Assignment 23 - Kyle Hosey

Perfect Playlist for Feeling Rebellious

https://open.spotify.com/user/valkyrie7275/playlist/07TqZig2xwW0O1gprqeBaU

     Perfect for a 12-year old frustrated at mother for being grounded, a full-blown anarchist, or anything in-between. When you feel the need to rage against something - authority, society in general, and so on - this playlist is for you. Angsty preteen? Just had a rough day and need to vent? This playlist is for you. It's meaning can be as extreme or mild as you make it, a call to action or a simple unwinding or venting of frustration. I would like to thank the reminder I just saw for Rogue One's DVD release for this post's inspiration. 

Album: A Momentary Lapse of Reason

1. "Dogs of War" - Pink Floyd

"One world, it's a battleground

 One world, and we will smash it down." 

Honestly, does the addition of this song need any more explanation? This is without a doubt the darkest song on this list, both the lyrics and the general sound. Criticizing human tendencies for violence and suggesting that war is waged by politicians for monetary purposes, it belongs at the top of this playlist.  

Album: War

2. "Sunday Bloody Sunday" - U2

One of U2's most overtly political songs, the opening track from "War" focuses on The Troubles in Northern Ireland, specifically the Bloody Sunday massacre in which British troops fired on a crowd of Irish protesters. Yes, the song is a clear rejection of violence and revenge, but the militaristic influences - especially the constant drumbeat - keeps it within the realm of a protest song. A political protest song condemning British action while desperately hoping for peace.

Album: Use Your Illusion II

3. "Civil War" - Guns N'Roses

I mean, it's in the name. An overt protest against war and violence in general, the song also criticizes the modern political and social structures as promoting violence as a means to maintain the elite in both areas. Noticing a trend with the loud protest songs?

Album: 21st Century Breakdown

4.  "Know Your Enemy" - Green Day

Honestly, I could have made several of these playlists just from Green Day songs. The superficial things - sound and general feel - mark this as a anti-authority and rebellious song on their own. Basically, this track is on this list based on the sound alone, a pure "rebel against everything" message to supplement some of the more intricate protests.

Album: The Joshua Tree

5. "Bullet the Blue Sky" - U2

Not sure if I'm cheating by using two U2 tracks, but the first half of this song is my favorite bit of music ever. Try to find the live version from the South Africa anti-apartheid concert; I think it sounds better than the album version. Another protest song, it was originally written to protest US intervention in Guatemala in 1980, but has also been applied to Nazism and can be seen as a general critique of the influence of wealth or power. 

"In the howling wind comes a stinging rain/See them driving nails/Into the souls on the tree of pain/From the firefly, a red orange glow/See the face of fear/Running scared in the valley below."