Mdou Moctar, from artist’s Bandcamp. We have reached the halfway point of 2024 so it is time to look back at some of the best socially conscious albums released so far. This list features a diverse array of artists, genres, and political issues. The albums are presented in alphabetical order. Many of the writeups were reused from what I previously […]
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Kaia Kater, artist’s Bandcamp Here is a summary of notable socially conscious music released during May. Songs/Videos: Hinds Hall – Macklemore The title of this hard-hitting protest tune is a reference to student protesters renaming Hamilton Hall at Columbia University to Hind’s Hall in honor of Hind Rajab, the six-year-old Palestinian girl murdered by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip. The tune is a scathing indictment […]
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Emma Donovan, from the artist’s Bandcamp. Here is a summary of notable socially conscious music released during April. Songs/Video: Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond of Each Other – Orville Peck & Willie Nelson This tune was written and originally performed by Latin country musician Ned Sublette in 1981. The satirical tune which explores stereotypes connected with gay men and cowboys was covered […]
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Hurray For The Riff Raff, from the artist’s Bandcamp I started this website back on December 6th, 2017. During that first month, I hastily compiled a list of the 25 best protest albums. Back then I wasn’t cataloguing what I was listening to like I am now. I decided to revisit the list and expand it to 40. You will […]
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The music being made continues to reflect the current socio-political climate. Here is a recap of notable socially conscious music released during August. Songs/Videos: Black AF – Crystal Axis This is the latest tune by the Anti-colonial Afropunk band from Nairobi. The band posted the following statement on the song’s YouTube page: “Black AF draws from our various experiences as […]
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Back on January 21st, 2017, singer-songwriter MILCK went viral when she organized a flash mob performance of her song “Quiet” at the Women’s March On Washington. The tune was motivated by her past experiences with sexual and physical abuse. It ended up becoming an enduring anthem of empowerment. Since then, she continues to write and record socially conscious music. The […]
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We just finished the first month of 2021 and in many ways, the shittiness of 2020 has seemed to carry over. January is traditionally a slower month for new music releases, but there was still plenty of socially conscious music, and here is a small sample of it. Songs/Videos: Amanda Shires – Our Problem (featuring Angie Stone, Cyndi Lauper, K. […]
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This is the third video posted to the recently launched Ongoing History of Protest Songs YouTube channel. I’ll be posting at least one video a week. The first two videos focused on the best protest tunes of the 2010s, and 2000s. Subsequent videos will focus on the 80s, 70s, and 60s. These videos are based on articles I wrote for Spinditty, […]
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Part of the purpose of this site is to chronicle the historical developments of protest music. One way to do this is to look back at previous decades. I previously published a list of the 100 Best Protest Albums of the 2010s. Now we are going to look back at the best albums of other decades, starting with the 2000s. […]
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As we approached the end of a decade it is a good time to reflect on some of the best socially conscious albums released during the past ten years. Despite misconceptions about the lack of modern protest music, the 2010s was responsible for several contributions to the ever-expanding canon of protest music. If anything, this list is just a small […]
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