Phobia Films, Flickr Creative Commons

Man, we’re angry these days–and rightfully so, most of the time, but sustained outrage hasn’t been the cultural tenor of most of my life. I’m old enough to remember when if there was a gap in the nightly news coverage of Vietnam it was filled in with a little Watergate coverage, but I’m too young to have really participated in any of that.

No, instead my high school years were lived during the relatively calm ’80s. Oh, there was ugly stuff happening, but for whatever reason little of it escalated to the point of civil unrest. “Why do I have to live in such boring times,” I used to think. “Why couldn’t I have been older in the late ’60s and early ’70s, when people were really pissed off about stuff?”

Be careful what you wish for, kids.

Anyway, rage songs:

“Outrage,” Booker T. and the MG’s.

“Tears of Rage,” The Band.

“Prophets of Rage,” Public Enemy.

“The Rage,” Judas Priest.

“Wrathchild,” Iron Maiden.

“Look Back In Anger,” David Bowie.

“Pissed Off 2 AM,” Alejandro Escovedo.

“Don’t Get Mad, Get Even,” Aerosmith.

There you have it: Eight songs for a very, very mad world. What did I miss? I’m listening.