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It has been a while, but last year we proposed to add a regular, weekly feature focusing on resistance to authoritarianism. The response to that was very positive, so we put together a list of suggested names for the feature from readers, and had folks vote. Over 2,000 of them did so, and these were the 10 most popular choices:
We are actually glad it turned out this way. "We the People" allows us to cover a broader variety of stuff—not only resistance to authoritarianism, but efforts to promote and protect democracy, both in the U.S. and abroad. That not only comports well with the core mission of this site since its founding, it also means the feature can continue on into the post-Trump era.
For months, we had planned to launch this feature with an item on protest songs. And then, a couple of weeks ago, we had this in the Saturday Q&A:
B.B. in Dothan, AL, asks: An observation/question I've asked a couple of times now, regarding our society's response to the ongoing rise of fascism in the country, is: Where are the protest songs? In the Vietnam era, they were all over the radio and most of the top 100. Today? Nada. I would think that, if people were really upset about what's going on (e.g., U.S. citizens being kidnapped in broad daylight by masked, non-uniformed people and deported to foreign prisons) they would be seeking music to express those sentiments.
(Z) answers: I will give you three things to consider, and you can do with them what you will. First, we tend to look at the protest songs of the 1960s through a distorted lens. Do you know the only song directly inspired by the Vietnam War to go to #1 on the U.S. singles charts? That would be "Ballad of the Green Berets," a PRO-war song by Staff Sgt. Barry Sadler. The point is that while songs like "Fortunate Son" and "For What It's Worth" loom large in historical memory, in the moment they were predominantly the music of a small (but vocal) minority.
Second, the music business is much more balkanized today than it was in the 1960s. There are many fewer musical acts who can hope to break through beyond their narrow fanbase. And the ones who might be able to do so, like Taylor Swift and Beyoncé, would be taking pretty serious financial and personal risks if they recorded, say, an anti-Trump song.
Third, there ARE protest songs today. However, it is probable they are in genres that you aren't following. Folk music has been the music of protest for many centuries, and there are many folk musicians today who are carrying on the tradition. In particular, we have highlighted the work of Jesse Welles on this site several times. The other genre where you'll find plenty of protest songs today is hip-hop, with artists like Bad Bunny and Childish Gambino particularly standing out.
In the original conception, the debut "We the People," on protest songs, was actually going to be a fisking of Rolling Stone's "The 100 Best Protest Songs of All Time." But, in response to the question and answer above, we got a fair number of reader e-mails. So, we shall present some of those, instead.
To start with, here's reader R.G.N. in Seattle, WA:
The days of discreetly worded protest songs appear to be gone and a new standard has been released. Blaming the universal soldier or lamenting "where have all the flowers gone" doesn't cut it with Americans desensitized by the constant lack of decency, honesty, honor, and respect for civil rights of the Trump Administration. Bruce Springsteen's "Streets of Minneapolis" takes names and kicks butt to shock a jaded population into realizing what it stands to lose and take action. Americans have a new "Battle Hymn of the Republic" to lead the battle for democracy:
The following summary of Bruce's lyrics tells the story without mincing words:
- King Trump's private army from the DHS, guns belted to their coats, came to Minneapolis to enforce the law. Or so their story goes.
- There were bloody footprints, where mercy should have stood, and two dead, left to die on snow-filled streets.
- Trump's federal thugs beat up on his face and his chest, then we heard the gunshots, and Alex Pretti lay in the snow dead. Their claim was self-defense. Sir, just don't believe your eyes. It's our blood and bones and these whistles and phones against Miller and Noem's dirty lies.
I hope that for the rest of their lives, this and other songs yet to come will haunt Trump, his minions, and the "Good Germans (American voters)" whose votes enabled this tragedy.
We had multiple dozens of other readers also write in to recommend that song. Thanks to everyone for the heads up!
Here are some other reader comments and suggestions on modern songs of protest:
Anonymous in FL: Some months ago, readers submitted protest songs, and I listened to every one of them. After the second murder by ICE in Minnesota, one music group's song (from those submissions) kept entering my mind: "Soul Sister," by the contemporary folk group MaMuse. Many of its lyrics are perfect for a protest song, so, I did a pastiche entitled "Minneapolis," following the same tune of "Soul Sister," to speak to what is happening there. While I am not a musician or a singer, I pass this protest song on to anyone who could play the tune and/or sing it, or even revise it.
We are with you. Stand tall, Minnesota!
J.K. in St. Paul, MN: I immediately thought of Jesse Welles, who cranked out "Good vs ICE" in just a couple weeks. I first heard it on our MPR station, 89.3 The Current (fantastic public radio station, highly recommend), a week ago.
For more mainstream, don't forget Neil Young, who opened his Farm Aid 40 set in Minneapolis in September with "Big Crime."
A friend of mine wrote a protest song last week. There are so many ways to get music now, I think one would have to actively search on different platforms or channels.
J.M. in Seattle, WA: May I recommend this banger from Boston's finest, the Dropkick Murphys: "Who'll Stand With Us?"
The music video is particularly spot on, IMO, in terms of what B.B. in Dothan was asking for.
N.P. in Clinton Township, MI: I wanted to share a Flobots song that released last week: "ICE Out."
D.J. in Denver, CO: People always seem to forget punk, probably because it's always raging against the machine.
Out of Chicago, and showing up at lots of anti-ICE rallies when ICE was hitting Chicago hard: Malört & Savior, "On The Day It Finally Happens."
Out of Denver, Flobots had been defunct since COVID, and recently reformed because of where we are: "ICE OUT" and "The Revival."
Dropkick Murphys out of Boston has always been Antifa. Their upcoming album is going to be heavy on the topic, including "Citizen I.C.E."
Rage Against the Machine (L.A.) have literally been the poster children for this stuff since the 90s. Here's ex-member Tom Morello: "Pretend You Remember Me."
Macklemore (Seattle) is getting in on it: "Fu**ed Up."
Kneecap is an Irish hip-hop trio; Morello specifically called them "the Rage Against the Machine of now." This is their YouTube channel.
For quick access, Tom Morello's Spotify "Fu** ICE" playlist is probably your best single resource: 67 tracks, well-curated across genres. I don't support Spotify because they are unabashedly taking ICE money, but the playlist has been copied over to Tidal and other services.
J.S. Austin, TX: I heard an interview with Lucinda Williams yesterday on NPR. She was talking about protest songs and wanting to create some like Bob Dylan did. She has a new album out, World's Gone Wrong. Note that she is 72 and suffered a stroke a few years back, but is planning on touring this album, even if she needs help getting out on stage. Hopefully it gets a lot of attention and airplays.
J.C. in Denver, CO: The question about protest songs made me think about the alt-country/Americana genre which is, for the most part, liberal and a refreshing contrast to the jingoistic dreck coming out of Nashville. For example, Jason Isbell is a vocally liberal musician, though his songwriting shows more subtlety than his social media presence. See "Save the World," which he wrote in the aftermath of the Uvalde school shooting.
Similarly, Lucinda Williams wrote "Man Without a Soul" during the first Trump administration. And her newest album, World's Gone Wrong, appears to be a full-length statement (I have just started listening to it and am only 3 songs in.)
And there's also Sturgill Simpson, whose statement at a Fenway Park concert last year went viral.
Thanks to everyone who made suggestions!
Meanwhile, what's the other (potential) new feature we teased yesterday? There wasn't time to pull it together, so we'll have to unveil that one on Friday. Oh, and if you have suggestions for THIS feature, please send them to comments@electoral-vote.com. (Z)