Political Music

It seems to me that most songs influenced by politics often deal with times of war. Since the U.S. is currently involved in two wars there has been plenty of politically motivated song writing over the past decade. Political songs have traditionally usually been songs of protest, but that isn't always the case. The main thing songwriters want to do is to invoke emotion and thought in those listening to the song.
One song that would be considered more pro-war is "Courtesy of the red, white, and blue (the angry American)" by Toby Keith. This is probably the most popular and well-known song in support for the military and the war. This song came out shortly after 9/11 and the invasion of Afghanistan, and at the time most people supported this effort. That probably helped contribute to its popularity, and at the time I think the war was undoubtedly justified. There was some controversy around it, but nothing too major at the time. The biggest criticism that this and other similar songs get is that people like Keith are trying to make money off of these events, but the same could be said about songs with the opposite message. I am no fan of Toby Keith, but  I will admit anytime I hear this song I can't help but sing along. It's just one of those songs.




Another song about war is the song "Road to Joy" written by Conor Oberst when he was a member of the band Bright Eye except the views and message of the is much different. 



This song and others by Oberst aren't very well-known even though Oberst was called a modern day Bob Dylan by Rolling Stone. Dylan is of course recognized by many music critics as one of the greatest songwriters ever. Anyway, this song takes a much different tone than that of Toby Keith's. Oberst is known to be anti-war, and this can be seen in some of his other works. This song is pretty deep, and at one point he even takes a bit of cynical stance because he feels like that even though people know what's going on that war will never cease to exist. You can hear this when he is talking about how modern man has invented the machine gun and the camera lens, and there is the line when he says, "When you're asked to fight a war that's over nothing, it's best to join the side that's going to win." That line was the one that really stuck out to me when I first heard the song. The song also takes a look at society, and then how America  will do whatever it takes "to win" a war.
There are my two songs that have a political influence. They each have a completely different message, but that I can't help from singing along anytime I hear either one. Let me know what you think of the songs maybe you have a different take on them. Or let me know of some similar songs that you enjoy.