Playing for Change--Stand By Me

Now I love a good performance on American Idol just as much as the next gal, but the topic of today's post couldn't be any more different than the much-hyped battle that will play out on the American Idol stage tonight.

Tonight, the hair and makeup will be styled and polished. The lights and the audience will be big. But the subjects of today's post perform on street corners, in back alleys, and in rural fields. They have names like Tula, Grandpa Elliot, and Washboard Chaz.
Adam and Kris will likely belt out a few touching, inspiring and just plain entertaining performances tonight, but Tula, Grandpa, and Chaz move me in a way that nothing on American Idol ever has.

The people behind Playing for Change travel all over the world and record musicians in their own environment. Then they mix the sounds to create a unique, beautiful and diverse recording (I included a few songs in the play list at the bottom of this page). They describe their first song, Stand By Me, as one that "bridges the physical distance between the many musicians and cultures of this planet."

American Idol may bring people together around the water cooler or the kitchen table, but I have to applaud this effort to bring people together around the world.