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The Student News Site of Saint Louis University

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The Student News Site of Saint Louis University

The University News

Musicians against Trump

Musicians against Trump

In the 30 days leading up to the election, 30 different artists banded together in the name of stopping Donald Trump. Numerous musicians wrote original compositions or reworked songs of theirs in the name of democracy for “30 Days, 30 Songs.” Death Cab for Cutie had “Million Dollar Loan,” a slow-moving burn of the fact that Trump started his life with the small sum of $1 million from his father. Ledinsky released the uber-catchy “DonaldTrumpMakesMeWannaSmokeCrack” in which he proclaims, well, exactly that.

While all of the songs are of great quality, two standouts of the large compilation are Modern Baseball’s and clipping.’s contributions. Modern Baseball’s “Bart to the Future pt. 2 the Musical” is full of Simpson references and Trump jabs all through a pulsing pop-punk sound.

clipping. is quite far from the pop-punk of Modern Baseball, instead opting for a rapid fire hip-hop style. “Fat Fingers” might have a record-breaking number of scathing insults of Trump in a two-minute span, acting as a lesson in phenomenal lyricism. Frontman Daveed Diggs, who also played Thomas Jefferson in the hit musical “Hamilton,” makes a compelling argument as he spits with vigor, “He wanna make America great again / Like when women couldn’t vote, and it was legal to own humans as slaves.”

All of these songs accomplished a common goal, shedding light on the ridiculousness of the candidacy of Donald Trump. The man is one of the most peculiar nominees in election history, with staples of his campaign being building a giant wall and (up until recently) wholeheartedly believing that Barack Obama was not a U.S. citizen. These songs did not have the crudeness of YG’s “FDT,” but all had a sense of urgency that this man is a danger for millions, if elected.

For these musicians, the election did not go the way they were anticipating. Donald Trump has been elected in a historic election that has created shock, anger and confusion amongst the largely liberal music industry. Hillary had Bruce Springsteen, Beyoncé and Chance the Rapper in her corner, along with countless others, but could not win the election. Though our country’s future is as uncertain as ever, know that music will be a place of solitude throughout whatever happens.

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The silver lining in this seemingly doom-filled situation is the fact that music can be a driving force to bring the distraught together. Countless numbers of movements and singers such as Pete Seeger sang the protest song “We Shall Overcome.” When the George Bush administration invaded Iraq in 2003, musicians of all genres voiced their strong distaste through the power of song. The Dixie Chicks went so far as to risk their career by being critical of the president’s actions. Pearl Jam sang of “World Wide Suicide” from a time that seems tame in comparison to the present state of our country.

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