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Best "political" songs ever

Lark

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Jun 21, 2009
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I'm working on an iPod playlist of my favourite quasi-political or protest songs, I've not put any RATM on the list yet surprisingly and I'm not going to include the ubiquitous Chumbawumba at this point, I am putting Zombi by The Cranberries on there, it speaks very loudly and clearly to me on a number of levels but mainly on a personal one about someone I knew who was murdered towards the end of the shooting war here in Northern Ireland. That said I just think of it as a general anti-war song. Infact I think it's broader than it, people become zombis too easy, possessed by images or ideas which are in their heads, which put them on auto-pilot or which arent a true picture or reflection of reality at all.

Anyone any ideas?
 

ajblaise

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YouTube - Woody Guthrie- This Land Is Your Land

Classic political folk song.

YouTube - Rage Against the Machine - Down Rodeo

The best Rage song IMO. They are definitely one of the few [hard] rock bands that have been able to pull off political rock and make it popular.

There are some more I like but I can't remember them right now.


Woody Guthrie was a communist. And Rage is definitely left-of-center. Have there been any cool conservative political artists? I know conservatism and art don't necessarily go hand in hand.
 

Lark

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I dont know if there have been AJB but conservatives are pretty good at co-opting the left song canon, RATM probably got more air time on right wing talk radio than anyplace else were they aired it as a general protest against apathy and didnt think too hard about the lyrics.
 

Halla74

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Moved from "Politics, History and Current Events"...

-Halla
 

Robert165

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[YOUTUBE="gkqfpkTTy2w"]American Woman Guess who[/YOUTUBE]
[YOUTUBE="LJwS38YH1iw"]Neil Young Southern Man[/YOUTUBE]
[YOUTUBE="lZD4ezDbbu4"]Bruce Springsteen Born In The USA[/YOUTUBE]
[YOUTUBE="JQkActP-isE"]Sex Pistols Anarchy In The UK[/YOUTUBE]
[YOUTUBE="HQwm1v1R-qM"]Clash Strait To Hell[/YOUTUBE]
[YOUTUBE="GcHL8efKKPE"]Clash Magnificent Seven[/YOUTUBE]
[YOUTUBE="PdiCJUysIT0"]Neil Young Keep On Rockin'[/YOUTUBE]
[YOUTUBE="sHhWVGi2-Uk"]Bob Dylan Masters Of War[/YOUTUBE]
 

onemoretime

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[YOUTUBE="EDS00Pnhkqk"]More Woody Guthrie greatness[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE="Zk69e1Vcmvg"]Yes, the commies have better political songs than we do[/YOUTUBE]

A personal favorite -

[YOUTUBE="-T30cQgHoRE"]Part 1[/YOUTUBE]
[YOUTUBE="xvpkZ5HhV7A"]Part 2[/YOUTUBE]
 

ajblaise

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[YOUTUBE="vypd--oV7Ng"]The Dead Kennedys - Holiday in Cambodia[/YOUTUBE]
 

Robert165

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[YOUTUBE="DtUMa0FtuWY"]Marvin Gaye What's Going On[/YOUTUBE]
[YOUTUBE="U9BA6fFGMjI"]Marvin Gaye Mercy Me[/YOUTUBE]
[YOUTUBE="xtzlFO19m3k"]Gil Scott Heron Home Is....[/YOUTUBE]
[YOUTUBE="fFhra4tGqoU"]Public Enemy Fight The Power[/YOUTUBE]
[YOUTUBE="KvhIjI-AyE8"]Tupac Rearview[/YOUTUBE]
[YOUTUBE="rs6gNhx5A6E"]Public Enemy He Got Game[/YOUTUBE]
 

ajblaise

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[YOUTUBE="-io-kZKl_BI"]Talking Heads - Once In A Lifetime[/YOUTUBE]
 

Hexis

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[YOUTUBE="T6x9LKEk3-g"]Iced Earth-When the Eagle Cries[/YOUTUBE]

This ones not very "patriotic" but it still pulls a string in me.

[YOUTUBE="2SVQoRDHSAI"]Iced Earth-Ghost of Freedom[/YOUTUBE]
 

compulsiverambler

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[YOUTUBE="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABy_06p4bFI"]Part of the Union - Strawbs[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSmNIecfqog"]Oliver's Army - Elvis Costello[/YOUTUBE]
 

Thalassa

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[YOUTUBE="fkuOAY-S6OY"]RATM - Killing in the Name Of[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE="zUzd9KyIDrM"]System of a Down - BYOB[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE="hb2YSAVHmIE"]John and Yoko - Happy Christmas (War is Over)[/YOUTUBE]
 

Thalassa

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[YOUTUBE="68i4tMmv9F4"]Three Dog Night - Black & White[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE="bv6kwG4BhC8"] Neil Young - Ohio[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE="UW8UlY8eXCk"]The Dead Kennedys - California Uber Alles[/YOUTUBE]
 

tcda

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well most are in spanish, but in english, here:

YouTube - Immortal Technique -- The Poverty of Philosophy

YouTube - Leonard Cohen - The Partisan

YouTube - Pete Seeger - This Land is Your Land

(ok, with this one you have to ignore the context of it being Obama's inaugration, the old boy just got desperate, but you still have to love him) :p

YouTube - Rifles of the IRA

oh and this one is French but has some amazing footage from the russian revolution and europe at the time:
YouTube - "Les nouveaux partisans" (Communist song) ♫ ☭
 

Speed Gavroche

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[youtube=Dn8sd2aAWE0]Living Colour - Cult Of Personality[/youtube]
 
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