Know Better, Do Better Project. (You’re invited!)
April 20, 2021
Sometime last summer, Olivia Brownlee asked if I wanted to be part of a collective of songwriters creating new songs that people could substitute for folk tunes that have problematic (i.e. racist) histories. Easy yes!
In the midst of a week of heavy headlines about racial trauma in the U.S., it's a small delight to announce that the project is finally launched, with 14 wonderful songs and backstories available to watch. And learn! And bring into your classrooms, your jams, your places of worship, and anywhere else you use music to connect with others noncommercially.
One of my favorite aspects of this project—besides the obvious importance of having the conversation in the first place about where the songs we sing come from—is the explicit invitation to investigate what we like about the songs we’re writing alternatives to. What makes them musically catchy? What do they explore thematically? What would a new song need to include to fulfill the original song's social and aesthetic function, even as we discard the noninclusive elements?
I wrote “Macaroni Salad” as an alternative to “Shortnin’ Bread,” which was a song I used to teach regularly to my fiddlers before I understood its minstrel past. I explain more in the video below.
Why I wrote “Macaroni Salad” as an alternative to “Shortnin’ Bread”:
…and here’s the new song:
Please do yourself a heartwarming favor and click through to KnowBetterDoBetterProject.com to dive into more of the wonderful work folks have done digging into old songs and writing contemporary alternatives.
Want to contribute a song of your own? Your voice is wanted and needed! BIPOC contributors are eligible for a grant—and genre diversity is explicitly encouraged. Click here for more info about joining the project.
Oh one more thing: there’s a livestream launch party!
Club Passim (Cambridge, MA) is hosting us for a livestreamed concert on Friday, April 23rd at 8pm Eastern/5pm Pacific. You can watch via Facebook or YouTube.
