Start The Riot!

The relentless barrage of awfulness coming from the current administration is intolerable. I am trying to cope by making my 5 Calls to my reps, not giving money to companies that are supporting the coup and a lot of self-care. 

After the completely disrespectful way a true hero like Volodymyr Zelenskyy was treated at the White House on Friday, I came home from work and blasted songs of resistance while I made dinner and you know what? It helped me feel a bit better.

This weekend I put together a playlist of some of these songs and maybe this will help you in dealing with the constant chaos. 

The The’s album Mind Bomb was so important to me in college as I was becoming politically engaged. As great as “The Beat(en) Generation” is, I recommend the entire album which features the Smiths’ Johnny Marr on guitar and a guest vocal appearance by Sinéad O’Connor. 

Frankie Goes To Hollywood blew my teenage mind with their songs about sexuality and gay rights and those iconic “Frankie Say Relax!” t-shirts. Their cold war anthem “Two Tribes" is still relevant today. 

Who remembers the German anti-fascist band Atari Teenage Riot? Their highly political music is a mix of punk and electronic music which they dubbed Digital Hardcore. I handled publicity for the band in the U.S. for their first two albums. Their song “Start The Riot” inspired the name of this playlist and their single “Atari Teenage Riot” is featured here. 

L7’s “Pretend We’re Dead” was originally written about a breakup, this song became a political rallying cry and a staple of my college years.

The prolific British collective Sault released their acclaimed album ‘Untitled (Black Is)" in 2020 marking the moment of extreme police brutality and racism.  

The Isley Brothers' “Fight The Power, Pts. 1 & 2” served as inspiration for Public Enemy’s “Fight The Power" and stood as a bold anthem of resistance with an electrifying groove.

The legendary Nina Simone has written many of my favorite protest songs. I included “Revolution” on an earlier playlist. This version of “Mississippi Goddam” was written in response to the murder of Medgar Evers and the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing. The song was recorded live at Carnegie Hall in 1964. 

The Clash have so many great political songs that it was difficult to choose one. Combat Rock came out when I was in high school and definitely made an impact on me so I decided to go with “Know Your Rights” from that album. 

I had to include a song from the punk and feminist legend Patti Smith. “People Have The Power” was co-written with Smith’s husband Fred “Sonic” Smith of the MC5. 

Philly rock band Sheer Mag’s song “(Say Goodbye To) Sophie Scholl” honors the student who was executed for distributing anti-Nazi leaflets as a part of the non-violent resistance movement known as  “White Rose” at the University of Munich during World War II. 

The Pernice Brothers' “Dumb It Down” came out twenty years ago and you know, some things never change. A number of people prefer to have their head in the sand. 

Lily Allen’s 2009 anti-homophobic and anti-racist song was originally written with George W. Bush in mind but it could really be about so many people. Take your pick and enjoy singing “Fuck You” to whomever you choose. It feels pretty good. 

The The - The Beat(en) Generation 

Frankie Goes To Hollywood - Two Tribes 

Atari Teenage Riot - Atari Teenage Riot 

L7 - Pretend We’re Dead 

Sault - Wildfires 

The Isley Brothers - Fight The Power, Pts. 1 & 2

Nine Simone - Mississippi Goddam (Live At Carnegie Hall) 

The Clash - Know Your Rights 

Patti Smith - People Have The Power 

Sheer Mag - (Say Goodbye To) Sophie Scholl 

Pernice Brothers - Dumb It Down 

Lily Allen - Fuck You 

xo, 

Julie