If and when I want to feel political listening to music, it’s mostly RATM or some down to earth 90’s black rap, such as Wu-Tang Clan (I’m white though). Occasionally I drink a few and sing Bella Ciao until my voice gives out.

Otherwise, nowadays, I’m mostly depressed (clinically) and I often just flee into some darksynth like Perturbator.

From King Crimson’s first album:

• 21st Century Schizoid Man
• Epitaph
• The Court of the Crimson King

Not a whole album but I had found this little modern folk song specifically about the current state of the US a while back:

open.spotify.com/track/5ff9fGBykcLIctsvauVTod

Oh say can you see what I see The future ain’t what it used to be And I’m not proud of anything That I have seen tonight

So tell me ‘bout that flag you wave And what your bumper stickers say And how you parse apart your faith Who’s seated on the right?

So dress up in your suit and tie And say your thank yous real polite And raise your arm out to the sky Your fuhrer is your friend

And when that grifter steps in shit They lick his boots from heel to tip Or feel the wrath of all of it Praise Jesus Christ amen

Cause now we’re great again

Dissolve the law and federal courts Defund the peer reviewed reports Retract the hand that feeds the poor The hungry ones can’t speak

So raise a glass to business whores The autocrats and saboteurs And text the world about your wars Let flow your whiskey leaks

Berate the south, invade the north And conquer all impoverished shores Identify and then extort All those who lack defense

Forget the Paine of Common Sense We reign with our incompetence And designate all immigrants As sick and evil men

Cuz now… we’re great again

Then Francis Key tries to explain That freedom’s not a first class train Your red hat cannot be exchanged As credit toward your rent

The land of all the free’s a lie So where do all the brave reside The bombs are bursting through the sky That’s where your money went

A modern Betsy Ross has made A flag that fascists celebrate Our motto now commemorates The sword above the pen

No we are not inspired hosts Your huddled and your tired folks Are propaganda for our shows And we are not your friend

But now… we’re great again

Now weakness is admitting wrong So do your part and play along The showroom on the White House lawn Would make your grandad proud

So tell me who needs enemies When you’ve got Fox and friends like these Who spend the daytime on their knees In service to the crown

We bow down to the motorcades With banners and our boat parades The emperor we celebrate’s Not wearing anything

That starry spangled banner waves Goodbye to golden yesterdays The ramparts now have all been raised To clearly represent

That now… somehow… we are great again

I dunno, my daily mix is my daily mix.

“Father’s Advice” from the album Songs for Parents Who Like Drugs by Hamil on Trial

the entire album The Great Depression by Defiance, OH

“SST” by Strike Anywhere

Obsolete by Fear Factory

It’s a concept album that involves fighting against a totalitarian police state that subjugates humans to the machines they created.

It also has an awesome “Cars” cover for whenever you’re feeling good.

Dieselboy - The Dungeonmaster’s Guide

https://tidal.com/browse/album/14620847?u

Will of the people is great but in my personal opinion they’ve never topped the greatness of Uprising.

It’s been around for a while now but in case anyone hasn’t heard it: youtu.be/w8KQmps-Sog

I switched from almost all jazz, electroswing mostly, the summer of 2024 and added in what little dark hard rock I knew, or whatever you call it, like tool and rage against the machine, a perfect circle, old stuff. I knew we were fucked in july 2024. For sure fucked I knew before, I actually called kamala getting the nomination after biden back in like 2019.

Want some more kind of dark or hard stuff to listen to, but there was a lot more good rage against the machine stuff than I was aware, they weren’t as popular as tool where I grew up.

Muse

If you can get hold of it, there’s a live set from a Big Day Out in Sydney getting around if you can find it.

I saw the Brisbane set. That was two days before the Sydney one, which incidentally was this date (26th), 2004 IIRC. It was one of the best live sets I’ve ever seen.

Amazing band. Live and on record.

I remember once reading that in bleak times, like the Great Depression, people historically favored upbeat movies; they wanted escapism. And then in boom times, people tend to favor grittier movies.

There might be something to that. That is, if you’re not happy, you might be better off consuming happier media.

Came here to mention king gizzard and the lizard wizard who is carrying all of the genres into the future.

m.youtube.com/watch?v=4CSCjCSCjJM&list=OLAK5uy_m1…

Edge of a Revolution by Nickelback

Change by Taylor Swift

No Place Like Home from Wicked: For Good

Glow by aviators

The times they are a changing.

Super old school folk/country western or other older clasic rock. Its got its stigmas and opinions but if you control your Playlist library then id recommend adding the generic artists like Kat Steven, Willie Nelson, Dylan or stretch out to other mega-artists from that gen like the Beatles. Everyone knows their name and knows their billboard br3akers but theyr library is sooo deep with artists like that, there will absolutely be songs you never heard that sound better than their chary toppers.

My last recommendation: go down the limit Hendricks live recordings, rabbit hole.

If you are like me you might write off most rge artist ive named as being too… idk… legendary. But what ive found empirically, is that even the worst songs from great artists are better than any great song by an average to good artist.