Hardly any songs about protest anymore

[Vinnie From Indy]

Except for rap and a few other isolated songs, there seems to be hardly any music being produced these days that has social activism as it's subject. Granted, not having a draft has something to do with it.

[KharmaTrain]

1. Implosion Of The Music Industry

Activism doesn't have any place in the corporate world that has dominated popular music. The 60's featured many small recording companies that fueled the folk and then pop/rock protest sounds of the late 60s. Those little guys would drive the big ones who saw green in the new rock thing. Underground radio gave many of these bands and labels airing, but that's not happening today where "deregulation" has eliminated most local programming and has the dial full of "play-it-safe cookie cutters" who only care about ratings. So the old system is completely broken...and rigged.

In recent years there have been some good protest songs. They are squashed by corporate radio that owed the GOOP their large fortunes thanks to "deregulation" and by record companies that want to dominate the music not promote it. Thus it's there on the internet...the place where more and more people have turned to find new music and talent.

It's technology that's the big change. Video killed the radio star who gave the podium for musical diversity. Today we live in a no-deposit, no return society where instant gratification and quick profit trump all else.

[era veteran]

2. Nail on the head

We should have a draft. Every mothers son should be available. My student employees are oblivious to this war stuff. Same as Vietnam just different. The all volunteer Army does not attract people from all 'classes'.

[customerserviceguy]

3. We never will have a draft

because it would be impossible to do so with just young males. Rethugs aren't ever going to vote for something that forces their daughters to miss their debutante balls, and I really doubt you could find even a simple majority of Democratic congresscritters that would support a draft.

[era veteran]

4. Draft Options

Maybe the military, peace corps, or some alphabet soup type program to rebuild the infrastructure. Something for people to feel like they had a stake in the country. The people who rob us on Wall Street, the chickenhawks who start illegal wars, the health insurance companies making billions for being an unnecessary middleman in health care, & so on. Most of the leaders of these entities have not done anything for the country that enabled them to get rich. Their stupid trophy walls are self serving works of bullshit. Let me see some sacrifice for the country that that gives us these opportunities. I also agree totally with your comment though.

[customerserviceguy]

5. If they make the alphabet soup programs available to women

then they would have to make them available to men, as well. The only people we'd have fighting wars were those gung ho enough to think that the government would not sell them out like with Vietnam.

Any draft that was not 100% equal between the sexes would be challenged in the courts, and even though there's not an official Equal Rights Amendment, the equal protection clause would probably apply. That wouldn't have flown forty years ago, but it would be thinkable that the Court would apply it now.

[Bjorn Against]

6. There are hardly any musicians on the major labels who write their own music anymore

In recent years we have seen the music industry stop promoting rock music in favor of top 40 pop and country. Most rock artists wrote their own music, most pop and country stars have their songs written by people in corporate offices. I don't think I have ever heard a protest song that was not written by a "professional songwriter", they stick to non-controversial bubblegum music.

[SteppingRazor]

7. Reams of protest music was written during the Bush era.

I think you'll have to forgive artists if they'd rather write, say, love songs right now. ;)


On edit: Just to name a few off the top of my head -- major stars like Pink, John Mayer and Eminem wrote protest songs. Old-school protest-song musicians such as Neil Young put out some of the best anti-war music of their careers. More-underground artists such as Michael Franti and Billy Bragg did absolutely stunning work.