Alica Keys puts her mouth where her money is

There's a strong call to arms from Alica Keys, refusing to be silenced on political matters:

I know critics will say that people like me should stick to making records. But musicians are voters too. We are artists and we are human, alive to what is going on around us. We seem to be able to connect to millions of people who have either lost faith in the system or who need to feel a part of a community. Music has an uncanny way of getting to people’s emotions. And when we listen to music it is as if the consciousness changes around us. I intend to keep on speaking out, as do a number of my peers. We feel it is our duty to use our fame for something bigger than empty things.

That's pretty impressive.

It's not entirely clear, though, how this high-minded ideal of not using fame for "empty things" fits with, say, the adverts for Givenchy or the promotion of Blackberry mobile phones. Or the USD25million deal to push Coca-Cola's Vitamin Water, a product whose markering was so empty that some people are calling for consumers to be repaid for buying into its faux-healthy image.

But perhaps phone upgrades and water with calories aren't empty. Or maybe those matters had to be attended to before turning attention to using music to connect to emotions.