Mary McHugh visited the grave of her fiancé, Sgt. James J. Regan, who was killed in Iraq in February. He is buried in the new Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery for those killed in Iraq and Afghanistan [credit: New York Times]Give this Memorial Day its Full Due
By DEWAYNE WICKHAM for the Coshocton Tribune
In times like these, Memorial Day shouldn't be treated like most national holidays. It deserves better.Back in 1868, when Gen. John Logan called for the creation of a holiday (originally called Decoration Day) to honor those who fought in defense of this nation during the Civil War, he urged Americans to treat it with special reverence.
He ordered members of his Grand Army of the Republic, then the nation's largest veterans' organization, to put flowers and flags on the graves of the Union Army's dead.
"Let pleasant paths invite the coming and going of reverent visitors and fond mourners," Logan said. "Let no vandalism of avarice or neglect, no ravages of time testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided republic."
But the passage of time has done just that.
For far too many people, Memorial Day is defined more by backyard cookouts and department store sales than by the memory of the servicemen and women who died defending this country. In this way, the day is much like the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving and Christmas - a national holiday diminished by commercialism and indifference.
With the body count of U.S. troops mounting in Iraq, this Memorial Day is an especially important time to embrace Logan's call to cherish "tenderly the memory of our heroic dead, who have made their breasts a barricade between our country and its foes."
This is no appeal to partisanship. The men and women of our armed forces are citizen soldiers, not members of sectarian brigades. They have sworn an oath to the nation, not to the Republican or Democratic parties. And they do their duty regardless of which political party controls the White House.
So it shouldn't matter whether you support or oppose U.S. involvement in Iraq. On this Memorial Day, we all ought to honor the more than 3,400 Americans who have died in this conflict.
As Abraham Lincoln said of the Civil War dead in his Gettysburg Address, they gave their "last full measure of devotion" to this nation. So it isn't asking too much for us to take a day to remember them. [READ MORE]
I'll admit that I fall more into the BBQ, baseball, and beer tradition more than anything on Memorial Day, which is why I wanted to take a moment this morning, for myself if for no one else, to increase my awareness on the current situation with our troops, both the ones here with us now, those fighting overseas, and those who have passed on to greener fields.
More importantly, I wanted to simply take a few inches of whitespace on this blog of relative unimportance to honor those who are important to all of us.
MUSIC
Bruce Springsteen: The Seeger Sessions
I thought it somewhat fitting today to feature one of America's greatest and most respected songwriters today in Bruce Springsteen, and even more fitting to feature him playing from the 2006 Seeger Sessions.
[From PBS.org] Recorded at St. Luke's in London's East End, Bruce Springsteen performs an intimate concert of songs selected from his new album, WE SHALL OVERCOME: THE SEEGER SESSIONS, a collection of standards and spirituals popularized by the legendary Pete Seeger.Springsteen's UK concert performances have thrilled the critics, with THE INDEPENDENT raving, "an astonishingly rich evening ... his music has rarely sounded more spontaneous or vitalizing than this," and THE OBSERVER adding, "Springsteen and the Seeger Session band were an inspiring triumph." Among the songs featured are "John Henry," "O Mary Don't You Weep," "Pay Me My Money Down," and "We Shall Overcome."
Bruce Springsteen first recorded "We Shall Overcome" in 1997 for the Pete Seeger tribute album, WHERE HAVE ALL THE FLOWERS GONE: THE SONGS OF PETE SEEGER, to which he and several other noted artists lent their voice. According to Springsteen, this was the impetus for his deeper exploration of Seeger's music that eventually led to this latest CD, WE SHALL OVERCOME: THE SEEGER SESSIONS, released on April 25, 2006. He teamed with veteran musicians from New York City on instruments not often associated with his musical style -- fiddle, banjo, washboard, upright bass -- and cut the CD without rehearsals or formal song arrangements to achieve the sound he was after, "a bunch of people just sitting around playing."
Find out what's helped ensure the popularity and longevity of folk songs in the essay by contributor Ed Ward.
Bruce Springsteen - "We Shall Overcome"
Bruce Springsteen - "Jacob's Ladder"
Bruce Springsteen - "Oh Mary Don't You Weep"
Editors set to release second full-length album, An End Has a Start
If you enjoyed the Editors' '05 first full-length release, The Back Room, as much as I have this past year, then come June 26th you are going to be a very happy music fan.
The Editors are set to release their second full-length album, titled "An End Has a Start," on June 26th. Too excited to wait? You can pre-order the album from Amazon's UK site or their US site.
Unfortunately, the US release date won't be until July 17th, so make sure you preorder to get your hands on the album before that.
Pitchfork notes that "Opening track "Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors" will get the digi-single treatment two weeks prior to End's start in stores, with a tangible "Smokers" single coming June 18. A visit to the Editors page gets you a brief (like, almost Radiohead brief) video-clip of new track "Bones" to whet your appetite."
Produced by Garret "Jacknife" Lee, the sophomore album helps to capture that great live sound that the band has, while maintaining a darkly retro rock feel reminiscent of Interpol. Don't get me wrong, the Editors are their own breed, with driving rhythms that punch the air while being punctuated by vocalist Tom Smith's emotive lyrics.
Swing by the Editors' website and have a listen to "Smokers Outside the Hospital Door" and the title track, "An End Has a Start," along with two live tracks from Amsterdam.
Tracklisting for An End Has A Start:
01. "Smokers Outside The Hospital Doors"02. "An End Has A Start"
03. "The Weight Of The World"
04. "Bones"
05. "When Anger Shows"
06. "The Racing Rats"
07. "Push Your Head Towards The Air"
08. "Escape The Nest"
09. "Spiders"
10. "Well Worn Hand"
The Music Slut describes what Editors frontman Tom Smith recently said about Editors' upcoming sophomore LP, An End Has A Start:
"There is a lot of death on the record, that sounds pretty morbid but it's the truth. Death has touched me and my friends in the last year in several ways. Realizing everything comes to an end is important and I think we've done our best to make it something glorious and uplifting as well as scary."
You can also check out the mp3 for "Bones" from the new album over at The Music Slut, but only if you hurry!
Bonus: Editors - "All Sparks" (Phones remix)