Music with a message

[LewsTherin]

Pink Floyd-Most of their later stuff was pointed at people.
Jethro Tull-Thick as a Brick, Wind-Up, My God, the list goes on...
John Lennon- I'm really surprised he hasn't been posted yet...
Frank Zappa-Brown Shoes Don't Make It

 

[crabman]

The album In The Aeroplane Over The Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel.

Hugely moving album, once you get over his slightly weird voice. Give it two or three listens and you will be in love.
For those that just want to know, it's all about the story of Anne Frank. Sounds like it shouldn't work, and in anyone else's hands it wouldn't, but with Neutral Milk Hotel it just sounds amazing.

 

[Frosk]

So What is a cover, so its not really their song.

Huh, I didn't know that. Who did the original? Cos though it may be a bit shallow, it's damn good fun

Originally written and performed by Anti Nowhere League from their album We are... The League.

As for music with a message: Year Zero by Nine Inch Nails

(I'm such a huge NIN fanboy it's not even funny any more)

A lot of Tool's music has messages as well.

 

[sammyfreak]

Amazing Grace - John Newton
Says more about christianity then any other song I heard.
Red Hill Mining Town - U2
About desperation, utterly beautiful and means quite a bit to me.
With or Without You - U2
Love and Pain, all in one.
Yahweh - U2
Simple and to the point but oh so strong.
Videotape - Radiohead
A song about a happy death, we need more of that.
Spiritual - Johnny Cash
More about desperation and God, songs like that tend to move me.

 

[UnterHund]

Johnny Cash - The man comes around
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQ_jQDfFaZI

so long
UnterHund

 

[Nettacki]

This deserves to be mentioned: Led Zeppelin - Stairway to Heaven.

 

[Vortigar]

Any song by Sting (the Soul Cages album in particular), Sinaed 'O Connor and all Irish Folk really (Paddy's Lament [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1YOPfxMhuU&feature=related] is powerful as heck).
The Babbacombe Lee album by Fairport convention.
Anything by King Crimson.

Heck I listen to stuff with a message almost exclusively, got loads of concept albums actually.

The Manic Street Preachers are still going strong as well. The only band to have created a song about the baby Elian affair I believe, which always struck me as rather strange.

 

[ThaBenMan]

http://www.lyricsfreak.com/l/living+colour/cult+of+personality_20084475.html

Cult of Personality by Living Colour

About the effect that charismatic leaders and politicians can have, good or ill, over people. And a rockin' tune, to boot \m/

 

[Sustenance]

I do like metal and Metallica a lot, but I think it's bull to say that they are really paragons of "meaningful" song-writing who tower above all the rest.

-- Alex

Yeah? You name a song by them that has no deep meaning.

A lot of their songs are artfully done but thematically simple. What's the nuanced, multi-layered message of "Wherever I May Roam"? How about "Nothing Else Matters"?

Are you going to sit here and tell me that "King Nothing" is a better, more nuanced song about the futility of wealth than, say, Pink Floyd's "Dogs"?

Most musicians who really stand the test of time have sort of "deep meaning" in their songs. It's ridiculous to pick one band -- especially a band that does, realistically, has about five or six thematic elements that they like and do well and has been recycling them for twenty years -- and say they're geniuses without equal.

(It's the same elements that every metal band sings about, pretty much, really.)

-- Alex

Man, what a misconstrued garbage opinion.

At least that last one in parenthesis.

 

[no.soap.radio]

Steely Dan- Deacon blues.

 

[Jonathan Hexley]

I've heard things about Viva la Vida having something to do with Jesus, but that's Youtube comments, and you can never be sure with those things.
Now that I think about it, I'm wondering if Ruby by The Kaiser Chiefs is about say, a woman called Ruby or something. I'm not sure, some lines point towards that such as "Finding out what you're called/And repeating your name" and then he goes on to sing the chorus, "Ruby ruby ruby ruby"
And the "Do ya do ya do ya" bit might be about marriage.
I'm not sure, maybe I'm thinking too much about this.

 

[dukethepcdr]

How about Bob Marley songs? Some of his songs have a good message like "One Love" and "Get Up".

I really like songs by The O.C. Supertones too. I love their ska sound, especially the songs with brass instruments. Their songs all have good messages that everyone should hear.

 

[Alex_P]

The example I put forth is "Handlebars" by Flobots, a hip-hop band in Denver, Colorado.

I liked Handlebars, especially the way it conveys its message through this set of tiny little stories. So I looked up some other random Flobots songs on Skreemr. They're not bad, but most are very... direct. Most of the songs I've heard are some kind of socialist/populist call to action set against a strong beat. All in all, I vaguely liked them but thought they were far less interesting than "Handlebars," and generally rather unsubtle. I can definitely see why that one song gets more play than everything else they've written to date.

-- Alex

 

[kanyatta]

The Trees by Rush

Some of the best lyrics ever conceived. I listen to that song just to think sometimes.

Not really "a message" per se; just "moving". I remember the first time I ever heard Stairway to Heaven, when I was first getting into guitar, and I love classic rock, and I had heard everything and then some about the song, but I never bothered to listen. I distinctly remember the first time I ever listened to that song, because it almost made me cry. I was at work too.

 

[BigBadNDN]

Here some of my favorite songs that have a message: Broken-Seether, Forever-Papa Roach (After I sang this song @ karaoke my girfriend asked ME out!) Someday Never Comes-CCR, Simple Man-Lynyrd Skynyrd, When I'm Gone-3 Doors Down and You Know Your Right-Nirvana

 

[irrelevantnugget]

The album In The Aeroplane Over The Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel.

Hugely moving album, once you get over his slightly weird voice. Give it two or three listens and you will be in love.
For those that just want to know, it's all about the story of Anne Frank. Sounds like it shouldn't work, and in anyone else's hands it wouldn't, but with Neutral Milk Hotel it just sounds amazing.

Agreed.

Concept albums should be made more. Black Sheep Boy is another good one, by Okkervil River. It's based on Tim Hardin's life. Just check out the entire album, near the end it gets an ironic climax.

Oh, and Okkervil River also has 2 other concept albums, namely The Stage Names, and The Stand-Ins. On each of those albums, there's a song about Shannon Wilsey, an 80's porn star who OD'ed on painkillers after a car accident which mutilated her face. The first song goes about her father contemplating on where it went wrong. The second is from Shannon's perspective, how she longed for success in life.

Two Gallants also has a great song; The Throes. It's about a family with an abusive father. Told from the mother's perspective.

And in an entirely different genre, namely punk: Lagwagon. The singer, Joey Cape, has made an acoustic album as well, together with some other punk singer (can't remember who, but his songs weren't that good anyway), in which the lyrics really come out.

Malcolm Middleton likes to sing about how much things suck. Plus he's got an awesome accent. He's better acoustic, though.

 

[BallPtPenTheif]

'No Pussy Blues' by Grinderman (Nick Cave side project)

a song about the decreasing frequency of sex as you get older.