Toast To Freedom Song, Video Mark 50th Anniversary of Amnesty International

Human rights are everyone’s business” Salil Shetty, General Secretary of Amnesty International, says in the “making of” video for the new song “Toast Of Freedom” which was put together to celebrate and commemorate the 50th anniversary of the organization. Almost fifty artists participated in either the basic sessions for the song or by lending their vocals to the track, including Rosanne Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Angelique Kidjo, Keb’ Mo, the Blind Boys of Alabama, Shawn Mullins, and many more. The basic tracks were laid down at the late Levon Helm’s studio, “the Barn”, in Woodstock, NY, with Helms himself on drums. With the Arab Spring still fresh in our memories and activists around the world still struggling to maintain their own freedoms and those of their people, the positive, uplifting message of this song couldn’t have come at a better time; it is “We Are The World” updated for this generation, no less. Check out the official video below, plus the ‘making of’ clip that shows several snippets of Helm.

click here for more info on the song and the artists involved

Six Degrees of Springsteen

Okay, so there’s a new Bruce Springsteen album out–frankly, I haven’t mentioned it because I’m not all that thrilled with it and just couldn’t bring myself to write at length about something I didn’t like very much.

What’s been interesting to watch, however, is all the various things going on around the new release. From Super Bowl and inaguaral sets to Ticketmaster snafus, the guy has been in the news almost constantly for the past month.

There are tons of current bands out there who cite Springsteen as a major influence, from Lucero to the Hold Steady; one I hadn’t quite figured on was the Avett Brothers, who showed off their chops on a nifty version of a Bruce classic recently:

Here’s one of my personal favorite Bruce tunes, done by a guy who was probably an influence on Bruce instead of the other way around–Levon Helm of The Band:

Finally, here’s another unlikely group covering an equally unlikely Springsteen song–Tegan & Sara with their take on “Dancing in the Dark”: