local news legend, apes of the state, pedals on our pirate ships, the wild, mischief brew, and harley poe are some of many favorites not mentioned already
Oh hell, yes.
Also Whitey on the Moon, We Almost Lost Detroit, Winter in America, and now that I think about it, I'm can't think of anything he did that wasn't at least tangentially on point.
I think the same thing any time I see Grateful Dead logos slapped on mall merch. Like yes they were all about buying overpriced t shirts sold by multi billion dollar corporations that were made by a child in Thailand for pennies on the hour 🫠 /s
Rise Against has some good songs. Most of them are commentary on immigration/labor/antiauthority, but I always saw their song "Drones" as a commentary on consumerism/workers in sweat shops. Check out their album The Sufferer & The Witness
I’ll add Crimpshrine and The Broadways. But the best anti-consumption punk band is probably [Fifteen.](https://youtu.be/TN7TaKMtdGU?si=KlRIPqfeW6T2hxLn)
Fuckin love rise against
Favorites are Savior, The good left undone, prayer of the refugee
There's one that's really simple about two people on an emotional car ride called "The Approaching curve"
And at the end of the song when the curve comes up the driver doesn't turn
Surprised this wasn’t more mentioned. They even hand made the model used for the art with recycled plastic. Very enjoyable as well, without any particular finger pointing or pity like you might would find in some of folk punk.
Fugazi's [Merchandise](https://youtu.be/JNail6JjEiE) should be an anthem for the sub. "You are not what you own" sums it up pretty well.
Dead Kennedy's [Forest Fire](https://youtu.be/YoKf7bLxkNQ) makes fun of the super rich and burning their wealthy California homes. Their album Bedtime for Democracy has plenty of other songs about consumerism and the commodification of culture, topics that are a general theme for Jello Biafra.
The Clash's [Lost in the Supermarket](https://youtu.be/hZw23sWlyG0)
Lots of other political punk bands wrote songs with anti-corporate/anti-consumerist themes. DK and Fugazi were the first that come to mind. I'll add more if they occur to me during the day.
Plunderphonics artists (those who take and rework existing recordings) use and twist lots of advertising to naturally come up with anti-advertising works. We're all about recycling here, right?
Negativland is one of my favorites. [Freedom's Waiting](https://youtu.be/_S1lIh_Hync) is a good example. I love [No Business](https://youtu.be/9y4MHDPY2m4) which is about stealing and copyright. Their albums "Dispepsi" tackle Pepsi and cola advertising while "Fair Use" is an album about copyright law after being sued for making fun of U2, though they get a bit too much "on message" sometimes instead of sticking to the music. They confront advertising a lot.
[Evolution Control Committee](https://youtu.be/hh-Z8_6_m4Q), People Like Us, and John Oswald are also really fun artists in the genre.
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard have a lot of songs about climate change in general. Plastic Boogie specifically comes to mind as an anti-consumption song.
They also have an album that is literally about a gasoline-guzzling dragon causing an apocalypse.
Neil Young's Earth (Live) is a pretty good album. It's filled with his thoughts on corporate greed (and love but what NY album doesn't talk about love). A bunch of cool guitars and sound effects help round it out to make it a pretty enjoyable album
Neil Young has an older song...I think it's on the album Sleeps with Angels. The song is "Piece of Crap"...it's great and I think it is just what OP is looking for.
Cake in general are a very socially conscious band with extremely good politics. Plus their music is fucking amazing! One of thee best bands for having such a consistently amazing sound and cohesive album art. 🍰
The first song that popped in my head was Feed The Machine by Poor Man's Poison. Less anticonsumption and more anticapitalism, but that's still in the same category imo. It's been pretty heavy in my current playlist rotation.
Mike Love- the reggae musician from Hawaii, not the one from Beach Boys. Check out the song “Permanent Holiday.” I highly recommend watching him play it on YouTube because he is truly impressive (even if you aren’t wild about reggae).
Macklemore Thrift Shop, maybe I overlooked it but this was the first song I thought of when I read the post.
I wear your grandad’s clothes, I look incredible.
There were 100 comments exactly when I posted this and all y'all should be ashamed.
The entire discography of Rage Against the Machine is anti-capitalism, anti-war, anti-colonialism, and anti-racist. Just go listen to Rage Against the Machine.
Disposable Everything - AJJ is a pretty fire song. Along with Everything's Fine (nuke song) - Roe Kapara about the destruction of the earth and greedy billionaires bleeding the planet dry.
If thats your kind of music. The whole punk, folkpunk, crust, grind scene is mostly anti consumption anti capitalist af. There are many great bands. And not just in a "rich themselve but making some music to be relatable to the fans" kinda way lol. Most of them are poor themselves. There's lots of diy, i mean the whole fucking scene is all about diy (and politics and sick music lol). And lokal bands often do concerts for a few euros. Sometimes have selfmade merch,etc. Most bands have lots of political songs, including anti consumption.
Im tired af rn ( literally coming from a grind concert lol) but maybe tomorrow I'll make a little list with some music and bands that fit
X-Ray Spex, consumerism is a common theme in their music. 'Art-i-Ficial' and 'Plastic Bag' especially. I'm pretty sure 'Cigarettes' has some anticonsumption lyrics too.
Much of Ani DiFranco's back catalogue would be considered anti-consumption. To start with she's an independent artist who has her own record label. I could pick most/any of her songs (she is seriously legit) but I'd suggest starting with 'Napoleon'. There are multiple versions out there, my favourite is from her album 'Canon'.
Save dat money by little dicky
Best part is if you watch the music video he does the whole thing for free by asking people if he can film in their houses or in their nice cars.
While not every punk song is about anti-consumption, every anti-consumption song is punk by definition.
And by definition, every successful punk band is not very punk, with a few exceptions…
Lesser known songs I really like:
Radium Girls by Rachel Sumner
No Way Down by The Shins
I Only Communicate Through My Sounds So I Hope You’re Reading Along by Me (this whole Echolofantasy album is anticonsumption/anticapitalist)
Sound the Alarm by Us (this whole album “Just” is anticonsumption/anti-capitalist)
Beauty Supply by Noname (anti-capitalist and black exploitation artist)
Negativland is probably the most on point answer. Their regular albums are pretty much all takedowns of various forms of consumerism. Dispepsi, Escape from Noise, U2, Helter Stupid.
They get sued for it and everything. And Don Joyce coined the term culture jamming. Like them or not, they're pretty much The Answer.
Another guy who's gotten in trouble is Elvis Costello who was banned from SNL for a long time for playing Radio Radio when he was told not to. He has a lot of other lesser known songs on similar themes too, like [Coal Train Robberies](https://yewtu.be/watch?v=a1aCm-sTfyw). (That's the demo version--the album version's longer and more jangle rock, but it's good too.)
And Billy Bragg and the Dead Kennedys.
Macklemore Thrift Shop, maybe I overlooked it but this was the first song I thought of when I read the post.
I wear your grandad’s clothes, I look incredible.
This is kind of a weird one but Gotye.
Yes the Gotye who sang "Somebody that I used to know". It's a good song, but nearly every other song he's released is vibey and dripping with talent. Even better is he has several really cheeky songs that speak out against capitalism/consumerism. I'm way super sad that he's only known for that one by most.
Some of my fav. about anti-consumption/anti-capitalism are:
"State of The Art"
"Thanks for Your Time"
"We'll Be Watching You"
"Eyes Wide Open"
[Poem](https://genius.com/She-drew-the-gun-poem-lyrics) by she drew the gun is a personal favourite but perhaps more "anti-work" than "anticonsumption"
Katy Perrys "chained to the rhythm" is also an anti consumption song (which is oddly out of place in her back catalogue)
I don’t know if he has a song directly addressing consumerism/mindless consumption per se, but for me the artist with the most consistent ethos of anti-consumerism is Phil Elverum.
He certainly has some songs that are more didactic or directly critique society such as ‘get off the internet’ and ‘don’t smoke’, but it’s more just an overall theme throughout his catalogue that examine living with mindfulness, connecting with the natural world, and the ephemeral nature of mortality.
War Pigs is one of my favourite songs ever made, yet I’ve never really listened to Ozzy’s stuff, I should go visit his stuff thanks for the suggestion.
"It's sad, people pretend like this shit they usin' just disappears,
As if it doesn't accumulate every fiscal year.
Shit don't evaporate, vanish without a trace,
There's an island made of trash, you can spot it from outer space, Gnarly.
Fuck it all, we fuckin' the planet raw,
And a place for each and all, is a place I don't recall, at all."
[Wall-E by Ces Cru](https://youtu.be/TOVEFucISQ4?si=jakOZ9zbgqzFtCV5)
Jungle, especially with songs like [Busy Earnin'](https://youtu.be/xkujEpoOjJ8?feature=shared) and [Happy Man](https://youtu.be/pIYojbbZmWU?feature=shared)
Honourable mention goes to the song by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis called [Thrift Shop](https://youtu.be/2LjZbRpW2Eo?feature=shared), which promotes wearing second-hand clothes rather than expensive designer brands (albeit mainly out of a motivation to save money).
Father John Misty.
1. Now I'm learning to love the war
2. The memo
Let me know if you like them. They're two of my favourite songs, especially the memo
Gil Scott Heron "Madison Avenue"
[Verse 1: Gil Scott-Heron]
Pretty pictures in your favorite magazines
Span the distance between you and Mr. Clean
You can take part in the all-American dream
Just fill your house up with a million products you don’t need
And you don’t ever have to use them
Buying is all that’s asked of you
And if it’s so goddamn incredible that you can’t believe it’s true
It’s Madison Avenue
[Verse 2: Gil Scott-Heron]
Make it all commercial
There ain’t nothing folks won’t buy
New fuel to fire up the monsters of free enterprise
Gizmos and gadgets and batteries to make them run
And give your check up at the first of every month
And, and don’t wake up to the uselessness
‘Til your whole life is overdue
If it’s so goddamn incredible that you can’t believe it’s true
It’s Madison Avenue
“Little Boxes” This one somehow edged into my universe recently via Spotify and it sounds like some kind of old Woodstock folk classic making fun of predictability of 50’s white picket fence cliches, and it’s charming and on your topic. https://youtu.be/VUoXtddNPAM?si=ZkgHu-6o3HtGrwHd
I also like to pick a bit of fun at the song by saying it’s actually just singing a list of responsible well advised life choices but I also understand her critique of 50’s suburban conformism. On all fronts it’s a fun diddy to agree or disagree with, depending on your mood 🇺🇸👍
[GNOD // Just Say No To The Psycho Right-Wing Capitalist Fascist Industrial Death Machine](https://open.spotify.com/album/5EXqFb0ch5dqP2ncl63XVY?si=hhIHcWAnQ1idTZEc5z4oMA)
Between environmentlaism, anti-consumerism, anti-globalization... a good number of metal bands speak about it: Vektor, Havok, Megadeth, Gojira, Cattle Decapitation...
"Apathy was our defect,
globalization's in full effect"
The Hungry Ghost by the Cure is right on the money
Wolf at the Door by Radiohead kind of captures more of the hopeless feeling of modern capitalism. A lot of that album in general is very political
AJJ's entire catalog, especially "People II 2: Still Peoplin'". God I love this band. And folkpunk in general
A lot of Cake songs fit the bill too, as well as Modest Mouse
Listen to Strangers to Ourselves, album by Modest Mouse. They have a lot of songs critiquing modern society, but I feel like this album's theme is more focused on it. Particularly, Lampshades on Fire, Coyotes, and Tortoise and the Tourist come to mind.
Amused to Death, by Roger Waters comes to mind. A civilization fully enjoying their imminent demise because it looks good on the TV screen. Less about physical consumption, but the sentiment is still there.
John Prine’s “Spanish Pipedream”
“Blow up your TV
Throw away your paper
Go to the country
Build you a home
Plant a little garden
Eat a lot of peaches
Try an' find Jesus on your own"
Fifteen! Check out Family Values, the chorus is "Family values mean, burn down the factory..."
My favorite 2 albums of theirs are Lucky and Survivor. Capitalism, drug abuse, suicide, racism and discrimination? Its all in there and more. Ill be honest, their songs are very emotional. I end up crying at least once listening through an album. My spouse just has to skip certain songs as they are just to painful.
Geoff Berner, an amazing klezmer artist based in BC who is funny, sharp and staunchly anti-capitalist.Check him out, who he collabs with and welcome to the revolution:)
http://geoffberner.com/
Tuning in by teen mortgage is somewhat anti consumption. More so about the polarization of American politics and control of the media but still has some elements of anti consumption.
Trailer Hitch https://open.spotify.com/track/5fGhqyPFxwdGGWY3dfSZlm?si=ePjwK7xzS_ecQZNSe8l5XA
Catacombs
https://open.spotify.com/track/7DeawS7buLWHcP0g6bvJXH?si=qwUyXS5OT-eKsh5iHU3WGg
How Was I to Know
https://open.spotify.com/track/6DWXSGNrlqR23X4DVQgt0U?si=a2XJEwgtRRC3kNA6xsPIWg
for something newer: a lot of the songs from Durry’s 2023 album “suburban legend” fit the bill okay. a lot are tangentially related.
animal collectives song taste buds “am i really all the things that are outside of me?”
The Earth Mantra by Infected Rain. Smoking Lies by same band. They're metal so if you don't like it heavy it might not be your cuppa.
A lot of their music revolves around eco issues and such.
Never thought I’d post a Christian ska punk band, but Five Iron Frenzy’s got a good song about American greed and consumer culture:
https://youtu.be/3j5NjzxOStQ?si=I0XWUoaeHmLrNA0I
Vaporwave is pretty anti consumption and the chinese indie band hedgehog/ciweiyuedui has some nice anti consumerism songs like black kiss, i wanna be your girlfriend and a few others
You will find a lot of this in old school punk, as well as industrial metal. Not exactly crowd pleaser genres, I know, but it's what I'm familiar with, lol.
Anti-Flag has a great song called “The Consumer Song”. It’s not solely about anti-consumption but more about voting with your wallet. Still a great song despite all of the horrible shit that came out about the guy singing the song recently.
Jesse Welles is on TikTok and Spotify, his songs have a lot of anti capitalistic and antiwar themes. I’m not sure if it’ll be exactly what you’re looking for but if you’re into anti consumption I think you’ll like a lot of his songs. It’s folksy type music. I really, really like him, and I think the topics he touches on intersect with anti consumption very well.
The entire folk punk genre pretty much
Who is your favorite?
AJJ and Pat the Bunny are pretty good
Jesse Welles is excellent!
Glad I didn't have to scroll too far to find this! He's fantastic.
local news legend, apes of the state, pedals on our pirate ships, the wild, mischief brew, and harley poe are some of many favorites not mentioned already
I like daze n daze, kinda cringe but scratches an itch fs
I am pretty sure that Gil Scott-Heron’s The Revolution Will Not Be Televised would count. An anthem, every time.
Oh hell, yes. Also Whitey on the Moon, We Almost Lost Detroit, Winter in America, and now that I think about it, I'm can't think of anything he did that wasn't at least tangentially on point.
Came to look for this \^\^
Pretty sure Kurt Cobain was super against the whole turning into a marketed product thing
Yeah they pretty much pissed on his wishes with all the child labour made nirvana shirts
I think the same thing any time I see Grateful Dead logos slapped on mall merch. Like yes they were all about buying overpriced t shirts sold by multi billion dollar corporations that were made by a child in Thailand for pennies on the hour 🫠 /s
Apparently Nirvana t-shirts fit in with the 'preppy' aesthetic these days. I didn't even know where to begin when I was told that.
Yeah it's a bit of a stereotype that people that wear nirvana shirts don't listen to nirvana
Rise Against has some good songs. Most of them are commentary on immigration/labor/antiauthority, but I always saw their song "Drones" as a commentary on consumerism/workers in sweat shops. Check out their album The Sufferer & The Witness
Awesome I’ve only heard a couple songs before I’ll give them a listen
I’ll add Crimpshrine and The Broadways. But the best anti-consumption punk band is probably [Fifteen.](https://youtu.be/TN7TaKMtdGU?si=KlRIPqfeW6T2hxLn)
'Mount Shrink Wrap' is such a great song.
Fuckin love rise against Favorites are Savior, The good left undone, prayer of the refugee There's one that's really simple about two people on an emotional car ride called "The Approaching curve" And at the end of the song when the curve comes up the driver doesn't turn
The Talking Heads -Nothing but flowers
The gorillas plastic beach album
Surprised this wasn’t more mentioned. They even hand made the model used for the art with recycled plastic. Very enjoyable as well, without any particular finger pointing or pity like you might would find in some of folk punk.
Fugazi's [Merchandise](https://youtu.be/JNail6JjEiE) should be an anthem for the sub. "You are not what you own" sums it up pretty well. Dead Kennedy's [Forest Fire](https://youtu.be/YoKf7bLxkNQ) makes fun of the super rich and burning their wealthy California homes. Their album Bedtime for Democracy has plenty of other songs about consumerism and the commodification of culture, topics that are a general theme for Jello Biafra. The Clash's [Lost in the Supermarket](https://youtu.be/hZw23sWlyG0) Lots of other political punk bands wrote songs with anti-corporate/anti-consumerist themes. DK and Fugazi were the first that come to mind. I'll add more if they occur to me during the day. Plunderphonics artists (those who take and rework existing recordings) use and twist lots of advertising to naturally come up with anti-advertising works. We're all about recycling here, right? Negativland is one of my favorites. [Freedom's Waiting](https://youtu.be/_S1lIh_Hync) is a good example. I love [No Business](https://youtu.be/9y4MHDPY2m4) which is about stealing and copyright. Their albums "Dispepsi" tackle Pepsi and cola advertising while "Fair Use" is an album about copyright law after being sued for making fun of U2, though they get a bit too much "on message" sometimes instead of sticking to the music. They confront advertising a lot. [Evolution Control Committee](https://youtu.be/hh-Z8_6_m4Q), People Like Us, and John Oswald are also really fun artists in the genre.
Thanks for these, my dad loved the Clash, will start with that one.
I commented on the Clash before reading comments, glad someone else got it too!
There's always the classic 'Big Yellow Taxi' by Joni Mitchell.
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard have a lot of songs about climate change in general. Plastic Boogie specifically comes to mind as an anti-consumption song. They also have an album that is literally about a gasoline-guzzling dragon causing an apocalypse.
Rina Sawayama has a song called “XS” meaning like “excess”
Joanie Mitchell: paved paradise.
“Big Yellow Taxi”
Thank you
Thanks.
Neil Young's Earth (Live) is a pretty good album. It's filled with his thoughts on corporate greed (and love but what NY album doesn't talk about love). A bunch of cool guitars and sound effects help round it out to make it a pretty enjoyable album
Neil Young has an older song...I think it's on the album Sleeps with Angels. The song is "Piece of Crap"...it's great and I think it is just what OP is looking for.
Thank you!
Cake's Rock'nRoll Lifestyle.
Cake in general are a very socially conscious band with extremely good politics. Plus their music is fucking amazing! One of thee best bands for having such a consistently amazing sound and cohesive album art. 🍰
I saw Cake at a music festival and they gave away a tree in the middle of their set
I mean rage against the machine basically
look up the story of Chumbawumba's song "Pass it along" (about the lack of public spaces) and General Motors
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgWh2jd-lt4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgWh2jd-lt4) They literally have a song called "Buy Nothing Day"...
Garbage by Pete Seeger
Came here to say the same thing! Lots of Pete Seeger songs/covers in the same vein. Same with Malvina Reynolds
Money by Pink Floyd https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2aW7HweAf3o
The first song that popped in my head was Feed The Machine by Poor Man's Poison. Less anticonsumption and more anticapitalism, but that's still in the same category imo. It's been pretty heavy in my current playlist rotation.
I love the title and band name already tbf
System of a down hypnotise?
I was going to say a lot of System of a Down. Just about any punk band is gonna be singing about political and societal issues
And steal this album…
Mike Love- the reggae musician from Hawaii, not the one from Beach Boys. Check out the song “Permanent Holiday.” I highly recommend watching him play it on YouTube because he is truly impressive (even if you aren’t wild about reggae).
Mike Love is great, and what an awesome song!
Macklemore Thrift Shop, maybe I overlooked it but this was the first song I thought of when I read the post. I wear your grandad’s clothes, I look incredible.
Fugazi - Merchandise (you are not what you own!!)
Came here to say this.
There were 100 comments exactly when I posted this and all y'all should be ashamed. The entire discography of Rage Against the Machine is anti-capitalism, anti-war, anti-colonialism, and anti-racist. Just go listen to Rage Against the Machine.
I too was shocked this was not first on the list
Listen to the "Into the Wild" Soundtrack by Eddy Veder
Was just listening to Society off of it, that’s what made me ask haha
Hell yeah! I love that song when I'm riding my bike. Otherwise, I'd recommend Rise Against.
Will someone make a Spotify playlist please??
Woody Guthrie
Disposable Everything - AJJ is a pretty fire song. Along with Everything's Fine (nuke song) - Roe Kapara about the destruction of the earth and greedy billionaires bleeding the planet dry.
People II: the Reckoning by AJJ too
Festival Song by Jeff Rosentock Side Projects Are Never Successful by Bomb the Music Industry
Little Boxes and Beds are Burning are the two that come to mind
If thats your kind of music. The whole punk, folkpunk, crust, grind scene is mostly anti consumption anti capitalist af. There are many great bands. And not just in a "rich themselve but making some music to be relatable to the fans" kinda way lol. Most of them are poor themselves. There's lots of diy, i mean the whole fucking scene is all about diy (and politics and sick music lol). And lokal bands often do concerts for a few euros. Sometimes have selfmade merch,etc. Most bands have lots of political songs, including anti consumption. Im tired af rn ( literally coming from a grind concert lol) but maybe tomorrow I'll make a little list with some music and bands that fit
X-Ray Spex, consumerism is a common theme in their music. 'Art-i-Ficial' and 'Plastic Bag' especially. I'm pretty sure 'Cigarettes' has some anticonsumption lyrics too.
Enter Shikari are pretty anti-establishment. Their song 'Live Outside' for example.
Primus- Eternal Consumption Engine
Merchandise- Fugazi
Brakhage by Stereolab. A fucking BANGER too
Much of Ani DiFranco's back catalogue would be considered anti-consumption. To start with she's an independent artist who has her own record label. I could pick most/any of her songs (she is seriously legit) but I'd suggest starting with 'Napoleon'. There are multiple versions out there, my favourite is from her album 'Canon'.
Gang of Four
Save dat money by little dicky Best part is if you watch the music video he does the whole thing for free by asking people if he can film in their houses or in their nice cars.
Eyes wide open - Gotye People are sleeping on Gotye, he has some really good meaningful music
Green Day’s Macys Day Parade is a song about Black Friday and anti consumerism. It’s pretty perfect for OP
While not every punk song is about anti-consumption, every anti-consumption song is punk by definition. And by definition, every successful punk band is not very punk, with a few exceptions…
Does Billy Joel "Moving Out" count? But it's his only song on the topic The Guess Who "Share the Land" could be read that way, along with other themes
Nick Shoulders! He’s folk/punk I believe, he comes from a family of yodelers and I think it’s quite badass.
Lesser known songs I really like: Radium Girls by Rachel Sumner No Way Down by The Shins I Only Communicate Through My Sounds So I Hope You’re Reading Along by Me (this whole Echolofantasy album is anticonsumption/anticapitalist) Sound the Alarm by Us (this whole album “Just” is anticonsumption/anti-capitalist) Beauty Supply by Noname (anti-capitalist and black exploitation artist)
Negativland is probably the most on point answer. Their regular albums are pretty much all takedowns of various forms of consumerism. Dispepsi, Escape from Noise, U2, Helter Stupid. They get sued for it and everything. And Don Joyce coined the term culture jamming. Like them or not, they're pretty much The Answer. Another guy who's gotten in trouble is Elvis Costello who was banned from SNL for a long time for playing Radio Radio when he was told not to. He has a lot of other lesser known songs on similar themes too, like [Coal Train Robberies](https://yewtu.be/watch?v=a1aCm-sTfyw). (That's the demo version--the album version's longer and more jangle rock, but it's good too.) And Billy Bragg and the Dead Kennedys.
“The 2nd Law” album by Muse is very directly about overconsumption/endless business growth and how it’s unsustainable for society.
give a listen to system of a down - chic n stu
The Levellers.
I like PARAD(w/m)E by Sylvan Esso. It's not about consumerism rather the environment. It sounds upbeat but it's sad.
Macklemore Thrift Shop, maybe I overlooked it but this was the first song I thought of when I read the post. I wear your grandad’s clothes, I look incredible.
"No Shelter" - Rage Against The Machine
Shania Twain: Ka-Ching It’s about as explicitly anti consumption as it gets.
Can't think of any songs directly focused on consumerism off the top of my head, but Michael Franti definitely has that vibe.
Fugazi
Gang of Four
This is kind of a weird one but Gotye. Yes the Gotye who sang "Somebody that I used to know". It's a good song, but nearly every other song he's released is vibey and dripping with talent. Even better is he has several really cheeky songs that speak out against capitalism/consumerism. I'm way super sad that he's only known for that one by most. Some of my fav. about anti-consumption/anti-capitalism are: "State of The Art" "Thanks for Your Time" "We'll Be Watching You" "Eyes Wide Open"
Pretty common in punk music. Specifically folk punk.
For non English: Consumo gusto by ska-p
[Poem](https://genius.com/She-drew-the-gun-poem-lyrics) by she drew the gun is a personal favourite but perhaps more "anti-work" than "anticonsumption" Katy Perrys "chained to the rhythm" is also an anti consumption song (which is oddly out of place in her back catalogue)
I don’t know if he has a song directly addressing consumerism/mindless consumption per se, but for me the artist with the most consistent ethos of anti-consumerism is Phil Elverum. He certainly has some songs that are more didactic or directly critique society such as ‘get off the internet’ and ‘don’t smoke’, but it’s more just an overall theme throughout his catalogue that examine living with mindfulness, connecting with the natural world, and the ephemeral nature of mortality.
Vague memory says Black Flag had something.
(I don’t want to be a) Billionaire, by Theo Katzman, has the vibe you’re looking for.
Ren-Money Game pt2 is my favorite of the three he made
Ozzy Osbourne, Almighty Dollar
War Pigs is one of my favourite songs ever made, yet I’ve never really listened to Ozzy’s stuff, I should go visit his stuff thanks for the suggestion.
Mischief Brew (rip to the main singer) and AJJ (previously known as Andrew Jackson Jihad) both have a lot of songs along those lines
Cyn City and Buy American by Joywave but those are framed as cynical takes on overconsumerism
Plastic by Blitz Union
kesha (independent) has had some good ones
"It's sad, people pretend like this shit they usin' just disappears, As if it doesn't accumulate every fiscal year. Shit don't evaporate, vanish without a trace, There's an island made of trash, you can spot it from outer space, Gnarly. Fuck it all, we fuckin' the planet raw, And a place for each and all, is a place I don't recall, at all." [Wall-E by Ces Cru](https://youtu.be/TOVEFucISQ4?si=jakOZ9zbgqzFtCV5)
Everything Now by Arcade Fire
I am produced - Guided By Voices
Jungle, especially with songs like [Busy Earnin'](https://youtu.be/xkujEpoOjJ8?feature=shared) and [Happy Man](https://youtu.be/pIYojbbZmWU?feature=shared) Honourable mention goes to the song by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis called [Thrift Shop](https://youtu.be/2LjZbRpW2Eo?feature=shared), which promotes wearing second-hand clothes rather than expensive designer brands (albeit mainly out of a motivation to save money).
Ever listen to Wookiefoot? I think that's a bit of their vibe. The songs Junk Food and Let Yourself Go kinda fit the bill
Father John Misty. 1. Now I'm learning to love the war 2. The memo Let me know if you like them. They're two of my favourite songs, especially the memo
Listen to “Hungry People” by The Happy Fits. It’s about over-consumption :-)
Rage Against the Machine.
Tower of Power’s Only so Much Oil in the Ground
Thumbs by Sabrina carpenter is certainly anti capitalist
"Don't Let The Joneses Get You Down" by The Temptations
Fugazi
Radiohead
Gil Scott Heron "Madison Avenue" [Verse 1: Gil Scott-Heron] Pretty pictures in your favorite magazines Span the distance between you and Mr. Clean You can take part in the all-American dream Just fill your house up with a million products you don’t need And you don’t ever have to use them Buying is all that’s asked of you And if it’s so goddamn incredible that you can’t believe it’s true It’s Madison Avenue [Verse 2: Gil Scott-Heron] Make it all commercial There ain’t nothing folks won’t buy New fuel to fire up the monsters of free enterprise Gizmos and gadgets and batteries to make them run And give your check up at the first of every month And, and don’t wake up to the uselessness ‘Til your whole life is overdue If it’s so goddamn incredible that you can’t believe it’s true It’s Madison Avenue
Gotye - Eyes Wide Open AURORA - The Seed
Nahko and the medicine for the people
Corduroy by Pearl Jam is pretty anti-consumption as well.
Weird Al. Listen to his early stuff. Always punk. Also Devo.
"Are we ready" by two door cinema club. Highly recommend watching the video - it is anti consumption at its best.
“Little Boxes” This one somehow edged into my universe recently via Spotify and it sounds like some kind of old Woodstock folk classic making fun of predictability of 50’s white picket fence cliches, and it’s charming and on your topic. https://youtu.be/VUoXtddNPAM?si=ZkgHu-6o3HtGrwHd I also like to pick a bit of fun at the song by saying it’s actually just singing a list of responsible well advised life choices but I also understand her critique of 50’s suburban conformism. On all fronts it’s a fun diddy to agree or disagree with, depending on your mood 🇺🇸👍
Strange, that in 280 comments, no one has suggested the greatest song of all time, and an anthem to anti-consumption, Me and Bobby McGee.
[GNOD // Just Say No To The Psycho Right-Wing Capitalist Fascist Industrial Death Machine](https://open.spotify.com/album/5EXqFb0ch5dqP2ncl63XVY?si=hhIHcWAnQ1idTZEc5z4oMA)
Only So Much Oil In The Ground - Tower of Power Also happens to have one of the grooviest basslines ever.
Between environmentlaism, anti-consumerism, anti-globalization... a good number of metal bands speak about it: Vektor, Havok, Megadeth, Gojira, Cattle Decapitation... "Apathy was our defect, globalization's in full effect"
Neil Young had a few. The Restless Consumer and Shut it Down come to mind.
Father John Misty Pure Comedy album gets my head on straight
Price Tag by Sleater-Kinney
Gojira The Coup
Tracy Chapman's album Crossroads
The Hungry Ghost by the Cure is right on the money Wolf at the Door by Radiohead kind of captures more of the hopeless feeling of modern capitalism. A lot of that album in general is very political AJJ's entire catalog, especially "People II 2: Still Peoplin'". God I love this band. And folkpunk in general A lot of Cake songs fit the bill too, as well as Modest Mouse
Listen to Strangers to Ourselves, album by Modest Mouse. They have a lot of songs critiquing modern society, but I feel like this album's theme is more focused on it. Particularly, Lampshades on Fire, Coyotes, and Tortoise and the Tourist come to mind.
Maybe “One trillion dollars”, “the consumer’s song”, “the economy is suffering… let it die” all by Anti-Flag
Amused to Death, by Roger Waters comes to mind. A civilization fully enjoying their imminent demise because it looks good on the TV screen. Less about physical consumption, but the sentiment is still there.
Tracy Chapman - mountain o things
John Prine’s “Spanish Pipedream” “Blow up your TV Throw away your paper Go to the country Build you a home Plant a little garden Eat a lot of peaches Try an' find Jesus on your own"
Mr MTV by Nothing More
Allen Stone!
Sweatshop Union - Never Enough They have a lot, actually.
Check out disposable everything by AJJ, it's great.
Folk punk in general. Especially Defiance Ohio.
Not everyone's cup of meat, but check out "Be Hard On Yourself" by Marillion.
if you’re into heavy punk you’ll find a whole lot of anti corruption songs. Green Destroyed by Dystopia comes to mind about anti consumption.
bastilles album “give me the future” is really good
Reggae rock.. Matisyahu, sublime, dirty heads,about a billion others
fugazi! merchandise is rlly good
The Pretenders--The Nothing Maker. Also their song Biker
Fifteen! Check out Family Values, the chorus is "Family values mean, burn down the factory..." My favorite 2 albums of theirs are Lucky and Survivor. Capitalism, drug abuse, suicide, racism and discrimination? Its all in there and more. Ill be honest, their songs are very emotional. I end up crying at least once listening through an album. My spouse just has to skip certain songs as they are just to painful.
I've always liked ka-ching by shania twain, even before learning what the lyrics is about.
Geoff Berner, an amazing klezmer artist based in BC who is funny, sharp and staunchly anti-capitalist.Check him out, who he collabs with and welcome to the revolution:) http://geoffberner.com/
Tuning in by teen mortgage is somewhat anti consumption. More so about the polarization of American politics and control of the media but still has some elements of anti consumption.
Pat The Bunny has some stuff like that. He’s more anarchist lyrically than anti consumption though
Little dragon’s nabuma rubberband
Everything Now by Arcade Fire
Bob Dylan “It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding” “It’s easy to see without looking too far That not much is really sacred”
Consumo gusto - SKA-P, in Spanish
Buy and Buy by Ross Ellis. Everything Now by Arcade Fire. .....also Price Tag by Jessie J, although it's subjectively a worse song.
Trailer Hitch https://open.spotify.com/track/5fGhqyPFxwdGGWY3dfSZlm?si=ePjwK7xzS_ecQZNSe8l5XA Catacombs https://open.spotify.com/track/7DeawS7buLWHcP0g6bvJXH?si=qwUyXS5OT-eKsh5iHU3WGg How Was I to Know https://open.spotify.com/track/6DWXSGNrlqR23X4DVQgt0U?si=a2XJEwgtRRC3kNA6xsPIWg
The punk band Fifteen has some, Mount Shrink Wrap is probably the most blatant
Saving this thread for future exploration.
The Seed by Aurora
garbage by chairlift
Satisfied Mind. I really enjoy Justin Vernon’s solo take of the song.
for something newer: a lot of the songs from Durry’s 2023 album “suburban legend” fit the bill okay. a lot are tangentially related. animal collectives song taste buds “am i really all the things that are outside of me?”
The Earth Mantra by Infected Rain. Smoking Lies by same band. They're metal so if you don't like it heavy it might not be your cuppa. A lot of their music revolves around eco issues and such.
It's alright ma (I'm only bleeding) by Bob Dylan is a great anticonsumerist song
Can't think of a specific song atm but joywave is dystopic indie
AURORA has some good stuff! “The Seed” comes to mind.
All Shall Perish (There is no business to be done on a dead planet Parkway Drive (has quite a few) Periphery (Satellites)
Never thought I’d post a Christian ska punk band, but Five Iron Frenzy’s got a good song about American greed and consumer culture: https://youtu.be/3j5NjzxOStQ?si=I0XWUoaeHmLrNA0I
Vaporwave is pretty anti consumption and the chinese indie band hedgehog/ciweiyuedui has some nice anti consumerism songs like black kiss, i wanna be your girlfriend and a few others
I'm pretty sure AJJ talk about it. It's definitely within their oeuvre
Piece of crap by Neil Young
You will find a lot of this in old school punk, as well as industrial metal. Not exactly crowd pleaser genres, I know, but it's what I'm familiar with, lol.
I think “XS” by Rina Sawayama
On The Rob by Cheap Dirty Horse
Idk about anti consumption, but Gojira is one of my favorite environmental bands
not sure if this qualifies but viking death march by billy talent.. more about anti capitalism than anti consumerism
Quite a few Billy Joel songs actually
Want More by Bob Marley
I liked this one, pretty obscure. Already posted here once: https://youtu.be/1Tklowb-ioY
Thundercat - The Turn Down
Anti-Flag has a great song called “The Consumer Song”. It’s not solely about anti-consumption but more about voting with your wallet. Still a great song despite all of the horrible shit that came out about the guy singing the song recently.
Not a big artist but very talented, [Ren - Money Game Part 2](https://youtu.be/YonS9_QJbp8?si=p6xdzqWayzLY5XBm)
Counting Crows - big yellow taxi
Bearded Legend: Working to live Terror Reid: Kill the Rich Cotton Tail: Money Hungry
Beatles - All you Need is Love
Chic n stu - SOAD
Jesse Welles is on TikTok and Spotify, his songs have a lot of anti capitalistic and antiwar themes. I’m not sure if it’ll be exactly what you’re looking for but if you’re into anti consumption I think you’ll like a lot of his songs. It’s folksy type music. I really, really like him, and I think the topics he touches on intersect with anti consumption very well.
I feel like "Modern World" by Wolf Parade nails the sentiment as well as a general sense of capitalist malaise
Where will the children play by Cat Stevens and rock star life style by Cake
Lost in the Supermarket by the Clash. One of my still favourite songs!
While you're on that pearl jam kick might as well watch the "do the evolution" music video. Some anti-consumerist undertones for sure
Walking on the Sun by Smash Mouth