Hello people
Im trying to find music that aligns with my views and opinions, so that I can listen to it guilt-free and simply enjoy it. I have some prerequisites/requirements and some preferences. I want to ask you if you can share any artist/band (or songs if you dont know any artists) that matches all the prerequisites and if possible any of the preferences.
The prerequisites about the artists(/songs):
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They have leftist (and anti-capitalist) opinions
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They have feminist (and anti-patriarchist) opinions
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They are friendly towards all the queer community (including non-binary and trans people)
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They have atheistic/agnostic opinions
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They have anti-racist opinions (I forgot to add this, I took it as granted, provided all the previous requirements were passed😅. I'm editing my post to add it.)
The preferences about the artists(/songs):
a) They dont promote self-destructive behaviours (like substance/alcohol abuse). I dont have any issue with them singing about such behaviours, but I want to see them trying to help people get out of this situation. (This one could be a prerequisite too, but then there would almost no artist that would pass my requirements..)
b) They express their opinions in the songs by singing about social issues and such
c) Their genre is rap/metal/rock (generally I tend to prefer songs that have some anger/that are powerful)
d) They sing mainly in either English or Greek (the languages I know well so that I can understand them😅). I also know some German, so that could be a good option too. And I'd like to learn Spanish some time. (If you know artists/songs that sing in other languages, you're welcome to share them)
Please, I would like anything you share to pass my prerequisites and to mention any of my preferences that it matches (in case it doesn't pass any of the prerequistes at least mention it). I have them all in order to make it easier for you.
So for example, the band "Rationalistas" (a greek rap band) passes the prerequistes and seems to match b), c) and d) preferences (I listen to them almost exclusively this week, lol).
Another artist that seem pass my requirements seems to be Macklemore (as seen on "Hinds hall") and matches c) and d) of my preferences (and in some songs I think he matches a) and b) too).
Demi Lovato in her HOLY FVCK album seems to pass my requirements (though not sure about the 1.) and probably matches all of my preferences.
Jesse Welles seems to pass my requirements as well and matches at least b) and d) of my preferences.
Lemmy seems to opinions similar to what my requirements are, so I kinda hope I might get good recommendations here.
(For even greater coverage, I've cross-posted this on the ~equally active music community on hexbear https://mander.xyz/post/14452658. Sharing the link in case you want to find extra material, I might combine all the recommendations eventually in a list or a playlist.)
Here I'm gonna list ~anything you and I suggest:
List of artists/bands (and album/song picks)
Against Me! (Their politics have become a bit more "softer" over time, but were left-anarchists at first. Feminist and the singer is a trans woman. Picks:"Reinventing Axl Rose" and "As the Eternal Cowboy")
AJJ (Andrew Jackson Jihad) (Folk punk.)
Bad Religion (Punk/Rock.)
Bands that publish under libre/free licences, they are often leftist, feminist and they are political by design.
Billy Bragg (Folk/Rock/Protest. Left wing. Picks: "Red flag")
Bloc Party (Indie Rock)
Bomb the Music Industry! (Lefty ska-punk.)
Circus Marcus (Piano/Emotional music.)
Crass (Anarcho Punk. The logo was designed to look "fascist" to draw in youth that, at the time, were drawn to fascism through the iconography. The hope was to expose these fascist at risk youth to Crass' version of radical politics involving anti-racism, anti-sexism, anarchist socialism. Picks: "Best before 1984")
Dad Bods (Rock. Their youtube page because it's hard to find them: https://www.youtube.com/@dadbods1328 Picks: "System")
Danger Dan - (German Rap. Unfortunately Antideutsche. Picks: "Sand in die Augen")
David Rovics (Folk/Ballads. Picks: "Who Would Jesus Bomb")
Dead Prez (Rap.)
Defiance (Folk punk.)
DJ Spooky (Electronic/Hip-Hop.)
eta (Punk Rock/Grunge. Their discogs page because it's hard to find them: https://www.discogs.com/artist/7205-ETA)
G.L.O.S.S. (Anti-capitalist, anti-fascist punk rock made by trans women.)
Godspeed You! Black Emperor (Post Rock.)
grandson (Rap/Rock Picks: "Blood in the water")
grim104 (German Rap. Picks: "2. Mai")
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKByGkH3_rqBVE7gvYaL3rQQDWOKbUcuL (Very angry anti-fascist Youtube playlist. Mostly metal and rap. The artist themselves may not all be leftist but I picked songs that work. Immortal Technique don't pass the feminism and queer friendliness requirements. The songs in the playlist should be unoffensive on that front though. Used when the only way to get through the day is with pure rage at the injustice of the world.)
IDLES (Punk Rock. Picks: "Samaritans:")
Irie Revoltes (German Punk/Reggae/Hip-Hop)
Johnny Hobo & the Freight Trains, Wingnut Dishwashers Union (Projects from Pat the Bunny. Folk punk. A lot of his music deals with substance abuse but not in a glamorizing way. They mark his stages of recovery in a way that is very interesting.)
K.I.Z. (German Hip-Hop. Warning: Wikipedia says "Characteristic for the group are sexist, provocative lyrics containing black humour, irony, sarcasm and cynicism." I don't know enough German to tell how "ok" are their lyrics. Yet they were recommended to me, so I put them in the list. Picks: "Görlitzer Park")
Krav Boca (French/Greek Rap.)
Laibach (Industrial.)
Lupe Fiasco (Leftist Rapper. Picks: "Mural" and "American Terrorist")
Michael Franti and Spearhead (Hip-Hop/Reggae.)
Modest Mouse (Their real strengths come out in their more reflective songs. Picks: "Lonesome Crowded West")
NT (Picks: https://ntband.bandcamp.com/album/present-recover-past)
Ohio (Folk punk.)
Osiris Saline (Classical/Gothic/Symphonic/Progressive Punk)
Pablo Hasel (Catalan Rapper)
Plagiat (French Rock. Songs in some kind of bizarre French. Their bandcamp page because it's hard to find them: https://plagiatbros.bandcamp.com/)
Propagandhi (Conventional punk. Picks: "Less Talk, More Rock")
Punk bands. folk punk.Try checking out smaller punk bands on Bandcamp.
Rage Against the Machine (Rap/Metal/Rock)
Refused (Swedish Hardcore band with leftist themed music. Their singer Dennis Lyxzén is an outspoken socialist and vegan. They broke up for about 15 years after TSoPtC, but reunited and have been releasing new albums and playing shows since 2015. Picks: "The Shape of Punk to Come"
Rise Against (Melodic Hardcore/Punk Rock. Picks: "Make it stop(September children)"
Sebkha-Chott (French Metal/Jazz/Fusion. Old band from Plagiat members.)
Stray From The Path (Hardcore Punk. Picks: "Goodnight Alt Right", "Guillotine" and "Euthanasia".)
Streetlight Manifesto (Lefty ska-punk.)
System of a Down (Nu Metal. You probably know them already.)
The Clash (OG Leftist Punk.)
The Residents (Art Rock.)
The Warning (Rock. Band comprised of 3 Mexican women.)
Ton Steine Scherben (Oldschool German Rock)
Utah Philips (Folk music.)
Vandalismus (German Rap. Picks: "Maskulina")
Zugezogen Maskulin (German Rap. Picks: "Alle gegen Alle")
spoiler List of unreviewed Artists/Bands that I don't know if they pass my prerequisites, using suggestions from this comment thread https://mander.xyz/post/14380057/11458375 Ashenspire
boundries
Brkovi (Balkan Punk.)
Chat Pile
Clarion Knell (Marxist band)
crust
Destrage (Italian metalcore band)
Dubioza Kolektiv(Balkan Punk.)
dying (pro-palestine before it was cool)
Feminazgul (RABM (Red/Anarchist Black Metal) band)
foreign hands
Incendiary
Iskra (RABM (Red/Anarchist Black Metal)
king gizzard and the lizard wizard
kittie
Knocked Loose (Metalcore band)
Kultur Shock (Balkan Punk.)
Maximum the Hormone
Misery Index
nothingface
Panopticon
Protest the Hero
Realm and Ritual (RABM/Dungeon Synth tape label)
S.A.R.S (Balkan Punk.)
Sankara (Marxist band)
seeyouspacecowboy
sepultura
soulfly
stick to your guns (melodic heavy hardcore)
unearth (anti-fascist, eco-anarchist, closer to traditional metal then metalcore)
Wolves in the Throne Room (not political but spoke out against fascists)
Yellow Eyes (not political but spoke out against fascists) :::
Ohh, I know Grandson, tnx for reminding me of him. Used to be kinda obsessed with "Blood in thw water". Will try check everything you sent
I’m adding a bunch to my up-next listens from these comments, so thank you for making the post.
Haha, I wanted to do something like that for a long time. Btw, you can also find some extra stuff on the cross-posted post I made on Hexbear (they provide a lot of material with nice descriptions too)