Pitchfork

In a 2002 review I wrote concerning Godspeed You! Black Emperor's Yanqui U.X.O., I lamented the inexplicable dearth of protest songs in rock music. Two years later, my wish seems to have been granted, if poorly: Virtually every aging troubadour and chanteuse has since released middling protest records with contents seemingly lifted from Paula Poundstone routines. There have been a few remarkable exceptions-- Sleater-Kinney's "Faraway", Sonic Youth's "Peace Attack" and Dr. Ring-Ding's "Bombs Over Baghdad" (not the Outkast song)-- but, I suppose as always, the great majority of these songs are heavy-handed and rarely disarming.

K Records singer/songwriter Mirah is known for plenty of things-- the notoriously singable pop melodies that dominate her albums, her tendency to stop mid-song to retune her guitar in concert, scandalous lesbianism-- but biting political commentary isn't one of them. So it was a pleasant surprise to stumble across this track from her latest album, C'mon Miracle. The song makes itself known awkwardly, as some of the first lyrics you tend to hear (particularly, "The lessons we should learn from the all the fighting in the days of old"-- a real eye-roller out of context) strike as contrived, and initially seem to ruin one of the record's best melodies.

It took me five listens to finally catch the chorus in full: "Jerusalem/ You know that it's not right/ After all you've been through/ You should know better than to become/ The wicked ones almighty God once saved you from." Without getting too political myself, it gives voice to a widely held sentiment on a very divisive topic. Whatever your personal take on Israel and Palestine, it took balls for this Israeli girl to launch such a blunt attack on the moral beliefs of her homeland. Though not quite what you'd call subtle, it's the very directness of these lyrics that lends the song its striking impact. Coupled with an impeccable melody, double-tracked pitch-perfect vocals, and Phil Elvrum's typically outstanding production, Mirah-- of all people-- has come away with the most deeply affecting protest song I've heard since 9/11-- and she even did it without giving old G.W. another drag through the muck.

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