Dancing in the Streets
Trying My Hand at Something New
A couple of weeks ago, the fifth anniversary of my retirement from the corporate world of publishing/bookselling passed and I was reminded once again - by that l’il voice inside my head - that I’m now in this “Encore” phase of my life, where, as they used to say on TV game shows “Anything can happen.” Somehow that little voice has been telling me the “Anything” should be writing something and/or doing something around music.
And here you have it. My first entry in my very own Substack. I’ve entitled my new writing project “Geschrei in the Wilderness,” Yiddish punning on the biblical phrase about desperate voices going unheard. It has nothing to do with the 1970’s made-for-TV movie with George Kennedy who has been bitten by a skunk. Given daily life under our current “President,” it seemed an apt metaphor where we all feel like we’ve been bitten by a skunk.
So what’ll one find here at Geschrei? Well, I’m going to try and regularly post some playlists. To give these some shape (and to make it easier on me) I’ll limit these to 13 songs. A baker’s dozen.
Will it be weekly? Monthly? We will figure that out. I hope to write about said playlists and provide some context for them. There will no doubt be other things music-related and more than likely book-related and if I had to bet, film-related.
Time will tell.
So, to the first mix, which I’ve dubbed The Sound of (Angry) Young America, inspired by the opening number of Bruce Springsteen’s Land of Hope and Dreams show in the Twin Cities the other night. Springsteen began the evening with an updated version of how he opened his European tour…only now he could add War to the list of abominations perpetrated by our fearless leader: “The America I love, the America that I’ve written about for 50 years that has been a beacon of hope and liberty around the world is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent, racist, reckless and treasonous administration. Tonight we ask all of you to join with us in choosing hope over fear, democracy over authoritarianism, the rule of law over lawlessness, ethics over unbridled corruption, resistance over complacency, unity over division, and peace over war.”
On the word “War,” the E Street Band - now 17 members strong - launch into the Edwin Starr chestnut that has been part of the Springsteen repertoire for more than 40 years. Back in 1985 his spoken intro was all about the Vietnam War which was only ten years in the rear view mirror. This week he’s talking about Iran. You can watch below.
That song got me thinking about socially conscious music coming out of Motown. While there hasn’t been a whole lot of it, it did produce in Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On?” one of the finest albums of the last 60 years. I decided to dig around and see what else in this vein came out of 2648 W. Grand Blvd. in Detroit. And what you have is “The Sound of Young (Angry) America a collection of originals and covers. The Sound of Young America was the name and marketing slogan that Berry Gordy gave to Motown Records. And for the first ten years of the label’s existence, it was a happy sound with a undeniably danceable beat. Gordy prided himself on just how apolitical, or one could say palatable to a white audience, Motown was. And really as much as almost anyone, other than Martin Luther King Jr., Gordy and the music out of Motown helped in integrating this country.
But as the nation became more politically/socially/racially conscious so did Motown. Not just Marvin Gaye, The Temptations and Stevie Wonder were right there singing about poverty, injustice and the ball of confusion that the world had become.
These are mostly the originals, with a few covers - Springsteen, and the Blind Boys of Alabama’s rockin’ “Higher Ground,” though my favorite cover is the Infamous Stringdusters bluegrass version of “What’s Going On?” Who know a dobro could sound so sweet on a Motown song?
Sure hope the link works… and that you enjoy the mix. Stay tuned for more.
Baker’s Dozen 1 - The Sound of Young (Angry) America
P.S., Many thanks to Peter Osnos who has been urging me to do this for years. And to Terry Bromberg, Ed Sporn and Stu Rosner who have gently pushed me down the road. Molto grazie tutti.
Welcome to Substack.
This is a strong and inviting start. The framing of this as an “Encore” phase adds a sense of momentum rather than closure, which makes the project feel open and full of possibility.
What stands out most is how you connect music to its broader context—especially the shift within Motown as the country itself was changing. That historical layering gives the playlist more depth than just a collection of songs; it becomes a way of tracing how awareness evolves over time.
There’s also a nice balance between personal reflection and cultural observation. It makes the piece accessible while still grounded in experience.
Looking forward to the next one.