Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - "Ohio" (spotlight)

Where are the protest songs of today?  Why do I need to rehash a song from 1970?  It's a great song, but where are the current voices?  Taylor Swift has spoken out in a tweet, but where is her song?  Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young released "Ohio" in June 1970, about a month after Kent State.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kent_State_shootings

Tin soldiers and Nixon coming

We're finally on our own

This summer I hear the drumming

Four dead in Ohio

Gotta get down to it

Soldiers are cutting us down

Should have been done long ago

What if you knew her

And found her dead on the ground

How can you run when you know?

https://www.snopes.com/ap/2020/06/02/tear-gas-threats-for-protesters-before-trump-visits-church/

Find the cost of freedom

Buried in the ground

Mother Earth will swallow you

Lay your body down

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/military-show-of-force-at-lincoln-memorial-draws-outrage-online-2020-06-02

While the President and a sitting US Senator calls for the US military to be deployed against US citizens on US soil: 

The nation must restore order. The military stands ready. https://t.co/SW68y6wvds

— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) June 3, 2020

James "Mad Dog" Mattis finally speaks out:

Mattis' letter is dead on. He has closely observed the ignorance and incompetence of the current Commander in Chief.

Here he is a spokesman for military tradition in the US and Constitutional requirements. American civilians are NEVER the enemy. https://t.co/cgSqBnZRkA

— Stewart Brand (@stewartbrand) June 4, 2020

How can you run when you know?

CSNY: Ohio, Find the Cost of Freedom

Tanya Donnelly - "Heart of Gold" (the song remains the same)

One of my favorite LPs is the 2008 Neil Young tribute LP "Cinnamon Girl", which consists entirely of covers of Neil Young songs by female artists.  I'll eventually get around to reviewing the entire LP, but for the moment we'll continue Women's History Month with the advance single from the LP: Tanya Donnelly covering "Heart of Gold" on the A-side, and LUFF covering "Tell Me Why" on the B-side.

Tanya Donelly is on the A-side because she is an alt-rock icon, having been in Throwing Muses, The Breeders, and Belly, in addition to her solo career.  That's quite a resume, and she deserves to be the featured artist.  She turns in a really good version of one Neil Young's most popular -- and one of my favorite -- songs.

But the real surprise of this single (and indeed, the entire LP) is LUFF's cover of "Tell Me Why".  Whereas Tanya and most of the other artists on the LP stay pretty close in style to the originals, LUFF gives a mesmerizing, shoegazing version of a more obscure song.  I did not know of LUFF prior to this LP and I'm not 100% sure they're still active, but I intend to explore more of their (limited) discography.

Tanya Donelly - "Heart of Gold"
LUFF - "Tell Me Why"

Neil Young - "Heart of Gold", "Tell Me Why"
CSNY - "Tell Me Why"