Protest music.
The mention of these words together elicits images of young singer-songwriters with acoustic guitars in hands, singing fervently about a war 30 years ago.
And so now we have a plethora of protests again, but where exactly is today's protest music coming from?
Instead of new idealistic musicians, today's protesters seem to focus on the same musicians who sprang to mind earlier: John Lennon, Joan Baez, Neil Young, etc.
But what is clear is that those decrying the lack of modern protest music just aren't listening to enough Steve Earle.
A far cry from the protest rock of old, Earle isn't idealistic. Actually he's quite the opposite, often sounding world-weary and broken, disillusioned by what he sees and sings about. And he isn't even young. He's in his late forties.
But what Steve Earle is is angry.
Over the past year and a half, music about Sept. 11 has been everywhere. But last September when Earle released Jerusalem, his eleventh studio album, he didn't take the same route as everyone else writing about that day.
Instead of writing blind, nonsensical, patriotic anthems, Earle wrote songs that asked questions. He looks at the current American way of life and asks how something like Sept. 11 could have happened. The alt-country singer isn't quick to point fingers, but instead he channels his anger into an exhaustive study of the America that existed before and exists after that day.
On "Amerika v. 6.0 (The Best We Can Do)" Earle rambles through a country-rock rant on current American Society.
"But hey we can just build a great wall around the country club to keep the riff-raff out until the slump is through. I realize it ain't exactly democratic but it's either them or us and it's the best that we can do," sings Earle.
"Amerika v. 6.0" moves from a quiet dissemination of Earle's thoughts to a rousing rocker that drives home the singer's points.
Jerusalem drew most of its media attention from another politically-charged track, "John Walker's Blues." Here, Earle explores why an "American boy -- raised on MTV" could come to "fight the Jihad."
The measured pacing of this song, allows Earle's words to slowly sink into the listener's mind. Clearly the song is not the defense of American Taliban John Walker Lindh that many claimed it was at first. Instead, just like most of Earle's political statements, it merely looks for answers and reasons.
Although the majority of Jerusalem focuses on political issues a few tracks dwell on more conventional country topics.
"I Remember You" is a typical lost love song, which is made anything but typical by the additional vocals of country goddess Emmylou Harris. Earle and Harris's vocals blend wonderfully, giving the listener a break from all the anger.
Another excellent track is "Shadowland," a rousing Springsteen-esque rocker, that expertly melds the worlds of rock and country.
Over the course of Jerusalem, Steve Earle shows why he is important to the musical landscape for a variety of reasons. Earle presents very contemplative and intriguing looks at important political issues, but, perhaps more importantly, Earle does everything on Jerusalem exceptionally well. Because after all, would the message sound so important if it didn't first sound so good?
