Rock and roll means rebellion. For some rockers, it isn’t rebellion only for the sake of it; it’s political. Political rebellion against conformity or conservative religious values set to music is, for many, the definition of rock and roll. From Woody Guthrie to Nina Simone progressive rockers have given voice and substance to this discontent, have raised the difficult questions about the system and the establishment and even have offered personal and systemic alternative visions. The dangerous Bush regime has spurred the revival of an old and the emergence of a new, diverse and progressive musical movement that values social and political commentary and the agony and beauty of artistic production.
Mature headliners like Pearl Jam, Bruce Springsteen, Sonic Youth, REM, the Indigo Girls, Melissa Etheridge, John Cougar Mellencamp, U2, Public Enemy, Mud Honey, Don Henley, the Beastie Boys, even Hootie and the Blowfish have been among the mainstays of rock’s politics. But these acts have large and loyal fan bases and saying something important isn’t always such a big risk. Sure, a handful of conservatives staged a walk out at a Pearl Jam concert last year when Eddie Vedder opened up on the band’s anti-Bush song “Bush Leaguer,” but for the most part fans have been loyal.
For new or less well-known bands, commitment to political values and artistic ideals means more and earns fewer rewards. Often it means the difference between being able to make a living as an artist and being able to find only spare time from the day job to put music out. Certainly the Internet has dramatically transformed the landscape of popular music.
Artists such as Fugazi, Michael Franti, Paris and numerous others have built local and regional followings with intensive Internet organizing, constant touring and word of mouth. This has allowed some underground stars to keep their independence from corporate-dominated recording contracts, carefully managed public images and sleazy promotional activities.
While the Internet has opened up space for more musicians to have access to larger audiences, it has achieved only an illusory ideal of “democratizing” the music industry. Most bands continue to struggle to be heard and to give voice to millions of youth discontented with and alienated from the status quo and the system, or who just want to hear good music.
Some politically righteous bands have taken different steps to gain their audience. One national and international organization, Bands Against Bush – an organization designed to express dissent, distaste, opposition and distrust toward the policies of the Bush administration, has linked together literally hundreds of bands in every section of the country. Much of the organizing has been done through the Internet and chapters have been set up in New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, London, Paris, and even tiny Olympia, Washington, one of the major centers of alternative and punk rock in the country.
According to spokesperson Conan Neutron, the idea took off immediately. Bands Against Bush was so wildly popular that an international October 11, 2003 launch and celebration was thought up and organized in the space of two months with events in over a dozen cities across the country. Though primarily indie rock and punk, Bands Against Bush is also lining with hip-hop artists. Concertgoers hear good music, but also have the chance to get organized as voters, to learn about local, national and international issues and help build the movement to defeat Bush.
The idea for Bands Against Bush was inspired by punk rocker/riot grrl Tobi Vail formerly of Bikini Kill. (Riot grrl is a militant feminist-informed style of hard driving rock.) In an essay describing the origins of the idea, Vail recalls her mother taking her to a Rock Against Reagan show on the state capitol steps in her native Olympia, Washington in 1983. “We were a family of rockers who didn’t support our president,” Vail writes. The youth she hung out with “rebelled against Reagan’s messed up administration and foreign policy. We didn’t want to invade Grenada. We didn’t want anything to do with Reaganomics. We didn’t support the nuclear arms race and knew that Russia and Cuba were full of kids just like us.” And, she says, the times seem to be like that again and worse.
The bands that have been drawn to this movement are often part-time musicians. Conan Neutron is such a person. By day he punches his time card at the behest of corporate America; by night he takes it on as a vocalist and guitarist with Replicator. He describes the Oakland, California-based band’s style as “noisy rock” and “allegorical” in its lyrics. Their debut album Winterval or their more recent You Are Under Surveillance can be purchased through their website or sampled with MP3 downloads. Their song “Epoch” reminds me of Soundgarden (when they sounded good) with some electronic, industrial sonic tactics to spice up the sound. Other bands of note include the Radical Thought Resistance, Mission to Mars, Famous in Vegas and Kimone. This list is by no means exhaustive and readers interested in new punk, indie, hard rock and similar style bands should check out the organizations and find their way to a Bands Against Bush event.
“Rock music,” says Conan, “has a very anti-authoritarian bent.” That’s why so many rockers are attracted to the movement to oust Bush. Even if musicians aren’t explicitly political, the music is “about raising questions,” he concludes. For socially and artistically committed rockers, notoriety, perhaps even future success, will originate in movement activism, not in the remote implausibility of short-lived individual success followed by the proverbial ignominious fall into ridiculous obscurity.
--Roberta Jones writes on the music scene for Political Affairs.
