I have to disagree with you Larry about the protest music scene in the U.S. being absolutely anemic. You are right that there are a handful of stations playing "protest" music that you refer to, but I honestly think it has less to do with content and more to do with style. I have not been pressured as to the content of the material that I play on non-commercial radio.   The fact that folk music is not a commercial style effects the number of stations where it can be played.   Back in the days when it was in vogue, FM radio was still in it's infancy in terms of the number of people who were able to listen in. AM radio ruled the roost, and Phil Ochs was not getting his protest songs played on WABC-AM.

You are probably right in the fact that Phil Ochs would probably be unsigned today, but then again most of the artists we are discussing are unsigned. Major record labels are not signing "folk" artists. However, rap music artists DO get signed by major labels and they DO get played on the radio. Granted the majority of Mudcat crowd does not listen to this music (myself included), but to dismiss their "protest" and then continue to complain about the lack of protest seems like we are trying to make the results fit our preconceived notions.

When you say that the "capitolist" media chooses our spokespeople, I would ask when this was not the case.   It is less of the media choosing the spokespeople but rather a case of spokespeople knowing how to use the media. That may be the issue today, we don't know how to make our voices heard.