With tough acts to follow, musicians tackle the war

“War ... what is it good for?” the late Edwin Starr asked in his 1970 hit single.

The famous answer: Absolutely nothing!

You could say the same about most of the Iraqi war-inspired songs that are circling us with the speed of the troops around Baghdad.

There was just a ripple of musical commentary after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, partly because the experience was so new for Americans that it was hard to know just what to say.

But war we know -- and musicians are responding.

The 24-hour cable watch had barely begun when pop-rock figures including the Beastie Boys, R.E.M. and Lenny Kravitz checked in on their Web sites with their views. The best that can be said about most of these songs is they remind us of how difficult it is to express political feelings effectively in pop music.

The new tunes take stands, but they lack the thoughtfulness and grace to be anything more than predictable sloganeering. Lacking the craft that made these artists successful in the first place, they sound like political speeches from campaigns past.

The most memorable protest music, from John Lennon’s “Imagine” (a Top 10 single in 1971) to Starr’s hit, steps beyond rhetoric to touch us in some special way.

With “Imagine” as with Bob Dylan’s earlier “Blowin’ in the Wind,” there was the caress of the melody and the idealism of the words. Though they were political statements, both songs looked beyond headlines and politics to dream of a better world.

By contrast, “War,” written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong, invited us to dance. The lyrics were pointed -- “It ain’t nothing but a heartbreaker / War / Friend only to the undertaker” -- and some embraced them. But the relentless beat and Starr’s explosive vocal would have made the song a hit even if the lyrics went, “Peace, what is it good for?”

The song has enough lingering punch that grunge rockers Pearl Jam used it last week in concert to express their opposition to the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

Trust me, there’s little on the Internet that will make you either think or dance -- at least not the songs by the most high-profile artists.

Here’s a survey of their offerings:

The Beastie Boys’ “In a World Gone Mad.” This New York hip-hop/rock outfit showed social conscience in the ‘90s by sponsoring the inspired Tibetan Freedom Concert series, but this is a lazy mix of politics and playfulness. Sample line: “Now don’t get us wrong ‘cause we love America / But that’s no reason to get hysterical / They’re layin’ on the syrup thick / We ain’t waffles, we ain’t havin’ it.”

If the goal is simply to go on record about the war, the Beasties and other artists could simply put a statement on the Web and then refer fans to truly memorable music.

The referral: It could have been to John Lennon’s “Give Peace a Chance.”

R.E.M.’s “The Final Straw.” Even fans of this great band know Michael Stipe can sometimes be oblique, and he’s never been more so than here. The song is a plea for forgiveness rather than revenge, but it seems adrift in space.

Better referral: the Beatles’ “All You Need Is Love.”

Zack de la Rocha’s “March of Death.” With Rage Against the Machine, De La Rocha made some of the most politically charged music of the modern pop era, but his sense of outrage sometimes outdistances his artistry. The only thing promising here is the power of the music itself, a collaboration with DJ Shadow.

Referral: Dylan’s “Masters of War.”

Lenny Kravitz’s “We Want Peace.” The inspiration here was in Kravitz’s teaming with Kazem Al Sahir, a major pop figure in Iraq. Their song, however, is limp.

Better referral: Cat Stevens’ “Peace Train.”

John Mellencamp’s “To Washington.” This tale of political disillusion is a major step up, but it is so tied to the Woody Guthrie folk tradition that it ends up a bit anonymous.

Referral: Steve Earle’s “Christmas in Washington.”

The pro-invasion contingent comes chiefly from the country side of pop.

Darryl Worley’s “Have You Forgotten?” You don’t have to search the Web for this tune because it’s already a pop and country hit -- a companion piece, in a way, to Alan Jackson’s “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning).” It’s heavy on the corn: “Have you forgotten how it felt that day? To see your homeland under fire / And her people blown away.”

Referral: Merle Haggard’s “The Fightin’ Side of Me.”

Clint Black’s “I Raq and I Roll.” The veteran country star certainly gets the nod for cleverest song title, but the tune itself (co-written by Hayden Nicholas) is full of macho bluster. “It might be a smart bomb / They find stupid people, too / And if you stand with the likes of Saddam / One just might find you.”

Referral: again, Haggard’s “The Fightin’ Side of Me.”

Not all Iraq commentary sounds tired. The seriousness of the issue is encouraging lots of singer-songwriters to share their feelings, and there is likely much of value to come from that.

Sage Francis’ “Makeshift Patriot” is one sign that artists can step beyond the obvious. Francis is a Rhode Island rapper who has been building a wider underground following, thanks in part to songs with the freshness and insight of “Patriot.”

Written shortly after Sept. 11, the song is finally surfacing outside clubs and the Internet. It will be released commercially on a “Punk-O-Rama” sampler by Los Angeles’ Epitaph Records.

In “Misguided Patriot,” Francis (who released an album last year on the independent anticon label) expresses sympathy for the victims of the terrorist attacks, but also warns about the nation’s response. In a provocative line, Francis declares, “There’s a desperate need for blood for what’s been uncovered under the rubble / Some of them dug for answers in the mess . . . but the rest were looking for trouble.”

You also feel a creative spark in the socially conscious music of Stephen Smith, a New York singer-songwriter whose “New World Order” album has just been released by Smith’s Universal Hobo label. Smith, whose father is Iraqi, wrote the album before the conflict in Iraq, but he is wrestling with issues that define the times.

Given the flood of social commentary on the Internet and elsewhere, Francis and Smith are not isolated voices. Once we are past the flood of quick, celebrity responses, we may have music strong enough to stand up to the protest music of the past, not simply pale alongside it.

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Robert Hilburn, The Times’ pop music critic, can be reached at robert.hilburn@latimes.com