Where have all the protest songs gone?

War, famine, homelessness...shame. Let someone sing about it. Heaven forbid you get off your ass to do something about it. Listen to a song, and feel better knowing that just by doing so, you care. Then go drop $2 grand for a power cord while you ponder on the "important" issues. That will put you on Woody Guthries' radar, now won't it?.

But when you look at it, what can there to protest about? Apparently, all those folks from yesterday are now today's politicians, business leaders and academia. So they have been in a position to solve all the problems they have preached about. So no need for more of those pesky songs.

Maybe, just maybe, we have grown up a bit; which relegates protest songs themselves in the garbage heap as a monument to a self-centered, self-absorbed narcissistic era.

I know it is pretty pitiful to be citing to single songs, but check out Arlo Guthrie's *Patriot's Dream* cut on Jennifer Warnes's *The Well*. Or try Carrie Newcomer's *I Heard an Owl* off *The Gathering of Spirits*, written just after 9/11/2001. *You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive* on Patty Loveless's Mountain Soul CD is not a protest, but reminds me of one. Nice thread idea.
jeff stake

I suppose the same place where all the flowers have gone.
Dylan's songs maybe 30 years old and then some. They are as relevant today as yesterday. Kind of like remaking gone with the wind. Why bother?

Come senators, congressmen please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway
Don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be who has stalled
There's a battle outside and it's ragin'.
It'll soon shake your windows
and rattle your walls
For the times have not really been a-changing.

And it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard,
It's a hard rain's a-gonna fall.

gs5556 - Had a bad day? Sheesh!

Brucegel - There are topical folk singers out there, but I'm afraid that the younger folks today don't seem nearly as interested in them as they do the latest teen pop king/queen. Right now, it doesn't appear that anyone is leading the chorus for social consciousness, and as such the voices of protest are somewhat quieter then they used to be, and require a bit of effort to seek out. To a great degree, rap music has become the modern vehicle for topical expression, but sadly a lot of it is rather narrowly focused and doesn't address the global concerns that would give the messages a wider appeal. Like you, I'm hoping for another Bob Dylan, Phil Ochs, Gil Scott-Heron, or Joan Baez to come to the forefront and give us some music that really does address the bigger issues we face today.

Until then, there are a few still out there actively producing topical music. Search the newsgroups using Google for ‘protest folk music’ and you’ll find a number of threads listing modern topical folk singers. Admittedly they’re not exactly household names, but its clear that the movement never really died. It just became a bit less popular. If you want a good example of some current protest folk music, take a listen to some of the music by Si Kahn. His songs are excellent, and they all have a great deal of social relevance.

Ken

There's a difference b/ween then & now. Then, such songs were mainstream, hits. Now they're niche...
After all, what IS there to complain about? OUR world is now perfect -- right?