UP WITH PEOPLE
Up with People (UWP) is an American education organization whose stated mission is to bridge cultural barriers and create global understanding through service and a musical show. The UWP headquarters is in Denver, Colorado, USA, with satellite offices in Belgium and Mexico. (More from Wikipedia)
Another song mentioned in the Village Voice article, “Song for Up with People” (just being able to put three prepositions together was probably an attraction for Thomas Anderson) refers to the troupe of earnest clean-cut musicians called Up with People who were (as RJ Smith put it) “folk minstrels of the ’60s who caravanned their vanilla-wafer optimism to the parts of the country terrified by loud guitars”. For the typical iconoclastic or cynical singer-songwriter, they would be an easy target. But Anderson was not at all judgmental and was even admiring of them in a way. I saw or heard Up with People myself once, though I forget where; they weren’t bad at all for what they did.
(November 2012)
