Hello /his/,
I've been listening to Rasputin by Boney M. lately and I'm wondering how many songs there are out there from contemporary times with a narrative or theme drawn from historical events/people.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yTVWXYctoY
OP obviously related, but I also know James K. Polk by They Might Be Giants.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StTiCU_fqCg
I'd also accept songs from Television shows that are supposed to be educational, a la Animaniacs or Histeria.
A few of my favorites from Histeria! Which is actually a show I hardly ever see talked about.
Invasion Song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75F5RaU5wSM
Terrible Tudors
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAmRSHRwADE
>>323851
Anything from that show with Stalin was always A+.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHZQXNe2HpQ
>>323847
Alexander the Great by Iron Maiden
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oTEQf1d9Iw
This may be an obvious one from Billy Joel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFTLKWw542g
Who also has Leningrad.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgD_-dRZPgs
Vlad, son of the dragon - The Black Dahlia Murder .https://youtu.be/5OMiJNgWbI0
>>323847
When the tigers broke free- pink Floyd.
Taro- alt j
You can find a shitload of Metal with historical themes, in all sub-genres.
Famous ones are Sabaton (although they're shit IMO), and Iron Maiden.
Then there's Ex Deo, a sideproject of Kataklysm which is centered around the history of Rome. I really like their bombastic sound, its very fitting.
https://youtu.be/Ymv9xXH83YY
And theres very obscure stuff, for example a Belgian band named Lemuria, who have done an album about the Albigensian Crusade which is called Chanson de la Croisade.
https://youtu.be/NDAVH37fCBk
>>324059
>although they're shit IMO
Oh man it's like I've been waiting for this thread my whole life to express my love of The Dickies' slightly historical songs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4K2tyB9thOU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9viAr83r4M
Sort of silly light-hearted proto-punk band. I hope you like them, /his/
Hinkley Had a Vision
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGyz16_MfMI
pretty much all of sabaton, the most of the stand up and fight and the varingian way albums by turisas, and varyags of miklagard by amon amarth
>>324261
>there are more songs about the Varangian Guard alone than Byzantium itself
>>324268
It's varangian themed rather than byzantine themed. They're a scandinavian metal band, what's surprizing is that they have so much byzantine stuff instead of "le ebin viking" style of the others.
>>324323
how do you even pronounce the band you posted
>>324323
Finland isnt Scandinavia
>>324350
tur (like turret) e (like sweet) sas (like sassy)
>>324081
What can I say, they are babbys first metal band and most of the people they attract are like WOAH LE EBIN WAR SONGS!!1 PRIMO VICTORIA SEMPER FIDELIS
Their Carolus Magnus album is breddy gud though
>>324350
It's just turisas written in cyrilic or whatever is the greek version's name.
>>324402
Arr rook the same
Change the name of the geo-cultural region for one that suits you and my point still stands. Finland has it's good share of le ebin viking bands, as much as the other nordics..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHWmxCoTV3Y
Iron Maiden has some cool shit
Here's a neat opera by Philip Glass about Akhnaten, with excerpts from The Book of the Dead and everything...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPvTwoTtFCA&list=PLTUlTwlsdlFTrjbZltuhnFcvWemE96yjb
>>323862
The Trooper too
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmS20RYxVV4
Mr. Stalin, You're Eating Too High On The Hog - https://youtu.be/Trumcn-BWpc
Cold War Classics (Atomic Platters): http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLF1877EA3623CD185
Crusader by Saxon.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=yhhDbaah9DQ
so i googled OP's question and found some favorite ones on this list http://www.songfacts.com/category-songs_about_historical_events.php
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ofrqm6-LCqs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Inld-zDad0c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tytPcvyJASc
and of course,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5XJ2GiR6Bo
>>323847
if you want a cool fact, if i recall it correctly (check it on songfacts.com that for some reason is not opening here) the guy singing that song died in the exact same thing as rasputin.
>>325547
>in the exact same thing
the word you wanted to post is "day and town"
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/music-news/8232749/Boney-M-frontman-Bobby-Farrell-died-on-same-day-as-Rasputin.html
he didn't die so violently though
>>325116
As someone who likes Sabaton this is sadly true, their online fanbase is cancerous as hell.
Carolus Rex is terrific though and their best work by far, mostly because it has an actual narrative as an album and isn't based around a loose theme of war.
>>325943
not only their online fanbase, the real life one as well.
also, their singer with his stupid aviator sunglasses and stage get up looks like some fag straight from the Village People
>>324059
I'm really baffled by the fact that someone did a music album on the Albigensian Crusade.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEJ9HrZq7Ro
>>323847
Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner by Warren Zevon has a fair bit of history about mercenaries in the Congo War.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHWmxCoTV3Y
OP here, thanks for all the contributions, my friends.
A little gem from Stan Ridgway here ;)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXKIBYnM_9Q
Persepolis - Septic Flesh https://youtu.be/4hRr2bHP5tM
Holy Martyr - Hellenic Warrior Spirit
Ancient Rites - Rubicon
Both really good metal albums
Pretty well known but here ya go.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vST6hVRj2A
The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jREUrbGGrgM
>>323847
Look for Dschingis Khan. Germans singing about a lot of historical stuff.
