Songs about climate change are not so hot | Art in a changing climate

Songs about climate change are not so hot 20

Venn diagram of green songs and suck The green sliver to your right represents songs that express environmental concern and don’t suck. It is populated by “Big Yellow Taxi” from Joni Mitchell. Oh, and “Mercy Mercy Me” by Marvin Gaye. “Earth Song,” by Michael Jackson, if you’re into that kind of thing. A couple of Neil Young songs. They call it a sliver for a reason.

With the recent explosion of “green” over the past few years, though, we’ve noticed a new wave of tunes that try to do better—to hip green so, you know, the kids can dance to it. Unfortunately, few of these new efforts have found their way to the sliver.

Here’s a list of recent eco-minded tunes, ranked from most to least cringeworthy. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.

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10. Dave Stewart (the Other Guy in the Eurythmics) has been instrumental in starting a posse of green celebrities called “Greenpeace Works,” which he characterizes, God help us all, as a “think tank.” The brain trust’s inaugural production is “Go Green,” a forgettable piece of didacticism set to stale mid-‘90s pop beats. Imagine “We Are the World,” only with B-list celebs. And a corkscrew jammed in your temple.

The song is Greenpeace’s “Earth Day anthem,” which is as good an indicator as any that the human race is done for. When grumpy red staters imagine elitist liberal greens and their Gulfstream-flying Hollywood buddies, this is the soundtrack to their fuming.

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David Roberts is staff writer for Grist. You can follow his Twitter feed at twitter.com/drgrist.

Global Changes Posted 4:09 am
06 Aug 2009
It is very hard to take songs on climate change seriously, the lyrics are usually so forced it often sounds stupid and pretencious
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biscuits Posted 9:33 am
06 Aug 2009
There are dozens of amazing songs about coal and strip mining and environmental impacts -- generally the good songs are from the perspective of a person personally impacted by the issue instead of a person of privilege trying to guilt someone in to taking action. There is a hilarious Earth First! song that has the line "must we sacrifice our water earth and air, just to cook a piece of toast or blow dry our hair"Jean Ritchie has some amazing songs about not destroying the earthBlack watershttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFVdp1KJiqM
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Brian Fisher Posted 11:52 am
06 Aug 2009
If you want a green song that really works & has made a difference why not check out Escarpment Blues by Sarah Harmer. It's on the Tube.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52vXPZAkDug Granted it's not diectly about global heatingTake care,
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Planetwize Posted 12:05 pm
06 Aug 2009
We know of only one 'environmental/global warming' song that actually grooves, Ska de La Tierra by Spanish artist Bebe. Sadly, you are right that most 'green' music sucks. That's why Planetwize built the Actiontrax platform, to take good music and tie it to good causes!
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Thund3r Dave Posted 6:40 am
07 Aug 2009
If you like metal, I suggest Gojira. Their past two albums dealt a lot with the environment and human nature. Obvious songs like are named "Global Warming" and "Toxic Garbage Island" but they have a bunch of other good ones.
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Baby Boomer Posted 12:02 pm
07 Aug 2009
That video and song made me shudder. Give me back the cone bra.
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Baby Boomer Posted 12:21 pm
07 Aug 2009
OK, I looked at most of these. Dave looks like the guy in the white multi-pane glasses in the #1 video. I liked will.i.am for coolness, but Casual Mafia and the nerds at the end win the day. And Dave don't go raggin' on Baby Boomers.
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whirlygig Posted 4:45 pm
07 Aug 2009
Cute, eh? But seriously, props to David Roberts! The move was a blast to film. We made it for a class we were assistant teaching for at Stanford about energy efficient buildings, and showed it during the last class. We uploaded it to Youtube and the next thing we knew we were on our way to nerd-dom. It's really cool that now even more people are going to see it. Thanks!!
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Ken Ward Posted 1:31 pm
08 Aug 2009
Fred Small's 350 ought to be on the list, a stunner which manages to be truthful, uplifting, singable and – most extraordinarily – fit "350" into a chorus.I haven't the termerity to attempt such a feat, but do have a song about the 1938 hurricane which devasted New England and Long Island, hitting my own state of Rhode Island very hard. The Hurricane That Had No Name is based on eyewitness accounts.
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Storm Dragon Posted 10:50 pm
08 Aug 2009
Any list of good songs with ecological themes should include "Black Waters" by Jean Ritchie, "Paradise" by John Prine, and "The Turtle And The Asp" by Martin Simpson.
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jnadeau Posted 11:08 am
10 Aug 2009
what about John Butler?
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dstoning Posted 12:45 pm
10 Aug 2009
OK, I have to shamelessly take this opportunity to pitch my own band here: check out "Don't Kilowatt" by Million Dollar Nile. In my completely objective opinion, this reggae/klezmer tune about climate change (well, energy efficiency) totally rocks! http://www.myspace.com/milliondollarnile
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Mike Wendling Posted 5:30 am
11 Aug 2009
How about Radiohead - Idioteque?
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halli620 Posted 6:22 am
11 Aug 2009
A really good one that's been around a while is Alabama's "Pass It on Down," with the chorus:So let's leave some blue up above us
Let's leave some green on the ground
It's only ours to borrow, let's save some for tomorrow
Leave it and pass it on down
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Oxford Posted 8:39 am
11 Aug 2009
"Seminole Wind" by John Anderson is not just a great eco song, it's great song period. It's been covered by James Taylor and Donna The Buffalo among others.
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kyleduba Posted 11:36 am
11 Aug 2009
I like "Windowsill" by Arcade Fire. It addresses a lot of different issues in a very poetic way, but the chorus sums up the environmental angle of it best.Because the tide is highAnd it's rising stillAnd I don't wanna see it at my windowsill
Not to mention it is a completely "not sucky" song from a "not sucky" band.
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tater tot Posted 8:07 am
12 Aug 2009
On a more serious note, I believe "Never Turn Your Back on Mother Earth" by Sparks (1974) should qualify as a real ANTHEM for change. An oldie but a goodie, there may even be a video out there for it. The vocals are very similar in style to Freddie Mercury's operatic voice and a bit challenging to understand at first, so here's the lyrics:When she's on her best behaviour
Don't be tempted by her favours
Never turn your back on mother earth
Towns are hurled from A to B
By hands that looked so smooth to me
Never turn your back on mother earth
Grasp at straws that don't want grasping
Gaze at clouds that come down crashing
Never turn your back on mother earth
Three days and two nights away from my friends
Amen to anything that brings a quick return to my friends
To my friends
Never turn your back on mother earth
I'll admit I was unfaithful
But from now I'll be more faithful
Never turn your back on mother
Never turn your back on mother
Never turn your back on mother earth
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Storm Dragon Posted 10:59 am
12 Aug 2009
The list of good songs with an ecological theme should also include "The Last Leviathan" by Andy Barnes, and "Requiem for the Giant Trees" by Eileen Mcgann.
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Dark Optimism Posted 1:58 pm
16 Aug 2009
"Zero-Sum" - Nine Inch Nails
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scratchtasia Posted 3:27 pm
25 Aug 2009
Check out "January" by St. Louis indie band the Blind Eyes. It's on their MySpace page. I thought it was a cheery pop number until I began to catch the lyrics.
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Art in a changing climate A Grist Special Series

Songs about climate change are not so hot 20

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Posted 2:24 PM on 5 Aug 2009
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