Best political songs?
Monday December 31, 2007
Categories: Politics, Popular Culture
What are the best political songs? My wife's favorite is Famine by Sinead O'Connor. U2's Bad is another strong entry. Then there is this: What think you?...
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The Times They Are A-Changin'--Bob Dylan
Fight The Power--Public Enemy
Say It Loud (I'm Black And I'm Proud)--James Brown
This Land Is Your Land--Woodie Guthrie
Open Letter To A Landlord--Living Color
My City Was Gone--The Pretenders
White Riot--the Clash
Things Goin' On--Lynyrd Skynyrd
Inner City Blues--Marvin Gaye
Living For The City--Stevie Wonder
Atomic Power--Louvin Brothers
Biko--Peter Gabriel
Talking 'Bout A Revolution--Tracy Chapman
Burnin' & Lootin'--Bob Marley
There Is Power In A Union--Billy Bragg
Born In The U.S.A.--Bruce Springsteen
Bullet The Blue Sky--U2 (live version)
Fight For Your Right (To Party)--Beastie Boys
. . .well, maybe not that last one
Strange Fruit, definitely. Good call.
I'd like to add the Charlie Daniels Band's In America, Bruce Springsteen's Youngstown and Leadbelly's Bourgeois Blues.
I had a list of about 100 songs that Bnet just ate, so let me name a few of my absolute favorites not already named (it was probably karma anyway, so I didn't hog the thread):
Pet Shop Boys -- It's a Sin
Creedence Clearwater Revival -- Who'll Stop the Rain
Title track from "Rent"
Paul Revere and the Raiders -- Indian Reservation (hokey, yes, but IMHO earnest)
Pretenders -- My City Was Gone (despite Rush Limbaugh's bastardization)
Marvin Gaye -- What's Going On
Bruce Springsteen -- The River
Nena -- 99 Luftballons (the happiest "the world is over" song you'll ever hear, LOL)
John Cougar Mellencamp -- Pink Houses
And if one argues that the personal is political (as liberals like myself do, LOL), then you can add songs from Peter Gabriel's "Solsbury Hill" to Garth Brooks' "The Change" to "The Impossible Dream" from Man of La Mancha
Also:
Bob Dylan -- Hurricane
Traditional -- We Shall Overcome
How about:
Sunday, Bloody Sunday-U2
Cult of Personality-Living Colour
Holiday-Green Day
Volunteers of America-Jefferson Airplane
Do You Hear The People Sing?-Les Miserables
Masters of War - Bob Dylan (and maybe about 10 other Dylan songs)
War - Edwin Starr "War, huh, yeah...What is it good for...Absolutely nothing...Say it again, y'all"
Redemption Song - Bob Marley
Your Flag decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Any More - John Prine
Police & Thieves - Junior Murvin
We Shall Overcome - PPM, Pete Seeger, and everybody else on planet Earth
And I should throw in "Okie From Muskogee" by Merle Haggard because at the time it came out it really pegged the moonshine drinking confederate license plate redneck jerks that might run you over hitching through vast swaths of this country. Yep, then as now, that was their politics. That's who they were and they were proud of it. Pair that up with "Ballad of the Green Berets" and you get a pretty fair idea of what today's GOP leaders though was cool back in the day.
Here's a bit from John Prine's song mentioned above:
But your flag decal won't get you
Into Heaven any more.
They're already overcrowded
From your dirty little war.
Now Jesus don't like killin'
No matter what the reason's for,
And your flag decal won't get you
Into Heaven any more.
ummm rage agains the machine and system of a down are very political in there music greenday also
Obama appoints CTO for his administration
Is India ready for 2009 election?
http://india.ezcampaigns.com/
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