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Protest songs make strong comeback in '06
from: sbsun.com
by By George A. Paul, Staff Writer
Protest songs are nothing new.
From Woody Guthrie to Bob Dylan and beyond, musicians have sung out against wars, politics and social injustices for decades.
Over the last few years though, the sounds of dissent grew louder as artists like Bruce Springsteen ("Devils & Dust," "Bring `Em Home"), Green Day ("American Idiot") and the Rolling Stones ("Sweet Neo-Con") expressed their displeasure over the ongoing conflict in Iraq.
2006 saw even more popular recording artists (Merle Haggard, Tom Waits, Pet Shop Boys) add their two cents - however blatant or subtle.
Neil Young definitely fell into the former category. Once again, the outspoken rocker picked up the protest baton (he previously weighed in with the topical tunes "Rockin' in the Free World" and "Let's Roll") and ran with it.
His rough 'n' ready disc, "Living with War," took the George W. Bush Administration to task at every turn. On "Restless Consumer," he repeatedly barked "don't need no more lies." And "Let's Impeach the President" cut right to the chase.
Pearl Jam hit No. 1 on the modern rock radio charts with its abrasive "World Wide Suicide" (sample lyric: "medals on a wooden mantle/next to a handsome face that the president took for granted/writing check that others pay").
Pop music spitfire Pink teamed up with the Indigo Girls on the plaintive ballad "Dear Mr. President," where she sang about political divisiveness.
Inland area native Ben Harper channeled his anger over the Hurricane Katrina debacle into the seething "Black Rain."
John Mayer's breezy "Waiting on the World to Change" described apathy among young people today: "if we had the power to bring our neighbors home from war/they would have never missed a Christmas/no more ribbons on their door."
The Dixie Chicks took a lot of flak when Natalie Maines exercised her right to free speech about President Bush. Lack of country radio airplay and a downsized tour were the results.
Still, "Taking the Long Way," the trio's strongest CD to date, sold well and garnered some Grammy nominations. "Not Ready to Make Nice" wasn't really a political tune, but it addressed the brouhaha alongside their documentary, "Shut Up & Sing."
A few years ago, activist singer/guitarist Michael Franti went to Iraq and other Middle Eastern countries. His potent CD ("Yell Fire!") detailed the injustices seen.
On the reggaefied "Time to Go Home," Franti sang "those who start wars never fight them and those who fight wars never like them."
Influential female rocker JOAN JETT, who campaigned for Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean's short-lived presidential run, was another participant in the anti-war chorus. Her latest disc, "SINNER," featured two politically-themed tracks ("Riddles," "Change the World").
The first one featured Bush and Donald Rumsfeld sound bites. Jett sang, "we got ourselves in trouble/with no relief in sight/every day is such a struggle/because they had to pick a fight."
Jett said she initially resisted including them on her album because when she sees a celebrity declare their political allegiance, "if it happens to be something dramatically different than (me) and I happen to think they're nuts, it affects the way I feel about their art."
Yet she couldn't keep from addressing the subject.
"With everything going on over these past few years, I just got to the point where it was so present in my being that I had to speak out about it. And I don't think I'm doing it in a disrespectful way. I'm not calling anyone a moron. I'm just questioning what I see."
Dashboard Confessional leader Chris Carrabba wrote a tune on the band's latest disc, "Dusk and Summer," which references the war ("Slow Decay"), but he hasn't been as lyrically direct as Young and others yet. It might happen in the future.
"I could absolutely see myself doing that," he admitted. "Personally, I'm politically-savvy, educated and interested. The trouble is, I never really write out of aggravation ... I could see it happening. I'm just curious to see how it comes out in an artful way."
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