Left Behind

In 'The Wild One,' angry young rocker Marlon Brando answered an innocent question -- "Hey Johnny, what are you rebelling against?" -- with a curt reply that spoke volumes: "Whaddya got?" Rock never settles for the status quo, teaching generations that questioning authority is a cornerstone of democracy. Here are some of the all-time best declarations of independence, each spun at 45 revolutions per minute.

'Get Up, Stand Up'--Bob Marley and the Wailers (1973) Rebelling Against: Oppression! The late, saintly Bob Marley's signature anthem has become a fill-in-the-blank template for righteous causes of all stripes. Not only is it the official fight song of Amnesty International, but Peter Tosh's sung-spoken interlude – "You can fool some people sometime/ But you can't fool all the people all the time" -- has been called a precursor to rap.

'Minority'--Green Day (2000) Rebelling Against: The Moral Majority! In which rambunctious Billie Joe Armstrong goes explicitly political, pledging eternal allegiance to society's misfits, the downtrodden and the outnumbered. Since this song, the poster band for juveniles has been active in alternative energy advocacy, Hurricane Katrina relief and a rock opera about nonconformity. Who the hell told them they could grow up?

'We Shall Be Free'--Garth Brooks (1992) Rebelling Against: Homophobia! When one of the most successful country artists -- make that successful artists period -- audaciously sang "When we're free to love anyone we choose" in this gospel-influenced number, many took it as an endorsement of gay rights. Brooks made the connection more explicit at 2000's Equality Rocks, where he was the only straight male to perform.

'We're Not Gonna Take It'--Twisted Sister Rebelling Against: Authority figures! In the great Brando tradition, this classic '80s hair band scored big with its rebellion against everything, and nothing in particular. Co-opted by Arnold Schwarzenegger in his 2003 campaign for California governor, the song was inspired, according to Dee Snider, by the Sex Pistols and the Christmas carol 'O Come, All Ye Faithful.'

'I Ain't Marching Anymore'--Phil Ochs (1965) Rebelling Against: War! The fearless Ochs took Dylan-style folk to another level of topicality, attacking big business, blind patriotism, Jim Crow segregation, even hypocritical liberalism in frank terms worthy of a true outsider. A hero to latter-day rabble rousers Billy Bragg, Eddie Vedder and Sean Penn, Ochs made the ultimate protest statement at age 35: He exited this troubled world by hanging himself.

'Little Boxes'--Malvina Reynolds (1962) Rebelling Against: Conformity! The theme to Showtime's 'Weeds' first came to life in the hands of topical songwriter Reynolds, who earned her doctorate from that beatnik haven Berkeley way back in 1938. Her view of the mind-numbing 'burbs -- where the homes are all "made out of ticky-tacky" – explained the problem of the bourgeoisie in terms even a child could understand.

'World Wide Suicide'--Pearl Jam (2006) Rebelling Against: Operation Iraqi Freedom! Like a lot of veteran rockers, Eddie Vedder has become a campaigner in middle age, trashing George Bush with an amusing baseball metaphor in "Bushleaguer" – "Born on third, thinks he got a triple." There's nothing metaphoric about 'World Wide Suicide,' which rages against the Bushies and their Iraq war: "Tell you to pray, while the devil's on their shoulder."

'Maggie's Farm'--Bob Dylan (1965) Dylan, of course, is the definitive protest singer, having given the world such inevitable rally hymns as 'Blowin' in the Wind' and 'The Times They Are A-Changin'.' The centerpiece of the infamous "electric" performance at Newport, 'Maggie's Farm' is Dylan's uber-protest song: It was the iconoclast's declaration of independence from the very folk movement that sired him.

'Strange Fruit'--Billie Holiday (1939) Rebelling Against: Lynching! Songwriter Abel Meeropol was a Bronx schoolteacher who wrote a poem in response to a gruesome photo from the Deep South. Invariably described as "chilling" – the "strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees" are the bodies of hanged black men – the song is often noted as a critical catalyst for the civil rights movement.

'War'--Edwin Starr (1970) Rebelling Against: Vietnam! Soul journeyman Starr wasn't especially political; his debut chart appearance had been a product of mid-'60s James Bond mania ('Agent Double-O-Soul'). But this cover of a Temptations album track made him one of the loudest voices of the Vietnam era. The song has lived on as a generic howl for peace, revived, most notably, by Bruce Springsteen and Frankie Goes To Hollywood.

'Take This Job and Shove It'--Johnny Paycheck (1977) Rebelling Against: The big boss man!Written by the uncompromising David Allan Coe and sung by the country singer with the perfect name for the job, this pop crossover hit tapped a universal nerve at a time when the American economy was spiraling down the toilet. Disgruntled wage earners still call their local country stations to request the song when they're ready to quit.

'What's Going On'--Marvin Gaye (1971) Rebelling Against: Social injustice everywhere! When one of the Motown star's early pop tunes was interrupted on-air by news of the Watts riots, he remembered, "I wanted to throw the radio down... and get out there and kick ass with the rest of the brothers." With this, his undisputed masterpiece, Gaye addressed war, poverty and inner-city despair with an exquisite sadness that managed to leave room for hope.


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