Everyone has their own way to get through hard times. Music is a really common one. Most people find meaning or comfort in some type of music, and a playlist can be a great way to work through feelings or shore up your resilience.
I find that metal and rock is my go-to when I need some energy, or I need to work through stress. Some people might find some of the songs on my playlist bleak or dark or heavy, and that’s okay. But it works for me.
My playlist is available on Tidal under the title Smash the Patriarchy (real creative, I know), but I’m going to share a few highlights with my thoughts on some of the artists and songs that are representative of the playlist, and why they are important to me right now.
Apocalyptica
Apocalyptica is a Finnish symphonic metal band. Their instrumentation is amazing, and all of their music rocks. What We’re Up Against, featuring Elize Ryd of Amaranth, is a powerful song with beautiful vocals, and it feels extremely fitting for the current regime. It describes standing up against cruelty and violence, but not knowing who or how to fight it. Still, it feels like a call to action, and it’s a call I want to answer.
Halsey
Halsey is a singer-songwriter who speaks often to the experience of being a woman, dealing with mental illness, and her feelings of not conforming with the expectations of society. I have to say, I relate to her music a lot, and it is very catchy. Gasoline is about that struggle with not fitting in, her struggle with bipolar disorder, and the dehumanization she faces as a performer. Control is a song about mental illness and feeling out of control of her own mind. Hold Me Down deals a lot with struggles she faced in the music industry, and with people in general trying to give her limitations. Her whole catalog is full of songs about non-conformity and living in a world that doesn’t feel like it makes sense. However, even though she wears her vulnerability, she also displays a great and admirable strength in her music.
Ghost
Okay, buckle up, because Ghost is my go-to band right now, and there’s a lot to talk about. And I like to talk about Ghost. Before I talk about any of their songs, I want to talk about the band, their schtick, and their messaging. Ghost is the brainchild of musician Tobias Forge, and when I talk about Ghost, I am mostly talking about him. He is the founder, the song-writer, the singer, and the frontman. Ghost is very theatrical and come with their own mythos, complete with characters and back-stories.
While Tobias Forge and Ghost are neither religious nor anti-religion, their characterization and aesthetic are that of a Satan-worshipping Catholic-coded skull-faced papal figure and his nameless ghouls. Their irreverent personas and sometimes gruesome or racy lyrics have certainly earned them some pushback, especially in the U.S. Their early music certainly had a feeling of being edgy, provocative, and rebellious just for the fun of it.
However, over the last few albums, there has been a definite shift to devoting many of their songs to address social issues and speak to current events. Ghost has used their pseudo-religious characters to great effect to criticize those who use their power to hurt others, including, or even especially, religious leaders and politicians who use religion as a weapon. Meanwhile, Ghost tries to use their own “power” to support the vulnerable. They were part of a group of artists that covered Metallica songs with the deal that the licenses for the covers would all be donated to a charity of their choosing. Tobias Forge selected a summer camp for transgender and non-binary kids so that they can safely go to camp somewhere that their identity will be respected. Ghost has also proudly displayed trans and pride flags during concerts.
Their songs and their concerts aren’t really appropriate for children or for most workplaces, aren’t for the easily offended, and are definitely irreverent. However, their message is one of kindness. In fact, when I saw them on their Re-Imperatour, Tobias, in full regalia as the character Papa Emeritus IV, really illustrated the essence of their message very well at the close of the concert. This is a paraphrase, but he said something to the effect of, “You all come from different places and have different experiences, so just be kind to each other. And if you can’t be kind, then you can fuck off!”
Okay, okay, I’m going to actually talk about the music on my playlist now. The album Impera came out in 2022, and is in my opinion a pretty much perfect album start to finish. All killer, no filler. It also contains many direct and indirect references to the first Trump administration as well as the anti-intellectual culture that has really tightened its grip on the American public in the last decade. Twenties draws parallels between the rise of the Third Reich in 1920s Germany, and the rise of Trump in 2020s U.S. The song’s driving guitar, ominous brass, and compelling vocal performance combined with the hostile rhetoric of the lyrics illustrate an environment of violence and cruelty. I think many would find this song bleak. I don’t disagree, but I still find it weirdly inspiring. Knowing that it’s a criticism of the demagoguery displayed by the FOTUS and his ilk makes me feel less alone. I feel like there are others who see the evil on display that seems to have fooled so many, and I know that I can stand with others who oppose him. Griftwood is a direct reference to VP Pence and his abuse of religion to try to fool others into thinking he’s a good and moral person. Kaisarion is a criticism of religious leaders who try to hold back honest intellectual curiosity in favor of blind obedience. Respite on the Spitalfields seems to point out the emptiness of the promises of leaders like Trump. It’s the ending song for the album Impera, and I feel it leaves the listener a note of hope. The criticism of hate and control in this album feels empowering to me. It feels validating. I find it hopeful. Which actually brings me to the song Spillways, which is about find ways to let out the bad feelings or the darkness to keep them from boiling over. I think that’s what this music does for me. I pour my own fear and darkness into singing the songs or listening intently to the music, and keep my fear from boiling over and taking control.
Other Ghost songs not from Impera have also made it onto my playlist. Cirice from Meliora (almost as amazing as Impera, IMHO) gets at the relationship between a predatory religious leader and their prey. It applies equally well to any sort of cult leader, including a classic cult of personality politician. Anyone who claims that they are all you need is dangerous, and that is no less true when the person has power. Jesus He Knows Me is a cover of the Genesis song, and lampoons televangelists who take money hand over fist from devout believers. It’s a fantastic song and a faithful cover, although be warned that the music video is pretty outrageous and intentionally obscene. The Future Is a Foreign Land is a weird mix of hopeful and pessimistic about the future. It specifically calls out RFK, implying he’s not one of the good Kennedys. It describes a hope for a peaceful future, but just in case everything burns down, find the person or people you want to be with for whatever little time you have left.
Phew! Okay, that was a lot. And there is still so much I would love to say about Ghost, but I’ll stop here.
Muse
Muse’s catalog is full of criticism of oppressive governments and the music industry. It’s a great source of inspiration for the fight against the patriarchy. Thought Contagion does a brilliant job of discussing how false beliefs can spread and take over. I think we can all come up with some fitting examples that are affecting us and the people around us today.
Uprising is about joining together to take your power back from an oppressive regime. No hidden meanings there. Dig Down is a beautiful, inspirational, and uplifting song about fighting for what’s right until you’re too tired and weak and defeated to fight anymore, then digging down to find the energy to keep going. Also, check out the music video. It’s brilliant and fun!
Sum 41
It did my millennial punk heart good to add a Sum 41 song to this playlist. The album Does This Look Infected to You was a good chunk of the soundtrack of my teen years, and this might’ve been my favorite song on the album. It also fits the theme of my playlist as a George W. Bush-era anti-war anthem. It calls out hate, war, violence, and ignorant beliefs, the very same things we need to oppose today.
Rise Against
I mean, you can’t really do an anti-establishment rock playlist without some Rise Against, can you? And their message is always one of fighting for peace, love and tolerance. Prayer of the Refugee fits in a time when we are turning away refugees and calling people illegal, not for their actions, but for their very existence. Make It Stop is a heartbreaking song speaking out for LGBTQ+ youth who are driven to suicide because of bullying and cruel treatment over their sexual orientation and/or gender identity. It’s an indictment of the senseless pain inflicted on the innocent because of dogma and prejudice. This song often drives me to tears, but it also reminds me why the fight for justice is so important. Give It All is a cry to give everything you have in a fight that’s worth fighting. The energy and desperation in this song is palpable.
Judas Priest
Lightning Strike regularly finds its way onto my playlists. It’s just a badass metal song. Rob Halford seems an appropriate symbol of rebellion and open-mindedness as one of the early openly gay rockstars. Lightning Strike uses lightning to illustrate a greatly destructive force, such as, just hypothetically speaking, a power-mad government leading its people to destruction. We can choose to walk and hold our fate in our hands, and when the destructive lightning strikes, it is our job to unleash hell.
Wrap Up
I have some other music on my playlist that I haven’t described here. Some of it is lyrically meaningful for a fight against oppression, and some of it is just a vibe. I admit, I largely wrote this because I just wanted to sort out my thoughts on my playlist. But if you happen to find this interesting or meaningful, I do welcome discussion. Also, if I’m missing any songs that match the theme and the vibe here, feel free to send them my way. I’m always glad to grow my playlist.
All We Have To Decide 