By Eliot Wilder / As I sit here embedded in my bunker-sized Boston apartment on the first day of spring, the bombs are raining down on Baghdad. I feel shock (I'm not getting the awe thing), and I'm frightened about what the future will bring. I mean, really - war, good God, y'all, what is it good for? Absolutely nuthin'. If Bush and his hawkish cronies believe that they can dismantle a bloody regime with a bloody coup, they were asleep during History 101. Violence only begets violence, especially in regions where people with their own set of values fervently oppose a new set of values being imposed on them. Maybe not every person in the world yearns to watch Dr. Phil, wear Versace and experience the joy of Pepsi. Then again, maybe they do. But shouldn't they be able to decide that for themselves?

What's been most curious during the year-and-half-long ramp-up to this most recent Mother of All Battles is how scant the reaction has been from musicians. After all, a large part of what made rock 'n' roll what it is was its sheer defiance of authority. Rock's supposed to be about taking a stand, about going to all extremes to express alternative ideas and feelings. Rock's supposed to be about sticking it to the man, man!

Following 9/11, there was a burst of earnest musical flag-waving, mostly by breast-beating country artists like Alan Jackson or Lee Greenwood, whose "American Patriot" - with its OTT versions of such standards as "Pledge of Allegiance" and "Battle Hymn of the Republic" - is either a zealous statement of nationalism or a canny marketing move, depending on your perspective. Bruce Springsteen stepped up with "The Rising," and although the album is a powerhouse set of songs that employ the Boss' usual attention to character, detail and indefatigable energy, is anyone really listening? I sense that his fans care more about his reunion with the E Street Band than with Bruce's worldview.

With an administration that believes itself imbued with the power of God to crush the life out of what it refers to as an Axis of Evil, where is a single clarion voice of reason to express dissent? Someone with a guitar or a sampled beat who's willing to stand up and shout, "Stop, children, what's that sound? Everybody look what's going down!" Someone to point out to us that we're on the eve of destruction. Someone to call into question the masters of war. Don't look for that someone on the charts because all you'll find there are the vapid likes of R. Kelly, Jennifer Lopez, Justin Timberlake, Shania Twain, Avril Lavigne and Rod Stewart covering the great American songbook. Where is a Bob Dylan, a Phil Ochs, a Joan Baez? Even Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young hurtled into the action just days after the Kent State shootings with the passionate "Ohio."

Recently, the Dixie Chicks were in the news, not because they had an album to promote or a new hairstyle to show off, but because - gasp! - Natalie Maines told a London audience, "Just so you know, we're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas." The singer's comments so outraged the country music industry that several radio stations banned the group's songs. KICKS 101.5 in Atlanta took a poll, and 76% of its listeners responded with "If I could, I'd take my CDs back." You'd think Maines said they were bigger than Jesus or something. Shortly thereafter, she issued a retrenchment: "As a concerned American citizen, I apologize to President Bush because my remark was disrespectful. I feel that whoever holds that office should be treated with the utmost respect." Yeah, being all political and shit is cool, but don't rock the boat too much or you won't be able to afford to scoop up Michael Jackson's Neverland ranch when it goes up for sale.

The Beastie Boys are among the few artists that have made their voices heard. They've posted a free song on beastieboys.com called "In a World Gone Mad," wherein they rap, "Now don't get us wrong 'cause we love America / But that's no reason to get hysterica / They're layin' on the syrup thick / We ain't waffles we ain't havin' it." "This is not an anti-American or pro-Saddam Hussein statement," Adam Horovitz says of the song. "This is a statement against an unjustified war." "If we are truly striving for safety, we need to build friendships, not try to bully the rest of the world," Adam Yauch declares. States Mike D: "We felt it would be irresponsible not to address what's going on in the world while the events are still current." Totally ill, guys!

Totally a shame, too, that few others at this crucial point in history are following their lead.

From Amplifier magazine