Chris Lackner
“The hardest song to write is a protest song, a topical song with meaning.”
— Joan Baez
Bob Dylan famously asked, “How many times can a man turn his head, pretending he just doesn’t see?” If Donald Trump’s presidency lives up to his often dismissive and divisive campaign rhetoric, he may soon get an answer to that very question.
Friday’s inauguration could mark the beginning of a new era of American protest music, but it likely won’t look anything like the 1960s. There will be no new voices of a generation; don’t look for the second coming of Dylan or Baez.
“I just don’t think the cultural landscape allows us to go back to that folk music era,” says Robert Thompson, founding director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University in New York. “The place of popular music in general society has so radically changed; (the audience) is completely fragmented.”
The seemingly ever-declining influence of the music industry and radio broadcasters means captive audiences no longer exist, he says. “Everyone used to hear the same songs whether you wanted to hear them or not … Today, what constitutes the ‘release’ of a song has never been more wide open.”
Bruce Springsteen performs at a rally in support of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton [Getty Images]
The digital era provides a powerful and accessible delivery mechanism for protest songs, Thompson says. Whereas a ’60s-era artist might introduce a new song to 50 people at a coffee house, a viral YouTube video has a potential audience of millions — almost overnight. In Canada, the protest song Harperman, by Anthony Turner, went viral in 2015, and even led to a national singalong.
“Music is one of the quickest responders (in terms of) popular culture arts, (and) there has never been a time where it is easier to strike back … as quickly, broadly and cheaply,” says Tim Blackmore, a professor of information and media studies at Western University in Ontario. Practically anyone can record and release a song with minimal technology, plus an Internet connection.
With those potential rewards, comes much risk — even danger, Blackmore asserts. There’s a big difference between an average citizen posting a protest song, and Meryl Streep’s recent anti-Trump speech at the Golden Globes. Blackmore says celebrities have the benefit of wealth, security, PR teams, and experience handling intense criticism. A viral Trump tune could quickly attract unwanted attention from ardent defenders of the controversial president.
If they get political, the average musician also risks losing everything from government grants to fans, explains Bob Nesbitt, producer of Ottawa Grassroots Festival. It’s the ’60s relics and other living legends — “the ones with nothing to lose” — who could set their sights on President Trump and not worry about blowback. An outspoken, veteran artist like Bruce Springsteen is a prime candidate. He penned the 2012 social commentary track, We Take Care of Our Own, long before America elected a man Springsteen has accused of “undermining the entire democratic tradition.” Classic folk anthems may also see a general resurgence in live shows, Thompson predicts, as “covers of some of the great protest songs” could become commonplace on many musicians’ set lists.
According to Nesbitt, two factors can help a protest song reach a wider audience: humour and optimism. Iconic, idealistic ballads like Pete Seeger’s Where Have All the Flowers Gone? were partly effective because they were subtle, poetic and not anchored in negativity.
Folk singers Joan Baez, left, and Bob Dylan perform during a civil rights rally in 1963 [National Archive/Newsmakers]
While folk music structure lends itself to topical lyrics and storytelling, those hallmarks are less common in today’s popular music. The next wave of protest songs are more likely to come from diverse, experimental genres like hip-hop and R & B — especially with the perceived threat Trump’s leadership presents to members of America’s Latino, Muslim and black communities.
“Hip-hop has dipped into the protest music waters before … but it’s very different than Blowin’ in the Wind.” Thompson adds. Public Enemy and spoken-word artist Gil Scott-Heron are among the early trailblazers of political hop-hop. More recently, rappers from Kendrick Lamar and Killer Mike to A$AP Rocky have drawn inspiration from the Black Lives Matter movement.
Some of today’s most popular artists have already shown they are unafraid to tackle complex issues. On her 2016 album Lemonade, Beyoncé explored race and gender. Green Day’s 2005 Grammy-winning album, American Idiot, was a prescient rock opera about America under a foolish, manipulative president. Despite a splintered audience, musicians are best positioned to react swiftly to new Trump policies and controversies. Other art forms, from films to novels, take much more time to produce.
Mike Dirnt, left, Billie Joe Armstrong and Tre Cool of Green Day at the 2005 Billboard Music Awards [Ethan Miller/Getty Images]
Canadian legend Neil Young is ahead of the curve. Humanitarian concerns and social issues dominate the lyrics on his recently released album, Peace Trail. One suspects the activist rocker’s guitar will be even more fired up soon. Trump’s unpopularity in Canada, coupled with contentious homegrown issues like pipelines, means some of that protest spirit could manifest north of the border. Nesbitt says established, progressive musicians like Blue Rodeo are well-positioned to craft new protest songs.
Another Canadian favourite, 71-year-old Bruce Cockburn, currently calls San Francisco home, and already anticipates he’ll be inspired to write about the Trump presidency at some point — and that he won’t be the only one. Cockburn said the current “fear of the other” climate in U.S. politics has some parallels to ’50s McCarthyism. Only the Communist scare has been replaced with fearmongering and paranoia about immigrants and terrorists.
“It’s hard to imagine what will happen,” Cockburn says of the Trump era. “(But) there are rebellious tendencies in the music industry.”
Blackmore expects musicians to react once the new president starts actually making laws, and “doing things that are truly offensive to everybody.”
While rage and frustration can turn to violence, music can offer a healthy outlet for those feelings — as it did in the ’60s. It’s much safer to arm oneself with a microphone or guitar, says Blackmore.
“The thing about an anthem is the emotion is worked out in the singing and the performing.”
10 past protest songs worth revisiting:
Blowin’ in the Wind (Bob Dylan, 1963)
Universal Soldier (Buffy Sainte-Marie, 1964)
Where Have all the Flowers Gone? (Pete Seeger, 1964)
For What It’s Worth (Buffalo Springfield, 1967)
Eve of Destruction (Barry McGuire, 1965)
Fortunate Son (Creedence Clearwater Revival, 1969)
Ohio (Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, 1971)
Get Up, Stand Up (Bob Marley & Peter Tosh, 1973)
Fight the Power (Public Enemy, 1989)
Killing in the Name (Rage Against the Machine, 1991)