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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It has been a crazy month. Hopefully, everyone is holding up well with the self-isolation and social distancing. Crazy times, but we always have the music to help get us through. Here is a sampling of some notable socially conscious music released during the past month. Songs/Video: Steve Earle – John Henry was a Steel Driving Man The veteran singer-songwriter […]
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Here is a recap of some notable socially conscious music released during the month of February. Songs/Videos A Tribe Called Red – Land Back (Featuring Ft. Boogey The Beat & Chippewa Travellers) The Candian Indigenous electronic group released the following tune in solidarity with Wet’suwet’en nation and in voicing their support for the pipelines protests happening throughout Canada. Body Count […]
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The final results are in and we now have the list of inductees into the second year of the Protest Music Hall of Fame. I will admit that Hall of Fame could be considered a misnomer. Instead of awarding accolades, it is about building awareness for socially conscious music. As the reach of this website grows, we will be able […]
Learn more →Back in the 1950s and 60s, New York’s Greenwich Village played a role in establishing the counterculture with its vibrant scene of anti-establishment beat poetry and folk music. That renegade spirit is still very much alive among a new generation of New York base protest singers and poets. This is the premise of a new documentary by acclaimed documentarian Karen […]
Learn more →“This machine kills fascists” It would be impossible to overestimate the impact that Woody Guthrie continues to have on American folk music. His contributions to the canon of protest songs are undeniable. His music rallies against fascism, racism and other injustices. Even though Guthrie initial attempts at a music career began in the early 1930s, he started to gain a […]
Learn more →The history of protest music is filled with tunes that are often misinterpreted. One example is Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land”. Originally composed as “God Blessed America for Me”, instead of being a patriotic tune, it was meant as a caustic critique of Irving Berlin’s “God Bless America”. The tune’s most potent lyrics often get excluded: “There was a […]
Learn more →As part of an online archival project a poll was posted to nominate artists, songs, and albums that have made considerable contributions to the historical development of protest music. Based on the results of that poll another poll was posted featuring the list of nominees. Based on the final results we now have the list of the inaugural inductees into […]
Learn more →80 Years of Protest Songs Part 1: 1939-1958 80 Years of Protest Songs Part 2: 1959-1978 80 Years of Protest Songs Part 4: 1999-2018 The 1980s had the reputation of being shallow and self-absorbed, while the music of the 90s was known more for personal angst than for political discontent. Despite this there was still a wealth of songs shedding […]
Learn more →80 Years of Protest Songs Part 2: 1959-1978 80 Years of Protest Songs Part 3: 1979-1998 80 Years of Protest Songs Part 4: 1999-2018 Music is the ultimate time capsule. You can learn a lot about a time period based on the music that it produced. Art is often a reflection of political realities. In connection with this I decided […]
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