"Dear Mr. President"

Those of us who are older and more or less out of the loop don't pay much attention to the current music. We long for the old protest days of the Vietnam War and the great music that both came coincidentally and was driven by it. "Four Dead in Ohio" still brings back tears, as the Kent State shootings was that moment when the war came home, when American students were slaughtered not in some far off land but on a college campus almost smack dab in the center of the country.

Fortunately, there are gutsy artists today who are stepping into those legendary sandals of the artists of the 1960s and 1970s. Oh yes, we're still hearing from the same ones — John McCutcheon, Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen — but I'm excited about the newer artists who are finally stepping to the foreground — Moby, REM, the Dixie Chicks, Pearl Jam, Green Day, and Kanye West, just to name a few.

One of the best songs I've heard lately is Pink's "Dear Mr. President". It seems to be freely available on the 'net, both with official and homemade video attached to it. If you haven't heard or seen any of these videos, perhaps the best source is You Tube. Everyone should check it out, especially those who can remember the Vietnam War. It'll make them feel that the great tradition of American protest music is still alive and well.

More about this subject:

• "Top 10 Songs Protesting Bush & the War in Iraq" by Kim Ruehl
• "Songs of Protest" from The Nation
• "Music: Sounding Off on Bush" from Newsweek

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