This Week's Playlist #93 - The Peace edition
5 anti-war songs for this week
Hello everyone!
This Week's Playlist - Season 2, Episode 41.
Another week and another dramatic turn of events with the Israel-Hamas war and its devastating images.
I wasn't sure how to frame this newsletter until now (hence the late Sunday evening sending), and I ended up picking up 5 anti-war (or so) classics.
TL;DR: I'm running a musical newsletter with a new guest sharing 5 songs each week.
There is a YouTube link for each of the songs on the cover, and here are the playlists for each streaming platform:
Tidal (coming soon)
Deezer (coming soon)
1. PJ Harvey - The Words That Maketh Murder
We start with PJ Harvey, and a track from her “Let England Shake” album.
“The Words That Maketh Murder” highlights the atrocities of conflicts and about war as a cyclical thing that happens without end.
2. System of a Down - Soldier Side
A late classic from System of a Down,
"Soldier Side" is a call to end the senseless cycle of violence that characterizes war. One of the song's central themes is the innocence lost in war. The children of tomorrow are living in tears, and their lives are ruined by the conflict.
3. Amanda Palmer & Jherek Bischoff - Zombie
A cover from the Cranberries' anthem against the Northern Ireland conflict by Amanda Palmer and Jherek Bischoff.
Amanda's delicate voice gives the song an even more dramatic dimension.
4. Iron Maiden - Afraid To Shoot Strangers
One of my favourite Iron Maiden tracks. It was released shortly after the First Gulf War. In the first person, the lyrics explore soldiers' hesitancy and moral conflict in war.
And the typical melodic break halfway through with the twin guitar solos adds a nice touch.
5. Orphaned Land - Brothers
I had to finish with Orphaned Land for this week's playlist.
Israel's most prominent heavy metal band (which fuses traditional Middle Eastern sounds and instruments with Western Heavy metal) pushes a message of positivity and a vision of coexistence.
The song "Brother" is a ballad that discusses the relationship between Isaac and Ishmael, the sons of Abraham. The song is written from the point of view of one brother (Isaac), who writes a letter that forgives the other brother (Ishmael) for becoming enemies.
Until the next time, Godspeed!
Thomas
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