I’m trying to put together a music playlist, and so I’m appealing to you, my Gentle Readers, to help me find songs of a certain type. I’m calling them protest songs, but that’s probably not a very good description. I’m not talking about, for example, ’60’s anti-war chants, and I’d like to avoid an excess of Dylan.
The only way I can think of to explain what I want is to give a few examples of the kind of song I mean. Probably the defining member of this type of song is Old Crow Medicine Show’s “I Hear Them All”:
Another good example is the classic Jimmy Cliff song “The Harder They Come”:
For something a little more hard core, I’ll take “Guns Of Brixton.” But not the Clash version. I prefer this haunting cover by Nouvelle Vague:
That’s not to say I don’t mind a little anger. Or a lot of anger, as in Bruce Cockburn’s “If I Had a Rocket Launcher”:
I don’t know if there’s really a common theme running through those songs, but if you know of other songs that you think I’d like based on this list — or even if these songs just remind you of some other songs — let me know in the comments.
Thanks.
Before you’re flooded with comments, allow me to offer my favorite. Phil Ochs, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulTmmTIlM_o
It less a protest song than a social commentary, but since I like it, I offer it to you.
Solomon Burke with the Blind Boys of Alabama–None of Us Are Free
Scott, you’re right, it’s not quite the kind of song I was looking for, but it’s still a pretty pointed song. Thanks.
Jim, you nailed it. That’s exactly the kind of song I was looking for.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5M_Ttstbgs For What it’s Worth – it’s not a war protest song, its a police-state protest song set in the context of a war protest.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1M8vei3L0L8 NWA. My personal favorite.
Mark,
Enjoy Mrs. McGrath by Bruce Springsteen. Mrs. McGrath is off the Seeger Sessions and is a Traditional.
And I’m going to give you a Dylan song because it’s beautiful and because most people (even Dylan fans) don’t know it. It’s called Let Me Die in My Footsteps. It’s off The Bootleg Series Volumes 1-3.