Monday, November 14, 2016

The Soundtrack for Trumpocalypse

Like many of you who are attempting to get through this, who don't think we can just get over it who don't know if life will ever be the same again, I'm turning to art and music. And here's my soundtrack for now and maybe for the next few weeks, months, years, however long it takes to make it through without losing our dignity and humanity.

Image result for ani difranco protest

1) "I'll never fall in love again" by Burt Bacharach Some of us have fallen in love with a candidate, an ideal, a nation that we feel no longer exists. It's going to hard to put this behind us and get over it, so this.

2) "Talkin' about a revolution" In this election, I feel like our safeguards failed us. The media that was supposed to protect us from electing a demagogue sometimes didn't do its job, with some courageous exceptions like Kirk Eichenwald at Newsweek.

3) "Hallelujah" Kate McKinnon as Hillary Clinton on Saturday Night Live singing Leonard Cohen's classic song: "And even though it all went wrong, I'll stand before the lord of song, with nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah."

4) "America" by Simon and Garfunkel. They write: "'Kathy, I'm lost', I said, Though I knew she was sleeping." Many of us feel lost, like we really didn't realize that this country was filled so much resentment and hate.

5) "Could we start again please" from the musical Jesus Christ Superstar. The video shows Mary Magdalene trying to make sense of what is about to happen to Jesus Christ. Like Mary, many of us are trying to make sense of a situation they thought they understood: "I've been living to see you, dying to see you, but it shouldn't be like this. This was not expected. What do I do now? Could we start again, please?"

6) "Not ready to make nice" by the Dixie Chicks, one of the ultimate anger/protest songs sung by the Chicks after some people criticized them for criticizing the Iraq War. Guess what? They were right. "I'm not ready to make nice. I'm not ready to back down. I'm still mad as hell, and I don't have time to go round and round and round."

7) "Long, long time" by Linda Ronstadt: "Love will abide. Take things in stride. Sounds like good advice, but there's no one at my side. As time washes clean, love's wound unseen, that's what someone told me, but I don't what it means." "I've done everything I know to try and change your mind, and I think it's gonna hurt me for a long, long time."

8) "Will I?" from the musical Rent about a group of young people suffering from AIDs and the uncertainty of what will happen. It seems appropriate for our current political situation.

9) "Save Me" from the excellent film Magnolia: "Can you save me? Come on, and save me, if you can save me."

10) "World on Fire" Sarah McLachlan wrote this after 911. I know some people feel like they did after 911, trying to make sense of a world we thought we know, wondering if the world will never be same.

I'm interested in what anyone else is doing for comfort, to help make it through the days ahead. Let's keep our chins and our heads up and continue fighting for the rights of all.

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