That's what Stephen Walt is wondering. And since I'm the least musical of the Bloodless crew, I figured I'd open it up to you to tell me what he's missing from the 21st century. Way, way back in the mid-80s you had U2 make quite the mark. Of course in the wake of 9/11 there were the songs of Allan Jackson and his ilk. But more recently ... what? There's Trent Reznor's work. There's Green Day's American Idiot album (most obviously its track "Holiday"). What else is Walt missing?
Posted by armand at March 9, 2009 01:16 PM | TrackBack | Posted to MusicWell, in addition to Green Day, I think former President Dubya has inspired more songs than he thinks... Pop songs off the top of my head, there's the Dixie Chicks, Pink actually had a very scathing critique with "Dear Mr. President," and there was even an anti-bush eminem song back in the day I believe.
And I'm sure the other Bloodless crew will have indier music selections to add as well.
Posted by: ryan at March 9, 2009 02:12 PM | PERMALINKDefine political -- is there room for subtlety? U2 has been political both ways (subtle and preachy (well, even when subtle they're a bit preachy)), but on the subtle front there are a few: Arcade Fire, for one. Elvis Costello wanders into political territory once in a while. Nellie McKay. Pearl Jam. Radiohead. Springsteen still gets one off every now and then.
And in hip-hop there's plenty of overtly political stuff of a more serious ilk. Dead Prez, to name one of many.
And in fairness, political counting not just our folks but also the folks on the other side, country is rife with political stuff.
I mean, of the stuff I've cited, only the country and Dead Prez examples are strident in the Sunday Blood Sunday mode, but I don't know that that's more or less political, just more obvious.
Posted by: moon at March 9, 2009 04:15 PM | PERMALINKAm I the only one (other than Sully) who remembers the Pet Shop Boys? They've done political and social commentary for ages (as well as famously mocking U2 for their rather... strident approach.)
Posted by: jacflash at March 9, 2009 09:29 PM | PERMALINKThere are a lot of political songs out there, but perhaps he is not listening to the right music.
Take Me To the Speedway (mp3)
Puttin' People on the Moon (recently it mentioned Bush not Reagan)
And what about someone like Ted Leo? Or Talib kweli?
And those are only leftish... why not count "Proud to be an american" or that stuff Hank Jr has been up to?
Well I mentioned the Allan Jacksonish types - I just didn't list them.
And actually I've always greatly preferred The Pet Shop Boys take on Where the Streets Have No Name, but I don't know a thing about the last 10 years of their work.
Posted by: Armand at March 9, 2009 10:52 PM | PERMALINKArmand: The first three links I posted above are all fairly recent songs -- in fact, the third is their current (= brand new in the last week or two) single. Very good stuff if you like that sort of thing.
Posted by: jacflash at March 10, 2009 06:12 AM | PERMALINK