The songs in “Notes From Planet Earth” include Indie Folk, Rock, and Country styles. They deal with the disastrous direction our world seems to be taking driven by the likes of Trump and the GOP, and their kind worldwide. The songs are grounded in the understanding that without a major change of course, we’re in the process of degrading and destroying the world we live in rather than passing it on to the future in good shape. I hope these songs touch some hearts and that we pull off that change of course successfully.
Listen to the album while reading the text.
I’ve been writing songs since I was 19, playing guitar since a bit before that. Music and songwriting became ways of expressing thoughts and feelings that I wasn’t otherwise great at expressing, weaving together the dark and often discordant strands of life and then coming up with fleeting visions of a deeper, more luminous, but often veiled reality. I’ve written many types of songs – humorous, melancholy, serious, nonsense, love songs, political songs, and sometimes many or all of the above in one. Always with the goal of crafting works that could pass the tests of taste and time, and that people (including myself) might find meaningful, enjoyable, and of lasting quality. At times I’ve gone down blind alleys chasing visions and some songs took years to come into being. Subsequently, music has been mainly a side project while day jobs ranging from motorcycle courier to (currently) College instructor (Political Science) attempted to pay the bills.
At times a hiker and backpacker, and an environmental activist with the Sierra Club, I strongly believe in enjoying and protecting what is left of our natural environment, and in the cause of social justice. These interests, and the crazy, incredibly critical times we are living in now (Climate Change, the upsurge of corrupt reactionary politicians globally, blatant demagoguery based on fears, prejudice and misinformation), were instrumental to the creation of my EP “NOTES FROM PLANET EARTH: Political and Environmental Songs of the Brave New Millennium”.
These are political songs, hard hitting and heartfelt, that relate to current events and trajectories which pose existential threats to a not very distant future. They poke at the fraudulent scam artists running my country, the U.S., under the Trump/GOP regime, and at the planetary environmental problems that endanger our children’s world. The songs are pretty down to earth, but they hearken to a time when music and poetry came together and created a common ground upon which messages to conscience and consciousness might be realized. I hope they bring some enjoyment, challenge, and inspiration to any who listen. And that in this time of political and environmental breakdown, they may play some role in the revival of an effective movement in support of turning countries, consciousness, culture and people towards greater appreciation of truth, nature and each other.
Cheers,
Mike Bressler
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