I'm not terribly sure what I think of Ben Adler's blast against current protest music, but I'm pretty certain this is incorrect:
The Coup may have good intentions, but like so many of their predecessors, from the Poor Righteous Teachers and Public Enemy to groups like Dead Prez today, they espouse an extremist set of positions (anti-capitalist, filled with conspiracy theories, anti-every war, including Afghanistan, and in some cases anti-white) that, while perhaps useful in raising awareness, has little practical application in a country so far removed from their place on the ideological spectrum.
But that's always been the case with protest music. To take an example from the genre's golden era, Phil Ochs wasn't just anti-Lyndon Johnson, he was clearly anti-American as well. And it resulted in great music. One problem for this country's political discourse is that the range of public opinion goes from Dennis Kucinich to Tom Coburn. It doesn't include socialists or anarchists, and boasts only a smattering of libertarians. When you broaden the spectrum, though, suddenly Dennis Kucinich seems more moderate and less fringe, which makes John Edwards or Ted Kennedy solid centrists. Berating musicians for daring to step outside the political consensus strikes me as seriously wrongheaded. Hell, it would be nice if more folks followed their lead. The center in this country is far too narrow, and the only way to change it is by widening the poles.
