Problem: Chao's mother, Felisa Ortega, is from Bilbao, Basque Country, and his father, writer and journalist Ramon Chao, is from Vilalba, Galicia. They emigrated to Paris to avoid Francisco Franco's dictatorship--Manu's grandfather had been sentenced to death. Shortly after Manu's birth, the Chao family moved to the outskirts of Paris, and Manu spent most of his childhood in Boulogne-Billancourt and Sevres. As he grew up he was surrounded by many artists and intellectuals, most of whom were acquaintances of his father.

In an interview with the School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California in 2010, Chao expressed his opinions about topics such as the effects of economic globalization on social inequality. He explained how he believes that the global market is causing social inequality, and how issues in education and immigration are connected to this. In this interview he expressed a worry that mafias are the greatest threat to democracy and that this is already evident in certain places, like Russia and Mexico. He stated that this is one reason that he is for the legalization of drugs such as Marijuana - he explained that mafias are making capital off of the distribution of illegal drugs which gives them more economic power, thus making it easier for them to potentially overthrow governments.  In this interview he also expressed his belief that currently, the global market is the largest force shaping the lives of people throughout the world. For this reason, he believes that the most effective way to solve social problems in individual countries is to address them at a global level by changing the policies dictating the global market. He explained that since most people are not given the power to directly change these policies, the most effective way to bring about change would be to make a statement to those running the economy by becoming self-sufficient through boycotting corporations, growing one's own vegetables, and making one's own clothes.  He then added that he does not own a car or cell phone because he does not need either of these. He also talked about having weak leaders as a threat to democracy and explained that there are small movements in Spain that are fighting for blank votes to be recorded as legitimate votes. He explained this could be a solution because blank votes currently make up a majority of the votes in elections, which means that election results are inaccurate.  Another topic he discussed during this interview was education. He expressed his belief that education is important and should be free for everyone. He mentioned that Cuba is able to provide free education for all those living in Cuba despite being a small country and that he doesn't understand how the United States being such a powerful nation was not able to do the same. He then expressed frustration at the fact that one can enroll in the armed forces in the United States and "learn to kill" for free, but had to pay to learn to do anything else. He suggested that this is a sign that the United States is afraid of its future.  When asked about immigration during this interview, Chao mentioned that the West, particularly the United States, has a population with a lot of elderly people and that in order to excel in the future, the West needs the youth from "Third World" countries. He explains that providing legal status to immigrant young people would require the United States to honor the rights of these immigrants, and therefore it is cheaper and easier for the United States to deny so many young immigrants a legal status. He then said that the "Occident...needs to open the borders."

Why does he think that?

Answer with quotes: He explained that since most people are not given the power to directly change these policies,


Problem: "Jesus Is Just Alright" is a gospel song written by Arthur Reid Reynolds and first recorded by Reynolds' own group, The Art Reynolds Singers, on their 1966 album, Tellin' It Like It Is. The song's title makes use of the American slang term "all-right", which during the 1960s was used to describe something that was considered 'cool' or very good. The song has been covered by a number of bands and artists over the years, including The Byrds, Underground Sunshine, The Doobie Brothers, Alexis Korner, The Ventures, DC Talk, Stryper, Shelagh McDonald, and Robert Randolph (featuring Eric Clapton). The first cover version of the song was recorded by the Los Angeles band The Byrds on their 1969 album, Ballad of Easy Rider.

The Byrds' version of "Jesus Is Just Alright" was recorded on June 17, 1969 during the sessions for the band's eighth studio album, Ballad of Easy Rider. It was first released as part of that album but was subsequently issued as a single on December 15, 1969. The single stalled at No. 97 on the Billboard Hot 100 and failed to chart in the United Kingdom. Despite this lack of commercial success, The Doobie Brothers' later hit version of the song featured an arrangement that was heavily influenced by The Byrds' own recording.  The song was introduced to The Byrds by the band's drummer, Gene Parsons, who had been present in the studio when The Art Reynolds Singers had recorded it. The Byrds had added the song to their live concert repertoire some months prior to the start of the Ballad of Easy Rider recording sessions and it had quickly become an audience favorite. In concert, The Byrds rendition of "Jesus Is Just Alright" began with a wordless vocal introduction that built up and led into the first iteration of the song's chorus. This distinctive vocal arrangement had been devised by Parsons but once the band were in the studio, record producer Terry Melcher dispensed with this extended intro, choosing instead to give the song a more pop-oriented arrangement.  "Jesus Is Just Alright" became a staple of The Byrds' concert repertoire between 1969 and 1971 but appears to have been performed only rarely after that. Additionally, the band performed the song on the U.S. television programs Memphis Talent Party and The Midnight Special in 1970 and 1972 respectively.  Besides its appearance on the Ballad of Easy Rider album, "Jesus Is Just Alright" can also be found on several Byrds' compilations, including The Best of The Byrds: Greatest Hits, Volume II, History of The Byrds, The Byrds, The Essential Byrds, and There Is a Season. Live recordings of the song are included on the expanded edition of The Byrds' (Untitled) album as well as on Live at Royal Albert Hall 1971.

Did audiences like the song?

Answer with quotes: