Please explain exactly what is supposed to be racist about “Sweet Home Alabama.” I don’t care for the song myself, but that’s mainly due to its massive overexposure, much like Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven.”
Most of his explanations for his selections do seem awfully strained.
I immediately thought of Red Barchetta without reading the list (I still haven’t, FWIW.) Unlike others mentioned here, there is evidence that it is a straight-up lamentation of a (fictional) crack-down on automobiles. I don’t really see how it can be interpreted any other way, then again, Come Together is obviously about drugs to me, so there you go.
Rush’s The Trees could also be seen as anti-left: moral of the story: when you pass overly-harsh legislation to cure the effects of discrimination, sometimes it just makes everyone worse off (quite literally the “tall poppy” syndrome in action.) Is that song on the list too?
Ahhh, it claimed its place at #11. One that actually makes sense.
Well geez if “heroes” is on there, I’m surprised they didn’t include “Radio Free Europe” as a way to get REM on the list. I thought that “Rock the Casbah” was a good choice. Because opposition to religious fundamentalism definitely makes you a conservative.
I always thought of this song as anti-affirmative action.
The song that stuck out for me on the list was Sammy Hagar’s “I can’t drive 55” which is a classic anti-authoritarian song. He might as well have included Twisted Sister’s “We’re not gonna take it.” (Maybe he thinks Hagar’s “Dick in the Dirt” is a pro Nixon song.)
Nicely said. Townshend once described it as “the most irresponsible song I’ve written” for that very reason.
Well, in his reponse to this list posted on his personal website, Pete Townshend made it very clear that the song was never meant to be a conservative anthem.
I don’t think you can avoid the fact that “Revolution” is very much preoccupied with what was going on in the Left at the time; it is explicitly anti-violence, but not in the same way “Give Peace a Chance” is. Later, when Lennon finally got suckered into kowtowing to the radical Left in the early 70s, he tried to dismiss “Revolution” by claiming he had written it quickly without thinking about what he was saying, before eventually coming back and admitting that, yes, he really is anti-violence, regardless of the political motive.
And now the guy has another list of 50 “conservative” songs. I can see how a few of them could reasonably be called conservative, but if anything this list is even more of a stretch than the original. “Turn Turn Turn” by the Byrds? Sure, it quotes the Bible, but it’s an * anti-war * song, fella!
Methinks, this man’s self-delusion runs very very deep.
If I were a conservative, I’d be mighty embarrased by this.
I’m not sure what to think about Ben Folds Five’s Brick being on there. As a fan I’d say it’s not so much anti-abortion as “I am writing about something really horrible that happened in my life.” Most people, lefties included, would agree that what happens in the song isn’t a happy thing. It’s also not happy that the kids in the song couldn’t tell their parents what happened, and that they couldn’t afford the procedure without selling Christmas presents.
That being said, since the author is so completely blind to the meaning of songs, I would suggest Folds’ Jesusland or All U Can Eat.
If I were anywhere near Pete Seeger (sometimes interpreted as anti-war?), I’d start running before he explodes. What a deliberate slap in the face to him - and presumably also to Bruce Springsteen.
How do you solve a problem like Maria?
How do you catch a clown and pin it down?
How do you find a word that means Maria?
Gah! I have no freaking clue. Have you tried posting these questions on the Straight Dope?
This one’s better, I guess.
Little Red Corvette’s included because it’s a “cautionary tale”. Oh, so what about all those motor laws then?
He calls Yellowcard a “cool band with a big future”. Shows he has no taste.
I don’t get why Jesus is Just All Right is on there. I don’t see what’s so “counter-counterculture” about it.
He calles POD a “super-hip band”.
Let me nominate a few of my own:
She Loves You by the Beatles-
A celebration of the conservative value of love.
Androgynous by The Replacements-
Affirms traditional gender roles: “and tomorrow dick is wearing pants/ and tomorrow Jane is wearing a skirt”
Unsatisfied by The Replacements-
An expression of dissatisfaction at today’s liberal society.
Drive By-
Father-son bonding, beer, and trucks. A celebration of American Values.
Strangers When We Meet by The Smithereens-
A married man rejects the advances of another woman.
Orange Crush by REM-
A tribute to our brave men overseas.
Heroin by The Velvet Underground-
Distrust of liberals: “I really don’t care anymore/ about all the Jim-Jim’s in this town/ and all the politicians makin’ busy sounds”
We’re Living in Violent Times by The Barracudas-
Things were better in the good old days.
er eek! wrong thread. pardon me.
Help by The Beatles-
An ode to self reliance: “I never needed anybody’s help in any way”
I liked the inclusion of “Yakety Yak.” And here I assumed that the song wasn’t supportive of the overseer parent, but I’m glad John J. Miller was able to put me straight.
Well he mentions that he’s gotten the notice of several mainstream newspapers, so he’s accomplished his goal. And all the while he’s been defining pretty much any noble sentiment as “conservative,” as well as opposition to the Soviet Union and to the Khmer Rouge. I swear he’s really just trying to piss off as many left wing musicians as he can. He should have added “Roxanne” for its strong stand against prostitution. Not like those wishy-washy pro-whoring liberals.
How’d he miss the most conservative, anti-hippie song of all, Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth”?
A thousand people in the street
Singing songs and carrying signs
Mostly say, hooray for our side
Obviously a conservative ode to the illegitimacy of liberal causes, police power, the Nixon-for-Governor campaign of 1962, atomic annihilation of Castro, and Sing Along with Mitch.
:rolleyes:
**I Can’t Drive 55 **and Red Barchetta are odes to law breaking. I Fought The Law is on the list because it’s a “law-and-order classic”. IOKIYAR