I'm not seeing any diaries on this, so just have to post. It appears a performer has gotten into the APEC summit in Hawaii and sang a very anti-1%-er song for 45 minutes. He was showing a "Occupy with Aloha" t-shirt and his song had lyrics such as: "The lobbyists at Washington do gnaw.... And until they are purged, we won't withdraw".
Really awesome. Quoting from the press release from the Yes Lab (who helped make this happen):
Honolulu - A change in the programmed entertainment at last night's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) gala left a few world leaders slack-jawed, though most seemed not to notice that anything was amiss.
During the gala dinner, renowned Hawaiian guitarist Makana, who performed at the White House in 2009, opened his suit jacket to reveal a home-made “Occupy with Aloha” T-shirt. Then, instead of playing the expected instrumental background music, he spent almost 45 minutes repeatedly singing his protest ballad released earlier that day. The ballad, called “We Are the Many,” includes lines such as “The lobbyists at Washington do gnaw.... And until they are purged, we won't withdraw,” and ends with the refrain: “We'll occupy the streets, we'll occupy the courts, we'll occupy the offices of you, till you do the bidding of the many, not the few.”
Those who could hear Makana’s message included Presidents Barack Obama of the United States of America, Hu Jintao of China, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of Indonesia, Prime Minister Stephen Harper of Canada, and over a dozen other heads of state.
“At first, I was worried about playing ‘We Are The Many,’” said Makana. “But I found it odd that I was afraid to sing a song I’d written, especially since I'd written it with these people in mind.”
The gala was the most secure event of the summit. It was held inside the Hale Koa hotel, a 72-acre facility owned and controlled by the US Defense Department; the site was fortified with an additional three miles of fencing constructed solely for the APEC summit.
Makana was surprised that no one objected to him playing the overtly critical song. “I just kept doing different versions,” he said. “I must’ve repeated ‘the bidding of the many, not the few’ at least 50 times, like a mantra. It was surreal and sobering.”
There are pictures at the link. Here's the song's video (h/t to x):
11:02 AM PT: I just saw from the artist's webpage you can get a free download of his song "We are the Many" there. (I've never heard of this artist, or listen to Hawaiian music generally, but I'll definitely be listening to this!)
11:19 AM PT: OK, I just listened to this song from watching the video which has been embedded by commenter below. It is very worthy, with lyrics that are sung and a message being sent that couldn't be clearer.
I'm really amazed that the performer was able to serenade these 0.1%-er's for 45 minutes with this song! What a freaking great way to get in their heads!
12:57 PM PT: The song video has been added to the diary now. Rec list, I'm really glad this very innovative approach to 'bring it' to the 1% (or, more accurately, the 0.1%) is getting some exposure.
I just LOVE that for 45-freaking minutes this performer got to sing to these elites: "We are the many, you are the few". Just awesome.
9:08 PM PT: This is getting some play in the media. Ann Compton posting at "Political Punch" for ABC News covered the story, and contacted the White House about it. They declined comment.
CNN covers it, interviews Makana, and he gets to perform live on air:
Mon Nov 14, 2011 at 6:44 AM PT: Now that the media are back in the office, there's a lot of media happening for this wonderful story of tuneful direct action.
Here are the song's lyrics:
Ye come here, gather ’round the stage
The time has come for us to voice our rage
Against the ones who’ve trapped us in a cage
To steal from us the value of our wage
From underneath the vestiture of law
The lobbyists at Washington do gnaw
At liberty, the bureaucrats guffaw
And until they are purged, we won’t withdraw
We’ll occupy the streets
We’ll occupy the courts
We’ll occupy the offices of you
Till you do
The bidding of the many, not the few
Our nation was built upon the right
Of every person to improve their plight
But laws of this Republic they rewrite
And now a few own everything in sight
They own it free of liability
They own, but they are not like you and me
Their influence dictates legality
And until they are stopped we are not free
We’ll occupy the streets
We’ll occupy the courts
We’ll occupy the offices of you
Till you do
The bidding of the many, not the few
You enforce your monopolies with guns
While sacrificing our daughters and sons
But certain things belong to everyone
Your thievery has left the people none
So take heed of our notice to redress
We have little to lose, we must confess
Your empty words do leave us unimpressed
A growing number join us in protest
We occupy the streets
We occupy the courts
We occupy the offices of you
Till you do
The bidding of the many, not the few
You can’t divide us into sides
And from our gaze, you cannot hide
Denial serves to amplify
And our allegiance you can’t buy
Our government is not for sale
The banks do not deserve a bail
We will not reward those who fail
We will not move till we prevail
We’ll occupy the streets
We’ll occupy the courts
We’ll occupy the offices of you
Till you do
The bidding of the many, not the few
We are the many
You are the few