Protest Song Of The Week: ‘America’ by The Nice
Keith Emerson, a progressive rock pioneer most famous for his work with Emerson, Lake, and Palmer, committed suicide at the age of 71. He had muscular pain and nerve issues in his right hand that were getting worse, and it is believed he could not handle the fact that he could
Protest Song Of The Week: ‘Factory Girl’ by Rhiannon Giddens
Rhiannon Giddens has a concert of protest songs, which is touring called “Swimming in Dark Waters—Other Voices.” One of the songs she is performing in her set is an Irish ballad called “Factory Girl.” As Giddens says in the introduction, social progress often comes from disaster. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire
Protest Song Of The Week: ‘T.H.U.G.S.’ by Mysonne
The “Justice For Flint” concert benefit was exceptional counter-programming to the Academy Awards on Sunday night. From Janelle Monae to Vic Mensa to Ledisi to Robert Glasper, there were some incredible performances. It also featured young poets and local residents, who came up on stage to share their stories about
Protest Song Of The Week: ‘Fuck The NRA’ by Jamie Kilstein & The Agenda
More than seven thousand children are killed or injured by gun violence every year in the United States, but the National Rifle Association, America’s foremost gun lobby group, believes in targeting kids when marketing guns. “Start them young,” as one foundation put it. And, in some cases, parents are very
Protest Song Of The Week: ‘Who Will Survive America?’
“Will you survive in the heat and fire of actual change? I doubt it.” From Black poet Amiri Baraka’s 1972 album, “It’s Nation Time,” this song relies on a question-and-answer format to make a statement about who will survive a Black revolution. It opens with a bass line, and then
Protest Song of the Week: ‘The Revolution Has Come’
Drawing from the uprising after Michael Brown was killed by Officer Darren Wilson, Reverend Osagyefo Uhuru Sekou, Jay-Marie Hill, and his band, The Holy Ghost, produced a protest album called, “The Revolution Has Come.” The album of soul and gospel music was released by Farfetched, an independent music and art
Protest Song of the Week: ‘Politicians In My Eyes’ by Death
The Iowa caucuses are upon us, and the legendary black proto-punk band from Detroit, Death, produced a song a little over forty years ago, which is appropriate to mark the occasion. It is called “Politicians In My Eyes,” and it was written by Bobby Hackney, bassist and singer for Death.
The Protest Music of Jefferson Airplane’s Paul Kantner
Paul Kantner denied creating political songs, but still wrote classic protest music, from “Volunteers” to his SF concept album, “Blows Against the Empire”
Protest Song of the Week: ‘Dissatisfaction Suite’ by The Whistleblowers
A new band, The Whistleblowers, from Brooklyn recently released their first EP, which consists entirely of protest music. They describe themselves as a project “born out of a vacuum of socially conscious music.” The song from their album, “Imaginary Lines,” which is Shadowproof’s “Protest Song of the Week,” is a
The Protest Songs Of David Bowie
“I’m not a political commentator, but I think there are times when I’m stretched to … implicate what’s happening politically,” David Bowie said in 2003.
