Protest Music Recommendations
August 21, 2016 6:34 PM Subscribe
I'm not sure how I ended up with a copy of Ear to the Ground, but I find myself listening to it quite frequently these days. Can you recommend similar political protest-y albums or histories?
Every week union organizers assemble at the office tower across the street from my apartment and make some jubilant noise for a few hours. I usually end up humming It Isn't Nice by Malvina Reynolds for the rest of the day, which inevitably leads to listening to the whole of Ear to the Ground. I want to know more of this civil-rights era political folk music! Help me vary up my playlist.
At the same time—as the result of a MetaFilter post—I've been listening to the Jerry Springer Podcast. They sometimes get into the history of this sort of folk/roots music, which is fantastically engrossing for me, so if you've got recommendations of books, other podcasts, articles, &c that talk specifically about this kind of music and what it meant (and maybe what it even still means and who is continuing to make it!) throw those in too!
Every week union organizers assemble at the office tower across the street from my apartment and make some jubilant noise for a few hours. I usually end up humming It Isn't Nice by Malvina Reynolds for the rest of the day, which inevitably leads to listening to the whole of Ear to the Ground. I want to know more of this civil-rights era political folk music! Help me vary up my playlist.
At the same time—as the result of a MetaFilter post—I've been listening to the Jerry Springer Podcast. They sometimes get into the history of this sort of folk/roots music, which is fantastically engrossing for me, so if you've got recommendations of books, other podcasts, articles, &c that talk specifically about this kind of music and what it meant (and maybe what it even still means and who is continuing to make it!) throw those in too!
If you want to get an international picture of one particular kind of political song, google the name of pretty much any European country and "anti-fascist music."
posted by goatdog at 4:46 AM on August 22, 2016
posted by goatdog at 4:46 AM on August 22, 2016
How about Rebel Voices?
If you get the chance to see it, I'd highly recommend Will Kaufman's 'Woodie Guthrie and Hard Times' show, or of course you could listen to Guthrie's original recordings. (In a similar vein, Pete Seeger wrote a lot of protest / political songs.)
I'm a fan of English folk music, which also has a political song tradition. I've enjoyed the Chumbawamba album English Rebel Songs.
posted by yesbut at 5:08 AM on August 22, 2016 [1 favorite]
If you get the chance to see it, I'd highly recommend Will Kaufman's 'Woodie Guthrie and Hard Times' show, or of course you could listen to Guthrie's original recordings. (In a similar vein, Pete Seeger wrote a lot of protest / political songs.)
I'm a fan of English folk music, which also has a political song tradition. I've enjoyed the Chumbawamba album English Rebel Songs.
posted by yesbut at 5:08 AM on August 22, 2016 [1 favorite]
Definitely seconding Phil Ochs. There was a documentary about him, There But For Fortune, that was broadcast on PBS's American Masters series (conveniently here.) There's also a really great biography by Michael Schumacher.
posted by General Malaise at 5:53 AM on August 22, 2016
posted by General Malaise at 5:53 AM on August 22, 2016
I was shocked at my friend's shock when a friend of mine was recently shocked to discover that basically all of Bruce Springsteen's oeuvre consists of protest songs.
posted by cmoj at 10:16 AM on August 22, 2016
posted by cmoj at 10:16 AM on August 22, 2016
Whenever I think of protest albums, Tracy Chapman's Crossroads come to mind. Great album, released in the run-up to Nelson Mandela's release from prison.
posted by New England Cultist at 1:02 PM on August 22, 2016
posted by New England Cultist at 1:02 PM on August 22, 2016
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posted by jeffamaphone at 8:47 PM on August 21, 2016 [1 favorite]