What if they gave a war and nobody sang?  

The music community, swift to react to the 9/11 terror attacks with benefit concerts and topical songs, has been slow to address the impending war in Iraq.

Though lagging behind the pace of military buildup, anti-war momentum is growing in pop's ranks. Reaction so far is more in gestures and statements than in music, perhaps because sporting a peace button requires less time and effort than writing, recording and distributing a protest song.

Music's loose anti-war alliance should get a vigorous push with the world premiere of Madonna's American Life video on MTV this month. Using a fashion show as a backdrop, the clip "examines the horrors of war" as an audience applauds grenade-lobbing models in haute-couture army fatigues, spokeswoman Liz Rosenberg says.

In a statement, Madonna disputes misconceptions about the video: "I am not anti-Bush. I am not pro-Iraq. I am pro-peace. I hope this provokes thought and dialogue."

Madonna is the first high-profile artist to directly confront the Iraq standoff in her work. Other efforts are falling beneath the pop-culture radar. Musician/poet Michael Franti performed his scathing Bomb da World ("You can bomb the world to pieces but you can't bomb it into peace") at a taping for the late-night Craig Kilborn show, but it was cut from the broadcast. Singer/songwriter Stephan Smith's The Bell, an anti-war record featuring a live version, a spoken-word rendition by Pete Seeger and a remix by DJ Spooky, was just issued on the tiny Synchronic label.

Other new tunes are circulating in cyberspace. Chuck D's Fine Arts Militia takes on the Bush agenda in A Twisted Sense of God, a rock/spoken-word diatribe available at slamjams.com. Folk singer Leslie Nuchow's An Eye for an Eye (Will Leave the Whole World Blind) is at slammusic.com. Musician Jynkz posted We Don't Want Your War at jynkz.com.

More songs are on the way. Singer Jonatha Brooke has revamped 1995's War, a biting retort to the Gulf War, to protest the current blueprint for battle. It went to radio recently and is a free download at jonathabrooke.com. Bay Area rapper Paris questions the wisdom of post-9/11 patriotism in What Would You Do, a track on his upcoming Sonic Jihad album.

British musicians have been far more vocal in criticizing hawks. Members of Massive Attack and Blur subsidized ads and posters protesting Britain's support for U.S. aggression. At February's Brit Awards in London, rising star Ms. Dynamite and George Michael performed an anti-war version of his Faith, and Coldplay singer Chris Martin blasted war plans: "We are all going to die when George Bush gets his way."

The tone was tamer at the Grammy Awards. Sheryl Crow, known to don a "war is not the answer" T-shirt, wore a guitar strap emblazoned with "no war." Bonnie Raitt proposed, "Let's build some peace," while Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit made an awkward statement suggesting, "This war should go away as soon as possible."

Activist artists overseas have been quicker to respond musically. The U.K.-based anarchist collective Chumbawamba is selling its antiwar single Jacob's Ladder (Not in My Name), a revised version of an earlier song, at chumba.com with the notation: "We are among the artists and activists refusing to stay silent as Bush pushes for war."

Peace Not War, a two-CD benefit compilation on Australia's Shock Records, boasts an international lineup of acts opposing the call to war in Iraq, including Public Enemy, Billy Bragg, Midnight Oil and Ani DiFranco. In the song Frijolero, Mexican rap-metal band Molotov condemns supporters of force for "burning money, making war on other countries."

Acts have been quieter north of the border, but that won't last. The U.S. music community "is waking up," says Def Jam founder Russell Simmons, who expects a quick expansion of anti-war activities among his colleagues. He and rapper Mos Def have recorded two 30-second TV ads attacking Bush's policies. Simmons helped launch Musicians United to Win Without War, a campaign supported by David Byrne, Rosanne Cash, Lou Reed, R.E.M., Dave Matthews and others that taken out ads in several major newspapers.

"We haven't paid attention to it the way we should have," says Simmons. He says the international debate "went over the heads of a lot of young people."

Though the standoff has left many conflicted, invading Iraq will do more harm than good, he says.

"Saddam Hussein is a horrible person, but that's Iraq's problem," he says. "George Bush -- that's America's problem. My concern is the war on poverty and ignorance. When are we going to adequately fund that war? All the people who will die fighting in Iraq are poor and young."

The young are beginning to rally, as are their musical idols, whether at a podium or in a melody.

P. Diddy "is more well known and well liked by young people across the world than George Bush," Simmons says. "Jay-Z is more well known than Colin Powell. These are powerful voices that can make a difference."

© 2003 Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin

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