Carry cash maines

Musicians weigh in on war, across all genres

By TERESA WILTZ Washington Post

Thursday, March 27, 2003

In this country, war has always come equipped with a soundtrack. There's something about the adrenaline kick of battle, the roiling emotions for and against, that lends itself to the visceral rush of sound. The Revolutionary War was fought to the tune of "Yankee Doodle." Vietnam had Bob Dylan.

In this sped-up age of instant downloads, it's no surprise that Operation Iraqi Freedom would have its own melodies. Nor should it come as any surprise that no one's singing in harmony.

There are the Beastie Boys, shouting to be heard about their fears of "A World Gone Mad":

"First the War on Terror/now war on Iraq We're reaching a point where we can't turn back . . . I'll be sleeping on your speeches 'til I start to snore 'Cause I won't carry guns for an oil war . . . Now don't get us wrong cause we love America But that's no reason to get hysterica."

On the other side, fist raised, there's country crooner Darryl Worley, whose song "Have You Forgotten," was written after he visited U.S. troops in Afghanistan this past Christmas:

"I hear people saying we don't need this war I say there's some things worth fighting for What about our freedom and this piece of ground? We didn't get to keep 'em by backing down . . . Have you forgotten how it felt that day To see your homeland under fire And her people blown away?"

"I felt it was my duty to come home and honor" the troops, Worley said. "It is a pro-America song. It is a pro-military song. Once the orders have been given, we have to pull together."

But as Worley rallies behind the armed forces, as the Warren Brothers sing "Hey Mister President/I guess you gotta fight sometime," there's Michael Franti of the alternative hip-hop group Spearhead, who urges in "Bomb the World," "You can bomb the world to pieces/But you can't bomb the world to peace."

And hard rockers System of a Down, whose Michael Moore-directed video "Boom!" intersperses real-life footage of worldwide protest marches last month with on-the-street interviews of peace marchers. Serj Tankian, who co-wrote "Boom!," said the group decided to release the song as a video single before sending it out over the radio airwaves. The song's other co-writer, Daron Malakian, has family living in Iraq.

"The important thing to us was the message," Tankian said. "It's not about the band anymore. It's about trying to get people to realize that this is an unjust war."

Music is the ultimate bully pulpit. If it's got a good beat and you can dance to it, so much the better.

There's Madonna, who recently shot an antiwar video with graphic war footage. Alanis Morissette is reportedly in the studio, working on a similarly themed song. Joseph "Reverend Run" Simmons, of the veteran hip-hop group Run-DMC, is recording a peace song with a roster of hip-hop all-stars. Yusuf Islam, a.k.a. Cat Stevens, came out of semi-retirement to release new versions of "Lady d'Arbanville," now called "Angel of War," and "Peace Train," a world- beat rendition with vague Middle Eastern echoes that reflect his conversion to Islam.

On his Web site, veteran rocker John Mellencamp served up "To Washington," an anti-Bush diatribe that praises "eight years of peace under Bill Clinton." Jonatha Brooke, George Michael, Chuck D, Yo La Tengo and the Neptunes also are taking musical stances against the war.

Earlier this month, David Byrne, Lou Reed, Jay-Z, Emmylou Harris, Missy Elliott, Caetano Veloso and Dave Matthews staged a news conference to announce they were Musicians United to Win Without War.

Says roots singer Rosanne Cash, daughter of Johnny, who joined the group: "I've been accused of being a publicity hound, coming out against the war, because I have a record coming out. Which would be really stupid of me, by the way, because I'd lose far more people than I would gain."

Dixie Chicks' fall-out

As the Grammy-winning Dixie Chicks discovered, voicing dissent often comes at a cost in ticket and record sales. Fans started ripping up Dixie Chicks concert tickets and radio stations boycotted their music after lead singer Natalie Maines told a London audience, "We're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas."

Within a short time, Maines was issuing an apology: "As a concerned American citizen, I apologize to President Bush because my remark was disrespectful. . . . I love my country. I am a proud American." (The Dixie Chicks, who are scheduled to perform a sold- out show June 5 at the Bradley Center, declined to be interviewed for this article. The group's album "Home" remains No. 1 on the country charts.)

Perhaps if the Chicks had been rapping to break beats, rather than crooning to a country twang, they would have encountered a different reaction, says hip-hop impresario Russell Simmons.

"Rappers don't have to worry about anything. No one likes what they have to say anyway, so they're not afraid to speak up," says Simmons.

Worley says country and western singers are far more likely to support the war, perhaps because their audience does, too.

But still, notably, there is Nanci Griffith, whose country anthem "Big Blue Ball of War" comes out against the war.

It is the country songs that are getting airplay. Other musicians, such as the Beastie Boys, Spearhead and Me'Shell Ndegeocello are releasing their songs on Web sites. Today's technology gives artists the freedom to record songs quickly in home studios and then release them just as quickly.

With this newfound freedom comes controversy. Some argue that entertainers should entertain and leave the polemics alone.

"I would encourage (non-entertainers) to speak out so that I don't have to," says Tankian of System of a Down. "A lot of people are afraid of speaking out against what's in their heart. . . . I don't think it's the responsibility of artists to speak out. I think it's all of our responsibility."

Vietnam opponents

The sound of protest is usually accompanied with a beat. John Lennon was a leader in protesting the Vietnam War. So were folkies Peter, Paul and Mary.

By the mid-'60s, James Brown was skittering and splitting across the dance floor. The beat was funky, but lyrics were "conscious." So were the tunes of Sly and the Family Stone, Gil Scott-Heron and the Last Poets, rap's predecessors, espousing political consciousness and Black Pride. Let's not forget Edwin Starr and his famous "War." Rappers such as Grandmaster Flash and Public Enemy became famous for their progressive party music in the '80s and early '90s.

"America was born in violent protest and revolution," says hip- hop publicist and activist Bill Adler, who worked to organize Musicians United to Win Without War. " 'Yankee Doodle' is a protest song."

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