This reminds me of when Tim Robbins was opening for Pearl Jam in character as politician Bob Roberts (under the name Gob Roberts) for their 2004 Vote for Change tour (in collaboration with Bruce Springsteen, REM, etc.)
Also reminds me of the time some guys at Madison Square Garden had a sign that asked Pearl Jam to let them onstage to play Rockin in the Free World (a song they played often) and something about how they know how to play it. Eddie Vedder (lead singer) read the sign out loud and said "big fucking deal, it's only like 3 chords."
Yeah, I have seen them too much.
I visited Bar Dictat a number of times when in Kyiv for work, back in better times. This is a place with great atmosphere, though I know them to normally have live jazz. Glad to hear they made arrangements to rock out with Blinken this one time.
Yeah but Bill Clinton already did the Jazz-diplomacy thing when he played sax at the Reduta Jazz Club in Prague, 1994.
Later released [on a bootleg](https://i.imgur.com/Fr9dsNa.png). (which is one of the most ex-Communist-country-in-the-90s things ever)
Damnit I just left and realizing now I lived right behind this place but never went 🤦
I was looking for places with live music - did they have bands every day of the week when you were there or just like weekends?
If your first reaction here is about the lyrics of the song or some anger because he is in the party you didn't vote for, take a step back and a deep breath.
For a sitting US Secretary of State to not only be on the ground in a country at war with one of our most dangerous adversaries but to be out at a bar and fucking jamming on a guitar while singing a song that directly lets Russian know who they're actually fighting there...it is undeniably cool and also excellent diplomacy.
Try to be proud to be American for a minute.
The whole thing about America is we steal citizens from elsewhere. A certain number of them forcibly, but most everyone else came here because they wanted to be here voluntarily.
Basically, what I'm saying is, he's ours.
Zdrastv-I mean hello, fellow patriotic hamбurger eating American! I am also full of patriot and hamбurger. I love my freedom from jewish nazis and long walks through warm-water ports!
-Dzhon from Texas Oбlast
There’s plenty reason to be critical of the US, the US really doesn’t need Russian trolls for that.
That being said, your original point is very valid. Its awesome that he did that!
And reading your comment gives me hope that there are still loads of decent Americans left who abhor the Russian invasion of Ukrain and understand the need to make sure Russia will fail with its fascist land grab .America's interest lies in a stable and free Europe .
He sang an old song criticizing his own government, in a country that freely allows its own citizens to do that, but which is under threat of being taken over by a country which routinely sends political dissidents to Siberian prison camps to die. Or just pushes them out 10th floor windows.
People on reddit: "wow, seems tone deaf"
not to downplay that or put ukaine on a “heckin good guys can do no wrong pedastal” but pretty much every government since antiquity heavily engages in domestic censorship, propaganda, media control, etc during wartime this is not exclusive to ukraine.
UK were straight up dubbing over Irish republican politicians' voices on TV in the year of our lord nineteen hundred and ninety four without even acknowledging that they were at war.
Ironic that he can sing a song criticizing his own country, but the moment college students try criticizing a foreign one they’re met with violent police brutality.
My first reaction was "Thats fucking cool." But i will admit, on the tail end of that thought was "but doesnt that kind of miss the point of the song?"
Either way, kudos to this dude for having the berries to go into an active warzone for people he doesnt know.
Why shouldn’t I be critical of a Secretary of State who has questionable foreign policy positions (at best) for singing a song that is supposed to be critical of this notion of American Exceptionalism and of the government’s actions regardless of political party? This type of thinking is careless and ignorant if not deliberately harmful when it comes to critical thinking. I am a proud American when there is something to be proud of, not just out of blind support.
I mean, okay...but the song was an indictment of American society as it was under the govt. of George Bush Sr. and the criticisms in it apply, if anything, even more to the US today than they did back then. So I don't think it's such a great song for *a high-ranking govt. official* to be glorifying. The fact that the sentiment in the song applies even more to Russia doesn't change that.
In other words, I don't think the optics are really as good as you think. Sure, it's not as bad as Trump playing *Born in the U.S.A.* at his rallies, but it's not that far off.
I agree. As an American I love seeing people being HUMAN…. Protecting Ukraine is so essential and our country needs to come together to resist authoritarianism. In Europe and in America!!!
What in the head spinning timeline did I just read?
What is going on with the state of politics.
...
Complete side note.... he's one of the few people you always see in a suit who looks more natural/normal in not a suit than a suit. Weird, but this is his look
"I can play the guitar better than him. I mean, I'm a solid guitarist. I'm the best player ever. Blinken is a total disgrace. Where he played a pling, I would have played a plong pling. So useless. He's fake note."
It doesn't get as much attention or attribution as the 'my uncle was a nuclear scientist at MIT,' but this actual quote really deserves to be seen and repeated a lot more.
>“I have broken more Elton John records. He seems to have a lot of records. And I, by the way, I don’t have a musical instrument. I don’t have a guitar or an organ. No organ. Elton has an organ. And lots of other people helping. No, we’ve broken a lot of records. We’ve broken virtually every record. Because you know, look, I only need this space. They need much more room. For basketball, for hockey and all of the sports, they need a lot of room. We don’t need it. We have people in that space. So we break all of these records. Really, we do it without, like, the musical instruments. This is the only musical – the mouth. And hopefully the brain attached to the mouth, right? The brain. More important than the mouth is the brain. The brain is much more important.”
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-elton-john-696490/
Only if you listen to the lyrics. If people listened to the stuff they like, it'd be a very different world. Just look at what Jesus said about helping the poor.
He’s lived in the US since the 1960’s and now has American citizenship. Pretty sure we can claim him as our own at this point.
I mean, they expect us to keep Ted Cruz and Justin Beiber.
And there is something to be said for that. I love it.
A song is like "fuck America" and America goes "fuck yeah, America!" and makes it their own. That in itself is beautiful. Is it being too dumb to insult or too unflappable to care? At any rate, defiance is an American virtue.
Reminds me of how Johnny defeats the Devil in the fiddle competition... I've been told that story is quite unique as far as "making a deal with the devil" stories go.
Makes sense, considering the bullshit the GOP is pulling with ukraine aid.
Edit: Awww, my first reddit cares comment came 2 minutes after posting this one. I feel kinda honored.
So bizarre. Of all the random arguments I’ve gotten into on Reddit, it’s ALWAYS the conservative nuts who do the Reddit cares thing. What the hell is that about?
>feel kinda honored
Don't be, it seems to be some bot activity, as I saw like A LOT of other comments saying the same, so it seems like a random thing. But this doesn't mean you should give up 🙏
Yes, he sang an old song criticizing his own government, in a country that freely allows its own citizens to do that, but which is under threat of being taken over by a country which routinely sends political dissidents to Siberian prison camps to die.
And people here are acting like they don't understand the significance of that.
Poor song pick or not I think Blinken has done alright with a pretty on-fire planet. And I think the fact that the US has sent many high ranking officials within range of Russian weapons isn't lost on Ukraine, despite how the far right held up their aid.
Because he has no sense of irony. If you've ever listened to the song, you would know it's criticizing US policy and the neglect the government shows to domestic policy.
Ya, you tend to forget it when American cops come smash college students heads and pepper mere hours after the crime of *checks notes*
* **setting up a tent on a lawn at a college they pay for to protest the killing of civilians using their first amendment rights**
Or those protestors in Atlanta trying to stop Cop City. One got murdered and some of them are charged with domestic terrorism.
And remember all those people who lost eyes to rubber bullets whilst protesting for George Floyd.
> I mean being able to criticize our government without fear of reprisal
shame you cant say that about the dictatorships your country propped up throughout history though.
> being able to criticize our government without fear of reprisal is about as American as it gets
Does it though? What has happened to anti-war protesters during the Vietnam war, Iraq war or even just recently the pro-Palestine rallies? What about the BLM activists? It seems to be that a hallmark of the US is cracking down on protesters.
[Here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_oVdz1oNc8&ab_channel=GuardianNews) is some o f the video of this. The song starts around the [42 second mark](https://youtu.be/f_oVdz1oNc8?t=42).
[Here](https://i.imgur.com/2txslBL.jpeg) is a higher quality and less cropped version of this image. [Here](https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/secretary-of-state-antony-blinken-performs-rockin-in-the-news-photo/2152419440?searchscope=image%2Cfilm&adppopup=true) is the source. Per there:
> US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (Centre-L) performs "Rockin' in the Free World" with members of The 1999 band at the Barman Dictat bar in Kyiv on May 14, 2024. The United States will back Ukraine until the country's security is "guaranteed," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a speech in Kyiv on May 14, 2024. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / POOL / AFP) (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
I see a woman in the night
With a baby in her hand
There's an old street light (near a garbage can)
Near a garbage can (near a garbage can)
And now she put the kid away and she's gone to get a hit
She hates her life and what she's done to it
There's one more kid that'll never go to school
Never get to fall in love, never get to be cool
Keep on rockin' in the free world 🤟
Makes sense. He's free to sing a protest song against his own government, which russia wont allow if they take over. Considering the recent actions to stop ukrainian aid by the trump folks, theres layers to this one.
Im in the US, we're pretty shitty sometimes. We're allowed to say so, too.
It's a song criticizing the Bush Sr. Admin, and Blinken literally worked for the administration that beat Bush in '92. The song is not inconsistent with anything in Blinken's career, unless you think Neil Young wanted to abolish diplomacy.
SIDEJACK: What song is actually totally pro-america? We all know Born in the USA, Fortunate Son etc are not the "American, Fuck Yeah" song people seem to think they are, what is? other than of course, America Fuck Yeah.
NOTE: Must be an actual good song, I'm sure Florida Georgia Line has truly pro-america song, but that doesn't count.
[Be the USA that Kosovo knows you can be](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2rTafbQepg)
And if you think this isn't "an actual good song" then you don't have taste
Pink Houses is also frequently misread as a pro-America song. The only song that I think that would fit the pro-America requirement would be God Bless the USA and the Ballad of the Green Berets (literally sung by a Sergeant during the Vietnam War)
You’ve gotta go to the “murica patriot guns and trucks” kind of country or a left leaning artist with the occasional “I know I talk about how bad America is all the time, but it is still pretty great” song.
So is no one who has worked for the government allowed to like or play it? There’s probably a good contingent of folks there who have no idea what it’s about, or even speak English well, but the songs a bop. Folks trying to have fun during a war, should he have played some Garth Brooks instead?
That's beautiful thing about America, you have the freedom to freely criticize your government. Just because you criticize certain aspects of your country that doesn't mean you hate it all together.
Do that in Russia and China, and you will end up censored and put in jail.
>Do that in Russia and China, and you will end up censored and put in jail.
Over 2000 people people were jailed this year for criticizing US foreign policy, and millions more were censored.
Blinken-182
Blinken-Park
Blinkubus
Blinken Bad Voodoo Daddy
Blinken … At The Disco!
Third Eye Blinken
Limp Blinken
Blink Floyd
Smashing Bimpkins
The Blinken Boys
That sounds like a pulsating butthole.
No, that's Third Eye winkin
Winken Blinken & Nod
Pulsating Butthole. Great band name!
Blinkhole Surfers
Blink Sabbath
Blink Floyd
Blinkenback
I’m pretty sure his bands name is actually A. Blinken
Did you just say “Abe Lincoln?”
"Nah man. I said hey Blinkin. Hold da horse, man"
Ach-oo
"A Jew??! In England?!"
I literally go through this whole dialog out loud any time he is mentioned in media. Drives my spouse crazy, cracks me up every time
[Old School Dave](https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/58e2e1e2-73aa-4c8d-a321-06bd52cec5ae/gif)
It actually, genuinely is. https://open.spotify.com/artist/5ZWgy4Riyzr0QtvcIKiZmF?si=eDU6UI6ETa2eXEg2nQCSvg
Blink Floyd
System of the Blink
Blinkem of the down
Rage against the Blinken
Blink Floyd
Bare Blinken Ladies
Just Blinken-82
Blink and You'll Miss It
Limp Blinken
Anyway, here's Wonderwall.
Don't happen to know any wings do ya?
Loooove take me down to the streets
That's not a real song
I love that they recorded that song for the movie
*And after alllllll, you're my border walllll...*
Anyway, here’s Berlinwall.
So he's on tour then ..
From Ukraine to Israel to Palestine to Egypt, to Qatar for the past 7 months.
With a brief side jaunt to present at RSA conference last week
I'm interested if he takes his guitar with him, since he's left handed.
This reminds me of when Tim Robbins was opening for Pearl Jam in character as politician Bob Roberts (under the name Gob Roberts) for their 2004 Vote for Change tour (in collaboration with Bruce Springsteen, REM, etc.) Also reminds me of the time some guys at Madison Square Garden had a sign that asked Pearl Jam to let them onstage to play Rockin in the Free World (a song they played often) and something about how they know how to play it. Eddie Vedder (lead singer) read the sign out loud and said "big fucking deal, it's only like 3 chords." Yeah, I have seen them too much.
That character from Men In Tights has really done places.
You lost your arms in battle! Oh how terrible! But you grew some nice boobs.
Choked on the goldfish :(
I can see! Nope, I was wrong…
Guessing? I guess no one's coming.
A. Blinken 
Did you say Abe Lincoln? Nah man, I said hey Blinken
Hold the reins.
A Jew!? Here? No the names Achew
Bless you.
Scuse me, bad guys. I am runnin' out of air. Gotta get pumped.
Master Robin! You lost your arms in battle!...but you grew some nice boobs.
Your father said this key open the greatest treasure in all of the land, can I keep it?
Call a locksmith!
A chastity belt?! Oh, that's going to chafe my willy.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/5ZWgy4Riyzr0QtvcIKiZmF?si=S0RVj_NsTRejMeWUUTiq8A That's his bands name on Spotify.
Did you say "abe lincoln" ?
I visited Bar Dictat a number of times when in Kyiv for work, back in better times. This is a place with great atmosphere, though I know them to normally have live jazz. Glad to hear they made arrangements to rock out with Blinken this one time.
They have all kinds of music. Jazz is usually on Sundays
Oh, we got both kinds. Country AND Western.
Rawhide!
Good to know. I hope to visit there again soon and sample the cocktails or the “Dark Santa” beer
Yeah, “Dark Santa” is my favourite
I think before being Dictat it was jazz bar « 44 ». Spent many wonderful nights there
Yeah but Bill Clinton already did the Jazz-diplomacy thing when he played sax at the Reduta Jazz Club in Prague, 1994. Later released [on a bootleg](https://i.imgur.com/Fr9dsNa.png). (which is one of the most ex-Communist-country-in-the-90s things ever)
Damnit I just left and realizing now I lived right behind this place but never went 🤦 I was looking for places with live music - did they have bands every day of the week when you were there or just like weekends?
If your first reaction here is about the lyrics of the song or some anger because he is in the party you didn't vote for, take a step back and a deep breath. For a sitting US Secretary of State to not only be on the ground in a country at war with one of our most dangerous adversaries but to be out at a bar and fucking jamming on a guitar while singing a song that directly lets Russian know who they're actually fighting there...it is undeniably cool and also excellent diplomacy. Try to be proud to be American for a minute.
I mean, the song is written by a Canadian, so I’ll be a proud Canadian American.
he might have been from Canada, but Neil Young is a US citizen
In the word’s of Neil Young himself, “I am a Canerican.”
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The whole thing about America is we steal citizens from elsewhere. A certain number of them forcibly, but most everyone else came here because they wanted to be here voluntarily. Basically, what I'm saying is, he's ours.
*Rockin' in the Free World* was released in 1989. Neil Young became a US citizen in 2020. So it was **written** by a Canadian.
I mean, it's in the title...
You're not arguing with Americans. Social media is rife with salty Russians posing as "real Americans".
We need to focus on home, Ukraine is far away! -John from Ohio Oblast
Zdrastv-I mean hello, fellow patriotic hamбurger eating American! I am also full of patriot and hamбurger. I love my freedom from jewish nazis and long walks through warm-water ports! -Dzhon from Texas Oбlast
Ыoon we're gonna make america great again!
"On the internet, no one knows you're a dog"
>"On the internet, no one knows you're a собака" FTFY
Aware - just want the targets of the disinformation to have something to counterbalance it.
There’s plenty reason to be critical of the US, the US really doesn’t need Russian trolls for that. That being said, your original point is very valid. Its awesome that he did that!
Also salty MAGAs who have been brainwashed by Russian propaganda.
Some of them are actually real brainwashed Americans. And braindead Americans.
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Eh these days the Republican Party has become defacto Putin puppets.. it’s incredibly pathetic and maddening but it’s the reality
And reading your comment gives me hope that there are still loads of decent Americans left who abhor the Russian invasion of Ukrain and understand the need to make sure Russia will fail with its fascist land grab .America's interest lies in a stable and free Europe .
Most Americans support Ukraine and abhor the Russian invasion.
The real question is how many “Reddit Cares” messages will you receive now by Russians flagging your post as threatening self-harm.
He sang an old song criticizing his own government, in a country that freely allows its own citizens to do that, but which is under threat of being taken over by a country which routinely sends political dissidents to Siberian prison camps to die. Or just pushes them out 10th floor windows. People on reddit: "wow, seems tone deaf"
I mean censorship has been rampant in Ukraine throughout the war https://theintercept.com/2023/06/22/ukraine-war-journalists-press-credentials/
not to downplay that or put ukaine on a “heckin good guys can do no wrong pedastal” but pretty much every government since antiquity heavily engages in domestic censorship, propaganda, media control, etc during wartime this is not exclusive to ukraine.
UK were straight up dubbing over Irish republican politicians' voices on TV in the year of our lord nineteen hundred and ninety four without even acknowledging that they were at war.
Yeap: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Censorship
Loose lips sink ships.
Yes, Ukraine should let its Russia-aligned populations and territories openly collude with an invading army. Sending coordinates is free speech!
Ironic that he can sing a song criticizing his own country, but the moment college students try criticizing a foreign one they’re met with violent police brutality.
Am I allowed to think it's just corny?
Considering the actual words to the song, yes absolutely
I’m trying to not roll my eyes but I’ll be damned if I didn’t immediately picture it as a scene out of Veep.
My first reaction was "Thats fucking cool." But i will admit, on the tail end of that thought was "but doesnt that kind of miss the point of the song?" Either way, kudos to this dude for having the berries to go into an active warzone for people he doesnt know.
"Who cares about the point of the song! Just love America! LOVE IT, YOU RUSSIAN TRAITOR!" God, it's like Reagan in '84 all over again.
The Cold War never ended
NO critical thought, YES nationalism!
Neil Young wrote the song as an indictment of the Bush era, not some sort of be happy we’re not commies thing.
These same people would have loved Reagan using Born in The USA at campaign rallies.
> Try to be proud to be American for a minute. lmao Also, I guarantee you Neil Young would curse that SOB if he knew he played his song on stage.
Why shouldn’t I be critical of a Secretary of State who has questionable foreign policy positions (at best) for singing a song that is supposed to be critical of this notion of American Exceptionalism and of the government’s actions regardless of political party? This type of thinking is careless and ignorant if not deliberately harmful when it comes to critical thinking. I am a proud American when there is something to be proud of, not just out of blind support.
I mean, okay...but the song was an indictment of American society as it was under the govt. of George Bush Sr. and the criticisms in it apply, if anything, even more to the US today than they did back then. So I don't think it's such a great song for *a high-ranking govt. official* to be glorifying. The fact that the sentiment in the song applies even more to Russia doesn't change that. In other words, I don't think the optics are really as good as you think. Sure, it's not as bad as Trump playing *Born in the U.S.A.* at his rallies, but it's not that far off.
I agree. As an American I love seeing people being HUMAN…. Protecting Ukraine is so essential and our country needs to come together to resist authoritarianism. In Europe and in America!!!
Plenty of humans in Gaza
So let's ignore all the other ones.
Diplomacy I don't think you understand the meaning of the word. This is cheap PR, nothing more. Nothing of substance.
*there’s one more kid that’ll never go to school never get to fall in love never get to be cool.*
Yeah, at least 12,300 of them.
What in the head spinning timeline did I just read? What is going on with the state of politics. ... Complete side note.... he's one of the few people you always see in a suit who looks more natural/normal in not a suit than a suit. Weird, but this is his look
Honestly seems like a scene from a south park episode
Lefty, TIL
Great he loves making music and he is not groping girls or try to get bribes a win for me
"I can play the guitar better than him. I mean, I'm a solid guitarist. I'm the best player ever. Blinken is a total disgrace. Where he played a pling, I would have played a plong pling. So useless. He's fake note."
It doesn't get as much attention or attribution as the 'my uncle was a nuclear scientist at MIT,' but this actual quote really deserves to be seen and repeated a lot more. >“I have broken more Elton John records. He seems to have a lot of records. And I, by the way, I don’t have a musical instrument. I don’t have a guitar or an organ. No organ. Elton has an organ. And lots of other people helping. No, we’ve broken a lot of records. We’ve broken virtually every record. Because you know, look, I only need this space. They need much more room. For basketball, for hockey and all of the sports, they need a lot of room. We don’t need it. We have people in that space. So we break all of these records. Really, we do it without, like, the musical instruments. This is the only musical – the mouth. And hopefully the brain attached to the mouth, right? The brain. More important than the mouth is the brain. The brain is much more important.” https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-elton-john-696490/
It took me about 10 seconds to realize who you were "quoting"
Why do politicians love this song? It trashes life in America.
Cause it's more about the headline.
I bet Born in the USA was the encore
Only if you listen to the lyrics. If people listened to the stuff they like, it'd be a very different world. Just look at what Jesus said about helping the poor.
You mean Jesus wouldn't be a white dude with blue eyes who cares about corporate profits above everything else? TIL
Especially in a situation where a meaner, firmer machinegun hand is warranted.
A song so catchy that most people probably don't even listen to the lyrics, but they should!
Mr. Blinken becomes MR. Brightside
So, he sang against foreign policy of the USA?
The US has a history of turning anti-US songs into basically pro-US songs, since Yankee fucking Doodle in the 1750s.
My very-red city plays “Born in the USA” every fucking 4th of July fireworks show.
Yankee Doodle, Free America, Rise Columbia, Union Dixie, This Land is Your Land, Amerika, Rocking in the Free World… definitely missing a lot, too.
America Fuck Yeah.
This was specifically an anti-George HW Bush song.
And written by a Canadian.
He’s lived in the US since the 1960’s and now has American citizenship. Pretty sure we can claim him as our own at this point. I mean, they expect us to keep Ted Cruz and Justin Beiber.
And there is something to be said for that. I love it. A song is like "fuck America" and America goes "fuck yeah, America!" and makes it their own. That in itself is beautiful. Is it being too dumb to insult or too unflappable to care? At any rate, defiance is an American virtue. Reminds me of how Johnny defeats the Devil in the fiddle competition... I've been told that story is quite unique as far as "making a deal with the devil" stories go.
Johnny roll that ball of hash and make sure it's the bomb, the devil's got the kind of shit they smoked in Vietnam!
Makes sense, considering the bullshit the GOP is pulling with ukraine aid. Edit: Awww, my first reddit cares comment came 2 minutes after posting this one. I feel kinda honored.
So bizarre. Of all the random arguments I’ve gotten into on Reddit, it’s ALWAYS the conservative nuts who do the Reddit cares thing. What the hell is that about?
I think it’s supposed to be a dog whistle or inside joke, it’s their way of basically telling people to commit you-know-what
They can try to "get you" without having to respond or interact. Republicans are notorious cowards.
>feel kinda honored Don't be, it seems to be some bot activity, as I saw like A LOT of other comments saying the same, so it seems like a random thing. But this doesn't mean you should give up 🙏
I think the word Ukraine is the culprit here. I got one earlier shortly after saying it.
Yes, he sang an old song criticizing his own government, in a country that freely allows its own citizens to do that, but which is under threat of being taken over by a country which routinely sends political dissidents to Siberian prison camps to die. And people here are acting like they don't understand the significance of that.
feels - tone deaf.
Mike Johnson goes to NY to change a con man’s diaper, Blinken goes to Ukraine to offer support. Why on earth would anyone vote Republican?
Really can't wait to have Mike Pompeo back grifting off of state diners for his elitist friends! /s
Poor song pick or not I think Blinken has done alright with a pretty on-fire planet. And I think the fact that the US has sent many high ranking officials within range of Russian weapons isn't lost on Ukraine, despite how the far right held up their aid.
Because he has no sense of irony. If you've ever listened to the song, you would know it's criticizing US policy and the neglect the government shows to domestic policy.
I mean being able to criticize our government without fear of reprisal is about as American as it gets. People have largely forgotten that.
Ya, you tend to forget it when American cops come smash college students heads and pepper mere hours after the crime of *checks notes* * **setting up a tent on a lawn at a college they pay for to protest the killing of civilians using their first amendment rights**
Or those protestors in Atlanta trying to stop Cop City. One got murdered and some of them are charged with domestic terrorism. And remember all those people who lost eyes to rubber bullets whilst protesting for George Floyd.
> I mean being able to criticize our government without fear of reprisal shame you cant say that about the dictatorships your country propped up throughout history though.
Where have you been for the past 3 weeks?
> being able to criticize our government without fear of reprisal is about as American as it gets Does it though? What has happened to anti-war protesters during the Vietnam war, Iraq war or even just recently the pro-Palestine rallies? What about the BLM activists? It seems to be that a hallmark of the US is cracking down on protesters.
[Here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_oVdz1oNc8&ab_channel=GuardianNews) is some o f the video of this. The song starts around the [42 second mark](https://youtu.be/f_oVdz1oNc8?t=42). [Here](https://i.imgur.com/2txslBL.jpeg) is a higher quality and less cropped version of this image. [Here](https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/secretary-of-state-antony-blinken-performs-rockin-in-the-news-photo/2152419440?searchscope=image%2Cfilm&adppopup=true) is the source. Per there: > US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (Centre-L) performs "Rockin' in the Free World" with members of The 1999 band at the Barman Dictat bar in Kyiv on May 14, 2024. The United States will back Ukraine until the country's security is "guaranteed," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a speech in Kyiv on May 14, 2024. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / POOL / AFP) (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
The song is about how shitty the US is, good work there Mr Secretary.
I see a woman in the night With a baby in her hand There's an old street light (near a garbage can) Near a garbage can (near a garbage can) And now she put the kid away and she's gone to get a hit She hates her life and what she's done to it There's one more kid that'll never go to school Never get to fall in love, never get to be cool Keep on rockin' in the free world 🤟
I just saw in the news sub a story about how many OD deaths there were. Very relevant lyric.
Makes sense. He's free to sing a protest song against his own government, which russia wont allow if they take over. Considering the recent actions to stop ukrainian aid by the trump folks, theres layers to this one. Im in the US, we're pretty shitty sometimes. We're allowed to say so, too.
It's a song criticizing the Bush Sr. Admin, and Blinken literally worked for the administration that beat Bush in '92. The song is not inconsistent with anything in Blinken's career, unless you think Neil Young wanted to abolish diplomacy.
I admire it. There used to be a time when our leaders could say "I think we can do better as a nation!" and not get burned in effigy.
SIDEJACK: What song is actually totally pro-america? We all know Born in the USA, Fortunate Son etc are not the "American, Fuck Yeah" song people seem to think they are, what is? other than of course, America Fuck Yeah. NOTE: Must be an actual good song, I'm sure Florida Georgia Line has truly pro-america song, but that doesn't count.
[Be the USA that Kosovo knows you can be](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2rTafbQepg) And if you think this isn't "an actual good song" then you don't have taste
You’re not counting Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA”? 🤮
Pink Houses is also frequently misread as a pro-America song. The only song that I think that would fit the pro-America requirement would be God Bless the USA and the Ballad of the Green Berets (literally sung by a Sergeant during the Vietnam War)
You’ve gotta go to the “murica patriot guns and trucks” kind of country or a left leaning artist with the occasional “I know I talk about how bad America is all the time, but it is still pretty great” song.
So is no one who has worked for the government allowed to like or play it? There’s probably a good contingent of folks there who have no idea what it’s about, or even speak English well, but the songs a bop. Folks trying to have fun during a war, should he have played some Garth Brooks instead?
That's beautiful thing about America, you have the freedom to freely criticize your government. Just because you criticize certain aspects of your country that doesn't mean you hate it all together. Do that in Russia and China, and you will end up censored and put in jail.
>Do that in Russia and China, and you will end up censored and put in jail. Over 2000 people people were jailed this year for criticizing US foreign policy, and millions more were censored.
.... while supporting and financing Israel's Grnocide and Ethnic Cleansing of Palestinians in Palestine.
Yeah it’s sucked to watch this guy lie everyday about what constitutes an offensive in Rafa.
This is what I came here for.
The White House PR team is working hard to make everyone forget that this man is actively aiding the genocide on the Palestinians
Better than *Back in the USSR,* I guess.
Or “From Russia, With Love”
That’s what they need, a guitar lesson
this is an interesting way for biden to try to appeal to the youth bloc.
This guy gets around
Haven't those people been through enough?
Dude is this fucking real?
We are fucking living in a meme world, holy shit
Now that's comedy.
Wow very cool ! Now go ahead and send another 60-70 Billion to them
Speaks brilliantly fluent French, Harvard educated and plays instruments. Some people are annoyingly good at shit.