Heavy Rotation

The Rotation Will Not Be Televised

A playlist for making change

By Caitlin Rockett

'The Revolution Will Not Be Televised,’ By Gil Scott-Heron

“The first change that takes place is in your mind. You have to change your mind before you change the way you live and the way you move. So when we said that the revolution will not be televised, we’re saying that the thing that’s going to change people is something that no one will ever be able to capture on film. It’ll just be something you see and all of a sudden you realize, I’m on the wrong page, or I’m on the right page but I’m on the wrong note.” —Gil Scott-Heron, speaking to Skip Blumberg for the award-winning Public Broadcast System series ‘The 90’s.’

'We The People,’ By A Tribe Called Quest

When A Tribe Called Quest dropped this song on Nov. 11, 2016, the U.S. was reeling from the election of Donald Trump. Jayson Greene of Pitchfork called the song “a sliver-sized miracle, a crack of light illuminating the door in a dark wall. This is the function Tribe songs have always served — they point to a path through wilderness.” Q-tip muses on how black communities are marginalized, scrutinized and, eventually, colonized: “... living in a fish bowl / Gentrify here, now it’s not a shit hole.”

‘Make America Great Again,’ By Pussy Riot

In 2012, three members of the music collective Pussy Riot were arrested and accused of “hooliganism” by the Russian government. Member Nadya Tolokonnikova served some of her two-year sentence in a women’s penal colony, where she reported that prisoners worked 16-17 hours a day, and complaints were met with punishment. Since her release, Pussy Riot has continued to say exactly what they mean, like in this 2016 response to the election of Donald Trump: “Let other people in / Listen to your women / Stop killing black children / Make America Great Again.”

‘The Guillotine,’ By The Coup

Boots Riley was born into a family of social justice organizers in Chicago. His German Jewish grandmother fled Europe in 1938. Needless to say, Riley’s had a few things to say over the years about racial justice. Don’t let the title of this track scare you; just listen to the lyrics: ‘If you press your ear to the turf that is stolen,” Riley sings, “You can hear the sound of limitations exploding.” This isn’t about violence, it’s about dismantling a broken system.

‘This Is America,’ By Childish Gambino

'Malcom Said It,’ By Akala

The British rapper, journalist, author, activist and poet known as Akala (Kingslee James McLean Daleya) points out the throughline in the messages from black activists through the years — “Malcolm said it / Martin said it / Marley said it / Ali said it / Garvey said it / Toussaint said it” — then reminds us how hated they were in their lifetimes: “We love them dead when they speak no more / But they will endure, ideas are bulletproof.”

‘Get Up, Stand Up,’ By The Wailers

Bob Marley used simple, often joyful language to talk about oppression and the path forward: “We sick an’ tired of-a your ism-skism game / Dyin’ ‘n’ goin’ to heaven in-a Jesus’ name, Lord / We know when we understand / Almighty God is a living man / You can fool some people sometimes / But you can’t fool all the people all the time / So now we see the light / We gonna stand up for our rights.”

‘Les Fleurs,’ By Minnie Riperton

Jordan Peele chose to use this song to close out his mind-bending, social commentary horror flick 'Us.' The song is a breath of fresh air after a tense, deeply psychological movie — Peele has called the song a “palate cleanser.” While this track from 1970 certainly isn’t a traditional protest song, its lyrics are indeed cleansing, a reminder to constantly search for compassion, that most radical of emotions: “Inside every man lives the seed of a flower / If he looks within he finds beauty and power … Throw off your fears / Let your heart beat freely at the sign / That a new time is born.”

For a full playlist with nearly 2 hours of music, please visit Boulder Weekly’s Spotify channel.