this post was submitted on 06 Feb 2024
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submitted 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) by [email protected] to c/nostupidquestions
 

I feel like there are lots of parallels between the eighties and now (recession/inflation, yuppies/inequality, skin-heads/fascists, hot-cold wars etc.) but there used to be protest music! Where is that stuff now? Music that's intelligent and outraged - like we should be!

I'm out of touch now, so if it exists, educate me! Or have the protest songs been removed from tiktok by the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act (UK specific, but suppression of protest seems to be everywhere)? (I've linked to the Levellers - maybe it really was better back in the day?)

edit: Maybe not the right audience, but if the song is old enough to vote then I might already know it! What's happening now? Any songs from the last 10 years!

edit: Thanks for everyone's insights. I've spent the day discovering music that I'd never have found otherwise. Really enjoying a load of these, but thanks to everyone! It seems like protest music is confined to certain genres/places, and lots of older songs - maybe they just last longer... which is maybe a little interesting.

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[–] FrostyTheDoo 82 points 10 months ago (2 children)
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[–] Lauchs 26 points 10 months ago (8 children)

Well, not sure about "good" but punk is and always has been about politics.

Personally, I love the folk punk end of things like AJJ's 'Normalization Blues': https://youtu.be/0EDVM73bU-w?si=_mtGGyFhrmeMRlpZ

In a similar vein, Matt Pless's "where the frayed wind blows" is 5 minutes of angry goodness.

There's also a lot of protest hip hop but I don't know the newer stuff particularly well.

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[–] [email protected] 24 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Bro Killer Mike just won a Grammy

[–] RGB3x3 8 points 10 months ago

He won three! Imo, for the most boring song on his new album, but whatever. But that album is highly political

[–] [email protected] 22 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Well, NPR did an entire article of 20 protest songs that came out in 2020. Looks like they might have made a Spotify playlist of them at one point too.

Here are 30 protest albums that came out in the first half of 2022

Here are 50 protest songs from 2023.

These are just results from pretty simple Google searches. 'protest songs year'.

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[–] SuperEars 18 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (3 children)

I'm a big fan of Rise Against. Try these tracks out:

  • Architects
  • Welcome to the Breakdown
  • A Gentleman's Coup
  • Megaphone
  • Holding Patterns

and Bad Religion:

  • American Jesus
  • Meeting of the Minds
  • The Resist Stance
[–] TheDubz87 8 points 10 months ago

Bad Religion was one of my high-school favorites that has stayed a favorite since. I have every one of their albums saved on my phone.

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[–] Taco2112 13 points 10 months ago

If you like Rage Against the Machine, Tom Morello did a solo project called The Nightwatchman that had a lot of great protest songs. I think it’s closer to 15 years old, so not the last 10.

[–] Dkarma 12 points 10 months ago (3 children)

you mean everything rage against the machine has ever done?

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[–] [email protected] 12 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (3 children)

This might not be everyones cup of tea, but metal and hardcore are full of protest music. Heaven Shall Burn for example is lyricly anti-fascist and environmentalist (live video because that show is fucking legendary).

Gojira also slaps.

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[–] [email protected] 12 points 10 months ago (3 children)

Toxicity - System of a Down was an incredible album about American exceptionalism and war hungriness. The towers were hit a week after the album was released.

[–] XeroxCool 6 points 10 months ago

Sheesh, some time in June of 2023, Toxicity's debut date became closer to 1/1/1980 than present day

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[–] jacksilver 11 points 10 months ago

Born in the USA

I didn't see this mentioned so wanted to add it. Most people think of it as pro USA, but the lyrics paint a very different message.

For example:

Got in a little hometown jam So they put a rifle in my hand Sent me off to a foreign land To go and kill the yellow man

[–] [email protected] 11 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (3 children)
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[–] UmeU 10 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Nofx - you’re wrong:

You're wrong about virtues of Christianity And you're wrong if you agree with Sean Hannity If you think that pride is about nationality, you're wrong

You're wrong when you imprison people turning tricks And you're wrong about trickle down economics If you think that punk rock doesn't mix with politics, you're wrong

You're wrong for hating queers and eating steers If you kill for the thrill of the hunt You're wrong 'bout wearing fur and not hating Ann Coulter Cause she's a cunted cunt

You're wrong if you celebrate Columbus Day And You're wrong if you think there will be a Judgement Day If you're a charter member of the NRA, you're wrong

You're wrong if you support capital punishment And you're wrong if you don't question your government If you think her reproductive rights are inconsequent, you're wrong

You're wrong fighting Jihad, your blind faith in God Your religions are all flawed You're wrong about drug use, when its not abuse I hope you never reproduce

You're getting high on the downlow A victim of Cointelpro You're wrong and will probably never know

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (2 children)

Uncle Sam Goddamn - Brother Ali
Ju$t - Run the Jewels (and a lot of their or Killer Mike's songs)
Gang Shit - Marlon Craft
The Guillotine - The Coup
I Wish I Was a Riot Grrrl - Destructo Disk
Nobody's Biz - Four Fists

Some of these being older than 10 years is a real bummer lol

[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Walking In The Snow was the RTJ song that came to mind for me

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 10 months ago (3 children)

It's not as punk, but the last three albums by Metric are brilliant in how they discuss the current state of the world.

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[–] federatingIsTooHard 9 points 10 months ago (2 children)
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[–] Bob_Robertson_IX 9 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Goddamn White Trash by Ministry is my go-to song for 2024.

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[–] gothic_lemons 7 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

Pokemon Liberation Army https://pokemonliberationarmy.bandcamp.com/album/tm101

Billy Talent

Distillers

Bad Cop, Bad Cop

So many more but I gotta dip

Sharptooth

The Baboon Show

The Halluci Nation - (Pretty cool Hip Hop group)

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Bella Ciao and Sixteen Tons are perennial favorites.

[–] shish_mish 6 points 10 months ago

Both of those are good but old songs, I think OP was wondering where the current protest music is.

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[–] kerrigan778 7 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Billy Bragg is still making bangers

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 10 months ago

Like most or even all of punk

[–] Thermal_shocked 6 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

one of my favorite groups is Mischief Brew from Philly. Very folksy, anti-cop, anti everything government lol

boycott me

Old Tyme Memry

Farewell Goodfellows

Roll me through the gates of hell

Every Town will Celebrate

[–] Geobloke 6 points 10 months ago (3 children)

For the UK specifically I'd recommend Bob Vylan

[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago

Bob Vylan is top notch.

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[–] sagrotan 6 points 10 months ago (3 children)

A lot of German ones these days, hip hop / rock / metal / pop-punk

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[–] serpineslair 6 points 10 months ago (3 children)

Thrash metal has a lot of politics, if that's your thing.

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[–] Thrawne 5 points 10 months ago (1 children)
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[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago

Check out Propagandhi

[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)
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[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago

Womanarchist by Bad Cop/Bad Cop is pretty excellent

[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago

Some of the classical ones

  • L'internationale, which is still relevant today

  • La banderra rosa

  • Bella Ciao, which despite becoming a pop hit is a struggle song

  • El pueblo unido

  • La butte rouge

-The Red army choir have a ton of great ones

Then on more recent, just look at the punk and rap scene, there is a lot

[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago

Poor Man's Poison has put out a few good political/social songs recently, I'm not sure if I would call them "protest" but still fairly close

Feed The Machine

Give And Take

[–] DrownedRats 5 points 10 months ago

I've always liked "universal soldier" by Donovan

[–] mlg 4 points 10 months ago (1 children)

The fast paced Ukrainian version of In The Army Now which protests military marketing and conscription (directed at USA)

Laga Reh (translations required lol) which protests Pakistani government complacency in allowing foreign powers (cough USA cough) to dictate the country at the expense of progress and "disappearing" of any local opposition.

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[–] gAlienLifeform 4 points 10 months ago

Sault's "Foot on Necks" is a great anti police brutality anthem, and a big chunk of all their music has messages like that

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