print
We believe in equal time here at Paste, so after naming the biggest Republican and Democratic musicians earlier this week, I thought I'd look into who's supporting third-party candidates. The libertarians claim some fine musicians, including the first one I ever interviewed back in 1990—Mojo Nixon.
5 Biggest (or most committed) Libertarian Musicians
1. Krist Novoselic
The Nirvana
bassist was elected to the state legislature as a Democrat, but also
acknowledged his support of libertarian-leaning Republican candidate
Ron Paul.
2. Billie Joe Armstrong
The Green Day frontman hasn't been vocal in his support, but according to several sources on the Advocates for Self Governance, he's registered as a Libertarian in the state of California.
3. Dwight Yoakam
The country star spoke to the New York Post in 1999 about "libertarianism,
the pure Jeffersonian ideal."
4. Robbie Fulks
Reason magazine spoke the Nashville songwriter in 2000 and said he referred to himself as a libertarian.
5. Neil Peart
Rush's drummer was influenced early on by the objectivist writings of Ayn Rand, and described himself to JewsRock.org as a "left-learning libertarian."
The Laptop Steering Wheel Desk (Awesome of…
urlesque's Three Wolf Moon T-Shirt Parodies (Awesome…
"100 Greatest Quotes From the Wire" Video…
Paste's Pop Goes the Culture Streaming Online…
Top 10 Best Debut Novels of the…
The 17 Best Romantic Comedies This Decade
The 50 Best Movies of the Decade…
The 25 Best Movie Performances of the…
Frightened Rabbit - Good Arms Vs. Bad…
Blind Pilot - The Story I Heard
B.O.B. - Put Me On
Punch Brothers - Punch Brothers at CMJ
Billie Joe Armstrong is not a Libertarian.
It's a confusing term because what "libertarian" has meant throughout history is essentially opposite of what it means in the U.S., where it is understood in terms of the politics of the Libertarian Party.
Billie Joe may be a libertarian in the original meaning of the term, which is a left-leaning ideal in opposition to excessive government authority, but everything he has ever said about his political beliefs does not indicate that he supports the U.S. Libertarian Party at all.
Dude, you are missing a whole shitload of libertarian musicians from your list. For starters, how in the world could you miss the Nation's Number One Libertarian Musician Ted Nugent?
Then there's Gene Simmons of KISS, the guy from Steely Dan, Alice Cooper, et.al, who've all described their views as "libertarian."
Eric, Sure, but we are looking for "Signs of Life" here haha
You spelled Yoakam wrong.
Not to be confused with Yoakum, Texas. Good catch. Thanks.