Media literacy has never been a thing with conservatives - to this day they don't understand what the Bruce Springsteen song 'Born In The USA' is really about. Reagan famously wanted to use it for his campaign in 1984.
Also somehow conservatives have been so keen on appearing as 'not the establishment' that by now they have terminally deluded themselves into believing that they really aren't part of the establishment. How their voters believe this is anyone's guess.
And let's not talk about how the self-proclaimed defenders of free speech constantly take issue with speech they don't like.
The day Trump was elected I was excited for a new wave of anti-government human-rights protest music. The best we got was “This Is America”.
Edit: I appreciate the few examples you’ve offered but I was thinking of the movements of the 60s and 80s. It wasn’t just the hippie peace love anti war music or rap music, it was poetry, fiction, movies, documentaries. It was the culture around the people rising up to protest their government. Now any shmoe can tweet at the president.
Not punk but industrial. Though KMFDM has always been political. But there's a few tracks on the new album that are far less subtle than usual.
Also forgot to point out that punk was a product of its time. And it's environment. Very much a DIY ethic. Which lent to its sound. DIY today is going to sound a lot different. Unless people are going to ape the sound without any of the influence.
Even many of the iconic punkers got tired of it and moved on when new things became available. As mentioned John Lyden AKA Johnny rotten. Left the pistols for Public Image limited. Last I heard Jell-O was still trying to get into California politics?
I grew up in (what I perceive as) the heyday of punk, but mostly ignored it. Lately I've been tempted to take a closer look at some of those old punk bands I always heard about back in the day.
Never ceases to amaze me when “fans” of a band appear to completely ignore their lyrics. Are these people who only know “Longview” and “Time of your Life?”
I loved when Republicans were screaming at rage against the machine to stop making political music, like... what machine do you think they're raging against? The mcdonalds icecream machines?
I’ve had times in my life where I’m oblivious to lyrics, and times when I’m really tuned in to them. So I can see how people get carried along with the music regardless of the lyrics.
It’s still funny when people make realizations like this though.
cuntservatives have been outraged by SOMETHING literally every year I have existed on this planet, and my first console controller only had one button...
Still remember my mother freaking out over a satanic panic and throwing away all of my action figures because I was apparently worshipping satan by playing with my Ninja Turtles.
This is the same group of people who (somehow) thought Killing in the Name Of was aligned with their views, and now make comments like "I liked RATM until they got so political."
Most of them are just peanut brains with the Goldfish attention span who only like the sound but never listen to the lyrics. Hell one of the local grocery stores around here in their mix has a few tracks by the stones in particular give me shelter. It's an iconic song. But most people have no idea what the lyrics are. It's sort of surreal to walk through the store listening to the singer scream out rape and murder it's just a shot away. It's a fun sort of irony I suppose.
American Idiot and the what, 3 albums before it and all the following, were all on Reprise Records (Warner). American Idiot specifically had some very strong marketing campaigns. If one really does subscribe to that “selling out” rhetoric, they did so much earlier than that.
Seriously. I don't even listen to Green Day, and even I know that this isn't new territory for them. Did these people not know about American Idiot and who that was about?
I chuckled heartily earlier today when I saw a post on the front page of the R-word site that was posted to the conservative sub. It was a picture of the band holding up a mask of Trump with idiot written on it and a title along the lines of "After Trump assassination attempt, Green Day holds up head of Donald Trump".
Literally, it was just a mask of Trump with something like "Idiot" written on it from a band that quite literally is known for criticizing the government (understatement).
They were making it sound like it was an implicit threat to Trump and hateful rhetoric inciting further violence.
I swear there must be some brain damage involved in those types of conclusions.
ROFL!! Apparently the folks complaining haven't actually ever listened to Green Day. Though the severed Trump head at the concert was probably a bit much.
Green Day drew controversy among conservatives during their first U.S. gig this week after changing a lyric to anti-MAGA.
I don't really see the controversy honestly. Band modifies their own lyrics in a way magas don't like. Magas whine like the snowflakes they are, rest of world shrugs. (And I think they have done this at least one other time recently.)
I was kind of amazed that neither this Dropkick Murphy's speech nor this Dropkick Murphy's album, nor especially this song from that album, seems to have generated any anger from that crowd. They seem like exactly the sort of band that magas might just have assumed were "on their side."
I'm not sure the Dropkick Murphy's are a band most folks have ever heard of. I think the only song of theirs I've heard someone else play was Shipping Up to Boston. It was being used for a commercial. Great band with great music, but I don't think they ever hit mainstream.