Politics and Music
 

What are some good politically themed songs (protest songs) of both recent times and past?

Give Peace a Chance - John Lennon
Gimme Some Truth - John Lennon
Imagine - John Lennon
Peace Will Come - Tom Paxton
Bullet the Blue Sky - U2
Sunday Bloody Sunday - U2
Street Fighting Man - Rolling Stones
The Empire Strikes First - Bad Religion
War All the Time - Thursday
This Song Brought To You By a Falling Bomb - Thursday
Politik - Coldplay
Let Them Eat War - Bad Religion
Alive - Beastie Boys
A Change is Gonna Come - Sam Cooke
Oliver's Army - Elvis Costello
Radio Radio - Elvis Costello
For What It's Worth - Buffalo Springfield
The Times They Are A Changing - Bob Dylan
What's Goin' On - Marvin Gaye
Isn't It A Pity - George Harrison
What's So Funny About Peace Love & Understanding - Elvis Costello
Spirits in the Material World - The Police
2+2=5 - Radiohead
Final Straw - REM
Newstand Rock - RX Bandits
Overcome - RX Bandits
The Beautiful Occupation - Travis
Ashes of American Flags - Wilco

... off the top of my head...

Masters of War- Bob Dylan (Pearl Jam has a good remake of this also)

Practically anything and everything by Rage Against the Machine.
Also, Saul Williams is more along the spoken-word direction, but he's definitely worth checking out.

Just to name a few others:
Zach De La Rocha & DJ Shadow - March of Death
The CunninLynguists - Dying Nation
Desaparecidos - The Happiest Place on Earth - I actually did a piece on this song right around when the War in Iraq started. It might be offensive to a few people, so you've been warned.
Beastie Boys - In a World Gone Mad
The (International) Noise Conspiracy - Capitalism Stole My Virginity
John Vanderslice - Heated Pool and Bar

What are some recent songs? In the last five years? with political themes

Pearl Jam: Bushleaguer (from 2002)

U2: Crumbs From Your Table (from 2004)

Mostly everything off of A Perfect Circle's Emotive, though they are covers of other bands' songs.

Metric - Succexxy

Lonesome for no one when
The room was empty and
War as we knew it was obsolete
Nothing could beat complete denial

All we do is talk, sit, switch screens
As the homeland plans enemies

All we do is talk, static split screens
As the homeland plans enemies

Invasion's so succexxy

Let's drink to the military
The glass is empty
Faces to fill and cars to feed
Nothing could beat complete denial

All we do is talk, sit, switch screens
As the homeland plans enemies

All we do is talk, static split screens
As the homeland plans enemies

Invasion's so succexxy

Passive attraction, programmed reaction
Passive attraction, programmed reaction
Action distraction, more information
Flesh saturation, lips on a napkin
Ass ass ass

Where does the time go?
We're waking up so slowly
Days are horizontal lately
Out of body, watched from above
Out of body, watched from above

Passive attraction, programmed reaction
More information, cash masturbation
Follow the pattern- the hemlines, the headlines
Action distraction,faster than fashion
Faster than fashion,faster than fashion

Lonesome for no one when
The room was empty and
War as we knew it was obsolete
Nothing could beat denial

RS

Just curious. Did you bother looking up anyone's songs that were posted? Many of them are from the last five years. :rolleyes:

Green Day - American Idiot
Papa Roach - Getting Away With Murder

Lamb of God - "Now You've Got Something to Die For" (From "Ashes of the Wake")

Now you've got something to die for.
Infidel, Imperial
Lust for blood, a blind crusade
Apocalyptic, we count the days.
Bombs to set the people free, blood to feed the dollar tree
Flags for coffins on the screen, oil for the machine
Army of the liberation, gunpoint indoctination
The fires of sedition
Fulfill the prophecy.
Now you've got something to die for.
Send the children to the fire, sons and daughters stack the pyre
Stoke the flame of the empire, live to lie another day
Face of hypocrisy, raping democracy
Apocalyptic, we count the days.
We'll never get out of this hole until we've dug our own grave
And drug the rest down with us, the burning home of the brave
Burn.
Now you've got something to die for.