Best left-wing rock band

[Pushed To The Left]

Poll question: Best left-wing rock band

[Gato Moteado]

1. the beatles?

the stones?

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

46. Man oh man, John Lennon would have HATED Bush.

John Lennon: Red or Blue? Absolute no-brainer. I'm not so sure about Paul. I'm guessing Blue, and I don't think Bush would be the one to persuade him to "go Red"...assuming that anyone COULD.

[orpupilofnature57]

61. Plastic Ono Band

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

68. Yes, it does not get more Blue than that album.

"Working Class Hero" in particular. Two of my heroes are gone, John Lennon and Frank Zappa. Both would have been VERY outspoken about the current state of affairs.



:toast:

[AuntiBush]

72. You're so right!

I couldn't have said it better. Alas, the good ole' days seem gone right now.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

84. " I'm not so sure about Paul"

Posted by Bush_Eats_Beef



Give him a break... He's a vegan... His wife is an amputee and an anti-landmine activist...He wrote "Give Ireland Back to the Irish" about Northern Ireland...


I'll donate $100.00 to DU if you can show me one public statement that would indicate he's a right winger....

[Nitrogenica]

2. System = siiiiingg...then siiiing...then YELL...then siiiiing.

[Feathered Fish]

Would the Dead Kennedys count?

It's more punk than rock, but....

[Optimus Primestein]

3. The Clash - the first admittedly socialist band???

:shrug: Bands don't get any further left than the Clash.

[Ekirh]

6. Was going to Vote R.A.T.M

Until I saw this... have to go with the Clash.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

7. We both posted The Clash at the same time

great minds think alike! ;-)

[Optimus Primestein]

10. They were the FIRST political band EVAH - they deserve some

kudos for paving the way for Rage Against the Machine, U2, etc, etc.

:hi:

[Kathy in Cambridge]

4. The Clash?

[GOPBasher]

5. There are plenty of others..

see the "Vote For Change" tour lineup.

[name not needed]

8. The Clash

[Optimus Primestein]

12. for a yungun'....

:yourock:

[FarLeftRage]

9. Anti-Flag

with the Clash, as a close second...

[Magrittes Pipe]

11. The Red Army Chorus

[Feathered Fish]

26. Yes, I believe you may have it.

[RetroLounge]

13. The Only Band That Matters

The Clash

RL

[mr_hat]

40. Oh, wake the fuck up and get relevent. It's Steve Earle and the Dukes.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

14. Other: Placebo.

"Slave to the Wage"

[JimmyJazz]

15. The only band that matters....

the clash!

[McKenzie]

17. "I'm So Bored With the U.S.A."

Yankee soldier
He wanna shoot some skag
He met it in Cambodia
But now he can't afford a bag

Yankee dollar talk
To the dictators of the world
In fact it's giving orders
An' they can't afford to miss a word

I'm so bored with the U...S...A...
But what can I do?

Yankee detectives
Are always on the TV
'Cos killers in America
Work seven days a week

Never mind the stars and stripes
Let's print the Watergate Tapes
I'll salute the New Wave
And I hope nobody escapes

I'm so bored with the U...S...A...
But what can I do?

Move up Starsky
For the C.I.A.
Suck on Kojak
For the USA

[JimmyJazz]

19. Here is an incredible song - the politics are clear, as is the

history lesson:

Oh! Mama, Mama look there!
Your children are playing in that street again
Don't you know what happened down there?
A youth of fourteen got shot down there
The Kokane guns of Jamdown Town
The killing clowns, the blood money men
Are shooting those Washington bullets again

As every cell in Chile will tell
The cries of the tortured men
Remember Allende, and the days before,
Before the army came
Please remember Victor Jara,
In the Santiago Stadium,
Es verdad - those Washington Bullets again

And in the Bay of Pigs in 1961,
Havana fought the playboy in the Cuban sun,
For Castro is a colour,
Is a redder than red,
Those Washington bullets want Castro dead
For Castro is the colour...
...That will earn you a spray of lead

For the very first time ever,
When they had a revolution in Nicaragua,
There was no interference from America
Human rights in America

Well the people fought the leader,
And up he flew...
With no Washington bullets what else could he do?

'N' if you can find a Afghan rebel
That the Moscow bullets missed
Ask him what he thinks of voting Communist...
...Ask the Dalai Lama in the hills of Tibet,
How many monks did the Chinese get?
In a war-torn swamp stop any mercenary,
'N' check the British bullets in his armoury
Que?
Sandinista!

[McKenzie]

35. I'm with you there

The Clash were utterly awesome. I've seen them live.

"Better off, fat and old, queuing for the house of loooords"

"Scaring the nation, with their guns and ammunition"

"It ain't Coca Cola, it's rice"

"Know your rights, all three of 'em"

[JimmyJazz]

49. The picture in my avatar is Joe Strummer - I took it.. . n/t

[McKenzie]

16. maybe not a band as such...Billy Bragg

You don't turn criminals into citizens
By treating them this way
Is the price of law and order the stench of Wormwood Scrubs
With judges quick to sentence more down from above
It's a cruel unusual punishment that society demands
Innocent till proven guilty, rotting on remand

[3days]

18. Ministry

New World Order

[HEyHEY]

20. I demand you take incubus off that list

[Fenris]

22. Seconded

For shame!

[Wat_Tyler]

24. It's the Crapness, mostly.

[Optimus Primestein]

25. You would have voted for the Clash if you could have, right???

;)

thanks, btw.

[Biased Liberal Media]

47. Why?? Aren't they left-wing??

[Kellanved]

21. certainly not the best

But I prefer "Die Toten Hosen" (The Dead Pants/ The Bores). Ok, technically their genre is Punk.

http://www.dietotenhosen.de/en/startseite.php

[Wat_Tyler]

23. The poll is worthless without the Clash ;-P(or the Manic Street Preachers)

[Optimus Primestein]

27. Whhhaaaatttttt - you admit it????

SANDINISTA, BABY


oh, like you didn't see that one coming from a mile away!!!! :P

[Wat_Tyler]

29. It would be a tough call between the Clash and the Manics.

Probably The Clash.

[warrens]

28. Gimme a break

The Subhumans and the Mekons make everyone else look like wimps. And the Clash. These wimps are just posing morons, on the whole.

[Wat_Tyler]

30. The Specials, XTC, Primal Scream, Radiohead, REM, Stiff Little Fingers,

That Petrol Emotion, The Exploited, Elvis Costello and the Attractions - all avowedly left-wing.

[Optimus Primestein]

32. I have recently been exposed to Stiff Little Fingers by another DUer

I am impressed.

[Wat_Tyler]

34. There are laws against that, you know.

:o

[Optimus Primestein]

38. But, but....it was fun???

:shrug: and I kinda liked it :7

[Wat_Tyler]

41. As long as they were wearing gloves, then.

[Zomby Woof]

31. Woody Guthrie

He and his guitar were a one-man band.

Based on what he learned from the tradition of Joe Hill, Woody brought politics to the forefront of music.

A communist too, and contributed much to the cause of workers all over the world.

[Wat_Tyler]

37. Fair enough - he's got the track record.

Guthrie was an extraordinary man.
I suppose I'd through Paul Robeson in there too.

[Optimus Primestein]

50. In that same vein then, you must include Victor Jara.

He was a socialist musician in Chile. Right before the Pinochet coup, Victor had played in the Santiago Stadium - Following the coup, he was taken as a political prisoner. Soldiers brought him back to the stadium and smashed his hands...they then taunted him to play his guitar and subsequently killed him.

I'd say that qualifies him as a left wing musician, IMHO.

[Wat_Tyler]

51. Yeah - and Os Mutantes - all the Tropicalia bands.

[flamingyouth]

55. I LOVE Os Mutantes

[Wat_Tyler]

60. Somehow, I knew you'd be the person to pick up on that.

:hi:

[flamingyouth]

65. And Neil has pictures of my basement to prove it

Some great stuff among those thousands of CDs and records. Yet for some odd reason, my husband had two Hanoi Rocks CDs. :wtf:

[Wat_Tyler]

67. Like the master Turkish rug manufacturers.

You always have to leave a flaw.

[Zomby Woof]

53. He deserves praise for sure

Arlo Guthrie wrote a moving song about him called "Jara" on his 1976 masterwork "Amigo". :thumbsup: Thanks for providing the info.

[Optimus Primestein]

56. I will see if I can download the song. I didn't know about the

song, but Victor Jara definitely deserves recognition. I'm not that familiar with folk music - I think I have some research to do - I do know that folk musicians have been some of the most politically active, though.

[Zomby Woof]

58. Here are the lyrics

Victor Jara
words by Adrian Mitchell, music by Arlo Guthrie

Victor Jara of Chile
Lived like a shooting star
He fought for the people of Chile
With his songs and his guitar
His hands were gentle, his hands were strong

Victor Jara was a peasant
He worked from a few years old
He sat upon his father's plow
And watched the earth unfold
His hands were gentle, his hands were strong

Now when the neighbors had a wedding
Or one of their children died
His mother sang all night for them
With Victor by her side
His hands were gentle, his hands were strong

He grew up to be a fighter
Against the people's wrongs
He listened to their grief and joy
And turned them into songs
His hands were gentle, his hands were strong

He sang about the copper miners
And those who worked the land
He sang about the factory workers
And they knew he was their man
His hands were gentle, his hands were strong

He campaigned for Allende
Working night and day
He sang "Take hold of your brothers hand
You know the future begins today"
His hands were gentle, his hands were strong

Then the generals seized Chile
They arrested Victor then
They caged him in a stadium
With five-thousand frightened men
His hands were gentle, his hands were strong

Victor stood in the stadium
His voice was brave and strong
And he sang for his fellow prisoners
Till the guards cut short his song
His hands were gentle, his hands were strong

They broke the bones in both his hands
They beat him on the head
They tore him with electric shocks
And then they shot him dead
His hands were gentle, his hands were strong

[Optimus Primestein]

62. Oh my. Damn. The references to his hands... jeez

I had to go compose myself - I was sobbing even before I read the last two stanzas which tell of his fate. :cry: Even without the music, it is a beautiful poem/tribute to someone I admire very much.

[no name no slogan]

78. DEFINATELY Victor Jara

He's a hero in Chile today. If I recall the story correctly, he was detained shortly after the coup, and held in the Santiago soccer stadium. The soldiers knew who he was, and taunted him with jeers about being that guitar player. So, they smahed or cut off his hands (the stories vary) and told him to make his music.

Since he could no longer play the guitar, he began singing one of his songs. Even though he couldn't play, they could not silence his voice. After that, they killed him.

His music is still available via import, and it is very beautiful and haunting-- almost Cat Stevens-like in some ways.

[CatholicEdHead]

33. Megadeth and Scorpions

read their lyrics.

[Zensea]

36. Without the Clash there would be no Green Day, U2, RATM, Public Enemy

When Strummer died members of all those groups said this.

[Robb]

39. Hands up: who's feeling old?

:D


:eyes:

[flamingyouth]

54. I know - who the fuck are Six Feet Under?

:shrug: from the old lady over here :D

[brentspeak]

42. The Gang of Four

That name pretty much says it all about their politics.(I don't agree with much of their politics, actually). That whole late 70's/early 80's British university scene produced a bunch of leftist rock bands -- the Mekons, Joy Division/New Order, the Fall.

But the Clash would have to be considered the most important "leftist" rock band of all.

[orleans]

75. ohhh ohhh ohhh

i loved the song "damaged goods" !!! (gang of four)

[brentspeak]

43. And lest we forget, THE MINUTEMEN

The best AMERICAN leftist rock band of all-time (the Clash being the best English leftist rock band of all-time).

[brentspeak]

44. And we would be remiss to exclude BRUCE COCKBURN (n/t)

(n/t)

[Wat_Tyler]

45. People may be surprised but - Kraftwerk.

[jpgray]

57. I'm not surprised--trabajadores del mundo, unen!

[Wat_Tyler]

63. Yeah - they were subtle, but it's all in there.

[Biased Liberal Media]

48. Definitely System of a Down!!!

[BBradley]

52. Incubus

They do more for my generation than every other band on the list combined, and they are hella good at their instruments.

[orpupilofnature57]

59. Plastic Ono Band

[Kazak]

64. Stereolab?

Gus The Mynah Bird
A military regime
in democratic disguise
that lies in all impunity
takes apart what it took
people years to build
public institutions
that promised a decent life

self-determination should be fact
not essentially a right

there are the lobbies
insurance companies
who want to change
the whole country
into a vast
commercial counter
for the pure consumer

the promise to give the
generals a better place

self-determination should be fact
in the face of corruption

[Wat_Tyler]

66. How odd - no one mentioned Pink Floyd.

[Fenris]

73. I think this is a first for a music poll.

An entire poll and no GILMOUR IS GOD rubbish.

[Guaranteed]

69. RAGE

You know, before the war I was a moderate, and when I heard everything Zach was saying I was like, "Man, that guy's out there." I still really loved Battle of Los Angeles, but I just didn't take the lyrics seriously.

But, then war started, I had that album in my CD walkman every day. It was like GOSPEL. EVERYTHING he was saying is true. All of it.

It's unbelievable how the very same assertions can change in their veracity over time.

[Philosophy]

70. I'm totally into Incubus lately

I been singing every song on their latest album every day on the way to and from work for the past two months. I'm getting damn good - I'm thinking of starting an Incubus cover band.

[orpupilofnature57]

71. ( No son a trickie Dickie gonna mother Hubbard soft soap me..

with just a pocket full of hope,it's money for dope) Plastic Ono band

[Dukkha]

74. Roger Waters

check out his new Anti-Bush songs on his web site

Tonight at the tsnami relief show He and Eric Clapton performed Wish You Were Here

[no name no slogan]

76. Gang of Four and Killing Joke

None of the whippersnappers you listed in the poll would even exist were it not for GoF and Killing Joke.



Gang of Four put the funk into the punk, and made revolution catchy with titles like "At Home He's a Tourist" and "I Love a Man in Uniform".




Killing Joke brought the bombast and wicked beats to heavy-metal crunchers like "Wardance", "Requiem", "Love Like Blood" and "Eighties". In fact, they put out a new album last year (featuring Dave Grohl on drums, and produced by GoF's Andy Gill) that PROVES they still have what it takes to make today's crop of bashers look like Jessica Simpson.

[truebrit71]

77. PINK FLOYD.

Period.

[GreenPartyVoter]

79. Here are some more

http://timeforachange.bluelemur.com/Arts.htm#row2

[Revillusion1]

80. Other...Without a doubt...The Black Crowes!

:smoke:

[NoPasaran]

81. Jefferson AIrplane

[mitchum]

82. THE MC5, MOTHERFUCKERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The first and the best

[Kathy in Cambridge]

83. Dils-anyone remember them?

http://vcp-inc.com/dos/kinman/dils/thedils.htm

I loved their song 'Class War'

[DBoon]

89. became "Rank and File"

The Kinmans did country punk without losing their politics.

[Roon]

85. Roger Waters and the Bleeding Heart Band eom

[NeoTraitors]

86. I second the Minutemen

Double Nickels on the Dime from '84. 48 songs most of which are scathing commentary on Reagan era conservatism. Mike Watt is still around today givin' 'em hell. But unfortunately D boon who wrote most of their songs was killed in an accident in '85.

Did anybody else write about the Contras in '84? D will always be my hero!

Only other punk bands like Crass, Subhumans, etc can claim to be as pure and rightous as the Minutemen, but none of the others had a guy as articulate, observant, and intelligent as D boon.

Jello Biafra (Dead Kennedys) was in your face confronting people, while D was a gentle (BIG) man who challenged minds. When D did exhibit aggressive emotion- it packed a bigger whallup- he meant it baby!

I would recommend the Minutemen for all leftists. You can download some of their shows for free at Corndogs.org. Listen to the rightousness in D's voice as he confronts conservative bs head on.

Try not to cry like I do when I think of what could have been...
But D would tell me 'Quit whining... start your own band!'

D boon was one of the 5 greatest Americans who ever lived IMO.

[DBoon]

88. Another vote for the Minutemen here!

May he rest in peace.

[HEAVYHEART]

87. I voted for System Of A Down n/t

[brainwashed]

90. Nightweed

[Cornjob]

91. Gotta be The Clash!

Go straight to Hell boys!

[NeoTraitors]

92. Wow!

You da man D! To paraphrase Uncle Tupelo- Part of what you were is a part of me now.