"He sings the names of the dead haltingly, as though he is reading them off a screen-which, judging from the recording-studio footage in the song's lyric video, he probably is. The song is about the news, but it is also, perhaps unintentionally, about the moment of lag when we absorb the names and images, when we try to assimilate atrocity into narrative."
"The British singer-songwriter Billy Bragg released " City of Heroes," a spirited work of turbo-folk agitprop that invokes Martin Niemöller's "First They Came." The punk bands NOFX and Dropkick Murphys updated old songs with new anti- ICE lyrics. (A sample line from " Citizen I.C.E.," by the latter: "Too scared to join the military / Too dumb to be a cop.")"
Rapid-response protest songs in 2026 appeared after violent encounters involving federal agents, with established artists and punk bands releasing topical tracks. One high-profile song presents a raw, strained vocal delivery and disjointed phrasing that emphasizes the difficulty of naming casualties and absorbing images. Other releases range from turbo-folk agitprop invoking historical warnings to punk rewrites with pointed anti-ICE lines. Roots-rock work aims to capture daily life amid layered crises, noting long work hours, distant war, and small consolations. Overall musical responses frequently reference older forms and gestures while processing immediate political violence.
Read at The New Yorker
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