Noteworthy: a music column
The green scene: environmentalism in music
By: Peter Walters
Issue date: 5/1/09 Section: The Arts
Starting in the 1960s musicians began to incorporate environmental themes into their music. This corresponds with the birth of what we know as the modern environmental movement in the late 60s with books like Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring" and images in the media of the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland catching on fire. In the 1970s, artists such as Neil Young and Marvin Gaye trumpeted the horn of environmental destruction with. In the 80s, bands like R.E.M. kept the conversation going. By the time the 90s had come around the environmental movement had grown immensely and the children who would grow up to be many of today's musicians were eating up Captain Planet's mantra of Reduce Reuse Recycle.
The stars were then aligned for groups whose main messages include goals of environmental sustainability. Especially in recent years, the number of environmental musical acts has been steadily increasing. The Giving Tree Band, for example, formed in Yorkville, Illinois by brothers Todd and Eric Fink. The group uses a bevy of acoustic instruments including guitar, mandolin, double bass, dulcimer, harmonica drums and percussion. Their sound harkens back to the "live with the land" notions of traditional folk music but also ties in essences of alternative country and modern indie folk styles as well. What they are perhaps better known for are their green practices off the stage. Their latest album, which is slated for release this summer, was recorded at the Aldo Leopold Legacy Center in Baraboo, Wisconsin using nothing but solar energy. To get to the studio the band rode bikes 500 miles north from Illinois and camped during the recording process. The packaging for the CD uses 100 percent recyclable material (cardboard), album art printed in soy ink, and will be shrink wrapped in biodegradable corn cellulose. They are also planting ten trees to offset the carbon emissions of shipping and handling.
Much better known to Minnesotans and perhaps the rest of the nation is the brain child of Minneapolis native Craig Minowa. Cloud Cult is a much edgier, experimental indie rock troupe. They combine drums, guitar, cello, bass, trombone, synthesizers, visual art and forward lyrics to get their message across. Craig's wife, Connie, paints on stage along with Scott West throughout the course of the show and at the end the paintings are auctioned off. Like their contemporaries from Illinois, Cloud Cult prefer to record their music independently and in a carbon neutral manner. Two years after Minowa founded the band, he established Earthology Records on his organic farm in Northern Minnesota. The studio is built from recycled plastic and reclaimed wood and is powered by wind power and geothermal power too. One of their more famous tunes is "Happy Hippo" off of their 2005 release "Advice From the Happy Hippopotamus". A line that gets repeated throughout the song is "Hey, hey, my, my" and "It's better to better to burn out than to fade away". These are references to one of our original environmental activist musicians Neil Young.
The stars were then aligned for groups whose main messages include goals of environmental sustainability. Especially in recent years, the number of environmental musical acts has been steadily increasing. The Giving Tree Band, for example, formed in Yorkville, Illinois by brothers Todd and Eric Fink. The group uses a bevy of acoustic instruments including guitar, mandolin, double bass, dulcimer, harmonica drums and percussion. Their sound harkens back to the "live with the land" notions of traditional folk music but also ties in essences of alternative country and modern indie folk styles as well. What they are perhaps better known for are their green practices off the stage. Their latest album, which is slated for release this summer, was recorded at the Aldo Leopold Legacy Center in Baraboo, Wisconsin using nothing but solar energy. To get to the studio the band rode bikes 500 miles north from Illinois and camped during the recording process. The packaging for the CD uses 100 percent recyclable material (cardboard), album art printed in soy ink, and will be shrink wrapped in biodegradable corn cellulose. They are also planting ten trees to offset the carbon emissions of shipping and handling.
Much better known to Minnesotans and perhaps the rest of the nation is the brain child of Minneapolis native Craig Minowa. Cloud Cult is a much edgier, experimental indie rock troupe. They combine drums, guitar, cello, bass, trombone, synthesizers, visual art and forward lyrics to get their message across. Craig's wife, Connie, paints on stage along with Scott West throughout the course of the show and at the end the paintings are auctioned off. Like their contemporaries from Illinois, Cloud Cult prefer to record their music independently and in a carbon neutral manner. Two years after Minowa founded the band, he established Earthology Records on his organic farm in Northern Minnesota. The studio is built from recycled plastic and reclaimed wood and is powered by wind power and geothermal power too. One of their more famous tunes is "Happy Hippo" off of their 2005 release "Advice From the Happy Hippopotamus". A line that gets repeated throughout the song is "Hey, hey, my, my" and "It's better to better to burn out than to fade away". These are references to one of our original environmental activist musicians Neil Young.
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