The Top 10 Political Bands « Read Less
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These are my list of the top 10 bands who have a political message and who do it well. Enjoy!
3) Bad Religion
Photo by TheToad01 and licensed by Creative Commons.
THEIR STORY: Along with the Descendents, Bad Religion have laid the groundwork for the modern pop-punk movement. They're essentially the fathers (or, perhaps, grandfathers) of the "three-part-harmony-over-aggressive-instrumentation" technique, along with The Adolescents, and an entire legion of bands are still living in debt to them. They've released 14 studio LPs, spawned the Epitaph/punk flourish of the mid 90s, and forced punks to bust out a dictionary to decipher guitarist Brett Gurewitz's and singer Greg Graffin's complicated vocabulary.
THEIR STATEMENT: Bad Religion's lyrical content alternates between the intensely personal to themes of general political and social responsibility. The band have been staunchly anti-war since their inception and have certainly addressed many specific social ills (such as suicide, homelessness, and the negative effects of organized religion) for many years. However, Bad Religion's strength is using specific examples and a lengthy vocabulary to craft intricate lyrical metaphors, essentially allowing many of their songs to be timeless.
CRUC SONGS:
"Cease"
"God Song"
"Kyoto Now"
CRUC LYRIC: "Blood is a river, flowing darkly amidst the tangled roots of the tall shining city/Crazy flowing mantide migrations/Engorge the big ventricle of heartbroken America/So many heaven-hoping, hopeful groping breathers/All tap together quietly and desperately in unison/Hey, hey, is anybody listening?" —from "News From The Front," b-side off of Stranger Than Fiction
THEIR STORY: Along with the Descendents, Bad Religion have laid the groundwork for the modern pop-punk movement. They're essentially the fathers (or, perhaps, grandfathers) of the "three-part-harmony-over-aggressive-instrumentation" technique, along with The Adolescents, and an entire legion of bands are still living in debt to them. They've released 14 studio LPs, spawned the Epitaph/punk flourish of the mid 90s, and forced punks to bust out a dictionary to decipher guitarist Brett Gurewitz's and singer Greg Graffin's complicated vocabulary.
THEIR STATEMENT: Bad Religion's lyrical content alternates between the intensely personal to themes of general political and social responsibility. The band have been staunchly anti-war since their inception and have certainly addressed many specific social ills (such as suicide, homelessness, and the negative effects of organized religion) for many years. However, Bad Religion's strength is using specific examples and a lengthy vocabulary to craft intricate lyrical metaphors, essentially allowing many of their songs to be timeless.
CRUC SONGS:
"Cease"
"God Song"
"Kyoto Now"
CRUC LYRIC: "Blood is a river, flowing darkly amidst the tangled roots of the tall shining city/Crazy flowing mantide migrations/Engorge the big ventricle of heartbroken America/So many heaven-hoping, hopeful groping breathers/All tap together quietly and desperately in unison/Hey, hey, is anybody listening?" —from "News From The Front," b-side off of Stranger Than Fiction
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LOL I know I already said this, but they are one of the most uncompromisingly politically-minded bands out there.