The Redundancy of "Shut Up and Sing"
- Fred
- 5 days ago
- 4 min read
LeBron James was an outspoken advocate for the Black Lives Movement. I supported James' free speech, whether I agreed with him or not, but warned that his advocacy would not be as universally accepted as the praise for his on-court game.
James pushed so hard with his BLM support, a counter movement rose up that told James to "Shut Up and Dribble." James was offended and the "well read" basketball star toyed with walking out of NBA games in the name for social justice. Adam Silver saved basketball by not letting James and other NBA players kill the golden goose by stepping away from the game and shutting down the season.
Why was Adam Silver right? Because the reason you are aware of who LeBron James is, is because he was great at dribbling a basketball. Silver's angle was that if James walked away from the NBA, he would have lost his platform. You go to the East Side of Cleveland at 2:00 in the afternoon and swing a large stick and, bam, you just knocked over a half a dozen social justice warriors. They have no platform.
From The History of Protest Music: "Bruce Springsteen has recently been in the news when he posted a video clip of himself criticizing Donald Trump during a May 14, 2025, live performance in Manchester (also included in the recently released Land Of Hope & Dreams live EP). Receiving backlash from Trump and MAGA supporters, many have lost sight that Springsteen has always been political. Part of his appeal was his ability to articulate the plight of the working man, and even when he wasn’t explicitly political, there was often an element of social commentary and awareness. As an example of the fact that he was never one to Shut Up and Sing,"
What's the difference between LeBron James and Bruce Springsteen? James' day job is basketball, Springsteen's day job is giving a voice to the working man in harmony. That includes, in some cases, protesting the powers that be. So Trump supporters want Springsteen to shut up and...
And....
Sing which songs exactly? If you listen closely to the lyrics, many songs are clearly from the liberal perspective, talking about concepts like the fading American Dream.
I hate to break this to Donald Trump and his followers, but Rock and Roll, by definition, is the music of rebellion. From Elvis Presley to what's left of Rock today, 80% or more of Rock is Left-leaning. How do I figure?
Let's use Mötley Crüe as our political example. You say the Crüe is apolitical, all they sing about is sex and drugs? Put on your thinking caps kids: Does the concept of hedonism associate with liberalism or conservatism?
How about industrial powerhouse Ministry? You listen to their lyrics and they range from undiscernible to murky. Hey Einstein, they put out an album of a crucified George Bush in a barrel of crude oil, what do you THINK their politics are?
The worst example of them all, which drives me crazy every single time it comes up, is Rage Against the Machine. Almost every single song, on every single album, is either from the far-left perspective or is laced with far-left talking points.
And, let's pretend that you're the easily confused ex-GOP Representative Paul Ryan, who liked Rage's music, but was unaware of their politics. If you simply went to the liner notes on their album The Battle of Las Angeles, you would see links to far-left groups:
Now some of the links have deteriorated because the album above was released over 25 years ago.
You know what? We can do this all day.
I'm not saying stop listening to music, I'm saying unless you're a fan of Country or Gospel, you're probably being exposed to some level of liberalism. The arts, almost by definition, are cluttered by large swaths of lefty-ideology.
So when you tell someone like Bruce Springsteen to shut up and sing, he will gladly do that, because he is singing about the same exact thing that he talks about off-stage.
But let me let you in on a little secret, Bruce Springsteen is 75 years old. How many kids are listening to "the Boss?" Mötley Crüe? All the original members are past retirement age. I actually see more memes about Vince Neil eating cheeseburgers than hear any of Mötley Crüe's music. Ministry? Lead singer Al Jorgensen, just last month, said that retirement was on the horizon and his ears were tired.
What is the point of all of this meandering? Every time you slam an old rocker, you are just giving them a platform, many of the old geezers are fading away and being replaced with....no one. Bruce Springsteen, at this point of his life, is mostly preaching to his choir, he is no longer proselytizing.
Neil Young says he will fight Donald Trump until his dying breath? Neil Young is 79 years old, that dying breath ain't that far away.
What you are hearing is the death throes of the old person's style of rebellion.
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