Time to "Wake Up" again!

As I write this I listen to what is possibly the one of the best releases of 2010 "Wake Up" by John Legend and the Roots.  The best description of the work is a fresh reading of conscience-raising soul music from the 60's and 70's.  The net is result is a very tight blend of funk-soul-r&b sensibility.  Possibly the most important take away is that the protest song has not died, but rather it went to sleep....John Legend and the Roots set out to wake it up! Many standout tracks make this extremely listen-able..My personal favorite has to be "compared to what" and "hard times"  The themes touch on class distinction, poverty, and the importance of education reform.  Even more powerful is the rendition of Bill Withers' "I can't write left-handed", which is an anti-war song questioning the Vietnam conflict.  Hauntingly it is easy to erase "Vietnam" and replace "Afghanistan".  The key message is that we need to wake up and be our own agents of change....that is where change starts.  Only then can we begin to grow as a society..... please check it out and pass it on!