The Revolution Will Be Webcast

Last week, one of the Dixie Chicks casually mentioned that she was rather ashamed of President Bush sharing her home state, and a furor erupted that has the Chicks’ music being pulled from radio stations nationwide. With that kind of wild-eyed nationalism infecting the U.S., it’s no wonder that protest songs are hardly in vogue among big stars at the moment. But they do exist – on the web. “From hip hop artists Chuck D and the Beastie Boys to veteran singer/songwriters such as John Mellencamp and Billy Bragg, a general distaste for political fare on commercial radio has lead them to the Web, where songs they’ve written to protest the looming war with Iraq are readily available for free.”