The Kids are Alright...no really, they are!

In this great post on Future Majority, blogger Mike Connelly writes of Neil Young and his attempt to revive the passion of the 60's revolution via music today. As the post says, although most popular mucisians today are not encouraging a political revolution, they are in no way silent on the matter. Mark Ristaino of Music for America says, "the truth is that today’s young musicians are speaking out just as loudly and powerfully as the musicians of 30 years ago...Musicians today understand that it takes more than singing a song to create real change."

That change often involves actual campaigning for a candidate instead of just singing about it. The best example is The Dixie Chicks who will live in infamy for their anti-Bush comments during a concert. Artists that have vouched for the Democrats include The Dave Matthews Band, Bruce Springsteen and Will.I.Am. Although less often associated with pop music, the GOP has their fair share of musician supporters including Kid Rock, Johnny Ramone and a host of Country Music stars. Other artists like Christina Aguilera (see above) and Andre 3000 worked with nonpartisan organizations (shameless plug for Declare Yourself) to promote youth activism.

So even though artists today aren't making political change lyrically, do you think they are still inspiring activism?