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CounterPunch
August
13 / 19, 2002
Sing
a Simple Song
by Dave Marsh
At the opening show of Bruce Springsteen's new
tour, the first 30 feet of floor space was separated from the
rest by a bike rack barricade. Right behind the bike rack, a
fellow in maybe his early forties, long hair, beard, motorcycle
style t-shirt and jeans, held a tow-headed boy about 10 years
old. The kid had a crayoned sign: "Bruce Rocks." The
father occasionally had exchanges with the security guards about
the dad putting his son's feet on a ladder on the "wrong"
side of the barricade.. I thought, "What a drag if this
is this kid's only chance to spend time with his dad, and he
has to pretend he's interested in a middle-aged rock'n'roll star."
Late in the show, the band lit into "41
Shots," Bruce's song inspired by Amadou Diallo's shooting.
They'd rearranged it so when I heard a high, sweet "41 shots!"
in my left ear, I looked toward Nils Lofgren. But Nils wasn't
singing.
Then I realized that the sound came from
behind me. I turned and there was the 10-year-old singing every
word of the song in a voice to tear your heart up, especially
on the verse where a mother reminds a kid his own age to be careful
not to give the cops a chance to kill him. When the song was
over, I thanked him.
I should have thanked his father, too.
Kids learn songs like "41 Shots" only at home. That particular song got
played a lot only by people who know that it could be also be
their kid lying on the cement. That was one hell of a father.
This comes to my mind a week later because
I just learned my friend John Woods of Rock Out Censorship died
this weekend. His huge heart gave out at age 51.
Nobody but those of us in the censorship
trenches ever paid much attention to Woods or ROC. They looked
like they'd just gotten off work and were headed on their bikes
for a beer. The kind of guys who are supposed to hate rock critics
and not take anything seriously except sex and drugs. In truth,
John's crew-which included Randy Payton and Kenny Moore--was
tough, smart, fearless and shameless. When it seemed like Tipper
Gore had the keys to a steamroller in her purse, rather than
backing up like the record labels, they put out a t-shirt. "Who
made Tipper Gore God?" it said.
John Woods worked as a coal miner in
his native northeastern Ohio. He deserted from the Army and went
to Sweden when that was the right thing to do. He organized welfare
recipients when the mines closed. Later he became president of
the Jewett, Ohio Junior Chamber of Commerce. He always lived
so close to the ground that you could never be sure his phone
number was working. Yet he, Randy, and Kenny traveled on tours
by Guns'n'Roses, Metallica, Wu Tang and Rage Against the Machine.
They turned up with their powerhouse tabloid newsletter, The
<R.O.C>., pamphlets, shirts, buttons on a card table. They
talked to-and accepted censorship "incident reports"
from--kids who had to live with abuse from parents, "teachers,"
cops and, for that matter, record store clerks, for liking the
wrong kind of music, wearing the wrong clothes, having the wrong
hair-all the every day crap that turns out Eminem and Axl Rose
and Ol' Dirty Bastard and Zach de la Rocha, even Bruce Springsteen.
John loved the music and the people who
made the music, as we all do. But he also loved the other people
who loved the music and the musicians. To stand up for them,
he slept in his car or on somebody's floor and sat in the heat
and the rain and sometimes even the snow. He complained, a lot,
but it wasn't about that. It was about the fact that nobody paid
attention to music and kids getting fucked over, and about the
government going on a rampage against the people who were least
able to protect themselves.
Did I say he deserted from the army?
In the Guitar Army, the greatest on Earth, he belonged to the
Joint Chiefs of Staff. I'm proud to have served with him.
DeskScan
(what's playing in my office)
1. The
Rising, Bruce Springsteen (Sony)-A middle-aged man considers
death and chooses life.
2. A
Cellarful of Motown: Rarest Motown Grooves (Motown)-If
Motown had promoted, say, The Fantastic Four's "If This
World Were Mine" instead of Marvin Gaye's, of course it
wouldn't have been the greatest record label of all time. It
might not have been any better than fourth.
3. Jerusalem,
Steve Earle (E Squared)-The real Neil Young.
4. The Complete John Lee Hooker, Vol.
4: Detroit 1950-51 (Body & Soul, Fr.)
5. Love
That Louie: The Louie Louie Files (Ace UK)
6. Africa
Raps (Trikont)
7. "Skin to Skin," from What
We Talk Of...When We Talk, Stewart Francke (Blue Boundary)-Source
material for Springsteen's "Let's Be Friends (Skin to Skin)"?
Sure seems like it to me. Anyhow, Francke and Barb Payton turn
in the blue-eyed equivalent of a Marvin and Tammy duet, so what
the hell are you waitin' for?
8. All
Over Creation, Jason Ringenberg (Yep Rock)-Alt-country
pioneer struggles between embracing Southerness and freedom,
seeing the Civil War like an Irish immigrant and finishing the
civil rights movement.
9. Time
Bomb High School, Reigning Sound (In the Red)-If anything
could revive doowop, it'd be that opening version of "Stormy
Weather."
10. Try
Again, Mike Ireland and Holler (Ashmont)
11. Adult
World, Wayne Kramer (MuscleTone)
12. Down
in the Alley, Alvin Youngblood-Hart (Memphis International)
13. Born
Under a Bad Sign, Albert King (Stax/Fantasy)-Not a straightup
blues album but as good an R&B album as exists. To my ear,
the best horn charts in Stax history.
14. 1000
Kisses, Patty Griffin (ATO)
15. Viva
El Mariachi: Nati Cano's Mariachi Los Camperos (Smithsonian
Folkways)
16. Woodeye,
Joel Rafael Band -Terrific collection of Woody Guthrie songs,
including some obscurities ("When the Curfew Blows,"
"Dance a Little Longer") and "Ramblin' Round,"
credited to Woody, Leadbelly and that paragon of honest folklore,
John Lomax, Sr.
17. Que
Pasa?: The Best of the Fania All-Stars (Columbia/Legacy)
18. Playing
with the Strings, Lonnie Johnson (JSP UK)-The blues guitar
genius with Armstrong, Ellington, Don Redman, and a jug band
and blind Willie Dunn's Gin Bottle Four.
19. Keep
on Burning, Bob Frank (Bowstring; )
20. Superbad!
The Soul of the City (Time-Life)-A seamless argument
for celebrating the '70s while ignoring the Bradys, Kiss and
the Osmonds.
Dave Marsh coedits
Rock and Rap Confidential.
Marsh is the author of The
Heart of Rock and Soul: the 1001 Greatest Singles.
He can be reached at: marsh6@optonline.net
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