Tune-Yards just released their fourth full-length album, I Can Feel You Creep into My Private Life. Lead singer and songwriter Merrill Garbus grapples with white privilege and cultural appropriation on a number of the album’s tunes. The songs are very much a product of the current political climate. In a track by track analysis by NPR, Garbus made the following statement: “A lot of […]
Learn more →Black Eyed Peas is a rap group that it would be easy to take a dismissive attitude with. Their brand of pop rap is massively successful, but the songs often lack substance. It might get people up on the dance floor, but it isn’t going to provoke any deeper thinking. “Street Livin” deviates from their typical pop sound. It is […]
Learn more →Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15th, 1929 and he was assassinated on April 4, 1968. Considering the inedible 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 […]
Learn more →Dolores O’Riordan died today at the age of 46. She was most well known for being the lead singer of the Irish rock band, The Cranberries. Even though The Cranberries weren’t necessary known for being a political band, they had a few tunes that were shaped by current world events. One example is their massive hit “Zombie” from their 1994 […]
Learn more →Camp Cope is an all-female Australian indie rock trio. “The Opener” is the opening track from their upcoming sophomore album How To Socialize & Make Friends (slated to be released March 2). The tune is a scathing response to lack of representation and tokenism within the music industry (“Yeah, just get a female opener, that’ll fill the quota.”) In an interview […]
Learn more →Back on January 13th, 1968, Johnny Cash played a concert at Folsom Prison, a maximum security penitentiary in California. This performance was recorded and was released as the album At Folsom Prison in May of 1968. The album was considered a true landmark, which was also responsible for resurrecting Johnny Cash’s career. After that historical performance, Cash continued to perform […]
Learn more →Rik & The Pigs is a grimy old school punk band from Olympia, Washington. They are starting to build a name for themselves with their DIY ethos and their energetic live performances. “America” is from their debut full length album, A Child’s Gator, which is due out on January 16th, 2018. This ditty is hooky and raucous and it also […]
Learn more →David Bowie died on January 10, 2016. Bowie was known as a groundbreaking innovator who was constantly reinventing himself. Bowie wasn’t specifically known for his protest music, but he did possess a social conscience and much of his music was shaped by whatever the current political climate happened to be at the time. For example, Bowie’s entire 1974 album Diamond […]
Learn more →Petra Glynt is a Canadian experimental indie pop artist. The political intent of her music can be discerned from one glance of the cover of her 2017 album, This Trip. The cover includes a tombstone with the inscription “R.I.P. Patriarchy”. In the past few months there has been an increase amplification of women voices. Glynt definitely offers a compelling voice […]
Learn more →“Disillusioned”, which was released on January 1st, 2018, is the 2nd single from the supergroup’s upcoming album. It will be their 1st album since 2004’s eMOTIVe (which was an album of anti-war cover songs). Concerning the bands previous single, “The Doomed”, the band’s lead singer, Maynard James Keenan made the following statement: “In light of this current difficult and polarized […]
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