NRO identifies "The 50 greatest conservative rock songs"

[Rose Siding]

Not that Tammy Wynette's "Stand By Your Man" (#50) is a rock song, but whatever. The irony is thick; #1 is “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” by The Who and “My City Was Gone,” by The Pretenders is #13.

http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NzZkNDU5MmViNzVjNzkzMDE3NzNlN2MyZjRjYTk4YjE

I don't know how this one made the list considering the new, closer wall fence. -

21. “Heroes,” by David Bowie. ; buy CD on Amazon.com
A Cold War love song about a man and a woman divided by the Berlin Wall. No moral equivalence here: “I can remember / Standing / By the wall / And the guns / Shot above our heads / And we kissed / As though nothing could fall / And the shame / Was on the other side / Oh we can beat them / For ever and ever.”

-I guess we're supposed to infer that liberals sided with the Soviets or something. Another-

31. “Small Town,” by John Mellencamp. ; buy CD on Amazon.com
A Burkean rocker: “No, I cannot forget where it is that I come from / I cannot forget the people who love me.”

-because no liberals ever lived in small towns? We're also pro-drug abuse, apparently:

19. “Kicks,” by Paul Revere and the Raiders. ; buy CD on Amazon.com
An anti-drug song that is also anti-utopian: “Well, you think you’re gonna find yourself a little piece of paradise / But it ain’t happened yet, so girl you better think twice.”

and we're anti-populist historical retrospectives:

37. “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,” by The Band. ; buy CD on Amazon.com
Despite its sins, the American South always has been about more than racism — this song captures its pride and tradition.

But this one? Sorry. This one they can't have:

35. “Who’ll Stop the Rain,” by Creedence Clearwater Revival. ; buy CD on Amazon.com
Written as an anti–Vietnam War song, this tune nevertheless is pessimistic about activism and takes a dim view of both Communism and liberalism: “Five-year plans and new deals, wrapped in golden chains . . .”

No wonder they think Stephen Colbert is on their side!

http://bcnsound.com.nyud.net:8090/blog/wp-content/disco.jpg

[ChairmanAgnostic]

1. a tin ear or a thin hear?

[blm]

2. What a pack of idiots - they have ZERO comprehension skill.

.

[Julius Civitatus]

24. Are they aware these are songs by hippies, punks, and even commies?

How can they list THE CLASH, SEX PISTOLS, THE WHO, JOHN LENNON, BOB DYLAN as "conservative"?

These NRO nerds are PATHETIC, and clueless to boot.

[muntrv]

3. National Review knows these are conservative songs

based on........?

[tridim]

4. 50 more items to add to the "I'm Republican and clueless" list

This could easily be an Onion article.

The artists should sue for defamation.

[sendero]

5. It's truly mind boggling..

... do these morons have even an inkling of the politics of these artists? Apparently not.

[enid602]

6. They forgot to include one . . . .

Ethel Merman's 'Everything's Coming Up Roses (NOT).'

[tridim]

7. Why isn't "Bush Was Right!" on the list?

[chaplainM]

8. Don't be too harsh.

The very best ones don't translate that well from the original German.

[karynnj]

9. Several artists would likely laugh hysterically that their songs

are on the Conservative list. The Beatles at the time of Revolution were all very anti- VN war. Lennon didn't appear at a rally with Nixon, but with Kerry. (Why'd they leave off Lennon's Gimme Some Truth?) Mellencamp was on the Kerry rock shows so small town or not, he's not conservative.

They should even consider the tax rate George Harrison was complaining about, 95%, just 1 for you 19 for me.

[corporatemedia]

10. "Won't Get Fooled Again" was the song that bush was FLASHING BACK to ....

when he got lost in his famous quote:

"Fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again."


But he even screwed that up!

[shain from kane]

13. A song about the futility of fighting the establishment. You can

demonstrate and fight in the streets all you want, but power is still reserved for the establishment. Scream, when you discover --- Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

[corporatemedia]

23. Yeah, I bet he had a good laugh getting drunk and singing ...

"Meet the new boss, same as the old boss"

He sure wasn't thinking about Springsteen!

[Ringo84]

11. Re:

Yeah, this list is stupid. They picked songs that might have something remotely to do with ideas that conservatives like. The Beatles belting out a conservative song? Please.

They think that Colbert is on their side?! What idiots!
Ringo

[Rose Siding]

12. Yes! They used a clip from his show in a mailer for Tom DeLay

http://thinkprogress.org/2006/05/24/delay-colbert/

[Ringo84]

26. Rose Siding

What an IDIOT!

I always knew he was a slobbering loony. This only confirms what I've known all along.
Ringo

[rhymeinreason]

14. Just have to say this in defense of Mr. Fogerty...

Let's remember when his song was used for a jeans commercial:

Some folks are born made to wave the flag
Yeah, the red, white and blue.

They cut out the rest of the verse and the chorus:

But when the band plays hail to the chief
They'll point the cannon at you.
But it ain't me, it ain't me, i ain't no senator's son, no
It ain't me, it ain't me, I ain't no fortunate one.


As someone who remembers Credence Clearwater Revival, I thought i'd just remind folks that anything can be taken out of context.

[shain from kane]

15. Fortunate Son, used as the title of the suppressed Bush* biography. n/t

[walldude]

17. Fogerty got screwed by his record company

he had no control over what they did with his songs and got no royalties for all the stuff he wrote. It was a famous story in the industry.

This list is the stupidest thing I've ever seen.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

21. hannity used it the same was for a promo

because, you know, sean was born to wave the flag and loves america more than you do

[shain from kane]

16. They finally gave up on Born in the U.S.A. n/t

[robertpaulsen]

18. With such lame criteria, I'm surprised "Love Me, I'm a Liberal" missed out

Love Me, I'm A Liberal
by Phil Ochs

I cried when they shot Medgar Evers
Tears ran down my spine
I cried when they shot Mr. Kennedy
As though I'd lost a father of mine
But Malcolm X got what was coming
He got what he asked for this time
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal

I go to civil rights rallies
And I put down the old D.A.R.
I love Harry and Sidney and Sammy
I hope every colored boy becomes a star
But don't talk about revolution
That's going a little bit too far
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal

I cheered when Humphrey was chosen
My faith in the system restored
I'm glad the commies were thrown out
of the A.F.L. C.I.O. board
I love Puerto Ricans and Negros
as long as they don't move next door
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal

The people of old Mississippi
Should all hang their heads in shame
I can't understand how their minds work
What's the matter don't they watch Les Crain?
But if you ask me to bus my children
I hope the cops take down your name
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal

I read New republic and Nation
I've learned to take every view
You know, I've memorized Lerner and Golden
I feel like I'm almost a Jew
But when it comes to times like Korea
There's no one more red, white and blue
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal

I vote for the democratic party
They want the U.N. to be strong
I go to all the Pete Seeger concerts
He sure gets me singing those songs
I'll send all the money you ask for
But don't ask me to come on along
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal

Once I was young and impulsive
I wore every conceivable pin
Even went to the socialist meetings
Learned all the old union hymns
But I've grown older and wiser
And that's why I'm turning you in
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal

[semillama]

34. Have you heard the Jello Biafra/Mojo Nixon version?

classic.

[walldude]

19. Not only is this the stupidest list ever but the Pretenders

song is called "Ohio". Sympathy For The Devil? Yeah real conservative :eyes: REVOLUTION??? Who is this idiot kidding?

[Berry Cool]

27. Actually, the song really IS called "My City Was Gone"

but that doesn't keep this list from being stupid.

Or keep naming that song from being stupid. I hardly think a song about governments letting big business buy up farms and put up shopping malls is a pro-conservative anthem. Even John Mellencamp could see through that. It's about as conservative as "Big Yellow Taxi." Yet because they read the individual lines "by a govermment that had no pride," they assume: It's an anti-big-government song, therefore it MUST be conservative! Duh...

Hey, it's not Chrissie Hynde's fault that Rush made it his damn theme song and tried to ruin it for us.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

20. John J. Miller, eh? I'm amazed anyone actually attached their name to this

[Rose Siding]

28. He's blissfully clueless. Here he jokes about cons aversion to diversity-

"Finally, it would have been easy to include half a dozen songs by both the Kinks and Rush, but we’ve made an effort to cast a wide net. Who ever said diversity isn’t a conservative principle?"

Ha. Ha. ha?

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

32. What a wit! He's so KRAZEEE!

[cedahlia]

22. Gives new meaning to the word "Moran"

What a bunch of idiots. Mellencamp is a liberal, and that song is far from an ode to conservativism. They really are reaching here...not forgetting where one comes from or the people who love them, somehow equals conservativism??? And it sounds like they're the flipping morans who got "fooled again", if they think "Who'll Stop the Rain" is championing the causes of conservativism. John Fogerty, the man who wrote "Fortunate Son", a conservative cheerleader??? I think not, you clueless simpletons. :eyes:

They're just desperate because the only real anthems their side has are "Proud to be a 'Murkin" and a bunch of other lameass country songs. Waaaaah! :P

[Bucky]

25. My reaction too: Every anti-authoritarian message isn't conservative

Every warning and caution not to dump your marriage, get too misty eyed and trusting, or to blow your brains on drugs is somehow getting twisted to mean conservativism. Rock and roll often talks about core humane values. That's not being political; that's being human.

[pstokely]

29. Nothing by these chickenhawks on that list?

http://www.therightbrothers.com/audio/bush_was_right/Bush_Was_Right.mp3

http://www.therightbrothers.com/discography.php

[Julius Civitatus]

30. The Rude Pundit basically eviscerated the list and NRO's effort

Truly, it's a thing of beauty:

http://rudepundit.blogspot.com/2006/05/top-fifty-conservative-rock-songs.html

Top Fifty "Conservative" "Rock" Songs: An Effort in Mass Delusion

(...) the National Review and their list of the top 50 "conservative" "rock" songs, an effort so pathetic and craven that it is easily one of the stupidest things ever. Ever.

Check out Michael Long, spinning like a member of Congress caught with three dead Thai child hookers, a brick of Peruvian blow, a machete, and bundles of hundreds, justifying the view of the South in "Sweet Home Alabama," the number 4 song on hell's countdown
(...)

The entire list - fuck, the entire effort - is sad and embarassing, like watching Grandpa do the Macarena now, thinking that he's still hip, that he's been hip for the last 30 years. Because to come up with fifty songs, the readers and editors of the National Review had to neglect, almost entirely, the politics and lifestyles of nearly every single one of the music acts on the list, like, say U2, the Clash, and the Sex Pistols, just for kicks, or noted cross-dressing androgyne David Bowie. They had to twist the meaning of lyrics so that vague references to "freedom" all of a sudden became calls to a modified libertarianism (you know, no taxes, but also no fucking). And, of course, the mention of every fucking song they could find that seems to oppose abortion or alludes to the fall of Communism or doesn't like taxes. This leads them to have to include the Scorpions, Kid Rock, Rush, Creed, After the Fire, Sammy Hagar, and Jesus Jones in a great huge pile of suck.

For, truly, what madness does it take for a magazine that not only supported the Vietnam War, but viciously attacked the anti-war movement, to include Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Who'll Stop the Rain?" as the 35th best conservative rock song? And then justify it by saying that it "takes a dim view of Communism and liberalism" in the line, "Five Year Plans and New Deals, wrapped in golden chains." Does it even matter to say that the point of the song is, would somebody, fucking anyone, make the insanity of the war end?

Of course not. It's best just to point and laugh at how simple-minded and, yes, again, pathetic the whole effort is, like when Ronald Reagan played Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the USA" on campaign stops (hell, at least the National Review didn't include that). And enjoy the mad manipulations: The Pretenders' "My City Was Gone" (#13) is really about "a conservative’s dissatisfaction with rapid change." The Georgia Satellites' "Keep Your Hands To Yourself" (#32), which seems to the Rude Pundit to be about the deep desire to fuck a girl, actually seeks to "affirm old-time sexual mores." The Crickets' "I Fought the Law" (#15) ain't about rebellion against authority, oh, no - it's a "law and order classic." And let's not even get into the myriad sins, misinterpretations, and outright delusions in putting the Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again" as the #1 conservative rock song.

It all starts to seem like the soundtrack to the lamest orgy ever at, say, the Dartmouth College Republicans annual retreat, where Muffy blows Drake as Scott Stapp growls out "One" on the stereo, high-fiving Blaine, who's getting blown by Jessica, when "I Can't Drive 55" comes on, screaming in orgasmic delight when they blow their loads on "The Trees" by Rush, crying and holding each other on Ben Folds' "Brick," and then promising to marry each other for one more scrotum tongue scrubbing, smiling that they're not breaking any hymen as "Wouldn't It Be Nice" by the Beach Boys plays on and on.

Right now, for the American right, an earthquake is rumbling, and the ground below is about to tear open and swallow them whole, crushing the entire movement into a viscous goo that'll poison the ground when it closes, but at least the planet won't heave them forth again. And in the midst of this earthquake, in their house, conservatives are scrambling around, wondering what they can save, what they can keep before the whole structure collapses. Sure, sure, they can grab the scrapbooks, the laptop, the dog. And while they may take those things with them into the crumbled ruins of their city, it's nice to know they'd pause to take the iPod so they can rock, dancing dementedly, grotesquely, into the dust-filled darkness of their own unending night.

[kineneb]

31. from a music historian's POV: pitiful

has anyone ever noticed the paucity of quality "conservative" political/religious music? As far as I can tell, none of the groups/song writers would be considered conservative. In fact, I seem to remember rock being considered a challenge to the "conservatives", especially in the 1960s. ("All them long-haired hippy commie types.") Down through history, the good music has been written by radicals (even Wagner was considered a radical in his time). And with the exception of propaganda pieces, most music and song is against warfare.

Art needs peace or the hope of peace to be produced; you can't rehearse the orchestra when someone is shooting at you. The prime example of warfare influencing music composition is from the Thirty Years War. Heinrich Schuetz was forced to write for small, and sometimes odd ensembles because so many of his musicians were either off fighting or had been killed.

[Torgo Johnson]

33. 17. “Stay Together for the Kids,” by Blink 182.

17. “Stay Together for the Kids,” by Blink 182.
A eulogy for family values by an alt-rock band whose members were raised in a generation without enough of them: “So here’s your holiday / Hope you enjoy it this time / You gave it all away. . . . It’s not right.”

The author is a fucking moran. The entire song is about how the singer would prefer his parents divorce instead of hearing them constantly go at each other's throats while still married. The title "Stay Together for the Kids" is supposed to be sarcastic. In this case the kids would be better off if the parents would not stay together.

Their anger hurts my ears
been running strong for seven years
rather than fix the problems
they never solve them
it makes no sense at all
I see them everyday
we get along, so why can't they?
if this is what he wants
and this is what she wants
then why is there so much pain?

[semillama]

35. Hey, Slayer has a tune called "Jesus Saves"

I'm sure it's all about how accepting Jesus is the only path to salvation. Why isn't that on the list?


what a bunch of wuss-bags.