It's Friday, and Friday should be about hanging out, I think. So in honor of hanging out, I offer you some of my favorite songs to chill out to. I hope you send some back my way.
A list I made just for YOU, below the fold.
Betwixt and between the Toby Keiths, Darryl Worleys, and VERACITORs of today, I have found some really good stuff, especailly musically. You may have to dig around for it, or you could just go to ITunes and access most of it. Here is my list of the best Anti-Bush, Anti-Iraq Occupation songs currently gracing an mp3 player near you:
1)System of a Down-"B.Y.O.B." (Bring Your Own Bombs)A scathing commentary on the US policy of sending the poor to fight rich men's battles. Also, they are Amenian, and it's really great to see fellow Armenians getting some well deserved props...
1A)System of a Down-"A.D.D."(American Dream Denial-so angry, and deservedly so. It's from the first album, so not expressly anti Iraq War, or anti-Bush, but anti-globalization, anti-military industrial complex, et al. Sample Lyrics:
"There is no flag that is large enough
To hide the shame of a man in cuffs
You switched the signs, then you closed our blinds
You changed the channel, then you changed our minds
2)Eminem- "Mosh" (video is linked)I used to think Eminem was really silly, and definitely not worth all the hype. Commercial Rap sucks, with it's fetishizing of materialism, violence, sexisim, and depression. Underground Hop Hop is great. With Mosh, a hugely successful commecial rapper crosses into under ground hip hop territory, skewering Bush for his domestic and forgien policy(!) with anger so genuine, it's positively refreshing. We haven't seen him stick with the political stance, but this has opened my mind to Eminem's capabilities a bit.
3)Public Enemy- "Son of a Bush, the EP". Contains the classics:Son of a Bush, Twisted sense of God, and Get your Shit Together. I love Chuck D, not only an accomplished MC and lyricist, he is an awesome person, staying true to real revolutionary spirit, seeking to uplift and inspire with every album. Flavor Flav, not so much.
3A)Public Enemy-"Hazy Shade of Criminal." OK, not soley about Bush,more of a meditation on what the US defines as "criminal," but the message applies, especially with lyrics such as:
While the real thief cools in a pool
He who got the finger on the war button
Talkin' loud ain't sayin' nuttin
TV got 'em bigger than life
All he needs is a knife
Who's the criminal?
4)The Coup One of my favorite groups ever. Partially b/c they are from Oakland, so it's nice to have my city claim such genius, but mostly b/c they are the antithesis of commerical rap: Anticapitalist, anarchist, egalitarian, complex lyrics backed by hot ass beats. And the DJ is a chick! Refreshing. Rhyming about politics never sounded so fresh...
5)Dead Prez"Revolutionary, But Gangsta."
The old album is better, a lot less commercial, but you gotta love an song that delares"I'm gonna run in the White House and kick in the front door", name checks the Zapatistas, the Mau Mau's, Gil Scott Heron, and the Shakur Family. Well I do, anyway.
6)Immortal Technique-"Bin Laden." This dude is so angry, and drops so much truth and history in this quick education in recent US History. His family escaped US instigated civil war in Peru, and he came here only to find further poverty and strife. His voice is powerful, and weather you find him too extreme or not, his points are all valid.
Here is where I name some nonHip Hop stuff:
7)One Black Lung-"BoneHead." This song is hella funny. Synthed out vocal, Devo-esque instrumental track, hysterical lyrics about Bush's bike acidents and choking on pretzels. Also makes the the big fuck ups by King George II a littler funnier for a moment.
8)Faithless- "Weapons of Mass Destruction" Faithless are a prolific UK trance group, that have always retained a political bent. "Weapons of Mass Destruction" is one of the best anti-War/Bush songs I have ever come across. The album is really good, too.
9)Peggy Watson-"Cowboy". Peggy Watson is a San Diego folksinger who nails the Bush pyschological profile in this song. Check the lyrics:
Everyone you know is a villain or a saint
Living down in a hole or sitting high up on a pedestal
Black and white the only colors that you ever paint
Cause everyone you know is a villain or a saint
With your ten-gallon hat and a two-ounce brain
You've been out selling lies to everyone you're gonna civilize
The whole damn world is your home on the range
Ten-gallon hat with a two-ounce brain
Cowboy, cowboy
You ain't never seen a cow
But there ain't no one
Holier than thou
You're a back slapping, gun toting coward on the take
Looking more like your enemy with every move you make
You'd sell us all to hell with an oily handshake
Gun toting, bible quoting fake
Cowboy, cowboy
You ain't never seen a cow
But there ain't no one
Holier than thou
Nothing is more dangerous than a simple-minded man
With the world on his plate deciding everybody's fate
Evildoer hiding in the palm of his hand
No nothing is more dangerous than a simple-minded man
10)Steve Zimmerman-"The Girly Man Rag." Another satyrical folkie giving bush what for. His website has loads of free mP3's of his stuff, which is quite nice of him, as it's awesome.
Last here is a link to a free indy antiBush music site. Free Anti Bush (mostly)Goodness It's got good, bad, and mediocre stuff, but I find it encouraging that there are so many pissed off people who are inspired to make art about their experiences in a Bush run world.
Please include your favorite political bands, songs, artists, film makers, writers, ect. It would be great if this diary could provide resources for all of us to access new music and art.