10 Rock Songs You Didn't Realize Were Protest Tracks

Not every protest song is necessarily meant to be political in nature. Though it’s easy to call out the unjust practices that are put into place by a government, anyone who is drunk with power has the ability to be called out. That could mean politicians, it could be teachers, but it can also come back to religion as well.

Seeing how One Hot Minute is one of the darker records that the Red Hot Chili Peppers would ever release, Anthony Kiedis has a lot more to get off his chest on Shallow Be Thy Game, calling out organized religion for trying to threaten people to join their cause. Twisting the Hallowed Be Thy Name refrain in Christianity, Anthony speaks to his experience with holy men who describe the terrors that will come in the afterlife if you don’t align directly with their beliefs. There’s still a lot of beauty to be found in the world, and the point behind this song is not to worry about the afterlife based on what somebody told you at the moment.

If there’s a God on the other side, Kiedis is choosing to believe that he is a lot more loving than what he’s been told, not willing to go along with the idea of being condemned to Hell just for the minor things that you commit on this Earth. Even though this is far from the kind of carefree vibe that you come to the Peppers for, there’s no denying that the man does have a point based on what’s been happening in the past few years. Religion may in fact bring people together at the end of the day, but there’s a fine line between creating a bond with spirituality and having that kind of mentality completely consume you.