Trump winning the White House has resulted in at least one positive development: It’s triggering musicians to engage more frequently in political activism, leading to more money flowing toward progressive causes. Yesterday I wrote about four songs that direct ire at Trump; the charitable, left-leaning hits keep on coming with two more compilations created to combat the 45th president’s conservative policies: Battle Hymns, a compilation curated by Portland indie-rock group Quasi, will raise funds for Planned Parenthood, the ACLU, and 350org; and SAD!: A Barsuk Compilation for the ACLU is a self-explanatory, Bandcamp-only collection issued by Seattle’s own Barsuk Records.
In a press release, Barsuk’s Grant McCallum explains the rationale for SAD!: “After the election, our staff felt compelled to speak out in defense of the civil liberties of all Americans. Helping support the crucial work of the ACLU by releasing these new tracks felt like one way we could make a statement and help, and the artists involved were all excited to donate their work.” Barsuk will also be donating all of its Bandcamp revenue to the ACLU throughout January. You can purchase SAD! here.
Released today, Battle Hymns features new, previously unreleased tracks by Quasi, Stephen Malkmus, Built to Spill’s Doug Martsch, Boss Hog, MEDS (Carrie Brownstein and Katie Harkin), Superchunk’s Mac McCaughan, Libraness (Polvo’s Ash Bowie), Mary Timony, the New Pornographers’ Carl Newman, Filthy Friends (Corin Tucker, Peter Buck, Scott McCaughey, Kurt Bloch, Bill Rieflin), and other members of indie-rock royalty.
SAD! Tracklisting
David Bazan “The Commander Thinks Aloud” (The Long Winters cover)
Mates of State “Technicolor Girls” (Death Cab for Cutie cover)
Maps & Atlases “Can You Tell” (Ra Ra Riot cover)
Nada Surf “Wild Stawberries” (John Vanderslice cover)
Ramona Falls “Ask Permission” (Lackthereof cover)
Say Hi “Blonde on Blonde” (Nada Surf cover)
The Long Winters “Second Best” (Pedro the Lion cover)
