This Week with David Rovics

New song: "Rent Strike"

Key factors to a successful rent strike include people doing it at the same time, and being organized for collective action when the cops come to try to evict. It worked in the 1930's, but since then society and the laws have backtracked a whole lot.

New song: "Divide and Rule"

Ever feel like a marionette whose strings are being pulled by billionaires who like to watch their puppets form circular firing squads? Me, too.

"Cancel Culture Commander (Ballad of an Anarcho-Puritan)" REMIX

Here's another song destined for my next album, which focuses on life in the matrix -- the operation of the rumor mill in its various toxic, destructive forms. The aspect of the disinformation nexus highlighted here are the sectarian cancellation campaigners, and one of them in particular -- author, journalist, and serial liar, Shane Burley, guru of a small local cult that calls itself Rose City Antifa.

For more information about Shane, his deep confusion about history, his bizarre obsession with rooting out antisemitism on the left, and the widespread promotion of people with his worldview by the liberal section of the mainstream media, my latest blog post/podcast is titled The Progressive Embrace of the McCarthyite Left and you can find it at davidrovics.com/thisweek.

The Progressive Embrace of the McCarthyite Left

Since when did we all become Nazis?

"Tolpuddle" REMIX

In 1834, organizing a union in England was legal on the books, but not in reality.  Farmworkers in Tolpuddle, on the south coast of England, tried to organize a union and were deported to Australia for it.  A massive movement across the country forced the government to pardon the Tolpuddle Martyrs, as the farmworkers became known, and transport them back to England.

This version of the song, from a live show in Crewe, England, was enhanced afterwards by multi-instrumentalist and audio engineer, Chet Gardiner, from his studio in Hawai'i.  It will be part of our next collaborative album, to be titled, I Heard A Rumor, to be released on July 4th, 2024.

New song: "Congestion Charge"

The governor of New York's U-turn on imposing a congestion charge on car traffic in lower Manhattan has been in the news today. Read certain news sources and you'll even find out what the U-turn was actually about. Here's the rhyming version of the story.

"Aotearoa" REMIX

I wrote a lot of songs during the pandemic that had a short shelf life, for one reason or another. This one still evokes, for me, the longing that I and so many others felt for the idea of being in a place that kept Covid out along with everything that generally accompanied it, like the isolation and misery.

Chet Gardiner has brought so much more to the song with the addition of multiple instruments. The song will be a fine addition to our next album, which we aim to put out on July 4th.

Mark Cronin sings "Behind These Prison Walls"

Australian musician Mark Cronin shared with me his rendition of my song about imprisoned Australian journalist, Julian Assange, "Behind These Prison Walls," and I had to share it with you, because it's gorgeous. Looking forward to being in Australia again myself very soon!

New song: "The Ballad of the USS Liberty"

57 years ago this week, the Israeli military tried to sink an American ship and kill all the crew -- knowing full well that's exactly what they were doing.

Mass Media, Social Media, and the New Civil War

How close are we to being in the movie?