Music for your shift on the barricades
November 29, 2010 11:36 AM Subscribe
Class war music.
Please help me find the best songs about class struggle or resentment, hating the rich/the boss/the landlord, strangling the last king with the guts of the last priest, etc. Strongly political bands or artists are fine, but I'd also like to hear about specific songs by artists who aren't known for their political views.
Genre doesn't matter, nor whether a song conveys a sophisticated political analysis or inchoate rage.
Please help me find the best songs about class struggle or resentment, hating the rich/the boss/the landlord, strangling the last king with the guts of the last priest, etc. Strongly political bands or artists are fine, but I'd also like to hear about specific songs by artists who aren't known for their political views.
Genre doesn't matter, nor whether a song conveys a sophisticated political analysis or inchoate rage.
The revolution wasn't successful, but songs about the Diggers, especially The World Turned Upside Down are pretty great.
posted by ldthomps at 11:41 AM on November 29, 2010
posted by ldthomps at 11:41 AM on November 29, 2010
Billy Bragg is probably your go-to guy on this, in terms of people performing today.
Also, Chumbawumba is an anarchist collective, IIRC, so presumably their songs that aren't "Tub-Thumping" might be in this vein.
And don't forget the Big Red Songbook.
posted by Sidhedevil at 11:45 AM on November 29, 2010 [2 favorites]
Also, Chumbawumba is an anarchist collective, IIRC, so presumably their songs that aren't "Tub-Thumping" might be in this vein.
And don't forget the Big Red Songbook.
posted by Sidhedevil at 11:45 AM on November 29, 2010 [2 favorites]
It's not actually by them, but I suggest Long Summer Day by Two Gallants.
posted by King Bee at 11:46 AM on November 29, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by King Bee at 11:46 AM on November 29, 2010 [1 favorite]
All of Gang Of Four's "Entertainment".
posted by mhoye at 11:48 AM on November 29, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by mhoye at 11:48 AM on November 29, 2010 [1 favorite]
"I Hate the Rich" by the Dils
"I Live off You" by X-Ray Spex
Anything off of English Rebel Songs 1381-1984 by Chumbawamba (yes, that Chumbawamba)
"Sex and Dying in High Society" by X
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 11:48 AM on November 29, 2010
"I Live off You" by X-Ray Spex
Anything off of English Rebel Songs 1381-1984 by Chumbawamba (yes, that Chumbawamba)
"Sex and Dying in High Society" by X
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 11:48 AM on November 29, 2010
Billy Bragg - To Have and Have Not
posted by General Malaise at 11:49 AM on November 29, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by General Malaise at 11:49 AM on November 29, 2010 [1 favorite]
Well Billy Bragg's oevre, obviously. Here's his Internationale.
Cold Chisel do the last night at the Star Hotel (an Australian impromptu karaoke favourite).
And if I ever get tired of linking to Woody or whistling the song on the way to work I'll know it's time to chuck it in.
posted by Fiasco da Gama at 11:50 AM on November 29, 2010
Cold Chisel do the last night at the Star Hotel (an Australian impromptu karaoke favourite).
And if I ever get tired of linking to Woody or whistling the song on the way to work I'll know it's time to chuck it in.
posted by Fiasco da Gama at 11:50 AM on November 29, 2010
As a side note, a whole lot of the musics that have emerged, especially in the U.S., are generated largely because of class warfare - slave songs, early jazz, punk, rap - these all rose from the angst of the underclass (well, one could debate to what degree that applies to early punk - that was more often rich kids rebelling against the rich). These examples, lyrics and subject matter aside, were anti-establishment and rebellious purely in their musical style and aesthetic, which is partially why they are so interesting and their histories and evolution so rich.
Unfortunately, the trend always seems to go that, after the middle and upper class (usually white) folks have made a fuss about some new musical style that offends them, the style is eventually appropriated by them and the result, albeit inadvertently, is a skeuomorph, and you get things like Jazz at Lincoln Center, Blink 182, Ke$ha, et al.
posted by Lutoslawski at 11:52 AM on November 29, 2010
Unfortunately, the trend always seems to go that, after the middle and upper class (usually white) folks have made a fuss about some new musical style that offends them, the style is eventually appropriated by them and the result, albeit inadvertently, is a skeuomorph, and you get things like Jazz at Lincoln Center, Blink 182, Ke$ha, et al.
posted by Lutoslawski at 11:52 AM on November 29, 2010
Seconding Billy Bragg.
Dan Bern sings a lot of old protest songs as well as millions of his own songs (not necessarily protesty).
And here's a Wiki article on protest songs that may interest you.
posted by elsietheeel at 11:52 AM on November 29, 2010
Dan Bern sings a lot of old protest songs as well as millions of his own songs (not necessarily protesty).
And here's a Wiki article on protest songs that may interest you.
posted by elsietheeel at 11:52 AM on November 29, 2010
I like the cover Them did of Paul Simon's Richard Cory
posted by bonobothegreat at 11:53 AM on November 29, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by bonobothegreat at 11:53 AM on November 29, 2010 [1 favorite]
"Which Side Are You On?", Dropkick Murphys. Best served with a viewing of Harlan County, USA immediately following, so you get the full context.
posted by fairytale of los angeles at 11:53 AM on November 29, 2010
posted by fairytale of los angeles at 11:53 AM on November 29, 2010
Willy Mason does a lot of these.
We Can Be Strong
So Long
Hard Hand to Hold
posted by threeants at 12:02 PM on November 29, 2010
We Can Be Strong
So Long
Hard Hand to Hold
posted by threeants at 12:02 PM on November 29, 2010
Paul Weller had a number of these in his Angry Young Man Days:
The Jam, Eton Rifles (lyrics here) and Just Who Is the Five O'Clock Hero? (lyrics here)
The Style Council, Walls Come Tumbling Down (lyrics here) and Internationalists (can only find a live version, sorry - lyrics here). Much of their album Our Favourite Shop is specifically about the hardships facing the working class in Britain under Thatcher's policies.
posted by scody at 12:05 PM on November 29, 2010
The Jam, Eton Rifles (lyrics here) and Just Who Is the Five O'Clock Hero? (lyrics here)
The Style Council, Walls Come Tumbling Down (lyrics here) and Internationalists (can only find a live version, sorry - lyrics here). Much of their album Our Favourite Shop is specifically about the hardships facing the working class in Britain under Thatcher's policies.
posted by scody at 12:05 PM on November 29, 2010
Here's another list you might like, which includes Tom Wait's Hoist That Rag and Bruce Springsteen's How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live.
Also, I really like the Natalie Merchant version of Which Side Are You On.
posted by bearwife at 12:08 PM on November 29, 2010
Also, I really like the Natalie Merchant version of Which Side Are You On.
posted by bearwife at 12:08 PM on November 29, 2010
No-one's said 'Let's Lynch the Landlord' yet?
posted by Infinite Jest at 12:13 PM on November 29, 2010
posted by Infinite Jest at 12:13 PM on November 29, 2010
What It's Like, by Everlast, from "Whitey Ford Sings the Blues." Lyrics here.
posted by amyms at 12:13 PM on November 29, 2010
posted by amyms at 12:13 PM on November 29, 2010
Refused - Worms of the Senses/Faculties of the Skull
posted by saladin at 12:16 PM on November 29, 2010
posted by saladin at 12:16 PM on November 29, 2010
Tom Morello's Nightwatchman project is forcefully political. (But who's surprised?) Especially Union Song.
posted by Stagger Lee at 12:20 PM on November 29, 2010
posted by Stagger Lee at 12:20 PM on November 29, 2010
Another Billy Bragg vote, especially "Which Side Are You On" and his Internationale EP, and a bunch of stuff by the band The Levellers -- whose cassette tape I am just now realizing I lost. :7(
posted by wenestvedt at 12:21 PM on November 29, 2010
posted by wenestvedt at 12:21 PM on November 29, 2010
I've always thought of the Kinks's "David Watts" in this way.
"The Coug?" Really?
posted by rhizome at 12:47 PM on November 29, 2010
"The Coug?" Really?
posted by rhizome at 12:47 PM on November 29, 2010
Lots of mentions of Dropkick Murphys here, but no love for their labor anthem "10 Years of Service"? Also, I fully expect to be alone in suggesting Donna Summer's "She Works Hard for the Money." It's very much about class struggle.
posted by S'Tella Fabula at 12:50 PM on November 29, 2010
posted by S'Tella Fabula at 12:50 PM on November 29, 2010
Oh: They Might Be Giants - Alienation's For the Rich
posted by General Malaise at 12:55 PM on November 29, 2010
posted by General Malaise at 12:55 PM on November 29, 2010
No one's mentioned The Clash yet?
From the first album there's "White Riot"-- Joe Strummer saw afro-caribbeans fighting with cops at the Notting Hill Carnival and wrote a song wishing that disaffected white people would fight back, too.
Also from the first album is "Career Opportunities" which is about how jobs available to people of little means didn't provide a living and served to keep the recipients complacent.
London Calling has "Guns of Brixton," which is about standing up to official authority. It also has "The Clampdown" which is about average people standing up to fascism.
Combat Rock starts out with "Know Your Rights." which goes on to tell the listener that people of little means essentially have no rights ("You have the right not to be killed; murder is a crime, unless it was done by a policeman." "You have the right to free speech-- as long as you ain't dumb enough to actually try it"
I'm sure there are other songs that fit the bill. These are just off the top of my head.
posted by Mayor Curley at 12:59 PM on November 29, 2010 [2 favorites]
From the first album there's "White Riot"-- Joe Strummer saw afro-caribbeans fighting with cops at the Notting Hill Carnival and wrote a song wishing that disaffected white people would fight back, too.
Also from the first album is "Career Opportunities" which is about how jobs available to people of little means didn't provide a living and served to keep the recipients complacent.
London Calling has "Guns of Brixton," which is about standing up to official authority. It also has "The Clampdown" which is about average people standing up to fascism.
Combat Rock starts out with "Know Your Rights." which goes on to tell the listener that people of little means essentially have no rights ("You have the right not to be killed; murder is a crime, unless it was done by a policeman." "You have the right to free speech-- as long as you ain't dumb enough to actually try it"
I'm sure there are other songs that fit the bill. These are just off the top of my head.
posted by Mayor Curley at 12:59 PM on November 29, 2010 [2 favorites]
And one more (I promise): Phil Ochs - Ringing (or Rhythms) of Revolution. There's probably a bunch of Phil Ochs songs that fit the bill as well.
posted by General Malaise at 1:02 PM on November 29, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by General Malaise at 1:02 PM on November 29, 2010 [1 favorite]
Oddly, Eat the Rich by Aerosmith as well.
posted by Dr.Enormous at 1:12 PM on November 29, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by Dr.Enormous at 1:12 PM on November 29, 2010 [1 favorite]
Here are a few Brazilian examples:
Construção and Cálice by Chico Buarque.
Construção is a song about a construction worker who jumps off the scaffolding while working on a building that he would most likely never be able to enter once it was finished. It decries the weekenders in cars below who only care about the traffic jam that his body creates. The implication is that both the building being built, and life under the military dictatorship are both more fragile than they appear, if they are constructed on the foundations of extreme class disparities.
Cálice rails against the military dictatorship and the social inequality that it reinforces with lines like "Once the pig gets too fat, it can no longer walk, once the knife has been used one too many times, it can no longer cut..." It is a pseudo-religious song that got past government censors by playing on the double meaning of the word "chalice" (cálice) and the command "shut up!" (cale-se!). It's chorus can be heard as either the bible verse "Father, take this chalice from me..." or "Father, take this gag order from me..."
In this live performance of the song (which is extracted from a documentary, so some of the images are from other counter-cultural scenes), Buarque and Gilberto Gil know that they'll be shut down by the military if they sing the song's lyrics. So instead, they mumble gibberish, only singing the word "cálice." Buarque famously moved from microphone to microphone as they were shut off one by one, after he said "greek rice!" in the middle of the song, as a coded reference to the way that censored articles in newspapers at the time were replaced with recipes.
Banditismo como uma questão de classe and A Cidade by Chico Science e a Nação Zumbi.
Banditismo como uma questão de classe translates as "Banditry as a question of social class". It asks the question of whether bandits and thieves from the favela slums are better explained as 'bad seeds' with some kind of evil within, or that they are the products of untenable conditions of poverty.
The refrain to A Cidade repeats "The city doesn't stop, the city just keeps growing/The top rises and the bottom sinks," referring both to the construction of highrise apartment buildings and the slum huts sinking into the mangrove swamps of Recife, and to the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer.
Vou saquear a sua feira by Cordel do Fogo Encantado
This song is translated as "I'm going to ransack your market." It is about hunger riots in grocery stores in Northeast Brazil that made headlines around the year 2000. The verses are from the point-of-view of someone in the middle of one of these riots, and the second section takes a step back and places the blame on unequal land distribution practices back when Brazil was colonized.
posted by umbú at 1:14 PM on November 29, 2010
Construção and Cálice by Chico Buarque.
Construção is a song about a construction worker who jumps off the scaffolding while working on a building that he would most likely never be able to enter once it was finished. It decries the weekenders in cars below who only care about the traffic jam that his body creates. The implication is that both the building being built, and life under the military dictatorship are both more fragile than they appear, if they are constructed on the foundations of extreme class disparities.
Cálice rails against the military dictatorship and the social inequality that it reinforces with lines like "Once the pig gets too fat, it can no longer walk, once the knife has been used one too many times, it can no longer cut..." It is a pseudo-religious song that got past government censors by playing on the double meaning of the word "chalice" (cálice) and the command "shut up!" (cale-se!). It's chorus can be heard as either the bible verse "Father, take this chalice from me..." or "Father, take this gag order from me..."
In this live performance of the song (which is extracted from a documentary, so some of the images are from other counter-cultural scenes), Buarque and Gilberto Gil know that they'll be shut down by the military if they sing the song's lyrics. So instead, they mumble gibberish, only singing the word "cálice." Buarque famously moved from microphone to microphone as they were shut off one by one, after he said "greek rice!" in the middle of the song, as a coded reference to the way that censored articles in newspapers at the time were replaced with recipes.
Banditismo como uma questão de classe and A Cidade by Chico Science e a Nação Zumbi.
Banditismo como uma questão de classe translates as "Banditry as a question of social class". It asks the question of whether bandits and thieves from the favela slums are better explained as 'bad seeds' with some kind of evil within, or that they are the products of untenable conditions of poverty.
The refrain to A Cidade repeats "The city doesn't stop, the city just keeps growing/The top rises and the bottom sinks," referring both to the construction of highrise apartment buildings and the slum huts sinking into the mangrove swamps of Recife, and to the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer.
Vou saquear a sua feira by Cordel do Fogo Encantado
This song is translated as "I'm going to ransack your market." It is about hunger riots in grocery stores in Northeast Brazil that made headlines around the year 2000. The verses are from the point-of-view of someone in the middle of one of these riots, and the second section takes a step back and places the blame on unequal land distribution practices back when Brazil was colonized.
posted by umbú at 1:14 PM on November 29, 2010
Recipe for Hate - Bad Religion
Perfect Government - NOFX
The Customer's Always Right - The Pist
Big City - Operation Ivy (and a bunch of other song on that album)
posted by salvia at 1:22 PM on November 29, 2010
Perfect Government - NOFX
The Customer's Always Right - The Pist
Big City - Operation Ivy (and a bunch of other song on that album)
posted by salvia at 1:22 PM on November 29, 2010
Dick Gaughan - Worker's Song, Revolution (tho' preferred his acoustic version rather than the one linked) and about two thirds of the rest of his stuff.
Easterhouse - Out on Your Own "Whether profit or a loss, I'm just working for the boss; it's only foolishness to speak your master's words..."
Linton Kwesi Johnson - What About the Working Class?
posted by Abiezer at 1:23 PM on November 29, 2010
Easterhouse - Out on Your Own "Whether profit or a loss, I'm just working for the boss; it's only foolishness to speak your master's words..."
Linton Kwesi Johnson - What About the Working Class?
posted by Abiezer at 1:23 PM on November 29, 2010
Response by poster: Thank you everyone — these are all great and there is a ton of material here I wasn't familiar with, so I really appreciate all of the answers.
posted by enn at 1:47 PM on November 29, 2010
posted by enn at 1:47 PM on November 29, 2010
Bill Morrissey's Grizzly Bear is a very funny song about a regular guy trying to pick up a rich chick in a bar.
posted by CunningLinguist at 2:37 PM on November 29, 2010
posted by CunningLinguist at 2:37 PM on November 29, 2010
I'm going to second The Clash: London Calling. It took me years to realize that this is a pun on "caul". People who are born "with the caul" will not drown. So the refrain is a phonetic pun on being immune to drowning since they already "live by the river".
Elvis Costello: "Oliver's Army" tremendous puns on the poor using the military as a source of employment.
and from Green shirt: "Somewhere in the Quisling clinic there's a short term typist taking seconds over minutes. She's picking out names, I hope none of them are mine." There's a dizzying amount of class references packed into these two sentences. Go Declan.
posted by effluvia at 3:08 PM on November 29, 2010
Elvis Costello: "Oliver's Army" tremendous puns on the poor using the military as a source of employment.
and from Green shirt: "Somewhere in the Quisling clinic there's a short term typist taking seconds over minutes. She's picking out names, I hope none of them are mine." There's a dizzying amount of class references packed into these two sentences. Go Declan.
posted by effluvia at 3:08 PM on November 29, 2010
The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll by Bob Dylan. He's probably got a few others that fit the bill, Hurricane and All Along the Watchtower come to mind.
posted by doctor_negative at 3:25 PM on November 29, 2010
posted by doctor_negative at 3:25 PM on November 29, 2010
"Harry Bridges," Rancid.
"Harvest Home," Big Country.
"List of Demands," Saul Williams.
"Blue Sky Mine," Midnight Oil.
"Learning to Row," the Raphaels.
I've got other stuff on my "more songs about mining and labor relations" playlist, but those are all pretty good.
posted by fairytale of los angeles at 3:43 PM on November 29, 2010
"Harvest Home," Big Country.
"List of Demands," Saul Williams.
"Blue Sky Mine," Midnight Oil.
"Learning to Row," the Raphaels.
I've got other stuff on my "more songs about mining and labor relations" playlist, but those are all pretty good.
posted by fairytale of los angeles at 3:43 PM on November 29, 2010
Dead Kennedys: Forest Fire and Trust Your Mechanic (and many others).
posted by coolguymichael at 3:57 PM on November 29, 2010
posted by coolguymichael at 3:57 PM on November 29, 2010
Pretty much anything by Black 47, except 'Iraq', which is, well, about Iraq.
posted by elendil71 at 4:08 PM on November 29, 2010
posted by elendil71 at 4:08 PM on November 29, 2010
Million Dead were pretty political. Great lyrics, two samples below.
* Bread and Circuses [lyrics]
* Charlie and the Propaganda Myth Machine [lyrics]
More traditionally, Christy Moore has tons of political songs, such as the Ballad of James Larkin.
posted by knapah at 5:08 PM on November 29, 2010
* Bread and Circuses [lyrics]
* Charlie and the Propaganda Myth Machine [lyrics]
More traditionally, Christy Moore has tons of political songs, such as the Ballad of James Larkin.
posted by knapah at 5:08 PM on November 29, 2010
"Rio de San Atlanta, Manitoba," "…And We Though That Nation-States Were a Bad Idea" by Propagandhi
"Crime Pays, Ask Your Landlord" by The Devil is Electric
"Begging for Tips" by Dear Landlord
"The Growing Wealth Gap" by Behind Enemy Lines
"Stress Builds Character" by Dystopia
"…And Now Back to Our Programming" by Aus-Rotten
"Do They Owe Us a Living?" by Crass
"Go Bankrupt And Die," "Down On My Knees" by The Crucifucks
"Unemployment" by DIRT
"Confessions of a Futon-Revolutionist," by the Weakerthans
I also like the Weakerthans cover of the previously-mentioned Phil Ochs' "Ringing of Revolution," and that Chumbawamba album English Rebel Songs is great.
posted by anthropophagous at 6:54 PM on November 29, 2010 [1 favorite]
"Crime Pays, Ask Your Landlord" by The Devil is Electric
"Begging for Tips" by Dear Landlord
"The Growing Wealth Gap" by Behind Enemy Lines
"Stress Builds Character" by Dystopia
"…And Now Back to Our Programming" by Aus-Rotten
"Do They Owe Us a Living?" by Crass
"Go Bankrupt And Die," "Down On My Knees" by The Crucifucks
"Unemployment" by DIRT
"Confessions of a Futon-Revolutionist," by the Weakerthans
I also like the Weakerthans cover of the previously-mentioned Phil Ochs' "Ringing of Revolution," and that Chumbawamba album English Rebel Songs is great.
posted by anthropophagous at 6:54 PM on November 29, 2010 [1 favorite]
The Jazz Butcher song "Sixteen Years" (lyrics and MP3 clip here) is about the rampant privatisation during the Thatcher years in Britain.
posted by Lexica at 7:30 PM on November 29, 2010
posted by Lexica at 7:30 PM on November 29, 2010
Jacques Brel's Jaurès. Oddly enough (a French friend pointed out to me), this song about class oppression never gets included on anthologies of Brel's work.
Les bourgeois does, though. Of course, in that video he's singing to an audience of 'em--that's the power of capitalism for you. Here's a rather good English version by Tom Robinson.
posted by lapsangsouchong at 7:51 PM on November 29, 2010
Les bourgeois does, though. Of course, in that video he's singing to an audience of 'em--that's the power of capitalism for you. Here's a rather good English version by Tom Robinson.
posted by lapsangsouchong at 7:51 PM on November 29, 2010
Nthing Chumbawamba (particularly English Rebel Songs 1381-1984), Billy Bragg, and the Clash.
Also, the immortal David Allan Coe and Take This Job and Shove It, which you may know better in the Johnny Paycheck version.
posted by immlass at 7:53 PM on November 29, 2010 [1 favorite]
Also, the immortal David Allan Coe and Take This Job and Shove It, which you may know better in the Johnny Paycheck version.
posted by immlass at 7:53 PM on November 29, 2010 [1 favorite]
Cheeseball corporate rock, but the lyrics are pure classwar - Uprising, by muse. and of course rage against the machine's early oervre....
posted by lalochezia at 8:05 PM on November 29, 2010
posted by lalochezia at 8:05 PM on November 29, 2010
Michael Franti and Spearhead - Yell Fire!
posted by Hargrimm at 8:39 PM on November 29, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by Hargrimm at 8:39 PM on November 29, 2010 [1 favorite]
Stevie - Living For The City
The Men They Couldn't Hang - Ghosts of Cable Street (anti-fascist barricades in that one), and Ironmasters too (about the Rebecca Riots).
Half Man Half Biscuit - ITMA, as usual a bit tongue in cheek.
Good shout from scody for Eton Rifles too; Paul Weller kept at it in his later projects, e.g. With Everything to Lose.
posted by Abiezer at 10:19 PM on November 29, 2010
The Men They Couldn't Hang - Ghosts of Cable Street (anti-fascist barricades in that one), and Ironmasters too (about the Rebecca Riots).
Half Man Half Biscuit - ITMA, as usual a bit tongue in cheek.
Good shout from scody for Eton Rifles too; Paul Weller kept at it in his later projects, e.g. With Everything to Lose.
posted by Abiezer at 10:19 PM on November 29, 2010
Uncle Tupelo - Coalminers. Satan Your Kingdom Must Come Down is also a real barnburner, and if you take it metaphorically it's right on point.
And even further in the alt-country direction, there's the Cowboy Junkies' version of Mining for Gold, although it's more of a poignant lament than a marching anthem.
posted by Cimrmanova at 1:48 AM on November 30, 2010
And even further in the alt-country direction, there's the Cowboy Junkies' version of Mining for Gold, although it's more of a poignant lament than a marching anthem.
posted by Cimrmanova at 1:48 AM on November 30, 2010
Would Grandmaster Flash's "The Message" count?
posted by chronic sublime at 2:12 AM on November 30, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by chronic sublime at 2:12 AM on November 30, 2010 [1 favorite]
Ani DiFranco:
Crime for Crime
Coming Up (does spoken word count?)
Letter to a John
Blood in the Boardroom
Tis of Thee
Trickle Down
To the Teeth
Subdivision
and possibly
The Million You Never Made
Napoleon
posted by kristi at 9:24 AM on November 30, 2010
Crime for Crime
Coming Up (does spoken word count?)
Letter to a John
Blood in the Boardroom
Tis of Thee
Trickle Down
To the Teeth
Subdivision
and possibly
The Million You Never Made
Napoleon
posted by kristi at 9:24 AM on November 30, 2010
Quite a few Springsteen songs fall in this category; the number may vary depending on how closely you parse some of the more abstract lyrics.
American Skin (41 Shots) - based on the Amadou Diallo case. The Patrolmen's Benevolent Association of NYC called for a boycott of Springsteen as a result.
Born in the U.S.A. - widely misinterpreted as an optimistic, patriotic song by Ronald Reagan and other conservatives who clearly didn't listen to the lyrics. The whole album is pretty downbeat; see also Downbound Train and My Hometown.
Factory
Most of the songs on Nebraska; the title cut is from the first-person perspective of Charles Starkweather.
Part Man, Part Monkey - references the Scopes Trial.
The Ghost of Tom Joad - pretty self-explanatory from the title.
There are probably some others that I'm not thinking of or that I'm not as familiar with. He's done a whole album of Pete Seeger covers, and has participated in social and political activism of different sorts for many years.
posted by Halloween Jack at 1:29 PM on November 30, 2010
American Skin (41 Shots) - based on the Amadou Diallo case. The Patrolmen's Benevolent Association of NYC called for a boycott of Springsteen as a result.
Born in the U.S.A. - widely misinterpreted as an optimistic, patriotic song by Ronald Reagan and other conservatives who clearly didn't listen to the lyrics. The whole album is pretty downbeat; see also Downbound Train and My Hometown.
Factory
Most of the songs on Nebraska; the title cut is from the first-person perspective of Charles Starkweather.
Part Man, Part Monkey - references the Scopes Trial.
The Ghost of Tom Joad - pretty self-explanatory from the title.
There are probably some others that I'm not thinking of or that I'm not as familiar with. He's done a whole album of Pete Seeger covers, and has participated in social and political activism of different sorts for many years.
posted by Halloween Jack at 1:29 PM on November 30, 2010
The Kinks, "Father Christmas"
Father Christmas, give us some moneyThe Housemartins, "The People Who Grinned Themselves to Death"
Don't mess around with your silly toys
We'll beat you up if you don't hand it over
We want your bread so don't make us annoyed
Give all your toys to the little rich boys
The people who grinned themselves to deathThe Housemartins, "Get Up Off Our Knees"
Smiled so much they failed to take a breath
And even when their kids were starving
They all thought the queen was charming
Famines will be famines, banquets will be banquetsposted by kirkaracha at 2:33 PM on December 1, 2010
Some spend winter in a palace, some spend it in blankets
Don’t wag your fingers at them and turn to walk away
Don’t shoot someone tomorrow that you can shoot today
The Jam, "Down in the Tube Station at Midnight"
"Hey boy" they shout -- "have you got any money?"posted by kirkaracha at 2:49 PM on December 1, 2010
And I said - "I've a little money and a take away curry,
I'm on my way home to my wife.
She'll be lining up the cutlery,
You know she's expecting me
Polishing the glasses and pulling out the cork"
And I'm down in the tube station at midnight
I first felt a fist, and then a kick
I could now smell their breath
They smelt of pubs and Wormwood Scrubs
And too many right wing meetings
-Dropkick Murphys - Ten Years of Service
-Black 47 - James Connoly
posted by Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey at 7:45 PM on December 6, 2010
-Black 47 - James Connoly
posted by Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey at 7:45 PM on December 6, 2010
Rolling Stones - Street Fighting Man
John Mellencamp - Authority Song
Living Color - Open Letter To A Landlord
posted by Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey at 8:23 PM on December 6, 2010
John Mellencamp - Authority Song
Living Color - Open Letter To A Landlord
posted by Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey at 8:23 PM on December 6, 2010
« Older I need to leave my job - What now? | Searching for a specific Tom Waits image for a... Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 11:39 AM on November 29, 2010 [5 favorites]