Ben "fucking" Harper

my2hands

new double album "both sides of the gun" is great...disc one is typical slow ben...disc 2 I LOVE!!! very upbeat and POLITICAL...

i saw him perform his first single on letterman a week ago...and it ROCKED!


Black Rain

You left them swimming for their lives
Down in new orleans
Can't afford a gallon of gasoline
With your useless degrees and contrary statistics
This government business is straight up sadistic

Now you don't fight for us
But expect us to die for you
You have no sympathy for us
But still i cry for you
Now you may kill the revolutionary
But the revolution you can never bury

Don't speak to us like we work for you
Selling false hope like some new dope we're addicted to
I'm not a desperate man but these are desperate times at hand
This generation is beyond your command

And it won't be long
'til the people flood the streets
To take you down
One and all
A black rain is gonna fall

my2hands

this is maybe my favorite song he has ever done...maybe one of my favorites period!!!

better way

I'm a living sunset
Lightning in my bones
Push me to the edge
But my will is stone

Fools will be fools
And wise will be wise
But i will look this world
Straight in the eyes

What good is a man
Who won't take a stand
What good is a cynic
With no better plan

Reality is sharp
It cuts at me like a knife
Everyone i know
Is in the fight of their life

Take your face out of your hands
And clear your eyes
You have a right to your dreams
And don't be denied

I believe in a better way

my2hands

You're too young to know
That you're too young to go
There's no freedom to be found
Lying face up in the ground

Ashes from an unfinished life
Are all that's left
In a tear-drop-shaped locket
Hanging from his mother's chest

You whip the back of freedom
'till it bleeds an oil stream
Then you sail down upon it
In your killing machine

Old men who send children
Off to die in vain
They will hear death's constant whisper
Call remember my name

Gather 'round the stone

know1

Boy - you sure have a way with words with that thread title.

ChuckinMontreal

Its truly great to see how many artists of the world and america are really pushing for reform since the beginning of the century, perhaps more than ever since the 60s.

Ben Harper and Pearl Jam are perfect examples of this and yet it boggles the mind to think of the tons of people (mostly americans) who claim to be fans of these people and their art and yet they just DON'T GET IT.

robbie

ben's new album has some great tunes, no doubt. he always seems to change direction and challenge himself with new styles. while i really like "both sides of the gun" nothing as of yet can compare to "welcome to the cruel world" and "fight for your mind" you want OUTSTANDING music with an outstanding message put those albums on. ben is the only artist i have traveled ridiculous amounts of miles to see. songs like "black rain" "fight for your mind" "people lead" "give a man a home" "excuse me mr." "how many miles must we march" "two hands" "better way" "welcome to the cruel world" "both sides of the gun" "glory and consequence" "i'll rise" and so many others elevate ben both in musical talent and the ability to conect at a personal level with socially concious content, to a level shared only by bob marley and pearl jam in my book. that is pretty exclusive company!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Skitch Patterson

ChuckinMontreal wrote:

Ben Harper and Pearl Jam are perfect examples of this and yet it boggles the mind to think of the tons of people (mostly americans) who claim to be fans of these people and their art and yet they just DON'T GET IT.

and what, exactly, does that mean?

CM1847

Harper doesn't have an ever changing sound, his sound is his ability to mimmick a handful of styles on every album. It amazes me people can hear the same variety album after album and still find it amazing.

The new album is decent, the rock disc is really good, I prefer those songs to the rockers on Diamonds on the Inside. But the soft/love disc is a little weak. He is a great musician, and I only gained more respect for him after hearing how vividly he spoke his mind on politics on the new album. There need to be more artists like him.

ChuckinMontreal

Skitch Patterson wrote:

and what, exactly, does that mean?

Ignorance comes in many forms, and generalizing is one of them...I assume myself and own that, because I am capable of it.

That being said, humility is a noun that I see being excercised quite seldomly by a vast majority of Americans that still consider the US "the best" and yet claim to be fans of these artists, which I find contradictory.

tremorsinmytree

robbie wrote:

ben's new album has some great tunes, no doubt. he always seems to change direction and challenge himself with new styles. while i really like "both sides of the gun" nothing as of yet can compare to "welcome to the cruel world" and "fight for your mind" you want OUTSTANDING music with an outstanding message put those albums on.

I agree 100%, Ben's early work is his best, I also throw Will to Live in there.

my2hands

know1 wrote:

Boy - you sure have a way with words with that thread title.

you should really try to stop taking yourself and others so seriously

Skitch Patterson

ChuckinMontreal wrote:

Ignorance comes in many forms, and generalizing is one of them...I assume myself and own that, because I am capable of it.

That being said, humility is a noun that I see being excercised quite seldomly by a vast majority of Americans that still consider the US "the best" and yet claim to be fans of these artists, which I find contradictory.

I believe Eddie Vedder has said the the US is the greatest country in the world, while still acknowledging its problems. Believing something to be the "best" doesnt mean that you are ignoring its faults, or that you believe it to be perfect.

and you said the key word. "artists". Art, like any form of beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Someone does not have to believe everything being said by the artist to acknowledge the quality of their art.