if a song could be freedom . . . Organized Sounds of Resistance

February 21, 2019 - March 23, 2019

February 21st–March 23rd, 2019 Opening: Thursday, February 21 at 5pm AT THE COLLEGE OF STATEN ISLAND ART GALLERY This exhibition looks at how music has shaped the manners in which we understand ourselves in the past, present, and into the future. It features the picture sleeves of more than 200 political recordings—as well as other ephemera-from across the globe that expose the broad scope of the intersection of music and politics. Visitors are invited to listen to mixtape podcasts, which will also be played on WSIA 88.9FM during the course of the exhibit.

if a song could be freedom…Organized Sounds of Resistance

June 25, 2015 - September 6, 2015

June 25 – September 6, 2015 Opening Thursday June 25 7-10 pm Music has been at the core of hundreds of political and social struggles across the globe. This exhibition features the picture sleeves of over 200 political recordings that will expose the broad scope of the intersection of music and politics. In addition, flyers, lyric sheets, buttons, publications, and other ephemera are on display. A series of programs will run throughout the run of exhibition, where we will actively and collectively listen to—and discuss—how music has shaped the manners in which we understand ourselves in the past, present, and into the future.

Limited Edition 7″ Release & Exhibition Closing Party!

Thursday, September 3, 2015 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM

Thursday, September 3, 2015 7–9pm Come on out and celebrate the release of the record and the closing of if a song could be freedom... with a party! If you pre-ordered a record you can pick up your copy, and everyone else will be able to purchase one at the event. There will be beer, socializing, and, of course, music.

Not for You: Stories of Music & Work from the Precarious Service Industry

Wednesday, August 19, 2015 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM

Wednesday, August 19, 2015 7pm Join Matt Dineen for a reading and discussion around his new zine "Not for You: Stories of Music & Work in the Precarious Service Industry." The zine is part of the Music & Work Project and explores the antagonistic dynamics between management, workers, and customers in relationship to the beats, rhythms, lyrics, and melodies played at his past jobs. Come share your own experiences!

Noise Uprising: The Audiopolitics of a World Musical Revolution

Friday, September 4, 2015 7:30 PM - 9:00 PM

September 4, 7:30pm Join cultural historian and Verso author Michael Denning in a discussion of the politics of early recorded music, the subject of his new book, Noise Uprising: The Audiopolitics of a World Musical Revolution.

Another Protest Song: Karaoke with a Message

Wednesday, August 5, 2015 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM

Wednesday, August 5, 2015 Doors open 7pm Silent Barn 603 Bushwick Ave. Brooklyn (NOT AT INTERFERENCE ARCHIVE!) $5 - $10 (sliding scale) As part of the Interference Archive’s if a song could be freedom... exhibition, Angel Nevarez & Valerie Tevere will host an evening of protest karaoke with their project Another Protest Song: Karaoke with a Message at Silent Barn. Bring your friends and belt out your favorite protest tunes!

Political Music Video Night

Wednesday, July 29, 2015 7:30 PM - 9:00 PM

Wednesday July 29, 2015 7:30pm We'll hang out, watch, and discuss a great collection of politicized music videos that use varied approaches to how to represent politics, social engagement, and movements.

film screening: Working Slowly (Radio Alice)

Friday, July 17, 2015 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM

Friday, July 17, 2015 7pm As part of the exhibition ...if a song could be freedom, we will be screening Working Slowly (Radio Alice), a film about Radio Alice, an Italian pirate radio station.

if a song could be freedom mixtape 017 – Military Dissent

Military Dissent – Mixtape 017 was put together and produced by Kevin Basl, a writer and musician living near Ithaca, NY. He is a member of About Face (formerly Iraq Veterans Against the War) and Veterans for Peace. “The music on this mixtape was inspired by those antiwar dissenters who know the inner-workings of the […]

if a song could be freedom mixtapes

As part of the if a song could be freedom...Organized Sounds of Resistance exhibition, we invited musicians, activists organizers to curate a mixtape on a theme and genre of their choice. Here is the current collection of those which have been released! Listen up!

if a song could be freedom mixtape 016- Sounds of Protest

Amit Gilutz is a composer and activist originally from Israel/Palestine, now based in the USA. His work is interdisciplinary and conceptual, particularly focused on the question of music’s ability to participate in the practice of social justice. This mixtape was originally prepared for “Sounds of Protest”, a course I designed and taught at Cornell University […]

if a song could be freedom mixtape 015 – Doom Gloom and Hope! by Paul Messersmith-Glavin

Doom and Gloom: Prog-Metal Playlist, by Paul Messersmith-Glavin I grew up in a working class neighborhood in Chicago, predominantly Catholic, with Irish, German, Polish, Puerto Rican and Asian folks. For us boys, our form of rebellion was growing our hair and listening to metal and progressive rock (prog rock).  Our embrace of metal expressed our […]

if a song could be freedom mixtape 013 – Injustice for All by Lara Messersmith-Glavin

if a song could be freedom – 013 – Injustice For All is a mixtape by Lara Messersmith-Glavin. “I grew up in very remote, rural areas of the Pacific Northwest, in predominately white, working-class communities.  The only music I heard was country, bluegrass, classical, and—for the freaks—metal.  I didn’t hear punk rock until I was […]

if a song could be freedom mixtape 012 – Seguimos Revolusonando by Suena a Revolución

if a song could be freedom mixtape 012 #SeguimosRevolusonando was produced and submitted by Suena a Revolución. an audio/podcast project that started in April of 2014. Suena a Revolucion focuses on music of contemporary independent artivists from Latin America and the Caribbean that use music as a vehicle for social movement. Our goal is to […]

if a song could be freedom mixtape 011 – Paredon Records by Erin Yanke and Alec Dunn

if a song could be freedom mixtape 011 – Paredon Records is produced by Erin Yanke and Alec Icky Dunn. “Founded in 1969 by Barbara Dane and Irwin Silber, Paredon Records was part of a wave of cultural expression that accompanied the worldwide struggle for economic, racial, and social justice and national liberation of the […]

if a song could be freedom mixtape 010 – Protest & Survive by Brandon Bauer

Mixtape 010 Protest and Survive is brought to us by Brandon Bauer. Brandon is an artist based in Wisconsin. His Euromissiles Crisis print series critically examines the nuclear abolition movement in the 1980s. The series references cultural, political, and activist events of the era, and serves as an allegory of citizen involvement, as well as […]

if a song could be freedom mixtape 009 – Burning Cop Car by submedia.tv

if a song could be freedom mixtape 009 – Burning Cop Car was produced by Frank and the folks at submedia.tv. subMedia.tv is a video production ensemble, which aims to promote anarchist and anti-capitalist ideas, and aid social struggles through the dissemination of radical films and videos. Founded in 1994, subMedia.tv has produced hundreds of […]

if a song could be freedom mixtape 008 – Tahrir Square by Ganzeer

if a song could be freedom mixtape 008 lives at archive.org. if a song could be freedom mixtape 008 – “Tahrir Square” is curated by Ganzeer. Ganzeer is the pseudonym of an Egyptian “contingency artist” operating mainly between graphic design and contemporary art since 2007. “He is not an author, comic book artist, installation artist, […]

if a song could be freedom mixtape 007 – Revolutionary Roots by Xaviera Simmons

This weeks mixtape is curated by Xaviera Simmons. Jamaica is just all of it..Stunning landscape, diversely populated, politically charged and creativly genius.. For me popular music starts in Jamaica as it’s basically where DJ’ing and mc’ing began and it’s where rap took flight to give us modern day hip hop. I constantly look to Jamiaca […]

if a song could be freedom mixtape 006- Bad Politics by Tom Roe

Our mixtape files live at our page on Archive.org where they can be shared and downloaded more easily. This installment of if a song could be freedom mixtapes is curated by Tom Roe from Wave Farm. Tom co-founded free103point9, in 1997 as a microradio artist collective in Brooklyn, New York. Today, he serves as the […]

if a song could be freedom mixtape 005- Listening to Detroit

Our mixtape files live at our page on Archive.org where they can be shared and downloaded more easily. Here is this weeks if a song could be freedom mixtape 005 is a Detroit themed set curated by Dan S. Wang. Dan is a writer, artist, organizer, and printer who was born in the American Midwest […]

if a song could be freedom mixtape 004 – Tuning Baghdad by Regine Basha

  This weeks if a song could be freedom…mixtape Tuning Baghdad / Captiva version, is curated by Regine Basha. Mixed and Mastered at the Rauschenberg Residency by Jason Stilp Salah and Daood Al Kuwaiti – Walla ajabni jamalak Salah and Daood Al Kuwait – Ishrab Kasak Salima Pasha – Sa’at Janooni il wilfy wa dooni […]

if a song could be freedom mixtape 003 – Radical Brass Bands by Phil Andrews

This mixtape can be shared and downloaded more easily at Archive.org This weeks if a song could be freedom…mixtape, of radical brass bands, was made by Phil Andrews. Phil has been an organizer for over 15 years and currently the Director of Retail Organizing for the RWDSU/UFCW. He is also a musician and songwriter, and […]

if a song could be freedom mixtape 002 – Sunday Morning Comin’ Down by Skot! Oh

  This mixtape can be shared and downloaded more easily at Archive.org This weeks mixtape was put together by Skot! Oh, host of Sunday Morning Coming Down a radio show on People Will Radio.org. Skot! has been a DJ for the last 12 Years on various pirate radio stations in Austin, Tx and also an […]

if a song could be freedom mixtape 001 – Latin American Political Songs by Felipe Mujica & Johanna Unzueta

We will be releasing a mixtape each week for the duration of the if a song could be freedom…Organized Sounds of Resistance exhibition. We have asked organizers, musicians and fellow travelers to curate songs on a variety of themes. It brings us great pleasure to share with you the first installment of If a song […]