With midterm elections pending in early November, 2006 was a year full of songs protesting the Iraq War, the Bush administration, and various other topics at hand. Following is a list of some of the best and most poignant American folk songs released in protest in 2006.
This was certainly the most controversial song of the year, and in fact was the one everyone quoted when they wanted to chastise Young for releasing a protest album (
Living With War) in the first place. It's certainly no secret what this song is about, and
Neil Young does a great job of making his point in the clearest, most concise possible way.
It's been three years since
Dixie Chicks' Natalie Maines made the joke heard 'round the world from the stage at a concert in Shepherd's Bush, England. Finally, in response to the equally-sized backlash and support for the nervy statement (and even more nervy no-apologies aftermath), the Chicks finally released their best record to date. "Not Ready to Make Nice" was not only a pointed protest song, it was also at least partially responsible for getting the trio some
Grammy nominations.
Ani Difranco's CD
Reprieve was mostly geared toward making some sort of response to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. While there were plenty of songs on the disc to choose from when compiling this list, "Millenium Theater" was decidedly the most comprehensive.
Not only did
Bruce Springsteen record his first official folk record this year, it was also his first album of covers and the first time The Boss didn't slave for far too long over his work. In just two days, he whipped out a tribute to
Pete Seeger and traditional Americana that would eventually land him a
Grammy nod, among other things. The whole idea, however, started with this song.
Colleen Kattan may not be a household name among folk fanatics, but this cut from the recent
Hail to the Thieves, Vol III CD was completely unforgettable. Complete with that melody you've heard a hundred times before, whitty, biting lyrics, and an energy you can't help but sing along to, this tune is a shoe-in for one of the best protest songs of the year.
This one sort of goes without saying. After all, New Englanders
Catie Curtis and
Mark Erelli won the International Songwriting Competition with this number, which they co-penned in response to Hurricane Katrina. An undeniable call-to-attention, the tune's overall objective is peace.
The
Indigo Girls have long written tons of protest songs – from feminist dirges to tunes about environmentalism, GLBT issues, and Native American rights. Their latest album,
Despite Our Differences wasn't much of a departure for the beloved duo, but it all kicked off with this fist-pumping feminist statement.
The first song from Neil Young's fabulous
Living With War CD says, pretty much right off the bat, "... don't need no stinking war." There's not much more of a basic statement than that, so this song had to bear mention on this list.
This song was the final track included on the
Hail to the Thieves, Vol III CD, featuring none other than long-time peacemonger Utah Phillips. This empowering little singalong tackles hope, possibility, peace and community all in one fell swoop.
New Orleans' own
Subdudes aren't exactly a political band, but this song showed up on their early-2006 release
Behind the Levee, presumably in response to Katrina clean-up, as much as it was commenting on the state of the war in Iraq.
