NY ‘Supergroup’ OWS Anthem Reveals Top 5 Ways Indie Rock Killed Protest Songs
by Ezra DulisWhatever happened to the protest song? Music stations and the Billboard charts of decades past were chock full of politically-themed songs, most notably during the Vietnam War and its many statewide protests. Recently, liberal filmmaker Adam McKay (“Anchorman,” “The Other Guys”) started his own website–a protest song submission page–asking that very same question. What is it that has led to the decline of political music’s popularity?
Fortunately, “New Party Systems” is here to answer that question. A New York indie “supergroup” consisting of David First of the Notekillers, Kyp Malone from TV on the Radio, and the bassist and drummer from Liturgy (saw them in concert recently–the singer intentionally sounded like a screeching banshee, and I’m pretty sure they spent one song playing the same chord in different strumming patterns for seven minutes–nuff said). New Party Systems recently released “We Are,” another in a long line of songs written to inspire and represent the Occupy Wall Street movement.
Penned by guitarist First,”We Are” isn’t terrible musically, but it absolutely fails as a protest song for many, many reasons. There’s so much to work with here, actually, that we can use “We Are” as a case study in The Top 5 Ways Indie Rock Killed Protest Songs. Read on, aspiring hipster musicians, and immerse yourself in cautionary tale-age.







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