Did you forget, or did you purposely leave out Melissa Etheridge? Christmas in America was subtle yet strong. Imagine That salutes not only Cindy Sheehan, but American soldiers who refused to go to war.

Melissa may have a majorly lesbian fan-base, but she gets no respect from just as many lesbians.

Lisa

I LOVE it when people in power raise awareness.

Keep it up and to quote Amy Welsh on the subject:

"If that's what it takes then poets, writers, singers, dancers, artists, musicians, comedians, actors it's your commitment as life enhancers to be a voice, to be a voice and not only point out what's wrong with the system but use the power of your art to create a new and better vision put it out there, for the whole world to see. Remind them, remind us the meaning of humanity and spread it. Spread it like John Lennon spread 'imagine'. Spread it like Martin Luther King spread his dream. Spread it like our current leaders are blowing steam but put yourself in position add substance and meaning because if we're gonna leave this country to our children we have to leave them something to work with. We have to remember sometimes fighting is worth it. We have to help each other to realize our neighbors are our allies, in voting booths and picket-lines and keeping the common interest in mind and keeping each others hopes inside only then can we truly unite."

Who you gonna be if you can't be yourself,
you can't get it from t.v., you can't force it on
anybody else.-- Ani Difranco

I like it when celebrities use their influence to support good causes or stand up for what they believe in.

Celebrities getting people more involved in politics is good, but what I'm not a fan of is them revealing what presidential candidate they support. Even though people should vote on the issues, we all know that some people will favor a certain candidate just because a celebrity is endorsing them.

ps thanks for letting me know about pink's dear mr. president song, i've been listening to it repeatedly :P

I just love that song, because I feel like she actually means what she sings and its not just a publicity stunt. I gave me shivers when I was at her concert and she sang it! She has an amazing voice, even live, and its an amazing song.

I like "war is over", but for me, it's really more of a christmas song, don't know why. I don't mind if singers use their music to send out a message, as long as I feel like they are honest about it and they actually mean what they say/sing!

http://babydyke.blogspot.com/ - my take on all things lesbian

Just because they are famous doesn't mean that they don't have concerns about the world around us. Why shouldn't they express them? I don't understand why some people feel like celebrities shouldn't do that. I'm not saying you have to agree with everything they say, but they have the right to say how they feel about things.

99.9% of all songs by the band "Anti-Flag" are protest songs. Hence the name. NOFX and Rise Against also write a lot of politically themed songs, as well as of course Rage Against the Machine. I think it is important for musicians to sing about important issues, if they genuinely care about them, because I think too many people my age (I'm 18) regard politics as irrelevant to them and take no interest in anything other than their own personal lives, and I really think people need to have their awareness raised and be shown how important it is to actually look at the bigger picture and how politics can actually end up shaping the course of people's individual lives, as well as their country as a whole. 

Anti-Flag rock my boat!

I remember listening to Matt Damon interviewed on the radio awhile ago. I can't remember the station - NPR or something similar. He talked about celebrities speaking out for various causes and voicing political opinions, and I found what he said to be revealing: When you're famous, and you have so many people watching your every move, you know that if you speak up for a political movement or a cause, that you're going to piss people off. But when it comes down to it, you still have to do it. What choice do you have? Clam up and try to sleep at night knowing that you could have made a difference for a cause you support, but that you choose not to becaus you're afraid of pissing people off? Or do it, and piss people off, but maybe raise awareness along the way, and feel like you've done something good with yourself and this arbitrary thing called fame?

That's totally paraphrased, but that was the gist of it. It makes me think twice before I get too worked up about celebrity politics.

Anyway. Political songs that I love:

Faithless - Mass Destruction

The Cranberries - Zombie

U2 - Wow, where to start. Sunday Bloody Sunday. New Year's Day. Bullet the Blue Sky. Love/hatred of Bono aside, U2 wrote some amazing political music, particularly on the albums leading up to and including The Joshua Tree.

i love protest songs, and i love when celebrities speak out about things that matter to them.

one of my favorite lines is from marilyn manson's "the fight song"

     i'm not a slave to a god that doesn't exist/i'm not a slave to a world that doesn't give a shit.

word, bruddah.

"if i ever start to think straight this heart will start a riot in me."