From MeToo to Black Lives Matter, protest music is in the air – and these are the most memorable eras
- From the likes of Childish Gambino to Bob Dylan, great songs have shot out like flares from every era of social and political turmoil over the decades
- Here’s a brief look at some of the most potent eras of protest music since the 1960s
Protest music is again in the air. And why not? Everything feels unstable, pressure points magnified: immigration policies, racial violence, sexual assault, LGBT rights and so on.
The last couple years have brought an avalanche of music steeped in the language of #MeToo, #BlackLivesMatter and #Resist, with landmark songs and albums created by stars such as Kendrick Lamar and Beyoncé.
Traditionally, artists have thrown up yellow flags when discussing the notion of writing topical songs, much less singing them night after night on tour when the emotions and events that guided the lyrics may have faded.
There’s a tricky art to protest music because it can come off as shrill, preachy or simple-minded.
But through the decades great songs have shot out like flares from every era of social and political turmoil. Here’s a brief look at some of the most potent eras of protest music over the last half-century.
1. Vietnam era, 1960s to early 70s
The war in Vietnam and the civil rights movements inspired countless artists and led to a flood of indelible songs by Gil Scott Heron (The Revolution Will Not be Televised), Bob Dylan (Blowin’ in the Wind), Aretha Franklin (her cover of Otis Redding’s Respect), James Brown (Say it Loud [I’m Black and I’m Proud]), the Staple Singers (Freedom Highway), Crosby Stills Nash & Young (Ohio), Phil Ochs (I Ain’t Marching Anymore) and countless others.
2. Hard times in England, 1970s
The stumbling English economy energised the rise of the working-class music derisively described as “punk”. With the Sex Pistols sneering God Save the Queen and The Clash declaring that “anger can be power” in Clampdown, British youth soon had a soundtrack to channel their discontent.
3. Hip hop’s message from the streets, 1980s to early 90s
Grandmaster Flash and Melle Mel’s The Message, Public Enemy’s Fight the Power and NWA’s explosive debut album, Straight Outta Compton, were among the recordings that voiced the discontent of young, disenfranchised African-Americans from coast to coast and presaged the Los Angeles riots that broke out after four police officers were acquitted in 1992 in the beating of Rodney King.
4. The Reagan 80s
Amid the growing nuclear chill of the cold war with the Soviet Union and the failed promises of “trickle-down economics”, protest music took on new iterations in the punk of Minor Threat, Black Flag, the Minutemen and dozens more.
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Even mainstream artists such as Bruce Springsteen (the Nebraska album) and Prince (1999) reflected the atmosphere of dread.
5. Invasion of Iraq, 2003
With commercial radio dominated by corporate conglomerates with no interest in stirring up political controversy, the internet became the outlet for countless songs protesting the US invasion of Iraq. The songs poured out from mainstream and underground artists across the world, including the Beastie Boys (In a World Gone Mad), John Mellencamp (To Washington) and Billy Bragg (The Price of Oil).
6. Trump’s America, 2016-19
Childish Gambino’s This is America debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2018 and later won Grammy awards even as it detailed the way black lives have been commodified and rendered disposable throughout the nation’s history.
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It arrived among a torrent of songs in the wake of #MeToo, #BlackLivesMatter and #Resist, including Janelle Monae’s Americans and Vic Mensa’s 16 Shots.
