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August 18, 2006

Video Flashback: The Peace Choir - "Give Peace A Chance"

Everyday I find a reason to say to myself, "YouTube is SO AWESOME." It's like a video time capsule, man. So apropros of nothing, here is the video that MTV played back-to-back for fifteen minutes at midnight on January 15, 1991 (the UN's deadline for Iraq to leave Kuwait).

It was actually Lenny Kravitz's idea to re-release "Give Peace a Chance" with new lyrics. With the help of Yoko and Sean Lennon, he went about replacing John's references to bagism and Hare Krishna with mentions of Armageddon, HIV, and New Kids On The Block.

Thanks Mo for the heads up.

The Peace Choir was: Amina, Adam Ant, Sebastian Bach, Bros, Felix Cavaliere, Terence Trent D'Arby, Flea, John Frusciante, Peter Gabriel, Kadeem Hardison, Ofra Haza, Joe Higgs, Bruce Hornsby, Lee Jaffe, Al Jarreau, Jazzie B, Davey Johnstone, Lenny Kravitz, Cyndi Lauper, Sean Lennon, Little Richard, LL Cool J, M.C.Hammer, Michael McDonald, Duff McKagan, Alannah Myles, New Voices of Freedom, Randy Newman, Yoko Ono, Tom Petty, Iggy Pop, Q-Tip, Bonnie Raitt, Run, Dave Stewart, Teena Marie, Steven Van Zandt, Don Was, Wendy & Lisa, Ahmet Zappa, Dweezil Zappa, Moon Zappa.

Posted at 5:53 PM
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21 Comments

I had a friend who used to quote Yoko Ono's engrish "Pranet uhth" often.

Posted by: adam at 08/18/06 7:13 PM | Reply
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That was wretched

Posted by: cashew at 08/18/06 7:19 PM | Reply
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Whoa, flashback! I actually owned this cassette single.

Posted by: Jennifer at 08/18/06 7:33 PM | Reply
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If Iggy Pop and Michael McDonald can be in the same room together without fighting, there is hope for peace after all.

Posted by: Mo! at 08/18/06 10:26 PM | Reply
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have you noticed how everytime stereogum posts a video it gets taken off for copyright violation. STOP SNITCHING SCOTT

Posted by: Ishtar at 08/18/06 10:33 PM | Reply
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is it just me or does sean lennon look EXACTLY LIKE HARRY POTTER!?

Posted by: rob at 08/19/06 1:01 AM | Reply
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Dude, Duff McKagan rocks me out.

Posted by: Ef at 08/19/06 9:54 AM | Reply
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Wow, that was horribly bad, more horrible than I remember it to be. At least I now know I'm not the only one who had the cassette single.

Posted by: jenny at 08/19/06 12:31 PM | Reply
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I'm glad no one did anything like that before the war this time. We just went right ahead and bombed the crap out of them, no namby-pamby, MC Hammer-havin' John Lennon peace anthem pussyfootin' around for us!

Posted by: Evan at 08/19/06 1:56 PM | Reply
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duff mckagan is kickass

Posted by: mode7 at 08/19/06 3:45 PM | Reply
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somebody forgot to call Bono?

Posted by: jason at 08/19/06 6:01 PM | Reply
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Please tell me I was not the only person to own Duff McKagan's solo album.

God, my friends gave me such grief for that.

Posted by: pastahero at 08/20/06 9:34 AM | Reply
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i was going to make a "and then they all died joke" but i think except for Ofra Haza all those folks are still alive and making crappy music

Posted by: clashed at 08/20/06 4:18 PM | Reply
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yikes - that was truly awful.

Posted by: richard at 08/21/06 9:02 AM | Reply
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How come Phife got left off the roster?

Posted by: G at 08/21/06 9:58 AM | Reply
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Okay, but do you remember this?
http://youtube.com/watch?v=eenH9FI8klE

Posted by: Mark at 08/21/06 3:08 PM | Reply
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Yes, I was going to link to that on my blog later this month. I love the chemistry teacher who sings at the end.
Oh and the applause;it is literally a self-congratulatory video. Still I would send it out
to the troops.

Posted by: Mo! at 08/21/06 4:16 PM | Reply
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that was horribly awesome, that's what it was.

Posted by: dude at 08/22/06 8:51 PM | Reply
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"Sun City" still holds up pretty well:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5zW_UGhZZc

Posted by: Theo at 08/23/06 6:54 AM | Reply
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As an award-winning song writer who recently saw the film, "The U.S. vs John Lennon," this video really tops off my stronger-than-ever dedication to work for Peace.

Posted by: Warren Jeffrey Motter at 10/12/06 11:51 AM | Reply
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I got that song on the ballot to be the song my 6th grade class would sing at our graduation from grammar school. And guess what? It won! And I'm not from the Bay Area, it was a wealthy Republican enclave in upstate New York.

Posted by: Angela at 04/21/07 12:14 AM | Reply
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