Five Years Later, a Musical Post-Storm Retrospective from NPR

It's been five long years since the catastrophic failure of the Federal levee system in New Orleans incited an exodus and diaspora that called into question the resiliency of our culture and collective soul. Please take a few minutes to listen to All Things Considered's conversation with Nick Spitzer of American Routes as they discuss what we've gained and what we've lost, how we've grown and where we are today, all through the prism of one of our most vital natural resources: Music.

Additionally, be sure to check out American Routes this weekend on your local NPR outlet, or online at www.AmericanRoutes.org as Mr. Spitzer holds court through conversation and song with a variety of New Orleans natives and musicians about their lives after the storm. The program will feature tracks from Dejan's Olympia Brass Band and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, as well as "It Ain't My Fault" by the Gulf Aid Allstars!

Free Subscription to Spin Magazine! ("Ain't My Fault")

A GREAT DEAL FOR A GREAT CAUSE!

To encourage more music fans to pitch in and help the effort to clean up the ongoing crisis in the Gulf Coast, Spin Magazine is now offering a free, one-year subscription to anyone who purchases "Ain't My Fault" from iTunes.

In other words, for 99 cents, you get a great song, a subscription to one of the worlds premier Music Magazines, and the knowledge that you've done a small part to aid in the clean-up of the worst oil disaster in American history.

PURCHASE YOUR DOWNLOAD FROM iTUNES TODAY!

New "Ain't My Fault" video on Yahoo! Music

Today on Yahoo! Music, check out the premiere of the NEW EDIT of the music video for "It Ain't My Fault," the benefit track by the Gulf Aid Allstars featuring Mos Def, Lenny Kravitz, Trombone Shorty, and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. This new edit by Richard Gonzalez and Dean Gonzalez combines shocking never-before-seen images from the ongoing Gulf Oil Spill Crisis with the footage from the live recording session at Preservation Hall in New Orleans.



Don't forget, “Ain’t my Fault” is still available for download via iTunes as a single (99 cents) or video ($1.99). All proceeds are being distributed by the Gulf Relief Foundation (GulfAid.org) to support organizations focused on wetlands/coastal environmental issues and the regional seafood industry. Please CLICK HERE to visit iTunes and support this important cause!

'It Ain't My Fault' - Now Available on iTunes!

On May 12th, Mos Def and Ben Jaffe got together to write a song for Gulf Aid, a benefit for those affected by the oil spill.

In an all-night jam session less than 12 hours later, they recorded the song with Lenny Kravitz, Trombone Shorty, Tim Robbins and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band...

..and now YOU can own your own copy of this amazing track, just by donating 99 cents to help the effort in the Gulf! CLICK HERE to travel to iTunes where this all-star relief track is now available for download!
Like the video? You can own your own copy for $1.99!
iTunes!

"Mama ya don’t say, uh

Oil and water don’t mix

Petrolio don’t go good with no fish

Aw, it ain’t my fault

BP, big pimpin, big problem, bad presence

Billionaire pirate, boiling point, burst pressure

Aw, it ain’t my fault

Say man, who pushed the marshes back ?

Where’s the hurricane shelter and the garden at?

Aw, it ain’t my fault

Said, from the gulf of Mexico to the broke levee wall

Something gone wrong and it’s somebody’s fault

Aw, it ain’t my fault

Scripture says, it say they go to rock to hide they face

And the rock cried out no hiding place

Say, they go to rock to hide they face

And the rock cried out no hiding place

Say, they go to rock to hide they face

And the rock cried out no hiding place

Oh lord, oh lord, it ain’t my fault

OW!

Lord have mercy!

Aw, it ain’t my fault

This is part of my gospel song,

Say they go to rock to hide they face

And the rock cried out no hiding place

Say they go to rock to hide they face

And the rock cried out no hiding place

Say they go to rock to hide they face

And the rock cried out no hiding place

Oh lord, oh lord, it ain’t my fault

OW!

Aw, it ain’t my fault

This is part of my gospel song,

Aw, it ain’t my fault

It ain’t my fault

It ain’t my fault"

It Ain't My Fault in the Times-Picayune!

Great article here by wonderful New Orleans music writer, Keith Spera.

With any luck, the track will be up on iTunes tomorrow!
(Fingers crossed - and we'll definitely shout it from the rooftops when it happens!)

Lenny Kravitz, Mos Def and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band remake 'It Ain't My Fault' as Gulf Aid fundraiser

Published: Monday, June 14, 2010, 6:05 AM
Keith Spera, The Times-Picayune

Early on May 12, Preservation Hall Jazz Band creative director Ben Jaffe was still fuming about the previous day’s U.S. Senate hearings on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster.

The spectacle of BP, Transocean and Halliburton executives shucking and ducking responsibility warranted a response, Jaffe decided.

A certain New Orleans rhythm & blues classic sprang to mind: “It Ain’t My Fault.”

Written by legendary New Orleans arranger Wardell Quezergue and drummer Smokey Johnson in 1964, “It Ain’t My Fault” is now a Mardi Gras and brass band standard.

Less than 24 hours after the idea first struck Jaffe, a new version of “It Ain’t My Fault” featuring Lenny Kravitz, Mos Def, Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews, actor Tim Robbins and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band had been recorded and mixed.

Jaffe hoped to release the song immediately on iTunes to benefit the nonprofit Gulf Relief Foundation, created to promote coastal restoration and assist families affected by the spill.

But creative processes often move more quickly than legal processes. Weeks later, the various parties involved still were securing necessary clearances and lobbying iTunes to waive its percentage of sales. Meanwhile, a video of the late-night recording session at Preservation Hall circulated online.

Barring another delay, “It Ain’t My Fault” should be available via iTunes on Tuesday.
Its existence is a testament to the ability of technology to facilitate creativity — and the musical possibilities available at any given moment in New Orleans...

FULL ARTICLE HERE