Manifesto for the Muddy Music Industry
Written as a prelude to One Love Party
by Richard Martin Oxman

Musicians, singers et al. in the business have it in their power to create a new world — forcing institutional change, truly transforming lives worldwide — BUT only if they move in solidarity following a new paradigm, and individually… risking, and changing much that’s habitual. (1) Of course, none of this will mean much if the reader doesn’t see the world ending, Playing for Change needing… singular support… to avert catastrophe. [Footnote (2) below might be of help here.]

What’s a manifesto? After 40 years of serving as a worldwide educator… I’m not sure. Nevertheless, my intentions and motives beg to be elaborated upon.

This has zero to do with things like Rock the Vote or anything of the sort in spite of what might appear to be surface similarities. It’s not about providing support for politicians. In fact, it’s not about politicians or their world as it stands at all. Rather — and you must get this distinction — it’s about taking musicians, singers and artists of all kinds from cheer leading (misleading, disingenuous) careerists along the periphery, and placing them smack-free square in the center of our lives, electorally and otherwise. For starters… in California… where what we want to happen can be seeded like it can nowhere else, on a local, regional or national level. To help the entire country to self-educate and act expeditiously in its interests following a new paradigm for… true transformation; I refuse to use that abused word change. To make advances which are not contingent upon the support of media outlets, corporate approval, or governmental negotiations. See http://oxtogrind.org/archive/364 for elaboration, if you like.

Most of the socially-conscious aspects of/elements in the music industry are involved documentation, delineation and declaration… not doing a damn thing except — at best — planting seeds that’ll never bloom beautifully enough, or bloom at all in time (1). Yes, we have deadlines. And, for the moment, this old educator can only give out Ds. [That said, let's put grades where the belong... in perspective; you can judge yourselves.]

It’s as if most of the caring people in the industry have hopped onto a Don McClean Beech Bonanza, model 35, S/N-1019 (3), and they’re doing what they can from up above, dropping well-intentioned, nourishing seeds from the rarefied air… and running out of fuel… without a clue that — for want of a better expression — the most destructive storm in history is headed our way.

It is not the time for unnecessary martial music. Particularly since, all else aside, the U.S. military is the greatest single polluter on earth. [Documentation upon request.]

It’s time to look with new eyes, listen with new ears. Smell the air for ourselves, not take what we’re told about there being no uninhabitable stink and toxicity enveloping us.

Near the very beginning of http://playingforchange.com/episodes/3/One_Love you’ll catch the first gorgeous sounds of Roberto Luti… and if you’re like most of the sweet, well-intentioned and educated souls I come across daily, you won’t have a clue about how close he is in Livorno to succumbing to the horror of what Mike Leonardi describes. Such abominations have been allowed to creep into our children’s playthings, our food and groundwater, etc. And nowhere on earth now — not even in the most exalted gated communities of the Music Industry — can escape be had. Too bad that we have come to a crossroads where without any war whatsoever, without the challenge of climate change and poverty… we still face the tears of the Father and Mother of Creation …over our ecocide, our suicide.

Oh… with ‘Keb ‘Mo… I pray you will join hands with me in solidarity.

Footnotes:
(1) What’s personally risky? What constitutes habit, the great deadener? Everyone must answer that for themselves, of course. However, I can tell you that there’s entirely too much unconscious use of gold and diamonds in the biz. Ditto for limos and excessive air travel. And for the extra house for show and blow. [Pause.] In light of the issues we’re not facing (in a meaningful way). And… recoiling from quiet and/or anonymity and/or everything (?) that might impact negatively on one’s career doesn’t cut it either. When one has to, say, always high profile magnanimity, many invaluable, essential opportunities are lost. Like eliminating self-interest (in the public’s perception) from an equation which cries out for unconditional generosity/compassion.

(2) See http://oxtogrind.org/archive/438. This piece was written for academic activists, not people in the music industry. Nevertheless, the basic point still holds: Delineating the pain of Katrina, the inhumanity of war or the horror of domestic abuse, etc. is worthwhile, even necessary at times. But to really address the issues requires… something additional. Look at what one very experienced acivist friend said when I first shared my Playing for Change enthusiasm with him:

“Yeah, I’ve seen that Playing for Change video and felt good watching it. If we see it for what it is – well-meaning, talented people enjoying what it means to be human – it’s awesome. But until those with all the power start singing instead of killing, multi-culti jam sessions create nothing more than the illusion of progress.”

I don’t agree that the only option is to get the powers-that-be (as presently constituted) singing our song, and I think the writer would agree. His point is well-taken, however. Playing for Change, as things presently stand, is simply not enough if embraced exclusively. Such beautiful efforts can easily fall short of goals because involvement in something is taken in lieu of taking additional/necessary action. TOSCA is one supplemental action which can be considered.

(3) That aircraft was the one that Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper went down in near Clear Lake, Iowa on that cold, cold day in ‘59. And… Don McClean, of course, is the fellow who wrote and sang American Pie… which has the line “The day the music died” embedded in it.

Contact the author at tosca.2010@yahoo.com. So that the music doesn’t die for good (while in bed with what’s bad).