Liner Notes

Soundscape #108: “I Have A Dream”

With the media going nuts about the new history-making President-elect, it’s easy to get swept up in the ecstasy. We are a million miles away from the action but even here, I feel that a change is in the air. Everywhere it’s “Not since JFK this, not since Bill Clinton that”. It’s a free American history lesson!

For 8 years, the US seemed to have regressed. And I’m not talking about the trillions of national debt incurred or the war specifically; it’s a fact. We refer to the notion of the American Dream as one where everything is possible. And in a sick way, it really was. In those 8 years, it was possible to declare war on a country under false –and deliberately misleading–pretenses. It was possible to spy on your own people and detain them without charges. Since when has dissent become disloyalty? Since when are things only in black and white?

Are things going to change now? I’m not sure. But the mere possibility of change should draw a breath of fresh air into previously dank and dark times. And millions of Americans must have thought the same, for they came out in unprecedented numbers to vote. For me, I don’t remember ever wanting to step foot in the US, believing it to be the backwater of backwaters. But maybe it’s not so bad after all if so many Americans have shown that they want their country to change.

Playlist:

1. (0:00) Yo La Tengo -Dreaming (Prisoners of Love: A Smattering Of Scintillating Senescent Songs 1985-2003 And A Smattering Of Rarities And Outtakes)
2. (3:38) Ok Go - This Will Be Our Year (Future Soundtrack For America)
3. (5:40) Voxtrot - Future Pt 1 (S/t)
4. (9:19) Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - Counting Down The Hours (Shake The Sheets)
5. (12:28) Arcade Fire - Wake Up (Funeral)
6. (18:02) Pete Yorn - Black (Musicforthemorningafter)
7. (22:12) Manic Street Preachers - If You Tolerate This, Your Children Will Be Next (This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours)
8. (27:04) Wilco - War On War (Yankee Hotel Foxtrot)
9. (30:57) Okkervil River - Black (Black Sheep Boy)
10. (35:41) Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band - Born In The USA