Conservative indie pop? Liberal country western? Election season blues...

Finding New Tunes blog ^ | 8-13-08 | Jon

[lainie]

It seems to me that there’s money to be made for some young, enterprising, conservative musician. There aren’t really any conservative indie/alternative bands, but there are plenty of conservatives who like that kind of music. Can you imagine how they’d rally around a band who was outwardly conservative. And if Rush Limbaugh told his listeners about that band? They’d be millionaires overnight.

Same, though less so, for a liberal country band. By the nature of the art form, there are more liberal musicians, in general, than conservative. But country still doesn’t have too many successful liberal acts (minus the Dixie Chicks, of course). I would imagine there’s a similarly good opportunity for a good liberal country band to come out and take that genre by storm.

So? Why hasn’t anyone seized on these opportunities?

I started doing a little looking, and I came across an article by John Miller written for National Review [from 2006]. He offered up his top 50 conservative rock songs. Surprisingly, there were quite a few songs by real indie bands on the list. That doesn’t mean they were/are conservative bands. But the songs (by virtue of being libertarian, actually) are arguably conservative. Here’s his list of top 50 (there are 50 more, if you want to check those out, too).

[If you want detailed justifications for each, click through to the entire articles above...]

1. “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” by The Who.
2. “Taxman,” by The Beatles.
3. “Sympathy for the Devil,” by The Rolling Stones.
4. “Sweet Home Alabama,” by Lynyrd Skynyrd.
5. “Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” by The Beach Boys.
6. “Gloria,” by U2.
7. “Revolution,” by The Beatles.
8. “Bodies,” by The Sex Pistols.
9. “Don’t Tread on Me,” by Metallica.
10. “20th Century Man,” by The Kinks.
11. “The Trees,” by Rush.
12. “Neighborhood Bully,” by Bob Dylan.
13. “My City Was Gone,” by The Pretenders.
14. “Right Here, Right Now,” by Jesus Jones.
15. “I Fought the Law,” by The Crickets.
16. “Get Over It,” by The Eagles.
17. “Stay Together for the Kids,” by Blink 182.
18. “Cult of Personality,” by Living Colour.
19. “Kicks,” by Paul Revere and the Raiders.
20. “Rock the Casbah,” by The Clash.
21. “Heroes,” by David Bowie.
22. “Red Barchetta,” by Rush.
23. “Brick,” by Ben Folds Five.
24. “Der Kommissar,” by After the Fire.
25. “The Battle of Evermore,” by Led Zeppelin.
26. “Capitalism,” by Oingo Boingo.
27. “Obvious Song,” by Joe Jackson.
28. “Janie’s Got a Gun,” by Aerosmith.
29. “Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” by Iron Maiden.
30. “You Can’t Be Too Strong,” by Graham Parker.
31. “Small Town,” by John Mellencamp.
32. “Keep Your Hands to Yourself,” by The Georgia Satellites.
33. “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” by The Rolling Stones.
34. “Godzilla,” by Blue öyster Cult.
35. “Who’ll Stop the Rain,” by Creedence Clearwater Revival.
36. “Government Cheese,” by The Rainmakers.
37. “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,” by The Band.
38. “I Can’t Drive 55,” by Sammy Hagar.
39. “Property Line,” by The Marshall Tucker Band.
40. “Wake Up Little Susie,” by The Everly Brothers.
41. “The Icicle Melts,” by The Cranberries.
42. “Everybody’s a Victim,” by The Proclaimers.
43. “Wonderful,” by Everclear.
44. “Two Sisters,” by The Kinks.
45. “Taxman, Mr. Thief,” by Cheap Trick.
46. “Wind of Change,” by The Scorpions.
47. “One,” by Creed.
48. “Why Don’t You Get a Job,” by The Offspring.
49. “Abortion,” by Kid Rock.
50. “Stand By Your Man,” by Tammy Wynette.

Eric Kirk at SoHum Parlance saw this article and decided (with some incentive from Miller) to take on the task of finding the top 50 liberal country songs. Here’s his list below (follow this link to see the justifications)…

1. Man in Black - Johnny Cash
2. The Pill - Loretta Lynn
3. 9 to 5 - Dolly Parton
4. We Shall be Free - Garth Brooks
5. Harper Valley PTA - Jeannie Riley (and others)
6. Take this Job and Shove It - Johnny Paycheck
7. Devil’s Right Hand - Steve Earle
8. Sixteen Tons - Tennessee Earnest Ford
9. Rainbow Stew - Merle Haggard
10. Trouble in the Fields - Nancy Griffith
11. Abraham, Martin, and John (It’s a Hard Life) - Emmy Lou Harris
12. They Ain’t Makin Jews like Jesus Anymore - Kinky Friedman
13. San Quentin - Johnny Cash
14. America - Waylon Jennings
15. Heartland - Willie Nelson
16. Jesus, the Missing Years - John Prine
17. Okie from Muskogee - Merle Haggard
18. Conversations with the Devil - Ray Wylie Hubbard
19. Travelin’ Soldier - Dixie Chicks
20. 40 hour week - Alabama
21. My Uncle - Flying Burrito Brothers
22. Coal Miner’s Daughter - Loretta Lynn
23. Ballad for a soldier - Leon Russell, aka Hank Wilson
24. Fishing - Richard Shindell
25. I Washed my Face in the Morning Dew - Tom T. Hall
26. One Hundred Children - Tom T. Hall
27. Aragon Mill - Dry Branch Fire Squads
28. Workin Band - Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
29. Right or Left at Oak Street - Roy Clark
30. Two Story House - Tammy Wynette
31. Church - Lyle Lovett
32. Devil Take the Farmer - Dry Branch Fire Squads
33. Blame it on the Stones - Kris Kristofferson
34. Skip a Rope - Henson Cargill
35. That’s the News - Merle Haggard
36. A Week in Country Jail - Tom T. Hall
37. Common Man - John Conlee
38. Kids of the Baby Boom - The Bellamy Brothers
39. Mississipi on my Mind - Jesse Winchester written, Jerry Jeff Walker performance
40. Hank Williams Said It Best - Guy Clark
41. Billy B. Damned - Billy Joe Shaver
42. Don’t you think this outlaw bit’s done got out of hand?- Waylon Jennings
43. Lights went out in Georgia - Reba McEntire
44. Peace on Earth - Willie Nelson
45. High Cotton - Alabama
46. Why can’t we all just get a long neck? - Hank Williams
47. White House Blues - Vassar Clements
48. Saginaw, Michigan - Lefty Frizzell
49. Copperhead Road - Steve Earle
50. Hobo’s Meditation - Dolly Parton

In most of the cases in the rock section, the songs are written by artists who are generally liberal, but have swerved into the conservative side of an issue. The country side largely includes artists who are generally liberal.

Thus, my curiosity still stands: Could a “good” indie/alternative band who was conservative gather a critical mass of fans? I think it goes deeper than that. I think the question really is “do people like songs because of the lyrics, melody, instrumentation, vocals, etc. (obviously, “all of the above” is an option, too)?

Can you love a song which endorses a philosophy to which you are vehemently opposed?

[Jet Jaguar]

Busy here.

How you been Cheaps?

[Mr. Blonde]

For the most part I will just roll my eyes. Like when Radiohead was on Conan and talking about all the things they were doing to save the planet.

[Cheapskate]

In the big picture of things, Alright I guess.

Can't complain too much anyway!

[Cheapskate]

Yup!

[Jet Jaguar]

Good on you.

See you around.

JJ

[txhurl]

Well, my name’s John Lee Petimore.......

That’s a goosebump track.

[Cheapskate]

Yeah! think my favorite Steve tunes are “NYC “and”Unrepentant”

[Caramelgal]

11. “The Trees,” by Rush.
22. “Red Barchetta,” by Rush.

A lot of songs by Rush have a rather Libertarian POV and message, very individualistic and anti-authoritarian and very much influenced by the writings of Ayn Rand.

Rush - Anthem

Know your place in life is where you want to be,
Don't let them tell you that you owe it all to me.
Keep on looking forward; no use in looking 'round;
Hold your head above the ground and they won't bring you down.


Anthem of the heart and anthem of the mind
A funeral dirge for eyes gone blind
We marvel after those who sought
The wonders of the world, wonders of the world,
Wonders of the world they wrought.


Live for yourself -- there's no one else
More worth living for
Begging hands and bleeding hearts will only cry out for more


Well, I know they've always told you
Selfishness was wrong
Yes it was for me, not you, I came to write this song


I like this one too:

Incubus - Drive

As for your question: “Can you love a song which endorses a philosophy to which you are vehemently opposed?”

I’ve liked some songs by artists who I know are personally very liberal. I like a lot of CSN & sometimes Y. I like some old Jackson Brown and James Taylor songs that aren’t too political. And as much as I hate to admit it, I like some of Sheryl Crow’s stuff.

I like this one for example. Not really conservative but I like some of the lyrics and when I listen to it, I’m not thinking politics one way or another, I just really liked the song. (And Sheryl is sure putting out a big carbon foot print in this video – LOL!)

Sheryl Crow - Steve McQueen

[Cheapskate]

Yeah!How about “Something For Nothing” while we’re talkin about Rush?

[Revolting cat!]

Lame, lainie. All it needs is good beat and easy to dance to! Like Bobby Rydell!~

[Caramelgal]

Yea. Another good one by Rush.

You don't get something for nothing
You don't get freedom for free!
You won't get wise
With the sleep still in your eyes
No matter what your dreams might be

[mylife]

Robert Randolph Family Band~Goin In The Right Direction

[Fiji Hill]

“Get Up, Stand Up” and “Redemption Song” are worker/oppression style tunes that speak of faith and the Almighty. Conservatives can see something in them, at least.

When I first heard Peter, paul & Mary's Blowin' in the Wind, I thought it was an anti-Communist song. I figured "how many years must some people exist before they're allowed to be free" referred to residents of the Communist bloc.

[Cheapskate]

"Cheaps, you're a bassist right?"

I'm a drummer1

But I've thought about pickin one up and learnin

World's chocked full of drummers,but a decent bass player writes his own paycheck!