Lou Reed, along with a number of other artists and musicians, took center stage yesterday at the epicenter of the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement in New York City.
“I was born in Brooklyn, and I’ve never been more ashamed than to see the barricades tonight,” Reed reportedly told protestors gathered outside of Lincoln Center to hear Philip Glass perform Satyagraha, which was written to honor the memory of Ghandi and the precepts of non-violence.
“The police are our army. I want to be friends with them. And I wanna occupy Wall Street. I support it.”
Meanwhile, musician and social activist Jackson Browne stopped by Zuccotti Park to perform, along with Third Eye Blind’s Stephan Jenkins, who sang two songs, one of which was inspired by the OWS campaign to curb corporate greed.
“I wrote this song in the hope of encouraging people to see this as their movement,” said Jenkins.
Of course, Lou Reed, Stephan Jenkins and Jackson Brown aren’t the only musicians to support OccupyWallStreet.
As TG Daily previously reported, the movement is planning to release a digital benefit album with a little help from Third Eye Blind, Crosby & Nash, Devo and Lucinda Williams.
The album – which will be available sometime this winter – is also expected to feature performances by Michael Moore, DJ Logic, Ladytron, Warren Haynes, Toots and the Maytals, Mike Limbaud, Aeroplane Pageant and Yo La Tengo.
Jason Samel, who is helping to compile the album, said the goal is to raise between $1 million-$2 million. Funds generated by the benefit initiative will be handled via the nonprofit Alliance for Global Justice, with half the cash allocated to OWS HQ in NYC. The other half will be dolled out to various Occupy offshoots across the world that apply for specific projects.
