A list of my favorite politically oriented musicians

Here is a list of my favorite left leaning bands and individual musicians, from a variety of different musical genres.

I'm in my forties and having grown up on pop and rock and loved such musics from an early age, inevitably, my interests in music and politics (as well as sociology, which I study/teach) became somewhat intertwined. When I was a kid growing up in a lower middle class Democratic household in NJ, with aunts and uncles who were nostalgiac for the big bands of the 1940s, parents who liked pre-rock music (lots of Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald and Tony Bennett) and older siblings who listened to everything from the Beatles to Donovan to Iron Butterfly, I was exposed to a wide range of music (including late 1960s "folk masses" at church, showtunes, commercial jingles from the 60s/70s, and much else in between). Then, starting late in high school and continuing in college and grad school, my taste in music began to expand, and incorporated such genres as punk/new wave, funk, hip-hop, jazz, folk, blues, bluegrass, and even a bit of classical and modern music. I now listen to lots of different music, some of which, such as the Beatles and various Motown groups, I have liked since childhood, and much else I have discovered in later years.

One of my proudest achievements, in fact, was organizing an academic conference on hip-hop last year at Lehman College

Anyway, as far as politics and music, here is a list of some of my favorite performers whom I associate with the left end of the political spectrum. I like what these musicians stand for. But I also like and deeply appreciate them as musical artists.

The Clash - These guys knew how to rock, and knew how to make their audience think. Offered such insightful lyrics, about such topics as working class oppression as

"So get back to work an' sweat some more The sun will sink an' we'll get out the door It's no good for man to work in cages Hits the town, he drinks his wages You're frettin', you're sweatin' But did you notice you ain't gettin'?"

and militarism

"All the young people down the ages They gladly marched... off to die Proud city fathers used to watch them Tears in their eyes"

And how can you not love a band that could come up with lyrics such as these

"I don't wanna hear about what the rich are doing I don't wanna go to where the rich are going They think they're so clever, they think they're so right But the truth is only known by guttersnipes."

Johnny Cash - Johnny Cash may have been a true believer from the Bible Belt and may have been a country superstar, but that didn't cause him to be a reactionary or prevent him from seeing and speaking the truth. Whether addressing the lives of those living behind bars, the plight of Native Americans, or questioning America's involvement in Vietnam, Johnny Cash was generally a humanistic voice of the workingman and a great, great talent.

Here's a fine tribute to the man in black.

Bob Dylan - He was probably thought of as more explicitly political during his earlier days, particularly on the earlier (profoundly influential) recordings like The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, which featured songs like "Blowin' in the Wind," "Masters of War," and "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" and The Times They Are A-Changin' which had along with the great title track, such other classics as "With God on Our Side," "Only a Pawn in Their Game," "Ballad of Hollis Brown" and "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll." However, his career in its entirety is symbolic of many things, including the very idea of America; in that, he cannot help but be thought of as a symbolic icon of who we are.

Bruce Springsteen - I'm originally from New Jersey but I got to see the Boss back in 1980 at Madison Square Garden, when he was touring in support of his LP at the time, The River. What an amazing live performer. He played for a solid 4 hours, and never seemed to run out of steam. I was truly impressed.

It turns out, too, that Springsteen is a truly progressive artist, and very much an heir to the old folkie spirit of Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger. Not for nothing did Springsteen recently release a rollicking album We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions Here too is a link to a video performance

And after 911, Springsteen's music was healing. When I first heard the song "City in Ruins" with its pleading chorus of "Come on rise up!/Come on rise up!/Rise up," I was so moved that I wept for a long time.

Patti Smith - and in particular the song "People have the Power." This song (co-written with her late husband, Fred "Sonic" Smith of the MC5) is so good that I will quote it in its entirety.

Phil Ochs - Ochs is probably best known for the song "I Ain't a Marching Anymore," an anthem of the antiwar movement in the 1960s, which was put to great use in the documentary film Berkeley in the Sixties

And as proof of Ochs' commitments to progressivism, here is a transcript of Ochs testifying at the trial of the Chicago 7. He, Abbie Hoffman and company were comrades in the struggle.

Pete Seeger/the Weavers - I feel a special bond with Pete Seeger, as he is my neighbor here in Beacon, NY, and like me, Pete was a part of John Hall's successful campaign for Congress. Last weekend, he led a little gathering of community members in some festive outdoor holiday caroling. And at a Hall fundraiser a while back, he had us all sing-along to his antiwar song "waist deep in the big muddy" and told us the story of how he was censored by CBS when attempting to sing the song on the Smothers Brothers TV show. It was neither the first nor the last time that Pete Seeger, a truly decent and wise man, would run afoul of the powers that be.

John Lennon/the Beatles - John became more radical over time, and while some of his actions - such as the "bed in" for peace - may have seemed a tad gimmicky, his heart was certainly always in the right place. I still mourn his loss to the world.

REM - Performing at the Bring 'Em Home Now! concert at New York's Hammerstein Ballroom, an event benefiting a number of anti-war groups earlier this year was not the first political act of REM's Michael Stipe, but was merely an example of his commitment to progressive causes.

Billy Bragg - This man, who set Woody Guthrie lyrics to music on some award winning records, is a socialist electric guitar playing folkie at heart, who's written a ton of really fine odes to the working man (and working women; in fact, a good chunk of his songs are tender love songs).

Yo La Tengo - While not necessarily a political band per se, these veteran indie rockers from Hoboken, NJ have their hearts in the right place, having been catalysts for the 2004 John Kerry campaign through their "swing state" tour, along with such notable as Chris Heinz, Eric Bogosian, Ted Allen from 'Queer Eye,' John Wesley Harding, Rachel Dratch and Friends from SNL, author Jonathan Lethem, and many others. Plus, their ode to voting (with Chris Stamey - actually his song went like this): "If you don't get out and vote this year/You're really not groovin/It takes every one of us/to keep the country movin/You can make it to the polls/you can get it together/Won't you meet me there?/we'll vote/we can make things better/V-O-T-E: Vote!" (This reads a bit hokey but, trust me, actually sounds good when set to music.)

Bob Marley - So many of his songs - so well known at that - were message songs. You can pick which is your favorite. Mine happens to be "Punky Reggae Party," his tribute to the London punks of the late 70s.

Fela Kuti - This guy was so charismatic and so politically motivated that he took on the dictatorship in his country of Nigeria and came close to leading a revolution, only to get violently beaten down, and to have his mother killed, by the dictatorship. Invented a genre, "afrobeat," and wrote a classic political anthem, "Zombie." His attitude toward women was problematic, but in nearly all other respects, he was a true progressive and visionary.

Bruce Cockburn - It is hard to think of too many songs other than "If I had a Rocket Launcher" - written during Reagan's proxy wars in central America - as expressions of righteous anger toward fascistic bullies. Also wrote a not quite political but equally great song called "Lovers in a Dangerous Time."

Steve Earle - a brilliant songwriter, perhaps best known for his passionate opposition to capital punishment. Steve Earle experienced many trials and tribulations in his life; as he's put it, he's "been to hell and back again." A true progressive, he serenaded us during the GOP occupation of NYC back in the summer of 2004.

Woody Guthrie - Not much needs to be said about the man who wrote the left wing alternative patriotic song "This Land is Your Land" other than to say that he inspired millions of people over many generations.

John Hall - I'm proud to call him my representative in congress and I was moved and inspired when he sang Steve Van Zandt's "I Am A Patriot" during his victory speech on election night.

Bonnie Raitt - Not only did she help her dear friend John Hall to win his seat in Congress, but she's been a voice for political progress for many years. And on top of that, she plays a pretty mean slide guitar.

KRS-One - perhaps the most brilliant thinker/writer in the history of hip-hop, Kris Parker, aka KRS-One of the ensemble Boogie Down Productions, has been philosophizing about street life and inner city culture for several decades.

Public Enemy - helped to give hip-hop a new sound to go along with their message of self-determination in such classic tracks as "Fight the Power," "Bring the Noise," "Party for Your Right to Fight," and "Prophets of Rage."

The Ramones - I know that the Ramones also weren't really a political band per se, but I include them mainly because of Joey Ramone and the classic song "Bonzo goes to Bitburg." I loved the Ramones, and was lucky enough to see them live, twice, back in the 70s.
Here's Salon's fine posthumous tribute to Joey Ramone

The Flames of Discontent - this is a local band of politically active folky musicians here in the Hudson Valley who specialize in protest and old union songs like "Joe Hill." Here is their website.

Check them out. They're really cool people and very talented musicians.

Rage Against the Machine - for merging neo-marxian analysis with metal and hip-hop and having it all work. Or, as the All Music Guide puts it, "sloganeering leftist rants against corporate America, cultural imperialism, and government oppression into a Molotov cocktail of punk, hip-hop, and thrash"

Neil Young - Here's the video for Let's Impeach the President. I think that this appropriately angry rant of a song says it all, when it comes right down to it.

Arrested Development - best remembered for the classic song "Tennessee," which dealt with the inherent spiritual journey of Black history, as the All Music Guide suggests, this band offered a blend of "progressive rap collective fusing soul, blues, hip-hop, and Sly and the Family Stone-influenced funk with political, socially conscious lyrics."

Michael Franti/Spearhead - A Bay Area based social and political activist, Franti, a founding member of hip hop groups, the Beatnigs, the Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy, and Spearhead, is a very talented socially conscious artist whose writing has developed in complexity as he's gotten older. He's addressed such topics as AIDS, racism, homelessness, and the conflict in the Middle East, all with an acutely sharp sense of justice and humanity, and has thus been compared to Mavin Gaye and Gil-Scott Heron.

Gil-Scott Heron - When I think of him, I think of such great, righteous classic tracks as "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised," "Washington, D.C.," "Johannesburg," and "Message to the Messengers," as well as his "tributes" to the Reagan administration - "B Movie" and "Re-Ron."

Digable Planets - a jazz influenced hip-hop group with a mellow vibe from Brookyn, this group stood for gender equality and peace, in sharp contrast to much of the prevailing norms within 90s hip-hop. And "9th Wonder (Blackitolism)" is one of the catchiest tunes ever recorded in any genre.

Tom Petty - Here's a quote from an interview with Petty in Esquire.

"The war in Iraq is shameful. Whether you're pro or con Bush, you've got to admit: The guy lied. And he continues to do so. I can't understand why he's just not run out on a rail. To send somebody's kids off and have them killed for no good reason--he's going to have his day in hell for that. I wouldn't want that karma.
When you kill somebody's little sister with a missile, he's going to hate you forever. And the next generation will hate you even more."

Also, he released an explicitly political album in 2002, called The Last DJ which featured the track "Money become king," which like his earlier song "Jamming me" is an accurate statement for our time of greed, mass production, and information overload.

Henry Rollins/Rollins Band - Rollins, on the surface, may mistakenly appear to be a right wing and stereotypical "angry white male," but looks can be deceiving. In fact, he is a much more complex figure. Highly intelligent and fiercely independent, Rollins has taken punk's DIY philosophy and made it his primary operating principle. Politically, he is smart enough to see the stupidity of those operating from positions of power, and to call them on their bullshit. Musically, he offers a rockingly hard catharsis.

Ani DiFranco - a antimaterialist, post-feminist folkie for our times.

Michelle Shocked - Michelle Shocked manages to bring a Lower East Side/countercultural sensibility to all of the music that she explores, be it folk, bluegrass, jazz, or anything else.

Beastie Boys - It's hard to believe that these guys went from the wisecracking adolescents of "Cookiepuss," and "Egg Raid on Mojo" to mature elder statesmen of hip-hop and alternative rock, organizing events to save Tibet, as well as the environment. But they have.

Fugazi - Ian McKaye is a living icon, and this DC based band of his, which came out of hardcore punk, embodies all of the ideals of a movement that emerged in opposition to the mainstream in all of its dismal forms (such as plastic corporate culture). Musically, Fugazi stand out against the countless, uninspired guitar bands whose music all kind of sounds the same.

Bad Religion - This long standing punk band takes on a wide variety of right wing targets - such as the Christian right - in a series of very tuneful musical moments.

Miriam Makeba - Perhaps best known for the 1967 Afropop hit "Pata Pata," and in the US for her friendship with Harry Belefonte, Miriam Makeba, known as Mama Africa, is a vitally important figure in African musical and cultural history. From South Africa, she was driven into exile for her outspokenness against the apartheid regime. When she returned to her native land in the wake of Nelson Mandella, she was hailed like a returning queen. In the meantime, she has a large body of recorded works, nearly all of which are full of charm, warmth, and elegance.

Moby - Moby, a vegan, feminist, radical, anticorporate techno/pop artist with energies channeled in many different directions gives Christianity, a version of which he follows, a very good name. Had his breakthrough moment with the LP Play and the hit song "South Side."

Carmaig deForest - He who plays the ukelele punk style. Here is a link to his fine song George Bush Lies

The MC5 - from Detroit, these guys were the godfathers of political punk, combining hard rock and late 60s garage punk, with a radical, countercultural sensibility permeating their songs, some of which, like "American Ruse" and "Motor City is Burning" created a picture of a polarized society coming apart at the seams.

The Gang of Four - These guys are basically punk's version of the Frankfurt School, or Adorno and Horkheimer with punk riffs and funk basslines.

God is My Co-Pilot - offer a radical gender vison wedded to some very radical postpunk grooves

The Ex - are an influential and deeply respected musical collective. I've written about them elsewhere in a review of their singles compilation that the Ex are committed philosophical idealists and political activists, who also happen to be a long existing and deeply influential punk band. The Ex - from the Netherlands - formed in the late '70s, and began recording in the early 80s, releasing singles, EPs and LPs on various indie labels, and participating in the creation and maintanence of politcal punk scenes in Europe, the U.S., and elsewhere. This recording compiles much of their early work, and sounds very raw and abrasive, as well as minimalist and lo-fi. Most of the songs are sung in English (though some, such as "Lied Der Steinklopfer," are not), and offer socially critical and political themes and topics. While a number of the songs sound a bit same-ish, some do stand out. Among these are "Human Car," which explores the analogy of man:machine, and does so over classic hardcore punk riffs, and some of the more explicitly topical or political songs, such as "Cells," "Weapons for El Salvador," "Enough is Enough" (which also features a kind of Middle Eastern sounding motif within the song), and the dirgelike "Memberhips." Highly recommended for fans of noise bands and/or leftist message oriented punk.

Linton Kwesi Johnson - Johnson, a former Black Panther in the UK is a politically conscious dub reggae artist who has dealt, really insightfully, with themes of racial and class oppression.
Here's a review from All Music Guide:

"Although he has only released one album of new material in the last ten years, and has virtually retired from the live stage after his 1985 tour, Linton Kwesi Johnson remains a towering figure in reggae music. Born in Kingston, Jamaica and raised in the Brixton section of London, Johnson invented dub poetry, a type of toasting descended from the DJ stylings of U-Roy and I-Roy. But whereas toasting tended to be hyperkinetic and given to fits of braggadocio, Johnson's poetry (which is what it was — he was a published poet and journalist before he performed with a band) was more scripted and delivered in a more languid, slangy, streetwise style. Johnson's grim realism and tales of racism in an England governed by Tories was scathingly critical. The Afro-Brits in Johnson's poems are neglected by the government and persecuted by the police. Johnson was also instrumental (with his friend Darcus Howe) in the publication of a socialist-oriented London-based newspaper, Race Today, that offered him and other like-minded Britons both black and white an outlet to discuss the racial issues that, under Margaret Thatcher's reign, seemed to be tearing the country apart. For one so outspoken in his politics, Johnson's recorded work, while politically explicit, is not simply a series of slogans or tuneful/danceable jeremiads. In fact, is was his second release, Forces of Victory, where his mix of politics and music united to stunning effect. Dennis Bovell and the Dub Band could swing (as in jazzy) more than many reggae bands, and guitarist John Kpiaye, the group's secret weapon, offered deftly played, dazzlingly melodic solos. But it was Johnson's moving poetry, galvanizing moments such as "Sonny's Lettah" and "Fite Dem Back" that made it obvious that this was a major talent."

Willie Colon - I teach in the Bronx, which is where this activist musician from the world of salsa originally hails from. Colon, in addition to maintaining an influential, nearly 40 year musical career, has also been an activist on human rights, immigration, and environmental issues, and has been an advocate for the Latin American community in the U.S. In the Bronx, he is a revered figure

Pearl Jam - a bit mainstream at times, these guys - not unlike U2 - nevertheless bring a social conscience to arena rock. And their last record, titled simply Pearl Jam, rocked like a motherf**ker, with the song "World Wide Suicide" an apt description of a world with George W Bush in power. In fact, the entire album appears to be a protest statement against the Bush administration.

Dave Van Ronk - I got to see him play live once, many years ago at a socialist scholars conference in Manhattan, where after playing the song "losers," he, being an old lefty, thanked the audience with a "goodnight comrades." Not knowing exactly who he was, i.e., that here was a guy who mentored a young Bob Dylan, I now know I was in the presence of greatness. The voice, the songs, the fingerpicking guitar style, the attitude, the irreverenace toward power, Dave Van Ronk was a complete package.

Utah Phillips - No one quite sings a protest song like Utah Phillips.

Marvin Gaye - He wasn't necessarily always political, but What's Going On is a masterpiece, and the title song on it still rings true.

the Mekons/Jon Langdon/Three Johns/Waco Brothers - Britain's neomarxist country punks who combine sociopolitical analysis with roots music have been doing their thing - in a myriad of different permuations - for over twenty years.

Frank Zappa - Probably more of a libertarian than a leftist, Frank Zappa was afraid neither to experiment with music nor to speak on freely and honestly on what he thought was true.

Incidentally, the photo above is of the great Almanac Singers, featuring a very young Pete Seeger (that's him, second from the left) and also Lee Hayes (later a member of the Weavers) as well as Woody Guthrie. The Almanacs specialized in union/working class tunes and were explicitly political; they were later blacklisted as communists.