I feel like there are lots of parallels between the eighties and now (recession/inflation, yuppies/inequality, skin-heads/fascists, hot-cold wars etc.) but there used to be protest music! Where is that stuff now? Music that’s intelligent and outraged - like we should be!
I’m out of touch now, so if it exists, educate me! Or have the protest songs been removed from tiktok by the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act (UK specific, but suppression of protest seems to be everywhere)? (I’ve linked to the Levellers - maybe it really was better back in the day?)
Womanarchist by Bad Cop/Bad Cop is pretty excellent
Bella Ciao and Sixteen Tons are perennial favorites.
Both of those are good but old songs, I think OP was wondering where the current protest music is.
Big difference: we’re too tired to protest, and that’s only the ones who are capable of doing it in the first place. Rich bitches have made us stupider and more complacent as a whole, as well, at least where they haven’t divided us and pit us against each other.
Another big difference: we don’t have a whole lot of hope for the future anymore. A lot of that whole protesting thing stems from the hope for things to be better, and with climate change, massive polluting corporations very obviously distracting people with manufactured outrage, the rise of authoritarianism, and several massively public wars, there ain’t a whole lot of hope to go around.
Frankly, I wish there were some people making protest songs. This current crop of people needs a good kick in the ass, myself included. But I don’t have the energy or hope or talent to do it myself.
Excuse me, GenX chiming in. We had that exact same list, with the sort-of-maybe exception of climate change (pollution was really really bad though). Then again , we had the daily doom of nuclear war on our heads.
Tropical fuck storm is pretty goid at ranting against the bullshit and bonus they also sound awesome:
I haven’t heard of these guys - Thanks!
I’ve been stuck on them since I first stumbled on them. I cannot recall exactly how that happened.
Well, not sure about “good” but punk is and always has been about politics.
Personally, I love the folk punk end of things like AJJ’s ‘Normalization Blues’: https://youtu.be/0EDVM73bU-w?si=_mtGGyFhrmeMRlpZ
In a similar vein, Matt Pless’s “where the frayed wind blows” is 5 minutes of angry goodness.
There’s also a lot of protest hip hop but I don’t know the newer stuff particularly well.
This is great! :D
edit: Anyone know about hip-hop? Would be great to know where to start on that
A lot of rap is political/social, for more mainstream stuff you’ve got songs like ‘This Is America’ by Childish Gambino, ‘Reagan’ by Killer Mike, or even ‘Fuck the Police’ by N.W.A.
You’ve got even more leftist groups/rappers like ‘The Coup’, RATM/Public Enemy supergroup ‘Prophets of Rage’, hardcore shit like ‘Immortal Techniques’ or ‘Non Phixon’, ‘Dead Prez’, ‘Nas’, ‘The Fugees’, ‘Tupac’, ‘De La Soul’ just to name a few more.
There’s also more tankie shit but I’m not gonna promote that authoritarian garbage.
It’s almost harder to find non-political rap than it is political rap when you start breaking down the messages of many songs.
Thanks! Childish Gambino - is a great example!
I didn’t know some of these, so I’ll check them out, but they aren’t exactly new - the rest are from the ninties, right?
I tried mixing it up, it’s probably more early 2000-2010s for the majority. I kinda lost interest in a lot of rap after that whole trap phase started.
Killer Mikes a bit too centrist for my liking but Reagan from 2012 is an amazing song and one I’d recommend the most from that list.
Try Immortal Technique.
- Dance with the Devil
- Impeach the President
- The 4th Branch
And many more
Shots fired by Matt is also great. Oh, can’t forget “what you will”.
Some of the classical ones
-
L’internationale, which is still relevant today
-
La banderra rosa
-
Bella Ciao, which despite becoming a pop hit is a struggle song
-
El pueblo unido
-
La butte rouge
-The Red army choir have a ton of great ones
Then on more recent, just look at the punk and rap scene, there is a lot
-
Body Count, Ice T Rage Against the Machine Green Day Tool,more about religion
Billy talent are great for political, fuck the government/ big corporations type songs. Not protest songs so much. But it feels pretty on theme. Their messages are great.
Surprise surprise and viking death march are two of my personal favourites songs by them.I hate to break it to you but Billy Talent formed in 1993! ;)
That album is absolutely killer and I’ve loved BN since I heard Try Honesty many moons ago.
That said … They have been singing about how young people need to fight the system while having one of the most clean, corporate images I can think of for bands in their category.
Watching a 40 year old man dance around an arena in VANs and Atticus hoodies while telling contemporary youth that their generation is a “fucking joke” is peak cringe to me.
Still love the music though. Wish he’d do more heartbreak songs, they’re his forte.
I’m a big fan of Rise Against. Try these tracks out:
- Architects
- Welcome to the Breakdown
- A Gentleman’s Coup
- Megaphone
- Holding Patterns
and Bad Religion:
- American Jesus
- Meeting of the Minds
- The Resist Stance
I personally would add: • The Nowhere Generation • Wolves
Bad Religion was one of my high-school favorites that has stayed a favorite since. I have every one of their albums saved on my phone.
Leslie Fish is still writing music. Plus her old works from 1980-s (eg It’s Sister Jenny’s Turn to Throw the Bomb and Firestorm) are as relevant now as they were 40 years ago.
This might not be everyones cup of tea, but metal and hardcore are full of protest music. Heaven Shall Burn for example is lyricly anti-fascist and environmentalist (live video because that show is fucking legendary).
Holy shit! Thanks - that video is outrageous! These are great
Thrash metal has a lot of politics, if that’s your thing.
I’ll give it a try - any suggestions?
If you are starting out with metal, I would recommend Metallica, or Death Angel (albums such as Evil Divide or The Dream Calls For Blood). They have a more mainstream sound. If you enjoy those, either dm me or reply, I can send you more. Or alternatively I have a community: !thrashmetal@lemmy.world, if you wanna check out some less obvious ones.
I’ll check in.
A lot of German ones these days, hip hop / rock / metal / pop-punk
I have a GCSE in German, what would you suggest?
Hier sind
zweidreivierfunf, die mir sofort einfallen:K.I.Z. - Hurra die Welt geht unter ft. Henning May
Akne Kid Joe - What AfD thinks we do…
These are good. Thanks
You mention the UK, so I’ll just drop a couple of names of folks/bands talking about racism, immigration and toxic male culture.
Bob Vylan
We live here - https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VFqhJyvly1g
Wicked and Bad - https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KRJ-s7jRyAM
Idles
Danny Nedelko - https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QkF_G-RF66M
Lambrini Girls
Lads lads lads - https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IuLK56UrCL0
There’s a lot of good punk still happening.
@frazorth you’ve got going down rabbit holes … I wonder what I else I can do to scare a tory
Listen to Boris Johnson is a fucking cunt?
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uGwCykQwgTU
Or just Fuck The Tories
Should also add Hacktivist. A few of their songs are politically charged, and several calls BoJo a cunt.
Bob Vylan and Idles are great, will check the Lambrini Girls, thanks
Music created in the UK by people who are fucking furious is still alive and well.
Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes
Sleaford Mods
Kid Kapichi
Panic Shack
I know Sleaford Mods. Will check the others too, thanks
Guilty as charged. Good stuff - I’ll look out for these - my new years resolution is to see some live music.
All these bands being UK based, you should have an opportunity to see them.
I don’t know whereabouts in the UK you are, but you could find some new stuff at things like the Futurama festival in Liverpool.
https://www.cultureliverpool.co.uk/events/futurama-festival/
I’ll be seeing IDLES in a few months in Texas
Never fight a man with a perm!
Goddamn White Trash by Ministry is my go-to song for 2024.
Is this the most recent suggestion on here?
