It's the commons, our right of birth
And to you who would own everything all around the Earth
Our future is your downfall, when we cut this ball and chain
You who'd sacrifice the public good for your private gain

posted by finite on Oct 3, 2008 - 11 comments

Björk, in Shanghai, on Tibet: Declare Independence! [YouTube] [more inside]
posted by finite on Mar 6, 2008 - 80 comments

The Big-Nosed Bastard from Barking has been very, very busy. In the past month, Billy Bragg has won the Classic Songwriter Award from Q, then collaborated with Beethoven (some of the B-Man's fans mutter darkly), and taken the hand of a small, matronly admirer before kindly giving it back to her, along with an autographed copy of the score. (He's prepared for the fallout: "I'll probably get struck off Morrissey's Christmas card list." ) [more inside]
posted by maudlin on Oct 29, 2007 - 29 comments

Anti-War Songs of the Vietnam Era
Alice's Restaurant [1] Ball of Confusion [2] Billy Don't Be a Hero [3] Blowin' in the Wind [4] Eve of Destruction [5] For What It's Worth [6] Fortunate Son [7] Give Peace a Chance [8] I Ain't Marching Anymore [9] I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixing-To-Die Rag [10] Imagine [11] Machine Gun [12] Masters of War [13] Ohio [14] One Tin Soldier [15] Stoned Love [16] The Unknown Soldier [17] War [18] War Pigs [19] What's Going On [20] Us and Them [21] Volunteers [22] With God On Our Side [23]
posted by Poolio on Aug 8, 2007 - 120 comments

HONK! is a showcase and annual festival for a "new kind of street band": motley, theatrical, activist protest groups working within the marching band tradition. From this central site, link to video and audio from twenty bands currently playing in the "honk" genre, from New York's Rude Mechanical Orchestra to to Atlanta's Seed and Feed Marching Abominables to Portsmouth, NH's Leftist Marching Band. Heavy on the brass and percussion, rousing, raucous, and fun, these bands form part of a worldwide musical phenomenon.
posted by Miko on Jul 30, 2007 - 19 comments

So Much Fire To Roast Human Flesh from Arthur Magazine--an 18-track, multi-artist compilation CD curated by Foster featuring exclusive contributions from some of the more outspoken members of the nation's burgeoning psychedelic folk scene, ... All profits will be distributed to specific counter-military recruitment and pacifist organizations and programs who effectively advise high school students and other Americans at risk of being taken advantage of ... (and you can listen here). Some might remember Arthur vs. Godsmack--their music is heavily featured in recruiting ads.
posted by amberglow on Sep 1, 2006 - 8 comments

The Neon Philharmonic consisted of members of the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, a producer of country & western records named Don Gant (who produced Jimmy Buffett's first hit), and a jazz pianist named Tupper Saussy. Strangely enough, this odd combination produced an unexpected Top 20 hit, Morning Girl. The group was briefly mentioned as an obscure music hipster reference in a devastating indie-rock takedown of current critical darling Sufjan Stevens, but such a throwaway reference to the Neon Philharmonic does not do justice to the bizarre life of its founder, Tupper Saussy.(more inside)
posted by jonp72 on Aug 1, 2006 - 6 comments

Bob Dylan's classic song "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll" is a murder ballad protest tune for the annals, but this week a story in the Guardian sheds new light on the real-life subject and the murderer William Zantzinger. via xymphora.
posted by ism on Feb 26, 2005 - 7 comments

Mosh.
posted by dhartung on Oct 26, 2004 - 83 comments

"It was surprising how thick the smoke had become. It seems like the world has always needed a scapegoat --someone to lead the charge against the Roman Empire. But America wasn't the Roman Empire and someone else would have to step up and volunteer. I really was never any more than what I was -- a folk musician who gazed into the gray mist with tear-blinded eyes and made up songs that floated in a luminous haze. Now it had blown up in my face and was hanging over me." -- from Bob Dylan's new autobiography, Chronicles, with a brief interview, via Newsweek
posted by digaman on Sep 26, 2004 - 14 comments

THE IDIOT SON OF AN ASSHOLE !!! .. catchy, marvelous. spot on.
posted by Peter H on Dec 17, 2003 - 51 comments

Pop Culture vs. War!! (avert eyes) So Madonna pulls her anti-war video at the last minute, "never to be seen again". Have to say, it sounds just as finely-wrought a piece of art as G.Micheal's Shoot the Dog. Meanwhile, Lil' Kim attempts some bridge-building between the cultures with this subtle intervention. In times of peace, we expect pop musicians to shoot their mouths off about anything - that's what we pay them for. But I haven't been impressed by anything from rock'n'pop yet in this war. (Micheal Moore's press conference at the Oscars rocked harder than any of them). Is it straight forward fear of career death (see Dixie Chicks)? Or is it just that nobody can do this (dylan) or this (Starr) anymore?
posted by theplayethic on Apr 2, 2003 - 29 comments

Chris Brown and Kate Fenner, formerly of the Bourbon Tabernacle Choir have a new song/website/campaign for the you-know-what in you-know-where. But for those sick of the war, you can always help them protest globalization. And if nothing else, Kate Fenner is real cutie.
posted by Robot Johnny on Mar 25, 2003 - 4 comments

Pipedown: The campaign for freedom from piped music (aka elevator music or Muzak). A noble cause if ever there was one.
posted by dchase on Apr 26, 2002 - 8 comments