Oh, denizens of Cafe Society!
What do you think of the National Review’s top 50 conservative rock hits?
National Review Top 50 of Rock
Can you think of any they missed?
Are there any you think the artist would object to their interpretation?
Some of these songs, to me, are obviously written from a socially conservative viewpoint (Stand by Your Man).
Others, though, particularly Taxman (the Beatles one, not Cheap Trick), Revolution, Sympathy for the Devil, and Won’t Get Fooled Again are mocking conservatism rather than supporting it. They are, if you will, the Colbert Report of rock.
Last I checked, the Battle of Evermore was based largely on J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rights. Besides, red is the color of blood; not all references of red are to Communism.
And finally…You Can’t Always Get What You Want? The article says, “You can “[go] down to the demonstration” and vent your frustration, but you must understand that there’s no such thing as a perfect society — there are merely decent and free ones.” That kinda sounds liberal to me. Not radical, but definitely liberal.
I think they should stick to ranking things like Reader’s Digest’s greatest hits.
I think it’s silly to claim such songs are “Conservative,” but it’s equally silly to say they’re mocking conservatism. None of those four songs takes a political stance.
“Taxman” is exactly what it sounds like it’s about; it’s about how voraciously the taxman takes your money. There is nothing Colbertesque about it, and the Beatles were as mercenary and money-loving as any musicians in the history of rock, so really, it was just about George Harrison bitching about all the tax he had to pay, and little else. Like a lot of Beatles songs, it’s a straightforward little story.
Similarly, “Revolution” has nothing in it that suggests it’s mocking or supporting conservatism; “Revolution” is, very clearly and unambiguously, an anti-violence song. “Won’t Get Fooled Again” is clearly about how the narrator ISN’T interested in politics at all because he thinks they’re all the same (“Meet the new boss, same as the old boss”) and “Sympathy for the Devil” is about the Devil, not conservatism; the Stones use a wide variety of images in that song to illustrate the Devil’s handiwork, not make any political points.
I was hoping for more songs with more obvious lyrical support, like “Throw Some Money At It” by Black Lipstick, “Played Out” by the Urge, “Missed Medicine” by Her Space Holiday, or “Nugget” by Cake. Oh well. Nothing from Conservative Punk, either.
At least they didn’t sarcastically include “We Need a War” by Fisherspooner, “Makeshift Patriot” by Sage Francis or “Our Moto” by Dear Leader, right? great songs, ftr
That list is just bizarre. I think whoever wrote it had his tongue so far in his cheek that it was sticking out his ear. I wonder exactly how quoting from noted dope fiend Samuel Taylor Coleridge makes Iron Maiden’s ditty a conservative anthem…especially when they’re also claiming “Kicks” for its anti-drug sentiment.
Originally posted by RickyJay:
Okay, I may have taken that analogy a little too far (although great adjective there, if you ask me). What I was trying to say, though, is that in the above-mentioned songs, it can sound like groups such as the Stones, Beatles, etc. were writing about what the critics of the left were saying from the critics’ point of view. However, I went and looked up the lyrics, and yeah, I think I was a bit hasty in my analysis.
With a list like that, I’m surprised they didn’t just overlook the actual meaning and include Springsteen’s Born in the USA.
It seems that stupid food is what’s for breakfast at NR.
They missed "Only A Lad’ by Oingo Boingo.
I can’t believe they included “Government Cheese” by the Rainmakers. Not because it isn’t conservative, but I thought they were too obscure. It was the first song I thought of when I read this.
The author appears, in at least one case, to have involved in a little bit of creative omission. He cites the following from the Beatles’ “Revolution”:
However, if you expand his ellipsis, you’ll find that the line immediately prior to “Don’t you know that you can count me out?” is “But when you talk about destruction”. The song’s not counter-revolutionary, it’s anti-violence, as RickJay said.
I also note that the author doesn’t seem to have made it to the second verse, which includes “But when you want money for people with minds that hate / All I can tell you is brother you have to wait”. Pick your side, left or right–no one is completely innocent there.
Also: “I’m Straight” by Modern Lovers (Richman’s referring to his sobriety and reliability, not his sexuality), “Slack Motherfucker” by Superchunk, and “Free Will” by Rush.
Man, the lyrics excerpt from that Creed song is terrible. It’s caveman speak.
So apparently they think that acknowledging that getting an abortion is an emotional experience makes someone pro-life. I don’t get why Godzilla is on this list. As for The Pretenders one (why on earth did they let Rush Limbaugh use one of their basslines?!), it makes more sense as a song against what industry does to the environment.
And it goes on: Blue Öyster Cult’s Godzilla is mentioned. I’m not so sure I’d assign the song any political slant whatsoever, but unless my memory fails me, Godzilla of the movie was awakened by US nuclear testing–a dramatic example of ‘nature pointing out the folly of man,’ as the song says (and article cites), but in a manner which seems distinctly… liberal? Maybe even green. 
Similarly, for all of “My City Was Gone”'s association with Limbaugh, it seems peculiar for an article that takes a few pokes at those who might be concerned with the environment to cite a reference to a government that paves the ‘pretty countryside’ as especally conservative…
Maybe they should have stuck with the songs from this band. snicker
Isn’t Blink-182’s “Stay Together for the Kids” about the negativity of “staying together for the kids”?
They’re really, really reaching on some of those. For Rush’s “Red Barchetta” it says:
The song doesn’t say anything about “green extremists.” It talks about “motor laws” but says nothing about why they were enacted.
The page also puts Iron Maiden’s “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” on there because it’s based on a “literary classic?” The hell? How does reading Coleridge equate to being conservative. I would guess that most English lit majors lean to the left if anything.
I don’t think any of the members of The Pretenders had much imput in the decision to let Rush Limbaugh use their song. Chrissie Hynde has gone on record several times about how much she objected to the song being used in that way and may have even made an unsuccessful attempt to stop Limbaugh from using it.
Whoever was compiling the list was smoking the crack WRT Iron Maiden. Uh, hello, Two Minutes to Midnight?
And there are more Metallica songs that could be construed as Anti-Conservative than Conservative. (Ride the Lightning, Disposable Heroes, One, et. al.)
Liberals and Conservatives alike are both a little hasty in thinking that all musicians in general but Rush in particular are on their side toeing the party line.
The notion behind the inclusion of many of these songs - that anything that isn’t “Let’s Impeach the President” must therefore be conservative - is nauseating. If the writer had even a shred of a sense of humor I’d buy the tongue in cheek verdict. But there’s no evidence of that.
It isn’t pro-abortion - must be conservative!
Some revolutionaries are full of shit - must be conservative!
Drugs may be bad for you - must be conservative!
This would be prime satire if writing from the left, but too many conservatives have stated exactly these views to believe that the National Review, of all places, could be pulling our legs. These must be the conservatives who think that Stephen Colbert speaks for them when he’s in persona.
But including “Janie’s Got a Gun” truly incites vomit as a response. As if liberals are pro fathers molesting their daughters.
Ugh. Not for the first time, the National Review makes me want to wash out my brain.