Halldór H Kristínarson

Greetings Comrades, I’m DJ General Strike, host of the weekly protest music radio show, Protest Tunes on 91.3 KBCS FM in Seattle. I broadcast radical protest music of all genres and eras for 2 hours every Wednesday at 9 PM. Over the last three months I’ve been compiling new protest songs released this year (as I’ve done for the last 3 years). This Winter saw the release of a wide variety of protest songs, most notably anti-war songs against the brutal wars in Gaza and Ukraine, songs inspired by the upcoming US presidential election, as well as a few protest songs harking back to the 1920s. I aired most of these songs on my show this Wednesday, which you can listen to the archive of here. I’ve organized these 40 protest songs by genre below for ease of listening, you can also listen to all 40 on this Spotify Playlist. Without further ado, here’s my top 40 Protest Songs of Winter 2024.

Folk

David Rovics – Song for the Houthi Army.

Rovics is a Portland based activist singer songwriter, and anti-Zionist Jew from New York. This track is off his new album about Israel’s war in Gaza, Notes From A Holocaust, released in January. While there are a lot of great protest songs on this album, I think this one about the Houthi Red Sea blockade stands out the most.

Joe Solo ft Commoners Choir- A Better Way

Joe Solo is a musician, writer, poet, activist, broadcaster and washing machine engineer from Scarborough, UK. His musical odyssey began in 1987 fronting the pop-punk band Lithium Joe. He described this song as “a big protest singalong in defiance of the times we live in.”

Grace Petrie – Fixer Upper

Petrie is an English folk singer-songwriter and guitarist from Leicester, England. She began performing in 2006 but in 2010, the advent of the Conservative-led coalition government influenced her, as a socialist, feminist, and lesbian, towards an increasing emphasis on political songwriting. This track is off her new album Build Something Better released March 8th.

Cheekface – Don’t Stop Believing

Cheekface is an indie folk-rock band based in Los Angeles, formed in 2017. Some of Cheekface’s fans refer to themselves as Cheek Freaks. This song about alienation in late stage capitalism is off their new album It’s Sorted released in January.

Sean Brady – Child of the Troubles

Seán Brady is a well known entertainer and recording artist on the Irish circuit in Britain and a regular performer in venues across europe. This heartfelt anti-war song draws on his personal experience growing up during the 30 year period of violent conflict in Northern Ireland, known as The Troubles.

Maddie Morris – Marsha P Johnson

Maddie Morris is a British queer feminist folk artist from Leeds. She wrote this song for LGBT History Month to commemorate Stonewall activist Marsha P Johson, about whom she said “Marsha is an activist I have looked up to for a long time, and I wrote this piece about the way it’s easy to feel ‘wore down’ by the constant micro-aggressions and homophobia experienced by queer people in Britain today.”

Aoife O’Donovan – War Measure

Aoife O’Donova is folk-rock singer and Grammy award-winning songwriter from Boston, best known as the lead singer for the string band Crooked Still. She also co-founded the Grammy-winning female folk trio I’m with Her. This track is off her new album, All My Friends, a commission to celebrate the centenary of the 19th amendment, inspired by the life and mission of suffragist Carrie Chapman Catt.

Rock

Real Ones – Stop The War

Real Ones, also known as Reelones, is a folk/rock band from Bergen, Norway. The band was formed in 1994 when the founding members were 14 and 15 years of age. They describe this song as “in sympathy with those who go to bed each night not knowing whether they or their loved ones will be wiped out by a bomb before sunrise. “

Average Joey – Indifference

Average Joey is a traveling songwriter and folk musician from Pennsylvania. He now lives full time on the road touring and performing music. This track about systemic indifference and individualism is off his new album Impermanence released in February.

Gossip – Real Power

This Indie rock band was formed in 1999 in Olympia, Washington, by vocalist Beth Ditto. All three band members are originally from Searcy, Arkansas; the drummer moved to Olympia to attend Evergreen State College and the rest of the band followed. This protest song is the title track of their new album just released March 22nd.

Peter Garrett – Meltdown

Peter Garrett is an Australian musician, environmentalist, activist and former politician, best known as the lead singer of the Australian rock band Midnight Oil, which he joined in 1973. This climate change protest song is off Peter Garrett’s second solo album (backed by his band The Alter Egos) The True North.

R&B/Pop

Carsie Blanton – Empire

Carsie Blanton is a singer-songwriter and guitarist based in New Orleans. Blanton says she “writes anthems for a world worth saving.” This anti-imperialist song is off her new album After the Revolution. About this song she said “Who says you can’t write a pop song about imperialism, American hegemony and the decline of capitalism”.

Shaina Taub – Keep Marching (from the Broadway musical “Suffs”)

Shaina Taub is a Vermont-raised, Brooklyn-based composer, singer-songwriter and performer. This song is newly written for Taub’s musical about the Women’s Suffrage Movement, “Suffs” upcoming Broadway run. Taub wrote the music, lyrics, and book for the musical and also stars as Alice Paul in “Suffs”.

Jazlynn Q & Eddie Mack – My People

Arab-American Hip-Hop Artist, from Detroit, Eddie Mack, released this great compilation album against Israel’s war on Gaza, this February, called The Art of War, featuring many Palestinian and Arab artists. This song is by Jazlynn Q, an 18-year-old singer/songwriter from Miami, via New York, of Palestinian and Dominican roots.

Gruff Rhys – Cover Up The Cover Up

This Welsh musician, composer, producer, filmmaker and author performs solo and with rock band Super Furry Animals, who obtained mainstream success in the 90s, and the electro-pop band Neon Neon. He’s considered a figurehead of the era known as Cool Cymru, a Welsh cultural movement in music and film in the 1990s and 2000s.

Reggae/Ska

Protoje – 30 Million

Protoje is a reggae singer and songwriter from Jamaica. His mother is Jamaican singer Lorna Bennett ,and his father is former calypso singer Mike Ollivierre. About this song Protoje stated “I’ve been able to witness the transformation of my country over the last twenty years and wanted to make a statement on the Jamaican situation. This song speaks about what is, what was and what can be, as it relates to the quality of life that we experience here in Jamaica”

Jahneration & Capleton – When We Gonna Rise

Jahneration is a Reggae / Dancehall / Hip Hop duo of singers from Paris, founded in 2009. Diversity, Unity and Sharing of Music are their main slogan, which they apply to their lyrics and ways of working. Capleton, is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall musician, also known as King Shango, King David, The Fireman and The Prophet.

Evil Ambition – Soul Rebel Project

Soul Rebel Project are a Reggae/Rock band hailing from Boston. This song features Grammy award winning reggae songwriter, musician and composer MediSun, who is also from Boston, now based in LA, plus Maine-based DJ-Producer duo Green Lion Crew.

Jazz/Spoken Word

Moor Mother – ALL THE MONEY (feat. Alya Al-Sultani)

Moor Mother is a jazz poet, musician, and activist from Philadelphia. She is one half of the collective Black Quantum Futurism, and co-leads the free-jazz collective Irreversible Entanglements and the experimental hip hop group 700 Bliss. This track about the history British imperialism is off her new album ‘The Great Bailout’ released last month.

aja monet – for the kids…

aja monet is a poet, writer, lyricist and activist based in Los Angeles. She was the youngest poet to ever hold the title Nuyorican Poets Café Grand Slam Champion at the age of 19 in 2007. This song was inspired by Langston Hughes 1938 poem, “For the Kids Who Died.”

The Brkn Record – Cut the Cheque

The Brkn Record is a new project led and produced by Jake Ferguson, the co-founder and bass player for the UK’s foundational deep jazz outfit the Heliocentrics, with fellow Heliocentrics co-founder and drummer Malcolm Catto. This single calling for reparations for slavery is off The Brkn Record’s forthcoming sophomore album, The Architecture of Oppression Part 2.

Hip Hop

Arrested Development – For Free (feat. April So Lyrical, Configa & Speech)

Arrested Development was formed in Atlanta in 1988 by rapper and producer Speech and turntablist Headliner. They were the first hip hop band to win a Grammy for Best New Artist, in 1993. This track is off their new album Bullets In The Chamber, released in January, which is so full of great protest songs, it was hard to pick just one.

Víctor Jara -Ceschi (feat. R.A.P. Ferreira & Zeta)

Ceschi is a hip hop musician based in New Haven, Connecticut and a member of the punk-hip hop fusion band Codefendants.He is also co-founder of the record label Fake Four Inc. This track inspired by legendary Chilean protest sing-songwriter and activist Victor Jara is the 4th single from Ceschi’s upcoming album “Bring Us The Head Of Francisco False Part One”

Brother Ali – The Collapse

Brother Ali is a blind, albino rapper, community activist, and member of the Rhymesayers Entertainment hip hop collective from Minneapolis. In this track Ali, who is Muslim, and Jewish producer unJUST tackle Israel’s assault on the Palestinian people.

Heems, Lapgan, Saul Williams – Accent

Heems is a rapper from Queens, New York, best known for being part of the alternative hip hop groups Das Racist, and Swet Shop Boys. This anti-xenophobia song, is the lead single off Heems’ new album Lafandar and is a collaboration with veteran slam poet, Saul Williams.

My People – Sean Toure’ (feat. Ras Kass & DJ Face)

Sean Toure’ is an underground hip hop producer/emcee from Baltimore. This black history song features LA rapper Ras Kass of Golden State Warriors and the hip hop supergroup The HRSMN, and DJ Face from True School Corporation and The CrossRhodes.

Frank Waln – Seven

Frank Waln is a Lakota hip hop artist, producer, audio engineer and activist from the Rosebud reservation in South Dakota. He has been awarded three Native American Music Awards and received five nominations, both individually and with his group Nake Nula Waun. This track is off Waln’s new album Songs Against Colonialism.

Tonio Sagan & Far Eye House – Country Code Number 1

Tonio Sagan is a Massachusetts born and bred producer, lyricist, and hip hop scholar, and grandson of astronomer Carl Sagan. Far Eye House is a Hip-Hop and reggae producer from Springfield, MA. This protest song against American exceptionalism was released December 29th of 2023, just missing last year’s cut.

Configa, Tommy Evans, Speech – They Are Not Expecting Us to Fight

Configa and Tommy Evans are the world’s first producer-rapper-PhD combo. Configa rose through the ranks as a battle rapper and produced and released his debut album in 2000. Tommy Evans is based in London but was born and grew up in Leeds. This single, taken from the duos forthcoming album “Jolicoeur” also features Speech from Arrested Development.

Abe Batshon – Palestine Will Rise

Abe Batshon is a Palestinian American songwriter, artist and entrepreneur born in San Francisco and raised in Hayward, California. This single released in February about the war in Gaza also features Lebanese singer Samer and Detroit-based Palestinian-American hip hop artist Sammy Shiblaq.

Sole, DJ Pain 1 – Land of Stolen Milk

Sole, is an American underground hip hop artist from Portland, Maine. He also hosts a podcast about revolutionary politics and radical philosophy called “The Solecast.” DJ Pain 1, is an American record producer and DJ from Madison, Wisconsin. They released this unpatriotic, anti-Trump single March 1st.

Metal

Bob Vylan – Hunger Games

Bob Vylan are an English duo based in London who play a style merging elements of grime, punk, metal and hip hop. Bobby Vylan is the singer/guitarist of the band and Bobbie Vylan is the drummer. Both go by stage names to protect their privacy, and call themselves ‘the Bobs’. This song is about the “economic crisis” happening in the UK, and the hardships faced by those struggling to afford food.

Hacktivist – Crooks and Criminals

Hacktivist was formed when rapper J Hurley began recording vocals over some of metalcore guitarist, Timfy James demos and the tracks were so popular online, they decided to become a band. About this song the band said, “This is a call to question what you’re being presented in politics and media. What dealings are influencing the information you see and the policies which govern you?”

New Model Army – Reload

New Model Army are an English band formed in Bradford, West Yorkshire, in 1980 by lead vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Justin Sullivan, the only continuous member of the band in its 44 year history. While being rooted in punk rock, their songs often sound more like metal, and have always been difficult to categorize. This track is off their new album Unbroken released in January.

Ministry – Cult Of Suffering

Ministry are pioneers of industrial metal and were founded in Chicago, in 1981 by producer, singer, multi-instrumentalist and sole original band member, Al Jourgensen. This track is off their new album Hopium for the Masses, released March 1st, which is mostly protest songs, (many of which were released as singles last year). This track is about Putin and the war in Ukraine.

Punk

JER – Say Gay or Say Goodnight

JER is a nonbinary musician, composer,and music educator who hosts the YouTube channel Skatune Network, where theypost ska covers of popular songs. JER is outspoken about the history and present state of ska music, earning the fan nickname “The CEO of Ska”. This track is a protest song against Florida governor Ron DeSantis.

BIFF – KILL ALL THE MEN IN THE GOVERNMENT

BIFF are an Australian Garage Skate band, with strong roots in Melbourne’s rebellious punk rock scene, formed in 2019. This single off their upcoming EP, BIFFTAPE #4, was recorded at a Ukrainian campground in Buxton over a weekend.

Green Day – Living in the 20s

Pop-punk superstars Green Day formed in the East Bay of California in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, together with bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt when they were both 14 years old. This song which tackles many of the issues of the day is off their new album Saviors.

Sham 69 – War of the Words

Sham 69 are an English punk rock band that formed in Hersham, Surrey in 1975. They were one of the most successful early punk bands in the UK. This song about political polarization is from their new album To The Ends of the Earth.

The Menstrual Cramps – Class War

This queer feminist punk band was founded in a broken bedroom when the members were on the verge of homelessness, in Bristol, UK in 2016. They describe themselves as “DIY, loud, queer, anti-fascist, anti-racist, pro-choice, intersectional, and feminist.” This anti-capitalist track is the second single off their upcoming new album.

The Cargo Rebellion: Those Who Chose Freedom is a fascinating read for those interested in learning about social justice warriors of the past who shaped not only our modern, free world but also the world of modern music.

Those who wield the swords of power have always rewritten history, to paint a picture that serves an image they deem most fit for their continuous reign. However, every now and then, people publish writings about the real truth and history becomes a bit more clearer. And the legacy that those once powerful people left behind, gets a bit more stained with every new story.

It is a fortunate thing, that there are those who remind us of the the real stories, the fascinating and empowering stories of the people that came before us and of those who, through incredible hardships, fought to make our present world a bit less tyrannical and more free.

The Cargo Rebellion: Those Who Chose Freedom is one of those acts of remembrance. The book is written by Jason Chang, Benjamin Barson and Alexis Dudden and illustrated by Kim Inthavong. It is part comic book and part historical essays.

It tells the story of 19th century immigrant workers from China who successfully rebelled against their employers, many of whom were southern slave owners in the US. One tool of the powerful, whether those are old or new powers, is to soften the seriousness of events and to make events seem like they happened a longer time ago then what is accurate. By 1830, more than two million African were enslaved in the US, even if the US had outlawed international slave trade in 1808. It wasn’t until 1865 that the US outright banned slavery in the country. That is less than 160 years ago. That is the lifetime of two people, back to back, reaching the age of 80.

The beautifully illustrated comic book part of the publication tells the story of Chinese indentured workers who were on the US business man Leslie Bryson’s ship, the Robert Bowne. He sailed to China to retrieve 400 indentured workers with a promise of work in San Francisco, US. At one point during the journey, the Chinese workers realised they’d been lied to and that they were being brought to the infamous Chincha Islands in Peru for the incredibly perilous work of harvesting guano. In an attempt to squash the worker’s demands, Bryson had their braided hair cut, which went against Chinese imperial laws. The worker’s rose up and killed Bryson.

“Simply put, the incident launched the first truly multinational modern legal debate involving the seas in East Asia, calling into question not just the fate of the surviving mutineers but drawing into competition at least five different legal codes: those of China’s Qing Court, The Ryukyu Kingdom, Japan’s Tokugawa Shogunate, and American and British interests.”

Another thing that those in power often do is to praise the oppressors so their legacy seems legitimate and obviously not raise a finger in memory of those who fought back. In the US, there is a headstone to commemorate Bryson. Unsurprisingly, there are no memorials in the US for the Chinese workers who fought against injustice, for their basic human rights and as a consequence helped shape the free world many of us experience today. However, in 1971, residents of Ishigaki, in Japan, built a memorial to the Chinese workers who lost their lives on those Japanese shores.

Read also: A Protest Music Interview: Afro Yaquí Music Collective

The comic part of the book tells the tale of the rebellion onboard Robert Bowne, but this unique piece of literature tells other stories as well, of for example music and instruments. The three essays that follow the comic book, for a deeper understanding of the Robert Bowne mutiny and the historical global slave trade, give a more thorough explanation of the event and how it ignited a global conversation. The third essay, by musician and academic Ben Barson, explains “how the musical traditions they carried with them served as a crucial connection to their African neighbors on plantations and led to shared songs of liberation and the making of the first drum sets.”

Workers on the southern plantations in the US found political solidarity through their protest music:

“The stories of the Cantonese opera told fables, rehearsed local politics, and spoke truth to power. This type of storytelling critiqued authoritarianism and the imperial government, providing a ready-made cultural form for understanding the American plantation.”

The essay further explains how for example the suona instrument, of Asian origin, became a fundamental part of carnival rituals in Cuba and as Barson further details how in New Orleans, “Chinese percussion became foundational to Afro-Atlantic culture at the same time that Black and Chinese laborers exercised their power to negotiate the transition to wage labor and industrialized capitalist social relations.”

The Cargo Rebellion: Those Who Chose Freedom is a stunning, highly interesting publication, but more than anything – it is an important piece of work. A story of oppressed people finding unity amid hardship and through music and culture. Books like these, serve as soldiers of remembrance and truth. They remind us that the pen truly is more powerful than the sword and that the world can be a better place, if we learn from our mistakes and move forward with more empathy and love.

Authors: Jason Chang, Ben Barson, and Alexis Dudden – Illustrated by Kim Inthavong
Series: PM Press
ISBN: 9781629639642
Published: 03/07/23
Format: Hardcover
Size: 7×10
Pages: 64

SHOUTS – Music from the Rooftops!

All posts by Halldór H Kristínarson

Tunisian artist makes waves with her new album and an all-female team (video)

Soldiers of remembrance: a review of The Cargo Rebellion: Those Who Chose Freedom