Singer/songwriter Mike Doughty has released a music video for his second single “Fort Hood” from his album Golden Delicious, which was released on February 19 by ATO Records. Fort Hood is the base in Texas that’s lost the most people in Iraq and Afghanistan. This song is based on Mike’s past experiences and his thoughts on war. Please read more below for Mike’s process in writing this song and also check out the video streams of “Fort Hood”, as well as an audio stream of Mike’s introduction to the song. Please let me know if you could feature this video and/or the information about it on Watch Mojo.
“Fort Hood” Streaming Video:
Windows:
http://easylink.playstream.com
http://easylink.playstream.com
Quicktime:
http://easylink.playstream.com
http://easylink.playstream.com
Audio intro from Mike:
Windows:
http://easylink.playstream.com
http://easylink.playstream.com
Quicktime:
http://easylink.playstream.com
http://easylink.playstream.com
Mike Doughty discusses his song “Fort Hood”
”Fort Hood” isn’t exactly an anti-war song. It’s more of a song about my own guilt for living life without thinking of the war every moment. I was invited by the USO to visit Walter Reed Army Medical Center in 2006; I went over and gave CDs to wounded guys, most of them in their 20s, most missing limbs. It was tremendously moving. As we left the hospital, I was thinking that I wanted to never lose that feeling I felt, of incredible gratitude for everything in life.
Fort Hood is the base in Texas that’s lost the most people in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The first verse is about guilt. That I can go about my daily life without thinking of the violence and the fear in Iraq, and the sacrifice people are making over there.
The first part of the second verse is about frustration with political pissing matches, instead of unity among our elected representatives to serve these guys. The second half is about how the war haunts me; how I see dudes in uniform in airports and wonder what’s going on in their heads, what they’ve witnessed.
The bridge is about lost innocence. The lyrics are about what I wished a guy in his 20s was doing instead of being scarred by a fucked-up war. One line is, “You should blast Young Jeezy with your friends in a parking lot.” I changed it from “You should blast Toby Keith with your friends in a parking lot” — mostly for reasons of singability. But also because I realized everybody would take it as a snobby dis on the soldier. I actually meant it in passionate sympathy; it’s better to be a teenage jingoist than to come back with your consciousness or body shattered, knowing the tragic naivete of jingoism. Young guys go over there and come back scarred — bodily, often, but also psychologically, such that so many of them will have the burden of post-traumatic stress disorder, nightmares, haunting images.
I grew up an Army brat on Army bases — pretty much all the adult men had been in Vietnam, and looking at their collective bizarre behavior in hindsight, I realize I grew up in a crazy land where every adult man had post-traumatic stress disorder.
My dad never talked about Vietnam to my mom. As — I think — a passive-aggressive means of hurting my father, she took us all to see Milos Foreman’s film version of Hair (at the military cinema on a NATO base in Belgium!) without telling us what it was about. My dad was upset — though he laughed, bitterly, when the character Berger got accidentally shipped off to the Vietnam war and killed in action.
The genesis of my song was: I downloaded from WFMU.org an mp3 of the Japanese cast of Hair doing “Sunshine.” It was surreal and fun through the verses, which were in Japanese, but when it came to the end, the chorus was in English — it was chilling, and so apt, and my eyes moistened up on the subway.
I moved to New York when I was 18, and the music everywhere was hip hop and house, and often based on samples and re-jiggered melodies from other songs. It’s kind of weird in singer-songwriter land to take a chorus from another song, but it felt really natural to me.
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Embark on a mystical journey and let yourself be guided by the melodious vision of singer/songwriter Chantal Chamandy casting a musical spell directly from the birthplace of civilization. Coming to life in Beladi, A Night at the Pyramids with the Cairo Symphony Orchestra, Chantal Chamandy brings together her enchanting compositions and a profound artistic vision in an invitation to a legendary evening.
Directed by Gerard Pullicino, stage designed by Guy St-Amour (Cirque du Soleil), and choreographed and co-artistically directed by Genevieve Dorion-Coupal (Beatles Love, Superbowl), and garnering the talents world class performance artists and dancers, this once in a lifetime event will no doubt leave the viewer breathless and awestruck.
Dubbed the “Daughter of the World”, Chantal Chamandy channels her lyrical poetry in the English, French, Spanish, Arabic, and Italian languages in an epic musical and visual journey from east to west. Let the songstress behold you through the magic of her music at the last of the Seven Wonders of the World, The Pyramids at Giza.
Learn more at http://www.chantalchamandy.com
Vanessa Hudgens is heading out to fairs across the country this summer in support of her forthcoming album, Identified. Hudgens’ sophomore album is now due out on July 1st through Hollywood Records, and the first single, “Sneakernight,” will be available on iTunes on May 20th. Check out the dates to catch a performance in a town near you.
DATE CITY, ST VENUE
1-Aug Bessemer, AL Alabama Adventure
2-Aug Baton Rouge, LA Dixie Landin
5-Aug West Allis, WI WI State Fair
8-Aug Jackson, MI County Fair
9-Aug Hamburg, NY County Fair
10-Aug Lewisburg, WV State Fair
12-Aug Midland, MI County Fair
14-Aug Des Moines, IA State Fair
15-Aug Louisville, KY State Fair
18-Aug Meadville, PA Crawford County Fairgrounds
22-Aug Sacramento, CA State Fair
23-Aug Salem, OR State Fair
24-Aug Vancouver, BC Pacific National Exhibition
27-Aug Syracuse, NY State Fair
28-Aug Canfield, OH Mahoning County Fairgrounds
29-Aug Detroit, MI State Fair
30-Aug Rockford, IL Davis Memorial Park
9-Sep Albuquerque, NM Tingley Coliseum - State Fair
3 Doors Down announced today their plans for a full headline summer tour in celebration of the upcoming self-titled Universal Republic Records release, 3 Doors Down, to be made available everywhere on May 20th. 3 Doors Down promises the shows will be one of the summer concert season’s more rocking bills, tearing it up live across the US with two of the most invincible road warrior bands, Boston-based Staind and notorious Oklahoma fivesome Hinder.
In a show of their heartfelt affection for their fans, 3 Doors Down is also taking on the hard-hit economy, creating flexible, fan-friendly ticket prices that will vary in price, starting at $25 at all venues. Charismatic front man Brad Arnold affirms he recalls a thing or two as a huge music fan himself about saving a penny in order to see your favorite rock band. “Being from Mississippi, I remember how great it was to head out to a rock concert as soon as the weather broke,” says Brad. “We’re so grateful to our fans for being there through thick and thin and supporting our new single “It’s Not My Time,” the idea of keeping ticket prices down is just one way we plan to return the favor. Of course, the upside to this is we will be accepting no excuses when it comes to having a great time at one of our shows.”
Drawing on almost a decade of material (and 13 million albums sold worldwide), the acclaimed rockers will be rolling out several songs from the new 3 Doors Down album on their new show. The self-titled follow-up to their platinum-plus 2005 effort Seventeen Days, has been the subject of a frenzied online buzz, with fans speculating over set-lists and repertoire choices culled from previous 3 Doors Down multi-platinum releases. The new effort embodies the fiery passion and restless creativity fans have come to expect from the versatile band, with the scorching kickoff single, “It’s Not My Time,” becoming a dominate staple of 2008 Active Rock and Alternative playlists.
The melodic/tough-around-the-edges Mississippi/Nashville-based band first thundered into the rock scene at the top of the decade, redefining the music landscape with their across-the-board smash “Kryptonite.” The excitement continues to build around the veteran band as fans and critics anticipate the highly touted new album and the stellar 2008 lineup for the summer tour.
About Staind:
In the past decade, Staind has had four No. 1 singles at mainstream rock radio, seen six more singles break the Top 10, and watched their last three albums debut at No. 1 on the Billboard Album Chart. The group has earned their place as one of the most successful rock bands of the new millennium, with four major-label studio recordings and a highly anticipated new release due later this summer. Staind’s music and core sound remains timely and relevant, as the group’s primary focus has always been songwriting over fashion and the latest trend.
About Hinder:
Channeling the spirit of 80s arena rock, Hinder released their Universal Records debut, Extreme Behavior, in September of 2005 going triple platinum and spent 2 ½ years on the road in support remaining on Billboard’s Top 200 for more than 70 weeks. Their first single, the anthemic “Get Stoned,” crowned them as rock’s new bad boys taking them to #4 at Mainstream Rock. The band’s second single, the monster hit “Lips Of An Angel” reached #1 at Mainstream Top 40 radio as well as becoming the first rock band to reach 3 million in ring tone sales making them the biggest selling rock artist in the history of the mobile formats. The hit song was also recognized as Active Rock Radio’s most popular rock single of 2006. Following up with “Better Than Me,” Hinder once again had a Mainstream Top 40 radio hit peaking at #21. Hinder are currently in the studio recording their sophomore release, slated for September, once again with producer Brian Howes.
3 Doors Down Summer Tour with Staind and Hinder
Date City
July 9 Maryland Heights, MO — UMB Bank Pavilion
July 11 Cuyahoga Falls, Oh – Blossom Music Theatre
July 12 Milwaukee, WI — Marcus Amphitheater
July 13 Tinley Park, IL — First Midwest Bank Pavilion
July 15 Portland, ME — Cumberland Co. Civic Center
July 16 Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center
July 18 Hartford, CT – New England Dodge Music Center
July 19 Harrington, DE — Delaware State Fair
July 20 Saratoga Springs, NY– Saratoga Performing Arts Center
July 22 Mansfield, MA — Tweeter Center
July 25 Darien Center, NY –Darien Lake Theme Park
July 26 Camden, NJ — Susquehanna Bank Center
July 27 Hershey, PA – Hershey Park Stadium
July 30 Clarkston, MI – DTE Energy Music Theater (Finger Eleven replaces Hinder)
Aug 6 Sturgis, SD — Buffalo Chip Campground (Finger Eleven replaces Staind and Hinder)
Aug 8 Saskatoon, SK – Saskatoon Credit Union Centre
Aug 9 Brandon, Manitoba – Turtle Crossing
Aug 21 St. Paul, MN – Minnesota State Fair
Aug 23 Calgary, AB – The Pengrowth Saddledome
Aug 24 Edmonton, AB — Rexall Place
Aug 26 Vancouver, BC — General Motors Place
Aug 27 Seattle, WA – WaMu Theater
Sept 6 Cincinnati, OH – Riverbend Music Center (Staind not performing on this show)
Sept 7 Burgettstown, PA — Post Gazette Pavilion (Staind not performing on this show)
According the Lars the new songs are a mix of “hardcore”, “nutty” and “long”… interesting. Here some bullet points outlining the key points of the interview from Spin:
– The yet-to-be titled new record will drop sometime in September.
– The quartet will wrap production on the record next week, “by Wednesday or Thursday,” Ulrich confirms.
– The band hit the studio “with 26 songs,” then “went down to 14 with Rick [Rubin, producer]” and recorded 11. Only 10 songs will make the final tracklisting.
– The album’s tunes, “long… nutty ass songs,” will not be edited, and are “seven minutes, eight minutes, nine minutes” in length, recalling “some of the earlier records.”
– Sonically, the songs are “definitely all over the place… with a lot of variations.” Definitely “hardcore” and “nutty,” Lars says.
– This week the quartet have been working with its graphic designer on the album art.
– In the recording of the new set Metallica were seeking “a little bit of a more sane environment,” unlike the records they produced in the early ’90s. “And we’ve been able to keep that,” Ulrich says.
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