Today, a special POLITICAL NOTES feature! Heres why.... Yesterday, the BUZZ FEED website broke the story about the retailer URBAN OUTFITTERS offering for sale a one-of-a-kind vintage Kent State University sweatshirt. The description on the Urban Outfitters site read, Washed soft and perfectly broken in, this vintage sweatshirt is cut in a loose, slouchy fit. Excellent vintage condition. We only have one, so get it or regret it!” But pictured was a sweatshirt that was far more than just broken in. It looked like it had riddled with bullet holes and was filled with blood stains! Today, in a statement, the retailer said it was all just a big misunderstanding! The red blood stains were simply the result of serious fading of the original color and the bullet holes were just defects from the natural aging process, like holes in an old pair of jeans! Of course, the listing for the garment was removed, but not before images of the well worn college sweat had spread far and wide online. And, not surprisingly the sweatshirt was sold (for $129) and this morning FOX NEWS reported that it was listed on EBAY for $500. I did a search for it and did not find a listing, however. Whether this totally inappropriate garment was offered by Urban Outfitters as a joke, a political statement or just by some sort of very bizarre mistake is still unknown as I write this. However, the blood shed at Kent State that is at the root of the sweatshirt controversy was hardly a mistake, but a terrible tragedy in the middle of a very politically charged era. The shootings of anti-war protesters by the Ohio National Guardsmen on the grounds of Kent State University on May 4, 1970 resulted in the deaths of four innocent students......and sparked national outrage. After seeing poignant pictures of the tragedy in LIFE Magazine a week after it happened, rocker NEIL YOUNG was so outraged that he immediately wrote a protest song about the Kent State shootings. He, and his CROSBY, STILLS, NASH AND YOUNG band-mates boldly marched into the Record Plant Studios in L.A. barely a week later to record the song for a single release. It only took a few takes, and, at the same session, another protest song, FIND THE COST OF FREEDOM (written by Stephen Stills) was recorded for the B side of the single. The single was released just a couple weeks later, when CSN&Ys peace and love themed single of TEACH YOUR CHILDREN was riding high on the charts. Interestingly, the studio versions of the two sides of the single were NOT included on any of the groups albums until the compilation album SO FAR, which was released in 1974. This special offering of POLITICAL NOTES may be right out of the history books.....but its still as poignant today as the day it was written. A protest song for the ages.....Neil Youngs OHIO, by CROSBY, STILLS, NASH AND YOUNG. youtube/watch?v=TRE9vMBBe10
Posted on: Tue, 16 Sep 2014 00:20:45 +0000
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