Music of the Day, 9 February 2025

in praise of individuality

In this space, I try not to repeat songs, no matter how insistently the radio station in my mind clamors to do so. I also try to not repeat marking most celebrations and anniversaries for the same reason: it quickly devolves into wallowing.

So I wasn’t planning to observe Thomas Paine’s birthday again this year. But I’ve been unable to stop thinking about his work and how this country is being actively pushed away from his vision for it. This morning, the radio station in my mind served up a terrific song by a much later activist who was similarly revered and reviled in his time.

I have no idea when I first heard “Little Boxes,” but it was likely when I was quite young. My first clear memory is of finding it online and playing it for my young children, who immediately got its wry social commentary. They referenced the song regularly over the years at appropriate moments, which always delighted me.

Reading his Wikipedia page, I discovered that I knew very little about Seeger’s life and work. (It also prompted a lot of flashbacks to many summer camps I was sent to.) I came away from it respecting him even more, primarily for two things: when his thinking changed about something, he admitted it; and this phrase¹:

Photo by Annie Leibovitz, courtesy of guano on flickr

There’s no way of knowing how Paine and Seeger might have gotten on were they contemporaries. I like to think that they’d have had many spirited conversations, and mutual respect.

1. inspired by what Woody Guthrie put on his guitars: “This machine kills fascists.” Tom Morello continues the tradition, although he puts different statements on his guitars.