Questions about War and Violence

What part do bands and artists have to play in the current anti war movement?
Naturally I think bands and artists have a huge part to play. I think artists have always been important in reflecting and influencing the world. I'm not one of those who believes that 'art can't be held accountable for its influence on people'. I believe that Marylin Manson, Eminem etc should take some responsibility for their lyrics instead of backing out when their 'act' is taken seriously. But anyway that's me off on one, you asked about the anti-war movement. It's heartening to see bands and artists responding to the war... I felt like a few months ago we were quite isolated within the artist community, but now feel that there's a lot of anti-war activity in popular culture - it still irks me that the dissenting voices in music are generally not the big popular voices (in the sixties, the major artists were at the forefront of dissent - Dylan, CSNY, Beatles, Stones, etc). But it's good to see bands like the Beastie Boys saying something, especially in a cultural climate which deems 'political music' to be uncool.

Some of the war protest songs that have been made since 9/11.

• Beastie Boys - In a World Gone Mad. Posting to their official web site Adam H. of the Beastie Boys states, "This song is not an anti-American or pro-Saddam Hussein statement. This is a statement against an unjustified war." The song is set to be on the Beasties forthcoming album but given the political climate the band decided to release it early and offer it as a free mp3 download.
• Madonna - American Life From the lyrics alone this Madonna song doesn't appear to be anti-war. The chorus goes "American life... you are the best thing I've seen, you are not just a dream...". It is the video that is making a statement. Set at an elite fashion show the video shows clips of American excess up against scenes of war -- decidely political.
• Spearhead - Bomb Da World An early release from the forthcoming album Everybody Deserves Music, the lyrics to Bomb Da World offer real wisdom, "You can bomb the world to pieces, but you can't bomb it into peace." Easily the best of the new anti-war songs, this song is a gentle sermon on the evils of war.
• System of a Down - Temper This song protests the idea of blood for oil, "Invade countries just for oil , Send your troops all down to boil", making it a very timely song. Written as a demo in 1996, the song is not on any SOAD album, but is easily found on the web. If you can't get it, the newest SOAD album has two timely songs, A.D.D. (American Dream Denial) and Boom! that also make an anti-war statement.
 • Billy Bragg - The Price of Oil In early release on the Peace Not War CD, this song by activist-musician Billy Bragg is all about the current Iraqi-US conflict. The opening lyrics "the allies won't approve the plan, but the oil men in the white house they just don't give a damn, it's all about the price of oil..." come right from popular activist sentiment.
 • Sleater-Kinney - Far Away Written about the 9/11 terrorist attacks, this song speaks of the aftermath for the world and the legacy of war the attacks have brought. The lyrics "Don't breathe the air today Don't speak of why you're afraid... No other direction for this to go, And we fall down, and we fall down" predict doom for all if war is the answer to 9/11. A moody yet beautiful song in a time of world crisis.
 • Public Enemy - Son of a Bush More anti-Bush than anti-war, this song was first released in 2002. A protest of the US government under G.W. Bush, the song speaks to the anger many people feel over the war with Iraq. Originally released on the CD Revolverlution, it is currently part of the Peace Not War anti-war compliation CD out of Australia.
 • Chumbawamba - Jacob's Ladder (Acoustic Re-mix) A previously unreleased acoustic version of the song Jacob's Ladder, this song could have been written yesterday. The opening lyrics "like a sermon on the mountain, hellfire and brimstone, swapped for oil and guns" say what many feel this latest Iraqi-US war is really about. Get the original off the album Readymates or the acoustic version from peace-not-war.org.
 • Ms. Dynamite - Watch Over Them This sad and soulful song was originally written as a lament of black on black street violence, with lyrics like "the youts dem, we should be protecting instead we're destroying, oh Father watch over them", it seems a fitting addition to this list. Available on her debut CD A Little Deeper and on the anti-war compliation CD Peace Not War.
 • Outkast - B.O.B. (Bombs Over Baghdad) Outkast have joined the growing list of artists opposed to war, and it is not just a publicity pull, for this band it goes way back. This song from the 2000 CD Stankonia is an angry lament about the price of war. With lyrics like, "Don't pull the thang out, unless you plan to bang. Bombs over Baghdad!" it is a fitting addition to any list of anti-war-with-Iraq protest songs.


I have some issues with a couple of the comments on your FAQ page. I am a pacifist. That is, my objection to Capitalism is that as a system Capitalism is inherently violent. I'm not talking about armies and police brutality, or even force. I think your statement that "the State always resorts to violence" is unthinking propaganda. I believe that, as our good friend Gandhi noted, poverty is the worst form of violence. And we all know about the relationship between the market and poverty. The point is that I don't believe violence can, in the long run, change things for the better. I think that a violent revolution will create a violent society. I don't care what the state does. I don't want to collaborate by responding violently. I don't understand how you can condone violence. If violence is okay, what's wrong with capitalism?
I agree with you that violence is not big and not clever but I'd still say that there are times when it's a necessary part of struggle. Your point seems to be that the means always influences the end result, so using violence against violence always results in more people getting hurt and embracing brutality. That's not actually true, the means does influence the end but each circumstance is different and sometimes force puts an end to violence.
There's a famous example from Holland in 1966, when people were protesting against Princess Beatrice's marrying an ex-Nazi. Mounted police were attacking demonstrators, some of the crowd dragged a copper off his horse and proceeded to give him a good kicking. Pacifists surrounded him so that he could get safely back on his horse. Once up there again he went straight back to attacking and hospitalising the crowd. You seem to think that violence is a purely moral issue and linked only to capitalism. Fascism was capitalist in structure but Hitler didn't have a capitalist agenda (as doesn't much of religious fundamentalism) and its violence was political and impervious to the moral superiority of non violence. Turn the other cheek on a Nazi and you end up with both cheek bones broken, or worse. Hitler said that the only way that fascism could have been destroyed was if the opposition had smashed the Fascist Party nucleus in 1933. Violence could have averted the deaths of millions of people.
It's an uncomfortable truth but not all violence is the same. Violence scares me but I recognise that there are times when you absolutely have to fight back. Sometimes that means striking first. As a political tactic non-violence can be useful. I used to say that I was a pacifist till I saw the police attacking my friends with batons and tear gas. Lying down would have got us fractured skulls; fighting back meant we weren't arrested or hospitalised and the cops would hesitate before attacking another crowd. You mention Ghandi as proof that non-violence works but India's independence was achieved by a combination of factors. While Ghandi and co were getting beaten to the ground, others were dynamiting railway tracks and ambushing troops. It was the fight on all fronts, rather than just pacifism, which won independence. I have to say that when I saw the film Ghandi, with all those people marching into police lines and being beaten to a pulp, all I could think was "that's a stupid thing to do."

I was thinking about this for a while: what is Chumbawamba's thought of guerilla warfare/armed revolution?
We reckon there's a place for guerilla warfare, for armed revolution, and for one-on-one boxing matches between world leaders. We celebrate the armed struggles being waged by the Zapatistas in Mexico, by the Jewish underground resistance fighters in the Second World War, by the street-fighting gangs of pre-revolutionary Russia, by the peasant armies of England in 1381, to name just a few of very very many. (We don't have a problem with the use of violence, only with how and where and why it is used).