|
The Iraq war and the policies of the Bush administration have been very, very good for the protest song. Not since the 1960s
have so many artists been writing and recording anti-war anthems. From Kanye West to the Dixie Chicks, the protest song is
alive and well -- and living on the Web.
I became interested in the changing nature of political protest music after my friends and I started a little parlor game
of sorts in which we'd go out on the Web looking for the latest songs offering critique of the current political leadership
in the U.S. What we found was a vibrant, under-the-radar free-speech zone that is missing from commercial radio or music television.
Internet radio and file-sharing sites have made it possible for musicians to record and distribute their songs and bypass
the traditional distribution network of record companies and broadcast. A number of political organizations have set up audio
streams or Internet radio stations to present the music. Some of those links can be found on my research page.
|
