This Week with David Rovics

”Once the Last Palestinian’s Killed” REMIX

Chet has delivered another remix, which I think breathes life into this song about death eloquently, if such a thing can be said. 

New song: ”Song for the Houthi Army”

This song is a public service announcement, to thank the Houthi Army for their service to the global public. 

”They Were Raising A White Flag” FINAL MIX

Chet Gardiner has sent me a few more tracks. Not only “They Were Raising A White Flag,” but also “From the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.” He’ll be working with more, but I’m sharing them as they come, because everything is happening in real time.

Here’s the whole playlist of songs about the current apocalypse, which I’ve got arranged so the tracks that Chet has improved upon are mostly on top, such as the first 4.

These tracks, like everything else I’ve got on Soundcloud, can be streamed or downloaded for free, and of course they can also be played through a sound system at a protest, or on the radio, or wherever else.

For folks who want to hear them live, I’ll be doing a concert in downtown Portland, Oregon on January 20th, and then Ceasefire Tour plans after that include southern California, France, England, Scotland, Wales, the northeastern US, and Australia. If you’re from any of those places and might be inclined to organize a gig of any kind, I’d love to hear from you!

Where Did All These Terrorists Come From?

I wrote a poem.

”Save The Pigs”

When the rules of engagement are "shoot anything that moves." 

New song: ”They Were Raising A White Flag”

When the rules of engagement are "shoot anything that moves."

New song: ”They’re Killing Off the Journalists of Gaza”

Part of Israel's strategy of destroying Gaza is to destroy the ability of the people of Gaza to tell their story, by explicitly targeting and assassinating journalists.

”In One World” FINAL MIX

Here's Chet Gardiner's brilliant remix of a song I recorded in 2002 based on a story I read in the Palestine Chronicle back then, called "In One World."

”Baby Jesus Lying in the Rubble” FINAL MIX

From the vantage point of artistic output, as 2023 progresses I’ve been facing the only problem I ever like to have — writing more decent songs in the course of the year than I could possibly pack into one album project.

I already had plans to spend much of February in southern France making a recording with a fine international cast of musicians. I was starting to think about completely changing the plan for the recording project and making it all about the genocide in Gaza. But I was feeling bad about abandoning the idea of recording a lot of other material if we went that route.

Then it occurred to me that instead of radically altering the project we already had planned, the Gaza song cycle could be its own separate recording project. When the brilliant Hawai’i-based musician, Chet Gardiner, had me and other musicians there to record the Killing the Messenger album at the beginning of 2023, he mentioned the notion of working remotely with material I send him, that I record in my apartment.

I realized that this was the time to do that sort of project together, and Chet’s response was “I’m glad you asked.”

He got to work quickly, improving vocal and guitar sounds and adding tastefully minimalist layers of bass and synth to his favorite song in the cycle thus far. What I’m sharing with you here is the first song he finished. He’ll be serving us more morsels as December progresses. I hope you like it as much as I do (and the rest of them as much as I expect to!).

When we’ve got the whole batch, I’ll put them out as an album on all the music streaming platforms.

New song: ”Just Like the Nazis Did”

The danger of ignoring obvious historical parallels to unfolding events is the prospect of repeating them.