I think this point about allegory is valid. Something like "Bushonomics" or "Yo George" could be great songs (theoretically) but they're still going to have a short shelf life. Alot of political music today has that kind of literal quality.
Another factor is simpy the rate of stylistic change in pop music. E.g. Rage Against the Machine had well-written lyrics, and their songs definately had an anthemic quality. But today it just sounds "like 1993." (Although Take the Power Back crops up now and again at demos and in bad documentaries.)
There's also the split between independent and major labels now. There's all this subcultural politics about what crosses over to the majors. Again, RATM. They got the mass appeal but lost alot of support from the more politicized music scenes. So you either remain obscure or you detach from any sort of context.
Also, lyric writing itself is just not valued as much today. There's not much expectation that you be entertaining and engaging with your lyrics -they're more suggestive and free-associative. Whereas it seems like folk songs tend to be more coherent and usually *about* something. They involved storytelling a lot more. (Dead Kennedy's are another big exception that spring to mind.) But most pop music today is not connected to any sort of lyric tradition. Not even other pop music, especially.
(There's also the issue of intelligibility. I play in a hardcore band and I'd guess that 80% of people, 80% of the time can't make out a god damn thing we're saying.)
On 3/30/08, B. <docile_body at yahoo.com> wrote:
> I don't think the original point of the discussion was
> if there are antiwar songs. We all know there are; I
> certainly do.
>
> I mean, there are songs that go further and challenge
> capitalist imperialism itself. In some genres the
> antiwar stuff is so timeworn it's gotten to be stale.
>
> The point was that none had singalong appeal at demos,
> or something. As much as I would like for a big crowd
> of hundreds to sing, say, Swedish d-beat hardcore
> band's "Fight Back Capitalism," or MDC's "Business on
> Parade," it's a lot less likely than something by
> Billy Bragg. The antiwar songs are there in spades and
> have been for a few decades; that shouldn't even be a
> point of debate. I think it was mass appeal or
> something, like the old IWW red songbook, that was the
> source of the lament.
>
>
> -B.
>
> ___________________________________
> http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk
>