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Where are the good political songs?

I feel like there are lots of parallels between the eighties and now (recession/inflation, yuppies/inequality, skin-heads/fascists, hot-cold wars etc.) but there used to be protest music! Where is that stuff now? Music that’s intelligent and outraged - like we should be!

I’m out of touch now, so if it exists, educate me! Or have the protest songs been removed from tiktok by the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act (UK specific, but suppression of protest seems to be everywhere)? (I’ve linked to the Levellers - maybe it really was better back in the day?)

edit: Maybe not the right audience, but if the song is old enough to vote then I might already know it! What’s happening now? Any songs from the last 10 years!

edit: Thanks for everyone’s insights. I’ve spent the day discovering music that I’d never have found otherwise. Really enjoying a load of these, but thanks to everyone! It seems like protest music is confined to certain genres/places, and lots of older songs - maybe they just last longer… which is maybe a little interesting.

xmunk ,

Bella Ciao and Sixteen Tons are perennial favorites.

shish_mish ,
@shish_mish@lemmy.world avatar

Both of those are good but old songs, I think OP was wondering where the current protest music is.

fellowmortal OP , (edited )

Thanks for these - they are great examples of what I want. However, as @shish_mish mentioned, I was wondering what has come out recently? [edit:words]

Ziggurat ,

Some of the classical ones

  • L’internationale, which is still relevant today
  • La banderra rosa
  • Bella Ciao, which despite becoming a pop hit is a struggle song
  • El pueblo unido
  • La butte rouge

-The Red army choir have a ton of great ones

Then on more recent, just look at the punk and rap scene, there is a lot

DarkMessiah ,

deleted_by_author

    •
    fellowmortal OP , (edited )

    I guess this what I’m afraid of, but things must have felt pretty scary during the first cold war - Imagine raising children while governments were openly[edit] testing fusion weapons!

    I think that music is part of giving people inspiration and hope. Does tiktok just filter out the protest to keep us scrolling?

    nightwatch_admin ,

    Excuse me, GenX chiming in. We had that exact same list, with the sort-of-maybe exception of climate change (pollution was really really bad though). Then again , we had the daily doom of nuclear war on our heads.

    orvorn , (edited )

    I’ve participated in in-person protests with various groups about a dozen times a year since 2020 and I don’t even live in a city. People are definitely out here protesting, we just don’t get any media coverage at all unless we break things.

    edit- in an attempt to actually be helpful - search the internet for any progressive or socialist activist groups near you and sign up for their newsletters/follow their socials. Try to attend a few events, and there you’ll hopefully meet people who can get you connected to local anarchists/more radical folks who go out and protest a lot. Then you can carpool with folks and share expenses and have a safe group of people to go to protests with.

    Lauchs ,

    Well, not sure about “good” but punk is and always has been about politics.

    Personally, I love the folk punk end of things like AJJ’s ‘Normalization Blues’: youtu.be/0EDVM73bU-w?si=_mtGGyFhrmeMRlpZ

    In a similar vein, Matt Pless’s “where the frayed wind blows” is 5 minutes of angry goodness.

    There’s also a lot of protest hip hop but I don’t know the newer stuff particularly well.

    fellowmortal OP , (edited )

    This is great! :D

    edit: Anyone know about hip-hop? Would be great to know where to start on that

    Deceptichum ,
    @Deceptichum@kbin.social avatar

    A lot of rap is political/social, for more mainstream stuff you’ve got songs like ‘This Is America’ by Childish Gambino, ‘Reagan’ by Killer Mike, or even ‘Fuck the Police’ by N.W.A.

    You’ve got even more leftist groups/rappers like ‘The Coup’, RATM/Public Enemy supergroup ‘Prophets of Rage’, hardcore shit like ‘Immortal Techniques’ or ‘Non Phixon’, ‘Dead Prez’, ‘Nas’, ‘The Fugees’, ‘Tupac’, ‘De La Soul’ just to name a few more.

    There’s also more tankie shit but I’m not gonna promote that authoritarian garbage.

    It’s almost harder to find non-political rap than it is political rap when you start breaking down the messages of many songs.

    fellowmortal OP ,

    Thanks! Childish Gambino - is a great example!

    I didn’t know some of these, so I’ll check them out, but they aren’t exactly new - the rest are from the ninties, right?

    Deceptichum ,
    @Deceptichum@kbin.social avatar

    I tried mixing it up, it’s probably more early 2000-2010s for the majority. I kinda lost interest in a lot of rap after that whole trap phase started.

    Killer Mikes a bit too centrist for my liking but Reagan from 2012 is an amazing song and one I’d recommend the most from that list.

    kambusha ,

    Try Immortal Technique.

    • Dance with the Devil
    • Impeach the President
    • The 4th Branch

    And many more

    gothic_lemons ,

    Reagan by Killer Mike. Samples shit Reagan said

    QuantumSparkles ,

    On the Hip Hop note I would say Run The Jewels have some amazing lyrical content in their songs about the state of things

    BreadOven ,

    Shots fired by Matt is also great. Oh, can’t forget “what you will”.

    Varyk , (edited )

    Tropical fuck storm is pretty good at ranting against the bullshit and bonus they also sound awesome:

    www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_jxKD7X7pw

    fellowmortal OP ,

    I haven’t heard of these guys - Thanks!

    Varyk ,

    I’ve been stuck on them since I first stumbled on them. I cannot recall exactly how that happened.

    WastedJobe ,

    This might not be everyones cup of tea, but metal and hardcore are full of protest music. Heaven Shall Burn for example is lyricly anti-fascist and environmentalist (live video because that show is fucking legendary).

    Gojira also slaps.

    fellowmortal OP ,

    Holy shit! Thanks - that video is outrageous! These are great

    jandar_fett ,

    Between the Buried and Me, a progressive metal band that is considered legendary, is philosophically political in so much as that most of their albums are about the inevitable decline of humanity and the destruction of everything due to capitalism, greed, regressive ideologies etc. If you’ve never listened to them you should start with the Great Misdirect. Spotify has a live version I think and it is phenomenal.

    nightwatch_admin ,

    lekkerrrrr
    saved, thanks!

    SuperEars , (edited )

    I’m a big fan of Rise Against. Try these tracks out:

    • Architects
    • Welcome to the Breakdown
    • A Gentleman’s Coup
    • Megaphone
    • Holding Patterns

    and Bad Religion:

    • American Jesus
    • Meeting of the Minds
    • The Resist Stance
    TheDubz87 ,

    Bad Religion was one of my high-school favorites that has stayed a favorite since. I have every one of their albums saved on my phone.

    fellowmortal OP ,

    Listening now! Thanks

    punkcoder ,
    @punkcoder@lemmy.world avatar

    I personally would add: • The Nowhere Generation • Wolves

    Shurimal ,

    Leslie Fish is still writing music. Plus her old works from 1980-s (eg It's Sister Jenny's Turn to Throw the Bomb and Firestorm) are as relevant now as they were 40 years ago.

    thepixelfox ,
    @thepixelfox@kbin.social avatar

    Billy talent are great for political, fuck the government/ big corporations type songs. Not protest songs so much. But it feels pretty on theme. Their messages are great.
    Surprise surprise and viking death march are two of my personal favourites songs by them.

    fellowmortal OP ,

    I hate to break it to you but Billy Talent formed in 1993! ;)

    killeronthecorner ,
    @killeronthecorner@lemmy.world avatar

    That album is absolutely killer and I’ve loved BN since I heard Try Honesty many moons ago.

    That said … They have been singing about how young people need to fight the system while having one of the most clean, corporate images I can think of for bands in their category.

    Watching a 40 year old man dance around an arena in VANs and Atticus hoodies while telling contemporary youth that their generation is a “fucking joke” is peak cringe to me.

    Still love the music though. Wish he’d do more heartbreak songs, they’re his forte.

    serpineslair ,

    Thrash metal has a lot of politics, if that’s your thing.

    fellowmortal OP ,

    I’ll give it a try - any suggestions?

    serpineslair ,

    If you are starting out with metal, I would recommend Metallica, or Death Angel (albums such as Evil Divide or The Dream Calls For Blood). They have a more mainstream sound. If you enjoy those, either dm me or reply, I can send you more. Or alternatively I have a community: !thrashmetal, if you wanna check out some less obvious ones.

    fellowmortal OP ,

    I’ll check in.

    sagrotan ,
    @sagrotan@lemmy.world avatar

    A lot of German ones these days, hip hop / rock / metal / pop-punk

    fellowmortal OP ,

    I have a GCSE in German, what would you suggest?

    despotic_machine , (edited )
    @despotic_machine@lemmy.world avatar

    deleted_by_author

    •
    fellowmortal OP ,

    These are good. Thanks

    frazorth ,

    You mention the UK, so I’ll just drop a couple of names of folks/bands talking about racism, immigration and toxic male culture.

    Bob Vylan

    We live here - m.youtube.com/watch?v=VFqhJyvly1g

    Wicked and Bad - m.youtube.com/watch?v=KRJ-s7jRyAM

    Idles

    Danny Nedelko - m.youtube.com/watch?v=QkF_G-RF66M

    Lambrini Girls

    Lads lads lads - m.youtube.com/watch?v=IuLK56UrCL0

    There’s a lot of good punk still happening.

    fellowmortal OP ,

    Guilty as charged. Good stuff - I’ll look out for these - my new years resolution is to see some live music.

    frazorth ,

    All these bands being UK based, you should have an opportunity to see them.

    I don’t know whereabouts in the UK you are, but you could find some new stuff at things like the Futurama festival in Liverpool.

    www.cultureliverpool.co.uk/…/futurama-festival/

    crypticthree ,

    I’ll be seeing IDLES in a few months in Texas

    frazorth ,

    Never fight a man with a perm!

    ReCursing ,
    @ReCursing@kbin.social avatar

    Bob Vylan and Idles are great, will check the Lambrini Girls, thanks

    frazorth ,

    Music created in the UK by people who are fucking furious is still alive and well.

    Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes

    Sleaford Mods

    Kid Kapichi

    Panic Shack

    ReCursing ,
    @ReCursing@kbin.social avatar

    I know Sleaford Mods. Will check the others too, thanks

    frazorth ,

    Frank Carter did this lovely little ditty with Joe Talbot from IDLES.

    My Town.

    m.youtube.com/watch?v=gx59hOw2HcA

    fellowmortal OP ,

    @frazorth you’ve got going down rabbit holes … I wonder what I else I can do to scare a tory

    frazorth ,

    Listen to Boris Johnson is a fucking cunt?

    m.youtube.com/watch?v=uGwCykQwgTU

    Or just Fuck The Tories

    m.youtube.com/watch?v=TppbFVcfBcU

    EnderMB ,

    Should also add Hacktivist. A few of their songs are politically charged, and several calls BoJo a cunt.

    m.youtube.com/watch?v=YWzwEPYIjYM

    frazorth ,

    Good call.

    Jerb322 ,
    @Jerb322@lemmy.world avatar

    Body Count, Ice T Rage Against the Machine Green Day Tool,more about religion

    Bob_Robertson_IX ,

    Goddamn White Trash by Ministry is my go-to song for 2024.

    fellowmortal OP ,

    Is this the most recent suggestion on here?

    PeepinGoodArgs ,

    That’s good stuff!

    Thrawne ,

    Dead kennedys:

    youtu.be/amTAIjhUjDk?si=qfjvkyGwlgFXoEqs

    solitaire ,
    @solitaire@infosec.pub avatar

    I was really hoping for the link to be Let’s Lynch the Landlord tbh

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