Fugazi
A song built almost entirely on tension between stasis and forward motion, using the image of a waiting room to talk about…
patience vs. paralysis self-discipline resistance to passivity
The Clash
The Clash build a mock-Orientalist fable in which a ruler bans music and the population -- eventually even his own military --…
censorship and authority cultural resistance satire of power
Smokey Robinson
A straightforward duet declaration of romantic certainty and fidelity, built around a duet pairing Smokey Robinson's classic…
romantic devotion fidelity certainty in love
The Staple Singers
This is the Staple Singers' rendition of the traditional African American spiritual, built almost entirely on call-and-response…
deliverance and salvation collective faith and community crossing over / transition between states
Magazine
A song about ideological homelessness, built around a narrator who has infiltrated a crowd or movement only to find himself…
ideological disillusionment alienation from crowds and movements cynicism about political certainty
Mission of Burma
A litany of disillusionment — with inherited heroes, parental teaching, and a friend's hollow ambition — builds toward a chorus…
disillusionment loss of faith/idealism generational inheritance