https://www.nytimes.com/2....html?_r=0

.

Interesting list, overall.

.

Prince, ‘Sign ‘o’ the Times’

1987: One of Prince’s first forays into social commentary.

.

EL-P When this came out, it was the first time I had really heard him say anything this directly. It opened me up a little bit, tuned my brain a little bit more. I started considering a few other things. He’d already taken me this far. When the moment came for him to say, “Now I need you to listen,” I was right there.

.

KILLER MIKE I just thought Prince was about [sex]. As I kid, I picked my place — I picked rap. When rap happened, I didn’t [care] about pop music. Because my world went crazy, from a neighborhood where families had gardens and goats and chickens, and people spoke to each other. Crack ripped through, and it was like Lebanon. I couldn’t make sense of any of that. All I gave a [expletive] about was music that moved me from the perspective of saying that the world is going mad.

.

EL-P He’s damn sure saying that on this.

.

docinwestchester said:

https://www.nytimes.com/2....html?_r=0

.

Interesting list, overall.

.

Prince, ‘Sign ‘o’ the Times’

1987: One of Prince’s first forays into social commentary.

.

EL-P When this came out, it was the first time I had really heard him say anything this directly. It opened me up a little bit, tuned my brain a little bit more. I started considering a few other things. He’d already taken me this far. When the moment came for him to say, “Now I need you to listen,” I was right there.

.

KILLER MIKE I just thought Prince was about [sex]. As I kid, I picked my place — I picked rap. When rap happened, I didn’t [care] about pop music. Because my world went crazy, from a neighborhood where families had gardens and goats and chickens, and people spoke to each other. Crack ripped through, and it was like Lebanon. I couldn’t make sense of any of that. All I gave a [expletive] about was music that moved me from the perspective of saying that the world is going mad.

.

EL-P He’s damn sure saying that on this.

.

Nice read, thanks. A few threads back, people were picking their least favourite songs on each 80s album, and people mentioned some of the songs on SOTT not because they disliked them, but because they didn't fit the mood. And frankly, I think the title track is the one that sticks out - sure, it sets the stage, but almost every other track (save "The Cross") is way more upbeat and less overtly political.

One of his greatest songs.

'Sign O' the Times' is an amazing song, one of the very greatest of Prince tracks.

Having said that, I think it's incorrect (and kind of dangerous) to call it a "protest song". A very bad trend started in 1965 (when social-commentary suddenly became commercially viable), with the dreadful "Eve of Destruction", wherein any song with vaguely 'serious' lyrics about anything -- no matter how ill-structured or non-thematic -- was labelled "protest". It's almost to the point where if anybody sings about anything non-love/sex and mentions the government or anything vaguely topical, it's now a "protest song".

I personally would only label any song a protest song if the lyrics are clearly making a point about a specific ill of society. A good example of a protest song is Phil Ochs' "There But for Fortune" (a big UK hit for Joan Baez in 1965). Anyone reading/hearing the lyrics understands exactly what point the song is making -- it can be summarized in a few words, and it's obviously targeting a large-scale societal malaise.

Something like 'Sign O'the Times' is different. If anything, Prince's point in the song seems to be that all the various troubles in the world can be dealt with by dancing or getting married and having a baby. I get the dramatic irony of the lyric and I actually sort-of approve of what he's implying, but in no way is it a 'protest song' just because it mentions some contemporary societal ills.

[Edited 2/2/17 19:22pm]

ThePanther said:

'Sign O' the Times' is an amazing song, one of the very greatest of Prince tracks.

Having said that, I think it's incorrect (and kind of dangerous) to call it a "protest song". A very bad trend started in 1965 (when social-commentary suddenly became commercially viable), with the dreadful "Eve of Destruction", wherein any song with vaguely 'serious' lyrics about anything -- no matter how ill-structured or non-thematic -- was labelled "protest". It's almost to the point where if anybody sings about anything non-love/sex and mentions the government or anything vaguely topical, it's now a "protest song".

I personally would only label any song a protest song if the lyrics are clearly making a point about a specific ill of society. A good example of a protest song is Phil Ochs' "There But for Fortune" (a big UK hit for Joan Baez in 1965). Anyone reading/hearing the lyrics understands exactly what point the song is making -- it can be summarized in a few words, and it's obviously targeting a large-scale societal malaise.

Something like 'Sign O'the Times' is different. If anything, Prince's point in the song seems to be that all the various troubles in the world can be dealt with by dancing or getting married and having a baby. I get the dramatic irony of the lyric and I actually sort-of approve of what he's implying, but in no way is it a 'protest song' just because it mentions some contemporary societal ills.

[Edited 2/2/17 19:22pm]

Right on. Somethng like The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll fits your criteria.