This is what I'm thinking might be the set list for the next album project.  Recording begins on December 12th, 2020 at Big Red Studio,  Recording then continues in Ireland, through the magic of the internet.

2020 Album

Free Julian Assange.  This version is from my 2021 album, Rebel Songs.

Behind These Prison Walls

There are various causes of deadly new novel viruses, as I have recently learned, along with many of you.  One of them is climate change, so we can be sure we'll be seeing more of them.  But whatever the reasons for the fatality rate of Covid-19, we do know why the last global pandemic, the so-called "Spanish Flu" in 1918 was so extremely deadly.  It was a pandemic caused by the particular conditions of the trenches of World War 1, and the movements of troops around the world at the end of the war.  This war virus ultimately killed more human beings on planet Earth in six months -- in every corner of the globe -- than the carnage of World War 1 caused in four years.

Recorded live as part of the Viral Solidarity Concert project at Big Red Studio on April 2nd, 2020.

The Pandemic of 1918

Jason Hargrove, a Detroit bus driver, is only one of so many needless deaths of workers the authorities call essential, by which they seem to mean expendable.  The strikes are spreading.  The future is unwritten.  The time is now.

Essentially Expendable (The Death Of Jason Hargrove)

There's a ban on evictions, late fees, and eviction proceedings in Portland that began on April 1st, 2020.  A window of opportunity to make this pretend rent strike a REAL rent strike.  Spread the word.  Spread the strike.  This song has two chords and a four-word chorus.  Please sing a version of it.  Let's make a video.

Don't Pay the Rent

"Those who lack imagination cannot imagine what is lacking." (Paris '68)  These are times that call for thinking outside of the box -- or at least outside of the failed, broken, capitalist box.

Our Imagination

If you go to downtown Portland any evening of the week these days, you will find on one side, federal agents in camouflage, armed with a broad array of often mysterious weaponry.  On the other side, a wide spectrum of people, mostly on the younger side, not infrequently bearing either an umbrella or a leaf-blower.

With Masks Upon Their Faces And Leaf-Blowers In Their Hands

A song about a few of those murdered by criminal police, with a very simple chorus.  Note to anyone performing the song anywhere:  there is intentionally room in the chorus to say a name in between every time you sing "say their names."  The last chorus can go on for a very, very long time.

Say Their Names

September 27th, 1850 is the date that the Donation Land Claim Act passed by the US Congress went into effect.  This explicitly racist law played a massive role in creating the Oregon of today.

Willamette Valley

Just a love song for the moon, and the very recent discovery of water upon it.

There's Water On The Moon

Just how top-heavy can an icon be before it can't stand up at all?

You'll also find this as the latest episode of Song For Today, wherever you get your podcasts.

To All The Jared Kushners Of The World

Every day I read another story of someone whose last words were "I wish I had believed the virus was real."  This song could be from the vantage point of any number of them, sadly.

They Lied

To put it simply, the way things are in the modern Big Tech-dominated economy, crowdfunded patronage is the only way for someone like me to survive as an artist today.  In 2020 that's much more true.  So, to everyone in the world who appreciates artists:  thank you for your support.  You make my art/life possible (just).  If you want to make it a bit more possible: patreon.com/davidrovics

Patreon (a Love Song)

I gave a pretty good concert in my living room today, if I don't say so myself.  It was basically a rehearsal for next weekend's recording sessions at Big Red Studio, from which we will be livestreaming on Saturday, Sunday and Monday (December 12-14, 2020) on the usual platforms.

Rebel Songs

Singer/songwriter, writer, podcaster (on Spotify, Substack & Patreon), libertarian socialist, dad, lover of life.