You say you want an evolution? (Part 1)

According to Wikipedia:

Every major movement in Western history has been accompanied by its own collection of protest songs, from slave emancipation to women's suffrage, the labor movement, civil rights, the anti-war movement, the feminist movement, the environmental movement. Over time, the songs have come to protest more abstract, moral issues, such as injustice, racial discrimination, the morality of war in general (as opposed to purely protesting individual wars), globalization, inflation, social inequalities, and incarceration . Such songs generally become more popular during times of social disruption among social groups.

As it stands, we're embroiled in a world which is constantly at war, women and minorities are still fighting for their voices and rights (even right here in America!), and globalization is scaring the shit out of pretty much everyone except for the Indians, the Chinese, and the major American corporations which are setting up shop overseas. So what is the soundtrack to our revolution going to be like?

are we going to have a revolution?

will it be televised?

First, a little background:

We can look at songs like "We shall overcome" and "Blowin' in the wind" and "What's Goin' On?" as more modern examples of songs which accompany a social movement and actually do some good. Louis Armstrong's "What did i do to be so Black and Blue", and Lewis Allan's "Strange Fruit" spoke of racial tensions in the South in the 20s and 30s; came with a message and were taken seriously by the consumers and listeners of music then. This helped crest the wave of radical change that needed to take place in order for the civil rights movement to do its magic. I'm not arguing here that these songs were responsible really in any way for the results that MLK and the civil rights movement acheived, but music is the language of our souls, it probes deeper into the human heart than words, legislation, law, or violence. You can listen to a song and disagree with its message, but the meaning itself slides into the soul when accompanied by melody and rhythm far better than dead words alone.

With "This machine kills facists" emblazoned on his guitar, Woodie Guthrie wrote the songs which inspired a generation of American radicals, "This land is your land" and "Deportee" were among the most notable.

This seems to be the first time that music was a threat the the big political machine that seeks to control our lives and limit our freedoms. Guthrie and The Almanac Singers were probably the most important labor-movement band, but they were blacklisted and disbanded shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

The next hugely influential musical movement happened during the most volatile time in 20th century America: the 1960s. The Vietnam War and Civil Rights movements coincided to produce the first real countercultural movements backed by mass media (music) in the history of the nation. Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, Phil Ochs, and Barry McGuire (First protest song to reach #1 on the charts in the US was McGuire's "Eve of Destruction")

EVE OF DESTRUCTION

The eastern world, it is exploding
Violence flarin’, bullets loadin’
You’re old enough to kill, but not for votin’
You don’t believe in war, but what’s that gun you’re totin’
And even the Jordan River has bodies floatin’

But you tell me
Over and over and over again, my friend
Ah, you don’t believe
We’re on the eve
of destruction.

Don’t you understand what I’m tryin’ to say
Can’t you feel the fears I’m feelin’ today?
If the button is pushed, there’s no runnin’ away
There’ll be no one to save, with the world in a grave
[Take a look around ya boy, it's bound to scare ya boy]

And you tell me
Over and over and over again, my friend
Ah, you don’t believe
We’re on the eve
of destruction.

Yeah, my blood’s so mad feels like coagulatin’
I’m sitting here just contemplatin’
I can’t twist  the truth, it knows no regulation.
Handful of senators don’t pass legislation
And marches alone can’t bring integration
When human respect is disintegratin’
This whole crazy world is just too frustratin’

And you tell me
Over and over and over again, my friend
Ah, you don’t believe
We’re on the eve
of destruction.

Think of all the hate there is in Red China
Then take a look around to Selma, Alabama
You may leave here for 4 days in space
But when you return, it’s the same old place
The poundin’ of the drums, the pride and disgrace
You can bury your dead, but don’t leave a trace
Hate your next-door neighbor, but don’t forget to say grace
And… tell me over and over and over and over again, my friend
You don’t believe
We’re on the eve
Of destruction
Mm, no no, you don’t believe
We’re on the eve
of destruction.

tell me that this isn't relevant any longer

Woodie Guthrie - This land is your land buy iTunes

Barry McGuire - Eve of Destruction (Video-FUCKING AWESOME)