Live Earth Update: Roger Waters, Senators Get Behind Gore

Roger Waters, Duran Duran and Korn have been added to the lineup for Live Earth, Al Gore's seven-city, twenty-four-hour concert for the environment. But organizers hit a snag when the National Park Service denied them a permit to hold the U.S. portion of the July 7th show on the Mall in Washington, D.C. Undeterred, Gore called Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe, who introduced a resolution allowing the concert to be held on the west lawn of the Capitol, where the presidential inauguration, annual July 4th concerts and the 1990 Earth Day event have all been held.

"We're cautiously optimistic that with the bipartisan support this resolution has, this concert will be available for free on the west grounds of the Capitol," says Live Earth organizer Chad Griffin. In blocking the permit, the Park Service cited prior applications to use the space and concerns that organizers would not be able to supply enough portable toilets for the event. But officials at the Park Service -- a division of the Interior Department, headed by Bush appointee Dirk Kempthorne -- declined to specify what organization had reserved the Mall, leading to speculation the denial was politically motivated.

"Our decision was based strictly on prior applications," insists Stephen Lorenzetti, acting superintendent of the National Mall and Memorial Parks. The beat goes on: Rihanna, Corinne Bailey Rae and Joss Stone have also confirmed they will play alongside previously announced headliners Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Police and Kanye West.

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Song Stories

“1999”

Prince | 1982

“I don’t consider myself a great poet,” Prince told Rolling Stone. “I just know I’m here to say what’s on my mind.” In the case of the apocalyptic party anthem “1999,” he was worried about then-president Ronald Reagan’s foreign policies. The song’s melody is based on a riff borrowed from the Mamas and Papas’ “Monday, Monday,” and Prince originally envisioned the first verse with three-part harmony but later split the vocals between himself and members of the Revolution. Because Warner Bros., with whom Prince was locked in a contractual battle, owned the original’s masters, Prince rerecorded the song and appropriately released that version in 1999.

More Song Stories entries »

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