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Arts & Culture

Protest Music Evolves from Folk Ballads to Hip Hop Beats

Is there protest music today? We look at the contemporary musical landscape to determine if protest music from the 1960's and 70's has a modern day equivalent.

Protest Music Evolves from Folk Ballads to Hip Hop Beats

Maureen Cavanaugh: The music of the 1960s and 70 reflected a time of cultural change and unrest in America. Music took the form of protest, from marching against the Vietnam War to marching against inequalities in the civil rights of all Americans. The question then becomes, where have all the protest songs gone? Is there an equivalent in today's society?

KPBS's Alan Ray sat down with Michael Halloran, music director and an afternoon host on San Diego's 94.9FM, and Ann Powers, pop music critic for the Los Angeles Times, to talk about protest music then and now. Here's an encore presentation of that interview.

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Guests

Michael Halloran, music director and an afternoon host on San Diego's 94.9.

Ann Powers, pop music critic for the Los Angeles Times.