We live in politically challenging times. As this reality seeps into all aspects of our lives, it seems to make its way into more of today's music. Michael Franti's incendiary new CD, Yell Fire!, speaks to a sense that our circumstances have grown dire and that we need to move beyond just criticizing how things are. This is no time to retreat into cynicism. It's time to yell "fire!" and get the bucket brigade moving. The title cut invokes the R word--revolution--but like Emma Goldman, Franti demands a revolution we can dance to. With some of the songs recorded in Jamaica with the legendary bass-and-drums team Sly and Robbie, much of the album is guaranteed to rock the dance party. And like that great Jamaican, Bob Marley, Franti shows we don't have to stop thinking when we start dancing.

Many of the songs grow out of Franti's travels in the Middle East two years ago. The first track, "Time to Go Home," is for the US troops in Iraq, as is "Light Up Ya Lighter." "I Know I'm Not Alone" speaks to finding connection despite being far from home. "East to the West," "Hello Bonjour," and "Tolerance" all celebrate inter-cultural communication and harmony. "Hey Now Now" and "Everybody Ona Move" are party tunes--the former a bouncy reggae number and the latter a rollicking, handclapping jam that will indeed get everybody moving. A few contemplative ballads round out the disc. Perhaps a little more reggae-infused than previous Franti releases, the music still includes a mix of influences from R&B, hip hop, rock, and folk. All the lyrics can be found in a booklet that comes with the CD.

Yell Fire! arrives on the heels of the release of I Know I'm Not Alone, the DVD movie documenting Franti's "search for the human cost of war" as he travels into the war zones of Iraq, Palestine, and Israel. Barefoot, dreadlocked, six-and-a-half feet tall, with his guitar slung over his shoulder at all times, he draws attention from the locals wherever he goes. He is invited into homes in areas few Americans have seen. He uses his music to bridge cultural divides.

As a musical troubadour, pilgrim of peace, and documenter of harsh realities, Franti comes not with answers, but questions. He is a humble and empathetic listener, whether talking with Iraqis or US troops, Palestinians or Israelis. The film eschews complicated political analysis to focus on the human element--the price paid by all those living in a war zone. The point for him isn't so much who's right and who's wrong, but who is harmed by war. As Franti notes in the film, the only side he takes in any of the conflicts is the side of the peacemakers. Some might consider this politically naive, noting that without justice there can be no peace, and that fighting injustice may even justify violence in some circumstances. Franti would certainly agree with the need for justice, but would also ask what justice can be found in innocent people losing family members, losing limbs, losing their own lives.

Michael Franti integrates the political, the spiritual, the full range of human emotions, and good booty-shakin' grooves like no other musician perhaps since Robert Nesta Marley. Franti's voice has not yet found the wide audience and impact that Marley had--perhaps he never will (that's a tall order after all)--but the newest CD and DVD may bring him one step closer. Available from www.spearheadvibrations.com.