That I can think of, there’s Jesse Welles.
Ask HN: Where is all the protest music?
11–20 of 34 posts
Re: Ask HN: Where is all the protest music?
#12Controversial opinion - old pre-internet protests were mostly authentic and pursuing something good (whatever that meant in every case). Today - they are mostly designed, sponsored and organized and about hating/suppressing the enemy side, virtue signaling, not achieving good and genuine self expression. And those rare that are authentic (like current Iran revolution) are carefully and deliberately muted. Such intent…
There may be some truth to that. But if we get too cynical, the battle is lost before it’s begun!
Re: Ask HN: Where is all the protest music?
#13There are quite a few protest bands but they don't have the level of popularity as Rage against the machine, Bob Dylan or Public Enemy. Pop music is more of a commodity now.
I see Billy Bragg had something to share on FB about recent events as do many older artists.
Maybe you saw what happened at Glastonbury this year with Kneecap and Bob Vylan.
Personally I enjoy Idles, I went to see them last year and they had good energy and try to be politically active while spreading "the love".
One of my all time favourite bands New Model Army are still going and releasing music. I don't think they ever made it big after effectively being cancelled before it was popular releasing the single 51st State of America.
Re: Ask HN: Where is all the protest music?
#14うっせぇわ (Usseewa) was a big one back during COVID. I remember people hacking into the school broadcast system and playing it everywhere.
Re: Ask HN: Where is all the protest music?
#15You getting old, so you only get to know mainstream artists, and indies cannot get popular because of how the internet centralizes things, and avoids making indies have real world experiences together and gain traction. Hacktivist is one, but there a lot more on https://www.ongoinghistoryofprotestsongs.com/2025/06/08/30-b...
> indies cannot get popular because of how the internet centralizes things Are you joking? Some mainstream artists got their start on YouTube. Many indie artists perform there and have followings, and that is just one potential site to share your work. Sure, to become a household name you gotta grow from there and it is a tough road, but the ability to put out your music is crazy stronger today than in days of yore.…
We are talking protest music, and... still, like 0.01% of youtube artists actually earn any money from making music nowadays.
Re: Ask HN: Where is all the protest music?
#16It just occurred to me I also don't know about the other direction: does MAGA have any reactionary music?
Re: Ask HN: Where is all the protest music?
#17It just occurred to me I also don't know about the other direction: does MAGA have any reactionary music?
MAGA rap, numetal
https://old.reddit.com/r/numetal/comments/17cmyyw/numetal_ar...
Beyond that would be "wordcel" ("clefcel"?) "not-chad" etc?
Re: Ask HN: Where is all the protest music?
#18It just occurred to me I also don't know about the other direction: does MAGA have any reactionary music?
MAGA rap, numetal https://old.reddit.com/r/numetal/comments/17cmyyw/numetal_ar... Beyond that would be "wordcel" ("clefcel"?) "not-chad" etc?
The Hanks are almost Hegelian:
Hank Sr. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgHId2tg6dU
Hank Jr. - MAGA (at least he done sung "cold cold ground", bless his heart)
Hank iii - trying to sit between two chairs? (props the assjack on the fence?)
I still want to get some shape rotating done this week, so I'll put off descending into Hank Jr. et. al. for another few days. Thanks; "mighty white" of you!
Facilis descensus Averno:
Noctes atque dies patet atri ianua Ditis;
Sed revocare gradum superasque evadere ad auras,
Hoc opus, hic labor est.
Re: Ask HN: Where is all the protest music?
#19Earlier quoted context omitted.
MAGA rap, numetal https://old.reddit.com/r/numetal/comments/17cmyyw/numetal_ar... Beyond that would be "wordcel" ("clefcel"?) "not-chad" etc?
The Hanks are almost Hegelian: Hank Sr. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgHId2tg6dU Hank Jr. - MAGA (at least he done sung "cold cold ground", bless his heart) Hank iii - trying to sit between two chairs? (props the assjack on the fence?) "Wordcel" sounds awfully like "stochastic parrot"? (says someone who's been trying and failing for months to get LLMs to rotate shapes. At least some of them have a good "sense of…
Where's the reaction
E: maybe I've seen down so much Hank/Hegel looks like up
Re: Ask HN: Where is all the protest music?
#20Earlier quoted context omitted.
The Hanks are almost Hegelian: Hank Sr. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgHId2tg6dU Hank Jr. - MAGA (at least he done sung "cold cold ground", bless his heart) Hank iii - trying to sit between two chairs? (props the assjack on the fence?) "Wordcel" sounds awfully like "stochastic parrot"? (says someone who's been trying and failing for months to get LLMs to rotate shapes. At least some of them have a good "sense of…
Where's the reaction E: maybe I've seen down so much Hank/Hegel looks like up
reaction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWNk-4jJb7I ?
Cold cold ground was tragedy[0], but these lyrics are farce.
reaction[1]? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__HPfmvaWRw
literally wrapping himself in the flag[2]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyFnLqJx-uU
(but that last vid doesn't have so many views; maybe it was even too MAGA for MAGA?)
then again, in light of https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46644795 maybe it'd be more effective to address the concerns of the centre right and centre left, than to bother with trolling the far right?
[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzi-FcFEao8
[1] they've got their Everdeen character, but real archers use thumb draws, and shoot out of gallop: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzTaYvMmNYU
[2] maybe the US just needs a better men's World Cup squad, so they can get all the flag-waving out of their systems via sport instead of politics?