Any music expert aqui?
 

Hello all. I am in need of songs about social protest. I don't want to look too far back; Depeche Mode, U2, and the alike would be best. Any suggestion?

not quite sure what youre looking for, but u2s sunday bloody sunday is about this.

~james

How about Bob Marley's "Get Up, Stand Up"?

http://www.bobmarley.com/songs/songs.cgi?getup

Eddie Vedder did a nice cover of Dylan's "Masters of War". The Pogues version of "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda" fits as well.

This is far back (1938) but mighty.

STRANGE FRUIT
Lewis Allen / Billy Holiday
Southern trees bear strange fruit,
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root,
Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze,
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.

Pastoral scene of the gallant south,
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth,
Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh,
Then the sudden smell of burning flesh.

Here is fruit for the crows to pluck,
For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck,
For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop,
Here is a strange and bitter crop.

What's up with the forum-hijacking around here? :)

Go look at Rage's 4 albums...those are chock-full of protesting. There's also Ozomatli, although most of what they sing is in Spanish. System of a Down's 2 records are also full of protest fun.

(DISCLAIMER: I try to find humor in everything.)

Well, if going back that far is game there's tons of stuff from Woodie Guthrie, and even Tom Paxton.

Re: Any music expert aqui?
 

That depends... what do you want to protest? David Allan Coe has written a couple of real gems, but they may not be exactly what you had in mind. ;)

Oh...wait...I get it.

You didn't ask for songs *of* social protest.

You asked for songs *about* social protest. Sorry.

<blockquote><i>
We are the Folk Song Army
Everyone of us cares
We all hate poverty, war and injustice
Unlike the rest of you squares

There are lots of innocuous folk songs
Yeah, but we regard 'em with scorn
The folks who sing 'em have no social conscience
Why they don't even care if Jimmy crack corn

If you feel dissatisfaction
Strum your frustrations away
Some people may prefer action
But give me a folk song any old day

The tune doesn't have to be clever
And it don't matter if you put a couple-a extra syllables into a line
It sounds more ethnic if it ain't good English
And it don't even gotta rhyme - excuse me - rhyne

Remember the war against Franco
That's the kind where each of us belongs
Though he may have won all the battles
We had all the good songs

So join in the Folk Song Army
Guitars are the weapons we bring
To the fight against poverty, war, and injustice
Ready, aim, sing!
</i>
-Tom Lehrer, 1965
</blockquote>

sorry, learned it from the #1 guestbook hijacker from the old days. ;)

Shit...I almost forgot about my gb-hijacking days. :)

It's pretty much a moot song now, but there's always DM's "New Dress."

Nobody better hijack my forum, you pirating sons o' wenches!!

New Dress
 

Okay, In "New Dress," is the song explicitly referring to Princess Diana?

Well, my personal opinion about the song is that it describes the state of affairs circa 1986, and while all these crazy things are happening, people are still obsessed with the silly things in life.


--
Sex jibe husband murders wife
Bomb blast victim fights for life
Girl Thirteen attacked with knife

Princess Di is wearing a new dress

Jet airliner shot from sky
Famine horror, millions die
Earthquake terror figures rise

Princes Di is wearing a new dress

You can't change the world
But you can change the facts
And when you change the facts
You change points of view
If you change points of view
You may change a vote
And when you change a vote
You may change the world

In black townships fires blaze
Prospects better premier says
Within sight are golden days

Princess Di is wearing a New Dress

You can't change the world
But you can change the facts
And when you change the facts
You change points of view
If you change points of view
You may change a vote
And when you change a vote
You may change the world

Princess Di is wearing a New Dress

written by M L Gore

Well....
 

there's this and this and this, though it's a little more subtle. There's also some old school metal protest in this. Want more? Let me know.

a quick update: I chose Sunday Bloody Sunday, and my presentation is on the last day. So far the presentations have covered songs from Ben Folds Five, Phil Collins, Bob Dylan, The Verve Pipe, and more. The best IMO is "The Sound of Silence" by Simon and Garfunkel. Although the guy played the acoustic version, which I think is not as effective/affective as the drum version.

So all we've done and will be doing for the rest of the semester is talking about subjects like SUICIDE, VIOLENCE, RACISM, and ABORTION. Such a cheerful and uplifting class. :)

Could try a band called Snog, for somthing more modern.

Phil Collins?

PHIL COLLINS?!

Man, someone needs to slap the shit out of that person. ;)

Incidentally (Tob, you remember GS-101, right?), I had to take this mandatory class during my freshman year of college called Creative and Critical Thinking. One of the things we had to do was give a presentation on "something that we knew pretty well." It could be about horse-wrangling, fiber optics, whatever. I did my presentation on Nine Inch Nails circa 1994, complete with audio...got an A. :)

You took a course in Critical Thinkin' ... you're shittin' us!

Shhh! No one else needs to know!

Actually, I decided to switch my song to Bullet the Blue Sky. I myself can barely focus listening to Sunday Bloody Sunday; I think Bullet is more attention-grabbing.

So much for the critical thinking class ;)

Re: Any music expert aqui?
 

Well, I see that Sycamore has already provided a Depeche Mode reference (although I don't know how seriously people may have taken "New Dress"...only because many do not take DM seriously).

Ah well..there's always "People Are People". ;)

goddammit, pj! i was all proud of myself when you said you were using one of my suggestions! :) oh, well. as long as its a u2 song ill claim victory.

~james

Good choice, although I would go with the live version on Rattle and Hum. Much more intense, IMO.

James, strained your arm patting yourself on the back, eh? ;)

damn right. :)

actually, bullet the blue sky is my second favourite u2 song. let us know how it goes pj.

~james

Same here, although nobody would succeed in guessing my absolute favorite.

Will do! I appreciate every input I received here. Might need some more between now and Dec 3 :)

Party Girl

Knowing you, it's probably something from the Pop album. :)

Actually, just in the last few weeks, I've become an avid fan of U2, due to this project. Right now it would be hard to decide on one favorite from God Part II, Bullet the Blue Sky, the Ground Beneath My Feet, Staring at the Sun, and One.

Anyway, what do you guys make of these lines from Bullet the Blue Sky:

This guy comes up to me
His face red like a rose on a thorn bush
Like all the colors of a royal flush

........

You take the staircase to the first floor
turn the key and slowly unlock the door
as a man breathes into a saxophone
and through the walls you hear the city groan

"His face red like thorn bush..." can't figure out if there's any symbol in there.

"the colors of royal flush"--can't decipher either

Here is my stab:

red face/ rose/ thorn similie
Face (identity,emotion) described by all the symbolic connotations of the color red (passion,love,heat,blood,anger, life) + the classic contrast of rose vs thorn (beauty,pleasure,soft vs harsh,pain, sharp)

face/royal flush similie
1. card reference: colorful- all the suits (chaotic, jumble), royal flush (winning hand, powerful, confident, lucky)
2. face reference: royal flush as in majorly flushed skin, (empassioned)

The second passage stikes me as a rather poetic narrative witnessed by the singer- private space- the locked door, where a lone man plays music (or attempts to we just hear breath) for no audience other than himself, attempting to express his true self. The last line contrasts this with the outside world-public- relentlessly creeping in through the cracks. The city groans, a larger, collective pain.

er...maybe not.:)

in context...

when i think fat cat politician, i picture that big blustery kind. the kind with the fat red face from all the fund raising dinners and lack of exercise. for what its worth, i dont think the implication is complimentary. especially when he starts throwing 100 bills around like he has an endless supply. i think the implication is that the money is being spent on those fighter planes. i think its referring more to a group of people than any one person.

as far as the line "as a man breathes into a saxophone", that seems to be filler to me. the important line is "And through the walls you hear the city groan". the city groaning from the weight of the bombing by the aforementioned fighter planes.

whatever. half-baked analysis i know. but thats all i got. it probably requires a more extensive knowledge of the civil war in el salvador.

y'know, the red face may be a face covered in blood. but i doubt it based on the proceeding lines.

~james

Oh, I think I know. How about these?

"You gotta' fight for your right to party"- beastie boys

"Gimme' some money", by spinal tap.

"Fat Thing", by sam kinison.

Works for me anyways. Peace.

: ]

Thanks for the context perth. I was too lazy to search it. I know I've heard this song many times, but confess I never really focused on the lyrics.
This is what I get:
American culture- seductive, powerful, and destructive. The red faced man, I imagine the powerful, gambling corporate cat-, and he approaches (from U2s perspective not in the US), instigates, wheeling and dealing. buying and selling. The fighter planes and mud huts arent necessarily in the later mentioned American city- but they are causally related to the man and his cash.
"Through the alleys"-It shifts from happening to "me" to "you", so I imagine a different, contrasting scene- this one definitely set in America. The lone sax line is important and relates to the individual- there are all the links to American music, free expression, with in the quiet groaning American city. Groaning not from the bombs, they're elsewhere, but like a big moving machine groans.

And if you wanna analyze Spinal Tap, I'd suggest the more mature work, "Big Bottom" or "Sex Farm", for they are rife with meaning :)

i didnt really notice the transition, but i agree with your analysis. i didnt really consider that he was talking about two differnet places. makes a lot of sense tho. i dont know about the saxophone bit, it still seems out of place to me.

~james

Something wrong with OPINIONs?
 

Forgive me if I am taking this the wrong way, hence "something wrong with opinions?", but I wrote and sang all of U2 and spinal tap. I should have been a man with a very red face for not having gotten paid for my efforts. At least I still have a soul and best of all, I don't have to keep my mouth shut about ANYTHING! Okay, I feel much calmer now. Breathing is slowing down. Oh the humiliation that used to drive me crazy whenever I tried to take credit for my own blood, sweat, and tears while people try to educate me as to the facts and individual histories of the groups and the "performers" that were nothing but lies. I hate mtv. Regards-

J03 0, L10T

:[

Now that thar's yer royal flush.:3eye:

Wait a minute-
 

It gets better, after everything I have suffered through I can just sit back and relax and enjoy the perpetual melodies accompanying my voice aound the clock. Even while I am at work! And they ask me why I am always smiling.

Maybe because my land, house, and car are all furnished by individuals among this community who not only know these pirates themselves and that I am telling the truth about everything, when not kidding around of course! I only have to pay power and water, and get paid to listen to my songs all night at work. Wouldn't YOU be: )?

The hebetudinous instructor from hell gave me a B+ :(

Syc beat me.

Bastard!
(er, your teacher, not you. nor syc - for he reeks of unhebetudiosity - which explains his A.)

My God Warch...that word creation is both obnoxious and incredible.

I reek of unhebetudiosity...man, I rule. So do you, Warch. :)

The incredulousity laud goes to pj! For I am obnoxiously obsequious.

Yeah, PJ is a smart motherfucker...I remember him as a youngin and he showed incredible potential.

And now...*sniff, sniff*...he's almost all grown up. :)