Shadow asked me to post in his "new thread" and I hate to let my man down. Now that I am here, I realize I have a great deal to say. Excellent thread, Shadow.
I am one of the world's youngest HUGE Van Halen fans. Right Now is the song, more specifically the video, that made me realize I wanted to get back together with my girlfriend at the time and she is now my fiancee. So I owe a great deal to that song. But it's not one of my most "socially conscious" songs of all time.
1. Sunday, Bloody Sunday by U2. Take it from an Irishman, it can be hard not to get teary-eyed when this song is done live. It conjures the painful memories of the 13 unarmed Irish Catholics shot mercilessly by British soldiers in Northern Ireland - a dark day for not just the Irish people but for mankind as a whole. The great thing about this sing is that it can translate so well to any dispute, war, situation, etc. Even now with America and Iraq. The cry "How long? How long must we sing this song?" is so powerful, but so true, and no matter how old the song gets it will always be relevant.
2. Pity the Dead by Bad Religion. Actually, anything by the Godfathers of Punk would apply to this thread, but "Pity the Dead" off the powerful album "The Gray Race" asks the question why we feel so sorry for people who pass on when with all of the crime, poverty, violence, hate, and bigotry in the world maybe they are the lucky ones. A fantastic song not just lyrically, but musically as well.
3. Crossfire by The Scorpions. Another war-based anthem, starting with a hypnotic drum beat a la war march and featuring the echoing line "Why must the people that we made the leaders of the world...understand...that we don't want to fight...understand...we are far too young to die...
4. War Pigs by Black Sabbath. A scathing song about the socio-economic gap in those who declare the wars and those who are left fighting them. "Politicians hide themselves away, they only started the war...why should they be left to die, they leave that to the poor..." Everytime I hear that song I think of Michael Moore (who I think is a hack) asking congressmen to enlist their sons and daughters in the army to fight in the war they declared.
5. Fortunate Son by Creedence Clearwater Revival. These guys were the poster children for anti-Vietnam war protests and draft dodging in the 1960's. Their music still resonates with passion and fire today. This song in particular meets head-on the topic of the protection the rich and politically connected have in avoiding the world's least popular war.
6. Bulls on Parade by Rage Against the Machine. Maybe the greatest political-rock band of all time. The lyrics of all of their songs could make anything they do a part of this list, but the angry screams of "Rally 'round the family with a pocket full of shells" as an indictment against the security and arms industries for encouraging foreign conflict as a way to drum up business. Written long before Halliburton's involvement in the Iraq war of today, but never more relevant.
7. Southern Man by Neil Young. A basic, clear, direct description of Southern mistreatment of slaves by white owners and the inherent fear of thoughts and appearances different from the Southern Norm even after the Jim Crow laws were repealed. Lynard Skynard's "Sweet Home Alabama" was a rebuttle to "Southern Man" which only served to catapult this song's legend.
8. Fuck the Police by N.W.A. In a day when rap lyrics meant more than ho's, money, and gangsta killings, N.W.A. took straight aim at racism and profiling in the Los Angeles police force, though one could argue the sing could be applied to any diverse major U.S. city. It tackled the stereotypes of blacks being portrayed as drug dealers and gansters exclusively. It also questioned the heart of the black police officers who chose to back the white police instead of the black citizens. "Fuckin with me cuz I'm a teenager, With a little bit of gold and a pager... Searchin my car, lookin for the product, Thinkin every ***** is sellin narcotics."
9. Taxman by The Beatles. While I could have also pegged "Revolution" as the Beatles anthem for my list, I went with this poetic disendorsement of the political hand being in the American pocket at every turn. "If you drive a car, I'll tax the street...if you try to sit, I'll tax your seat. If you get too cold, I'll tax the heat...if you try to walk I'll tax your feet." Well, look at all of the money being spent on the Iraq war and tell me - how badly is my driving, my sitting, my warmth, and my walking being wasted?
10. Keep'em Separated by The Offspring. A great before-its-time look at school kids and guns, the gang land empires permiating our youth. The line "By the time you hear the sirens, it's already too late...one goes to the morgue and the other to jail, one guy's wasted and the other's a waste..." Well before Columbine people saw this coming. The American gun culture filters down, not up...
11. American Idiot by Green Day. Sorry to go above a top ten list, but I can't leave this one off. A ballbat to the groin of f-ed up American Pop Culture, complete with a hilarious (though terrible) imitation of The Governator. The war in Iraq is 4th page news, but god forbid anybody not see the headlines about Britney's comeback or A-Rod's opt-out. Ridiculous.
I give honorbale mention to The Dixie Chicks "I'm Not Ready to Make Nice." I may not be their #1 fan, but that song is ballsy and well written. I will also advise people to download a sing called "Guns and Cigarettes" by a band called "Atmosphere." I will post more as I think of them.
