Ecology and climate songs
October 16, 2022 4:24 PM Subscribe
Although my own favorite is Procession by Nightwish, there are many list articles chronicling ecology and climate songs, with some examples by LouderThanWar, Eva Amsen (Forbes), Ijeoma Nwatu (Nature Conservancy), Sarah Gibbens (National Geographic), Joe McCarthy (Global citizen), Jayson Greene (Pitchfork), and Alexis Petridis (Guardian).
Above, I've suppressed articles with mostly duplicates, or little really distinctive, but accepting bias towards recent works, some songs that appear repeatedly include:
Feels Like Summer by Childish Gambino (previously)
All the good girls go to hell by Billie Eilish
4 Degrees by ANOHNI
Before the Fever and New Gods by Grimes
Despite Repeated Warnings by Paul McCartney
Shut It Down and After The Gold Rush by Neil Young (see this cover too)
Fall On Me by R.E.M.
Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) by Marvin Gaye
Big Yellow Taxi by Joni Mitchell
Above, I've suppressed articles with mostly duplicates, or little really distinctive, but accepting bias towards recent works, some songs that appear repeatedly include:
Feels Like Summer by Childish Gambino (previously)
All the good girls go to hell by Billie Eilish
4 Degrees by ANOHNI
Before the Fever and New Gods by Grimes
Despite Repeated Warnings by Paul McCartney
Shut It Down and After The Gold Rush by Neil Young (see this cover too)
Fall On Me by R.E.M.
Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) by Marvin Gaye
Big Yellow Taxi by Joni Mitchell
These are great. I find myself still listening to a ton of Midnight Oil. Their newest album rips, especially 'At the Time of Writing'
And who can beat those dance moves?
posted by koalaman at 4:43 PM on October 16, 2022 [3 favorites]
And who can beat those dance moves?
posted by koalaman at 4:43 PM on October 16, 2022 [3 favorites]
Well, this dates me, but the ones that stick with me are the ones I heard as a small child.
Pollution (Tom Lehrer 1960)
What have they done to the rain (Malvina Reynolds 1962, Joan Baez version)
Coming of the roads (Billy Edd Wheeler 1965 / Peter, Paul, & Mary version)
Whose garden was this (Tom Paxton 1970 / John Denver version)
And of course, it just wouldn't be right to try to avoid the excess of Michael Jackson's Earth Song (1995).
posted by brambleboy at 5:12 PM on October 16, 2022 [1 favorite]
Pollution (Tom Lehrer 1960)
What have they done to the rain (Malvina Reynolds 1962, Joan Baez version)
Coming of the roads (Billy Edd Wheeler 1965 / Peter, Paul, & Mary version)
Whose garden was this (Tom Paxton 1970 / John Denver version)
And of course, it just wouldn't be right to try to avoid the excess of Michael Jackson's Earth Song (1995).
posted by brambleboy at 5:12 PM on October 16, 2022 [1 favorite]
Pretty much the entirety of Rook by Shearwater. (A lot of their output, period.)
posted by aesop at 5:21 PM on October 16, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by aesop at 5:21 PM on October 16, 2022 [3 favorites]
The entire NORCO soundtrack, due to the game being about life among the doomsday machines
posted by eustatic at 5:22 PM on October 16, 2022
posted by eustatic at 5:22 PM on October 16, 2022
The Truth Comes Out by Corb Lund - a country song about climate change.
"The weather's been funny thirty years or so
The winters got warm, and not as much snow
Hear the big cats comin' cuz there's nowhere left to go"
posted by workerant at 5:22 PM on October 16, 2022 [1 favorite]
"The weather's been funny thirty years or so
The winters got warm, and not as much snow
Hear the big cats comin' cuz there's nowhere left to go"
posted by workerant at 5:22 PM on October 16, 2022 [1 favorite]
Prolific Warrior remix of Tribe Called Red - Black Snakes
posted by eustatic at 5:25 PM on October 16, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by eustatic at 5:25 PM on October 16, 2022 [1 favorite]
The Seed by Aurora is epic. Aurora's music is often nature connected ala Running With The Wolves but not sure many discuss degradation.
I forgot Greenpeace's metal list but they forgot Revelation (Mother Earth) by Ozzy Osbourne.
posted by jeffburdges at 5:35 PM on October 16, 2022 [1 favorite]
I forgot Greenpeace's metal list but they forgot Revelation (Mother Earth) by Ozzy Osbourne.
posted by jeffburdges at 5:35 PM on October 16, 2022 [1 favorite]
Great post thanks jefbrudges
Jethro Tull - Heavy Horses
..
And one day when the oil barons have all dripped dry
And the nights are seen to draw colder
They'll beg for your strength, your gentle power
Your noble grace and your bearing
..
Mr Tull was/is prescient, need to let his work soak in, there's wisdom, cultural memory .. and useful harnessable anger there.
posted by unearthed at 5:42 PM on October 16, 2022 [2 favorites]
Jethro Tull - Heavy Horses
..
And one day when the oil barons have all dripped dry
And the nights are seen to draw colder
They'll beg for your strength, your gentle power
Your noble grace and your bearing
..
Mr Tull was/is prescient, need to let his work soak in, there's wisdom, cultural memory .. and useful harnessable anger there.
posted by unearthed at 5:42 PM on October 16, 2022 [2 favorites]
US centric, but Fuck Katrina by 5th Ward Weebie was listed in the IPCC working group II report
posted by eustatic at 5:55 PM on October 16, 2022
posted by eustatic at 5:55 PM on October 16, 2022
Surprised I'm the first person to add "Gentle Arms of Eden" (sometimes called the Atheist's Hymn).
posted by seasparrow at 7:15 PM on October 16, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by seasparrow at 7:15 PM on October 16, 2022 [2 favorites]
Pollution.
All around.
Sometimes up,
Sometimes down.
Pollution.
Are you coming
To MY TOWN?
We're on different buses, Pollution.
...but we're both using petrol.
posted by pompomtom at 7:23 PM on October 16, 2022 [1 favorite]
All around.
Sometimes up,
Sometimes down.
Pollution.
Are you coming
To MY TOWN?
We're on different buses, Pollution.
...but we're both using petrol.
posted by pompomtom at 7:23 PM on October 16, 2022 [1 favorite]
The dripping tap won’t be turned off by the suits in charge of the world and our futures hanging on by a thread with our heads in the sand.
The dripping tap won’t be turned off by the gods up above us.
Big sky country.
That we never hear from in these times of our dying needs.
KGLW - The Dripping Tap
posted by Philipschall at 7:46 PM on October 16, 2022
The dripping tap won’t be turned off by the gods up above us.
Big sky country.
That we never hear from in these times of our dying needs.
KGLW - The Dripping Tap
posted by Philipschall at 7:46 PM on October 16, 2022
Johnny Cash, Don't Go Near The Water, the water isn't water anymore
posted by ivan ivanych samovar at 8:38 PM on October 16, 2022
posted by ivan ivanych samovar at 8:38 PM on October 16, 2022
Thou - view of a burning city
Fiery spires raised to pierce the veil of hermetic, nourishing night. Concrete standards to proclaim the tyranny of industry's might. The heralds that announce the imminence of cancerous disease, unending plague.
posted by eustatic at 8:45 PM on October 16, 2022
Fiery spires raised to pierce the veil of hermetic, nourishing night. Concrete standards to proclaim the tyranny of industry's might. The heralds that announce the imminence of cancerous disease, unending plague.
posted by eustatic at 8:45 PM on October 16, 2022
vermillion lies - global warming
"we'll build a freezer for the polar bears!"
posted by Clowder of bats at 8:47 PM on October 16, 2022
"we'll build a freezer for the polar bears!"
posted by Clowder of bats at 8:47 PM on October 16, 2022
Oh eustatic, don't put a link up! Now everyone will notice the line I missed...
posted by pompomtom at 8:58 PM on October 16, 2022
posted by pompomtom at 8:58 PM on October 16, 2022
Ladytron - 90 Degrees
Ninety degrees in the shade
The shade that stretches forever
Over black everglades, crystallized
And circled with flames of the summer
I don't know where you've been
Out on the sand with Medusa
And not busy with fighting
Gravity, the seducer
Go now and look out your window
Go now and look out your window
The night belongs to you
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 9:14 PM on October 16, 2022
Ninety degrees in the shade
The shade that stretches forever
Over black everglades, crystallized
And circled with flames of the summer
I don't know where you've been
Out on the sand with Medusa
And not busy with fighting
Gravity, the seducer
Go now and look out your window
Go now and look out your window
The night belongs to you
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 9:14 PM on October 16, 2022
Muse - The 2nd Law: Isolated System and The 2nd Law: Unsustainable
The fundamental laws of thermodynamics will
Place fixed limits on technological innovation
And human advancement
In an isolated system, the entropy
Can only increase
A species set on endless growth is un-
(Unsustainable)
posted by inflatablekiwi at 9:23 PM on October 16, 2022 [1 favorite]
The fundamental laws of thermodynamics will
Place fixed limits on technological innovation
And human advancement
In an isolated system, the entropy
Can only increase
A species set on endless growth is un-
(Unsustainable)
posted by inflatablekiwi at 9:23 PM on October 16, 2022 [1 favorite]
Heifer whines could be human cries
Closer comes the screaming knife
This beautiful creature must die
This beautiful creature must die
A death for no reason
And death for no reason is MURDER
And the flesh you so fancifully fry
Is not succulent, tasty or kind
It's death for no reason
And death for no reason is MURDER
Meat is murder is the title track of the album of the same name released by The Smiths in 1985.
posted by rog at 9:39 PM on October 16, 2022
Closer comes the screaming knife
This beautiful creature must die
This beautiful creature must die
A death for no reason
And death for no reason is MURDER
And the flesh you so fancifully fry
Is not succulent, tasty or kind
It's death for no reason
And death for no reason is MURDER
Meat is murder is the title track of the album of the same name released by The Smiths in 1985.
posted by rog at 9:39 PM on October 16, 2022
Eppure il vento soffia ancora
by Pierangelo Bertoli, but i like the Ligabue versione
posted by thegirlwiththehat at 4:35 AM on October 17, 2022
by Pierangelo Bertoli, but i like the Ligabue versione
posted by thegirlwiththehat at 4:35 AM on October 17, 2022
Wintersleep - Dead Letter And The Infinite Yes
I found a letter that readQuiet Hollers - Mont Blanc
"Our existence has serious side effects."
Turned on, turned on the television
And it's telling me the world is collapsing
I know I planted those seeds down too deepposted by MrVisible at 6:49 AM on October 17, 2022 [1 favorite]
They'll die and never see the sun
My fault for that one
I was a city boy before
No excuses anymore
I'll try to learn and to keep us fed
Shed a tear for the books I should have read
Uncle Lucius - Keep the Wolves Away about the narrators' father being injured in an oil spill.
James McMurtry - Levelland this one has a bit about the history of dryland farming - dryland wheat prior to modern systems, then irrigation.
In the '90s climate change was a bit more abstract:
The Levellers- This Garden
INXS - Salvation Jane
mother nature - we're trying to kill you - we're such greedy fools
INXS - Johnson's Aeroplane
about farming in general.
John Mellencamp - Rain on the Scarecrow
about farming income specifically
The Clash - London Calling
a bit farther back it was debated if the world was getting cooler heading towards an ice age. London Calling references that.
posted by The_Vegetables at 9:24 AM on October 17, 2022 [1 favorite]
James McMurtry - Levelland this one has a bit about the history of dryland farming - dryland wheat prior to modern systems, then irrigation.
In the '90s climate change was a bit more abstract:
The Levellers- This Garden
INXS - Salvation Jane
mother nature - we're trying to kill you - we're such greedy fools
INXS - Johnson's Aeroplane
about farming in general.
John Mellencamp - Rain on the Scarecrow
about farming income specifically
The Clash - London Calling
a bit farther back it was debated if the world was getting cooler heading towards an ice age. London Calling references that.
posted by The_Vegetables at 9:24 AM on October 17, 2022 [1 favorite]
Another World, Fantastic Fires, and Our Saving Grace from the latest album by Conduit of Humanity
Gaya's Eyes by Todd Rundgren
posted by bink at 9:47 AM on October 17, 2022
Gaya's Eyes by Todd Rundgren
posted by bink at 9:47 AM on October 17, 2022
King Tide And the Sunny Day Flood - Billy Bragg
“Cuz everyone’s a libertarian until the brown water fills their home”
posted by jilloftrades at 1:59 PM on October 18, 2022 [1 favorite]
“Cuz everyone’s a libertarian until the brown water fills their home”
posted by jilloftrades at 1:59 PM on October 18, 2022 [1 favorite]
i've always thought björk's song "desired constellation" on medulla was about ecocide.
posted by graywyvern at 2:46 PM on October 18, 2022
posted by graywyvern at 2:46 PM on October 18, 2022
I noticed this youtube channel, due to them posting some Bob Dylan songs like Climate Curse and his modified Tears of Rage.
“Admit that around you the waters have grown” — Bob Dylan, The times they are a-changin’
Although not written with climate in mind, Dylan says the song is “about the person who doesn’t take you seriously but expects you to take him seriously”, which covers economists fairly well. It spawned variants by Michael Peart and others.
posted by jeffburdges at 11:50 PM on November 4, 2022
“Admit that around you the waters have grown” — Bob Dylan, The times they are a-changin’
Although not written with climate in mind, Dylan says the song is “about the person who doesn’t take you seriously but expects you to take him seriously”, which covers economists fairly well. It spawned variants by Michael Peart and others.
posted by jeffburdges at 11:50 PM on November 4, 2022
Awesome songs everyone, thank you all! :)
At the time of writing is really wonderful, koalaman. I love Rising Seas, Tarkine, and others now too. I knew Beds are Burning of course, but somehow never noticed the band.
posted by jeffburdges at 10:31 AM on November 14, 2022
At the time of writing is really wonderful, koalaman. I love Rising Seas, Tarkine, and others now too. I knew Beds are Burning of course, but somehow never noticed the band.
posted by jeffburdges at 10:31 AM on November 14, 2022
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I've mostly skipped anything simple experimental, like people using climate data, but instrumental climate music abounds, albeit less listed by journalists.
Amusing story: After hearing Last of the Wilds by Nightwish live in Glasgow, and knowing nothing about their current lineup, I told my office mate "I saw this strange horizontal type of bagpipe that actually sounds nice!", to which she responds "It's a lowland bagpipe. It sounds as bad as other bagpipes. You heard Troy Donockley. He's just extremely good." She'd considered learning the lowland bagpipe after hearing him, but quickly abandoned this idea.
posted by jeffburdges at 4:41 PM on October 16, 2022