Top Badass War & Peace Songs of the Decade

by Daniel J Gerstle · 2009-12-29 18:52:00 UTC
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The zeroes decade has been tumultuous to say the least. Although war and peace-themed music may not have gotten onto the charts this decade as it did in previous ones, there have definitely been some innovative tunes. You can go to Rolling Stone and Billboard for the best-sellers. Here this blogger brings you top recommendations from his online stash.

Admittedly, this playlist is biased somewhat toward Western alternative rock. Guaranteed, there are many more great songs out there, so please feel free to write in your recommendations below. Extra points and high fives for local music from people surviving crisis in their home countries. And now cheer...

TOP BADASS WAR & PEACE SONGS OF THE DECADE in playlist order. For the full playlist, click here or click on each song separately:

1. Jason Forrest, "War Photographer"

2. White Stripes, "Seven Nation Army"

3. Kanye West, "Jesus Walks"

4. Juliana Hatfield, "The End of War" [Not yet on YouTube]

5. Moby, "Study War"

6. Portishead, "Machine Gun"

7. Ben Harper, "Better Way (War Mix)"

8. Thom Yorke, "Atoms for Peace"

9. Yo La Tengo, "Nuclear War (Version 2)"

10. GZA (of Wu-Tang), "On the Eve of War (Julio Caesar Chavez Mix)"

HONORABLE MENTIONS

  • The greatest song you'd like to hear played live on a piano in a dive saloon-- Lucinda Williams, "Masters of War" [Not yet on YouTube]

  • The rowdiest heavy rock-- Rob Zombie, "War Zone"

  • Best pop rock-- 30 Seconds to Mars, "The Kill" [Okay, technically not a war and peace song, but the band writes on our themes and it fits the playlist very well. I'm considering substitutes.]

  • Funniest attempt at a peace anthem-- Flight of the Conchords, "Ladies of the World"

  • Righteous dove music-- Norah Jones, "Peace"

  • And best war and peace international song of the decade (very tough choice)--Timur Mucuraev, "Grozny" [I should note here that the late great Brenda Fasie, Ofra Haza, and Fela Kuti would have blown this whole list away with great peace songs had they lived into the zeroes]

JUST IN: RECOMMENDATIONS FROM READERS

  • Sivash Ghomeish's "Tasavor Kon," a Persian song in the category of John Lennon's Imagine

  • MC (of Punjab)'s "Beware of the Boys," a mix of Jay-Z's Brooklyn stories with anti-war messages. "We rebellious, we back home/screamin' 'leave Iraq alone'..." Related link

  • Jose Gonzalez, "How Low"

  • Fiery Furnaces' "We Got Back the Plague" [Recommended by Michael Roston at True/Slant]

  • Outkast, "Bombs Over Baghdad" [Thanks to fellow Change blogger Nathaniel Whittemore for the nomination. This tune topped the Pitchfork list. See below for link.]

  • More on the way...

[And if you like war and peace music narratives including recommendations and links to songs like Timur's, take a sample of yours truly's experiments at the Crisis Zone Soundtrack page at HELO.]

Keep the peace.

[Photo: Optionthis]

Daniel J Gerstle is a journalist, human rights researcher, and humanitarian aid consultant. He is Editor and Chief Correspondent for HELO: The Crisis Story Magazine.
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