A few weeks ago I wrote about a contest that CBC Radio 2 was putting on to come up with a play list of songs for Barak Obama. They announced the winners last week and presumably an MP3 player with the 49 tunes is on its way to the President.
The final list is an interesting mix, even if "I Lost My Baby" didn't make the cut:
Affairs of the Heart – Marian Mozetich
American Woman – The Guess Who
Barber: Violin Concerto – James Ehnes
Bobcaygeon – The Tragically Hip
Bost Sides Now – Joni Mitchell
Brother (Watching) – Shad
Canada’s Really Big – Arrogant Worms
The Canadian Dream - Sam Roberts
Canadian Railroad Trilogy - Gordon Lightfoot
A Case of You - Joni Mitchell
Closer to the Heart – Rush
Dégénération - Mes Aïeux
Democracy - Leonard Cohen
Departure Bay - Diana Krall
Évangéline - Marie-Jo Thério
Four Strong Winds - Ian & Sylvia
Goin' Up a Yonder - Measha Brueggergosman
Goldberg Variations - Glenn Gould
Hallelujah - k.d. lang
Helpless- Neil Young
The Hockey Song - Stompin' Tom Connors
Home - Michael Bublé
Hymn to Freedom - Oscar Peterson Trio
If I Had $1,000,000 - Barenaked Ladies
J'ai quitté mon île - Daniel Lavoie
Jolie Louise - Daniel Lanois
La complainte du phoque en Alaska - Beau Dommage
Mario Takes a Walk - Jesse Cook
Mon pays - Gilles Vigneault
Montréal -40C – Malajube
Northwest Passage - Stan Rogers
One Great City! - The Weakerthans
Ordinary Day - Great Big Sea
Oublie-pas - Karkwa
Place St. Henri (from Canadiana Suite) - Oscar Peterson Trio
Pour un instant – Harmonium
Quand les hommes vivront d'amour - Raymond Lévesque
Rebellion (Lies) - Arcade Fire
Rêver mieux - Daniel Bélanger
Rise Again - The Rankin Family
Rise Up - Parachute Club
Rockin' in the Free World - Neil Young
Suzanne - Leonard Cohen
Swingin' Shepherd Blues - Moe Koffman
Universal Soldier - Buffy Sainte-Marie
We'll Gather Lilacs - Ben Heppner
Wheat Kings - The Tragically Hip
Wondering Where the Lions Are - Bruce Cockburn
To be honest, there are a lot of songs that wouldn't make it on my list. Come to think of it, that sounds like a good idea for a future post. I think I'll take the next couple of days to come up with my own play list of 49 songs from north of the 49th. In the meantime, check out some of the songs on the "official" list.
Showing posts with label Obama. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Obama. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
A Day Which Will Live in History
Today, Barak Hussein Obama was inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States. Over a million people gathered in Washington to see the historic event, and hundreds of millions more throughout the world watched the event on television, viewed it on streaming video over the Internet, or listened to it on the radio.
Some were drawn by the fact that Obama is the first black man elected to the highest office in America. Others were drawn to his message of hope and transformation. Still others were relieved and gladdened b the fact that George W. Bush's reign has finally ended (and I use that verb on purpose, since GWB is a proponent of the "imperial" presidency theory).
Personally, I did not watch the event. I had work to do and I knew that the airwaves would be filled with the recap this evening. I suppose I am also a bit more neutral towards Obama than many other Canadians. On the one hand, I appreciate his message and I fervently hope that he is able to move the United States in the direction outlined in his speeches and envisioned in the Constitution. On the other hand, I think people, especially people in other countries, may be disappointed.
People have compared Barak Obama to both Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy. Lincoln truly was a great man, perhaps the only man who could have held the Union together at the time of the Civil War. He was also the President who suspended Habeas Corpus and the man who signed the Homestead Act, which opened up the West to widespread settlement by whites, thus ending the independence of the native societies of the Great Plains. Similarly, Kennedy was a strong defender of the post-war American "empire" who authorized attempted or actual military action and/or regime change in Cuba, South-East Asian, and, ironically enough, Iraq.
I guess my point is that as inclusive and as transformative as Barak Obama appears to be, he is still the head of an imperial power. Whether the rest of the world likes it or not, he will have to act in the best interests of his nation, which is the United States of America and not Canada, Kenya, members of the European Community, or any other entity.
I like the United States. As irritating and as arrogant as its self-anointed vision of itself as the "city on the hill" that inspires the world, I would rather live in a world where the United States of America aspires to be a model of a just society than a world where the United States is just another cynical power that bullies weaker nations and ignores international law.
Some were drawn by the fact that Obama is the first black man elected to the highest office in America. Others were drawn to his message of hope and transformation. Still others were relieved and gladdened b the fact that George W. Bush's reign has finally ended (and I use that verb on purpose, since GWB is a proponent of the "imperial" presidency theory).
Personally, I did not watch the event. I had work to do and I knew that the airwaves would be filled with the recap this evening. I suppose I am also a bit more neutral towards Obama than many other Canadians. On the one hand, I appreciate his message and I fervently hope that he is able to move the United States in the direction outlined in his speeches and envisioned in the Constitution. On the other hand, I think people, especially people in other countries, may be disappointed.
People have compared Barak Obama to both Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy. Lincoln truly was a great man, perhaps the only man who could have held the Union together at the time of the Civil War. He was also the President who suspended Habeas Corpus and the man who signed the Homestead Act, which opened up the West to widespread settlement by whites, thus ending the independence of the native societies of the Great Plains. Similarly, Kennedy was a strong defender of the post-war American "empire" who authorized attempted or actual military action and/or regime change in Cuba, South-East Asian, and, ironically enough, Iraq.
I guess my point is that as inclusive and as transformative as Barak Obama appears to be, he is still the head of an imperial power. Whether the rest of the world likes it or not, he will have to act in the best interests of his nation, which is the United States of America and not Canada, Kenya, members of the European Community, or any other entity.
I like the United States. As irritating and as arrogant as its self-anointed vision of itself as the "city on the hill" that inspires the world, I would rather live in a world where the United States of America aspires to be a model of a just society than a world where the United States is just another cynical power that bullies weaker nations and ignores international law.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)