Six a song

Its interesting that the recent Black Eyed Peas record entitled ‘Where is the love’ stayed at number one for quiet a few weeks. Was the music or the message within it? At least if it was the latter there is a thought of hope in humanity. Taking an extract from the lyrics you can notice the reality of what is being ‘pitched’!I feel the weight of the world on my shoulder. As I'm gettin' older, y'all, people gets colder. Most of us only care about money makin'. Selfishness got us followin' in the wrong direction. Wrong information always shown by the media. Negative images is the main criteria. Infecting the young minds faster than bacteria. Kids wanna act like what they see in the cinema. Yo', whatever happened to the values of humanity. Whatever happened to the fairness in equality. Instead in spreading love we spreading animosity. Lack of understanding, leading lives away from unity.

The words are certainly ‘cutting’ and they may unfortunately be relevant in years to come. Similarly, the powers-that-were in Motown (1971) didn't even want to release the record What's Going On by Marvin Gaye. Its unexpected success went on to inspire artist such as Stevie Wonder and Curtis Mayfield. An extract from the lyrics of this classic record is provided below:Mother, mother, there's too many of you crying. Brother, brother, brother, there's far too many of you dying. You know we've got to find a way. To bring some lovin' here today
You may now be asking what is point of reminiscing about such songs ? Do they simply reflect the situation of our times? i.e.: Words and rhythms that we simply hum to and then move onto the next popular fad. Or, is there a glimmer of hope and a true message to urge people to do something to change the status quo of depression.

With injustice all around (for example, Human right abuses exposed by the Red Cross, Amnesty International and a variety of Civil liberty groups), at least there are some artists that are strong enough to express their passion for social inclusion and collaboration. Generations to come may look back at aspects of post industrial eras of the 20th and 21st Century as self-focused.

One cause could be the obsessive nature of extremes of patronism, trade protectionism and growth of the multinational. The by product of this atmosphere is a self righteousness. A deep sense of not wanting to share and in many cases only because it’s too difficult to survive.

Recently I passed some subways near Camberwell, London. The extremes of its poverty is clearly visible. For example, tramps spending their entire day asking for change. Unfortunately suggestions of doubt regarding the genuinely arise in the mind of the passers by. Suddenly we become judge and jury and purveyor of charity. Is there simply not enough infrastructure to understand why these people are in such a situation? Or, do we accept that they’re beyond reach and that you cannot force them to change?

One answer could the need to establish a greater sense of community, collaboration and consensus with collective responsibility. Lots of ‘Cs’ and words but the famous £ sign can put a sudden STOP to such thoughts. If councils could establish a Community collaboration fund based on voluntary contributions and a national tax, then at least some urban renewal and specific projects could be started. This fund could also be fuelled from companies that exceed their profit targets or are visible fair-trade abusers. Therefore, instead of companies investing / ploughing money into redundant office blocks, they could inject funds back into the community they reside near. If the fund is multinational, then international collaboration projects could take place.

Another perspective worth considering is Gil Scott-Heron song : The revolution will not be televised’! The lesson here maybe that if we spent more time looking up and around at each other rather than staring at reality TV, we could then wake-up and help each other instead? We all need to consider faith through actions. Make the most of both your life and for those around you.