Last week, I went to a Beats Antique show and it was amazing to listen to them bang on marching band drums and shout out support for ‘Occupy Wall Street.’ Everyone was dancing on this wild wave of energy.

Protest songs have had a place in America’s political tradition for some time.  From the pro-Labor folk songs of the Depression era to the anti-war ballads of the 1960’s and 70’s, various movements have used music as a means of highlighting perceived injustices.

A group of festival goers calling themselves the Bunk Police are on a mission to test the purity of illegal drugs being sold on the shakedown streets of music festivals around the country. They're finding that more often than not, things are not what they seem. From the Bunk Police website:

If a picture is worth a thousand words, than what do you get when mixing pictures, words and musicians?
How 'bout a virtual imprint of the American psyche,  straight from the minds of James Murphy, Questlove, Wayne Coyne, Bob Weir and more than 50 other artists?

This marks the first of a series of interviews with artists participating in the Patagonia Music Collective, appearing on both the

Trey Anastasio speaking at the NADCP conference on Wednesday (Larry French/ Associated Press)

Stand anywhere at Bonnaroo, and hundreds, maybe thousands, of faces will whiz by. Ever wonder who they are, or what they’re thinking? It’s hard not to.

As gay rights gain momentum amongst the young, artists like 50 Cent are pulling back from anti-gay language, much like politicians adjusting their message to please their constituents.

Honest, techy, and unabashedly "heady," Headstash

As the threat of a government shutdown loomed last week, Congresswoman Donna Edwards (D-MD) channeled her inner Jack White to relay her party’s message to young people on the House floor.