My Nostalgic Anti-Bush/Anti-War Playlist, part 2

I know you've been waiting with bated breath, so here it is: the second installment of my nostalgic Anti-Bush/Anti-War Playlist!

1. Waiting on the World to Change / John Mayer: Picking up where we left off--waiting, that is--this song is, perhaps, the best expression of my own frustration during the Bush administration.
   
   Best Lyric: We see everything that's going wrong with the world, and also hate it / We just feel like we don't have the means to rise above and beat it


2. F**k You / Lily Allen: This is perhaps my personal favorite Anti-Bush song. It's very "pop" and catchy, AND it has an interesting story. It was so controversial that when it was first launched on Lily Allen's MySpace page in 2008, it was listed under the fake title "Guess Who, Batman". It was so controversial that the US drop date for Allen's entire album--"It's Not Me, It's You"--was pushed back until late January 2009...after the inauguration. It was so controversial that it never played on the radio, though in defense of the FCC, the fact that the chorus drops the f-bomb four times probably would have prevented it from airing on the radio anyway.
   
   Best Lyric: You say you think we need to go to war / Well, you're already in one / 'Cause it's people like you that need to get slew / No one wants your opinion


3. Holiday/Boulevard of Broken Dreams / Green Day: More than anything, this two-for-one track is evocative of the time, and that's why it made it on to my list.
   
   Best Lyric: Can I get another Amen? (Amen!) / There's a flag wrapped around a score of men / A gag, a plastic bag on a monument


4. Violet Hill / Coldplay: This song is very subtle in its dissent, but still worth including.
   
   Best Lyric: When the future's architectured / By a carnival of idiots on show / You'd better lie low


5. That's the News / Merle Haggard: Yes, folks! Even the Okie from Muskogee penned a couple of songs that were not so much anti-war as they were anti-Monroe Doctrine, but you can't fault the man for telling it like it is. Speaking of Merle Haggard telling it like it is, here's his articulate response to the aforementioned Dixie Chicks controversy:
   
   "I don't even know the Dixie Chicks, but I find it an insult for all the men and women who fought and died in past wars when almost the majority of America jumped down their throats for voicing an opinion. It was like a verbal witch-hunt and lynching."
   
   Going back to the song at hand, you remember being really frustrated when journalists weren't really asking the tough questions? Okay, so that's not really something about which we can be nostalgic, but it's definitely something we can all relate to.
   
   Best Lyric: Politicians do all the talking, soldiers pay the dues / Suddenly, the war is over, and that's the news


6. Shock and Awe / Neil Young: This song is the ultimate hindsight, shoulda-coulda-woulda, why didn't they listen to me masterpiece. Because it's Neil Young, it works; if anyone else sang it, it would sound whiny.
   
   Best Lyric: Thousands of bodies in the ground / Brought home in boxes to a trumpet's sound / No one sees them coming home that way / Thousands buried in the ground


7. Hands Held High / Linkin Park: Angry speak-singing never sounded so poetic since Rex Harrison spoke-sang "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face"...that's all I've got for this one.
   
   Best Lyric: 'Cause I'm sick of being treated like a have before / Like I'm stupid standing for what I'm standing for / Like this war's just a really different brand of war / Like it doesn't cater to the rich and abandon poor


8. Day After Tomorrow / Tom Waits: This is an amazing song, told from a soldier's point of view, and it "reads" like a letter home.
   
   Best Lyric: Check back tomorrow for the complete lyrics to this song, posted in honor of Veteran's Day!


9. Soldier's Poem / Muse: Like the previous song, this song, as the title suggests, is meant to represent the soldier's point of view. Rather that annotate it, I think I just list a third of the lyrics.
   
   Best Lyric: How could you send us so far away from home / When you know damn well that this is wrong? / I would still lay down my life for you. / And do you think you deserve your freedom? / No, I don’t think you do.


10. I Hope / Dixie Chicks: Because I felt the need to end this playlist on a hopeful note, I've included this song. It's a great Keb' Mo' collaboration.
    
    Best Lyric: I hope we can all live more fearlessly / And we can lose all the pain and misery