1. Freedom is Free by Chicano Batman
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkEmnrUzFFE
The idea that freedom isn't free has been the ideological fuel behind America's hyper-militarization for a long time. But Chicano Batman challenges this idea on the funk-soul song Freedom is Free by singing, "You've got your guns up on display/ But you can't control how I feel no way/ 'Cause freedom is free." The music video is a dramatic contrast to the lyrics with a brutally visceral twist to the message: the members are being tortured by waterboarding, a torture technique used by the US military on multiple occasions.
2. Now by Miguel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eFL1zzGK8o
The Mexican/African-American singer Miguel uses his music video Now to she light on immigration detention centres on the last song of his album 'War and Leisure'. In the music video, he's performing at a #SchoolsNot Prisons rally near Adelanto High Desert Detention Centre which is home to over 2,000 detainees from Latin America. There are protestors show holding signs that have crossed out the words 'detention centre' and are replaced with 'prisons' in red ink. The lyrics and visuals also correspond with one another with the lyrics calling out Donald Trump's xenophobic policies towards immigrants with lines "CEO of the free world now/ Should we teach our children hatred?"
3. Fight Like a Girl by Zolita
Both the song and the music video are very female-empowering which is especially addressed with the now infamous line "My body my choice/ My rights and my voice" but adding "Can't grab me by the..." which is a direct reference to Trump's comments about women. The singer tries to dismantle the patriarchy with a girl-cult who all wear red lingerie to embody power but perhaps also a reference to menstruation and being empowered by it shown through a wide range of body types, sexualities, age and ethnicity.
4. You Are the Problem Here by First Aid Kit
Although not accompanied by a music video, the Sweedish duo, First Aid Kit, do an extremely good job in creating a song directly attacking many perpetrators of sexual assault. First Aid Kit abandoned their classic folk harmonising for a harsher and more powerful message which was easily justified by the subject they decided to sing about. The lyrics "I am so sick and tired of this world/ All these women with their dreams shattered/ From some man's sweaty, desperate touch/ God damn it, I've had enough". These lyrics are harsh in their meaning, clearly stating what men do. I was close to using this song for my own media coursework as an obvious protest against sexual abuse against women and the feminist anthem that it has grown to be.
5. Land of the Free by Joey Bada$$
Brooklyn-bred rapper, Joey Bada$$ wasn't shy when releasing his breakout album All-Amerikkan Bada$$. The three 'K's in the album title is an obvious link to the American white supremacist hate group that killed many African-American's and Joey shows this connection through the lyrics in Land of the Free "Three K's, two A's in AmeriKKKa". The rapper navigates finding his fateful path ("I feel my ancestors unrested inside of me/ It's like they want me to shoot my chance in changing society/ But how do I go about it? tell me where I start?/ My destiny rerouted when I chose to follow my heart.") while eloquently tackling racial tensions and changing residence: "Obama just wasn't enough, I need some more closure/ And Donald Trump is not equipped to take this country over." This album he released had many amped tracks such as "Free" and allows Bada$$ to become a musical-political force to be reckoned with.
6. Just A Girl by No Doubt
Gwen Stefani fronted the rock band No Doubt and, considering the rock industry was incredibly male-dominated, it must've been tough. One of the earliest hits addresses this and was a weary retort to sexism and stereotyping with "I'm just a girl in the world/ That's all you'll let me be!" This idea of sexism is shown in the music video with Stefani and her bandmates separated into rooms, with her room being pretty and 'more appropriate for a woman' whilst she applies makeup and talks with other girls, whereas her fellow bandmates are in their room practising music.
7. If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next by Manic Street Preachers
The bands first number-one single was about the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). The title was taken directly from a propaganda poster of the time and Manic Street Preachers use disturbing and bizarre visuals to bring forth this idea with the faceless family throughout the video. A line from the song is a direct quote from one of the Welsh miners that travelled to Spain to join the fight against General Franco's army: "If I can shoot rabbits, then I can shoot fascists." Nicky Wire, the lead singer of the band, later claimed that the ideology behind the song was saying that political issues seemed to have lost their relevance in modern-day society.
8. Paper Planes by M.I.A
Singer Maya Arulpragasam is the daughter of Sri Lankan Tamil activist so is aware of the struggles immigrants and refugees face on a daily basis and understands them first hand. Her song Paper Planes is her 'underdog' song where she represents how an immigrant would adapt when moving to and living in a Capitalist country like the USA. She uses an idea of humour and the stereotype of immigrants taking money to literally create her whole song and the use of gunshots is used to remind people of America's no tolerance for people who are different.
9. Glad to be Gay - Tom Robinson
Homosexuality was only decriminalised in 1967 in England but even ten years later, the LGBT community was still a target of abuse and violent behaviour, as well as police brutalisation which Robinson sings about ("The British police are the best in the world.../ Picking out people and knocking them down/ Resisting arrest as they're kicked on the ground"). The BBC refused to play it on the Top 40 countdown as Robinson, who was a broadcaster at the time, was direct with his lyrics and it quickly became an anthem of gay liberation in Britain.
10. Born this Way by Lady Gaga
Gaga, known for her surreal visuals and subverting some stereotypes for music videos, and nothing is different with her music video Born This Way which has become something of an anthem for many people in the LGBT community as the lyrics themselves make references "Don't be a drag just be a queen". Gaga is known for being influences by Drag Queens in her art in her music videos and this visual stimulus creates an impactful video which is why many LGBT wanted to use this as an anthem.
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