[includes lyrics plus article from NPR] January 29, 2026
We publish below the lyrics of a new song Bruce Spingsteen released on January 28, 2026. The Boss, as the singer is known, released “Streets of Minneapolis” as part of a protest movement across the United States demanding an end to the terror unleashed by the Trump administration through its Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol thugs against undocumented immigrants and all working people.
We also publish an article first released by National Public Radio (NPR) News announcing the song’s debut.
I mean, there has been a lot of consolidation of the music industry. There isn’t the same kind of music apparatus like there was when those songs were written. Plus, there have been some good protest songs recently. On May 6th, 2024 Macklemore put out Hinds Hall, then in September he put out Hinds Hall 2, then 11 months ago he put out Fucked Up. He’s also not signed to a label, so maybe that’s why. Famously, groups like Bob Vylan and Kneecap have taken a lot of heat for their positions. Vylan was dropped from their label, I believe they were facing charges. Kneecap was facing terrorism charges which were eventually dropped. Sure, this isn’t explicitly ICE related, but these struggles are all connected.
Radio is basically dead, most of the US and Canadian radio stations are corporate owned. As of 2021 only 80ish US stations were independent, and 13 Canadian stations were independent. The idea that a corporate owned radio station would play a “protest” song in 2026 seems unrealistic. Plus, most people are getting their music through corporate algorithms via services like Spotify or YT Music. Maybe there is some really great protest songs, but I have a feeling they don’t get the same kind of traction in the algorithms as other forms of music.