Under The Radar Protest Issue 2008:
On Newsstands Now

How are your favorite artists involved in this year’s elections?  Where do they see themselves as leaders and opinion shapers today? Who will have their vote this November?  How can we all work to make the world a better place to live?  You will find in-depth interviews and photos with cover stars Michael Stipe of R.E.M., Isaac Brock of Modest Mouse, Death Cab for Cutie’s Chris Walla, The Decemberists’ Colin Meloy and Britt Daniel of Spoon, plus Public Enemy’s Chuck D, Conor Oberst, System of a Down’s Serj Tankian, Billy Bragg, Death Cab For Cutie, Moby and many more all within the 30+ pages dedicated to the intersection of music and politics in Under The Radar’s Protest Issue 2008, on newsstands now.

“In the West, it’s kind of a post-industrial society now. You can’t really call the working class the working class anymore because it’s not like there are loads of factories, cotton mills, and steel works to keep them going. All the industry has been outsourced to poorer countries where it doesn’t cost as much. In a way, the working class has become the consuming class, buying up needless shit to keep the system rolling along. I think that’s sad.” — Jarvis Cocker (formerly of Pulp)

“I’ve always watched other people use their ‘celebrity’ as a platform, and there’s two ways to look at that. Either you can see it as a viable way of shining a light on a certain issue or an agenda, by using that platform, or you can also see a disingenuousness about it, that potentially you’re just using it as an opportunity to show how aware you are.” — The Decemberists’ Colin Meloy

“Music has as much power as a speech or a war chant. It can start wars and it can make peace. That’s the power of words.” — Public Enemy’s Chuck D

“To me, just because you happen to be in the entertainment industry, be it a musician or be it an actor, it doesn’t relinquish your rights as citizens of the country. And in a situation where you might have access to a larger platform, of course you’re going to use
it. You’d be crazy not to.” — Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst

“Now you have a whole generation of kids who grow up wanting to be 50 Cent. I remember when there was a whole generation of kids growing up wanting to be Chuck D. That’s a different philosophy.” — Michael Franti

“I do think [Barack Obama] seems like a fairly honest candidate. I think people react to that. But I think [John] McCain is an honest candidate compared to what we’ve had for the last eight years.” — Spoon’s Britt Daniel

“Take cell phones, for instance. I think they’ve actually proven that this thing that I’ve got held to my head right now causes brain tumors at a pretty alarming rate. They’re not going to really let that out, because it’s worth way too fucking much money right now. And for that matter, I think they’re pretty sure there’s too many of us, and also without really any Social Security at this point, we’re going to be kind of a problem when we get older if we’re still sticking around. They can’t afford to house all the old people. They can’t really afford to do it for the ones we’ve got now. Anyway, cell phones—pretty sure they’re terrible for you. They might actually be the reason the bees are disappearing. — Modest Mouse’s Isaac Brock