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21st Century Protest Songs


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I am presenting my final project on American protest music (1940-2000) for my masters this week. I was hoping to play some background music before the presentation begins. I'm looking for about a half hour of 21st century protest music to play before I get started. Here's a few I have in mind:

 

Bandages and Scars - Son Volt

After the Garden - Neil Young

We Can't Make It Here Anymore - James McMurtry

John Walker's Blues - Steve Earle

Puttin' People on the Moon - Drive-By Truckers

Last to Die - Bruce Springsteen

American Idiot - Green Day

 

I'm not entirely happy with the list. Your help and suggestions are needed/welcomed.

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A few that come to mind:

"World Wide Suicide," Pearl Jam

"Conservative Christian, Right-Wing Republican, Straight White American Male," Todd Snider

"You Got Away With It," Todd Snider

"Final Straw," REM

"Right Right Now Now," Beastie Boys

"The Revolution Starts Now," Steve Earle

"Ashes of American Flags," Wilco

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From wikipedia....

 

Twenty-first century

 

[edit] The Iraq War and the Revival of the Protest Song

Neil Young, pictured here on the CSNY "Freedom Of Speech Tour '06", has returned to the front of the protest music scene with his album Living With War

Neil Young, pictured here on the CSNY "Freedom Of Speech Tour '06", has returned to the front of the protest music scene with his album Living With War

 

After the 90s the protest song found renewed popularity in the Western World after the turn of the century as a result of 9/11 in America, and the Afghanistan and Iraq wars in the Middle East, with America's president George W. Bush facing the majority of the criticism. Many famous protest singers of yesteryear, such as Neil Young, Patti Smith, Tom Waits, and Bruce Springsteen, have returned to the public eye with new protest songs for the new war. Young approached the theme with his song, "Let's Impeach the President" - a stinging rebuke against President George W. Bush and the War in Iraq - as well as Living With War, an album of anti-Bush and anti-War protest songs. Smith has written two new songs indicting American and Israeli foreign policy - "Qana", about the Israeli airstrike on the Lebanese village of Qana, and "Without Chains", about the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay.

 

R.E.M., who had been known for their politically charged material in the 1980s, also returned to increasingly political subject matter since the advent of the Iraq War. For example "Final Straw" (2003) is a politically-charged song, reminiscent in tone of "World Leader Pretend" on Green. The version on their Around the Sun album is a remix of the original , which was made available as a free download on March 25, 2003 from the band's website. The song was written as a protest of the U.S. government's actions in the Iraq War.

 

Tom Waits has also covered increasingly political subject matter since the advent of the Iraq war, with "The Day After Tomorrow". In this song Waits adopts the persona of a soldier writing home that he is disillusioned with war and is thankful to be leaving. The song does not mention the Iraq war specifically, and, as Tom Moon writes, "it could be the voice of a Civil War soldier singing a lonesome late-night dirge." Waits himself does describe the song as something of an "elliptical" protest song about the Iraqi invasion, however.[43] Thom Jurek describes "The Day After Tomorrow" as "one of the most insightful and understated anti-war songs to have been written in decades. It contains not a hint of banality or sentiment in its folksy articulation."[44] Waits' recent output has not only addressed the Iraqi war, as his "Road To Peace" deals explicitly with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the Middle East in general.

 

Bruce Springsteen has also been vocal in his condemnation of the Bush government, among other issues of social commentary. In 2000 he released "American Skin (41 Shots)" about tensions between immigrants in America and the police force, and of the police shooting of Amadou Diallo in particular. For singing about this event, albeit without mentioning Diallo's name, Springsteen was denounced by the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association in New York who called for the song to be blacklisted and by Mayor Rudolph Giuliani amongst others.[45] In the aftermath of 9/11 Springsteen released The Rising, which exhibited his reflections on the tragedy and America's reaction to it. In 2006 he released We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions, a collection of 13 covers of protest songs made popular by Pete Seeger, which highlighted how these older protest songs remained relevant to the troubles of the modern America. An extended version of the album included the track "How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live?" in which Springsteen actually rewrote the lyrics of the original to directly address the issue of Hurricane Katrina. His 2007 long-player, Magic, continues Springsteen's tradition of protest song-writing, with a number of songs which continue to question and attack America's role in the Iraqi war. "Last to Die", with its chorus of "Who'll be the last to die for a mistake.... Whose blood will spill, whose heart will break," is believed to have been inspired by Senator-to-be John Kerry's 1971 testimony to the US Senate, in which he asked "How do you ask a man to be the last man to die in Vietnam? How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?"[46][47] "Gypsy Biker" deals with the homecoming of a US Soldier killed in action in Iraq, and Springsteen has said that "Livin' in the Future" references extraordinary rendition and illegal wiretapping.[47] "Long Walk Home" is an account of the narrator's sense that those people living at home "he thought he knew, whose ideals he had something in common with, are like strangers." The recurring lyric "it

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The Scott Amendola Band's cover of Dylan's "Masters of War" comes to mind. Carla Bozulich's singing is so haunting that hearing Dylan play it live this summer was a bit of a letdown. I always think of "Dirty Harry" by Gorillaz as a sort of protest song, too. There's U2's "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "Bullet the Blue Sky" (I have a few really good live versions of the latter--let me know if you want one).

 

Good luck with your presentation. What really helped me calm my nerves before my dissertation defense last year was just thinking about all the hard work I'd put into the project and how proud I was of my work. Think of it as a chance to show off what you've done instead of requirement.

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Good luck with your presentation. What really helped me calm my nerves before my dissertation defense last year was just thinking about all the hard work I'd put into the project and how proud I was of my work. Think of it as a chance to show off what you've done instead of requirement.

That's how I approached my thesis defense, and it ended up being a very pleasant experience.

 

Good luck, Cortez!

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A few protest songsEsp. anti war):

 

10,000 YEARS (PEACE IS NOW) - Live

19 - Paul Hardcastle

1945 - Social Distortion

1983 - Jimi Hendrix

21ST CENTURY SCHIZOID MAN - King Crimson

99 LUFTBALLOONS/99 RED BALLOONS - Nena

A CALL TO ARMS - Mike + The Mechanics

A HARD RAIN'S GONNA FALL - Bob Dylan

AIN'T MARCHING ANYMORE - Phil Ochs

ALIVE - P.O.D.

ALL SHE WANTS TO DO IS DANCE - Don Henley

ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE - Beatles

AMERICANS/SOVIETS - C.C.C.P.

ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL (Parts I, II, III) - Pink Floyd

ANOTHER COUNTRY - Electric Flag

ANOTHER ONE IN THE DARK - Wallflowers

ATTACK OF THE PEACEKEEPERS - Jello Biafra with D.O.A.

ARMY - Ben Folds Five

ARMY DREAMERS - Kate Bush

BAD MOON RISING - Creedence Clearwater Revival

BALL OF CONFUSION - Love And Rockets

BALL OF CONFUSION - Temptations*

BATTLEFLAG - Lo Fidelity Allstars

BEDS ARE BURNING - Midnight Oil

BETWEEN THE WARS - Billy Bragg

THE BIG MONEY - Rush

BILLY DON'T BE A HERO - Bo Donaldson & The Heywoods

BLACK STEEL - Public Enemy*

BLACK STEEL - Tricky

BLOWIN' IN THE WIND - Bob Dylan*

BLOWIN' IN THE WIND - Neil Young

BOLD AS LOVE - Jimi Hendrix

BOMBS AWAY - Police

BOMBTRACK - Rage Against The Machine

BOOM - System Of A Down

BORN IN THE USA - Bruce Springsteen

BORN TO BE WILD - Steppenwolf*

BORN TO BE WILD - INXS

BRING THE BOYS BACK HOME - Pink Floyd

BROTHERS IN ARMS - Dire Straits

BUFFALO SOLDIER - Bob Marley & The Wailers

BULLET IN YOUR HEAD - Rage Against The Machine

BULLET THE BLUE SKY - U2

BULLS ON PARADE - Rage Against The Machine

CALLING ALL NATIONS - INXS

THE CALL UP - The Clash

CALM LIKE A BOMB - Rage Against The Machine

CITIES IN DUST - Siouxsie & The Banshees

THE CLAMPDOWN - The Clash

COLD WAR - Devo

COMFORTABLY NUMB - Pink Floyd

COPS OF THE WORLD - Phil Ochs

CRAZY TRAIN - Ozzie Osbourne

CRYSTAL BLUE PERSUASION - Concrete Blonde

CRYSTAL BLUE PERSUASION - Tommy James & The Shondells*

DANGER ZONE - Kenny Loggins

DEAR GOD - XTC

DER KOMMISSAR - After The Fire

DER KOMMISSAR - Falco*

DIALOGUE - Chicago

DISARM - Smashing Pumpkins

DOGS OF WAR - Pink Floyd

DON'T BOMB WHEN YOU'RE THE BOMB - Blur

DON'T DREAM IT'S OVER - Crowded House*

DON'T DREAM IT'S OVER - Sixpence None The Richer

DON'T LEAVE ME NOW - Pink Floyd

DOWN RODEO - Rage Against The Machine

DR. JEEP - Sisters Of Mercy

EMPTY SPACES - Pink Floyd

END OF THE INNOCENCE - Don Henley

EPITAPH - King Crimson

EVE OF DESTRUCTION - Barry McGuire

EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD - Tears For Fears

EVERY DAY IS LIKE SUNDAY - Morrissey

FERNANDO - Abba

FIVE TO ONE - Doors

FIXIN' TO DIE RAG - Country Joe & The Fish

FLOWERS OF GUATEMALA - R.E.M.

FOREVER YOUNG - Alphaville

FORTUNATE SON - Creedence Clearwater Revival

FORTRESS AROUND YOUR HEART - Sting

FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH - Buffalo Springfield

FREEDOM FIGHTER - Creed

GAMES WITHOUT FRONTIERS - Peter Gabriel

GENERALS AND MAJORS - XTC

GET TOGETHER - Youngbloods

GET UP, STAND UP - Bob Marley & THe Wailers

GIMME SHELTER - Rolling Stones

GIVE ME LOVE (GIVE ME PEACE ON EARTH) - George Harrison

GIVE PEACE A CHANCE - John Lennon

GLORY DAYS - Bruce Springsteen

GOING UNDER - Devo

GOODBYE CRUEL WORLD - Pink Floyd

GUERRILLA RADIO - Rage Against The Machine

GUNS IN THE SKY - INXS

GUNS OF BRIXTON - The Clash

HALLOWED GROUND - Violent Femmes

HAMMER TO FALL - Queen

HAPPIEST DAYS OF OUR LIVES - Pink Floyd

HEAVEN IS FALLING - Bad Religion

HEY YOU - Pink Floyd

HIGHER GROUND - Red Hot Chili Peppers

HIGHER GROUND - Stevie Wonder*

HATE AND WAR - The Clash

HE AIN'T HEAVY...HE'S MY BROTHER - Neil Diamond*

HE AIN'T HEAVY...HE'S MY BROTHER - Hollies

HISTORY WILL TEACH US NOTHING - Sting

HOLIDAY IN CAMBODIA - Dead Kennedys

HUMAN NATURE - Gary Clail

I DON'T WANT TO BE A SOLDIER - John Lennon*

I DON'T WANT TO BE A SOLDIER - Mad Season

I DON'T WANT TO GET DRAFTED - Frank Zappa

IMAGINE - Blues Traveler

IMAGINE - John Lennon*

IMAGINE - Neil Young

IMMIGRANT SONG - Led Zeppelin

IN A WORLD GONE MAD - Beastie Boys

INDIAN RESERVATION - Raiders

IN THE COURT OF THE CRIMSON KING - King Crimson

IN THE FLESH - Pink Floyd

INVISIBLE SUN - Police

IS THERE ANYBODY OUT THERE - Pink Floyd

IS THERE SOMETHING I SHOULD KNOW - Duran Duran

I TALK TO THE WIND - King Crimson

IT DON'T COME EASY - Ringo Starr

IT'S A MISTAKE - Men At Work

IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT (AND I FEEL FINE) - R.E.M.

IVAN MEETS G.I. JOE - The Clash

JOIN THE ARMY - Suicidal Tendancies

JOY TO THE WORLD - Three Dog Night

JUST ONE FIX - Ministry

KICK - INXS

KILLING AN ARAB - The Cure

KILLING IN THE NAME - Rage Against The Machine

KINKY SEX MAKES THE WORLD GO ROUND - Dead Kennedys

LAND OF CONFUSION - Genesis

THE LAST FAREWELL - Roger Whittaker

LET'S GO ALL THE WAY - Sly Fox

LIE ON LIE - Chalk Farm

LIFE DURING WARTIME - Talking Heads

LIVING THROUGH ANOTHER CUBA - XTC

LONDON CALLING - The Clash

LOVE TRAIN - O'Jays

LUCKY MAN - Emerson, Lake & Palmer

MANHATTAN PROJECT - Rush

MAN OF PEACE - Bob Dylan

THE MAN'S TOO STRONG - Dire Straits

MARCH OF THE PIGS - Nine Inch Nails

MASTERS OF WAR - Bob Dylan*

MASTERS OF WAR - Eddie Vedder

MEDIATE - INXS

MIDDLE OF THE ROAD - Pretenders

MIND GAMES - John Lennon

MISSING THE WAR - Ben Folds Five

MILITARY MADNESS - Crosby, Stills & Nash

MOTHER - Pink Floyd

MURDER BY NUMBERS - Police

N.W.O. - Ministry

THE NIGHT THEY DROVE OLD DIXIE DOWN - The Band*

THE NIGHT THEY DROVE OLD DIXIE DOWN - Joan Baez

NOBODY HOME - Pink Floyd

NO SHELTER - Rage Against The Machine

NUCLEAR WAR - Yo La Tengo

OHIO - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

OLD MAN AND ME - Hootie & The Blowfish

OLIVER'S ARMY - Elvis Costello

ONE - Creed

ONE - Metallica

ONE - U2

ONE MAN ARMY - Our Lady Peace

ONE OF MY TURNS - Pink Floyd

ONE OF OUR SUBMARINES (IS MISSING) - Thomas Dolby

ONE TIN SOLDIER - Coven

ONE WORLD - Dire Straits

ONE WORLD (NOT THREE) - Police

ORANGE CRUSH - R.E.M.

PATRIOT'S DAY - Wrenfields

PEACE - Los Lobos

PEACE AND LOVE - Neil Young

PEACE BROTHER PEACE - Bill Medley

PEACE IN OUR TIME - Elvis Costello

PEACE IN OUR TIME - Eddie Money

PEACE IN THE VALLEY - Elvis Presley

PEACE IS JUST A WORD - Eurythmics

PEACEKEEPER - Fleetwood Mac

PEACE LIKE A RIVER - Paul Simon

PEACE SELLS BUT WHO'S BUYING? - Megadeth

PEACE SIGN - War

PEACE THROUGHOUT THE WORLD - Maxi Priest

PEACE TRAIN - Cat Stevens

PEACE WILL COME - Melanie

PEACEFUL WORLD - John Mellencamp

PEOPLE ARE PEOPLE - Depeche Mode

PEOPLE GOT TO BE FREE - Rascals

PLANET EARTH - Duran Duran

POST COLD WAR POLITICS - Fishbone

POWER AND THE PASSION - Midnight Oil

PUT DOWN THAT WEAPON - Midnight Oil

QUESTION - Moody Blues

QUICK FIX - Ministry featuring William Burroughs

RADIO FREE EUROPE - R.E.M.

REDEMPTION SONG - Bob Marley & The Wailers

RED RAIN - Peter Gabriel

RED SAILS IN THE SUNSET - Midnight Oil

RED SECTOR - Rush

RED SKIES - The Fixx

REVOLUTION - Beatles

RIDE ACROSS THE RIVER - Dire Straits

RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW - Jesus Jones

RIPPLE - Grateful Dead

RIPPLE - Jane's Addiction

ROCKIN' IN THE FREE WORLD - Neil Young

ROCK THE CASBAH - The Clash

ROOSTER - Alice In Chains

RUMOURS OF WAR - Billy Bragg

RUN LIKE HELL - Pink Floyd

RUNNING GUN BLUES - David Bowie

RUN THROUGH THE JUNGLE - Creedence Clearwater Revival

RUSSIANS - Sting

SAN FRANCISCO - Scott McKenzie

SEVEN NATION ARMY - White Stripes

SHAPES OF THINGS - Yardbirds

SHORT MEMORY - Midnight Oil

SHOUT - Tears For Fears

SILENT RUNNING - Mike + The Mechanics

SITUATION - Yaz

SKY PILOT - Eric Burden & The Animals

SLEEP NOW IN THE FIRE - Rage Against The Machine

SMOKE TWO JOINTS - Bob Marley & The Wailers*

SMOKE TWO JOINTS - Sublime

SOLDIER BLUE - The Cult

SO MANY PEOPLE - Hubert Kah

SORROW - Bad Religion

SOUND OF SILENCE - Simon & Garfunkel

SOVIET SNOW - Shona Laing

SPIRITS IN THE MATERIAL WORLD - Police

STILL IN SAIGON - Charlie Daniels Band

STREET FIGHTING MAN - Rolling Stones

SUICIDE IS PAINLESS (THEME FROM M*A*S*H) - Manic Street Preachers

SUNDAY BLOODY SUNDAY - U2

SUPPOSE THEY GAVE A WAR AND NO ONE CAME - West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band

SURRENDER - U2

SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL - Natalie Merchant

SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL - Rolling Stones*

TALKING WORLD WAR III BLUES - Bob Dylan

TERMS OF PSYCHIC WARFARE - Husker Du

TESTIFY - Rage Against The Machine

THE THIN ICE - Pink Floyd

THEY DANCE ALONE - Sting

THIS IS RADIO CLASH - The Clash

THROWING STONES - Grateful Dead

TIMES THEY ARE A CHANGIN' - Bob Dylan

TOM SAWYER - Rush

TOO MUCH MONKEY BUSINESS - Chuck Berry

TRAVELIN' SOLDIER - Dixie Chicks

TRAVELIN' SOLDIER - Bruce Robison

TURN, TURN, TURN - Byrds

TWO SOLDIERS - Bob Dylan

TWO TRIBES - Frankie Goes To Hollywood

UNDERCOVER OF THE NIGHT - Rolling Stones

UNDERNEATH THE RADAR - Underworld

UNKNOWN SOLDIER - Doors

UNIVERSAL SOLDIER - Donovan

US AND THEM - Pink Floyd

U.S. FORCES - Midnight Oil

WAITING FOR THE WORMS - Pink Floyd

THE WAITRESS - Tori Amos

WALKIN' ON A THIN LINE - Huey Lewis & THe News

WAR - Bob Marley & The Wailers (not the same as Edwin Starr song)

WAR - Bruce Springsteen

WAR - Edwin Starr*

WAR AND PEACE - Vic Damone

WAR CHILD - Jethro Tull

WAR GAMES - Crosby, Stills & Nash

WAR IS COMING, WAR IS COMING - War

WAR OF MAN - Neil Young

WAR PIGS - Black Sabbath

WAR SONG - Culture Club (not the same as Young/Nash song)

WAR SONG - Neil Young And Graham Nash

WAR WAR WAR - Country Joe & The Fish

WAR WITHIN A BREATH - Rage Against The Machine

WATERLOO - Abba

WE ALL FALL DOWN - Ultravox

WE CAN BE TOGETHER - Jefferson Airplane

WE CAN WORK IT OUT - Beatles

WE WANT PEACE - Lenny Kravitz

WHAT I GOT - Sublime

WHAT'S GOIN' ON - Marvin Gaye

WHAT'S SO FUNNY ABOUT PEACE, LOVE AND UNDERSTANDING - Elvis Costello

WHEN THE WIND BLOWS - David Bowie

WHERE HAVE ALL THE FLOWERS GONE - Pete Seeger

WHITE, DISCUSSION - Live

WHY CAN'T WE LIVE TOGETHER - Sade

WHY CAN'T WE LIVE TOGETHER - Timmy Thomas*

WILD WILD WEST - Escape Club

WIND OF CHANGE - Scorpions

WINTER OF THE LONG HOT SUMMER - Disposable Heroes OF Hiphoprisy

WITHIN YOU, WITHOUT YOU - Beatles

WON'T GET FOOLED AGAIN - The Who

WOODEN SHIPS - Crosby, Stills & Nash*

WOODEN SHIPS - Jefferson Airplane

WOODSTOCK - Crosby, Stills & Nash

WOODSTOCK - Joni Mitchell

WORLD DESTRUCTION - Afrikaa Bambata & Johnny Lydon

WORLD LEADER PRETEND - R.E.M.

WORLD WAR III - TSOL

WORLD WAR NONE - Frank Sinatra

YOUNG LUST - Pink Floyd

ZOMBIE - Cranberries

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Dear Mr President - Pink

 

"Dear Mr. President"

(feat. Indigo Girls)

 

Dear Mr. President,

Come take a walk with me.

Let's pretend we're just two people and

You're not better than me.

I'd like to ask you some questions if we can speak honestly.

 

What do you feel when you see all the homeless on the street?

Who do you pray for at night before you go to sleep?

What do you feel when you look in the mirror?

Are you proud?

 

How do you sleep while the rest of us cry?

How do you dream when a mother has no chance to say goodbye?

How do you walk with your head held high?

Can you even look me in the eye

And tell me why?

 

Dear Mr. President,

Were you a lonely boy?

Are you a lonely boy?

Are you a lonely boy?

How can you say

No child is left behind?

We're not dumb and we're not blind.

They're all sitting in your cells

While you pave the road to hell.

 

What kind of father would take his own daughter's rights away?

And what kind of father might hate his own daughter if she were gay?

I can only imagine what the first lady has to say

You've come a long way from whiskey and cocaine.

 

How do you sleep while the rest of us cry?

How do you dream when a mother has no chance to say goodbye?

How do you walk with your head held high?

Can you even look me in the eye?

 

Let me tell you 'bout hard work

Minimum wage with a baby on the way

Let me tell you 'bout hard work

Rebuilding your house after the bombs took them away

Let me tell you 'bout hard work

Building a bed out of a cardboard box

Let me tell you 'bout hard work

Hard work

Hard work

You don't know nothing 'bout hard work

Hard work

Hard work

Oh

 

How do you sleep at night?

How do you walk with your head held high?

Dear Mr. President,

You'd never take a walk with me.

Would you?

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Somehow when I think of 'protest songs', the first thing that comes to mind is RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE'S Killing in the Name of.

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Radiohead - 2+2=5

 

The Nightwatchman (Tom Morello) - One Man Revolution (Pretty much the entire album)

 

Sam Cooke - A Change Gonna Come

 

And if you are looking for just Tipper Gore protest songs may I suggest

Anthrax - Startin' Up A Posse

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Had my presentation last night. It went very well. Before I spoke, I played the following playlist as pre-lecture background music:

 

1. Bandages & Scars - Son Volt

2. After the Garden - Neil Young

3. World Wide Suicide - Pearl Jam

4. We Can't Make It Here - James McMurtry

5. Last to Die - Bruce Springsteen

6. Puttin' People on the Moon - Drive-By Truckers

7. When the President Talks to God - Bright Eyes

 

Thanks again for your suggestions.

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