This is a Protest Song
Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
Please come check out Ugly Flamingos at Q.E.D. Astoria on February 6 at 9pm. We have an amazing lineup of comedians and musicians. Tickets are $15.
I don’t really have anything insightful to add about the fact that Donald Trump will take office for the second time today. It’s frustrating that by the time this term ends Trump will have been a strong presence in American politics for 12 years. In 2020, I interviewed a few artists who had released reactionary albums, some who mentioned Trump explicitly while others simply wrote about the issues from a personal standpoint.
When I interviewed artists who name-checked Trump, I asked if they were worried that the songs would someday be dated, especially in an election year, where Trump could (and did) lose. Most people had their own explanations for why he was namedropped, and after Biden won, I thought it felt strange to go back to them. Still, I suppose the shelf-life has been expanded by this second term.
I don’t really have much advice rather than hold on tight and try to weather the storm. Do what you can to be kind, show empathy to people who need it, protect the people that need it, make donations who need it, and do your best for the next four years. As we start this new term, here are some of the songs that helped me through 2016-2020.
Before I go into some older songs, my pals at A Few Good Records put out a compilation to mark the occasion called Now That’s What I Call Treason 47. Proceeds go to the California Community Foundation and the ARC Firefighter Fund.
Run The Jewels — 2100
You defeat the devil when you hold onto hope
When Trump won in 2016, Run The Jewels dropped “2100” from their incoming album Run The Jewels 3. Even though the album was written and recorded before the election (and released a month before the inauguration), Killer Mike saw the writing on the wall.
Modern Baseball — Bart to the Future, Pt. 2: The Musical
A rich man would never take the blame
Prior to the 2016 election, an organization did start a movement called “30 Days, 30 Songs” (and later efforts) to try to prevent Trump’s win (and later to protest his presidency). It was a mixed bag of songs, but Modern Baseball’s “Bart to the Future, Pt. 2” was one of the best. They broke up not long after Trump took office, and I truly miss this band.
YG—FDT (Feat. Nipsey Hussle)
He got me appreciating Obama way more
Honestly, this is the one that I heard the most in public.
Frank Turner — The Sand in the Gears
Trust me, it’s going to be a long four years.
While Frank Turner’s live song, recorded the night before Trump’s first inauguration is a bit on the nose (and can be corny), I cannot deny that there aren’t some moments that feel hopeful. Hearing him play the tune live in July 2018 showed me that sometimes subtlety isn’t necessary.
TWIABP — Fuzz Minor
We can dream to help my friends come to terms and be way less comfortable around violence
The World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die did not hold back in saying how they (and many others) truly felt.
The Menzingers — America, You’re Freaking Me Out
What kind of monsters did our parents vote for?
In fairness, I prefer the “America, Part 2” version where Greg Barnett sings “I hope the devil and Donald and Mitch McConnell rot in hell for all tomorrows.”
Kendrick Lamar — XXX (Feat. U2)
The great American flag is wrapped and dragged with explosives
Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly set the stage for him as the voice of a generation, but DAMN was a bit of a protest record, best exemplified on “XXX.”
The Wonder Years — The Orange Grove
There at the edge of losing everything/Taking desperate swings in the dark
By 2018, people had settled into a routine, and I felt like the best anti-Trump songs came in the back half of his administration. Even though The Wonder Years rarely are namechecking issues and politicians, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve seen more political implications in their songs. “The Orange Grove” is among their most scathing indictments. It covers both decaying infrastructure and job market along with calling out the “paper tigers you made.”
John K. Samson — Fantasy Baseball at the End of the World
I’d trade my best pitcher for a draft pick and a picture of the president writhing in pain
The Weakerthans frontman’s latest song gets a second life now I suppose. Maybe I’ll take up fantasy baseball for the next four years.
Phoebe Bridgers — I Know The End
I’m not gonna go down with my hometown in a tornado.
Phoebe Bridgers’ Punisher was a welcome comfort in a traumatic year. The chaotic “I Know The End” felt like an encapsulation of the consistent, occasionally quiet chaos that enveloped that year and administration. If only the end was here.
Spanish Love Songs — Brave Faces, Everyone
We don’t have to fix everything at once/We were never broken, life’s just very long/Brave faces, everyone
The song that consistently reminds me to hold on and try to be hopeful.