That is what John J. Miller has come up with over at National Review Online. Some of the selections:
1. “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” by The Who
The conservative movement is full of disillusioned revolutionaries; this could be their theme song, an oath that swears off naïve idealism once and for all. “There’s nothing in the streets / Looks any different to me / And the slogans are replaced, by-the-bye. . . . Meet the new boss / Same as the old boss.” The instantly recognizable synthesizer intro, Pete Townshend’s ringing guitar, Keith Moon’s pounding drums, and Roger Daltrey’s wailing vocals make this one of the most explosive rock anthems ever recorded — the best number by a big band, and a classic for conservatives...
11. “The Trees,” by Rush
Before there was Rush Limbaugh, there was Rush, a Canadian band whose lyrics are often libertarian. What happens in a forest when equal rights become equal outcomes? “The trees are all kept equal / By hatchet, axe, and saw.”...
22. “Red Barchetta,” by Rush
In a time of “the Motor Law,” presumably legislated by green extremists, the singer describes family reunion and the thrill of driving a fast car — an act that is his “weekly crime."...
33. “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” by The Rolling Stones.
You can “[go] down to the demonstration” and vent your frustration, but you must understand that there’s no such thing as a perfect society — there are merely decent and free ones...
46. “Wind of Change,” by The Scorpions.
A German hard-rock group’s optimistic power ballad about the end of the Cold War and national reunification: “The world is closing in / Did you ever think / That we could be so close, like brothers / The future’s in the air / I can feel it everywhere / Blowing with the wind of change.”...
Including two Rush songs is a good thing - though within the top 50 should also have been New World Man and Time Stand Still (this doesn't mean I'm partial to Rush - its just that the best songwiting of the modern era needs its due, ok?). But I really don't get The Who, Rolling Stones and Scorpions on a conservative music list.
The Who was the best rock 'n roll band, ever: the Rolling Stones are the most over-rated rock band; the Scorpions were cool for about an album and a half, and then their amazingly repetitive music got rather old. Outside of that, I really can't see too much that speaks to conservatism or even libertarianism in anything other than the Rush songs.
That is just my opinion - what do you guys think? What should be on the list, or should there even be such a list?
Posted by Mark Noonan at May 31, 2006 06:07 AM
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I can't disagree with your point about Rush, they are a great band and they're Canadian eh? :)
Posted by: axis at May 31, 2006 06:43 AM
I have an entry about this on my blog as well and wonder why Ted Nugent didn't have anything on it. Well, it wasn't a completely serious point, but I wonder if some of Nuge's music was even considered. There's a couple of other songs by Sammy Hagar and Everclear that could have just as easily been on the list as well. I'd love to see the list of all songs considered just out of curiosity.
Posted by:
Carl at May 31, 2006 07:53 AM
Well, for the sake of keeping this about the music, I'll accept the premise that these are conservative songs...
But a list that has 20th Century Man in the top 10 can't be bad. The other Kinks song, Two Sisters, is one of my favorites.
You can put any number of Ray Davies songs on here, especially off Village Green Preservation Society (Star Struck; Village Green; the title track... "God save little shops, china cups and virginity.")
A couple that could could be on this list to me is "She's Leaving Home" and "Penny Lane" off Sgt. Peppers.
Posted by: Tom Shipley at May 31, 2006 08:39 AM
C'mon, if we are talking about conservatives, then you gotta have "Money" by Pink Floyd as number one, although whenever I see Bush, I think "Killer Queen"
Posted by: Third Eye Open at May 31, 2006 08:58 AM
And if you're including Clash songs, gotta go with this Washington Bulletts too.
Oh! Mama, Mama look there!
Your children are playing in that street again
Don't you know what happened down there?
A youth of fourteen got shot down there
The Kokane guns of Jamdown Town
The killing clowns, the blood money men
Are shooting those Washington bullets again
As every cell in Chile will tell
The cries of the tortured men
Remember Allende, and the days before,
Before the army came
Please remember Victor Jara,
In the Santiago Stadium,
Es verdad - those Washington Bullets again
And in the Bay of Pigs in 1961,
Havana fought the playboy in the Cuban sun,
For Castro is a colour,
Is a redder than red,
Those Washington bullets want Castro dead
For Castro is the colour...
...That will earn you a spray of lead
Sandinista!
For the very first time ever,
When they had a revolution in Nicaragua,
There was no interference from America
Human rights in America
Well the people fought the leader,
And up he flew...
With no Washington bullets what else could he do?
Sandinista!
'N' if you can find a Afghan rebel
That the Moscow bullets missed
Ask him what he thinks of voting Communist...
...Ask the Dalai Lama in the hills of Tibet,
How many monks did the Chinese get?
In a war-torn swamp stop any mercenary,
'N' check the British bullets in his armoury
Que?
Sandinista!
Posted by: Tom Shipley at May 31, 2006 10:41 AM
What about Rush's "Something for Nothing" off 2112. That should be the conservative theme song.
Posted by: Jim at May 31, 2006 03:05 PM
Also,
"The Game of Love." Not sure who sings it, but it's an oldie (and a goodie).
Opening line: "The purpose of a man is to love a woman, and the purpose of a woman is to love a man." -- take THAT gay marriage proponents.
But, the kicker is my all-time favorite line from any song.
"It started long ago in the garden of eden/when adam said to eve 'baby, you're for me!'"
Now, THAT'S a conservative song.
Posted by: Tom Shipley at June 1, 2006 10:11 AM
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I can't disagree with your point about Rush, they are a great band and they're Canadian eh? :)
I have an entry about this on my blog as well and wonder why Ted Nugent didn't have anything on it. Well, it wasn't a completely serious point, but I wonder if some of Nuge's music was even considered. There's a couple of other songs by Sammy Hagar and Everclear that could have just as easily been on the list as well. I'd love to see the list of all songs considered just out of curiosity.
Well, for the sake of keeping this about the music, I'll accept the premise that these are conservative songs...
But a list that has 20th Century Man in the top 10 can't be bad. The other Kinks song, Two Sisters, is one of my favorites.
You can put any number of Ray Davies songs on here, especially off Village Green Preservation Society (Star Struck; Village Green; the title track... "God save little shops, china cups and virginity.")
A couple that could could be on this list to me is "She's Leaving Home" and "Penny Lane" off Sgt. Peppers.
C'mon, if we are talking about conservatives, then you gotta have "Money" by Pink Floyd as number one, although whenever I see Bush, I think "Killer Queen"
And if you're including Clash songs, gotta go with this Washington Bulletts too.
Oh! Mama, Mama look there!
Your children are playing in that street again
Don't you know what happened down there?
A youth of fourteen got shot down there
The Kokane guns of Jamdown Town
The killing clowns, the blood money men
Are shooting those Washington bullets again
As every cell in Chile will tell
The cries of the tortured men
Remember Allende, and the days before,
Before the army came
Please remember Victor Jara,
In the Santiago Stadium,
Es verdad - those Washington Bullets again
And in the Bay of Pigs in 1961,
Havana fought the playboy in the Cuban sun,
For Castro is a colour,
Is a redder than red,
Those Washington bullets want Castro dead
For Castro is the colour...
...That will earn you a spray of lead
Sandinista!
For the very first time ever,
When they had a revolution in Nicaragua,
There was no interference from America
Human rights in America
Well the people fought the leader,
And up he flew...
With no Washington bullets what else could he do?
Sandinista!
'N' if you can find a Afghan rebel
That the Moscow bullets missed
Ask him what he thinks of voting Communist...
...Ask the Dalai Lama in the hills of Tibet,
How many monks did the Chinese get?
In a war-torn swamp stop any mercenary,
'N' check the British bullets in his armoury
Que?
Sandinista!
What about Rush's "Something for Nothing" off 2112. That should be the conservative theme song.
Also,
"The Game of Love." Not sure who sings it, but it's an oldie (and a goodie).
Opening line: "The purpose of a man is to love a woman, and the purpose of a woman is to love a man." -- take THAT gay marriage proponents.
But, the kicker is my all-time favorite line from any song.
"It started long ago in the garden of eden/when adam said to eve 'baby, you're for me!'"
Now, THAT'S a conservative song.