Laura Bush and the concert for Bangladesh

Here's Laura Bush in the WaPo:

"Do Not Forget Burma"

"For two weeks, the world has been transfixed by images of Iranians taking to the streets to demand the most basic human freedoms and rights. Watching these courageous men and women, I am reminded of a similar scene nearly two years ago in Burma, when tens of thousands of Buddhist monks peacefully marched through their nation's streets. They, too, sought to reclaim basic human dignity for all Burmese citizens, but they were beaten back by that nation's harsh regime."

Read on.

Here's more on Burma.



I try, as best I can, to keep up on a good number of the current conflicts in the world. On both of my previous blogs, I posted a number of stories dealing with today's examples of man's inhumanity to man. However, this post is really connected to my last post. The connection is this: One of the songs on my unconscious playlist is this:




My friend came to me, with sadness in his eyes
He told me that he wanted help
Before his country dies

Although I couldn't feel the pain, I knew I had to try
Now I'm asking all of you
To help us save some lives

Bangla Desh, Bangla Desh
Where so many people are dying fast
And it sure looks like a mess
I've never seen such distress
Now won't you lend your hand and understand
Relieve the people of Bangla Desh

Bangla Desh, Bangla Desh
Such a great disaster - I don't understand
But it sure looks like a mess
I've never known such distress
Now please don't turn away, I want to hear you say
Relieve the people of Bangla Desh
Relieve Bangla Desh

Bangla Desh, Bangla Desh
Now it may seem so far from where we all are
It's something we can't neglect
It's something I can't neglect
Now won't you give some bread to get the starving fed
We've got to relieve Bangla Desh
Relieve the people of Bangla Desh
We've got to relieve Bangla Desh
Relieve the people of Bangla Desh

In other words, because this song constantly comes into my consciousness, I am actually more aware of the need to keep track and bear witness to even the most obscure of human conflicts. I've no great solution or personal ability to influence these conflicts, but I can at least bear witness, and occasionally add my voice in protest. Not much, no doubt, but better than nothing.

Michael Jackson and my unconscious playlist

I am not a big Michael Jackson fan. I just looked at my i tunes library, where I have my music, and there is not a single Michael Jackson or Jackson 5 song. Actually, I shouldn't say that. I have the song "Never Can Say Goodbye", but it's the Isaac Hayes version.



So, that should be the end of the story. I am simply one of the few people who were never moved by Michael Jackson. And yet? And yet?

I don't like music videos as a genre. I do have a few favorites, which include Springsteen's "Streets Of Philadelphia", and Sting's "Fields Of Gold". However, if I had to chose an artist who has multiple music videos that I think are worth watching, the only artist that I can think of is Michael Jackson. From my point of view, Michael Jackson is the music video genre.

There's another aspect of my existential encounter with music in which Michael Jackson features prominently, and that is my unconscious playlist. I've no idea if anybody else has this. I've never thought to ask anyone else if they have one. In any case, I do. What is it?

Well, it's a list of thirty or so songs that I find myself singing, day after day, year after year, and, eventually, decade after decade, in some cases. This is not the list of my favorite thirty songs, although some of these songs are on such a list. Rather, these are songs that have either chosen me, or that are more meaningful to me than I understand on a conscious level. Let me give you an example.

My favorite song is "Hey Jude". And yet, on this unconscious play list, there is only one Beatles' song, and it's not even close to being my favorite Beatles' song. The song is "Taxman".



The lyrics I usually find myself singing are the following:

If you drive a car, I'll tax the street
If you try to sit, I'll tax your seat
If you get too cold I'll tax the heat
If you take a walk, I'll tax your feet

However, I often find myself singing the entire song.

Anyway, on this list, are three Michael Jackson songs. They are "Human Nature", "Man In The Mirror", and "Rock With You".



These are the lyrics I usually find myself singing:

Reaching Out
To Touch A Stranger
Electric Eyes Are Ev'rywhere
See That Girl
She Knows I'm Watching
She Likes The Way I Stare

If They Say -
Why, Why, Tell 'Em That Is Human Nature
Why, Why, Does He Do Me That Way
If They Say -
Why, Why, Tell 'Em That Is Human Nature
Why, Why, Does He Do Me That Way
I Like Livin' This Way
I Like Lovin' This Way



Here are the lyrics I sing:

I've Been A Victim Of A Selfish
Kind Of Love
It's Time That I Realize
That There Are Some With No
Home, Not A Nickel To Loan
Could It Be Really Me,
Pretending That They're Not
Alone?

A Willow Deeply Scarred,
Somebody's Broken Heart
And A Washed-Out Dream
(Washed-Out Dream)
They Follow The Pattern Of
The Wind, Ya' See
Cause They Got No Place
To Be
That's Why I'm Starting With
Me
(Starting With Me!)

I'm Starting With The Man In
The Mirror
(Ooh!)
I'm Asking Him To Change
His Ways
(Ooh!)
And No Message Could Have
Been Any Clearer
If You Wanna Make The World
A Better Place
(If You Wanna Make The
World A Better Place)
Take A Look At Yourself And
Then Make A Change
(Take A Look At Yourself And
Then Make A Change)

Here's the last one:



And here are the lyrics that I find myself singing most often:

And when the groove is dead and gone (yeah)
You know that love survives
So we can rock forever, on
Refrain
I wanna rock with you
I wanna groove with you
I wanna rock with you
I wanna groove with you

Here's the oddity. The are only two other songs that come close to "Rock With You" on my unconscious playlist's most sung tunes. Here they are ( and they would be on my top thirty list):




People moving out,
People moving in.
Why, because of the color of their skin
Run, run, run but you sho' can't hide

An eye for an eye,tooth for a tooth,
Vote for me and I'll set you free
Rap on, brother, rap on

The only person talking about love thy brother is the preacher
And it seems
Nobody's interested in learning
But the teacher

Segregation, determination, demonstration, integration,
Aggravation, humiliation, obligation to our nation

Ball of confusion, oh yeah
That's what the world is today, hey



On "Ball Of Confusion", I usually find myself humming the beginning and making a sound like a whirling dervish. On "Everybody Is A Star", the highlight is my Larry Graham impersonation.

There you have it. I cannot count the number of times that I've sung "Rock With You". Possibly close to ten thousand times so far, with no seeming end.

Just for fun, I should say that, although I've never had children, two songs on this playlist are Jackson Browne's "The Only Child" and Paul Simon's "St Judy's Comet": ( It begins at about 6:50 ):



Two other Paul Simon songs figure on this list:



And "One Man's Ceiling Is Another Man's Floor". Again, although I like these songs, they are not among my favorite Paul Simon songs.

On this unconscious playlist are about 12 artists. That's it. Now, I'm not saying that I don't sing or hum other songs, only that these songs constantly pop up uncalled for, day after day, throughout my life. I've no idea why. So, obviously, on some level, Michael Jackson's music must mean quite a bit to me.

Let me end with the three Presley tunes on this list:







I wish I knew what all this says about me. Or not.