Tag: issues

MAY 8, 2012 - Tony Sclafani on MSNBC Entertainment has a great article about MCA, Adam Yauch from the Beastie Boys, and how he brought social consciousness to the Beastie Boys. Adam passed away last week from cancer, and JTMP has been blogging about him recently and how he became a Buddhist and evolved into a socially conscious musical activist, with the Free Tibet movement being one of his causes. Tony writes how they started helping out many causes such as ASPCA,  Food Bank for NY, and Habitat for Humanity among others. Check out the article on MSNBC here.  (photo credit: blythe_d/Flickr)

FEB 3, 2012 - Pink Martini, a band started in 1994 to perform at progressive events to raise awareness and funds for issues, will be playing the 2012 Savannah Music Festival. In a SavannahNow.com interview, founder Thomas Lauderdale says, “The Occupy movement is interesting and complicated because a lot of their talking points are issues which actually most Americans are thinking about. Entertainment is one of the few ways of reaching Americans. It’s not an activist sort of thing. If anything, it’s sort of subtle, more diplomatic than political. ” The 2012 Savannah Music Festival takes place from March 22 through April 7, 2012. Numerous bands are scheduled, check out the whole lineup here. Pink Martini is scheduled for March 29 at the Lucas Theater.
(Photo credit: Ryan Harvey/Wiki)

MTV has announced it will be adding a new category for videos that featured a positive social message or raised awareness of issues that are important to today's youth for this year's Video Music Awards show. The new category, called "Best Video With a Message", is in recognition of the many artists that have come out recently with gripping videos that centered around key issues for many young people today, and spoke out against bullying, discrimination against gays, and promoted self-empowerment. Some of the socially active artists have been Pink, who recently came out with a powerful video "F***** Perfect", which dealt with female self-empowerment, and Rise Against did "Make it Stop (September's Children)", a video speaking out against gay teens being bullied at school.

Stephen Friedman, MTV's president, said in a statement, "During the past year, we've seen a remarkable number of artists use their music to explore deeply personal experiences and issues they were passionate about to create powerful videos that resonated with and inspired millions of their fans." The videos that were nominated are:

Eminem and Rihanna - "Love the Way You Lie"

A video that illuminates the pain and perils of domestic violence.

Katy Perry - "Firework"

Celebrating the spark and originality in all of us.

Lady Gaga - "Born This Way"

Mother Monster gives birth to a world free from prejudice, judgment and self- doubt.

Pink - "F****** Perfect"

Pink lets out a cry of reassurance for anyone who's ever felt less than perfect.

Rise Against - "Make it Stop (September's Children)"

Rise Against reminds LBGT teens pushed to the edge that "It gets better".

Taylor Swift - "Mean"

Taylor cautions negative naysayers that being mean gets you nowhere.

To check out the videos and to VOTE for the best "social activist" video, go the MTV website by clicking here.