Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin keeps a note to all of his fans scrawled on his hand during the band's performances. It's a simple message, but it carries a lot of weight.
When Martin tickles the keys of his piano, on the video monitor it captures the saying, "Make trade fair."
How vague and powerful can a statement stenciled in permanent marker on one man's hand be?
Ever since Bob Marley told us to "emancipate yourselves from mental slavery," and Bob Dylan did his thing with the anti-capitalist tirade, "Maggie's Farm," the mixture of rock and politics has been in the forefront.
But, today, there seems to be overlapping conflicts of profits versus idealism.
We all have the chance to witness this on Saturday night, as Green Party advocates and anti-Bush ralliers Pearl Jam take the Bryce Jordan Center hostage.
In the past month of its performances, the band has caused an interesting controversy.
Lead singer Eddie Vedder decided it would be a good idea to lampoon a mask of President Bush on the microphone stand.
Renouncing our country's current actions in Iraq, Vedder said he supported the troops but not a president who actually wasn't elected by the people in this nation.
There's no real problem with Vedder exercising his first amendment rights.
It just seems like he could have done it with a bit more dignity. Reporters wrote he shoved the Bush mask over the stand in a "barbaric manner."
So, being such a highly-educated rock star, Vedder thought it would be a good idea to show his views in actions that replicate Lord of the Flies.
Not that I disagree with what Vedder had to say, nor am I surprised by his actions.
Like an overzealous fifth grader telling his teacher what he really thinks of him/her, Vedder is sort of biting the hand that feeds him. I recall waking up at 10 in the morning the day Pearl Jam tickets went on sale. Groggy and a bit hungover, I logged onto Ticketmaster to purchase them.
Isn't this the same band that tried to overhaul the Ticketmaster service in the past?
Who said that concert ticket prices have become outrageous, and were against the bureaucracy and monopoly of the ticket vending service?
Bush and Ticketmaster run on the same values, the ideologies based on profits.
So when Pearl Jam make fun of ol' W. in the song "Bushleaguer," it doesn't seem like they realize the money in their pockets is there for a couple of reasons, one being our government's inability to break-up monopolistic practices in the music industry.
With the industry regulated by Clear Channel Entertainment (who's probably most likely bringing the group to town), seven major record labels (the last time I checked Pearl Jam put out its records on Epic), and only one ticket vending service, the music that people see and hear is not chosen in any sort of democratic manner.
In "Bushleaguer" Vedder says, "The haves have not a clue/The immenseness of suffering," and I would like to take a stab and say 'the haves' may just include Pearl Jam themselves.
The band has the popularity and power to take a stand against the recording industry, not just our weak-willed, under-educated, oil-loving president.
This is a challenge to Vedder and the boys.
Start your own label, start your own ticket vending service, and start a ruckus because it's desperately needed.
It's hard to argue with two of the best guitarists in rock 'n' roll, the most ferocious lead singer, the energy of the Ramones, and the educated viewpoints of its members.
So rather than breathing hot air like the Dixie Chicks, Vedder needs to start practicing what he is preaching.
He already has the ears of the public like putty in his hands. It just depends what he wants to mold.
