I don’t believed that Bruce Springsteen was making anti-bush/war statements on his new album because it’s trendy. It’s being celebrated now, because it is trendy to have those views. It seems like every new music release is being viewed through this prism. It’s frustrating that now: As one person had said “It’s two days late and ten dollars short.” That everybody (Musicians, media, and the American people) are realizing what a mistake invading Iraq is. If Joe Levy wanted to celebrate artists who made important political stands with their music or being politically active in regards to Bush and the Iraq War. He should have celebrated Green Day, Steve Earle, and The Dixie Chicks.

To JP and Outsider: You are all wet. Fogerty’s “Deja Vu All Over Again” came out 3 years ago and he took a hard hit from the right for this. And along with Steve Earle’s “The Revolution Starts Now” it was one of the first albums to be released with an anti Iraq War song. Why not before 2004? Fogerty (post CCR) typically takes 3-5 years to release new material.

Springsteen is not anti-war or anti-Bush because it’s trendy. If he speaks about those things like “he’s the first one who discovered it” as one guy here suggests… well, that’s because the Boss was speaking out against the war back when the average Joe was still in support of it, as far back as The Rising tour in 2002.

The reason artists speak out against the war isn’t because it’s trendy. It’s because it is the right thing to do. A famous saying says “All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.” So I for one am grateful our rock stars refuse to be silenced by corporate pressure… or pressure from anonymous fans in random chat rooms.

And as for the question, where was Bruce when Natalie Maines was being hassled? Bruce was right there for her, getting her back. This was his statement at the time:

“The Dixie Chicks have taken a big hit lately for exercising their basic right to express themselves. To me, they’re terrific American artists expressing American values by using their American right to free speech. For them to be banished wholesale from radio stations, and even entire radio networks, for speaking out is un-American.

The pressure coming from the government and big business to enforce conformity of thought concerning the war and politics goes against everything that this country is about – namely freedom. Right now, we are supposedly fighting to create freedom in Iraq, at the same time that some are trying to intimidate and punish people for using that same freedom here at home.

I don’t know what happens next, but I do want to add my voice to those who think that the Dixie Chicks are getting a raw deal, and an un-American one to boot. I send them my support.”

Also, I disagree that American Idiot is a better anti-war album than Magic. But that’s just my take.

I’m sick of musicians complaining about matters such as Iraq, war, and Bush. Not that I’m for Bush; I’m entirely against all this insanity that’s going on today, but I feel that our efforts are exhausted. The Vote for Change failed, so is making another album justifying your believes–or complaining– really going to change anything? No, it’s not. These music critics, who generally review music fairly, always make overrated artists like Bruce Springsteen out to be some kind of modern-day hero. The songs might be soulful and tuneful but really that only goes to a certain degree that they’ve matched years ago (or exceeded). I enjoy music through and through, but I’m tired of political statements via albums about change and the damn state of things: we know already.

celebs dog the Iraq thing because it’s chic. the problem with the celebrities now is they show up two days and 10 dollars short! we ALL know (almost all) know that Iraq is a fuckin’ quagmire. They talk about it, like they’re the first ones who discovered this.

their stance on the war is about as trendy as people getting tattoos are.

Big deal, everybody’s got a tatt (except me), everybody’s an opinion, and everyone (in Hollywood) is an asshole!!!

I have to agree with NkB. Where was Springsteen and Fogerty when Bush was selling his phony justification for invading Iraq? I think what happened to the Dixie Chicks just for making an off-hand comment against the war. That caused alot of politically active artists to keep their silence.

The reason alot of artists are protesting the war now is because majority of American people realize that have been lied to by Bush. I don’t think these artists are as edgy or heroic as Joe Levy is making them out to be. Cynically speaking, I think these artists are doing the same thing as the country music hacks who released the flood of jingoistic songs that came out between 2001 and 2004. They were made because the artist and record company think it will sell well.

I love Bruce’s new album, but if it is a “war protest” album, it’s the most obscure one in the history of rock. And doesn’t ranting about Bush and Iraq seem kind of lame when it’s about, oh, 7 years too late to do anyone any good?

Not to mention the fact that there were much more topical and subversive (not to mention successful) anti-Bush/war albums out several years ago–Hootie & the Blowfish’s Looking for Lucky and Green Day’s American Idiot immediately spring to mind.

i always thought it was ‘who’s got the rain?’…