Artist: Living Colour
Song: Time’s Up
Album: Time’s Up
Producer: Ed Stasium
Label: Epic
Year: 1990
Notes:
Though written on the more ecological tip, this song’s closing message is universal and timely: the time to act is now and all you need to do is get up and try. It also won Best Hard Rock Performance at that year’s Grammys. “A rock group consisting entirely of black members wasn’t supposed to be an issue and, in fact, could only be an issue in a culture that had collectively suppressed the music’s black roots.” (Reyes-Kulkarni, S., Diffuser, Aug. 28, 2015)
Lyrics:
Time’s up, the rivers have no life
Time’s up, the world is full of strife
Time’s up, the sky is falling
Time’s up, the Lord is calling
How you gonna stop the clock
When the well runs dry
All the rivers have died
Moment by moment, day by day
The world is just slipping away
Your future won’t save your past
The time is now, it won’t last
The time is nigh
Time to do-or-die
Time waits for no one
If you want to go on
Leave me something to grow on
The forests, the trees, the rivers, the seas
All die of this disease
Time ain’t on your side
Don’t sit idly by
You’ve just got to try
—
‘Protest 100’s mission is two-fold: dispelling the myth that heavy metal is a brainless, socially unaware music genre, and raising awareness of the issues facing our country in the Nov. 3, 2020 election. The path won’t be exclusively metal—some punk and rap and other stuff will be in here too, including the classics—and is not a ranking. All songs are songs I’ve heard while putting this list together, ordered in a manner designed to entertain and educate.
Chris Smith, Author 