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The Long, Hard History of the Work Song
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Men and women have long made music to accompany their labor. Musician Ted Gioia says that work songs are more than a musical genre, they're a transformational tool.
"It made the work less arduous, it made the hours roll by," Gioia says. "It allowed them to have some sort of mastery over their work conditions which were often very demeaning ones."
Ted Gioia, author of the new book Work Songs, shares some of his favorites with us.
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But the game has changed: Congress voted to eliminate funding for public media across the country. Here at LAist that means a loss of $1.7 million in our budget every year. We want to assure you that despite growing threats to free press and free speech, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust. Speaking frankly, the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news in our community.
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