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Apart from the efforts of Springsteen, Neil Young, and whatever Billy Bragg is up to, I can't think of anyone else still having a bash at it. Thoughts or evidence to the contrary, comrades?

PJ Harvey, of course.

The King Blues and Calling All Astronauts are both very political, although I'm not keen on either.

I think we can say Pussy Riot took the protest song to quite an extreme too. I think it's just that the charts are much less open to non-manufactured pop at the moment. So the people making statements are getting less coverage, I don't think there are less of them.

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Definitely isn't inbred...has the GCSEs to prove it!

REVOLUTION PURITY LOVE SUICIDE ACCURACY

http://www.thesoundofconfusion.com

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Crazy haired surfin' slacker

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Curmudgeonly Rock 'n' Roll time traveller from ye olden days

2nd verse same as the 1st...

May I suggest MIA as a modern protest singer?

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Curmudgeonly Rock 'n' Roll time traveller from ye olden days

2nd verse same as the 1st...

Could suggest others, but they'd mostly be playing in niche ghettos, to a small like minded audience, e.g. anarcho punks (in the UK mainly remnants of an older generation, but in parts of Eastern Europe still seen as having an edge), left wing folkies and extreme right wing overtly racist skinhead bands (probably not what Marg meant, but they do sing protest songs, of a (vile) kind).
Apart from the odd song, it's hard to think of any overtly political acts getting any kind of mainstream exposure.

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Curmudgeonly Rock 'n' Roll time traveller from ye olden days

2nd verse same as the 1st...

Yeah, that was kind of my point. There's just not the exposure for that kind of thing. Whether that's down to supression of some kind of just apathy I don't know, but there's music out there.

I'm not much of a fan of Pussy Riot's music, but it's definitely a protest song that they're most famous for, and went to prison for!

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Definitely isn't inbred...has the GCSEs to prove it!

REVOLUTION PURITY LOVE SUICIDE ACCURACY

http://www.thesoundofconfusion.com

Incidentally, another film about an Iconaclatic feminist musician of a slightly earlier generation has just been released in cinemas. The Punk Singer about Kathleen Hanna (Bikini Kill, Le Tigre, The Julie Ruin etc) is currently at the ICA cinema in London.

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Curmudgeonly Rock 'n' Roll time traveller from ye olden days

2nd verse same as the 1st...

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Crazy haired surfin' slacker

I can't tell you much about the band Perfect Pussy I'm afraid, apart from that I've heard of them! I've probably heard their music at some point given the amount of stuff that pours into my inbox, but if I have then they didn't leave much of an impression!

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Definitely isn't inbred...has the GCSEs to prove it!

REVOLUTION PURITY LOVE SUICIDE ACCURACY

http://www.thesoundofconfusion.com

Not a fan but Frank Turner has a libertarian focused folk thing going. He denies he's right wing though...

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Mod Supreme, Demon Headmaster

_________________
Definitely isn't inbred...has the GCSEs to prove it!

REVOLUTION PURITY LOVE SUICIDE ACCURACY

http://www.thesoundofconfusion.com

_________________
Curmudgeonly Rock 'n' Roll time traveller from ye olden days

2nd verse same as the 1st...

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Curmudgeonly Rock 'n' Roll time traveller from ye olden days

2nd verse same as the 1st...

_________________
Definitely isn't inbred...has the GCSEs to prove it!

REVOLUTION PURITY LOVE SUICIDE ACCURACY

http://www.thesoundofconfusion.com

Chris TT. He's actually a rip off of Billy Bragg but slags off Sir William for daring to have a nice house in Dorset. Thankfully Chris TT doesn't have enough original thought or decent songs to actually ever risk the chance of being labelled a hypocrite...

This is one of the daftest things about people's perceptions of socialism, that somebody who has views about fairer re-distribution of wealth is not allowed to have some fruits to show for their own labours. There shouldn't be a contradiction and Billy, of all people, has put the hours in for causes representing the poor, repressed, wronged and needy.

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Mod Supreme, Demon Headmaster

As long as he doesn't re-locate his tax affairs to The Netherlands, he's free to enjoy as many vol au vents as his little heart desires.

I forgot to mention Ani Difranco, although she landed herself in a bit of bother recently. The planned retreat on a former plantation site didn't work out in the end.

So can we conclude that political conscientiousness in mainstream music has been dumbed down to a ringtone and a poxy wristband?

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Definitely isn't inbred...has the GCSEs to prove it!

REVOLUTION PURITY LOVE SUICIDE ACCURACY

http://www.thesoundofconfusion.com

Thoroughly depressing. I had to quit reading when I got to the Mumford & Sons photo.

The Specials' Ghost Town was Number 1 thirty years ago. That's just unimaginable in today's airwaves.

_________________
Definitely isn't inbred...has the GCSEs to prove it!

REVOLUTION PURITY LOVE SUICIDE ACCURACY

http://www.thesoundofconfusion.com