Music can be an act of resistance and an impassioned cry echoing the wounds of history. It can also be a form of medicine, healing, and even liberation. For a Palestinian artist, it likely embodies all these things and more.
Recently, CBC removed an opening segment on CBC Reclaimed. The host, while introducing a song by Vancouver-based Indigenous DJ Handsome Tiger, said, “This one, in sonic solidarity with the people of Palestine, this is ‘River 2 the Sea,’ on Reclaimed.” This act of anti-Indigenous censorship reminds us that music, even without lyrics, can be loaded with rhetorical meaning. As Amiri Baraka tells us, the liberatory potential in art can occur at a purely aesthetic level. He points out, “Ideas do not require lyrics! Sound carries ideas, that’s why you get sad at one song and happy with another.”
Over these last eight months, watching the geno*ide in Gaza, I’ve been in a state of shock, often turning to music for escape, solace, resistance, and as a sonic map to revolution. Sometimes, I am even hopeful for the collective liberation of Black, Palestinian, Jewish, Indigenous, and truly, all people. I stand against all violence, hatred, and oppression. F*ck antisemitism, Islamophobia, and Fascism. And it’s not just Palestine, as Tigray, Congo, Sudan, Haiti, Syria, Burma, and other places all deserve our attention.
In an act of sonic solidarity, I offer a liberation playlist. Some songs are full of righteous anger and address the open wounds of history, others offer protest and revolution, and many are antiracist. While many tracks are from Black and Palestinian artists, I’ve also included Indigenous artists, as well as Congolese, Sudanese, Syrian, Jewish, and other musicians who speak truth to power. The playlist embodies the themes of hope, resilience, and celebration often reflected in music. It opens with Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On,” an anti-war, anti-poverty, and anti-injustice post–civil rights anthem that feels as relevant as ever. I close with the antifascist song “Bella Ciao.”
Lasting #CeasefireNow (free the hostages, political prisoners, and rebuild Gaza). May we one day all be free
PAUL db WATKINS 