As part of a music community, I recently did a 1969 deep dive. I was going to record a video highlighting my top 25 albums and songs, but not sure I’ll ever get around to it. But as expected, 1969 is a solid year for protest songs. Many of the tunes were anti-war songs in response to Vietnam. But there […]
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Sadly, Jamaican roots reggae legend Max Romeo passed away on April 11, 2025. Initially, he received notoriety for his 1968 UK hit “Wet Dream,” which was banned by the BBC for being too explicit. In the 70s, his music shifted in a more political direction, tackling an array of social injustices, including governmental and police corruption. Here is a selection […]
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With the decade being just beyond the halfway point, I decided to previously post my list of the top 55 albums of the decade so far. I’m now following it up with a playlist featuring 100 of the best protest songs released between 2020-2024. I limited it to one song per artist (with the exceptions of some features).
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We have passed the halfway point of the current decade, and it continues to be chaotic. The chaos provides the canvas to create powerful protest music in response to the current political climate. Presented in chronological order and limited to only one album per artist, here is a sampling of notable protest albums released between 2020-2024. Also, would like to […]
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On April 7, 2020, acclaimed singer-songwriter John Prine sadly died at the age of 73, due to complications connected with the coronavirus. Even though mainstream commercial success has eluded Prine, it is hard to deny his considerable influence. He is the favourite singer-songwriter of your favourite singer-songwriter. His work also possesses a keen social awareness. Right now we will consider […]
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From their gospel roots to secular success, The Staple Singers played an important in helping to compose the soundtrack of the civil rights movement. As the only surviving member, the youngest sibling, Mavis is still going strong at 85 years old. Here is a small sample of twelve of their socially conscious tunes. Masters of War The Staple Singers covered […]
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Kurt Cobain tragically passed on April 5, 1994, at the age of 27. If he were still alive it makes you wonder how today’s political climate would affect his music. Even though Cobain didn’t write too many direct protest tunes, much of his music possessed a keen social awareness. He was definitely against the macho attitudes that contributed to the […]
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Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15th, 1929 and he was assassinated on April 4, 1968. Considering the indelible impact that the famed civil rights leader had, it should be no surprise that numerous songs have been inspired by him. Here is a list of ten of those tunes. Blues For Martin Luther Kings – Otis Spann (1968) This […]
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On May 4th, 2012, Adam “MCA” Yauch of the Beastie Boys lost his battle to cancer, at the age of 47 years old. He was more than just a founding member of one of the most influential groups in hip hop history. Yauch was also a political activist, a devout Buddhist, and was heavily involved in the Tibetan independence movement, […]
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Early morning on May 18, 2017, Chris Cornell was declared dead. Cornell played an important part of my teen years and young adulthood. The first concert I ever attended was a Pearl Jam & Neil Young double bill and Soundgarden was one of the opening acts. This was in support of their 1991 album Badmotorfinger and just before the release […]
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