How do we make WWWD more festive?
From: Kathryn Compton
Date: Apr 7, 2007 10:22 AM
Subject: Barbara Ehrenreich on the Importance of Collective Joy
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Barbara Ehrenreich on the Importance of Collective Joy
http://www.alternet.org/story/50126
In her new book, "Dancing in the Streets," Barbara Ehrenreich links the current epidemic of depression with our lack of group bonding rituals and explores how festive gatherings can be vehicles for social change.
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You know how we keep saying we don't want to be part of a revolution that doesn't invite us to dance? Turns out there's actually something to that.
Moving forward, I think we need to create more and more ways for the audience to participate, play, sing and dance with us. More joy in the midst of outrage! Get people shaking eggs, keys, any old thing they can shake, and getting up off their butts and into the aisles. More percussion, more play.
It's all about the bondage ... er ... bonding!
Jim -- could you forward this to the rest of the artists? I didn't have the group mailing list handy, but I think it would be good for us to engage in this conversation collectively about how to create more occasions for joy, shared.
Let's write some raucus, rockin', rollin', reggae, hip-hopping protest and envisioning-a-new-future songs!
Ya think?
-- k.c.
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And then to keep them from
And then to keep them from walking away with all the percussion instruments ...
Plainly
I have a lot to learn about this posting process ...
Posting Process
You're doing fine. I'm glad that you're posting. Keep it up. Your opinions are always valued.
Clips from the article
I really thought this paragraph hit home with me:
This [lack of festivities] represents a triumph of the powerful, and their idea that you have to work all the time. This is a recent [development]. Historically, peasants worked when they had to, when they had to plant or harvest. When they didn't have to work, they worked on having a good time -- planning festivities, costumes, dance steps; great expressions of human creativity.
Shakey Eggs!
For a very long time I've had this fantasy of having baskets full of shakey eggs and maracas and other small, rhythmic instruments at the door and asking everyone who comes in to take one with them, then playing songs with long jam interludes that invite people to shake, rattle and roll along with us. You know some of those long, reggae space-jams that just seem to go on forever? There's a certain kind of sufi bliss created when people allow themselves to just wallow around in music for a while and maybe let go of concerns about getting it right or looking good.
And I think we can do it without weed ... No, really ....
The trouble is, being able to rein it in when someone's doing a song that doesn't really sound great with shakey eggs rustling along with it.... But maybe we could just try it to see how things go if we don't try to control them. ;~]
--kc
I am an unwavering champion of people knowing that, come what may, it’s great to be alive. -- K.C. Compton
Shakey Eggs
It's a great idea if we can keep it under control. Perhaps even have other percussion instruments available. Then we invite people to "shake along" on this song, or something like that. I've got a reggae like song that could do well for this kind of thing. It's called "Stand Up".