Ask HN: Where is all the protest music?
11 pointsby swiper_lux25 days ago12 comments
  • JohnFen24 days ago
    The mainstream pop music scene is largely (but not entirely) devoid of authenticity, and you need authenticity to make protest music. Mostly what gets made is optimized for commercialization rather than actual communication.

    To a degree, this has always been true. Even in the days when protest music got mainstream attention, most of the music wasn't of that sort. I do think it's much worse now, though.

    However, there is a lot more protest music being made than you may think. You just have to look past the big names and -- even better -- go see small artists performing live.

  • thorin24 days ago
    There are quite a few protest bands but they don't have the level of popularity as Rage against the machine, Bob Dylan or Public Enemy. Pop music is more of a commodity now.

    I see Billy Bragg had something to share on FB about recent events as do many older artists.

    Maybe you saw what happened at Glastonbury this year with Kneecap and Bob Vylan.

    Personally I enjoy Idles, I went to see them last year and they had good energy and try to be politically active while spreading "the love".

    One of my all time favourite bands New Model Army are still going and releasing music. I don't think they ever made it big after effectively being cancelled before it was popular releasing the single 51st State of America.

  • lordkrandel25 days ago
    You getting old, so you only get to know mainstream artists, and indies cannot get popular because of how the internet centralizes things, and avoids making indies have real world experiences together and gain traction.

    Hacktivist is one, but there a lot more on https://www.ongoinghistoryofprotestsongs.com/2025/06/08/30-b...

    • codingdave24 days ago
      > indies cannot get popular because of how the internet centralizes things

      Are you joking? Some mainstream artists got their start on YouTube. Many indie artists perform there and have followings, and that is just one potential site to share your work. Sure, to become a household name you gotta grow from there and it is a tough road, but the ability to put out your music is crazy stronger today than in days of yore. I think you have an overly high bar set for what it means to "get popular"

      • lordkrandel24 days ago
        We are talking protest music, and... still, like 0.01% of youtube artists actually earn any money from making music nowadays.
  • mindcrime24 days ago
    Apparently Ice-T did a recent performance where he changed the lyrics to "Cop Killer" to say "ICE Killer". It's something I guess.

    https://atlantablackstar.com/2026/01/10/this-shts-been-too-l...

  • aebtebeten25 days ago
    The long tail says we're not at the mercy of radio; we're still allowed to listen to the ones you know. I went to a certain CSNY song the other day and the comment section was full of people from 2026.

    Here are two classics I like, plus a bonus track:

    "Coat of Many Colors" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYAdKXzGtcY

    "This Land" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRnHx3yVuf4

    "Stop and Bust a Move": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYNSSkOOTBk

  • acheong0824 days ago
    うっせぇわ (Usseewa) was a big one back during COVID. I remember people hacking into the school broadcast system and playing it everywhere.

    https://youtube.com/watch?v=Qp3b-RXtz4w

  • PurpleRamen24 days ago
    It's not popular in your bubble. Protest-music still exists, it sometimes even gains some attention, but they can't compete with all the big professional feelgood-products and the social-slop. And I assume, the platforms have now more political filters, making it even harder to spread. Political content seems to have significantly dried up on certain platforms, since the orange king reigns.
  • aebtebeten23 days ago
    It just occurred to me I also don't know about the other direction: does MAGA have any reactionary music?
    • gsf_emergency_623 days ago
      MAGA rap, numetal

      https://old.reddit.com/r/numetal/comments/17cmyyw/numetal_ar...

      Beyond that would be "wordcel" ("clefcel"?) "not-chad" etc?

      • aebtebeten23 days ago
        The Hanks are almost Hegelian:

          Hank Sr. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgHId2tg6dU
  Hank Jr. - MAGA (at least he done sung "cold cold ground", bless his heart)
  Hank iii - trying to sit between two chairs? (props the assjack on the fence?)
        "Wordcel" sounds awfully like "stochastic parrot"? (says someone who's been trying and failing for months to get LLMs to rotate shapes. At least some of them have a good "sense of humour")

        I still want to get some shape rotating done this week, so I'll put off descending into Hank Jr. et. al. for another few days. Thanks; "mighty white" of you!

          Facilis descensus Averno:
  Noctes atque dies patet atri ianua Ditis;
  Sed revocare gradum superasque evadere ad auras,
  Hoc opus, hic labor est.
        EDIT: according to "Google AI", Cowboy Carter (millions) massively outsold MAGA rap (10's of thousands).
  • comfysocks24 days ago
    That I can think of, there’s Jesse Welles.
  • 31337Logic25 days ago
    I'm with you. Who is today's Rage Against The Machine?
  • aristofun24 days ago
    Controversial opinion - old pre-internet protests were mostly authentic and pursuing something good (whatever that meant in every case).

    Today - they are mostly designed, sponsored and organized and about hating/suppressing the enemy side, virtue signaling, not achieving good and genuine self expression.

    And those rare that are authentic (like current Iran revolution) are carefully and deliberately muted.

    Such intentions can’t produce any great art for obvious reasons.

    • comfysocks24 days ago
      There may be some truth to that. But if we get too cynical, the battle is lost before it’s begun!
  • jjgreen25 days ago
    Phones happened.