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So we've all been bombarded with enough popular culture to have a fair handle on the Vietnam soundtrack - The Doors, The Rolling Stones, Jefferson Airplane and classic songs like Surfin' Bird and Wolly Bully. That in mind - and inspired by the documentary Soundtrack to War - what songs would you put in a soundtrack to the Iraq War?

Wake Me Up When September Ends for a starter.

The greatest Vietnam war-era song had to be Fortunate Son by CCR. It had something to say but it was also a good song in its own right, unlike some of the Neil Young stuff which was created only to make a point. I haven't heard any music related to the Iraq War which matches that.

BYOB by System of a Down, obviously.

The heavier soundtrack:

Slayer - Jihad
Slayer - Consfearacy
Slayer - Disciple <-a bit eerily prophetic about 9/11, the day the album was released, no less
Morbid Angel - Dawn of the Angry
Rage Against the Machine - Testify

I always found Galvanize from the Chemical Brothers applicable. Not because it makes such a wonderful point against the war-- but the whole thing just sounds like something one might play in the cockpit of a fighterbomber cruising at twenty thousand feet, what with the "my finger is on the button" stuff and whatnot all.

The theme from "Dukes of Hazzard" could easily apply to Bush and Cheney's approach.

"You're so Vain" could sum up Donald Rumsfeld too.

"Leaving on a Jet Plane" for all those soldiers from the "coalition of the willing" that should have never had to leave in the first place.

How about "Yakety Sax" for the pre-war runup and planning?

When they finally get around to doing Iraq war movies the soundtrack will more than likely consist of hip-hop, and maybe some rock here and there.

Rye wrote:The heavier soundtrack:

Slayer - Jihad
Slayer - Consfearacy

What albums are those two from? I've never heard of them...
And this is probably sligtly off-topic, but Slayer's Undisputed Attitude album would actually be a pretty good companion to the Iraq war and bad government in general.

Darth Wong wrote:The greatest Vietnam war-era song had to be Fortunate Son by CCR. It had something to say but it was also a good song in its own right, unlike some of the Neil Young stuff which was created only to make a point. I haven't heard any music related to the Iraq War which matches that.

Agreed.. also OHIO by CSNY...

The Empire strikes first by Bad Religion
and perhaps
The Idiots are taking over by NOFX
and
Let them eat war by Bad Religion

Exonerate wrote:

Rye wrote:The heavier soundtrack:

Slayer - Jihad
Slayer - Consfearacy

What albums are those two from? I've never heard of them...

Christ Illusion.

Well as per documentarys "Yhe Roof is on Fire"

There's obviously ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBcVj5OE1Jc

On the little CD Insert, I'd call it 'Red State Theme'.

"Why Couldn't We Blow Up Saddam" by the Austin Lounge Lizards is always a good one.

"Once when we loved him and called him our friend, we helped him in every endeavor. When he gassed the Kurds and invaded Iran, we thought he was witty and clever..."

My personal submissions:

- The Herd's cover of I Was Only 19.

- The Drive-By Trucker's Angels and Fuselage.

I guess Eminem's Mosh is out of the question?

I don't think it has to have any actual relevance to Iraq, as such (Surfin' Bird has squat to do with the Vietnam War, afterall) - it's more of a zeitgeist thing.

Why is this question even necessary? Why isn't the music world already forming an atmospheric culture around this war, the way they did during Vietnam? Why should there be any question which songs are emblematic of this war?

I think there's a real isolation between normal people and the Iraq War which wasn't really the case with Vietnam, thanks to the fear of being drafted. People pontificate about it on both sides, but few are really influenced by it except for the tiny minority of the country which is actually in the military.

Maybe that's why there's no spontaneous cultural "soundtrack of the war" that's forming in our collective consciousness. The war is a mere topic of political debate, not something that we've really made part of our lives.