# Counterculture Anthems **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [August 15, 2022, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counterculture-anthems/969721 "2022-08-15T23:51:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2022, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counterculture-anthems/969721/21 "2022-08-16T13:24:03Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young - Ohio I knew this one would be mentioned soon out of the gate, so I’ll just second it. The rage and sheer incredulity over the Kent State shooting feels as raw as if it just happened yesterday, every time you listen to it. One of the greatest protest songs of all time. And then ol’ Neil comes out with ‘Rockin’ in the Free World’ during the Bush Sr. years, an anthem just dripping with bitterness and sarcasm: _We got a thousand points of light_ _For the homeless man_ _We got a kinder, gentler machine gun hand_ [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/DvxxdZpMFHg/maxresdefault.jpg "Rockin' in the Free World") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvxxdZpMFHg) > [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > The Dead Kennedys: Someone was playing ‘Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables’ at a party when I was maybe 16. An eye opener, to say the least. It became one of my favorite albums, and I still give it the occasional nostalgia listen to this day. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2022, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counterculture-anthems/969721/22 "2022-08-16T13:26:19Z")
I’ll see your **Rape Me** and add **Smells Like Teen Spirit** ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2022, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counterculture-anthems/969721/23 "2022-08-16T13:39:29Z")
Teenage Head. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/56p1rguO4lQ/hqdefault.jpg "Flamin' Groovies - Teenage Head") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56p1rguO4lQ) “Four Dead In Ohio” would be an excellent state motto to be displayed on Ohio license plates. ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2022, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counterculture-anthems/969721/24 "2022-08-16T13:44:43Z")
The counterculture anthem that has stood the test of time is “We shall overcome.” I believe it was Terry Pratchett who wrote that you start out by singing it at other people, then grow older and find people are singing it at you. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2022, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counterculture-anthems/969721/25 "2022-08-16T14:21:14Z")
Gil Scott Heron 's _[The Revolution Will Not Be Televised](https://youtu.be/QnJFhuOWgXg)_. (It’ll be posted on Twitter instead.) ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2022, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counterculture-anthems/969721/26 "2022-08-16T15:49:55Z")
You want counterculture Dylan, you want this: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/we37yX3zpKA/maxresdefault.jpg "Bob Dylan - Ballad of a Thin Man (Official Audio)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=we37yX3zpKA) ---
**Author:** ![XOldiesJock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ec9cab/32.png) [@XOldiesJock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XOldiesJock)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2022, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counterculture-anthems/969721/27 "2022-08-16T16:01:13Z")
For me the “Feel Like I’m Fixin’ to Die Rag” by Country Joe and the Fish is the first that came to mind. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqeLZ-oDc8g](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqeLZ-oDc8g) ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2022, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counterculture-anthems/969721/28 "2022-08-16T16:13:20Z")
> [@Nonsuch](#): > > You want counterculture Dylan, you want this: And let’s not forget “Masters Of War” where he deconstructs and unmasks the military industrial complex like no other before or after, with a spite and disgust especially in the damning last verse that’s unmatched. He was 21 when he wrote it. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/JEmI_FT4YHU/maxresdefault.jpg "Bob Dylan - Masters of War (Official Audio)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEmI_FT4YHU) ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2022, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counterculture-anthems/969721/29 "2022-08-16T17:01:28Z")
> [@ekedolphin](#): > > [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-kA3UtBj4M](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-kA3UtBj4M) Great song, definitely counter-culture…but I can’t say it makes me want to storm something. > [@Guinastasia](#): > > [https://youtu.be/3L4YrGaR8E4](https://youtu.be/3L4YrGaR8E4) > > [https://youtu.be/bWXazVhlyxQ](https://youtu.be/bWXazVhlyxQ) But THIS does. Pretty much anything by RATM fits. I’d add the obvious choice _[Wake Up](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lzqUe1Qfec)_. > [@MrDibble](#): > > [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZuxPKUVGiw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZuxPKUVGiw) My #1 “tear down the system” song. I’d put PE’s _[Fight the Power](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmo3HFa2vjg)_ in front of _911_ though. For my own contribution, The Tubes and their anthem of excess and lost teenagers: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/rs9wuaVV33I/hqdefault.jpg "Tubes - White Punks On Dope (1977 R0X M1X)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rs9wuaVV33I) ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2022, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counterculture-anthems/969721/30 "2022-08-16T17:11:04Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > I’d put PE’s _[Fight the Power](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmo3HFa2vjg)_ in front of _911_ though. I was scrolling to the end of the thread, increasingly amazed that nobody had mentioned it, and you beat me by eight minutes. It is _the_ anti-authority anthem of the last thirty-odd years. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2022, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counterculture-anthems/969721/31 "2022-08-16T17:16:59Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > For my own contribution, The Tubes and their anthem of excess and lost teenagers: “White Punks On Dope” is just great, but I like the Nina Hagen Band’s cover “TV-Glotzer” even better. It’s also a counterculture anthem, parodying TV consumption in a similar vein as Frank Zappa’s “I’m the Slime”: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/JWzPcDtZZZo/maxresdefault.jpg "Nina Hagen Band - TV-Glotzer (Ich glotz TV)(Tubes) (live 1978) HD 0815007") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWzPcDtZZZo) ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2022, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counterculture-anthems/969721/32 "2022-08-16T19:25:35Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > I’d put PE’s _[Fight the Power](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmo3HFa2vjg)_ in front of _911_ though. I wouldn’t argue with that. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2022, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counterculture-anthems/969721/33 "2022-08-17T16:48:09Z")
Here’s one from the sixties. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/pEqWCH_4srU/hqdefault.jpg "Max Frost And The Troopers The Shape Of Things To Come") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEqWCH_4srU) ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2022, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counterculture-anthems/969721/34 "2022-08-17T18:22:11Z")
“You said you’d change the Constitution, well, you know We all wanna change your head You tell me it’s the institution, well, you know You’d better free your mind instead 'Cuz if you go carrying pictures of Chairman Mao, You ain’t gonna make it with anyone anyhow!” [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/BGLGzRXY5Bw/maxresdefault.jpg "The Beatles - Revolution") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGLGzRXY5Bw) ---
**Author:** ![Galactus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galactus/32/3581_2.png) [@Galactus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Galactus)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2022, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counterculture-anthems/969721/35 "2022-08-17T18:42:27Z")
I think this one counts. ACCEPT. BALLS TO THE WALL. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/B_3TlrZLpQ0/maxresdefault.jpg "Accept - Balls to the Wall") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_3TlrZLpQ0) ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2022, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counterculture-anthems/969721/36 "2022-08-17T18:44:25Z")
> [@ekedolphin](#): > > “You said you’d change the Constitution, well, you know > We all wanna change your head > You tell me it’s the institution, well, you know > You’d better free your mind instead > 'Cuz if you go carrying pictures of Chairman Mao, > You ain’t gonna make it with anyone anyhow!” > > [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGLGzRXY5Bw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGLGzRXY5Bw) [slight hijack] I’m stunned to never have seen this performance of “Revolution”. I thought that between the broadcast of “All You Need Is Love” and the Rooftop Concert there hadn’t been any live footage from the Beatles. What TV show was this from? [/sh] ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2022, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counterculture-anthems/969721/37 "2022-08-17T18:58:24Z")
The Revolution promo film was shown on The Smothers Brothers show 10/6/68 ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2022, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counterculture-anthems/969721/38 "2022-08-17T18:59:50Z")
> **[Revolution (Beatles song) | Promotional film](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolution_(Beatles_song)#Promotional_film)** > > Filming for promotional clips of "Hey Jude" and "Revolution" took place on 4 September 1968 under the direction of Michael Lindsay-Hogg. Two finished clips of "Revolution" were produced, with only lighting differences and other minor variations. The Beatles sang the vocals live over the pre-recorded instrumental track from the single version. Their vocals included elements from "Revolution 1": McCartney and Harrison sang the "shoo-bee-doo-wop" backing vocals, and Lennon sang " Lindsay-Hogg recall... It debuted, however, on UK’s Top of the Pops. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2022, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counterculture-anthems/969721/39 "2022-08-17T19:05:04Z")
Thanks to both of you. 😊 ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2022, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counterculture-anthems/969721/40 "2022-08-17T19:18:07Z")
Buffy Saint-Marie, “Universal Soldier,” including Donovan’s cover Jonathan Edwards, “Sunshine” Five Man Electrical Band, “I’m a Stranger Here” The Animals, “Sky Pilot” John Lennon, “Working Class Hero” The Strawbs, “Part of the Union” This one is tricky: it has often been said that this is a heavy-handed slam at unions, but the Strawbs denied that and British unionists often sing it, perhaps ironically. It is a pretty close take-off on Woody Guthrie’s “Union Maid,” which itself uses the melody of “Little Red Wing.” Oscar Brand claimed he suggested the tune to Woody, and maybe he did; he did record a “bawdy” version of it, wherein the “Indian maid” Little Red Wing cuts off the penis of the Indian “buck” who tried to rape her. Sorry, TMI. I’m avoiding work. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counterculture-anthems/969721.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counterculture-anthems/969721.md?page=3)