Tunes You Won’t Hear on “Dancing With the Despots”
Listen to these protest songs before they’re outlawed
Holding a rally near the site of Coachella music festival apparently convinced “DJ” Trump to turn his recent Pennsylvania town hall into a 39-minute extravaganza of his favorite playlist tunes, featuring bad dancing by Trump and host Kristi Noem. And as with any self-respecting festival, two audience members fainted and were evacuated, though apparently not for drug overdose. Naturally, Trump mocked their plight.
Many of the tunes used by Republicans to rouse the rabble have come under fire by the original artists for use without permission; others (like “Fortunate Son” or “Born in the USA”) inadvertently convey messages at odds with the MAGA agenda (unless “Making America Great Again” simply means returning to the roots of rock).
Questioning authority — not bowing to it — is at the heart of rock. If we’re going to use the oldies for political purposes, why not listen to some songs that clearly oppose the fascist agenda? Even “thick-as-a-brick” irony-impaired Trump supporters should get the point of these classics, in spite of the fact that they’re deep cuts rather than the more familiar protest songs. (Then again….)
