve got my old shoes on and I don’t look too great, a little grunge on my teeth or whatever. And I’m sitting there with this guy who’s of a darker colour than me, and along come these cops, they run around with their bikes trying to look cool. So here they come, they’re heading straight for us. And they just ignored me and [started] hassling him. Compared to me, this guy looks as respectable as f–k. But they started hassling him, and that just blew me the f–k away. So I started hassling them and one thing led to another… I was just really wound up by it. I had all this f–king energy rushing through me. I was mad. Really f–king angry. I got back to the studio and the guys had been working on this thing and I just went straight in and did the vocals, and that was the song.’
 
 
 
‘Raise your Hand’ – Janis Joplin

‘Raise Your Hand’ may not be specifically about human rights because it could just as well apply to a niggly narky little child wanting an ice cream, but pays tribute to the worth of self nonetheless. Originally performed by Eddie Floyd, it became a part of Janis Joplin’s concert repertoire. And who would be more suitable to sing this serenade of self-confidence than the all-powerful and ever-inspiring songstress of the ’60s? So whatever it is,

‘You’d better get up,
Now do you understand,
And raise you hand!’

If the above has got you into the get-up-and-protest mood you should go and do just that: stand up for humanity in harmony. In case, however, you need further motivation, here are some more songs that we found equally important yet didn’t include because of space issues:

‘One Tin Soldier’ – The Original Caste

‘Politik Kills’ – Manu Chao

‘Streets of London’ – Ralph McTell

‘Blowin’ in the Wind’- Bob Dylan

‘Get Up, Stand Up’ – Bob Marley

‘Talkin ’bout a Revolution’ – Tracy Chapman

‘Revolution’ – The Beatles
 
 
Words: Christine Hogg

In the Arab world in general, heavy metal music is somewhat ‘feared’, because it expresses deep, sometimes repressed emotions, in a loud way. We take no notice of negative perceptions which some may have of us. Our aim is to keep making the music we love, and we shall continue to do so, no matter what. Perseverance is key!

During apartheid in South Africa music was a very important part of the struggle. Freedom songs by, for example, Miriam Makeba, Abdullah Ibrahim, Hugh Masekela or Vusi Mahlasela gave confidence to the oppressed and the South African/Zimbabwean toyi-toyi dance performed by anti-apartheid protesters played a significant role in intimidating the South African troops. To what extent can music influence certain circumstances?

Music has the power to break walls and transcend boundaries, overcoming language, background, opinion, and any other form of barrier. What we speak about, the core messages of our songs, seek to unite opposing sides that somehow feel and hope for the same things. At the end of the day, we don’t seek to intimidate anyone, rather shed the light on our pressures as the youth of today, and give a voice to those unable to speak up.

Che Guevara laid down his medical supplies to pick up a box of ammunition and soon was promoted by Fidel Castro to the commander of a second army column. What do you think about this decision? What would have to happen for you to exchange a musical instrument for a weapon?

Che Guevara made a calculated decision based on the circumstances he was living in. Our times are different. The mindset is different. We play music, and hold up our guitars, bases or drum sticks, to fill our hands with peaceful tools, leaving no room for ‘the want to exchange a musical instrument for a weapon’. And we hope to never find ourselves in a situation that urges us to do so. We want to bring the world together with our music. We dream of co-existence and those who use weapons as a primary tool of communication do not.

What plans do you have for the future?

We plan to tour, lots of touring and performances are in our horizon as musicians. We plan to promote our first album, 180 Degrees, across the globe and reach out to audiences willing to listen. We’re also working on our next album as we speak. As musicians, we understand that we’re a work in progress, and we hope to keep working with the best to develop ourselves as much as possible.

For updates stay posted to Tanjaret Daghet’s Facebook page or listen to their music here.

To return to the article in one small seed magazine issue #3, click here.

]]> http://www.onesmallseed.com/2011/03/syrian-rock-metal-band-qa-continued/feed/ 0