Labor Rock
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Rock built around work, unions and the dignity of the wage-earner — folk-punk strum, Celtic-punk stomp or heartland chug behind lyrics on strikes, factories, picket lines and solidarity. The sound is rousing and singalong, borrowing old union-hall melodies and gang vocals to be bellowed at a rally. Class consciousness is constant; anger and pride its two registers.
History
Revived the union songbook for the rock era: Billy Bragg set trade-union anthems to electric guitar in 1980s Britain, rewriting "Which Side Are You On?" for the miners' strike. Tom Morello's Nightwatchman carried the militancy to American picket lines, and Dropkick Murphys turned Celtic punk into AFL-CIO-affiliated working-class hymns, releasing "Take 'Em Down" in solidarity with Wisconsin workers in 2011.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There_Is_Power_in_a_Union_(Billy_Bragg_song)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Which_Side_Are_You_On
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fabled_City
- https://dropkickmurphys.com/2011/02/22/take-em-down-the-dropkick-murphys-stand-with-wisconsin/