Projects tagged "Music & Sound"

John Luther Adams: Inuksuit - A Border-Crossing Presentation
Practitioner:
San Diego Symphony Orchestra
Date:
Jan 27 2018
The San Diego Symphony performs John Luther Adams piece "Inuksuit" at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Björk and Environmental Activism
Practitioner:
Björk
Date:
Apr 5 2015
"In a world where artists do themselves no financial favours by voicing critical political sentiments, Björk’s iconoclastic position and perspective is almost unique. Despite having made zero concessions to commerciality in her music, she has sold millions of albums, and remains as vital today as she was a quarter of a century ago.
Rap Challenge to the Thai Military Junta
Practitioner:
Rap Against Dictatorship
Date:
Feb 15 2019
BANGKOK — The rhymes came to Nutthapong Srimuong before dawn, when Bangkok is as still as it can be and the night jasmine overpowers the Thai capital with its perfume. The country whose capital is turned into a killing field Whose charter is written and erased by the army’s boots The country that points a gun at your throat Where you must choose to eat the truth or bullets
Tupac's “Changes”
Practitioner:
Tupac
Date:
Oct 13 1998
Late last year, the New York Times published an op-ed short film written and narrated by Jay Z. The clip was called “The War on Drugs Is an Epic Fail,” and that kind of title was explicit enough for everyone to grasp the entertainment mogul’s general argument, whether they knew anything about drug war or not.
The Swiss Public Welfare Outdoor Interactive Facility for Domestic Violence "Shut Him Down"
Practitioner:
The Swiss Public Welfare
Date:
Jan 12 2016
Neighbors in modern cities have less and less communication, and they all go about their business as soon as they close the door. In Switzerland, a woman dies every week as a result of domestic violence, so in an effort to get everyone to act, the charity has put up an interactive billboard in a shopping mall that shows a man in a family doing violence to a woman.
Yankee Doodle Dandy
Practitioner:
United States Continental Army
Date:
Jul 4 1776
The Fourth of July is upon us, so it’s time once again to sing what is arguably our most baffling national ditty, “Yankee Doodle Dandy.” Maybe you’ve noticed: Some of the lyrics seem like the work of a prankster on acid. Who else could have conceived a vignette as bizarre as a man riding a pony into town, then sticking a feather in his cap that, for unknown reasons, he insists on calling “macaroni”?
Takeaways from J. Cole's New Album, KOD
Practitioner:
J. Cole
Date:
Apr 20 2018
In keeping with his activist turn on 2016’s 4 Your Eyez Only, J. Cole’s new album, KOD, is an exploration of addiction. The title has three different meanings that all speak to this aim: Kids On Drugs, King OverDosed, and Kill Our Demons. Each feeds into the next in this narcotic odyssey.
Music that Propelled the Indigenous Rights Movement
Practitioner:
Buffy Sainte-Marie
Date:
Aug 3 1969
"The Red Power Movement of the 1960s and 70s was a time of profound social change and progress for American Indians in the United States and Canada. In her outspokenness about the injustices facing Indigenous people, Buffy Sainte-Marie also sang for peace, the environment, women and children—believing that art can have impact and make a difference.
Brat Summer: From Charli XCX's *Brat* to a Cultural Movement and the Perfect Sneaker Aesthetic
Practitioner:
Charli XCX
Date:
Jun 7 2024
The Brat Summer movement can be directly traced back to the release of Charli XCX's album "Brat" in 2024. Known for her boundary-pushing pop sound and fierce persona, Charli XCX used "Brat" as a platform to explore themes of defiance, self-empowerment and the rejection of societal expectations.
Bad Bunny’s ‘Debí Tirar Más Fotos’ is a form of activism
Practitioner:
bad bunny
Date:
Jan 1 2025
Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, better known to the world as Bad Bunny, has once again proven that his artistry goes far beyond reggaeton and trap. On January 5, 2025 — the eve of Puerto Rico’s cherished Three Kings Day — the Puerto Rican superstar released DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS, an album that both celebrates his homeland and delivers a sobering message about its uncertain future.
Jay Allan Zimmerman
Practitioner:
Jay Allan Zimmerman
Date:
May 26 2015
Zimmerman a composer who uses art, dance, tech, and even robots in his shows. You might call this interdisciplinary. Wagner called it total art, or gesamtkunstwerk.
The Rap That Sparked a Revolution
Practitioner:
El Général
Date:
Dec 10 2010
As the world watches Cairo burn, I can’t help but think that the flames of protest engulfing Egypt were sparked by Mohamed Bouazizi, the Tunisian street vendor who set himself on fire on December 17 after police confiscated his vegetable cart. The desperation that he expressed through his act of self-immolation caught on, literally, and spread across the country, into Algeria, and now to Egypt.
Bus Regulation: The Musical – The Trilogy
Practitioner:
Ellie Harrison
Date:
Nov 13 2022
Bus Regulation: The Musical (2019 – 2023) is a Trilogy of roller-skating Musicals inspired by Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ‘Starlight Express’ performed in three of the UK’s biggest post-industrial city-regions – Greater Manchester, Strathclyde and Merseyside – in collaboration wi
Pamparadio
Practitioner:
Pamparadio
Date:
May 13 2015
As part of USAID's "My Comunidad-Mi Agua" program in Peru, "Pamparadio" was a radio show run by two adolescents from the community of Iquitos, a jungle province. Armed with a gigantic speaker on the top of a community center and an AM radio frequency, Marco Jhastin Anchec and Cledy del Aguila Mozombite single-handedly ran "Pamparadio" as a celebration of potable water, how to make it, and how to take care of it.
FTSE - A British Anti-Capitalist Rapper
Practitioner:
FTSE
Date:
Aug 26 2015
"FTSE" is Birmingham-born producer and rapper Sam Manville. As an anti-captialist, he though it would be funny to take the name of the British stock market index (Financial Times and Stock Exchange), but he also jokes the acronym stands for "Fuck The System, Ennit.”
The Harlem Festival of Culture
Practitioner:
Tony Cornelius, HFC
Date:
Jul 28 2023
The Harlem Festival of Culture not only pays homage to the past but also envisions a brighter future. It serves as a platform to showcase the rich diversity and dynamism of Harlem's artistic community, while also acting as a catalyst for social change and community empowerment. The festival boasts a lineup of artists from various genres and backgrounds, including jazz, soul, hip-hop, gospel, blues, rock, Latin, and Afrobeat.
RAPtivism
Practitioner:
Aisha Fukushima
Date:
Sep 19 2013
AISHA FUKUSHIMA is a Singer, Speaker, Educator, and ‘RAPtivist’ (rap activist). Fukushima founded RAPtivism (Rap Activism), a hip hop project spanning 20 countries and four continents, amplifying universal efforts for freedom and justice.
Music video in support of gay marriage rights
Practitioner:
Sam Smith
Date:
Feb 5 2015
Grammy nominee and Rolling Stone cover star Sam Smith unveiled the video for his new single "Lay Me Down," the latest track off his platinum-selling debut album In the Lonely Hour. The video, filmed at the parish church of St.
Las Vulpes: Me gusta ser una zorra (I like being a whore)
Practitioner:
Las Vulpes
Date:
Apr 16 1983
Las Vulpes was the first spanish punk rock band formed only by women. It was founded in Baracaldo (Vizcaya, Basque Country) in the summer of 1982, as a result of the guitarist´s desire on creating an all women punk band. After a few changes, the final formation consisted on: Loles Vázquez (guitar), Mamen Rodrigo (voice), Begoña Astigarraga (bass) and Lupe Vázquez (drums), all between 17 and 22 years of age.
Discwoman
Practitioner:
Discwoman
Date:
Sep 1 2014
Founded by Frankie Hutchinson, Emma Burgess-Olson and Christine Tran, Discwoman is a New York-based platform, collective, and booking agency—representing and showcasing cis women, trans women and genderqueer talent in electronic music. Started as a two-day festival in September 2014 at Bossa Nova Civic Club Discwoman has since produced and curated events in 15+ cities—working with over 150 DJs and producers to-date.
Lady Gaga Delivers Emotional Performance of ‘Til It Happens to You’ at the 2016 Oscars
Practitioner:
Lady Gaga
Date:
Feb 28 2016
http://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/lady-gaga-performs-til-it-h...
Rockers Unite for Haiti Benefits
Practitioner:
Jay-Z, Springsteen, Radiohead, etc.
Date:
Feb 18 2010
Jay-Z rapped alongside side Bono, the Edge and Rihanna; Coldplay's Chris Martin moonlighted as Beyoncé's piano player; Justin Timberlake covered Leonard Cohen — and those performances, from January 22nd's multinetwork, $66 million-grossing telethon for Haitian earthquake victims, were just the most visible of musicians' efforts to raise funds.
FILIPINO HIP-HOP ACTIVISTS TAKE A STAND IN OAKLAND/TAKE BACK OUR EDUCATION
Practitioner:
various activists
Date:
Dec 23 2014
There is a large Filipino community in the Bay Area that organizes and fights for better workers’ rights and educating youth of color. There are groups within this community that address these issues through hip-hop. Kiwi Illafonte, 40, is a Bay Area political rapper who talks about social issues in his music. “Social change is at the center of my universe,” Illafonte said.
"Fuck Tha Police": N.W.A.'s Most Courageous Song is Still Relevant As Ever
Practitioner:
N.W.A.
Date:
Aug 9 1998
Upon its original release on N.W.A.’s Straight Outta Compton LP in 1988, the song was safely titled “_ _ _ _ Tha Police (Fill in the Blanks),” and the album cover was among the first to feature the infamous “Parental Advisory” label, warning moms and dads about the album’s explicit lyrics. A censored version of the LP even omitted the song entirely.
Musicians trade in boycotts for activism to fight North Carolina's 'bathroom bill'
Practitioner:
Animal Collective, Duran Duran, Mumford & Sons, Beyonce
Date:
May 11 2016
Animal Collective, Mumford and Sons and Duran Duran among performers who have turned concerts in state into fundraisers as part of NC Needs You movement Even as North Carolina’s governor, Pat McCrory, refused to comply with federal officials over his state’s so-called “bathroom bill”, experimental pop group Animal Collective went forward with its scheduled show in the state over the weekend.

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