Kimya Dawson - Anthrax
Watched Juno with my wife last night (first time we bought a movie through iTunes). I don’t have a whole lot to say about the movie itself (which was great!), but the film is like a good poem. A poem, to paraphrase my former teacher Allen Grossman, gives rise to other thoughts.
Aside from having heard that Juno is supercool, I was psyched to hear the soundtrack with all those Kimya Dawson/Moldy Peaches songs on it.
In 2003, when the war in Iraq was still somewhat new, I had recently become friendly with Damon & Naomi through our mutual friend Dana Kletter. I read on Damon & Naomi’s website that they had donated a song to protest-records.com, where artists were contributing protest music for free distribution. (“Use em for yourself. Give em to friends. Just don’t sell em.”)
Of course after I listened to Damon & Naomi’s song, I listened to most of the others that were posted there. There were songs from Cat Power, Jim O’Rourke, Mudhoney, Sonic Youth, DJ Spooky and Saul Williams, Jonatha Brook, Beastie Boys, as well as spoken word from Allen Ginsberg and Anne Waldman, and lot of other stuff, too.
But one song really stopped me in my tracks, the song I posted here, “Anthrax,’ by Kimya Dawson. I think it was the first song about the 9/11 attacks I’d heard that really spoke to me. I found Kimya’s website and wrote her an email.
I just heard your song “Anthrax” through the protest-records.com site. I’d never heard your stuff (or of you) until then. What a great song! I mean really good. Really. I want to hear more and now I see on your website that I missed your show (and Daniel Johnston’s!) this past Friday at the Middle East (I live nearby). I might not have been able to go anyway now that I’m newly a dad (he’s 10 weeks old and beautiful!!) but anyway I want to buy those two cds you’re selling, knock knock who? and my cute fiend sweet princess. Your site said I can pay by paypal. That seems easiest. Should I send $10 (+postage??) to this email address. Just tell me what to do so I can hear more of your music.
Juno is about people in my age cohort who want to have babies. Jason Bateman’s character says his junior prom was in ‘88, mine was in ‘86.
During those first years of my son’s life, when I was fortunate to be the parent at home with him, I was listening to a lot of NPR and reading a lot of news. I would rock my baby boy to sleep with songs like Stevie Wonder’s “Love’s in Need of Love Today,” and the tears would just start coming. I imagine that it was like this for other parents. It felt like such a dark and terrible time to usher a new and innocent child into the world.
we are working to huddle together the voices of those who have something to say about the aimless direction in which this country is tumbling. as it becomes increasingly more apparent that this government for and by the people is becoming increasingly more comfortable ignoring said people and sacrificing them on the battlefield for resources and empire, we need to speak up and we need to speak out. contrary to the opinion of a man we never elected, we are not a “focus group.” we are the government. we are this country. our rights are being trampled. our working class and poor are being led to slaughter. our privacy is becoming evermore a diaphanous myth. corporations, the lobby groups who represent them and the courts have more control over the power structure in this country than any electoral college could ever dream. this state of affairs is not a part of the country that sits stitched in Old Glory.
(Note from Chris Habib on protest-records.com)
Things have really only gotten worse since 2003. But I feel better than I did then. Possibly I’ve gotten more used to the terrible progress of evil. But also I’ve found a few things that I can do that I hope will be contributions to the change that’s gonna come.
And I’ve made a lot of friends since then. Friends from the Freedom Movement, friends from my father’s past, friends on Twitter, friends in my Jewish community, friends at Dollars & Sense, friends at work, friends in my neighborhood, friends in Mississippi and Louisiana.
the sky is red and little kids are running, screaming in the street
i tried to run and save them but i had molasses feet
i keep having nightmares and i’m scared to go to sleep
if you fall in i’ll jump down
and touch your face while we’re both sinking
(stinking thinking) we won’t drown
you are my friend
and what we’re doing’s too important
for our lives to end quite yet
