Best 5 protest songs?

DrJustice · Posted: Sat Jul 09, 2005 4:40 pm Post subject:

Hey, we're in agreement there Kassen! Smile

I also really dig "The Process". Ooops, veering a wee bit OT there...

DJ
--

Kassen · Posted: Sat Jul 09, 2005 5:47 pm Post subject:

Not so sure it´s realy off-topic. Skinny Puppy is a electronic band which has protest as one of it´s main purposes, much like Atari Teenage Riot. That´s quite rare; most protest bands in recent years tend to be punk. I think that´s quite relevant on E-M.

The trick with protest, much like with propaganda is to make it apealing enough to seduce people towards your message. I think it´s very interesting how different artists atempt this. "Imagine" is a very peacefull song, tonally, aparently trying to lure people by presenting a sonification of this peace. Skinny Puppy instead choose to express the suffering and chaos in the world to get their message across and so reached people interested in hearing suffering expressed in music who -hopefully- will then elect to try and stop it in animal testing. That´s quite a interesting contrast.

I also think it´s very interesting that relatively few electronic acts use their music to express their political views compared to -say- guitar-based music.

If that´s off-topic in Schmooze on E-M then I realy don´t know what is on topic anymore!

DrJustice · Posted: Sat Jul 09, 2005 6:15 pm Post subject:

I'll go with that. On topic it is then.

So, what other "E-M protesters" do we have?

Laurie Anderson, perhaps. Maybe more comment than protest?

DJ
--

Oskar · Joined: Jul 29, 2004 Posts: 1751 Location: Norway

Oskar · Joined: Jul 29, 2004 Posts: 1751 Location: Norway

blue hell · Posted: Sat Jul 09, 2005 7:21 pm Post subject:

diskonext · Joined: Aug 26, 2004 Posts: 306 Location: London, UK

Does music need verbal content to be a protest song?

I remember some parties with loud tekno music where the police were actually barricaded outside, and the music cranked way up.

That felt a lot like protest, to me at least. Possibly a very localized protest, and not much more than teenaged undirected protest, but still Wink

-diskonext

Kassen · Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2005 8:32 am Post subject:

Interesting point, Diskonext. Tekno indeed has some very strong D.I.Y. connotatations and of cource the whole scene around is is strongly anti-authoritarian but does that make speciffic songs expresions of protest? I think it´s more akin to subversive groups in the former East-block prefering American free-jazz and similar styles. I think in those cases music is *used* in order to protest instead of being written in order to.

This is perhaps one of the most interesting fields where we can see the contrast between how a DJ expresses and how a musician expresses.

*note to non european or older people; Tekno (with a "k" instead of "ch") is a extremely fast, dark and hard branch of electronic music with influences from Gabba, Acid and industrial. It´s strongly asociated with the radical left squater scene and played nearly exclusively at illegal parties. It clocks in at 180BPM and up, it´s monotonous, and reportedly goes well with amphetamines.

diskonext · Joined: Aug 26, 2004 Posts: 306 Location: London, UK

Well,

I agree, the songs are possibly not written in order to protest, but once they have been used in this way they (or the kinds of music they belong to) take on this meaning... this is, indeed, highly contextual and will not transcend it's origins easily, but still.

I think it is highly similar to punk in many respects, the DIY aspect you mentioned, the type of destructive intent felt in the sounds and speed, the producers and the consumers. All paying hommage to their rebellious instincts. Now we just need some people to smash their synths and beatboxes on stage... Wink

-diskonext

seraph · Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2005 3:49 pm Post subject:

Oskar · Joined: Jul 29, 2004 Posts: 1751 Location: Norway

Dovdimus Prime · Posted: Mon Jul 11, 2005 6:52 am Post subject:

Nothing mentioned by Public Enemy?! A rap on the knuckles for all of you!! Very Happy

Anything on 'Fear of a Black Planet will do handsomely...

@ Kassen: Amongst my circle of friends at least, the music you refer to is called 'squat party techno'. Somehow, it only appears at illegal parties in old houses, fields etc. It's one of the most enlightened music forms ever. No nonsense, does exactly what it says on the tin. Very Happy

Kassen · Posted: Mon Jul 11, 2005 7:04 am Post subject:

Negative Land.

Prime, I realy liked it for the "does exactly what it say on the tin" aspect for a while. I´m not so sure about the enlightened aspects though. Getting stuck in that scene tends to do certain things to people.

diskonext · Joined: Aug 26, 2004 Posts: 306 Location: London, UK

Kassen · Posted: Mon Jul 11, 2005 7:58 am Post subject:

Still; the sheppard is a better deal then those black-rimmed glasses IDM will get you.

Dovdimus Prime · Posted: Mon Jul 11, 2005 10:31 am Post subject:

[quote="diskonext"]

diskonext · Joined: Aug 26, 2004 Posts: 306 Location: London, UK

Kassen · Posted: Mon Jul 11, 2005 4:44 pm Post subject:

I dunno, I kinda like the tribal feel of it all.

Never saw the dogs as a status symbol but I did worie about their ears. Generally they are left to stroll around for themselves so I figure they´ll figure out what´s best for themselves.

diskonext · Joined: Aug 26, 2004 Posts: 306 Location: London, UK

Well,

I have to admit that, having witnessed first-hand the potential action radius of dogs this size, they are probably better off living with people that let them free rein, as opposed to people that keep them in their apartments and walk them twice daily.

Then again, some of these owners I don't even trust to look after themselves, let alone their animals Wink

-diskonext

zynthetix · Posted: Mon Jul 11, 2005 7:42 pm Post subject:

oliver's army - elvis costello