Guitar

OK, I think in my many posts here I have pretty well established my 'atheist cred' - I doubt anyone would consider me particularly sympathetic to religion or woo. And that's appropriate, because that's where I come down on these issues.

But unlike some in the wide atheist community, I do see it as progress when someone moves from a narrow, hateful religion to one which is less so. And so, while I still see it as rather silly for someone to believe in the Sky Daddy, I do think that which variety of Sky Daddy cult they belong to makes a difference, for the health of the country, for the health of the planet. This morning's This I Believe essay from NPR is a good example of this. Here's an excerpt from it:

Not long ago I was on a business trip, alone in a hotel room with my guitar. That evening while watching the evening news I saw yet another story about US soldiers killed in Iraq. At that moment all the anger, fear, shame and hurt that I had been carrying for so long consumed me. Out of instinct I grabbed my guitar and notebook, and this song just burst out of me – that is the only way I can describe the process. When I was done I was exhausted and my emotions were spent.

After listening to what I wrote I realized that this song did not belong to me. I wrote it, but it is not mine. It belongs to everyone who can no longer accept what is going on in our government. With our elections only two weeks away, I need to make a difference, to do something to help fix what has gone so horribly wrong. The best I can give is this song, so I give it to everyone – no copyright issues, no royalties, no ‘terms of use’ restrictions, no record industry lawyers waiting to sue your children. This song, born out of love for this country and what it stands for, belongs to everyone.

The song is called “I Won't Wait”, because waiting is something we cannot afford to do anymore. Those to whom we gave our trust have failed us. We have an obligation to remove those failed leaders and send a message to Congress. Let them know we are watching, we are not stupid, and we are tired of the lies.

The song has been attached to this blog entry, and you can download it here.

(The zipfile above contains the tablature and the lyrics as well as the MP3. Here's the bare MP3. - Brent)

Purchasing acoustic guitars online?

First of all, I would like to thank Brent for giving me the opportunity to post on UTI. I have been an reader of UTI and its associated blogs for a long time, and I have a great respect for all those who post here.

We all know about the record industry's backwards attempt to shore up its revenues by suing people who download music. As a musician, I have seen this as purely selfish and all about profits for the record labels. I always felt that these actions were hurting musicians too, even if it was peripherally. Now I am finding that the music industry is directly attacking musicians and their craft.

More below the fold...