Anthems for a New Generation: "Lost in the Supermarket"

We need new anthems. "We Shall Overcome" and "If I Had a Hammer" and "Give Peace a Chance" all had their moment, but they now sound dated and even clichéd. This blog proposes a new songbook (see list below) -- with selections from 1970 to the present -- for the activists of the twenty-first century. To qualify as anthems, these tracks must (a) be broadly positive/ progressive in content; (b) have an essential and substantial "hook" (a line, a verse, a chorus) that could realistically be sung by many progressive people at once, whether for protest or celebration; (c) reflect the ever more globalized world of activism, which means I'm always on the lookout for diverse materials from the Global South; and (d) be appealing to me personally, or why would I be doing this? I'll be blogging over fifty of my own proposals, and I welcome suggestions for further entries. You can share your comments at the end of each entry, and email me with your feedback. Please also let me know if you find any broken links. Now -- let's raise our voices! Adam

ANTHEMS

[in alphabetical order; see also the "In the Works" list, below]

* "Anthem" (Leonard Cohen)

* "Beds Are Burning" (Midnight Oil)

* "Been A Son" (Nirvana)

* "Brass in Pocket" (Pretenders)

* "Business" (Eminem)

* "Civil War" (Guns N' Roses)

* "Desapariciones" (Disappearances) (Rubén Blades/Maná)

* "East Jesus Nowhere" (Green Day)

* "Fall on Me" (R.E.M.)

* "Fearless" (Pink Floyd)

* "Freedom '90" (George Michael)

* "Gimme Shelter" (Rolling Stones)

* "Gimme Tha Power" (Molotov)

* "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" (U2)

* "If I Had a Rocket Launcher" (Bruce Cockburn)

* "Killing in the Name" (Rage Against the Machine)

* "Lost in the Supermarket" (The Clash)

* "Love's in Need of Love Today" (Stevie Wonder)

* "Not Ready to Make Nice" (Dixie Chicks)

* "Philadelphia Freedom" (Elton John)

* "Protection" (Massive Attack feat. Tracey Thorn)

* "Rais Lebled" (To the President) (Hamada Ben Amor - El Général)

* "Redemption Song" (Bob Marley)

* "Rise Up" (The Parachute Club)

* "Shaking the Tree" (Youssou N'Dour feat. Peter Gabriel)

* "Short Memory" (Midnight Oil)

* "Southern Man" (Neil Young)

* "Strange Fruit" (Danja Mowf feat. Shawn Chapelle)

* "Sun City" (Artists United Against Apartheid)

* "Sunday Bloody Sunday" (U2)

* "Takin' It to the Streets" (The Doobie Brothers)

* "Talkin' 'Bout a Revolution" (Tracy Chapman)

* "The Harder They Come" (Jimmy Cliff)

* "Things Can Only Get Better" (Howard Jones)

* "To Zion" (Lauryn Hill)

* "Tradition" (Burning Spear)

* "Uprising" (Muse)

* "Wavin' Flag" (K'naan)

* "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding" (Nick Lowe/Elvis Costello)

* "Why Can't We Live Together" (Timmy Thomas/Sade)

* "Wind of Change" (Scorpions)

* "Won't Get Fooled Again" (The Who)

* "Workingman's Blues #2" (Bob Dylan)

* "You Haven't Done Nothin'" (Stevie Wonder)

* "Zombie" (The Cranberries)

GUEST BLOGS

* "Into the Fire" (Bruce Springsteen) (by David Simon, Yale University)

IN THE WORKS

* "Seven Nation Army" (The White Stripes)

* "Bomb the World" (Michael Franti & Spearhead)

* "Déjà Vu (All Over Again)" (John Fogerty)

* "Fight the Power" (Public Enemy)

* "Fuck Tha Police" (N.W.A.)

* "Glad to Be Gay" (Tom Robinson)

* "Happy" (Pharrell Williams)

* "Heroes" (David Bowie)

* "Holiday" (Green Day)

* "La Maza" (The Hammer) (Silvio Rodríguez)

* "Oh! Gravity" (Switchfoot)

* "Ohio" (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young)

* "World on Fire" (Sarah McLachlan)

* "Zombie" (Fela Kuti)

NOTICE OF FAIR USE

This blog may contain copyrighted material, use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. The content of "Anthems for a New Generation" is made available for public-educational purposes, to advance the understanding of the cultural materials and social-political issues involved, and to promote discussion and debate. It is asserted that this constitutes a "fair use" of any copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. If you are a copyright owner and wish to have your material removed or credited differently, please contact me for prompt attention.

Anthems for a New Generation

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

"Lost in the Supermarket" - The Clash

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