One of the most important protest tunes of all time, the genesis of “What Going On” happened when Four Tops vocalist Renaldo “Obie” Benson, witnessed police brutality in San Francisco in May 1969, while on tour. While stuck in traffic, Benson observed young protestors being brutally attacked by cops wearing riot gear. “The police was beatin’ on them, but they […]
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Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” is one of the most important songs of all time, so it should be no surprise that there have been many cover versions. Here is a sampling of seven of them. The Undisputed Truth (1972) This close-to-9-and-a-half-minute version was off the Motown act’s sophomore album Face to Face With the Truth. Producer Norman Whitfield assembled the […]
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Released on May 21, 1971, Marvin Gaye’s 11th studio album What’s Going On is one of the most important albums ever released. The landmark concept album is sung from the perspective of a Vietnam War veteran returning to the USA and observing injustice and suffering. The socially conscious tunes that he composed were deeply rooted in the personal. For example, […]
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Sabina Chantouria is a Swedish/Georgian singer-songwriter who just released the timely song and music video “Blood On Your Hands”. The emotive tune portrays how ordinary people pay the highest price in war. The lyrics explore the open wounds experienced by survivors of conflict. It also expresses hope for refugees to return to the land that was once called home. In […]
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The indie rock trio recently released their sophomore album Too Much to Ask, which blends catchy melodies with witty and scathing social critiques. Singer-guitarist Greg Katz comments on the motivation behind the album: “I think the last year or so has drawn a big circle around a lot of things we all already knew, but maybe didn’t know we knew. […]
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Every month JusticeAid features a monthly playlist and blog post based around a specific theme. For February/March the theme is Peace and Love—And War No More. The blog article features 10 songs with informative write-ups. It also includes a companion playlist which features additional tracks. It is an excellently curated selection of anti-war tunes.
Learn more →One advantage of having a music blog is that people message you suggesting certain songs and artists. Several of these recommendations I was considering featuring as part of the poorly misnamed Daily Dose of Protest, but due to my sporadic posting never had the opportunity. In order to rectify that, I will now feature a few socially conscious tunes that […]
Learn more →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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