Rock and Roll will never die

The political climate of the 60s was as much about the music as it was about activisim. In those days they were often referred to as "protest songs" and indeed in those pre-internet days, music was the means for passing along the memes that defined the 60s generation. Email and text messaging and netroots changed all that and frankly the music, as it became homoginized by the dictates of Clear Channel, suffered for it.

However, if there's a silver lining in the five years of outrage we've suffered under Bush, it's that "protest songs" are making a resurgence. Thanks to Marc Catone for passing along this nice article by Steven Laffoley that celebrates its return. Here's my favorite quotes.

A week or so ago - arriving like a screaming banshee lamenting the dead along a cold, desolate heath - Neil Young and Rock and Roll suddenly roared back, giving a big middle finger to all that has gone wrong with America, and a big middle finger to all those trying to explain away inconvenient truths, again. [...]

So, let's get this straight: Rock and Roll was never meant to be logical, never mean to be intellectual, never meant to be consistent. No, Rock and Roll was meant to be the unfiltered truth - with a zero tolerance for lies.

And by God, it's nice to hear it, again.

Amen to that. If you haven't heard it yet, you can listen to the whole album here.