NRO’s got its list of the 50 Most Conservative Rock Songs.

The first thing that struck me was the the fact that the band who recorded “Sweet Neo-Con” has more than one song on the list (”Sympathy for the Devil” and “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”). The second thing that struck me was that these are mainstream artists.

Do ya think these guys are a little cheesed that “Bush Was Right” didn’t make the list?

Personally, there are a few artists that I no longer listen to because they’ve become more political than musical. R.E.M.’s a classic example of that. Yeah, I know. They’ve always been political. But for most of the 80’s, you couldn’t understand a word Michael Stipe was singing, so it was okay. So I tend to listen to the music first, and try to ignore the political persuasions of the artist. When I’m hearing songs like “Shut Up and Teach” and “Welfare is a Joke”, I’m getting preached to as much as I am listening to the new Neil Young album. I just want something I can bop along to. But that’s not to say I don’t appreciate conservative values that just happen to make their way into songs.

A perfect example of this is The Offspring. From the anti-violence (not necessarily anti-gun, by the way) message of “Come Out and Play” to the anti-drug song “The Kids Aren’t All Right” to the ode to personal responsibilty “Why Don’t You Get A Job”, there are lots of great themes for conservative/libertarian types.

Of course they have their own “Neo-Con” song as well. No one’s perfect I guess. Still, in my own list of “Conservative Rock Bands Who Won’t Admit They’re Conservatives”, the Offspring would be the top choice.

Jim: Can I get away with praising “Pretty Fly for a White Guy” by the Offspring? I don’t know if it’s a conservative song, but it’s certainly a politically incorrect one. My teenage years in New Jersey were marked by plenty of well-off white teenagers — who enjoyed just about every priviledge society had to offer — dressing, speaking, and acting as if they were the hardest of hardcore African-American gang members. I’m sure some will be offended by those who adopt (steal?) another’s culture; I just find it bizarre, like if I suddenly pretended to have a deep connection to Albanian or Vietnamese culture.

John J. Miller did a brilliant job in his article, but I tend to shy away from looking for political affirmation from my entertainment choices. Looking over my CDs right now, I see U2 (forgive third world debt!), Bruce Springsteen (let’s campaign for John Kerry!), and Shakira, the hot-tushie-shaking Bolshevik. (Oh, to spend hours and hours reeducating you, my Columbian-Lebanese temptress/archnemesis.) Okay, I have one Toby Keith CD.

Marshall: I’m sorry. I just can’t into this. The only thing that this tells me is that John Miller needs more to do.

Cam: John Miller doesn’t need more to do… you just need to rock harder.