Does anyone do good protest music anymore?

Bob Dylan, the man most often associated with protest music (although the majority of his music is not protest) once said that if you can't write about anything else, you can always write a protest song.

It must be extremely difficult to resist the effects of money (greed) in the music industry. Look at groups such as Jefferson Airplane or Steve Miller from the 60s bay area. Their music was sincere when they were at their artistic peak. Shortly after Blonde on Blonde Dylan was asked why his music had lost the bitterness of his early days. His response, "it's hard to be a bitter millionaire," pretty much says it all.

Timrhu I would suspect Dylan suckered you with that line the same way he did with the press.
He had a lot more money when he wrote George Wallace and Hurricane.

Nrchy,

You asked if there was any protest music out there. Lots of examples were given. You said you don't like protest music by millionaires. Well, some of examples of that have also been given. Now we just need to find some protest music that appeals to you musically....

- Eric

Springsprint paints portraits of difficult situations that people - often blue collar people - face. For example, "41 shots" is not so much a protest against police actions as it is a portrait of the delicate situation that both the police and poor minorities in urban areas find themselves in. "Born in the USA" is a portrait of a returning vet. Etc.

I find Springsteens work FAR more compelling than any of the so called "protest" singers. Perhaps it's because he help me remember the difficulties that regular folk face, in employment, finances, romance, or just finding their place in the world. Sometimes I relate, big time, while others I'm just reminded to be grateful for what I do have.

Sprinsteens paints a colorful portrait of such situations ("57 channels and nothin' on!") and then he (usually) stays out of the way of any direct political implications.

And his fast rock and roll stuff is great for getting my feet moving on the treadmill!

As for Kerry, I still can't get over the vision of Michael Moore sitting in the front row at the Democratic convention; a vision as tragic (IMHO) as any ever conjured up by Springsteen.

Art