Protest Music
Neil Young Officially Releases Donald Trump Takedown “Big Crime”
"NO MORE GREAT AGAIN." Neil Young Officially Releases Donald Trump Takedown “Big Crime”: Watch Chris Coplan
Colin Meloy and Laura Veirs Join Raye Zaragoza on New Song “They Say”: Stream
Colin Meloy (photo by David Brendan Hall), Raye Zaragoza (photo by Cultivate Consulting), and Laura Veirs Folk artist and protest music songwriter Raye Zaragoza has announced a new album, Woman in Color. Due out October 23rd through Rebel River Records, it’s being previewed today with a single called “They Say”, featuring harmonica from The Decemberists frontman Colin Meloy and banjo arrangements courtesy of veteran folk musician Laura Veirs. A timely number, it finds Zaragoza taking the US government to task for its piss-poor response to the coronavirus crisis. “This song is about the dysfunction of American power structures. It’s about how the systems built to support the people don’t support all people,” she explained in a statement. “Especially during a pandemic, it’s been ex...
Jorja Smith Drops New Single “By Any Means”: Stream
Neo-soul singer Jorja Smith is back with a new standalone single called “By Any Means”. The song is taken from Reprise, an upcoming collaborative album organized by Roc Nation in response to the ongoing Black Lives Matter protests. There’s no tracklist available yet for Reprise, but considering Roc Nation’s roster, it should turn out to be a star-studded affair. According to a press release, the goal of the album is to bring awareness to social justice issues and raise money for The Gathering For Justice, NACDL Foundation For Criminal Justice, Equal Justice Initiative Mission, and Cop Accountability Project — all organizations that support victims of police brutality, hate crimes, and other violations of civil rights. “The inspiration behind ‘By Any Means’ really came from going to th...
Portland Protesters Chant Rage Against the Machine’s “Killing in the Name” at Federal Agents: Watch
Tom Morello (photo by Amy Harris), Portland Protesters (via Twitter: Sergio Olmos) Portland, Oregon, has been an epicenter of sociopolitical unrest in America in recent weeks, and over the weekend, protesters channeled Rage Against the Machine to get their message across. While blasting the band’s “Killing in the Name” over loudspeakers, demonstrators chanted the song’s famous line “F**k you, I won’t do what you tell me” at federal agents. Footage of the scene posted to social media on Saturday looks straight out of a post-apocalyptic movie, with protesters in gas masks pumping their fists and flipping the bird while screaming the song’s profanity-laced line over and over again at federal agents on the other side of a fence. Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello shared the clip, a...
Pussy Riot Share New Song “1312” Railing Against Police Brutality: Stream
This past week has been rife in police protests, rampant looting, burning buildings, and a blatant lack of equality following the death of George Floyd. During all of this, President Donald Trump has been, to quote Taylor Swift, “stoking the fires of white supremacy and racism.” So it was only a matter of time until politically driven punk group Pussy Riot stepped in to write “1312”, a new song about ending police brutality. “1312” sees the Russian group collaborating with Argentinean artists Parcas, Dillom, and Muerejoven as a form of solidarity — similarly to their Vic Mensa track “Hangerz” — to honor “the bravery and strength shown in front of abusive police forces” at Chilean protests. Musically, “1312” is a hybrid of blown-out grunge beats, throat-scratching screams, punk rock br...
Anonymous Hacks Chicago Police Scanners to Play N.W.A.’s “Fuck Tha Police”
N.W.A. As the protests over George Floyd’s death and normalized police brutality continue into a new week, we’ve seen everything from celebrities marching in the streets to tone-deaf remixes of Martin Luther King Jr. speeches. Over the weekend, the notorious hacker group Anonymous joined the fray by tapping into Chicago Police Department’s radios and playing N.W.A.’s “Fuck Tha Police”. This past Saturday, the notorious hacker group returned to social media to announce their solidarity with the protestors fighting racism and corruption in the US. “If the police can’t restrain themselves and are shooting reporters, kicking protesters, punching protesters, and engaging in violence — how can anyone expect the people to restrain themselves? People are done being brutalised and murdered,” they t...
