*WEDDING.BLOG.LINK*

I haven't been blogging about music nearly enough - that's not to say I don't have anything to say.

Last night I bought the new Esthero EP (in all it's iTMS glory). Any of you iTunes junkies out there who haven't made the plunge to purchase anything via the store yet should seriously consider at least the title track from this EP because it's fantastic in many more ways than just being a great song.
[click here to check it out on the store if you have iTunes installed]

First, it's WONDERFUL to FINALLY get something both new AND official from one of my favourite artists of all time (her last official release was in 1998 when I discovered her - in Shediac of all places)

There are 5 tracks on the EP - three all on her/their (I don't know if her guitar man/producer Doc is still with her) own, and two collaborations. (She's probably one of the most prolific collaborative artists of the last ten years, and she does great work this way)

The collaborations are with Cee-lo Green ( who apparently is the soul machine) and none other than Sean Lennon (crappy link but it will have to do)(who, apart from what is essentially a b-sides record, hasn't done anything since his debut album in 1998 - coincidence?!). Sweet eh?

To set the tone and hopefully wet your apettite, here are some bits from the EP - the lyrics to the title track, and a quick message from E herself which is apparently printed with the EP packaging:

We R in Need of A Musical Revolution

I'm so sick and tired
Of the shit on the radio
And MTV, they only play the same thing
No matter where I go
I see ashanti in the video
I want some thing more

We are in need of
A musical revolution

How can you make your way through the world today
When everybody is so angry
And what we hear affects our hearts
There's got to be a better way to communicate
So show your love not hate

We are in need of
A musical revolution
We're so tired of the same old
We are in need of
Some spiritual evolution
We're so tired of the same old

We are in need of love

I'm calling out
Doesn't anybody wanna do
Something new

I'm calling all creators in the movement
It's time to offer a solution
To the dilution of what we love
And the greats would be so disppointed
Cause we've sold our souls for what we don't own anymore

We are in need of
Let's start a musical revolution
We're so tired of the same old
We are in need of some lyrical evolution
We're so tired of the same old, same old

Let's start a musical revolution

Tell me why
A grown man can rape a little girl but we
Still hear his shit on the radio
A grown-ass man can videotape a little girl but we
Still see his mug up on our video screens

I want something more


A Message From Esthero:

We live in a world where in the same week a man who is accused of statutory rape can also have the largest selling record of his career. Where we are numb to witnessing burned-out and freshly bombed neighborhoods in a land far, far away... but Janet shows us a little tittie and we are nothing short of "shocked" and "appalled."
This song is a call to arms. It is a call to my pirate sisters, to my rebel brothers, to demand MORE. More from every moment of your life, but especially to demand more of radio stations, of video channels, of the so-called "keepers of the keys to the kingdom." It is meant to inspire and to motivate--not to offend. I want this to be very clear: This song is not meant to be a personal attack on Ashanti or Britney Spears (both of whom, I am willing to bet, are also bored to death of radio)... I was merely trying to make an example of the fact that we overplay and over saturate only a few artists at a time... leaving little to no room for any others. We have no variety. We are stagnating. I am concerned about us, all of us who truly love music, to whom music is a soundtrack of the key moments of our lives, and yet stand idly by while our airwaves are controlled and polluted by people who program music so it doesn't interfere with the frequencies generated by the hamburger commercials they peddle. I really do believe that "what we hear DOES affect our hearts." We are on a bad musical diet and we are getting sick. I mean, a little sugar and extra cheese is great in moderation... But we need veggies and water to SURVIVE. I don't know about you, but personally, I'm starving.
There are revolutionary musicians all around us, ready to nourish and enrich our lives. It is up to all of usto stand up and demand that they be heard.
So here is my humble offering, fresh from the oven, homemade with love. Dig in and enjoy.
- Esthero