Lips, Stipe, MMJ Write Protest Signs

That's right: signs, not songs.

By Brian Creech

There was a time in American history when all you needed was a white sign, black paint and some incendiary words to get people into the streets to tell their leaders "We're Not Gonna Take It!" Or as Wayne Coyne would say, "Just be a Nice Person." Or as Chuck D. would say, "Fight the Power."

Embracing what is feeling like a ground swell of change as Election Day approaches, Under the Radar magazine got together some of the more political and photogenic faces of rock and roll to make their own protest signs and bring some attitude back to music. Sons and Daughters capture the ethos of the project with their sign "Stop Neuterin' Rock N' Roll."

Michael Stipe, Chris Walla, Colin Meloy, Isaac Brock, Stars, Jarvis Cocker, Akron/Family, Peter Moren, Supergrass, Sharon Jones, Spoon, the Fleet Foxes, My Morning Jacket, Stars, Noah and the Whale,  Michael Franti, Neon Neon, Les Savy Fav,  Okkervil River, Metric, British Sea Power, Shout Out Louds, Built to Spill and St. Vincent and join Coyne and Chuck D in taking black paint to white posterboard.

The slogans range from the political to the personal, from Fleet Foxes' direct "Capitalism is Unethical (And We're Hypocrites)" to My Morning Jacket's non sequitur "Puppiez y Kittens."

Mostly though, you can tell where each artist stands, as the sign generally eschew raucous platitudes to reflect messages we're pretty sure each band would be sure to endorse. (Michael Stipe's "Gutless Puff Adder Journalists" with "things I hate" written on the back seems particularly characteristic.) 

Turning other people's words into action, Under The Radar is taking all the signs from their "Protest Issue" and here and putting them up for auction on eBay. Proceeds from the sale will support War Child, a humanitarian organization that helps children affected by war throughout the world. The auctions started on September 30th, with most bids starting at $25 or $50, but as of this writing, several signs had already exceeded $100. So if you want to have a memento of a time when speech was free to show your grandchildren in the future neo-fascist technocratic state, act fast.