Amanda "Fucking" Palmer, who recently wrapped a west coast tour with husband Neil Gaiman, has been visiting Occupy sites around the country, making stops at Occupy sites in L.A., Oakland, Portland, Vancouver, and Seattle, in addition to her recent stops in Boston and Occupy Wall Street. "One of the most fascinating things outside of visiting the sites themselves is chatting to the locals in each town about their relationship to the Occupy movement,” notes Palmer. “Lots of locals are quietly stepping up and driving daily supplies to the sites, bringing food, bringing blankets, bringing water, tweeting news...it's the beautiful sight of a larger, empowered DIY culture taking positive control over their environments.”
Now Palmer has teamed up with local Boston filmmaker & friend Michael Gill to create a video montage of images from the Occupy movement, backed with Palmer's ukulele version of "The World Turned Upside Down". The 1975 Leon Rosselson song about the Diggers movement was recently recorded at Boston's Mad Oak studios, after Palmer played it first to enthusiastic crowds at Occupy Boston and Occupy Wall Street.
"It's actually the Billy Bragg version that I knew", says Palmer. "That song hit me to the core when I first heard it and it's a perfect song to share at Occupy. People have been singing along at the tops of their lungs. With lyrics like 'This earth was made a common treasury for everyone to share' you kind of couldn't pick a more perfect song to speak to the movement.”
Michael Gill met Amanda Palmer when interviewing her for a documentary about local and recently deceased Boston music scene hero Billy Ruane. When discussing her plans for “The World Turned Upside Down”. Gill revealed that he had already created a short film of the arrests that took place at Occupy Boston. They quickly agreed on the idea and decided to collaborate on the video which was released today – watch it here! We encourage you to post and share.
Palmer is widely known for having carved a career for herself using social media and direct fan support, she has been an innovator in creating new models in the music business that do not depend on corporations. She recently released “Ukulele Anthem” with artwork by Shepard Fairey, an ode to the DIY ethos to which Palmer (and her army of fans) is firmly committed. Through Amanda’s typical "pay what you want" model, fans will be able to get the recently released “Ukulele Anthem” track and artwork by Shepard Fairey for free or voluntary donation via bandcamp.com.
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