Friday Freedom Question: What would be on your “mixtape”?

The NSA will probably go on to try to decode the songs themselves, because surely no one would sent them songs for nothing so the songs themselves must be coded messages. (I’d suggest trying to play them backwards).

I’m looking forward to hearing suggestions for a playlist. Nevermind the technology of a modern, encrypted, digital mixtape — the original concept was done on cassette (and most of us here are old enough to remember those — I’m still in possession of several).

For the most part, I’m not familiar enough with the current crop of artists to know whether there’s much political protest music going on in our modern world. I don’t hear it in the stuff I do listen to. For a “surveillance soundtrack”, the only thing that comes quickly to mind is Eye in the Sky, from Alan Parsons: Eye in the Sky.

Most songs I can think of containing more appropriate sentiments are written to a different purpose, the most obvious being You’re Breakin’ my Heart by Harry Nilsson, aka the “f*** you” song.

Trying to think of something recorded more recently than 20 years ago, a couple things do come to mind:
Hogjaw: Gitsum
Muse: Uprising

I have played all of the above backwards, and have found nothing more subsersive than a recipe for butternut squash soup.

The Hellion/Electric Eye by Judas Priest. Also the first three Iron Maiden albums. Not that those I.M. albums have anything to do with politics, freedom or tech. It’s just that maybe those will inspire them to lift weights, join a boxing gym, mate with an attractive woman and find healthy ways to overcome what must be a very deep rooted sense of insecurity.

Nah. The NRO already licensed The Stalker Song as their official theme song.

Except labeled with something that would compel them to listen to a loop of it for like 19 hours 😉

Awesome, Claire. I posted the songs (everybody sing along!) over at my place. One admittedly is out of place (too cool for them) but I like it anyway.

http://borepatch.blogspot.com/2014/07/my-nsa-mix-tape.html

@Jed, lots of good stuff from Rush, but the theme for my listi sn’t surveillance/abuses; it’s Back the f$<k off. Or else. Which explain Leslie Fish making multiple appearances. [grin]

A.G., my music collection runs from Aerosmith to ZZ Top, and includes such artists as Pylon, the Kronos Quartet, Throbbing Gristle, and First Aid Kit. Not a fan of Lemmy, but I thank you for the mention of Dream Theater and Dali’s Dilemma — I don’t keep up with metal much.

Speaking of metal, we need some Metallica on this list. I suspect they’re the only metal band to quote Leonard Bernstein.

Why would I want to quit Rush? I’ve been a fan since Fly By Night. Perhaps Bastille Day should be on my NSA list as well.

Was listening to Blind Faith’s “Do What You Like” tonight and wasn’t sure if it was Crowley-insprired kitsch satanism or hippie anarchism, and finally decided I was okay with it either way.

Looking at the lists of artists and songs posted here I have no idea who/what over 99% of them are. I’ve heard of Iron Maiden and ZZ Top but I couldn’t identify any of their music.

BTW I’m 72 y/o.

I liked pop music in the ’50s and early ’60s but when the Beatles came on the scene I switched to classical, and then got into folk dancing, and bought mostly foreign ethnic folk music. Bulgarian, Macedonian, Serbian, Croatian, etc.

I did get an early start in liking classical as a pre teen because my parents had a bunch of LP 33 albums.

I’d add a few. (What can I say, I like some of these mental exercises. 🙂

The immediate one that comes to mind is of course the Freedom Feens’ “A Gun For Everyone (Except the Government)“. That is just all kinds of awesome.

Another entry is “Fun & Games” by Barenaked Ladies. As an anti-war song, it’s just outstanding.* (Although I suppose I should acknowledge the obvious retort: just as with Rush’s classic “The Trees“, I should remember that we’re talking, here, about the sort of thug-tyrants who might take a dystopian cautionary tale as a friggin’ instructional guide.)

I’d think an obvious high-value entry would be Lupe Fiasco’s “Words I Never Said“. The sting factor on this one is that the Current Occupant may recall he actually paid this fella to sing it at the pregame show of his second inauguration. Oopsie! 😀

And finally, one that I can firmly count in the “more my own musical speed” category would be “Mick Ryan’s Lament“, by Tim O’Brien. (The descriptive blurb there on YouTube is actually of some interest if you don’t know the tune. It works on several levels, and it’s good.)

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* In my book, this lyric has exactly one flaw, during the surprise campaign-tune interlude, at the line “The forests will be unprotected / The nation’s poor will be neglected”. It’s very difficult to understand how anyone could believe that a system capable of such murderous cynicism–that is, the murderous cynicism with which every other word in the song drips–would somehow be just peachy and not-at-all-corruptly effective at these other things, if we’d just put swell people in charge. To me at least, that really sticks out as childish naivete lost in a sea of brilliance. Thing is, again for me at least, the rest of the tune is so excellent, I choose to overlook it. 🙂

Grr. Link in above should be this one.