Jennifer Kirk

This week I’d like to discuss something that is very near and dear to my heart – our United States soldiers. No matter what your stance is on the current state of the conflict in Iraq or elsewhere in the world, the individuals that fight to maintain and uphold our rights and liberties are some of the bravest, most courageous people you will ever meet.

The new HBO series John Adams has, to a degree, helped remind me of how and why our country was founded in the first place. Last month we reached, for a lack of a better term, a milestone of 4,000 casualties in the war in Iraq. All of these individuals have their own stories and they all need to be told. The one I want to bring your attention this week is the story of Marine Cpl. Matthew D. Conley.

Matthew Conley died at the age of 21 in Iraq. He was a father, a husband, a son and a soldier. He also went to high school in Greenhill, Alabama with Jason Isbell. Jason Isbell is one of my favorite songwriters today. He was once a member of Drive-By Truckers, but now has his own band. After Conley died, Isbell wrote a song that was a tribute to this fallen hero. The song, aptly titled Dress Blues, uses vivid imagery to tell the story of Matthew’s funeral.

Read on for the conclusion of this week’s Land of Confusion…

Throughout history, politics has had a significant impact on music. Likewise music has had a significant impact on politics (thanks, Tipper). With that in mind, I thought it would be a good idea to create a dialog with you, the Hidden Track readers. I hope to address issues concerning the campaign trail, current hot button issues and candidates and then contrast them with artists, occurrences in the music business, lyrics and perhaps even a little music history.

Recently, there has been a lot of discussion on the Umphrey’s McGee fan message board about a recent podcast released by the band. Over the years, Umphrey’s has done several cover songs, including several hip-hop songs such as Regulate, Gin & Juice and Xxplosive. The podcast mentioned features a cover of Snoop Dogg’s Ain’t No Fun.

UM guitarist Brendan Bayliss keeps to the original by performing all the lyrics to the song. The specific lyric that caused controversy over on the message board is the “N-word.” Indeed, many rap artists have embraced this term to simply take on the meaning of a person. But does this not perpetuate the racial problems in our country? On the other hand, Widespread Panic changes the same lyric in question when they cover Curtis Mayfield’s Pusher Man.

Read on for more of Land of Confusion, and be sure to tell us your opinion…

We tend to stay away from politics at HT, but with the presidential election rapidly approaching we thought it was finally time to jump into the fray. Let’s welcome Jennifer Kirk who will provide a weekly column discussing politics and music. Here’s Jennifer’s first column, which is about her experience with HeadCount:

Since 2004, I have been involved with HeadCount. HeadCount is a non-partisan, non-profit organization that’s primary purpose is to register voters that are involved with the live music community. HeadCount staffs volunteers at concerts and festivals across the country. HeadCount is endorsed by many artists including: Dave Matthews Band, Jack Johnson, Ratdog, Gov’t Mule, Foo Fighters, and many, many more. So I thought it would be a good idea to share some of my HeadCount experiences as a volunteer as well as address issues surrounding music and politics.

Teams of HeadCount volunteers in several major cities across the country register concertgoers before, during and after shows. Recently, the Drive-By Truckers made a pit stop in Nashville to promote their new release Brighter Than Creation’s Dark. The HeadCount volunteers arrived to the venue an hour prior to doors opening in order to set up our table and organize our clipboards, voter registration forms and other supplies. HeadCount was allowed to have four volunteers for the show, so some of us staffed the table while others signed people up outside the venue. We were also allowed the opportunity to take turns watching some of the rock show.

There is a reason that I have been involved with HeadCount so long — passion. Not the passion I possess (though it is required to work the long shifts at Bonnaroo in June) but the passion and excitement that I see in the faces of the people that we register. It’s an exciting feeling to empower these people to make their voices heard; not just in Tennessee but all across the country.

Read on for more of the debut edition of Land of Confusion…