The big issue: Who’s listening?

Concerning protest music in our culture, and how it collides with business and politics…set for release September 6 is an anti-Bush song, Sweet Neo Con, from the new Rolling Stones’ album, “A Bigger Bang.”

There is no mention of President George W. Bush or the war in Iraq. However, it does refer to military contractor Halliburton, which was formerly run by Vice President Richard B. Cheney, and has been awarded key Iraqi contracts and has benefited from the rising price of gasoline.

The question for the Rolling Stones, with a combined age of 245 years, is when will they stop rolling since their wheels haven’t fallen off yet.

A sampling of lyrics:

"How come you're so wrong? My sweet neo-con, where's the money gone, in the Pentagon," goes one refrain.

The song also includes the lines: "It’s liberty for all, democracy's our style, unless you are against us, then it's prison without trial." “You call yourself a Christian. I think that you’re a hypocrite. You say you are a patriot…I think that you’re a crock of…@#$%.”

Who will sing along to Sweet Neo Con?

“You call yourself a Christian, I call you a hypocrite. You call yourself a patriot, well I think you’re full of s---… How come you’re so wrong, my sweet neo-con?”

In the 1960's and 1970's, protest songs helped to unite a generation. A tradition since the Middle Ages...are we again in need of the medieval troubadour or Town-crier to help unite a country?