I’m just gonna put this here.

Desaparecidos have removed all narrative subtlety and replaced it with political vehemence. But the lyrics are still smart hand the music has a kicking heart that I haven’t heard from Conor Oberst since the Road to Joy. Payola is not flawless and the political vehemence is not without its own problems, but I like this record. And damn, City on the Hill is a good, angry song. 

Speaking of anger: Oberst is angry like I am angry: At upsetting oppression that doesn’t really affect us personally, at least not in the way it torments Black people, Hispanic people, LGBT people, women of color. That’s why I don’t think that the “next great protest song” the next song of the revolution won’t come from Desaparecidos or from East Cameron Folkcore. That doesn’t diminish how good, poignant, or angry all these great punk songs are or how important the causes and voices of these artists are. They’re just not at the vanguard anymore. 

When I got news of the terrorist attack in Charleston last week, the soundtrack I turned to in my head (and Spotify) wasn’t punk or hardcore – it was rap, specifically Jasiri X and Kendrick Lamar. Listening to angry white men just didn’t seem adequate in that specific moment when the terrible, horrible acts are also committed by angry white men.