Fannie Lou Hamer, one of the country’s most important civil rights leaders and women’s rights activists, was from Mississippi. Eugene Debs, the first socialist candidate for president, was from Indiana. The clichéd red and blue map of American electoral review and forecast cannot capture the nuances of the American story. Jones and Guthrie are also important reminders that there exist formidable traditions of progressive politics in the American South and Heartland. His songs, such as “This Land is Your Land,” “Blowin’ Down This Road,” and “Do Re Mi,” were essential to the formation of Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, John Mellencamp, and countless other singer/songwriters around the world. Mary Harris “Mother” Jones was a dressmaker and school teacher who became one of the most effective leaders of the labor movement, advocating for child labor laws, fair wages, workplace safety standards, and collective bargaining rights, while Woody Guthrie, of course, was the most important political folk songwriter of American music. Farrar recorded all the basic voice and guitar tracks at the Woody Guthrie Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma and the Mother Jones Museum in Mt. “Union” is both a protest record and a tribute to protest records. Even ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ had a little hit to George Wallace.” When I asked him about the relative absence of protest music in contemporary music, he remarked that it is “unfortunate,” and added that he hopes the new Son Volt record can help inspire more protest music, along with encouraging listeners to develop more “awareness and skepticism” in the era of Trump’s madness, right wing hatred, and extreme inequality.Ĭontribute $1.99 to support David Masciotra's work nowįarrar explained that the lyrics are the simple result of his “perspective” meeting the headlines, but that it was important to balance the protest music with songs of story that present a subtler means of considering American life in the 21st Century. “There were songs like ‘ Ohio’ by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. “Protest music is second nature to me, because I grew up listening to Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan,” Farrar said. “When I was thinking about how I could be a citizen,” he said, “I thought, ‘what can I do?’, and that’s when I decided to write songs.” Preparing for Son Volt’s upcoming tour to promote “Union,” Farrar spoke to me from his Missouri home. I recently spoke to Jay Farrar over the telephone. As the lights dim, and the taps pour out beer like faucets, here is someone who, feeling otherwise powerless, has something to say. Instead, it is presenting itself as an intimate partner in dialogue - a quiet companion in the corner of a bar on a small town street. Unlike Gov’t Mule, and much of this is due to the bands’ stylistic differences, Son Volt is not bringing ballistic firepower to its record. Exploring the vicissitudes of the past four years allows Jay Farrar, the chief songwriter and lead singer of Son Volt, to engage in the most elemental act of citizenship - exercising his First Amendment right, through the gift of his compositional and performative voice to contribute to the conversation of his country. Like “Revolution Come…Revolution Go,” Son Volt initiates an artistic confrontation with the sociopolitical reality of American life accessible in the headlines and on the ground. “Union,” the new record from veteran alt country/Americana band Son Volt is striking for both its lyrical focus and musical approach. In 2017, Gov’t Mule released the aggressive album of brilliant musicality, “ Revolution Come…Revolution Go,” and its opening songs, “Stone Cold Rage,” “Drawn This Way,” sound exactly as a citizen of conscience would expect protest anthems to sound - angry, fiery and ready to wage war. ( The new single from Nada Surf, "Song for Congress," written in response to Trump's policy of family separation at the border, is also a notable standout.)
Novelists, poets, television creators, and filmmakers have all given a robust response to the barbaric and boneheaded policies of the Trump administration, but music, at least in its most mainstream iterations, has remained mostly silent.
The dearth of protest music amid America’s psychotic episode, otherwise known as the Trump presidency, is a sad indictment of American songwriters, performers and record companies.
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