Occupy Oakland: Dock Strike

Contrary to popular media's portrayal, the port blockade in Oakland on December 12 was not only very well attended, with a diverse crowd including families with kids and people of all shapes/colors/sizes, but it was super fun.  The videos below are not very representative of the gigantic crowds, which were closer to the center of the demonstration, but they do show us rocking out hard.  There were no problems with police.  From what I could tell it was all peaceful, civil, and it successfully managed to shut down the dock for a full 24 hours. High 5, Oakland.

Occupy International - free compilation

Occupy International is both the title of a freely downloadable music compilation and a worldwide conceptual movement.  Featuring an array of artists from the US, Belgium, Chile, England, France, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, the 24-track compilation runs the gamut from hip hop to dubstep, with a little punk rock thrown in for good measure.  The "Occupy International" concept itself is simply the idea of spreading the sentiment behind the Occupy Wall Street protests to an international level, a movement which has already begun in places such as Belgium, Germany, Poland and Spain.

Birthed by producer/musician Jonah Mociun (AKA Th' Mole) of the Magical Bass blog and record label, "Occupy International" was originally just a two-word concept which quickly manifested itself in the idea to create a music compilation.  Primarily by using Facebook, Mociun contacted the artists directly, all of them agreeing to contribute tracks free of charge.  Popular artists such as Dead Prez responded surprisingly quickly.  Along with art by Bay Area-based Ezra Li Eismont and mastering by one of the contributing musicians, Bloodysnowman, the project apparently came together with ease, spurred by the momentum of the cause.

While the music on Occupy International ranges widely, including political artists as well as non-political ones, for the most part it is energetic, with lyrics relevant to the OWS movement.  While a few contributions, such as Blondtron's cover of "Wolf Like Me" by TV On The Radio, are not exactly protest music, most of the tracks, including Riddlore?'s "State Of The Nation" and Mochipet's Rage Against The Machine remix, are the perfect soundtrack for standing up and taking to the streets.  In the especially poignant track "I Think I'm Ben Bernanke" rapper Sole states, "We've been under occupation.  Time to occupy the occupiers."

STREAM/DOWNLOAD PAGE HERE

Th' Mole in 3D!!!

Pretty Boy Swag

Why do I love Soulja Boy so much?  I don't know.  He really sucks at rapping, and most of his songs I throw away, but some of his songs just make me want to jump up and kiss the sky.  I think this is my third official Soulja Boy remix.

Soulja Boy - Pretty Boy Swag (DJ 0.000001 Remix) ft. Dire Straits by magicalbass

I would also like to share these - two of the most ridiculously bad rap songs ever, IMO: