The nonexistent cultural critique of Obama in music

As I've asked before, where are the artists in the age of Obama? Is all we are left with a shambles of half-ass celebrity musicians at this point? On Washington Post's poll of most influential band/musicians of the 2000s, their list rightfully included Radiohead, The White Stripes and Kanye West. But they included Taylor Swift and one or two other marginally talented but largely vacuous acts.

So this Washington Post discussion with Chris Richards and Dave Malitz piqued my interest, The Best of the Decade in Music. I asked the following about the best of the decade that contained some low lights for music's power to inspire dissent and cultural/political/social scrutiny. Chris responded. (By the way, in these chats, I never use Washington. I say I'm from Des Moines usually. Today was Bal'mor.)

Baltimore, Md.: In one end-of-the-year review, someone commented that The Strokes' first album title pretty much summed up the decade: Is This It.

The 2000s seemed pretty lackluster to me. But the more fractured the music scene becomes, the harder it is to pinpoint what was influential and, really, what the consensus is on anything in music.

Focusing on rock only, I'd throw The White Stripes, The Strokes, Modest Mouse, The Flaming Lips and Radiohead into the mix of most impactful. Veterans like Sleater-Kinney and Sonic Youth continued a steady buzzsaw through rock music (and younger peers). S-K was particularly important in that One Beat was a crisp commentary on the state of America, especially in light of 9/11 and the Iraq war. Where were all the other voices pushing against the Bush administration? It was left to, what, Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam and Green Day? Among others. Those bands are fine and all, but not exactly the youthful voice of dissent? And now the question that seems to be long overdue in getting at least an initial answer is what the Obama era will sound like. Any "hope and change" feel-good moments are long gone. Where's the pushback to simply more rampant corporatism, escalated war, an ultimate letdown on health care and largely continuing Bush's egregious record on government secrecy and civil liberties? Or what about is impact on hip-hop? Who will be the first artist in that world to say, 'Where's the follow up?' Where's our cultural response to Obama? Is America in too much of a haze to care? Where are the artists?

Chris Richards: Our time is running out, but this is a thoughtful question we wanted to share.

Very quick response: I think there was a lot of political music in the 00s (just in hip-hop I'm thinking of Lil Wayne's Katrina response "Georgia Bush" and Young Jeezy's response to Obama's candidacy "My President Is Black"), but not enough.

By and large, I think a desire for escapism really dominated American culture.

I don't know Richards, but I largely agree with him. Well, it's unclear if he actually thinks there was a lot of "political music" in the decade or not. But I agree with the escapism. That's spot on, I think. (And yes, I like to be called thoughtful.)

The point is, we are pretty deep in the Obama era -- almost a year just as president and 3 or 4 years as a political phenom -- and I can't really identify one prod at Obama and what he's done as president in music. Are there bands singing about a hard economy? The gripping paralysis of our increasingly economic-unbalanced society? The thirst for imperialism? Militarism? Civil liberty snatching? Torture advocacy? Rampant corporatism? The forgotten swaths of America? Are black artists, hip-hop and otherwise, seeing where Black America is going under the first black president -- largely nowhere they weren't before I'd boldly say? Is anyone calling attention to the morally-deluded pack of whores we call leaders? I'm sure bands are out there, but I'm not hearing it. Maybe I should look harder. I hope I'm not looking hard enough, but I'm not sure.