We Won't Stop Until Somebody Calls the Cops

When I was originally contemplating restarting my blogging interests one of the topics that I wanted to cover was protest music. In this period of our history where the means of mass communication are owned by those who have vested interest in their own agenda it is rare to turn on the radio and hear a protest song. Clear Channel, owner of over 1,100 radio stations in the US, made decisions about what we Americans could hear on the radio in the aftermath of September 11th, banning such songs as the Beatles "Ticket to Ride" (because, you know, the terrorists bought tickets) and Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Tuesday's Gone" (because, you know, September 11th was a Tuesday) and haven't relinquished that power yet. Many artists who release protest songs about the war in Iraq or George W. Bush's policies will not receive commercial air play, at all.

As a fan of protest music from the moment I heard “Joy to the world, the school burned down” in second grade, I think it is a terrible shame that we are not exposed to the dialog of democracy through our music. In the sixties and early seventies the protest song was an important part of the civil rights movement and the efforts to end the Vietnam War. Even today most of us know song's like Edwin Starr's “War” and Bob Dylan's “The Times They Are A-Changin'” but who reading this has heard songs like “Sweet Neo Con” or “Dear Mr President?” And those two songs are by big name acts; The Rolling Stones and Pink respectively. You won't hear them on mainstream radio and that is tragic, because we need to hear dissenting voices because this is a democracy.

Sometimes I think that I get myself a little worked up about the state of things in the world. I tend to go on rants about politics and democracy in a way that I think that a good citizen should. Often people look at me with a touch of concern or possibly fear for expressing views that go against the grain, and sharing them so vocally and forthright. I mean, how many people do you know who walk into a kicker bar on karaoke night and sing Edwin Starr's “War” followed up by Willie Nelson's “Cowboy's are Frequently Secretly Fond of Each Other?” I wonder if I am pushing this free speech thing a little far sometimes, but then other times I know I don't go far enough.

So, for my second protest song post I wanted to highlight the song “Loose Lips” by Kimya Dawson because I like the expression of anger and frustration with the way things are that builds in the song. Couple that with the promise of a community, better than the one being offered, and you've got a protest song.

This song came to my attention from the Juno soundtrack which is also interesting as the movie stirred up a bit of controversy too. Juno, for anyone who has lived under a rock this past year, is the story of a sixteen year-old girl who gets pregnant and decides to give the baby up for adoption. Many conservative commentators slammed the film for promoting promiscuity, which I think is ironic because the film is all about conservative values; no abortions, a strong family supportive of their daughter and a theme of personal responsibility. Instead the film became the darling of the liberal set for the exact same reasons; no abortions, a strong family supportive of their daughter and a theme of personal responsibility.

Take a moment to listen to the song if you'd like before I comment on some lyrics that I think stand out. OK, ready? Excellent...

Kimya Dawson's anti-folk songwriting style really suits the message of this song. The single acoustic guitar combined with the occasional out-of-sync background vocals give the feeling of something created outside of the mainstream media outlets. We don't expect to hear something sounding like this on a Clear Channel station and because of the unique, very close and personal, style of this song we perk up our ears and let her message of love and respect into our thoughts.

Listen here as she sums up the issues of the day and then lets you know firmly that you are not alone; we're all in this together:

and we'll pray, all damn day, every day,
that all this shit our president has got us in will go away
while we strive to figure out a way we can survive
these trying times without losing our minds

so if you wanna burn yourself remember that I LOVE YOU
and if you wanna cut yourself remember that I LOVE YOU
and if you wanna kill yourself remember that I LOVE YOU
call me up before you're dead, we can make some plans instead
send me an IM, i'll be your friend

Dawson expresses something that worries many people in today's world; the idea that we don't know how to fix the mess we're in. All we have is prayer, and praying all damn day isn't helping. Still she doesn't let you thing that the bleak outlook is reason to give up because in the next stanza she uses the chorus to remind you that no matter how bad things look there are people out there who love you and will be there to help.

Following this Dawson really launches into the point of the song:

shysters live from scheme to scheme and my 4th quarter pipe dreams
are seeming more and more worth fighting for
so i'll curate some situations, make my job a big vacation
and i'll say FUCK BUSH AND FUCK THIS WAR
my war paint is sharpie ink and i'll show you how much my shit stinks
and ask you what you think because your thoughts and words are powerful

There is a lot to hear in these six lines and Dawson uses a lot of metaphors to express what is and is not important. First off, your dreams are worth fighting for so don't let people scheme them away with empty promises. If you want a more democratic country then fight for it; if you want to impeach Bush and Cheney then fight for it. Nothing is going to happen without a champion in the corner fighting for it.

The second message in the above lines is that no matter how many times people dismiss your ideas, don't give up on them. Your thoughts and words are powerful so write them down and share them with others. Write a protest song, or start a blog to share your ideas; the point is that you have to do something. Dawson lets you know in no uncertain terms as she spits out “FUCK BUSH AND FUCK THIS WAR” how she feels. How do the people around you know how you feel if you're not going to sing it out loud or take sharpie to poster in protest?

The chorus of the song is the perfect mantra for today's protester:

we won't stop until somebody calls the cops
and even then we'll start again and just pretend that
nothing ever happened

What have we learned from George W. Bush and his war? Well, it's all right there in the chorus. Just like George W. Bush we can not stop trying to achieve our agenda and if somebody calls the cops we have to do what Bush does; pretend that nothing ever happened and get right back into it.

So start again.