This could probably go in the Politics section, but had to pick one.
I was driving and the song “Spirits in the Material World” by The Police came on. I never paid much attention to the song’s lyrics in the past, but now they really hit home. Any others that come to mind?
Ohio by CSNY
Eve of Destruction by Barry McGuire.
Hate your next door neighbor but don’t forget to say grace.
Not sure if it counts, since it’s a product of the current environment, but Join Ice by Jesse Welles is great:
I saw that a few days ago on imgur. Someone commented that it’s only a matter of time before someone at ICE decides to co-opt it as a (non-ironic) recruitment song/jingle.
Does anyone else think he looks just like a late 80s John Cougar Mellencamp?
I think Sam Cooke would be really disappointed “A Change is Gonna Come” would still be relevant sixty years later, but here we are. I went to a Darlene Love concert shortly after Trump took office in his first term and she showcased one of her backup singers performing this song, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. Sometimes hope is all we have.
This should be played on every radio station 24/7:
Billy Bragg & Wilco - All You Fascists (lyrics by Woody Guthrie)
For What It’s Worth.
Man that could have been written today.
Also, Won’t Get Fooled Again
Meet the new song, same as the old song.
Tweak the lyrics slightly to update
“The Constitution, a noble piece of paper
Would free society. It struggled but then died in vain
And now democracy is ragtime on the corner
Hoping for some rain
…
And ain’t nobody fighting
'Cause nobody knows what to save”
Gil Scott-Heron, “Winter in America” (1974)
The Motörhead discography is loaded with songs that exemplify the current administration, including “No Class”, “I Got Mine” and “Back at the Funny Farm”.
“The Laws of My Administration,” from Duck Soup:
The last man nearly ruined this place
He didn’t know what to do with it
If you think this country’s bad off now
Just wait till I get through with it!
“American Idiot” by Green Day
Kings, by Steely Dan.
“While he plundered far and wide, all the starving children cried.”
How about something modern?
Jesse Welles has been writing the kind of protest songs not heard since Dylan. (And doing a good imitation in that clip for “Join ICE”.) His new three-song EP is dynamite. Maybe he’s the leader of a new movement.
Post 4
To the leaders, who are timeless
As they flaunt their warlike ways
Flying endlessly o’er the wasteland
Seeking praise
Seeking praise
–Journey From Eden / Steve Miller
In my more upbeat moments, I’ll go with “Cold War” by Styx.
You talk, talk and you get so intense
That you almost make sense
And that’s what scares me the most
You as the host of celebrity lies
It’s prime time, baby, can’t you see in my eyes?
But most of the time, it’s Poor Man’s Poison singing “Feed the Machine”
Said hey (hey), you (you), feed the machine
Bring 'em all back down to their knees
No time to waste, remind the slaves
They ain’t gonna make it out alive today
I said hey (hey), you (you), poison the well
Watch it all burn, take 'em straight to hell
He’s got the whole (whole), world (world) in his hands
It was nice to know ya, we’ve all been damned
C’mon!
Sorry, somehow missed that.
