The state of our world currently is like a three-ringed circus with the movie industry’s battle with sexual abuse, cities not having the economic means to develop its youth, and world governments acting like children on a playground taking to Twitter to ridicule one another when there are serious issues open for discussion. One tradition in music that always offered a bird’s eye view of society is the Protest Song – an artist’s way to start a dialog or feature major issues prevalent within society while offering their opinion without literally taking action in the form of a demonstration, war, etc.
Today, there are still Protest Songs played on the radio, but now they come in the form of Rap, Rock, and Folk. Singer/songwriter Daniel Fogel is one such artist who is still writing and performing this type of music to enlighten today’s society to the reality of war. “Stick Your Nose In” is Fogel’s recent release – a Folk Rock anti-war song sang in a dark tone lyrically telling a fragmented story about how politics continue to rape and pillage society with wars. It also relates how nothing will ever change unless you get involved, or “stick your nose in,” and do something about.
The track starts off slow and builds into a frenetic piece of good music with Fogel utilizing the Tremolo guitar technique and choosing to lay the foundation of this song with honest lyrics, aggressive guitars, tambourines, varied eclectic instrumentation, and aerial sound effects.
This is a well-crafted off the cuff, raw, and realistic song very much like Paul Simon and Bob Dylan that gives a much-needed musical alarm to peacefully call to arms those passionate enough about change and willing to make a change without violence.
To keep up with Fogel’s gigs and music, follow him on Twitter @fogelda.