So last night I checked out Tropic Thunder (which is awesome, incidentally; my full review is over at Wakeup Naptown).

Now, as someone who grew up watching movies like Apocalypse Now and Full Metal Jacket, one of the things I really appreciated about Tropic Thunder was its soundtrack, which is filled with those awesome 60's and 70's songs that make you feel the dread and confusion in the air at the time. (Another thing that I appreciated was that my cherry Icee came with a free refill.)

Anyway, so while a song like "For What It's Worth" by Buffalo Springfield (Stop! / Hey, what's that sound / Everybody look what's goin' down...) may not be explicitly about Vietnam (although I suppose it might be) it's hard not to read it as an encapsulation of what people were feeling because of the war.

So as I ponder the complete lack of anti-war songs now, I have to wonder (in a Seinfield-esque tone) what the deal is. Sure, Liz Phair squeezed out a song about being afraid of a draft during the first Gulf War back in '93 but it seems like the only songs we're getting today are "Bombs Over Baghdad" and stuff by Toby Keith -- basically pro-war stuff.

Is it just that culturally we got hurt enough by Vietnam that we're just not going to feel things that deeply again, even if it's basically the same situation? Or is it that today's musicians are generally too focused on other things to be the voice of the people? (Imagine what kind of music Kurt Cobain would be coming out with today.) Or is it really that we basically don't care? (Myself included.)